Chapter 148: Soldiers in Battle

"Charge! They are completely exhausted!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Wild and ferocious roars echoed through the entire street. As a dense crowd of martial artists poured out from the end of the street, the spectators watching from all over the city were struck with horror.

A lunatic decision!

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them, and equally shocked by the decision made by Gu Anxiong and the First Elder. Tang Tian and Ling Xu had just slain the Hua brothers, meaning that through this battle, the two of them had fought their way into the top fifty of the Phryne Star. Under such circumstances, the two clans had launched a sudden and ferocious assault. Were they not afraid of Tang Tian and Ling Xu regaining consciousness?

If either of them were to wake up at any moment, the attackers would be dead for sure.

Yet, everyone could not help but admire the two clans; such decisive madness was inherently awe-inspiring.

The surging wave of martial artists rushed desperately toward the location where Gu Xue and the others were. The ground rumbled, and the entire Black Mountain City trembled.

Da Wei moved with blinding speed. He and a few other experts of similar strength charged at the very forefront, acting like the arrowhead of the formation. The wind whistled in his ears as he pushed his lightness skills to the absolute limit, skimming across walls and treading over eaves, advancing side by side!

Every single figure cut through the air like an arrow in flight.

The fear in Da Wei's heart had long since vanished, and the madness of the crowd had infected him. Yes, this was their only chance! Everyone around him seemed transformed into beasts, and their roaring cries of a desperate, last-ditch stand merged into an astonishing, raging torrent.

He believed that this torrent could tear everything to shreds!

So what if you became famous in a single battle? So what if you killed the Hua brothers? You no longer have a chance!

Suddenly, a bronze-colored figure appeared in his field of vision.

That is...

His pupils constricted. A puppet armor!

Although this was the first time he had seen one in the flesh, he recognized it at a single glance: this two-meter-tall bronze tiger-headed armor was the legendary puppet armor!

A puppet martial artist?

Da Wei was somewhat surprised. Could it be that among these people, a puppet martial artist had been hiding all along? Da Wei excelled at assassination, and for martial artists of his kind, various mechanical devices were their natural enemies; his research into this field was second only to that of puppet masters. He recognized the puppet armor before him instantly as the classic style of the South Cross Corps.

It looks real! It's such a lifelike imitation!

The majestic tiger head, the joints covered in barbs, the sharp curved tiger claws...

Even from a distance, he could not help but marvel. Whether it was the bodily structure, the styling, or even the subtle patterns, everything was remarkably vivid. He had seen countless counterfeits, but not a single one reached the level of the armor before him.

However, Da Wei did not panic in the slightest. The skill of the puppet master determined the quality of the puppet armor, and the quality of the armor determined the capability of the puppet martial artist. Nowadays, the general skill level of puppet masters was ordinary, and puppet martial artists were an even more obscure profession, so their proficiency could be easily imagined.

"Hong Guang, leave that puppet martial artist to you! The rest of you, provide cover!" Da Wei shouted, gathering his breath. Even though the opponent's strength was certainly not high, time was more precious than anything right now; swift elimination was the absolute key.

"Got it!" a rough and booming voice rumbled out. The man carried a long-handled pumpkin hammer in his hand. Puppet martial artists feared enemies who could crush superior skill with sheer brute force more than anything, because puppet armors were often not sturdy enough.

The distance between the two sides was closing rapidly.

The puppet martial artist remained completely unmoved, standing as still as a statue, making Da Wei even wonder if this was merely a display piece.

Nevertheless, he did not hesitate at this moment, shouting loudly, "Everyone, charge!"

Several martial artists sprang up in unison, tracing out several arcs as they lunged toward the puppet martial artist from all directions.

Cold flashes crisscrossed the air, and sharp whistling sounds arose like a tight net from which the puppet martial artist had no escape!

Suddenly, the puppet martial artist on the ground raised his face.

***

Bing looked at the figures pouncing toward him without the slightest fear in his heart, feeling only a sense of detachment.

How long had it been since he was last on a battlefield?

He could no longer remember. He did not know when it started, but the Commander had felt that he had a good aptitude for training recruits and transferred him to be an instructor. Oh, wait, no—there was once a time when they suffered heavy losses and lacked fresh reinforcements, and the Commander deemed it necessary to establish a recruit camp. Then none of those bastards were willing to do it, and consequently, he became the instructor of the recruit camp.

Ever since then, he had never set foot on the front-line battlefield again.

Those bastards would always say with a carefree attitude that he could just stay safely in the rear, leaving the front lines to them and so on. At first, he had been somewhat worried that those bastards were unreliable, but later he found out that they were doing quite well, so he set his mind at ease and focused on training recruits.

He grew more and more exceptional at his job, and everyone praised him. Later, several more instructors were added to the recruit camp, and he became its chief instructor.

Yet, the feeling of the battlefield... he had never forgotten it!

The years spent following the Commander and the others on campaigns far and wide—he had never forgotten a single moment!

Who would have thought that after all these years, he would step onto the battlefield once more... Well, alright... actually, it was just a small-scale brawl... Still, it counted as a battle nonetheless...

Commander, how wonderful it would be if you were here too... Ah, you guys would definitely start fighting over who gets to come first, yes, you definitely would!

A warm, involuntary smile curved the corner of Bing's lips.

The enemies rapidly approaching within his field of vision appeared to him as nothing more than empty air.

Commander, I will fight well; I won't bring shame to our corps!

Even though you cannot see, even though the corps' banner no longer flutters, even though there are no longer any defense lines, even though the glory we created together has been obliterated in the dust of history...

Even the very name of the South Cross Corps is gradually being forgotten by the world, which is truly a pity...

Since I am the only one left alive...

Then let me defend its glory, let me wipe away the millenniums of dust accumulated upon this name!

Let me awaken the world's deep-seated...

——Awe toward it!

South Cross Corps, advance!

***

A flash of light seemed to sweep across the bronze tiger eyes. For some inexplicable reason, Da Wei's heart tightened abruptly, and he blurted out subconsciously, "Watch out!"

The saber-toothed tiger suddenly vanished.

Almost instantly, it appeared behind Hong Guang.

Puff!

The sharp tiger claw pierced straight through Hong Guang's chest without a fraction of resistance, and the saber-toothed tiger's figure vanished once again!

Only then did a bright blossom of fresh blood burst forth without warning from Hong Guang's chest.

Puff! Puff!

Two more blossoms of blood erupted from the bodies of two other men.

The bronze figure moved so fast that the naked eye simply could not capture it. In the blink of an eye, three experts met their deaths, and the others did not even clearly see how their comrades had died.

Thud. The heavy saber-toothed tiger landed with utter lightness, as though its paws possessed thick, cushioned pads.

Moments after the saber-toothed tiger landed, the three corpses fell from the air to the ground like sacks of sand, kicking up clouds of dust as blood stained the earth.

Da Wei's face turned instantly white. The three dead men were all elites from the two clans. Under their encirclement, the opponent had easily killed three of them in a single exchange!

So strong... Even the soldiers of the South Cross Corps era surely could not have achieved such a terrifying degree!

When did such a powerful puppet martial artist emerge?

This fellow... who on earth is he?

Unfortunately, Bing gave them no time to think or hesitate. Almost instantly, the figure of the saber-toothed tiger vanished once more.

***

Elbow strikes! Fist spikes! Knee bashes!

An utterly simple method of attack, devoid of any flashy techniques, yet possessing an extraordinary lethality. Da Wei saw with his own eyes how a martial artist clearly blocked the tiger's fist, only for the bronze fist to break the man's arm like decayed wood and pierce straight through his body!

At that moment, all the color drained completely from Da Wei's face.

Such a scene was no longer merely terrifying; it was truly cruel.

The saber-toothed tiger was like a mindless killing machine. Unstoppable, every single strike he delivered inevitably claimed a life. Whether you dodged or parried, everything seemed futile in front of this saber-toothed tiger. He harvested lives without the slightest emotional fluctuation, and no one could withstand a single blow from him.

In the blink of an eye, of the few who had just charged forward, only he remained, standing alone.

Da Wei felt his limbs turn icy and his whole body tremble. His face was filled with utter terror, devoid of even a shred of courage to put up a defense or counterattack.

Is it my turn next...

Rumble!

Countless roaring, screaming figures surged like a flood from around him toward that cold saber-toothed tiger. The overwhelming numbers and the deafening roars restored a glimmer of color to Da Wei's pale face.

No matter how powerful the opponent was, he was only one person!

No matter how strong a single person is, they cannot hold off this many people...

As long as we rush past... we win!

Suddenly, Da Wei froze. In his field of vision, the saber-toothed tiger did not evade or dodge; instead, he crouched slightly facing the crowd, spreading his bronze arms wide like wings.

What... what is he trying to do?

An absurd thought suddenly popped into his head: could he possibly be trying to hold back everyone by himself?

Haha, that's impossible, absolutely impossible!

Da Wei felt his own thought was utterly ridiculous. It seemed he had been scared out of his wits by the fellow's earlier onslaught.

***

"Ah-Bing, this sector is handed over to you."

"Ah, Commander, just me alone?"

"Can't be helped; we've suffered losses just about everywhere. Don't worry, your post won't be the main point of attack; you just need to hold out for twenty minutes, and I'll rush over. What do you think? If you can't manage, I'll swap you for someone else."

"I'll give it a try..."

"Try my ass, that's settled then. If you die, we'll burn incense for you!"

"Commander, incense is very expensive, the corps is quite poor right now..."

...

That riddled and battered defense line, that smoky and heroic stalwart figure, and his own dilapidated puppet armor...

Suddenly surged from the depths of Bing's memory. That had been his final battle; after that battle, he had gone off to form the recruit camp.

How similar it was...

Bing's lips curved slightly upward. He sank his waist, squatted slightly, leaned his torso forward, and spread his arms wide like wings.

I haven't used this move in a long time... I wonder if I've grown rusty...

Commander, if it's not standard, please don't scold me...

Following the smile, Bing's expression abruptly turned icy cold, and he charged forward. (To be continued)