Comrades-in-Arms

Su Yu unleashed the Thunder Origin Blade once, expending a great deal. He was currently absorbing Qi Liquid to recover.

At the same time, battles were erupting elsewhere.

The fighting was not especially fierce. The Ten Thousand Races Cult members were bent on fleeing, and there were not many of them. Before long, the squads killed their opponents one after another.

Within the small courtyard, the sounds of battle gradually weakened as well.

Captain Liu rushed back and joined the fight. With his Thousand Jun Ninth Stage strength, dealing with a few fellows in the lower and middle Qianjun Realm was not much of a problem.

Su Yu was fairly satisfied. He had killed a mid-stage Qianjun Realm opponent.

Nothing else aside, two merit points were in hand.

This time, he had killed the man alone. Of course, as an auxiliary member, after killing the opponent, the spoils did not belong to him but to Jifeng Hall. They had to hand everything in collectively before rewards were distributed, and that had nothing to do with Su Yu.

After all, by participating in this operation, he was already riding along for the credit. Without Jifeng Hall's cooperation, Su Yu would not have had the chance to kill a Ten Thousand Races Cult member by himself.

Su Yu looked around but did not see anyone else. The Jifeng Hall members were all gathering toward the small courtyard, surrounding and killing the last remnants.

As for how many Ten Thousand Races Cult members there actually were, Su Yu did not know. Counting them up, there were probably more than ten.

This was no small stronghold. It could already be considered a medium-sized one.

"A medium-sized scale..."

Su Yu was slightly shaken. Once their numbers exceeded ten, it counted as medium-sized.

Just as he was thinking that, Captain Liu suddenly roared from the small courtyard, "Careful! There's a leader among them!"

"Ah!"

A short, shrill scream rang out. The next moment, Captain Liu's furious roar followed—BOOM!

The courtyard wall collapsed completely!

Su Yu's heart jolted, and he hurriedly looked over. At that moment, Captain Liu was fighting a middle-aged man who looked like a consumptive ghost.

Captain Liu wielded a standard military saber, while his opponent used a long staff.

The two fought with broad, sweeping movements, qi erupting around them as the surrounding walls continually crumbled.

On Jifeng Squad's side, someone had already fallen to the ground, while the others surrounded the sickly middle-aged man.

"Little Chen..."

Someone cried out softly, and Su Yu's heart trembled. Little Chen... Brother Chen?

Was Brother Chen the one who had just fallen?

He had spoken to Su Yu in the car only moments ago.

"Second Squad, form up!"

As he fought, Captain Liu roared, "We've caught a leader! Brothers, if we pull this off, it'll be a great merit!"

At his shout, a ten-man squad behind him stepped forward under their captain's lead. In the next moment, iron chains appeared in their hands, each with an axe-like weapon hanging from its end.

Captain Liu swiftly retreated as the wind whistled through the air!

Ten iron chains were flung out by the Jifeng Hall members, detonating the air as they flew.

"Ha!"

The sickly man looked weak and listless, but his voice was full of force at that moment. With a furious shout, he swept his long staff sideways. Bang! Sparks burst from the chains, and one was even smashed apart directly.

The other chains were also sent flying in every direction by his sweeping blow.

"First Squad, move!"

Captain Liu roared again. The small squad that had long been prepared did not waste a word. They thrust the large iron forks in their hands at the man.

The ten men spread out in all directions. The sickly man could not take to the air. With a furious roar, he swung his staff, once again striking the iron forks until sparks flew everywhere.

Without needing Captain Liu's orders, the final squad had already spread out along the perimeter. At that moment, several of them unfolded a large net, which descended from above and swiftly covered the man.

"I knew you'd pull tricks like this!"

The man was somewhat enraged. He roared, stomped the ground, and leaped forward, thrusting his staff straight at the Jifeng Hall member blocking his path.

The Jifeng Hall members quickly circled around the man, never lingering in one place.

The net descended, the chains lashed out, and the iron forks continuously hindered the man's advance.

The man grew increasingly furious!

Meanwhile, Captain Liu had already withdrawn from the encirclement. His gaze was icy, and he did not charge in again. Instead, he prowled around the outside. Whenever the man showed signs of breaking out, Captain Liu struck alongside the squad members and forced him back into the encirclement.

Ten Thousand Stones!

At that moment, Su Yu understood. The Wanshi Realm!

If he were not in the Wanshi Realm, Captain Liu, with his Thousand Jun Ninth Stage strength, would not have needed the others to cooperate. The entire Northern Squad was attacking now.

Several of them were even at the Qianjun Seventh Level.

So many people had still failed to take the man down after so long. It was clear how formidable he was. He had to be a Wanshi Realm expert.

BOOM!

A thunderous blast rang out. Seeing himself surrounded by people weaker than himself, the man flew into a rage and went all out. One blow of his staff smashed an iron fork into fragments. Though the squad member holding it was still several meters away, the force traveled through it and shattered the bones in his hand, blood pouring out like a fountain!

At the same time, the man was struck by an iron chain. The axe blade hanging from it instantly sliced a bloody wound across his leg, and blood flowed without stopping.

"Qianjun killing Wanshi!"

At that moment, Su Yu suddenly understood what his father had meant when he said that on the battlefield, Qianjun could kill Wanshi.

Thirty Qianjun Realm fighters working together—merely the members of Jifeng Hall from a small city—had surrounded their opponent and were wearing him down, grinding him to death.

The Jifeng Hall members were considered elites in Nanyuan, but in truth, on the Battlefields of the Heavens, these people were no longer qualified to continue fighting.

Yet today, they showed Su Yu something: realm was not the only form of suppression.

Two fists could not beat four hands. When faced with a properly organized combat squad, even great strength could get one killed.

"You want to wear me to death? Dream on!"

The man roared, "If I fight to the death, you'll have to lose men too! Liu Pingshan, let me leave! I'll leave Nanyuan, and everyone will have an easier time!"

"I still have a stronghold in Nanyuan, with three hundred gold coins stored there. Consider them the spoils I'm giving you!"

"Liu Pingshan, Nanyuan is only a small city. Are you really going to bury a Jifeng constable squad here?"

Nanyuan was not very strong, and there were not many squads like this in Jifeng Hall. If a Wanshi Realm expert truly fought to the death, perhaps he could not kill them all, but the squad would likely suffer devastating losses in the end.

Captain Liu did not respond. The moment one became a Jifeng constable, one should have considered that this day might come.

Encountering a Wanshi Realm expert was not something he had expected either.

Medium-sized scale... no, this did not truly count.

There were only a dozen or so people. A Qianjun Ninth Stage expert should have been the limit, yet a Wanshi First Level fellow had actually been hidden here.

"No... he may have only broken through recently, so he hadn't had time to be reassigned yet."

The Ten Thousand Races Cult had its own hierarchy, distinctions between high and low. A Wanshi Realm expert should not have been leading such a motley group of soldiers. The other man had likely only recently broken through.

One could tell as much from their earlier fight. The man had not managed to suppress Captain Liu quickly.

"Kill!"

Captain Liu ignored him. The three ten-man squads continued coordinating, draining the man's energy and qi. He could not escape!

"Liu Pingshan! Are you determined to fight me until the fish dies and the net splits?"

The man smashed another iron fork apart with one blow. The squad member holding it coughed up blood and flew backward, the bones in his hand broken. He was clearly unable to fight any longer.

The opening was swiftly filled by others. The large net that had fallen from above was also forcibly torn open by the man, though several more wounds had appeared on his body by then.

In the rear.

Su Yu watched with his heart pounding, then began to hesitate.

The opponent was too strong!

He saw a Qianjun Seventh Level squad member have his arm directly explode beneath a blow from the man's staff. If this went on, just as the man had said, he probably would not escape—but Jifeng Hall would certainly suffer enormous losses.

Su Yu gritted his teeth, stopped hesitating, and ran swiftly toward them.

Before long, Su Yu arrived.

Captain Liu saw him but ignored him. If Su Yu came meddling at a time like this, even if he died, he would have died for nothing. Captain Liu himself could not even guarantee that he would survive.

The opponent was doomed, but on their side, this Northern Squad... after today, it might be crippled as well.

"Captain Liu..."

"Get lost!"

Liu Pingshan roared furiously, turning to glare at Su Yu. If Su Yu disrupted things now, Liu Pingshan could chop him down with one stroke, and no one would dare say a word—not even Liu Wenyan!

Once battle began, this was a battlefield. Even Jifeng Hall had its own battlefield!

Faced with Captain Liu's murderous gaze, Su Yu's heart shook. This was a Jifeng captain who had truly killed many people, not some ordinary official.

"Captain, I can interfere with him!"

Su Yu's voice was low, mixed into the clashing of weapons as he quickly said, "I'm a reserve Civilization Master. I can create an illusion and interfere with him for an instant. Can you use that chance to kill him, Captain Liu?"

"Hmm?"

Captain Liu, who had originally wanted to kick Su Yu away, froze slightly before instantly recovering. "An illusion? How long can you interfere with him?"

"I don't know. Maybe... one second?"

Su Yu was uncertain. He had never tried it before.

Captain Liu looked toward the man still trying to break out. After roughly two or three seconds, he said gravely, "I'll create an opening and give him a chance to break out! You interfere with him. Su Yu, military orders are as unshakable as mountains. I order you to make sure he is affected for at least one second!"

"If I can't do it... I die!"

"If I do it, we kill him, and the squad won't have to lose anyone!"

Captain Liu quickly formed a plan. He would create an opportunity for the man to break out. Su Yu would interfere with him, and Captain Liu would strike in an instant to kill him. If he failed to kill the man, then after delivering a fatal strike at close range, when the man came to his senses, Captain Liu would die. Of course, the man would be seriously wounded too.

Would he gamble?

He did not hesitate!

If he died, the man would be severely wounded and quickly surrounded and killed. The others would not need to make sacrifices.

With battle before him, he had no room to think further.

Many members of Jifeng Hall were veterans who had come down from the Battlefields of the Heavens. Captain Liu was one too. At the critical moment, he was willing to take the gamble.

Su Yu's heart trembled. Military orders...

He did not know whether he could do it. He had previously believed he could, since he had affected Liu Wenyan and the others before. The opponent was only Wanshi; there ought to be at least a tiny effect.

But... if he failed, Captain Liu would die. Could he bear such responsibility?

Captain Liu gave him no opportunity to dwell on it and swiftly shouted, "Second Squad, fall back three meters!"

"First Squad, pin him down!"

The several ten-man squads did not hesitate in the slightest. Orders were carried out without question, and they moved as commanded.

The man roared once more, his long staff whirling so densely that not even water could pass through. He beat the squad members back again and again. Many of their hands were already streaming with blood, but their fighting spirit remained blazing.

Captain Liu moved into the space between First Squad and Second Squad. He did not look at Su Yu again, merely saying in a voice too low to hear, "The moment he breaks through First Squad's encirclement, create the illusion. I'll kill him!"

As for whether Su Yu could seize that opportunity, he did not think about it.

The result would be the same anyway!

The only difference was whether the squad lost him or someone else.

Su Yu's heart rose to his throat. He wanted to swallow essence blood and join the battle, but even after consuming it, he would only have the explosive power of the Qianjun Realm. It would be utterly useless against a Wanshi Realm expert.

Su Yu gritted his teeth. "I can only create an illusion to restrain him!"

"What kind of illusion would work?"

To make someone believe it was real and lose themselves in it, an ordinary illusion definitely would not do.

Su Yu thought rapidly.

"The Hall Master? No, Jifeng Hall's master is only Wanshi..."

"The City Lord... If the City Lord came, perhaps he would only drive him deeper into despair and make him erupt with all his strength."

"I need to give him hope... I can't make him despair..."

Against a Wanshi Realm expert, one surrounded and under attack, something like that would not work.

"Right. I can only create one of his companions, a companion coming to save him..."

In the next moment, Su Yu made his decision.

He knew this decision concerned the life or death of a tough man. He did not know Captain Liu well, but he did not want him to die here.

Nor did he want anyone else to die here!

The man kept trying to break out, and more and more people were being injured.

His own wounds were also multiplying, blood staining his clothes red.

Like a beast driven to despair, the man howled and roared, "Liu Pingshan, if I'm going to die, we die together! Even on the brink of death, I'll kill every last one of you!"

"Talk after you can do it!"

Liu Pingshan's expression did not change. He remained incomparably cold, gripping his saber as he constantly filled gaps in the formation.

Just then, another squad member's iron fork was struck by the man. With a ripping sound, the bones in his hand broke completely, and the iron fork fell.

Liu Pingshan's face changed drastically. "Stop him!"

He rushed over at once, while the man was overjoyed. An opportunity... an opportunity to escape!

How could he have any desire to keep tangling with these people? He had wanted to flee from the start.

As for Liu Pingshan, he had merely been talking. He had never intended to fight him to the death. Who would want to die if they could live?

The instant the man broke out, Liu Pingshan had already arrived before him. At that moment, less than three meters separated them!

With the long staff in his hand, a single downward strike from the man could directly blow Liu Pingshan's head apart.

Of course, if Liu Pingshan struck with his saber without regard for his life, even in his final moment, he could seriously wound the man.

The man had no desire to fight him desperately. Just as he was about to swiftly leave through the breached encirclement, his vision blurred slightly. The next moment, a Ten Thousand Races Cult member who had fled earlier suddenly appeared not far away and shouted, "The Hall Master has come to reinforce us! Keep them here, and it'll be a great merit!"

This Hall Master was not Jifeng Hall's master, but the Ten Thousand Races Cult's Hall Master!

The Hall Master had come?

The man froze, then was overjoyed!

Hall Masters were all Soaring Realm experts!

The Hall Master had actually rushed here!

He recognized the messenger. The man was a member of his squad and had fled earlier. He had not expected him to return.

For him to dare come back now, he clearly had not returned to throw his life away.

In that instant, the man was beside himself with joy!

Not only would he not die this time—he would even earn a merit by wiping out an entire Jifeng Hall squad!

The next moment, a figure tore through the air in the distance before his eyes. The figure was somewhat illusory, but the man paid it no mind. From so far away, a little blurriness meant nothing to him!

He was here!

He had really come!

He was one of their own! If he had been a strong expert from Nanyuan, his subordinates would have long since been dead!

Everything had happened far too quickly. At this moment, the man had no time to consider the flaws, nor was there any time for him to think.

For example, one of his underlings was in the air while the hall master was on the ground. The underling had never met the hall master, so how could he know the hall master had arrived?

The hall master could not possibly announce himself the moment he arrived, shouting that he had come to provide support, could he?

There was no time to think about any of that!

The man only knew that he had been saved!

The desperate resolve in his heart instantly vanished. He could not die. If he held on a little longer, this damned Jifeng Hall squad would be finished!

Just then, the scene before him suddenly became hazy and distorted.

Not far away, Su Yu's head felt as though it were splitting apart. He felt like he was about to explode!

His Willpower was too weak. Acting against someone in the Wanshi Realm now, and doing so with all his strength, had instantly left him feeling drained dry.

But there was enough time.

Captain Liu was too close to the enemy. In that instant, he seized the opportunity as well. That fellow had actually become distracted.

In a life-and-death clash, his opponent had actually lost focus!

Su Yu had succeeded!

Without making a sound, Captain Liu clenched his teeth. His long blade swept out like thunder, slashing down in one brutal stroke!

The explosive crack of air shattered everything—and snapped the man awake.

At that moment, where were his underlings? Where was the hall master? There was only the ferocious-faced Liu Pingshan, and that blade as swift as lightning!

"Civilization Master..."

That was the man's final thought. He could not believe it. A Civilization Master... had come to kill him?

Could Liu Wenyan have come?

"Let's die together!"

With his final despair, the man let out a savage roar. He allowed the long blade to split open his skull as his iron staff crashed down viciously!

Boom!

The staff sent Liu Pingshan flying. Liu Pingshan's shoulder collapsed completely, and his whole body was drenched in blood.

Yet at that moment, Liu Pingshan smiled.

With a thud, the man, who had nearly been cleaved in two, fell to the ground.

He was dead!

"Captain!"

The Jifeng Hall members cried out in alarm. Several Qianjun Seventh Level cultivators rushed forward and added more blows, nearly chopping the man into minced meat before they ran toward Liu Pingshan.

"I'm fine..."

Liu Pingshan endured the agonizing pain. He had only lost the use of one arm. Trading that for a Wanshi kill was worth it!

Liu Pingshan's voice trembled slightly as he quickly said, "Continue searching! Finish off the wounded! Clean up the battlefield!"

After speaking, he turned to look at Su Yu, who stood there with his eyes shut. Su Yu's face was deathly pale. Liu Pingshan bared his teeth in a smile, one that looked especially savage!

Su Long's son... was certainly no coward!

More than ten minutes later.

Su Yu had recovered somewhat. Though his face was still pale, he was much better than before.

Yet Su Yu felt no joy at all now, only silence.

Two had died, and over ten had been injured. That was the result of this battle.

The bodies of the fallen Jifeng Hall members had already been gathered together, lying before everyone now.

Captain Liu briefly wrapped his shoulder wound. That arm was completely ruined, but he did not care much. Suppressing his grief, he bared his teeth and smiled. "Well done. We killed thirteen of them, including one Wanshi Realm cultivator. That's a great merit!"

"As for the two brothers who left us..."

Liu Pingshan's smile was somewhat savage, his face utterly mangled as he said, "Once you step onto the battlefield, you prepare for this! If they died, Nanyuan will pay three hundred thousand in compensation, and Great Xia Prefecture will pay another two hundred thousand. Five hundred thousand... and if us brothers chip in, together with the rewards for this merit, damn it, that's another million in hand!"

"It's just a pity about Little Chen. He was still young... That old fox Old Zhou, though, didn't lose out!"

Captain Liu grimaced. It was impossible to tell whether he was laughing or crying. His face was streaked with blood, and his smile twisted his features grotesquely.

Little Chen was dead. He had been the young Jifeng Hall officer who had spoken to Su Yu in the vehicle earlier, and he had been the first to die.

He had been the first to spot the enemy, hidden atop the roof of the storeroom in the small courtyard.

So the enemy had struck with full force, showing no mercy whatsoever, killing him in a single blow.

Su Yu stood to one side, silent.

He had seen dead people before, but Brother Chen had just been talking to him. Now he was gone. Su Yu could not describe what he felt.

His father... was fighting in the even crueler Battlefields of the Heavens!

A hundred, a thousand times crueler than this!

"Ten Thousand Races Cult... Myriad Races of the Heavens..."

Su Yu murmured inwardly. At that moment, he suddenly began to hate the Sixth Generation Academy Head of Civilization Academy. He had heard that... the Sixth Generation Academy Head wanted to admit beasts from the Myriad Races.

At that moment, he suddenly did not want to go to Civilization Academy anymore!

He did not want to stay in the same academy as those beasts of the Myriad Races!

He suddenly understood why Xia Longwu had so fiercely refused to let those beasts of the Myriad Races enter Great Xia Prefecture. Seeing the fallen soldiers, seeing fallen comrades-in-arms, if it were Su Yu, he would not be able to endure it either. He could not bear it!

The Ten Thousand Races Cult were merely dogs they had raised. Now the dogs' masters had come, and they wanted to enter the academy openly and honorably, to study alongside them...

Su Yu gritted his teeth. He did not want to stay with those beasts!

At this very moment, he had no thoughts of earning merits, no thoughts of the Merit Points that would soon be his. He had only one thought: those beasts should be slaughtered to the last one!

At some point, Captain Liu had walked over. With his bloodstained left hand, he patted Su Yu on the shoulder and smiled. "Good lad! From now on, you're one of us—a comrade-in-arms who lives and dies with us! The next time you see your father, it'd be fine to call him an old comrade!"

Su Yu bared his teeth and forced a smile, but he could not truly smile.

"Don't overthink it. We make our living this way, licking blood from the edge of a blade. We have to see life and death for what they are! It wasn't a loss for them to die. Of course, you're still young, so when you get to the academy, study hard and cultivate diligently. Become stronger, kill more beasts—that is the responsibility of your generation!"

Captain Liu said solemnly, "Don't be afraid, and don't think we got the worse end of the deal. Two exchanged for thirteen—it was worth it! In the Battlefields of the Heavens, if you can kill several times your own number of enemies, that's an enormous profit!"

"The Ten Thousand Races Cult is nothing but a skin disease! What year does Great Xia Prefecture not kill until rivers of blood flow?"

Captain Liu patted Su Yu again, smiling savagely. "If you don't want people to die, if you don't want to watch your comrades fall before your eyes, then work hard! If you were in the Soaring Realm, no one would have died today. We're old, crippled, but you still have hope and opportunity!"

"Reach the Soaring Realm sooner. The city lord is old, Instructor Liu is old too. If you can return after reaching the Soaring Realm, and lead Nanyuan in the future, perhaps... fewer of us will die!"

The Soaring Realm—this was Captain Liu's hope for Su Yu.

Was the Soaring Realm difficult?

It was far too difficult!

At least, that was the case in Nanyuan. Every year, quite a few people went to Great Xia Prefecture for further study, but how many ultimately reached the Soaring Realm?

He was only encouraging Su Yu, yet he truly believed Su Yu had a chance.

Kaiyuan Eighth Stage!

Even if this kid could not become a Civilization Master, in another ten or twenty years, he still had hope of reaching the Soaring Realm through physical cultivation and becoming another soaring prodigy of Nanyuan.

Civilization Masters were too far away, but the Soaring Realm... the hope was immense!

How long had it been since Nanyuan itself had produced a Soaring Realm expert?

"Mm!"

Su Yu nodded heavily. He wanted to reach the Soaring Realm. No—he wanted to become even stronger!

What his teacher had not taught him, this squad had taught him today: life and death!

The life and death of comrades, the life and death of brothers-in-arms!

To fight bathed in blood was not for any one person, nor for any high-ranking official. It was for himself, for these blood-soaked comrades, for the comrades who fought without cease above the heavens!