Chapter 100: You Will Forever Be My Soldiers

For the past few days, Hu Mo had been feeling incredibly heavy-hearted. Despite the nonchalant attitude he projected, the reality before him was harsh, and the difficulties he faced were overwhelming. The Star Corps was no longer what it once was; only about seventy men truly retained full combat capabilities. Several others were so severely maimed that Hu Mo was at a loss for what to do.

Although those men had been feigning indifference with smiles over the last few days, their expressions could not mask their true feelings. Their actions betrayed them: some trained with desperate intensity, others indulged in secret self-pity, and some were even preparing to slip away quietly to a remote corner of the world to spend their remaining days in solitude.

Hu Mo did not want this to happen, but the feedback he received from Cang Ling was equally discouraging. Maimed limbs were not easily restored, and this reality caused much of the hope Hu Mo had harbored to wither away. He knew all too well that time was the greatest erosion of human willpower; the longer things dragged on, the more their confidence would fade. If they truly gave up from the bottom of their hearts, then even his own abilities would be of no avail.

Sure enough, on the fourth day, the disabled soldiers came to find him. They lined up in two rows, looking at Hu Mo with a burning intensity, as if gazing upon a god. Compared to the previous days, the heart-wrenching decadence seemed to have vanished; instead, they appeared to have come to terms with their situation, as if they had finally found closure.

Hu Mo looked at them, finding himself momentarily unable to speak. He stood there in silence, watching these warriors. The awkward stillness lasted for quite some time until a soldier with a severed left leg suddenly laughed and said, "Marshal, why have you become more bashful than a maiden today? Seeing us has left you speechless? Holding back for a word from you is enough to make me sick!"

All the disabled soldiers erupted into laughter, leaving Hu Mo feeling incredibly awkward. He gave a heavy cough and retorted, "You lot are truly bullying me! You haven't even left the unit yet, and you're already this arrogant? Watch out, or I won't let you leave—I'll make you train every single day until you drop dead from exhaustion!"

Hu Mo's words triggered another round of boisterous laughter. Yet, following the laughter came a long, heavy silence. Then, one by one, these men in their thirties and forties began to weep, their faces still wearing strange, pained smiles.

"If only we really could train every day, how wonderful that would be!" one soldier murmured, his voice filled with profound sorrow. A wish as small as that had become an extravagant luxury for them.

Hu Mo felt a sharp ache in his heart. With a soft sigh, he counted the number of men and mentally condensed twenty-nine sets of battle manuals, imprinting them directly into their minds. In a calm tone, he said, "These are twenty-nine sets of Earth-grade high-tier battle manuals, each containing its own derived combat techniques. This is my promise and my reward to you. From now on, these techniques are yours; you may teach them to your children and kin without any hesitation. Also, take these."

Hu Mo had some tokens distributed. Each bore the character "Hu," modeled after the Hu family’s house seal. The soldiers looked at the tokens with confusion; in all their years with the Hu family, they had never seen such a design. Before they could be amazed by the techniques they had just received, their hearts were filled with fresh bewilderment.

"Heh, these are new tokens I have issued as the new head of the Hu family, called 'Merit Tokens.' By presenting this token at any Hu family merchant house or bank, you may collect enough silver each month for your family’s needs. With this token, you will also enjoy priority status, whether entering Hu family businesses or other institutions. Brothers, this is my promise to you: you will always be my soldiers! I will not let you suffer any more grievances!" Hu Mo said in a deep voice. As his words landed, the soldiers burst into tears once more.

"Haha, don't make me mock you! Ahem, listen to my command: Attention! About face! March!" Hu Mo shouted. As he watched their limping backs retreat, he began to feel like a maiden again.

At the Hu family training grounds, the remaining seventy-two men stood straight, including a solemn-looking Lin Nan. She had returned to her feminine attire—though, strictly speaking, it was still a form of combat gear. The black clothing clung tightly to her frame, her chest held high, exuding an irresistible allure. Hu Mo could hardly deny that when he first saw Lin Nan in her womanly form, he had been stunned for a long time; she was absolutely on the same level as Cang Ling!

When the soldiers saw Lin Nan dressed this way, their jaws dropped low enough to fit a watermelon. It was truly exaggerated—a dainty youth transforming into a peerless beauty. It was a massive shock to these fierce beasts, and their gazes toward Lin Nan became noticeably more fawning. Such was the power of the opposite sex, a basic human instinct.

However, they all fell before Lin Nan’s cold defenses, and several were even thrown aside by her directly. This left them deeply depressed; having spent over a month in life-or-death training, they were still no match for Lin Nan. It was truly frustrating. They hadn't cared much before, but once they knew Lin Nan was a woman, their chauvinism flared up. The Tianhuo Empire was such that most men believed women were merely appendages and could never surpass men—though if certain people were to hear that, the consequences would be catastrophic. People like Cang Ling, Lin Nan, or Zhu Xinluo, who kept a harem of male concubines.

When Hu Mo arrived at the training ground, he felt a strange sensation looking at the seventy-two men. It seemed like destiny; his troops had been reduced by exactly one-third. Yet, his heart remained burning with passion. Although many were gone, those who remained had been tempered by death and blood; in a sense, they were far stronger than before. This progress, while sad, brought him a touch of satisfaction—the price paid had yielded some return.

His gaze swept over Lin Nan, whose face remained calm despite the many eyes fixed upon her. Hu Mo smiled bitterly to himself, thinking, "The days ahead for these guys are going to be quite painful!"

"Marshal! The Star Corps, seventy-two men, are assembled! Awaiting your instructions!" Black Iron shouted, his voice like thunder. This was a rule Hu Mo had implemented by adopting modern military training methods, including the "Attention" commands he had copied. These methods were a patchwork of whatever he could find; he was, after all, just a former street hoodlum.

Hu Mo smiled at the men and nodded. "Excellent! A great feeling! Lin Nan, come here. The rest of you, disperse!"

Lin Nan understood immediately and stepped out from the crowd. The other soldiers seemed to grasp what was coming; their expressions turned grave as they pushed their combat power to the limit. Hu Mo felt the energy radiating from them, and his expression turned strange.

"Minimum level nine Battle Masters—these guys are truly insane!" Hu Mo muttered to himself. He couldn't help but interrupt them, asking in confusion, "Black Iron, you achieved this level just by hunting battle beasts? That seems a bit excessive."

Black Iron understood Hu Mo's meaning and laughed. "Marshal, don't be confused; this is quite normal. Hunting beasts improves our combat skills, but the Battle Origin Crystals obtained afterward are the real reason for our increased power. We gain a massive amount of combat energy from them, so our cultivation levels rose quite quickly."

Black Iron grinned honestly. Hu Mo could sense that his cultivation had reached the fifth level of the Fury Battle Master stage. Although his aura was unstable, he was able to control it. Clearly, he had put a great deal of effort into his discipline.

Hu Mo nodded and smiled. "Good. Then let me see just how much you have improved."

"Alright! But Marshal, be careful—we won't go easy on you! Brothers, take note: Form up!" Black Iron roared with a smile, flashing his white teeth. They were absolutely certain that Hu Mo would suffer a crushing defeat this time.