/
What exactly was the system? Xiang Ning had asked that question countless times. Following his heart earned him recognition from the system now? He didn’t understand, nor did he want to understand it. It was a good thing. He never did anything while expecting rewards in return; all of his actions were purely from his heart.
“Xiang Ning… you.”
“I’m sorry, I want to go. I want to go no matter what, I don’t want to hide behind them.” He wasn’t speaking loudly, but more than half of the silent crowd looked over.
“Hmph, what does that kid know? Looking at you, you’re going to die out there in a few minutes! I can’t protect you.”
“Yeah, why’re you faking it? Just sit there like a good kid!”
“Sit there and stay quiet, this isn’t a place for children.”
Many martial artists started to laugh and scold him, especially the elderly general. He looked at Xiang Ning as if they were separated by a universe. “What’s your name, child? I’ll remember you. But this mission is too dangerous, it’s best if you stay in the fortress.”
Xiang Ning looked at him and loudly said, “My name is Xiang Ning, I’m a student from Qiling Academy of Marsh City. Here, I’m a martial artist. I request to fight!”
“He’s a brat. Just go to school like a good kid, this is no place for brats. Leave it to us!” yelled a tall, muscular man.
Xiang Ning didn’t reply, merely looking up at the general on the platform.
The elderly general heartily laughed, “Good! Our Federation will never have to fear those animals with youths like you!”
“One-minute countdown starts now. Prepare for battle.”
“Glory to mankind, victory to the Federation. We shall return with glory!”
The great iron doors of Fortress One opened and more than three hundred volunteers unsheathed their various weapons. Killing intent instantly radiated to the sky.
“Tsk, that’s cheating. I’m not going to let you get too far ahead of me,” laughed Wu Rui, walking out from behind Xiang Ning. The Wu family were born for battle. Ever since he’d received his family breathing technique, he had never feared death.
“Wu Rui, step aside. Make way for his actual teammates.” Li Zimo and the rest appeared behind him, all of them clad in battle armor with their weapons out.
“Tsk, you’re wearing battle armor.”
“Che... like you won’t.”
“Fine, I won’t.”
Looking at his friends, Xiang Ning gave a goofy grin without a word.
“You kids think this is some countryside? This is the wilderness! With tens of thousands of beasts!”
“Alright, don’t scare them. Take good care of them later. They’re capable for their age, so don’t let anything happen to them outside, alright?”
“Hmph, you don’t have to remind me. Kids, follow me, alright?!”
Xiang Ning and his friends were suddenly surrounded by countless rough fighters, like hens protecting their chicks. They didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but were touched nonetheless.
Especially Wu Rui, who yelled, “Wait, wait. I’m not just some kid, I’m not weak! I can kill a tier four beast!”
“Oh shut up, don’t act strong here. You can only act strong when you are strong!”
Wu Rui was speechless. They didn’t believe him, but to be honest, he was still very touched. Not because those strong men were protecting him, but because someone finally treated him like a child. In the past, due to his height and looks, no one had treated him as a child. But here, compared to those gigantic men, he was a child. He instantly felt small and resolved to bulk up when he returned!
“Brother, when you guys are done, remember to come help us.” A muscular martial artist smiled, leading more than a hundred martial artists and three hundred soldiers toward the drains. One thousand against four hundred. The crowd watched them leave, knowing they might never come back.
But it was just as treacherous on their own side.
The remaining three hundred martial artists and two thousand soldiers would be welcoming more than fifty thousand beasts. And the battlefield would be in range of the fortress cannons.
“My armor is the Roaring Tiger Mk. 3, and I have a few high-explosive particle shells. I’ll deal with the Silverhorn Wolves!”
“I’m using heavy artillery, suited for dealing with Iron Tanks. Leave that to us!”
“Leave the few Azure Behemoths to us,” said an officer.
As the work was distributed, nothing was given to Xiang Ning’s group, much to Wu Rui’s displeasure.
This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
“You guys stay here. You have a very important task here. There aren’t many of us, and some beasts may slip past us. So you must stand guard here!” laughed a few men.
“Alright, time to show the children our true strengths. We don’t want them coming for our jobs!”
“Yeah!”
“Kill!”
Many different emotions bubbled as they watched the men laugh and charge into battle. Wu Rui wanted to follow them, but the soldiers who were also remaining at the fortress stopped them. “Don’t go after them. He’s right.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about the likelihood of the beasts breaking through their ranks and reaching us.”
Wu Rui wanted to say something but shut his mouth, then stuttered, “Then isn’t it even more important we go help them?”
The soldier wanted to say something, but Xiang Ning smiled and interjected, “Yeah, then it’s even more reason for us to help them. As I said, I don’t want to hide behind them. I want to fight alongside them.” He stepped forward. A soldier wanted to stop him, but Li Zimo and the rest stopped the soldier.
“You.…”
“Go. I’ll wait for you here,” said Fang Rou. She wanted to help Xiang Ning in battle, but knew that she could not take care of herself out there in her current state and would only give him more trouble. So she might as well stay so he could focus on battle.
Although there was a huge gap between the number of humans and beasts, there was still a limit to the number of beasts one zone could hold. Especially when gigantic beasts were present—more than ten of them in one zone was considered a huge number.
“Hahaha, if I get back alive, I’ll brag about this for the rest of my life! I’m a man who charged into a herd of Beast Generals!”
“Shut up, idiot! If you don’t pay attention, you’re not going back!”
“Hahaha, KILL!”
…
“Sorry, I’ve got to leave first.”
“Mm, we’ll meet soon.”
…
“I killed six, hehehe, I made a profit.”
…
“Glory to mankind.…”