Mounted Infantry

Early in the morning, inside the county seat, the Wang Family Courtyard occupied by the Rebel Army was already teeming with people.

One after another, the Martial Artist youths who had just risen and washed up, fully armed, jogged from their respective quarters to assemble in the front courtyard.

Under the command of the four captains who had arrived ahead of them—Ai Nengqi, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier—they swiftly formed four small squads.

After only a short while, nearly ten large horse-drawn carts, driven by more than a dozen cooks, entered the Wang Family Courtyard through the gates that had just been opened.

Breakfast was half an hour earlier than usual today.

There was no need to explain why. Today was the day these young Martial Soldiers would undergo their first real combat trial in their lives.

For these recruits, it was exceedingly important—a milestone in their lives.

Including Li Dingguo, every one of these Martial Artist youths felt somewhat nervous inside.

It was plain to see from their little faces and their tightly drawn expressions.

Yesterday morning, the King had specifically said that their opponents this time would be a group of low-level Demon Beasts.

For Junior Martial Artists, if they failed to perform properly in battle against Demon Beasts, the chance of dying on the spot was high.

Even Li Dingguo, despite his extraordinary composure, was preparing to experience true battle and slaughter for the first time—the kind where it was life or death.

These fledgling young Martial Artists could not possibly be completely free of nerves.

Led by Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, and the other two squad captains, everyone remained silent, their faces grave.

Seeing the army cooks deliver breakfast, they lined up in turn to collect their own portions of Spirit Rice Meal and Vitality and Blood Soup. They silently walked aside and quickly finished eating.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, returning their bowls and chopsticks to the cooks, waves of hoofbeats came from the direction of the main gate.

The hoofbeats this time were far denser than before.

Li Dingguo and the other Martial Artist recruits all looked up, only to see a sizable convoy entering through the courtyard gates at an unhurried pace.

There were not many Martial Soldiers riding Spirit Beast Warhorses in this convoy—only four riders.

At their head was Zhang Xianzhong, arriving with three trusted officers.

There were quite a few carts behind them, more than a dozen large horse-drawn carts in all, driven by soldiers from the Rebel Army's Logistics Camp.

Clearly, they had brought some logistical supplies and were also prepared to haul back all manner of spoils.

For this Martial Soldier force made up of orphan youths, leaving the city for practical combat training meant they had to complete their first battle and kill before the mission could be considered finished.

The Demon Beasts discovered and slain by the soldiers were no less valuable than Spirit Herbs and Spirit Roots of the same grade, so naturally all the spoils had to be brought back.

There were not many Demon Beasts around human settlements. They were not something one could find simply by looking.

The vast majority of Demon Beasts of every grade lived in spiritual lands amid deep mountains and ancient forests, wild plains and vast marshes, rivers, lakes, and seas.

In this great world, primal landscapes untouched by human feet could be found everywhere.

Most ecological environments had not been affected by humans, and the number of wild beasts of all sizes far exceeded those in the history of Earth from Li Dingguo's previous life.

The various Demon Beast clans basically fed on different kinds of wild beasts, and most would not appear near human settlements.

There was no other reason: their food was abundant, and they lacked neither meat nor drink.

The treasure lands occupied by large numbers of Demon Beasts were essentially forbidden zones for ordinary humans. Once they entered without permission, nine times out of ten, they would go and never return.

For the Youth Camp's first practical combat trial, Zhang Xianzhong had personally left the city twice. It took him two half-days of scouting to find suitable targets near the county seat.

There were two targets. One was a mountain range inhabited by a small group of low-level Demon Beasts.

The other was a village that had been destroyed and occupied by ghosts and monsters.

Zhang Xianzhong intended for these recruits of the Orphan Youth Camp to witness two different mortal enemies of humanity—Demon Beasts and ghosts and monsters—and complete the two training expeditions he personally led.

After that, he would no longer personally lead the Youth Camp's practical combat training.

As the leader of a Rebel Army, he had far too many matters to worry about each day. He could not possibly accompany these young recruits every day.

Only by allowing these newly minted young Martial Soldiers to endure one bloody battle after another could they truly grow.

Otherwise, no matter how well these Martial Artist youths were protected, it would be useless; they would be of no use in the future.

Those whose luck was insufficient would simply die during the process of growing up. They were not worth pitying.

He, Zhang Xianzhong, had already done all he could.

Seeing that these spirited Martial Artist youths had finished forming up and were ready, Zhang Xianzhong rode his Spirit Beast Warhorse slowly to the front of the crowd and faced them.

With a sweep of his great hand, he shouted directly, "No more talk. Go to the stables first and lead out your own horses!"

"Then form up and depart at once!"

The soldiers of this Youth Camp had all been issued horses so that they could practice their riding skills.

The difference was that only the four captains—Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier—each had a low-grade Spirit Beast Warhorse.

The remaining Martial Artist youths all rode selected ordinary horses.

These ordinary horses possessed somewhat greater stamina and speed than the horses of Li Dingguo's previous life, but in this world, they could not be used as warhorses and could only serve as mounts for travel.

At Zhang Xianzhong's command, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier hurriedly led their respective squad members in a jog toward the large stables beside the courtyard.

After their initial joint drills, even when running forward, they still maintained perfectly neat formations.

Watching from the side, Zhang Xianzhong felt greatly gratified and nodded.

This proved that the vast effort and resources he had spent cultivating these orphan youths had been entirely worthwhile.

Once these Martial Artist youths passed through several rounds of battle and rapidly matured, they would be even more formidable than the three hundred soldiers of his current Veteran Camp.

This did not refer merely to martial strength.

In terms of loyalty, they were also beyond comparison with the other Rebel Army soldiers.

Before long, the young Martial Artists led out the horses they normally used for riding practice from the stables, fully fitted them with saddles and tack, and rode into the courtyard.

"Mount up!"

"Form ranks and prepare to depart!"...

Following the loud commands of the four captains—Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier—everyone swung onto their horses, weapons in hand and bows on their backs, swiftly beginning to form ranks.

Their movements were quick. In only a moment, they had formed four cavalry squads.

A faint Blood Fiend Qi spread invisibly from the cavalry formation of these Youth Camp soldiers.

Compared with their previous infantry formation, they were practically two entirely different forces.

Though this cavalry force could not yet be called true cavalry and could only be described as Mounted Infantry, its imposing presence was far beyond anything their earlier infantry formation could compare with.