A piercing alarm erupted in the mess hall, three short, urgent blasts in succession, like steel needles driving straight into everyone's temples.
The dining hall, filled moments earlier with the clatter of bowls and chopsticks and quiet conversation and laughter, fell silent the instant the alarm sounded. Then almost every soldier set down their utensils at once and rose to their feet in a sweeping rustle.
No one shouted. No one panicked. Faces grim, they strode toward the doors, the entire process resembling a silent forced-march drill.
"Keep up!"
Ye Yun had no time to clear his bowl. He grabbed his military cap, slapped it onto his head, and strode outside. Xiao Cheng and the other two followed closely. As soon as they left the mess hall, they saw urgent rings of red light flashing around the entrance to the enormous cavern between the distant, snow-clad peaks.
Within half a minute, the atmosphere in the camp had been turned upside down. Every face that had been chatting moments earlier was now drawn into cold, rigid lines.
"A level-three Abyss Tide." Ye Yun kept walking, speaking rapidly. "Not the highest level, but enough to mobilize the entire legion. You three are newcomers. Come with me to a safe..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Ye," Qiangu Dongfeng immediately interrupted him. "We're members of the Blood God Legion too, not pampered young masters here for a sightseeing tour."
Ye Yun paused and glanced back at him, then at Xiao Cheng. "An Abyss Tide isn't an assessment. You could actually die in there."
"I'm not that easy to kill," Qiangu Dongfeng said earnestly. "I managed to take down a Ba An during the assessment even without being able to use my martial soul."
"You were lucky," Ye Yun said coldly. "There aren't just Ba Ans and Demonic