Chapter 49

Chapter 23: Camp

"What do you mean? It means exactly what it says!"

Over the past six months, the relationship between the cold-faced man and the Demon Hunter had not improved at all, despite their deepened memories of each other's faces. The cold-faced man's tone remained as icy as when they first met. Even if their relationship had improved, the cold-faced man would likely still speak in the same manner, as evident from his conversations with the giant.

"What do you mean, Instructor, don't you understand?" Each time he spoke with the cold-faced man, the Demon Hunter couldn't help but feel irritated by the hidden sarcasm in his icy tone. If it weren't for the cold-faced man's status as an instructor and the worrying deviousness in his heart, the Demon Hunter would have long found an opportunity to drag him to the arena to vent his frustration. However, one must bow to the roof, so the Demon Hunter had to repeat his question: "What are the Rangers mentioned in the transfer order?"

"The Rangers are an elite team composed of the best ordinary Demon Hunters, responsible for the security of the headquarters and Shaker. The most outstanding new Apostles of each session are assigned to this team for half a year to be trained..." At this point, the cold-faced man glanced sideways at the Demon Hunter and began his usual cold and mocking remarks: "This is basic knowledge, even some ordinary Demon Hunters know it. As an Apostle, you don't know it, and now I'm starting to doubt the correctness of this transfer order! Therefore, I will raise objections to the headquarters!"

Watching the cold-faced man turn and leave, Ye Qi pursed his lips, tucked the transfer order into his chest, and hurriedly left the central castle, heading to the agreed location—the time specified in the transfer order was almost up. Although Ye Qi didn't value this "training," he didn't want to be late for their first meeting.

Moreover, Ye Qi suspected that the cold-faced man had only brought the transfer order this morning to see him be late and humiliated! Given the deviousness in the other's heart, Ye Qi was certain that the other would do such a trivial thing, and especially since the target was him, the other would take great pleasure in it...

Cursing the cold-faced man's deviousness a few more times in his heart, Ye Qi had to speed up again. Even so, he was still late. Seeing Ails standing impatiently at the headquarters' gate, Ye Qi hurried over and respectfully said, "Hello, ma'am! I am..."

"Even as an Apostle, you cannot erase the fact that you are late, Mr. Ye Qi!" The cavalry captain, dressed in full knight's armor and carrying a long sword, corrected Ye Qi: "Also, from the moment you joined the Rangers, you should address me as Captain!"

"Extremely sorry, Captain!"

To ensure a relatively pleasant six months, Ye Qi immediately corrected himself.

"Very good!" The female cavalry captain nodded but did not immediately forgive Ye Qi's tardiness: "Due to your lateness, our patrol time may be delayed. Therefore, in the next ten minutes, you must reach the Ranger camp, which is two kilometers away! Follow me now!"

"Shh!"

"Whinny!"

Just when Ye Qi thought the female cavalry captain would lead him by running, she whistled, and a pure white horse galloped out from the headquarters' gate. Watching her mount the horse with one hand despite her heavy armor and ride away, Ye Qi couldn't help but twitch his lips—though he had known from the start that she wasn't easy to get along with, he had clearly underestimated her strictness, or perhaps her pettiness as a woman...

However, running two kilometers in ten minutes was no challenge for Ye Qi, who had an agility of 16. To avoid trailing behind her and eating dust, Ye Qi accelerated and soon caught up with her.

The female cavalry captain was clearly surprised by Ye Qi's speed but quickly regained her composure, continuing to sit expressionlessly on her warhorse. To Ye Qi's surprise, she did not urge her horse to speed up but rode alongside him towards the Ranger camp.

In the green shrubbery, a square battle flag with a blue background and a white horse flew high. The camp, stretching for a hundred meters, was surrounded by a fence made of wood and iron, with over three hundred tents orderly arranged throughout.

In the open spaces between the tents, many muscular men were practicing with wooden swords and shields, and the Demon Hunter even saw a shooting range with wooden targets. Rows of archers in leather armor were shooting in a neat and orderly manner. At the corners of the camp, several blacksmiths were sweating profusely at the forges, crafting and repairing equipment and weapons...

As they moved deeper into the camp, the Demon Hunter saw some underage children and women with slightly weaker strength cleaning firearms. Judging by their skilled techniques and the way they held the guns, the Demon Hunter had no doubt they were proficient in using firearms...

Everyone in the camp who saw the female cavalry captain bowed respectfully, but they ignored the Demon Hunter behind her. The Demon Hunter shrugged indifferently; he wasn't so handsome that he could charm everyone, so there was no reason to be upset, especially since his mind was not on this at all.

At first, when the cold-faced man introduced the Rangers, the Demon Hunter thought they were just patrol soldiers with a different title. However, after seeing the scale of the camp, its facilities, and the training of the personnel, the Demon Hunter immediately dismissed his previous view—patrol soldiers with such complete facilities would be too luxurious even for the headquarters in Shaker!

This was the headquarters cultivating a loyal fighting force!

Ye Qi made his final judgment—although the Demon Hunter Guild was widespread and had many members, most Demon Hunters and the guild had a relationship similar to that of mercenaries and employers or intermediaries. Even Apostles trained at the headquarters were no exception.

For a Demon Hunter Guild, it was good to be able to quickly gather a large fighting force, but if these forces were unruly and difficult to command, it would be unacceptable!

Therefore, there must be a fighting force that absolutely obeyed them! Clearly, the Rangers were that force! This also explained why the most outstanding Apostles of each session were sent here for training—the Rangers, as the guild's own fighting force, needed to have outstanding combat capabilities. These capabilities could not be forged through training alone, so the best new Apostles from all over the country each year became their free and useful whetstones!

Indeed, this transfer order was not so simple!

Thinking that he might also become someone else's whetstone, the Demon Hunter couldn't help but sneer at himself.

"The Ranger camp has a total of eight units, and this is one of them. There are 150 official members..." The female cavalry captain gave Ye Qi, who was visiting the Ranger camp for the first time, a brief introduction, and finally pointed to a nearby stable: "Since you have temporarily joined the Rangers, it is necessary to choose your own warhorse!"

Following the female cavalry captain's white finger, the Demon Hunter saw the warhorses tied in the stable. However, the Demon Hunter couldn't help but frown, not because the horses were bad or defective, but because he simply didn't know how to ride...