Chapter Fifty-Nine: Investigation and Unexpected Events

A blast like a shockwave thundered through the air.

In an instant, green mist curled and twisted. Lai Yanlong's body swelled at an astonishing speed; his previously imposing height of just over one meter eighty surged to more than two meters. The metallic armor, forged from unknown materials, stretched and adapted perfectly to his expanding frame. His muscles turned a verdant green, striped with jet-black tiger markings. Both arms transformed into powerful tiger claws. But most striking of all were his emerald serpent eyes and the venomous fangs that protruded from the corners of his mouth.

"Roar!"

At the same moment, Chang Suian's body also mutated and grew, flames of fiery red burning outward from within. His face cracked like porcelain, revealing lava-like fissures beneath. On his shoulders, elbows, and knees, golden tusks protruded and shimmered. With a sharp flick, the great Miao broadsword he wielded drew the fire enveloping his body onto its blade as if the flames themselves were alive. In the blink of an eye, the red-marrowed blade glowed scarlet-hot. Strangely, the fire did not harm his armor, but as sparks fell, they scorched black holes into the snow, leaving smoldering craters in their wake.

What a fearsome general of fire!

This was the transformation of the demonized under high fusion—so this was what it meant to be a demon-morph!

Zhou Zhong'ai, too, stood tall and lithe, her body enhanced, a white fox tail newly sprouting behind her. Her claws gleamed with icy crystals like snowflakes, dazzling and sharp. Many of the trainee soldiers could only stare in awe, shocked by the spectacle.

Tap!

Lai Yanlong moved decisively, his military boots tearing at the ground. With a swift motion, his armored left arm struck the black pillar demon, veins bulging, tiger claws lashing out in a spiraling attack like a pair of giant crab pincers—aimed straight at the demon's skull.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several demon claws shot out, surrounding Lai Yanlong. Yet before they could grasp even his shadow—

Crash!

A blazing strike descended, shattering the demon claws. The foul blood ignited as soon as it splattered, burning in mid-air into wisps of black smoke before it could even reach the ground.

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The black pillar demon howled in pain.

It was the first time Du Huaishan had heard such a wretched cry from a demon. No—more precisely, the demonized were different from the true demons; they still retained human consciousness and the ability to feel pain, and lacked the demons' formidable immortality.

"That's great," Wu Ming growled through clenched teeth, "with Instructor Lai, Instructor Chang, and Sister Zhou here, that black pillar demon won't survive for long!" Two of his teammates from his first training squad had fallen at the hands of that creature.

Du Huaishan said nothing, instead turning to watch the demons encircle from the north and east. Once these monsters caught the scent of humans and blood, they swarmed like crazed zombies from the movies, converging in droves. It was hard to say whether Instructor Lai Yanlong and his team could handle so many at once.

Meanwhile—

At the Commanders' Academy of the Martial Hall, in the central white office building, a middle-aged officer in major general's uniform, with a scholarly air and a neatly trimmed mustache, sat behind his desk, savoring his cup of fine tea. His three-colored pupils narrowed as he studied the handcrafted blue-and-white porcelain on the bowl. It was the same major general who had attended the 173rd recruits' induction ceremony, watching from the back to familiarize himself with the faces.

He was Pan Weilun, commander of the 73rd Brigade, 47th Division of Yingzhou Army.

"Well then, tell me—how is the investigation coming along?"

Across from Pan Weilun sat a gaunt, middle-aged man with a leathery, wrinkled face that resembled orange peel. When he grinned, his mouth revealed a row of rotten teeth, yellow and black. He was none other than Sun Jianheng, captain of the special operations platoon of the 73rd Brigade, who had previously taken Du Huaishan into custody.

"Commander Pan, the investigation is nearly complete. It's confirmed—the infiltrator was an agent secretly planted by the Society of Light in our Martial Hall's demon training camp for new recruits. Judging by the contents of his notebook, his goal was to steal data on our army's fusion enhancement training."

"His name is Lu Zhe, born in year 559 of the Red Yu calendar, registered in Qingzhou, joined Yingzhou Army in the first year of An Guo..."

Sun Jianheng recited his report with utmost respect, a far cry from his casual demeanor when talking to Lai Yanlong earlier.

Pan Weilun nodded, set down his tea, picked up the dossier, and skimmed through it. "This Du Huaishan... intriguing. A mere recruit, and yet Luo Zongwen intervened personally to protect him. Has he been investigated?"

"Yes, Commander Pan," Sun Jianheng replied, pursing his lips. "There's not much—he's a refugee from the battlefield at Xintun City, no formal records for now. He shows promising aptitude, stood out during induction, and thanks to his acquaintance with Chang Suian, he got the chance to meet Elder Luo."

"Promising aptitude?"

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Pan Weilun barely needed to ask. Sun Jianheng promptly produced a sheet of paper detailing everything about Du Huaishan, showing he’d done his homework.

"Yes, a fine prospect," Pan Weilun remarked after reading, leaning back in his chair. "A pity, though—Luo Zongwen's people got to him first. The Marshal has brought him to the Martial Hall these years, and without realizing it, has cultivated quite a few protégés, hasn't he?"

Sun Jianheng nodded; as captain of special ops, such information was at his fingertips. "Reconnaissance Regiment of the First Cavalry Brigade, First Battalion of the 68th Brigade, Enhanced Infantry Battalion of the Fourth Mixed Brigade... Many key positions are held by Luo Zongwen’s students."

"They’re all elite units of our Yingzhou Army..." Pan Weilun tapped the wooden armrest, drumming his fingers. "Jianheng, there’s already the Red Yu old guard, the foreign-trained officer faction, the new Martial Hall camp, and outsiders permeating Yingzhou Army. Don’t let a Luo Zongwen faction emerge too—Marshal doesn’t like chaos."

"Understood. I’ll assign someone to keep a close watch," Sun Jianheng assured him.

Just as Sun finished, urgent knocking sounded at the door.

"Enter."

The door creaked open. A young adjutant, accompanied by a courier, rushed in. "Commander Pan, Captain Sun—urgent telegram from Qingshi Mountain! Demons have attacked the 173rd elite training soldiers, casualties unknown, but two red smoke signals were fired consecutively. The patrol battalion requests immediate reinforcements!"

"What!?"

Pan Weilun shot to his feet. Every year, recruits' field combat training was coordinated between the monthly garrison at Xintun City and the Martial Hall, with security tightly controlled. Mishaps had happened over the years, but they were always minor.

But this time, the victims weren't ordinary infantry or artillery units—they were the elite training soldiers! The Martial Hall invested enormous resources and effort in each cohort, producing only two or three hundred of them per year.

To put it bluntly, even if all the regular infantry perished, they couldn’t compare to the importance of these three hundred training soldiers!

The red smoke already fired signaled grave danger—two signals in succession meant the situation was dire.

"Where's the 173rd instructor team?"

"Commander Pan, Chief Instructor Lai Yanlong has already led the instructors up the mountain to rescue them. He’s the one who sent the urgent telegram."

"Damn it! Get the patrol battalion commander who was on duty today—no, I’ll find him myself. I want to see for myself how the 73rd Brigade managed to screw up so badly!"

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