Chapter Twenty-Four: Demons and Spirits in History

"Huai Shan, what's going on?"

Tan Hai, with his sharp eyes, was the first to notice the slip of paper in Du Huaishan's hand. He muttered, "I like watching you... oh! Someone’s confessing to you!"

"Quick, let me see!" Wu Ming hurriedly snatched the note. "My goodness, the handwriting is beautiful—definitely the daughter of a wealthy family!"

"The handwriting is indeed fine. She probably wrote it last night, just waiting for a chance to give it to you today."

As always, women remained one of the favorite topics among the men. Guo Tingyu joined in the excitement.

Yang Anfu, envious, smacked his lips, "Huai Shan really has charm. Second day as a recruit, and already won over a girl!"

"Don’t say nonsense. I don’t even know who it is..." Du Huaishan took back the note.

"That's easy to solve. Huai Shan, let me ask around among the female recruits for you. Give me three days, and I’ll have an answer!"

"Exactly, Huai Shan. Tan Hai is a big teapot—he’s been dealing with women since he was a kid!"

Wu Ming and the others were enthusiastic, but Du Huaishan had no interest in such matters right now. His goals were strength and survival, above all.

More crucially, his soul belonged to a twenty-three-year-old adult. He had little attraction to girls who were mostly sixteen or seventeen.

The lecture hall of the Martial Academy was vast, able to seat nearly two thousand. Heavy purple-red curtains blocked the windows, making the hall dim. The chairs were long benches lined up before a white screen, reminiscent of an old-style cinema.

Lai Yanlong chose a vacant seat near the center.

No sooner had he sat down than the recruits within several meters fell silent. Not a whisper, even breathing became cautious.

Soon, a military officer in an overcoat, with slicked hair and silver-rimmed glasses, carrying documents, walked to the podium.

A familiar face—one of the new recruits’ instructors.

Du Huaishan had seen him the day of the canteen fight.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lin Zhaoshu. I studied at the Niphan Army Officer Academy, graduated from the Infantry Department, and now serve as administrator at the Yingzhou Military Special Research Institute. For the coming year, I will teach you all the theory and practical knowledge about demons and red marrow."

"The materials I’m about to show are extremely precious, paid for with the lives of countless Blue Star ancestors and Yingzhou soldiers. Please watch carefully..."

As Lin Zhaoshu said this, he glanced deeply at the audience, then signaled to the back.

A projectionist stood guard there.

The yellowed tungsten bulb flicked off. Before the recruits could adjust to the darkness, the screen at the front suddenly lit up.

"It's a movie!"

"Wow, first time I’ve seen a film!"

Black-and-white images, riddled with grain and scratches, and silent—yet recruits from Tun City and remote regions were filled with excitement.

"Quiet!" Lai Yanlong called out, finally subduing the clamor.

Du Huaishan watched the shadow on the screen intently.

It was a headless monster—human body, limbs like a tiger or leopard, neck severed, sprouting a pair of branch-like wings.

"This is the first demon photo taken eighty years ago, after the invention of the camera."

With Lin Zhaoshu’s narration, the images rolled.

"Whoa!"

Despite Lai Yanlong’s presence, the recruits couldn’t help their exclamations.

The photo showed a cavalry squad of foreigners and a spear unit attacking the headless demon. The creature held a spearman in its grasp; by proportion, it must have been several meters tall!

Next image.

A bull-headed demon, as tall as a city gate, covered in black spikes, smashing into a fortress.

Next.

A twin-headed bird, bigger than a plane, standing amidst mountains of corpses, feasting on fallen soldiers.

Yang Anfu drew a deep breath, gripping his trembling knees. "Tan Hai, Huai Shan, these are what you faced in New Tun City?"

Even now, Tan Hai’s eyes held terror as he recalled, "There was one as big as a plane, but nothing the size of those first ones..."

"Too frightening. That giant headless demon—just like the mythical tales my granddad used to tell..."

"Like the war god Xingtian, right?"

Before Wu Ming could finish, Guo Tingyu interjected.

"Exactly!"

Not only Class Eight, but the rest of the recruits were frightened by the enormous demons in the photos.

Those who had boasted on the armored train about killing demons with a single shot would never entertain such foolish ideas again.

"That’s right, these are some of the demons captured on the battlefield by foreigners."

Lin Zhaoshu drew a black pointer, indicating the demons in the photos. "Long ago, demons ravaged Blue Star—no one knows when they first appeared. Some of you may have noticed they resemble monsters from ancient myths."

"For example, this headless demon appeared in Chiyu year 378 within the Maner Empire. In foreign legends, headless ones are called Dullahan, while in our Chiyu records, they’re named Xingtian."

"And this twin-headed bird demon—ancient texts describe it as 'like a magpie, red and black with two heads, called Lei.' The Peacock Dynasty’s Buddhist scriptures also mention it, as Fubo Kalou!"

"All these signs suggest demons may have existed far longer than humans, almost immortal, and fond of eating humans—especially hearts. The more they consume, the larger and more destructive they become."

"Size is the only factor Blue Star nations use to determine a demon’s destructive power. The An Kingdom government, based on Yandian records, divides disasters caused by demons into four levels: Spirit Monster, Giant Force, National Chaos, and Demon God—so-called 'strange strength and chaos,' measured by the ruler!"

So that’s what it meant.

In fact, Du Huaishan had long suspected what the "ruler" measurement was, and now he understood its origin.

"With the appearance of red marrow weapons and guardian spirits, humanity finally gained the ability to kill demons. The invention of the mobility cable completely changed the paradigm of cold weapon combat."

As he spoke, Lin Zhaoshu signaled the projectionist again.

The screen shifted from still photos to moving images—likely after the invention of the camera.

Du Huaishan recalled that during the Great War, many war correspondents lugged rifle-like cameras, capturing precious footage.

The scenes before him rivaled anything from the Great War; indeed, they could only be described as "utterly brutal!"

The footage was filled with explosions.

Yingzhou Army soldiers.

Under their commander’s orders, artillery barrages thundered, machine gunners raked the field furiously, and snake-like demons four or five meters tall were blasted to pieces.

But as the dust cleared—

The giant serpent demon, with a single breath, restored itself. With one twist, it surged between the artillery and machine gun lines, like a flood, instantly sweeping away all infantry firepower!