Fishing, barbecuing, hunting, underwater hide-and-seek, high-diving, playing music with leaves, and more—Lin and Zhi Feng frolicked happily in the Forest of Dangerous Species until dusk, only leaving when they were fully satisfied. They returned to the military city before the sun completely set.
After changing back into her stern and capable general's uniform, Lin immediately regained her usual authority. With a frosty expression, she looked at the report in her hand. After reading it, she muttered to herself, as if with a headache or perhaps confusion:
"No matter when or where, people always like to foolishly challenge the limits of their superiors. I tell them to relax, and they take advantage. Do a few people have to test the law with their own bodies before they recognize reality?"
The report in Lin's hand listed various personnel who had failed to obey military orders during the day's holiday: those who had not returned on time, those who had gotten drunk and caused trouble in town, and so on. The numbers were not large, but this was a sign—a challenge to the authority of Lin's military orders. It was also a rebound-style retaliation from these new recruits, feeling oppressed under Lin's command. In simple terms, they were courting death… Lin looked up at the several officers, all battalion commanders of colonel rank or higher, lined up in front of her desk, heads bowed, not daring to look up. The offenders were the soldiers under their command, and now that trouble had arisen, they could only report to Lin and beg for forgiveness.
"I don't need to tell you what to do now, do I?"
Leaning back in the rough, luxurious general's chair, Lin, despite her petite figure, looked down at the several tall men standing at attention before her. Her slender, delicate fingers tapped rhythmically on the smooth armrest.
"The reason I gave these new recruits a holiday today was precisely for this effect. As expected, everything was within my expectations. There are always a few ridiculous and pathetic ants who think they can challenge the authority of a strong person. The facts prove that without rules enforced by bloodshed, no one will care."
Lin casually scattered the report in her hand. The light pages drifted through the air in various irregular trajectories before landing on the ground in front of the battalion commanders of their respective zones.
"The lives of these few individuals end here. They are all to be incarcerated in the death row prison, recorded as 'KIA' in the Seventh Legion's roster and archives. From now on, they will be like the death row prisoners sent by the Empire—merely cornerstones and tools for the Seventh Legion's path to strength."
Regardless of the severity of their actions, all were sentenced to death. This was Lin's decision. Such a cold and ruthless judgment was difficult for even the battalion commanders, who knew military orders were absolute, to accept. After exchanging glances, a lieutenant colonel standing in the middle spoke up:
"Legion Commander, there are degrees of severity. Wouldn't it be… to treat all cases the same?"
A gleaming officer's saber, before anyone could react, plunged halfway into the ground beneath the carpet, right next to the lieutenant colonel's shoetip. Lin's voice was as cold as if it came from the Nine Nether Frost Domain.
"They all committed the same military offense. Any act of questioning, opposing, rejecting, or obstructing the transmission, circulation, or implementation of military orders will, according to the iron rules of the Seventh Legion, result in immediate incarceration in the death row prison, with their military status declared as deceased and reclassified as death row prisoners. Did you really think I was telling jokes to the entire army this morning!?"
"Thump!!!"
Lin's jade hand slammed heavily on the smooth solid wood desk. The desk showed no signs of breaking or shaking, yet a clear palm print, deeply embedded in the wood, appeared on its surface. Everyone present was a professional martial artist. They all understood perfectly well how much force was contained in Lin's angry, casual strike; it was a hundred times more terrifying than simply smashing the table apart.
Lin stood up directly, her black and gold cloak fluttering with her movement. Lin raised her bare hand, pointing at the imperial officers, and spoke in a cold voice:
"I haven't finished speaking yet. Soldiers who violate military law and orders, their officers are not beyond reproach. Those who turn a blind eye will have their crime reduced by one degree. All of you will be demoted one rank, your duties temporarily unchanged, but you will remain under observation. All team members who acted with the violators will receive 100 lashes."
Lin's aura instantly overwhelmed everything. Standing before the several colonel-ranked officers was not a human girl, but a Super Danger Beast ten times more terrifying than a Wind God Winged Dragon! Even though the officers present felt immense bitterness in their hearts, they could not speak. The irresistible fear, stemming from the soul level, dominated all their neural thought processes.
"Yes!"
Lin waved her hand, dismissing her subordinate battalion commanders, then sighed softly and sat back in her seat, pressing her fingertips lightly against her temples as if with a headache.
Lin knew that doing this was indeed excessive, and would even severely dampen the morale and spirits of her soldiers. But there was no alternative; in chaotic times, harsh laws were necessary. The Seventh Legion was practically being rebuilt, yet it had to become a truly combat-ready legion within four years. Lin had no time to devote much thought to military law; she could only use the harshest punishments to awe everyone's minds, making them dare not act rashly.
"Only four years…"
"Killing a person is actually very simple. If one truly understands the structure of the human body, they will find that the human body is full of fatal points. Those visible on the body's surface alone include: eyes, temples, ears, chin, Adam's apple, face, outer and back of the neck, solar plexus, abdomen, ribs, groin. These areas require little skill; a strike with appropriate force can be fatal…"
On the morning of the second day after the holiday ended, Lin summoned all officers of the Seventh Legion to assemble at the death row execution ground. This was a vast, flat square of brick and stone, upon which stood numerous execution crosses. This area was built alongside the death row prison; wherever death row prisoners were held, there would be an execution ground.
Now, Lin was using this place to teach killing techniques to the army officers. At this moment, Lin, wearing her usual general's uniform, stood before over two hundred officers arrayed in neat formation, clearly and fluently explaining the human body's vital points. Behind her, more than a dozen death row prisoners, who had just arrived at the Seventh Legion yesterday, were locked onto execution crosses, their entire bodies fixed. All of them wore black hoods and were fastened to the execution racks, serving as instructional demonstration tools for Lin's lecture.
"The ear is an extremely fragile weak point on the human body. The auricular nerve is close to the brain, and a strike or compression can damage the arterial and venous branches leading to the meninges, obstructing blood circulation. Moreover, behind the lower auricle, on the upper edge of the mandible, there is an acupoint as fatal as the temple, called the 'Wan Gu' acupoint. Striking the ear and the Wan Gu acupoint behind the ear, a heavy blow to this spot will cause severe concussion, and the target will die within 5 seconds…"
As Lin explained, she pointed to the ear area of a death row prisoner. Although he wore a hood, the trembling of the execution cross and his body revealed how terrified this dying man was of death.
The hood was actually to prevent the death row prisoner's dying expression from affecting the teaching. Before the hoods were put on, a wooden stick was inserted and tied into the mouth of each death row prisoner to prevent their fearful screams and pleas for mercy or injustice from disturbing her and affecting morale. As for whether they were truly wronged, that was not for Lin to interfere with; what era didn't have countless unjustly dead, one more wouldn't make a difference.
"…The main points are roughly like this. I will demonstrate the specific operation. This move is called 'Dual Peaks Piercing the Ears,' where both fists simultaneously strike the target's ears from both sides, just like this."
Lin turned and stood before the death row prisoner, her hands rising swiftly, striking out like lightning from both sides to simultaneously hit the death row prisoner's ears on both sides of his head. Struck in a vital point, the death row prisoner instantly stiffened. However, after three seconds, all strength drained from his body, and he hung silently on the execution rack. Lin then walked to another death row prisoner nearby and began to explain another vital part of the human body in detail.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.