The Military's Order Was Just Four Words

Jiang Chuan gazed into the distance and saw a streak of Five-Colored Light shooting into the sky.

The Five-Colored Light was incomparably dazzling, dyeing the azure sky in a riot of colors.

A terrifying, soul-chilling aura surged forth like a breached ocean.

Jiang Chuan felt like a drowning traveler, finding even breathing difficult.

"What... what kind of demonic beast is that?!"

"Screech!!!"

Accompanied by an enraged cry.

A gigantic peacock, pure white from head to toe as though carved from jade and radiating Five-Colored Light, rose into the air in the distance.

Run!

Run fast!

Jiang Chuan instinctively wanted to flee, but then he saw the White Peacock flap its wings and streak eastward like a bolt of lightning.

"Isn't this peacock supposed to be attacking humans?" Jiang Chuan was greatly surprised.

Ji Xuan immediately gave the order. "Everyone, fall back to Nandu City's perimeter position."

Following Ji Xuan's command, Jiang Chuan returned with the main force to Nandu City's perimeter position.

The powerful White Peacock exerted immense pressure, leaving many people deeply worried about the battles to come.

Jiang Chuan was helpless as well. The White Peacock's strength was simply beyond anything he could handle.

If the White Peacock truly came charging over, the only thing he could do was hope that the high-level cultivators could stop it.

Having once again recognized how weak he was, Jiang Chuan began secluded cultivation, tempering his bones with two kinds of spiritual power.

By evening, the military had uncovered the full story behind the White Peacock incident.

The Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult had stolen the White Peacock's egg!

The Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult was an evil cult as notorious as the Blood Sea Divine Cult. Its vicious reputation even slightly surpassed that of the Blood Sea Divine Cult, rivaling the Twilight End Society.

The White Peacock had originally been an established Seven Realm Demon King east of Nandu City, commanding numerous demonic beasts.

When the Immortal Light descended, the White Peacock had been laying eggs. It had therefore summoned numerous avian demonic beasts to guard it, while ordering other demonic beasts to block Nandu City's troops.

That was why Jiang Chuan and the others had encountered no avian demonic beast attacks while firing artillery and launching rockets.

The White Peacock was extremely weak while giving birth, and the Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult seized that opportunity.

They not only slaughtered numerous avian demonic beasts, but also snatched the egg laid by the White Peacock in one stroke.

After obtaining the White Peacock's egg, the Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult immediately left.

But this group was clever too. They knew that if they headed toward Nandu City, they would likely be killed by cultivators from the military, the Public Security Bureau, the City Lord's Mansion, and Immortal Gate High School.

So they directly carried the White Peacock's egg toward the fallen city of Changcheng.

Demon Kings each had their own territories. If a Demon King like the White Peacock rashly entered another Demon King's territory, it could very likely spark a war between Demon Kings.

The White Peacock pursued them toward Changcheng, launching attacks all along the way. The demonic beasts along its route suffered a bloody disaster, with devastating casualties.

The military seized this excellent opportunity and issued a concise four-word order.

Charge hard, hit hard!

And then...

Jiang Chuan and the others suffered.

Using night-vision drones, the military easily located the habitats of all kinds of demonic beasts.

Jiang Chuan and the many soldiers became ruthless artillery-firing machines.

Artillery fire lit up the pitch-black night sky. Without the White Peacock's commands, the numerous demonic beasts were like headless flies.

Under the artillery barrage, they scattered and fled in every direction.

After firing for several hours, Jiang Chuan and the others had no time to rest before driving forward more than ten kilometers.

By the end, Jiang Chuan and the others were on tenterhooks.

They were not worried about pushing deep in without a defensive position. They were worried that the Type 18 155mm Howitzer would explode!

Practical Coordination of Thermal Weapons and Cultivators clearly recorded that the barrel life of large-caliber artillery was only five hundred to a thousand rounds.

Jiang Chuan and the others had fired more than four hundred shells over the past few days. And this Type 18 155mm Howitzer had already been in service for some time—it was an old gun.

Later, they simply found a rope, tied it to the pull-cord trigger, and pulled it from ten meters away.

Three days later, the battle of charging hard and hitting hard finally came to a temporary end.

It was not because orders had come down from above, but because the people below truly could not endure any longer.

With the thunder of artillery and rockets, the drone buzz, and the roars of beasts, Jiang Chuan and the others had barely managed to sleep for three days. The moment their eyes closed, they would snap open again.

The moment the battle ended, Jiang Chuan did not even have time to remove his battle armor before falling directly into sleep.

Who knew how long passed before Jiang Chuan slowly woke up.

What entered his sight was the camouflage canopy of a truck, along with a lock of red hair.

Turning his eyes, Jiang Chuan saw Meng Nanxi in silver-white battle armor, sleeping with her back to him.

A breeze blew over, brushing her red-and-black hair across Jiang Chuan's face.

Jiang Chuan did not disturb Meng Nanxi. He carefully climbed down from the truck.

The sky was only just beginning to brighten. Flames crackled as they burned through firewood.

The moment Jiang Chuan got down, he saw Kang Bo sitting excitedly beside the campfire, repeatedly checking his Electronic Smart Communicator.

"What are you looking at? Why are you so excited?"

Jiang Chuan spoke as he sat down beside Kang Bo.

"Jiang Chuan, you're awake."

Kang Bo pointed at his Electronic Smart Communicator. "The major battle has come to a temporary end, and the principal is very satisfied with our performance. Not only did he issue our Elite Class monthly Contribution Points early, he also gave each of us an extra batch of Contribution Points."

"I got 260 Contribution Points in total. I'm thinking about what treasure to exchange them for. By the way, how many Contribution Points did you get?"

"Let me see."

Jiang Chuan raised his right hand, opened the God of War APP, and entered his personal center.

The number 621 appeared before Jiang Chuan's eyes.

Kang Bo leaned over, and when he saw Jiang Chuan's Merit Points, his face went blank.

"Wait, we all killed demonic beasts together. Why did they give you so much?!"

Kang Bo's voice was filled with jealousy.

"Maybe it's because I'm handsome."

Jiang Chuan made a joke, though he knew perfectly well that it was most likely because Ji Xuan had seen him kill numerous demonic beasts alone and awarded him an extra reward.

Jiang Chuan then began browsing the treasures available for exchange in the God of War APP.

He did not look at jade iron, crystals, talismans, battle armor, or such items. He went straight to the pill section.

After witnessing the strength of Qu Shi, Ji Xuan, the White Peacock Demon King, and the others, Jiang Chuan had deeply realized that he was still very weak.

Thus, he desperately wanted to raise his cultivation realm!

Before long, he found pills suitable for his current needs.

"White Cloud Bone Refining Pill, a Mysterious Grade Low-Rank pill created by the ancient Daoist White Cloud. It can assist with Bone Strengthening. Each pill costs 200 Contribution Points."

"About two White Cloud Bone Refining Pills can help a cultivator complete Bone Strengthening. Two pills cost 400 Contribution Points. Cultivation really burns money!"

Jiang Chuan once again keenly felt just how much cultivation burned money.

After all, 99 Contribution Points could be exchanged for D-grade Alloy Battle Armor and alloy weapons worth more than three million Great Xia Coin.

Three hundred Contribution Points were equivalent to ten million Great Xia Coin, yet now they could only buy two pills used to break through a minor realm.

But Jiang Chuan still exchanged for them without hesitation.

Three days of charging hard and hitting hard had pushed the main force more than a hundred kilometers toward Changcheng.

The closer they got to the location where the Immortal Light had descended, the stronger the demonic beasts became.

If a Demon King charged their formation in the coming battles, Jiang Chuan would not be surprised in the slightest.

Under such circumstances, he had to increase his strength as much as possible so that he could survive this brutal battlefield.

After placing the order, Jiang Chuan looked at his remaining 321 Contribution Points and continued selecting pills that could assist with blood changing.

"Purple Pearl Pill, Wood Qilin Pill, White Egret Pill—why are blood-changing pills nearly twice as expensive as Bone Strengthening pills?"

Looking at the prices of pill after pill, Jiang Chuan really wanted to ask the military, Are you robbing us?!

Only after scrolling all the way to the bottom did Jiang Chuan find the sole blood-changing pill he could afford: the Purple Jade Blood Changing Pill, worth 310 Contribution Points.

After ordering three pills, Jiang Chuan looked at his mere 11 remaining Contribution Points and suddenly felt that perhaps his stomach really was not all that good.

After the sun rose, Meng Nanxi, Song Zhiyan, and the others got up. Qu Shi arrived with Wei Beishan and several other teachers.

Qu Shi and the others had come for a simple purpose: to ask Jiang Chuan and the others what firearms they needed.

The period of charging hard and hitting hard had produced impressive results, but it had also caused a problem.

The demonic beasts had not been completely exterminated!

Previously, because the White Peacock had been laying eggs, the demonic beasts in the area had poured out in full force under its command.

When Jiang Chuan and the others attacked, the demonic beasts had basically all been wiped out.

Now that they had lost the White Peacock's control, the demonic beasts scattered and fled beneath the artillery fire.

Furthermore, because they had been charging hard and hitting hard, everyone had not had a moment to catch their breath and conduct a thorough search to hunt down the demonic beasts.

After an overnight meeting, the military decided to form cleanup teams from the military, the Public Security Bureau, the City Lord's Mansion, and Immortal Gate High School to eliminate the demonic beasts hiding within the occupied regions.

Considering that most Elite Class students actually lacked close-combat killing methods, the military had specially approved the distribution of firearms to the Elite Class.

Then, after Qu Shi and the others pressed for it, the military specially approved Rocket Launchers as well.

After discussing it, Qu Shi and the others felt that the most crucial weapons were Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifles and Rocket Launchers. As long as a five-person Combat Team was equipped with these two items, demonic beasts below the Fourth Realm would basically be easy prey.

That was why Qu Shi and the others were allowing the students to choose whichever firearms they wanted this time.

If they did not mind the weight, they could even apply for two.

"Teacher Qu Shi, I want the Great Xia Type 99 General Purpose Machine Gun, modified from the PKM."

Without any hesitation, Jiang Chuan named the gun of his dreams.

Qu Shi said irritably, "You kill Third Realm demonic beasts as easily as slaughtering dogs. What do you need a gun for? Next."

Jiang Chuan: "..."

No, killing Third Realm demonic beasts like slaughtering dogs and asking for a gun were two separate matters.

You could not deny me the treatment I deserved just because I was strong!

In the end, after Jiang Chuan repeatedly protested, Qu Shi reluctantly wrote Great Xia Type 99 General Purpose Machine Gun after Jiang Chuan's name.

The military moved quickly. Jiang Chuan and the others had barely finished breakfast before weapons and ammunition were delivered to every Combat Team.

Besides weapons and ammunition, the military also issued every team a drone, a signal gun, individual rations, a First Aid Kit, and other supplies.

At nine o'clock, after their areas had been assigned, Jiang Chuan and the others officially set out and began their cleanup mission.

Bang!

Jiang Chuan drove his great spear into the ground, levering a broken tree trunk into the air.

"This godforsaken road really isn't meant for people to walk on."

Song Zhiyan grumbled as she operated the drone for reconnaissance while hurrying onward.

Meng Nanxi, Song Zhiyi, and the others all nodded.

After being baptized by artillery fire, broken stones, snapped trees, shells, and cannonballs lay everywhere.

It made this already roadless region even more rugged and difficult to traverse.

"That's why those above assigned us cultivators to carry out the cleanup mission."

Holding his great spear, Jiang Chuan strode at the very front of the team.

"If ordinary people came here, their stamina would be spent before they even made ten li."

"Huh? Jiang Chuan, Sister, come take a look."

Hearing Song Zhiyan's voice, Jiang Chuan and the others gathered around.

The image transmitted by the drone showed a stretch of scorched black earth.

Ashes and blackened trees covered the ground. Amid the black earth was a trail of messy footprints.

"Isn't our Combat Team the only one assigned to clean up this area?"

Jiang Chuan frowned slightly and voiced his guess. "Could we have run into those Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult cultists?"

"It's possible."

Meng Nanxi nodded. "The White Peacock is a Demon King. Even though it was weakened while giving birth, it still had numerous avian demonic beasts guarding it. The chance of a single high-level official from the Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult succeeding would be very low."

"The Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult most likely sent many cultivators to assist in seizing the peacock egg laid by the White Peacock."

"Should we report this now?" Song Zhiyan asked.

"No. At present, we cannot rule out the possibility that another team passed through this area as a shortcut."

Jiang Chuan pointed at the image on the screen. "If they were Fourth Realm cultivators, they could fly through the air and should not have left footprints. Even if they are Immortal Slaughter Divine Cult cultists, they are most likely a group that has not broken through to the Fourth Realm."

"My suggestion is that we investigate first. Once we confirm their identities, we can make the next plan."

"I agree."

"I agree too."

Jiang Chuan immediately led everyone toward the drone's location.

After reaching the scorched black earth, Jiang Chuan and the others followed the footprints onward.

Before long, several figures appeared in Jiang Chuan and the others' sight.