First to Ascend

Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunshots rang out in the mountains and forests. Upon hearing the order, hundreds of Overseeing Bureau Inspectors holding Tiger-style Rifles raised their guns and fired.

Several Tranquil God Sect members on the hillside, armed with crude muskets, immediately panicked and turned to flee. Two were hit by bullets and fell to the ground.

Li Fei drew his saber and followed the crowd up the hillside at a leisurely pace.

From the hillside, they could see a mountain stronghold below. In the center of the stronghold was an altar made of piled stones. A bizarre pattern, the symbol of the Tranquil God Sect, was etched on the altar with the blood of some unknown animal.

"Sir, it's here! It's here!"

Liu A'si, who was leading the way, pointed excitedly at the stronghold below.

"Good, well done. You'll receive a reward when we get back."

Lu Sheng nodded and turned to look at Wang Ping.

Wang Ping looked down, his face also showing excitement:

"I sensed a very strong magical ritual on that altar. Such an altar must be used for important sect ceremonies. This should be the headquarters of the Tranquil God Sect!"

Destroying a cult headquarters and completely eradicating a cult would earn him enough merit to exchange for the Implant he needed for his Dao Foundation.

He was already impatient.

"Attack and try to capture them alive!"

Wang Ping issued the order.

Lu Sheng turned and called over three company commanders: "Second Company, flank from the left. Third Company, flank from the right. First Company, charge straight down."

"Yes!"

The three company commanders accepted the order and left.

As for the Military Academy students, they had been assigned to various companies in advance to act together with them.

Li Fei, Lu Changwu, and others were assigned to the First Company, directly under the command of Lu Sheng.

Attacking from the front naturally meant the greatest merit.

Lu Changwu revealed a smug expression and said to Li Fei and the others in a low voice:

"Brothers, let's act according to the situation. Our chance has come."

Soon, the main force rushed down the hillside and began to attack the stronghold.

The stronghold's gate had a wooden wall more than three meters high, and people on the wall were firing back with muskets and bows.

However, the effective range of the muskets was only fifty meters. Beyond that, the lead bullets would stray who knew where.

As for the bows, although their range could exceed one hundred meters, their power was too weak. Unless they hit the hands or feet, they posed little threat to the Overseeing Bureau Inspectors and students wearing stab-proof vests and helmets.

The Overseeing Bureau Inspectors, armed with Tiger-style Rifles, fired in batches, suppressing the enemy on the wooden wall from more than two hundred meters away, preventing them from raising their heads.

Even if a few brave individuals dared to repeatedly show their heads to return fire, they were quickly targeted and shot dead.

The First Brigade, personally trained by Lu Sheng, was the most combat-effective unit in the entire Xing City Overseeing Bureau. These Overseeing Bureau Inspectors had excellent marksmanship and coordination. They quickly advanced to within twenty meters of the wooden wall, suppressing the people on the wall to the point where they barely dared to show their faces, resorting to 'potluck shooting'.

The next step was to break through this wooden wall and attack the stronghold gate.

The group did not carry professional climbing tools, but facing a wooden wall only three meters high, no tools were needed.

"Who among you is willing to rush up and take this section of the wooden wall, opening the stronghold gate for us?"

Lu Sheng turned to look at Lu Changwu, Li Fei, and the others, and asked.

The Military Academy people were definitely more useful than the Overseeing Bureau Inspectors in climbing the wall and engaging in close combat inside the stronghold.

Advanced instructors with the strength of formal Martial Warriors were naturally the most suitable candidates, but this battle was also an assessment of the students, so Lu Sheng asked Li Fei and the others.

This was a good opportunity. In ancient battlefields, there were the three great merits of 'killing generals, seizing flags, and First to Ascend'. The merit of First to Ascend referred to the first person to climb the city wall in a siege.

Although this battle could not be considered a siege, the merit of 'First to Ascend' did exist. If one could achieve it, then a top-grade evaluation for this operation would be guaranteed.

Lu Sheng was giving everyone a chance, or rather, giving his son Lu Changwu a chance.

"I am willing!"

Lu Changwu did not disappoint Lu Sheng and was the first to stand up.

"I'm willing too!"

Li Fei was the second to step forward.

Being the First to Ascend certainly involved great risks, but with the Myriad Blood Bead, he had three times the 'HP' of an ordinary person, and he was confident in his ability to protect himself.

"I'm willing too."

"I'm willing."

The remaining dozen or so Overseeing Bureau disciples also spoke up one after another.

"Good."

Lu Sheng pointed at Lu Changwu and Li Fei, "You two go up first. After opening up the situation, the rest will follow immediately."

"Yes!"

Lu Changwu was both excited and apprehensive, while Li Fei was relatively calm.

Lu Sheng briefly explained the tactics to everyone, and then said in a deep voice:

"The people inside are either senior members of the evil sect, with blood on their hands, or stubborn elements brainwashed by the evil sect, beyond redemption; so don't hesitate when you encounter the enemy. Being kind to the enemy is being cruel to yourselves and your families!"

"Understood!"

Everyone nodded in unison.

Lu Sheng took one last deep look at Lu Changwu, said nothing, and waved his hand heavily:

"Go!"

He could have let Lu Changwu go up the wall alone to open up the situation, and then the others would follow, so that the credit for being the 'First to Ascend' would belong entirely to Lu Changwu alone.

But in the end, he was still worried about unexpected dangers on the wooden wall, so he chose to let Li Fei and Lu Changwu go up together.

Letting Lu Changwu be the First to Ascend was a decision made by a First Brigade captain.

Letting Li Fei go with him was a father's kindness.

A dozen or so students rushed towards the wooden wall.

"Covering fire!"

Without Lu Sheng's order, the Overseeing Bureau Inspectors around them began shooting at the wooden wall.

With the cover of dozens of guns, Li Fei and the others successfully rushed to the wooden wall.

Four people stood under the wall, two people in a group, with their hands clasped together, making a gesture to assist in climbing the wall.

Li Fei and Lu Changwu exchanged glances, took a few steps back, and then took a running start, accelerating towards the wall. As they approached the wall, they stomped their right feet hard on the hands of their companions.

The four companions simultaneously pushed upwards with force, allowing Li Fei and Lu Changwu to leap upwards.

Li Fei grabbed the edge of the wooden wall with his left hand and pushed hard, easily flipping over the wooden wall and landing steadily on the wooden platform behind the wall.

On the other side, Lu Changwu also landed smoothly on the platform.

About two meters to the left of Li Fei, there was a person holding a musket squatting behind the wall, with a person holding a bow and arrow not far in front of him.

He immediately made a decision, turned around and rushed to the left without hesitation, slashing with the saber in his hand.

Bang! The other party subconsciously raised the musket to block, the barrel was cut with a gap, and then knocked to the ground.

Li Fei flipped his wrist and swung the saber upwards with his backhand.

He had been practicing the saber technique taught by Hao Yi during this period, and this move, the Rolling Thunder Stance, had almost become a bodily instinct.

Whoosh—

The blade smoothly cut through the opponent's chest.

Blood splattered out, and the other party let out a shrill scream.

Before Li Fei could carefully experience what it felt like to kill someone for the first time, the Steel Armor Implant at the back of his neck suddenly stirred, sensing danger.

Without thinking, Li Fei immediately squatted down and then suddenly turned around and swung his saber.

An arrow flew over the top of his head.

It was the enemy with the bow and arrow who took the opportunity to shoot Li Fei, aiming at the unprotected back of Li Fei's neck.

The opponent was a hunter who had been hunting in the mountains for many years and was skilled with bows and arrows, which was why he could shoot arrows so quickly and with such high accuracy.

Li Fei felt a burst of fear, followed by anger. He leaped out and slashed the opponent to the ground with his blade!

It wasn't until the person twitched a few times on the ground and stopped moving that Li Fei realized: he had killed someone.