Merit Shared Equally (Part One)

The power of the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove was fully revealed at that moment. The dark cyan Light Blade descending from the sky was affected by the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove's pull on the Beta Flying Demon and forcibly changed direction, shooting straight toward Long Haochen. When it turned, it was less than five meters away from Zhang Hairong.

Protected by the Holy Spirit Shield, Long Haochen was struck with a resounding clang. His body was violently smashed from the air to the ground.

In his charging state, he had no way to use Divine Obstruction. Fortunately, this was only an ordinary Beta Flying Demon. Long Haochen was uninjured when he landed.

Affected by the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove, the Beta Flying Demon instantly swooped down. Dozens of Wind Blades glimmering with bluish-black light concentrated their bombardment on Long Haochen.

What made Beta Flying Demons so troublesome was their attack speed. The wind element made both their flight and attacks incredibly fast. Moreover, the skills they used were innate abilities, almost all of them instant-cast. Their attacks were powerful, all dual-elemental, and they often launched surprise attacks from the air.

A fiery red glow instantly spread out before Long Haochen. Lin Xin's Elemental Shield had arrived. Not only was his defensive magic powerful, but with the Fire Cloud Crystal, he could cast it exceptionally quickly.

Piercing shrieks exploded continuously in the air as the Beta Flying Demon's Wind Blades were all blocked by the fire elemental shield.

The Beta Flying Demon was no fool. As creatures with inherited knowledge, they possessed considerable intelligence. Seeing that the situation had turned unfavorable, it spread its wings and prepared to flee into the sky.

Unfortunately, it could no longer escape.

When it swooped down to attack Long Haochen, it had already entered within twenty-five meters of him. The Saint Origin Spiritual Stove's pull activated.

Both were Fifth Rank, so Long Haochen naturally could not drag the Beta Flying Demon down with the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove, but it was more than enough to slow it.

A massive shield gleaming with sharp light soared into the air, while a holy light-infused flying hammer came hurtling in from the side.

A layer of dark cyan radiance burst from the Beta Flying Demon's body as it tried to block the two attacks.

But Wang Yuanyuan and Sima Xian had both struck with all their strength. Amid a thunderous crash, the Beta Flying Demon in the air let out a miserable shriek. Half of its left wing had been snapped off.

A priest's Holy Light Hammer was inherently highly damaging to demons. It directly negated the Beta Flying Demon's defense, and was Wang Yuanyuan's Giant Spirit God Shield really so easy to block? Fortunately, the Beta Flying Demon's body was tough enough that only half its wing was broken. But that was enough to make it lose its balance, and it immediately fell toward the ground.

Dark golden light shot into the sky. Zhang Hairong, who had only just recovered from his shock, saw the petite girl behind Long Haochen tap her Green Bamboo Staff against the ground. The instant after the bamboo staff bent, she had already risen twenty meters into the air. Then, phantom-like dark golden flashes alternated seven or eight times in the sky. That figure descended from the heavens together with the Beta Flying Demon.

Before the Beta Flying Demon could even hit the ground, Lin Xin pointed his Fire Cloud Crystal. A ring of fiery light wrapped around the now-corpse of the Beta Flying Demon and tugged it backward. The next instant, it too vanished into his absurdly impressive storage ring.

The commotion behind them was so great that even the armored elite soldiers who had just moved up could not help turning around. Seeing a Beta Flying Demon killed just like that, they were utterly shocked.

Were these really ordinary soldiers from the Infantry Battalion? Since when did the Infantry Battalion have mages and assassins?

Long Haochen and the others had already retreated with Zhang Hairong and the soldiers of Infantry Battalion One. The way the infantrymen looked at them had completely changed, their gazes clearly carrying a measure of reverence.

Because Long Haochen and the others had joined the battle, Infantry Battalion One's casualties that day had dropped sharply. Only a little over ten had died, while fewer than fifty were injured. This was unprecedented. On the battlefield, low-rank infantry like them suffered losses the fastest.

"Brother, thanks."

Zhang Hairong patted Long Haochen on the shoulder and laughed heartily.

Long Haochen said, "We are your personal guards. Protecting you is our duty."

Zhang Hairong gave him a long look, raised a thumb at him, and led the infantrymen down from the city walls. As they retreated, they could see clusters of golden light appearing in the sky. At least a hundred knights riding flying mounts had joined the battle, their target being the Marchosias Clan Beta Flying Demons, one of which Long Haochen's group had just slain.

Long Haochen and the others did not notice that as they withdrew from the city wall, a pair of beautiful eyes filled with complex emotions had been following their figures from the tower until they disappeared completely.

On the city tower, Sheng Lingxin stood in the center in full military attire, his gaze cold and stern. Orders were continuously issued, and the entire Demon Expelling Pass operated at high speed like a precision machine. A series of deployments was constantly made in response to the demon army's fierce assault. A full eleven hundred mages had been divided into ten groups and, under Lan Yanyu's command, took turns casting spells. Once they finished, they immediately went to the rear to restore their spiritual power. Another twenty Guardian Knights were specifically assigned to cast the same Spirit Gathering Halo as Long Haochen to assist them.

With the heavy firepower bombardment from these mages and the Magic Guided Cannons, the attacking demons suffered heavy losses.

Appearing at Demon Expelling Pass alongside the elite soldiers was also a special force three thousand strong. They wore only light leather armor, and every one of them wielded a pair of short blades. They moved across the city walls, and whenever powerful demons climbed onto the walls, they immediately assisted the elite soldiers in intercepting them.

This was a force directly under the Assassin Temple. Only the Assassin Temple could assemble such a large number of mid- and high-rank assassins at once. These assassins were all at least Fourth Rank. They were the backbone of Demon Expelling Pass.

After descending from Demon Expelling Pass, Zhang Hairong led his soldiers swiftly back to the Barracks. The wounded were sent for treatment, while the dead were registered before dedicated logistics personnel transported them away for cremation.

"Go back and rest while you can. Who knows how long those demon bastards will keep attacking? We may be back on the battlefield before long. Dismissed."

The infantrymen dispersed in an orderly fashion and returned to their Barracks. As they left, most could not help glancing toward the seven-person squad behind Zhang Hairong, and many raised their thumbs at them, especially those soldiers who had been enhanced and protected by Han Yu and Lin Xin.

Long Haochen straightened his chest. It felt as though a fire was burning within him. Yes, only by truly experiencing war could one feel its cruelty and the bond between comrades. The soldiers had not expressed anything to them in words, but their gestures and eyes had already said much. Long Haochen knew that after this battle, the Soldier Grade One Demon Hunt Squad had truly earned the recognition of the soldiers of Infantry Battalion One.

Zhang Hairong turned to look at Long Haochen's group of seven and laughed. "You're all good men. Hurry back, wash up, and get some rest. Things on the battlefield are unpredictable. You might be sent back up before you have rested long. The most brutal battle we ever fought lasted seven days and seven nights. Our defenders were reduced to fewer than ten thousand before we finally drove back the demon army. But the demons suffered terrible losses too. They did not come to harass us again for three whole months. I heard that in that battle alone, more than twenty Eighth Rank powerhouses were lost between both sides."

"Yes, Battalion Commander." Long Haochen's salute was noticeably more standard this time.

Zhang Hairong sighed softly. "It would be wonderful if you could always remain soldiers of my battalion. But I'm afraid we will not be together for long." With that, he turned and left, his eyes full of regret. Yet he knew that Demon Hunt Squad elites were not people he could keep. Outside every Barracks was a small room specifically for washing up. In truth, only Long Haochen, Sima Xian, and Wang Yuanyuan, who had fought at the front, really needed cleaning. The other four had barely gotten any grime on themselves. Ladies first, so Wang Yuanyuan went first, followed by Sima Xian, while Long Haochen, as the captain, washed last. He told everyone not to rest yet, as he had something to discuss with them.

Before long, the three had finished washing one after another. After closing the door, Long Haochen said, "During today's battle on the walls, our coordination has improved somewhat. There are two things I want to discuss with you. The first is about obeying orders. After all, we are in a military camp. Obeying orders is a soldier's foremost requirement. If we disobey orders, even if it is to kill more enemies, it may still cause dissatisfaction from the military. So I ask everyone to restrain yourselves a little."

Long Haochen was young, and he had not been captain for very long. Although everyone had become increasingly convinced by him, he had not yet established true authority. Thus, he paid close attention to his wording and tried to put things as tactfully as possible.

Sima Xian rubbed his bald head. "I got a little carried away with the killing just now. I'll reflect on it."

Wang Yuanyuan shot him a glance. "I don't care about military orders and all that, but I'll listen to you, Haochen."

Everyone had seen Long Haochen's performance on the battlefield. For the sake of the team, he had given up using the abilities of a Punishment Knight, and he had continuously used the Spirit Gathering Halo to help everyone recover spiritual power, always putting the bigger picture first. He was increasingly looking like the core of the team. The atmosphere within the group was excellent. Although Wang Yuanyuan was stubborn by nature, she was deeply convinced by this young man who was several years younger than herself.

Chen Yinger stuck out her tongue. "I only have that one ability. I can't exactly disobey orders even if I wanted to!"

The three of them stated their positions in turn. As for Cai'er, Han Yu, and Lin Xin, naturally, they had no objections.

Long Haochen smiled. "Thank you, everyone. Here's the thing. I've thought it over carefully. Our training at Demon Expelling Pass will last a total of three months. This is also the process through which we newly promoted Demon Hunt Squads gradually develop teamwork. When we leave, the military at Demon Expelling Pass should give us an evaluation."