The Deputy Commander Takes the Field Personally

The body of a Fifth-Rank Martial Spirit was different from before.

His perception range had expanded to five hundred meters, enough to catch every fluctuation of aura within the fortress.

Including the aura rapidly approaching from the command center.

He had arrived fast.

Li Zhengyang rose from his bunk and rolled his wrists.

The roommates by the door had already fled without a trace.

Two minutes later, synchronized footsteps rang out beyond the barracks.

It was not just one person.

Li Zhengyang pushed open the door and walked outside.

More than twenty fully armed soldiers stood in the camp clearing. All were Great Martial Masters, holding Standardized Combat Sabers as they formed a semicircle around the barracks.

One person stood in the middle.

He was in his fifties, broad and powerfully built, dressed in a custom officer's uniform with two stars on his epaulets.

The muscles in his face were drawn tight, and the veins at his temples throbbed.

Zhang Jianbiao.

Deputy Commander of Fortress No. 13, a Fifth-Rank Martial Spirit.

The moment he saw Li Zhengyang, he said nothing.

He simply unleashed his aura.

The pressure of a Fifth-Rank Martial Spirit descended. The surrounding soldiers' legs trembled, while several Martial Masters gritted their teeth and held on.

Li Zhengyang stood at the barracks entrance with his hands in his pockets, unmoving.

The Astral Qi of a Fourth-Rank Martial Spirit circulated automatically, blocking the pressure three steps away.

Zhang Jianbiao's expression changed slightly.

He had thought the other party was merely a lucky Great Martial Master who had used some trick to ambush Zhang Mang.

But the confidence to withstand that pressure clearly belonged to someone at the Martial Spirit Rank.

"You're Li Zhengyang?"

"I am."

"My nephew is in the infirmary now. Three ribs have suffered comminuted fractures, and his meridians are damaged. He'll be bedridden for at least three months." Zhang Jianbiao's voice was low. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"He struck first."

"I don't care who struck first."

"Then why are you here?"

Zhang Jianbiao's chest heaved twice.

A staff officer beside him quietly reminded him, "Deputy Commander, Article Seventeen of the fortress regulations states that military rank cannot be used to intervene in private grudges arising from internal conflicts. Commander, you—"

"Shut up."

The staff officer shut up.

Zhang Jianbiao stared at Li Zhengyang for ten seconds without releasing any further pressure.

He knew perfectly well that if he attacked in front of so many people and word reached the supreme commander, even he, the deputy commander, would be in serious trouble.

But if he did not deal with this brat, he could not swallow this insult.

Zhang Jianbiao took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face.

"Li Zhengyang, you did well on yesterday's Zone C clearing mission. Your military merits have been recorded."

Li Zhengyang said nothing, waiting for the rest.

"As it happens, there's an urgent mission that needs manpower." Zhang Jianbiao pulled a red mission order from his pocket and handed it over.

Li Zhengyang took it and glanced at it.

[Dangerous Mission]

[Objective: Investigate the source of the Demonic Beast tide disturbance in Blood-Colored Gorge alone]

[Location: Core Area of Blood-Colored Gorge]

[Reward: 500,000 Great Xia yuan]

[Risk Level: High]

[Note: Demonic Beast activity in this area has recently increased abnormally. There are suspected groups of Fourth-Rank Demonic Beasts or higher. A scout must infiltrate alone, investigate the situation, and transmit the information back.]

[Assigned by: Deputy Commander Zhang Jianbiao]

Infiltrate alone.

Blood-Colored Gorge.

Groups of Fourth-Rank Demonic Beasts.

The soldiers around them exchanged looks, and several wore expressions of sympathy.

Giving a mission like this to a new recruit was no different from sentencing him to death.

Blood-Colored Gorge was one of the most dangerous regions surrounding Fortress No. 13. Fourth-Rank Demonic Beasts were everywhere, and Fifth-Rank ones occasionally appeared as well.

The last time the military had sent in a proper reconnaissance squad, twelve men went in, and none came out.

Zhang Jianbiao smiled. "Of course, if you think you're not capable enough, you can refuse."

Li Zhengyang flipped the mission order over and looked at the reward section again.

The mission reward was not particularly high, but the Demonic Cores of Fourth-Rank Demonic Beasts were valuable.

"When do I leave?"

Zhang Jianbiao froze.

He had expected this brat to hesitate, perhaps even beg for mercy.

"Tomorrow morning at six. A transport plane will take you to the edge of the gorge."

"Can it be changed to this afternoon?"

Zhang Jianbiao's smile stiffened.

"Is six tomorrow morning not acceptable?"

"It's a waste of time." Li Zhengyang folded the mission order and tucked it into his pocket. "Any flights this afternoon?"

Zhang Jianbiao fell silent for three seconds.

"There is one. A supply transport route passes over Blood-Colored Gorge at two."

"Fine. I'll be at the airstrip at two."

Li Zhengyang turned around and went back into the barracks.

Zhang Jianbiao stood where he was, his expression exceedingly complicated.

The staff officer beside him leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Deputy Commander, does this kid not know what Blood-Colored Gorge is like?"

Zhang Jianbiao shook his head.

"Whether he knows or not doesn't matter anymore."

He turned and left.

After taking more than a dozen steps, he stopped again and looked back toward the barracks.

"Notify the surveillance team. Activate every drone sensor in the gorge. I want to watch him die."

One fifty in the afternoon.

The airstrip.

Li Zhengyang carried the Mountain-Piercing Spear on his back and boarded via the ramp.

Apart from him, the cabin held only several logistics soldiers escorting supplies. They huddled in the corner, looking at him as though he had crawled out of a coffin.

"Brother." One bolder logistics soldier edged over and asked quietly, "Are you the one Deputy Commander Zhang is dealing with?"

"Yeah."

"You're really going to Blood-Colored Gorge?"

"What else?"

The logistics soldier swallowed. "That place swallowed a proper reconnaissance squad just last month. Twelve people..."

"I know. None came out."

The logistics soldier opened his mouth, but in the end, he only managed one sentence. "Take care of yourself."

The transport plane took off.

Li Zhengyang leaned against the cabin wall and closed his eyes.

What occupied his mind was not how dangerous Blood-Colored Gorge was.

It was how much his Blood Qi would increase once the money was in hand, and how far he still was from the next major realm.

Half an hour later, the transport plane reached the skies above Blood-Colored Gorge.

The cabin door opened, and cold wind poured inside.

Below lay a gorge system stretching for dozens of kilometers. Its reddish-brown cliffs resembled wounds cleaved open by blades, while the valley floor was hidden beneath mist.

"We're here. Jump on your own." The pilot's voice came through the intercom. "The parachutes are in the box on the right."

Li Zhengyang walked to the cabin door and looked down.

The height was roughly one hundred meters.

He kicked the parachute box aside and jumped straight down.

The logistics soldiers: "???"

The pilot glanced through the windshield at the falling figure and cursed.

A free fall from one hundred meters.

The wind exploded beside his ears, and the ground rushed closer at a visible speed.

When Li Zhengyang was fifty meters from the ground, Astral Qi erupted from beneath his feet and formed a cushion of force.

Bang.

He landed.

The rocky ground caved in, leaving a crater half a meter deep as shattered stones sprayed everywhere.

Li Zhengyang climbed out of the crater and dusted off his pants.

With the body of a Fourth-Rank Martial Spirit, a hundred-meter drop without a parachute did not even make his legs sore.

He looked around.

The cliffs on both sides of the gorge were over a hundred meters tall, while the valley floor varied in width. At its narrowest, it was only a dozen meters wide.

The reddish-brown rocks were covered in dark-red moss. From afar, the entire gorge looked as though it had been soaked in blood, which was how Blood-Colored Gorge got its name.

A heavy stench filled the air.

It was not the smell of one kind of Demonic Beast, but dozens mixed together.

Deep in the gorge, low roars rose and fell in succession.

Li Zhengyang took the Mountain-Piercing Spear from his back.

Blood Qi flowed into the spear, and the Astral Qi around its tip hummed and trembled.

"Looks like the money's coming to me."

With spear in hand, he headed deeper into the gorge.

The first wave of Demonic Beasts met him from three hundred meters away.

Six Blood Wolves.

Fourth-Rank.

They were twice as large as the Rockspine Beasts of West Mountain, covered in dark-red short fur. Their four paws left the ground as they ran, moving so fast that they left afterimages.

All six pounced at once.

Li Zhengyang did not retreat.

Collapse Formula.

One thrust pierced through the skull of the leading wolf.

He pulled the spear free and swept it sideways, snapping the second wolf's neck with the shaft.

The third wolf lunged from the side, its jaws wide and fangs bared.

Twisting Formula.

The spear tip spun into its throat, shredding its windpipe and cervical vertebrae as a mist of blood burst out.

The fourth and fifth wolves attacked together.

Cloud-Shocking Steps shifted him sideways. The two Blood Wolves missed, crashing into each other.

He turned and fired two thrusts, one wolf with each strike.

The sixth wolf turned and fled.

Li Zhengyang threw his spear like a javelin.

From forty meters away, the Mountain-Piercing Spear pierced through the back of its skull, carrying the corpse another five or six meters before stopping.

Six Fourth-Rank Blood Wolves, fifteen seconds.

Li Zhengyang walked over, pulled out the spear, crouched down, and extracted the Beast Cores.

Six of them. Each was worth at least 120,000, for a total of 720,000.

Before they had even warmed in his hand, rustling sounds came from the cliffs on both sides of the gorge.

More Demonic Beasts were gathering.

Li Zhengyang lifted his head and swept his gaze around.

More than a dozen gray lizards clung to the cliffs. Three or four larger beasts prowled through the shadows on the valley floor, and the sound of flapping wings came from the distance.

He stuffed the Beast Cores into his pocket, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

A fine place.

Over the next two hours, Blood-Colored Gorge became a slaughterhouse.

Li Zhengyang pushed deeper and deeper, killing whatever he encountered.

Fourth-Rank ones died instantly. Third-Rank ones died even faster. When he occasionally ran into a lone opponent of the same rank, it only cost him a few extra seconds.

Beast Cores filled every corner of his Space Ring, forcing him to throw out some worthless odds and ends to make room.

By the third hour, he stopped to rest for five minutes and took stock.

A dozen or so Fourth-Rank Beast Cores.

Even more Third-Rank ones—over twenty. He could not be bothered to count them exactly.

At a rough estimate based on market prices, the Beast Cores alone were worth two million.

Add the five million mission bonus.

Around five million.

As he calculated, his gaze swept over a depression in the rock wall to his left.

The shape of that depression was off.

Too neat.

Naturally formed indentations in rock walls were irregular, but this one had obvious cutting marks around its edges.

Li Zhengyang walked over and brushed aside the dark red moss covering it.

An entrance.

Two meters wide and one and a half meters high, extending inward into pitch-black darkness.

It had not formed naturally.

It had been dug out by human hands.

Li Zhengyang leaned in and peered through the entrance.

There was wind inside, which meant it connected to somewhere else.

The smell in the air was wrong too.

It was not the rank stench of Demonic Beasts, but a pungent metallic odor.

A Mine Cave.

Just as he was about to go in, the corner of his eye caught something at the base of the rock wall to the right of the entrance.

Two corpses.

No, skeletons.

They had been gnawed down to bare bones, but the scraps of fabric still clinging to them were recognizable.

Army green.

The color of military uniforms.

A broken half of a communicator still hung from one skeleton's wrist, the exact same model Xing Feng used.

Special Operations Battalion?

Or the reconnaissance team that had gone missing before?

Li Zhengyang crouched down and rummaged through the scattered items beside the skeletons.

A shattered data Terminal. Its screen was broken, but a military serial number was printed on the casing.

There was also a crumpled note stuffed inside one skeleton's boot.

Li Zhengyang unfolded the note.

Only three characters were written on it. The handwriting was sloppy, as if the writer had been interrupted halfway through.

"Someone's selling..."

Li Zhengyang slipped the note into his pocket and looked up into the darkness deep within the entrance.

Was there a secret inside?