"An urgent mission?" Chu Han asked in confusion.
"I'll explain when you get here. I've already sent a vehicle to pick you up."
Li Yunjian's voice was extremely anxious. After giving a few instructions, he hung up.
Though Chu Han was puzzled, he did not ask further.
This was his first military mission, and he was still somewhat looking forward to it.
"It's been a long time since I went into the wilderness. This is the perfect chance to train out there!"
Chu Han immediately packed his weapons and equipment, making all the necessary preparations.
Before long, an armored military vehicle roared up to the entrance of Linjiang Residential Complex.
Chu Han immediately got in, and the armored vehicle sped all the way toward the supply base outside the city.
There, Li Yunjian and a group of soldiers had already assembled. There were more than twenty of them.
Even the weakest among them were 2nd Rank Martial Artists, armed soldiers carrying firearms.
At Li Yunjian's side were two 4th Rank Martial Artists serving as his deputies, along with more than a dozen 3rd Rank Martial Artists.
Such a force would not be underestimated anywhere.
It could be said that this unit had gathered most of the military's elite!
This mission probably won't be simple, Chu Han thought.
"Captain Li!"
Chu Han gave a military salute.
Li Yunjian smiled faintly. "Chu Han, you're here. Now everyone's assembled. Let's set out immediately!"
Chu Han nodded and followed the unit into the wilderness.
As they marched, Li Yunjian said to Chu Han, "Our destination this time is a canyon deep within the Black Stone Mountain Range. The mission is to rescue people."
"Rescue people?" Chu Han looked puzzled.
Who could possibly be worth dispatching such a force to rescue?
Li Yunjian explained, "We're rescuing a research team from Jingwu University's research institute. The elite Jingwu University students responsible for their security were led by a 5th Rank Martial Artist. But they completely lost contact this morning, so the higher-ups urgently ordered me to assemble a team for the rescue."
"Even a 5th Rank Martial Artist lost contact. What exactly did they run into?"
Though the depths of the Black Stone Mountain Range were fraught with danger, they should not have been enough to make a team led by a 5th Rank Martial Artist vanish without a trace.
They might have encountered a special mutated beast, or Hunters who specialized in ambushes and killings.
If it was either of those two situations, these people's chances of survival would become very slim.
Li Yunjian continued, "I heard Jingwu University also sent a Martial Artist who was nearby. He entered the Black Stone Mountain Range earlier than us. I've sent his contact information to everyone's communicators, but we can't reach him now."
"Chu Han, this mission is extremely important. It's also a good opportunity for you. I believe in your strength."
"Mhm. I'll perform well." Chu Han nodded.
Though this mission was dangerous and full of challenges, it was also a good training opportunity for him.
Martial Artists had to improve through constant real combat.
"Everyone, stay close behind me! From here on, we move at full speed!"
Li Yunjian walked at the very front of the team and shouted before quickening his pace.
The group accelerated. Whenever they encountered mutated beasts along the way, they avoided them whenever possible, without stopping for even a moment.
Chu Han stayed close behind Li Yunjian. This pace of marching was extremely easy for him.
After several more hours of pushing deeper in, a deep canyon appeared before them.
Towering black stone cliffs rose on both sides of the canyon, their walls covered in bottomless caves. Thick fog also filled the valley floor, leaving visibility extremely low.
When everyone saw the terrain here, their expressions turned solemn.
This was deep within the Black Stone Mountain Range, where fatal dangers lurked everywhere. With visibility this low, they had to be a hundred times more careful.
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"Everyone, stay sharp. The canyon is extremely dangerous. 3rd Rank mutated beasts can be found everywhere, and all kinds of poisonous insects and mutated plants are incredibly dangerous as well. Stay close to the team!"
Li Yunjian shouted his warning.
"Captain Li, I still think this is inappropriate."
At that moment, a discordant voice suddenly came from the middle of the formation. It was Han Wei, one of Li Yunjian's deputies.
Han Wei was younger than Li Yunjian and was already a 4th Rank Martial Artist. With a trace of arrogance on his face, he said, "Other than the ranged soldiers using guns, which one of us isn't a 3rd Rank Martial Artist? Why bring along a student who hasn't even taken the Martial Arts Grand Examination? Isn't he just dead weight?"
Han Wei and Li Yunjian had always been rivals in the military. In terms of position, the two were considered equals.
For this urgent mission, the higher-ups had assigned the stronger Li Yunjian to lead the team, with Han Wei and another 4th Rank Martial Artist serving as deputies.
Han Wei was much younger than Li Yunjian.
Although there was a difference of one rank between their strengths, he had never accepted Li Yunjian.
Moreover, quite a few people in this team were his subordinates, so his words still carried considerable weight.
Earlier, Chu Han had followed behind Li Yunjian and had not acted even when danger arose, which had already made Han Wei dissatisfied.
Now that they were about to enter the even more dangerous canyon, Han Wei directly questioned Chu Han, and at the same time, questioned Li Yunjian.
As soon as Han Wei spoke, whispers immediately rose through the team.
Some of the team members secretly glanced at Chu Han, their eyes also filled with doubt.
The main reason was that Chu Han was too young. No matter how they looked at him, he did not seem like someone who could participate in such a high-risk mission.
"Han Wei, Chu Han is someone I personally selected. Naturally, there's no problem with his strength." Li Yunjian frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure.
He knew Han Wei had never accepted him. Now, Han Wei was deliberately stirring up trouble within the team, clearly intending to make him lose face.
But Han Wei refused to let it go. "Captain Li, just because you say he's fine means he's fine? Looking at his age, he probably isn't even a 2nd Rank Martial Artist, right? When danger comes, we'll still have to protect him!"
Seeing this, Chu Han took out his Martial Artist Medal and let everyone inspect it. "This should be enough to prove my strength, right?"
"A 3rd Rank Martial Artist Medal?" someone in the team exclaimed.
"A 3rd Rank Martial Artist at such a young age? No wonder he can take part in this mission." The voices of doubt immediately diminished considerably.
But Han Wei merely sneered. "Who knows whether that medal is even yours? Maybe you borrowed it."
Chu Han said coldly, "The medal was issued by the Martial Artist Association, so naturally it's mine. As for my strength..."
Before he could finish speaking, his brows suddenly furrowed. He sensed a fast-moving black shadow in the fog twenty meters to their right!
The black shadow crawled close to the ground at incredible speed, reaching the group in the blink of an eye.
Swish!
Before anyone could react, a massive black spider suddenly rushed out of the fog on the right. It leaped above a soldier's head, its enormous spider legs already stabbing down toward him.
A ghastly pale human face was imprinted on its chest, making it look terrifying.
The soldier's face instantly went pale from fright. Even the gun in his hand fell to the ground.
"Watch out!"
Li Yunjian immediately shouted a warning, but there was simply no time to rescue him.
At that critical moment, Chu Han flashed forward. The battle saber in his hand drew a streak of cold light through the air, instantly severing the spider's legs.
Then he leaped into the air and unleashed the fourth form of the Seven Forms of the Army Breaker, splitting the spider in two from top to bottom.
Boom!
The spider's enormous body crashed to the ground, and its dark green blood splashed all over the soldier.
The entire team fell silent at once. Everyone was still shaken, staring at Chu Han in shock.
The soldier who had been saved looked at Chu Han with gratitude in his eyes.
"This is a 3rd Rank Human-faced Demon Spider. It excels at concealing its aura, and its ability to hide is even stronger within the canyon's fog!"
"Now, does anyone still question Chu Han's strength?"
Li Yunjian pointed at the Human-faced Demon Spider's corpse as he spoke.
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