Darkly Watching

"Shh, Lei Chao's here."

Amid the crowd's murmurs, Lei Chao strode out of the Warrior Camp, his expression dark.

They hurriedly lowered their voices, afraid Lei Chao would take his anger out on them.

Lei Chao glared at Gu Chen's retreating figure and gave a cold snort.

"Today, I'd like to see who can come save you!"

With that, Lei Chao hurried after Gu Chen.

He wasn't a fool. He knew Gu Chen wouldn't dare act so brazenly without something to rely on.

But Lei Chao had a trump card of his own!

After Lei Chao left, the onlookers grew restless.

"How about it? Want to follow them and see what happens?"

The person beside him rolled his eyes.

"If you want to go, go ahead. Don't you know the rule about letting the spectators take the first hit when trouble starts? They might use you as their first target before they even start fighting!"

The person who had spoken earlier shuddered.

"Forget it. I'll just wait here in camp and see how things turn out."

"After all, only one of Gu Chen and Lei Chao is sure to make it back today."

The people from the Warrior Camp didn't know that Gu Han from the Logistics Camp had also left camp.

But even if they had known, they wouldn't have cared.

No one believed a Logistics Soldier could interfere in the fight between Lei Chao and Gu Chen.

In fact, hardly anyone thought Gu Chen could escape Lei Chao with his life and make it back alive!

They hadn't forgotten how Lei Chao had swept over Gu Chen a week ago, crushing him completely.

Even if Gu Chen had been frantically popping pills these past few days, he still couldn't possibly match Lei Chao.

Deep inside the camp, Guan Shan received the news and gazed into the distance, toward the direction Lei Chao had gone. His brows drew together.

"Besides exchanging for Demonic Beast cores, Gu Han hasn't done anything out of line lately. Could he really be a spy who infiltrated the camp?"

"If Gu Han were a spy, there'd be no need to make such a huge fuss and put himself at the center of attention in the Military Camp."

"Could their mission really be no more than killing those veteran soldiers and Lei Chao?"

It wasn't that Guan Shan looked down on those veterans. He too felt regret over the deaths of the veteran War Soldiers.

But in a war between two countries, these War Soldiers couldn't even sway the outcome of a localized battle.

If they'd exposed a spy just to achieve such a small goal, that would be sacrificing the greater good for a minor gain.

With that thought, Guan Shan quietly followed after them as soon as his meeting ended. He wanted to see what they were really planning.

If he could find a clue that led to a bigger fish, that would be even better!

In the forest.

Gu Chen strolled aimlessly through the rugged woods, as if he had no idea someone was following him.

Meanwhile, Gu Han stayed alert to his surroundings, wary that Lei Chao might emerge from the shadows at any moment.

"Awooo~"

Little Wolf's sudden cry made Gu Han pause.

"You mean Lei Chao hasn't followed us?"

In response, Little Wolf gave an affirmative howl.

Gu Han furrowed his brows.

"If Lei Chao wants revenge for that guy Li Xuan, he should be coming after me. But he still hasn't shown up."

Just then, Gu Han's heart lurched. He remembered what Gu Chen had said over dinner.

"Our other brothers are all staying in camp. Could Big Brother Gu Chen have been planning all along to use himself as bait and lure Lei Chao out of camp?"

The possibility filled Gu Han with alarm.

He hadn't been this nervous even when he'd been on guard against Lei Chao's ambush.

"Little Wolf, can you smell Big Brother Gu Chen?"

"Awooo~"

Little Wolf nodded, then hesitantly shook his head.

From their mental connection, Gu Han could more or less tell what Little Wolf meant. He could sense Gu Chen, but they were too far apart; Gu Chen was still beyond the range of his sense of smell.

Fortunately, Gu Han had spent the past half month roaming the forest and knew this area like the back of his hand.

Even those veteran Logistics Soldiers might not know the terrain as well as he did.

After all, not every Logistics Soldier spent his free time wandering into the woods like Gu Han.

Relying on his knowledge of the area, Gu Han raced toward the forest near the Warrior Camp entrance.

As Gu Han sprinted, Gu Chen had already reached the depths of the forest.

In a weed-choked patch of woods where hardly anyone ever passed, Gu Chen was rounding a towering tree when his eyes suddenly flashed.

He drew his sword in a flash and slashed backward!

The blade's keen, icy gleam shimmered in the dusky yellow sky.

Though Lei Chao, who had been following Gu Chen, was prepared, the strike still startled him.

Gu Chen's sword strike was nearly as powerful as Lei Chao's full-strength attack!

Caught off guard, Lei Chao could only raise his sword to block.

The shrill clang of metal rang out, and the mighty blow sent Lei Chao hurtling six or seven paces backward!

Lei Chao stamped hard on the ground, barely steadying himself as he forced down the sweetness rising in his throat.

He stared at Gu Chen with a grave expression.

"I didn't expect you to grow so much in just seven days."

Lei Chao was one of the top ten War Soldiers of his cohort in their camp.

Aside from those few, Lei Chao had always been confident he was second to none.

But Gu Chen had managed to match him in only a few days, and Lei Chao felt a deep sense of threat!

Gu Chen shook his head regretfully.

"Too bad that strike didn't kill you."

Only Gu Chen knew how hard he'd worked at sword practice these past few days.

Unfortunately, he was still a little too weak. Even after mastering such a swift sword strike, he still hadn't managed to kill his opponent.

"It doesn't matter. After today, you won't have any more regrets."

Lei Chao gave a vicious grin, stamped his right foot down, and pounced on Gu Chen like a ferocious tiger.

At that moment, Lei Chao was immensely glad he'd chosen to pursue Gu Chen right away!

If he'd waited any longer, even he couldn't be sure he'd still be able to take Gu Chen down!

Gu Chen's rate of growth was terrifying!

Today, Gu Chen had to die!

The two erupted into a fierce battle in the woods.

Lei Chao was slightly stronger, but his swordsmanship lacked Gu Chen's finesse. They fought to a standstill.

Far away, Guan Shan lay hidden in the woods, watching their fight with narrowed eyes.

"Lei Chao's done well in the Military Camp over the years. He has a chance of becoming a Legion Commander someday, and if fortune favors him, he might even become a Deputy General. His temperament is just too unstable."

"This new recruit, Gu Chen, is truly remarkable to have reached such strength in so little time."

Gu Chen's abnormal strength only deepened Guan Shan's suspicion that Gu Han was a spy!

But for now, he had no intention of intervening. He wanted to see what they were really up to!