30 Cut-Throa

Jun Xie said in a cold tone, "I’ll now tell you the rules of training under my leadership since all of you have agreed to accept me as your leader. I’ll not repeat what I’m about to tell you ­– the one who violates the rules will be killed without any warning.

"Terms like ‘corporal punishment’ and ‘regret’ don’t exist for me. I only understand the meaning of terms like ‘victory’ and ‘death’. So, you’ll be given only these two choices under my leadership.

"I’m your highest authority from this moment onwards… until the day your training comes to an end. You’ll have to follow every order of mine throughout the period of your training. You’ll not listen to anyone else; even my Third Uncle and Grandpa don’t have any right to interfere in this matter. The person who dares to disobey my orders will be decapitated with no exception.

"I like punctuality. Anyone who is late for training will be decapitated.

"Anyone who tries to convey his point-of-view regarding my orders will be decapitated.

"Anyone who dares to defy my orders will be decapitated.

"…. will be decapitated.

"…. decapitated.

*** ***

The sounds of ‘decapitated’ resounded in the air several times. A murderous aura had spread in all directions. Jun Xie’s eyes seemed to have filled with cruel intentions. The three-hundred guards stood firm. Their bodies were stiff and their muscles were tensed; there was a trace of fear in their eyes.

Even Jun Wu Yi had been affected. His blood was boiling. He was sitting upright in his wheelchair. He felt as if he had gone back in time, and was listening to his father’s speech. He looked at Jun Xie with a sense of diligence and devotion in his eyes. The aura of an unyielding soldier had surged back into his personality.

The guards felt an undergoing change in their personalities as they heard Jun Xie’s inspiring words. Their persona started to emit an aura of iron-bloodied soldiers as before. Jun Wu Yi was aware of the impact that this transformation could make in the battlefield. Jun Xie’s words could compel anyone to forget about one’s regrets, resentments, and the difference between life and death to move ahead in the battle.

The army which was headed by such a strong-headed leader could never lose a single battle.

Grandpa Jun stood in the shadows on the other side of the training ground. His face had turned red. He had lost his usual calm as his blood was boiling. He was staring wide-eyed at Jun Xie. He was extremely excited; so much so that his hands and beard were trembling.

[I can’t believe this… Is this really my useless grandson Jun Mo Xie? Is this really him who’s speaking those words? What a glorious aura of inspiration! What a…] Grandpa was carried away in emotions. He started to rub his eyes; so much so that drops of tears started to pour out of them.

Jun Zhan Tian tried and controlled his emotions. He then turned around. Suddenly, there appeared a bright gleam in his usually dull eyes. His hunched body seemed straighter than before. It was exuding an aura of pride and self-assurance. Old Pang felt as if the great general had assumed the aura of an indomitable warrior once again.

Old Pang hadn’t seen this aura around Jun Zhan Tian’s personality ever since the Jun family had lose several of its mighty members.

Jun Xie’s words had instilled a sense of hope in Jun Zhan Tian’s heart. Not only that – the hope was bright and mighty.

[This grandson can help the Jun family in regaining its lost glory. No… not ‘can’… this grandson ‘will’ help the Jun family in regaining its lost glory.]

[It seems that the Heavens are finally showering their blessings on the Jun family.]

Jun Zhan Tian finally said, "Communicate my orders to everyone… each and every word that comes out of the Third Young Master’s mouth… each and every movement of his… will be guarded by the Jun family. This’ll all be a top secret. Consider this to be a first-grade command. No one will be spared in case of disobeying my orders. That person will be killed without any exception. In fact, the person who violates my command will see the nine generations of his family executed.

"We’ve been keeping an eye on the spies sent by the other families. Now, we need to get rid of them. Moreover, find an excuse to transfer away the spies who’ve been sent by the royal court. Also, activate our shadow operations. We need to keep an eye on the movements inside and outside the Jun residence. Kill a person if you find him or her passing on a message to an outsider. This is an opportunity to clean our house. We should ensure that nothing escapes our eyes."

Jun Zhan Tian’s tone was characterized by an authority of a stubborn and resolute general. Old Pang could sense a murderous aura oozing out of his personality. He understood the relevance of this entire matter for Jun Zhan Tian. He was aware that Jun Zhan Tian would actually start a bloodbath if any of this was to leak out in the open.

Jun Zhan Tian didn’t know why and how his grandson had hidden his capabilities behind the mask of a debauchee. However, he was confident that there would certainly be a reason behind his actions. Maybe this was all a part of his plan. Jun Zhan Tian had been truly inspired by his grandson’s words and actions. But still, he felt that he had behaved in a reckless manner. Jun Mo Xie would become a centre of attraction if any of this was to leak outside of the Jun family.

Jun Zhan Tian didn’t have a clue about the intent of the people keeping an eye on Jun Mo Xie.

Therefore, he decided to help his grandson by providing him the utmost secrecy. He had issued a first-grade order in this regard. And, the person who countered his orders had been ordered to be killed immediately.

Obviously, there hadn’t been any act of hiding one’s capabilities. It wasn’t Jun Mo Xie who had spoken those words; it was Jun Xie – an ace assassin from another world.

In the meantime, Jun Xie’s shouts of ‘decapitation’ continued to resound in the training ground.

He then said, "Now, I’m going to issue my first order as your leader. I want all of you to form two teams. You’ve ten breaths’ time to complete this task. You’ll have to run around the training ground for a hundred laps if you fail to complete this task on time. And, your time starts now."

Suddenly, the formation of the guards became a chaotic mess. People moved in and out of groups while bumping into each other. They had formed two groups of one-fifty men each within a short span of time.

Jun Xie said, "Very good! A company of one-fifty men will be divided into five platoons. Each platoon will consist of thirty men. Each of the platoons will be divided into three squads. Each of these squads will consists of ten men. Now, I’ll give you a few minutes. And, you’ll have to decide the leader of each company, platoon and squad.

"Remember this… make your choices very carefully as you’ll have to follow the orders of your leaders in the future. Later, if anyone tries to counter any order of their leader… then he’ll be dealt with according to the military protocol — he’ll be decapitated."

Jun Xie then turned around and faced Jun Wu Yi.

Jun Wu Yi looked at him for a while. Then, he smiled with a trace of astonishment in his eyes and said, "Mo Xie, your words and actions have truly surprised your Third Uncle."

Jun Xie touched his nose and laughed. He then said, "Third Uncle, what do you think about this?"

Jun Xie hadn’t clearly mentioned the matter about which he wanted to know Jun Wu Yi’s thoughts. However, Jun Wu Yi understood the implied meaning behind his words. He said, "I had planned to find fault with your words. But, truly speaking… I didn’t find anything wrong in whatever you said. I’m sure that our soldiers can take over the world if they undergo this kind of a training."

"… take over the world?" Suddenly, a dark crease appeared on Jun Xie’s forehead. "Third Uncle, you’re saying too many kind words. There’s a difference in the way you and I begin our training. You train the soldiers for the sake of the Tian Xiang Kingdom… But, I intend to train the soldiers to protect the Jun family. So, there’s a huge difference in the methods of our training."

"… training for the sake of the Kingdom… for the safety of the Jun family?" Jun Wu Yi was a great general who was loyal to his Kingdom. However, his handicap had pushed these thoughts out of his mind for a period of ten years. He knew that the Jun family had provided a great service to the Kingdom. However, it had to lose several of its members. Moreover, he himself had been paralyzed. Jun Wu Yi wouldn’t have complained if this had happened on a battlefield. He wouldn’t have mind suffering this fate at the hands of his enemies during a war. However, all this had happened in suspicious circumstances. And, the Kingdom had behaved as if nothing had happened…

His father had been consistently trying to find out the conspiracy behind this entire matter. However, he had failed to move ahead with his investigation every time he had landed with some crucial information. It wasn’t possible that there was no one behind these occurrences. But again, the Kingdom had behaved in an indifferent manner. This had caused Jun Wu Yi to lose interest in the matters of the Kingdom.

The ‘old’ Jun Wu Yi would’ve jumped and caught Jun Xie after hearing his intention of training the soldiers for the protection of the Jun family in place of the Kingdom. He would’ve labelled him as a traitor and a criminal. However, the ‘present’ Jun Wu Yi didn’t care about these things. At the most, he was lost…

[Was all of that worth anything?]

Jun Xie sighed and continued to speak, "Several people have their evil eyes fixed on our great Jun family. Especially, these days its facing a lot of delicate situations; it’s on the verge of facing a catastrophe. I wouldn’t have mind being a useless parasite if the situation had been different."

Jun Wu Yi looked at Jun Xie with sharp eyes. He then said, "So, that’s why you’ve decided to reveal your true capabilities? You mean to say that you would’ve continued to wreak havoc in form of a debauchee if the Jun family wasn’t facing these challenges? I’m surprised to see such a level of insight at such a young age."