Chapter 28

"Such things I've seen many times. The first time I 'attended class,' I performed even worse than you. I even vomited and was mocked for a long time after that," the old soldier said.

Qianye could sense the old soldier's concern and kindness, and he weakly smiled.

The old soldier pointed to the raging fire and said heavily, "This can't be blamed on anyone. Everyone's death is because of the vampires. Do you know, I once shot through my own brother's heart because he was bitten by a vampire! From that day on, I swore that I would not retire until I had killed all the damned black-blooded bastards in this world! Even if I die of old age, I will die on the battlefield!"

The transport vehicle fell silent, the rookies were shaken, and many of the old soldiers were reminded of many old stories. Everyone could tell some story related to blood slaves.

The burning city gradually disappeared on the horizon, but the flames remained in Qianye's heart.

After returning to the base, Qianye received a piece of bad news and a piece of good news.

The bad news was that Lin Xitang had passed through Qinlu two days ago and had taken a detour to the capital to report. When his adjutant contacted the Red Scorpion headquarters, Qianye was already on the battlefield.

The good news was that Qianye received his first letter from home, if a letter from Wei Potian could be considered a family letter. The envelope was made of snow-white paper, with a pattern of a headless winged angel embossed in dark gold thread.

When Nan Bati saw it, he snorted, "That bird's stuff is always so flashy and insubstantial."

Qianye poured out a silver empty shell from the envelope, and his expression immediately became somewhat subtle.

After unfolding the letter, he learned that this thing was made by Wei Potian himself. Or more accurately, the shell was an industrial product, but the array inside, used to compress the force, was his first successful etching, which he immediately showed off.

During his days at the Fallen Angel, Wei Potian did not waste time. He broke through to the third-level combat soldier and, due to the family's secret techniques, quickly mastered the ability to etch force, allowing him to make physical force bullets by hand. In the letter, Wei Potian issued a challenge but was also troubled by how to pay off his debts, three times!

Qianye crumpled the letter and the envelope into a ball and threw them into the wastebasket, then tossed the shell high, the silver light drawing a reverse U-shaped trajectory in the air before falling back into his palm.

The military competition was still six months away.

In the following months, Qianye continuously applied for missions, almost shuttling through various battlefields. He rose like a comet, known for his extremely calm and ruthless killing style.

The number of dark races killed by Qianye increased rapidly, and his achievements soared, finally topping the charts, surpassing countless shining geniuses among the Red Scorpion rookies and many noble family children!

Qianye seemed to be a natural warrior and a killer. His team cooperation was excellent, but he became even more dangerous when acting alone. In any environment, Qianye could find something to exploit, thereby continuously amplifying his advantages in battle.

With the killing of a blood race warrior equivalent to a fourth-level combat soldier, the part of Qianye's combat instincts that leaned towards being a killer seemed to awaken. From then on, the casualty rate of mid-level dark race warriors in places where Qianye appeared began to soar.

Nan Bati was both pleased and worried about Qianye's changes. He had to force Qianye to reduce the number of missions he took on by order. Since Qianye was not yet eighteen, he had a more promising future, and at this stage, Nan Bati believed that Qianye needed more time to cultivate force, which was the correct path to becoming the strongest.

Qianye naturally obeyed the orders of the Tiger Scorpion battalion commander without question.

Thus, among the new recruits of this batch, Qianye's reputation gradually spread, and it was said that he had already caught the attention of several deputy corps commanders.

In the eyes of many, Qianye was a rising star, destined to shine brightly in the military realm of the empire. His name had already made it onto the observation lists of some noble families, and some families had even discussed whether to include him in their recruitment range.

A bright road was being laid out before Qianye!

The only regret in Qianye's heart was that he had still not met Lin Xitang. In the course of his missions, Qianye gradually became familiar with the military, which had previously existed only in documents, and slowly came to deeply understand the weight behind the title of "General Lin."

Lin Xitang's background was not particularly outstanding. The Lin family had a long military tradition, but most were mid-to-lower-level officers. By the time of his father, they were merely hereditary viscounts. In the empire's system of dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons, they barely touched the fringes of high society.

Such a family could only provide Lin Xitang with a decent starting platform. After that, everything depended on himself.

Lin Xitang's nearly thirty-year military career saw him fight hundreds of battles, with few defeats. Even when facing the most powerful dark races, his defeats were so flawless that the imperial military could not find fault.

However, Lin Xitang was not just a military genius. He also had great talent in handling local government affairs and, due to his cultivation of the Great Derivation Heavenly Mechanism, discovered countless talents for the empire. In short, Lin Xitang was almost a versatile figure.

Thus, he was promoted to marshal at just over forty, becoming the youngest of the empire's ten marshals, and was known alongside his contemporary, Zhang Boqian, as the "Imperial Twin Jewels"!

Zhang Boqian was another type of person, almost the opposite of Lin Xitang in every aspect. Zhang Boqian came from a true noble family, with ancestors who had followed the founding emperor to establish the empire and were once granted the title of Qingyang King.

Now, the Zhang family firmly held the top position among the empire's four major noble families. The Qingyang Zhang family had four branches, each with a hereditary duke as the head. The family's achievements in both civil and military affairs were second only to the imperial family.

Zhang Boqian was a genius in military strategy, surpassing even Lin Xitang in this aspect. He was also one of the empire's top martial artists, with unparalleled martial arts. This man's style was bloodthirsty and ruthless, and the amount of blood on his hands made even the dark races tremble!

However, Zhang Boqian was a mess in political affairs. He hated trouble and solved it by eliminating it. He often said, "If you kill all the troublesome people, there will be no more trouble, right?"

Although Qianye knew about Lin Xitang's prominent status, the clearest impression in his heart was still that warm, solid hand.

However, Lin Xitang was constrained in the western border, unable to move. It was said that the rebels' actions were significant, and he personally went to oversee the situation, yet found it difficult to make progress.

Recently, it was heard that several major generals in the imperial military were stirring, wanting to replace Lin Xitang. Lin Xitang had been summoned to the capital twice, and although he returned quickly both times, no one knew what would happen the next time.

The latest news Qianye heard was that the Northwest General Zhao Weihuang had already begun mobilizing his famous Wolf Smoke Corps, ready to deploy to the rebellious province at any time.

Qianye was secretly worried about Lin Xitang and also curious about what kind of rebels could oppose the empire for hundreds of years.

After joining the Red Scorpions, he deeply felt how vast the empire was! Even with the Red Scorpion Corps' strength, it was difficult to rank among the top three. How powerful must the entire empire's military be!

Perhaps the god of fate was always watching over Qianye. After he became curious, a small mission was assigned to him.

This was indeed a small mission. The Red Scorpions only sent five Black Scorpion-level veterans and Qianye, a rookie, without even calling for local military support. Since it was not a cross-continent mission, the bald captain was responsible for the inland flight again.

Before the airship took off, the bald captain and the temporary team leader, responsible for the operation, verified the mission content. The bald captain's fat face immediately turned serious, and he said coldly, "Those lords just love to do this kind of thing! Rebels? Who doesn't know what's going on?"

The temporary team leader shrugged and said, "What can we do? If their background is so deep that it can make us move, there's no room for change. We might as well get it over with quickly!"

The bald captain suddenly looked up at Qianye and muttered, "Let him see it too! A rookie has to grow up someday, and he needs to see the reality behind the glamour."

Qianye was somewhat bewildered by their conversation and couldn't help but become even more curious about the mission. This was probably not a simple mission.

The airship rose into the sky, flying in its usual wild style. However, this time, Qianye would not be made to vomit. He sat calmly in his seat, resting, and eventually even fell into a light sleep.

Before a battle, every Red Scorpion fighter knew the importance of conserving energy.

The journey lasted three days, and they finally arrived at the mission site at night.

This was a remote province on the edge of the Qin continent. The province had several major noble family territories, and the land directly under imperial control was less than half. The provincial politics were extremely complex.

In the mountains, there was a small town, located next to a gemstone mine, where most of the residents were miners. The mission site was near this town, and it was said that a group of rebels had attacked, causing heavy casualties.

These rebels were very cunning, hiding in the remote mountains and even kidnapping the fiancée of a local viscount. The viscount was helpless against the rebels and had to petition the empire, which sent a small team from the Red Scorpion Corps to resolve the issue.

The airship flew over the town, slowly lowering its altitude, and then hovered 30 meters above the ground. The veterans opened the hatch and jumped down, landing steadily after a drop of several dozen meters.

Qianye grabbed a rope and slid down, pulling the rope to stop his descent when he was 10 meters above the ground, and then let go to land.

Inside the town, over a thousand of the viscount's private army were already stationed. A young officer, no more than twenty, rode out and, upon seeing the Red Scorpion fighters, was taken aback: "Just a few people?"

The team leader frowned and said coldly, "More waste is still waste!"

The young officer, with a proud look, was immediately enraged. "Who are you calling waste? Do you know who I am? A mere soldier, and you dare to shout here!"

Saying this, the officer raised his whip and struck at the team leader's head!

Qianye silently took out his automatic rifle and released the safety. He was not paying attention to the officer but was focused on the noble private army.

Including the bald captain, the Red Scorpions had only seven people this time. If they got into a conflict with the thousand-strong local private army, it would be quite troublesome to kill them all.

PS: It seems there's a review reply event in the book review section today? In addition to the website's prizes, how about I add a bonus? If the 1000th floor is reached today, I'll add an extra chapter tomorrow.

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