Zhan Long

Fan Shu City's drill training field, a bunch of Royal Army Heavy Cavalry was training their riding skills. Han Yuan held his blade and watched from the side. There was even blood on his armor which had not been cleaned up. After I got close, I could even smell that of sweat or the decomposing stench of Hybrid Demons. However, I was already used to it; these were the heroes of wars. A large portion of them were not riding on white horses and were not extremely handsome men but brutes like Han Yuan who ate large amounts each meal; also, when he charged on a horse, he dug his nose.

……

"General!"

Han Yuan walked up and smiled. "We have recruited another twenty thousand new troops and are training them now. They are all good seeds from Battle Academy—top students within the school, so it is much easier to train them. In the near future, we will have thirty-thousand-plus Heavy Cavalry and even more."

I nodded my head. "What is the situation with the barbarian infantry shield unit?"

Han Yuan said, "During this battle, we lost nearly twenty thousand of them. We are recruiting more and more brave barbarians from the Fire Crystal Basin to join the Royal Army. However, maybe due to the huge losses, they have started to grumble."

I sighed. "En. After all, they still haven't treated Tian Ling City as their home, so it is impossible for them to fight for us with all of their hearts. They'll settle down after a period of time. Let's just hire and recruit more human troops when we return to Fire Crystal Basin. Apart from that, we should promote reproduction, opening new farmlands to plant food for survival."

Han Yuan nodded his head, his face filled with a gloating smile. "I've already done that. Last time, when I headed to Fire Crystal Basin, those barbarians were in fact people who weren't smart. Farmlands, stones, they mated everywhere. Haiz... Speaking of which, it really makes one's blood boil!"

I glanced at him and asked, "Shouldn't you have a wife?"

Han Yuan was stunned; his eyes became filled with sadness as he replied, "As soldiers, one day we might die in the wilderness. At that point, we won't even know where we are buried, so who would even talk about marriage with me? Forget it. It is best if I don't harm other ladies. If I really have needs, I will spend some silver coins with Xiao Lie and Long Xing in exchange for a night of fun in the empire."

I smiled. "En, that's good."

Han Yuan said, "General, you didn't come here just to talk, right? What other matter is there?"

I took out a Wild Heart Protection Talisman from my bag and said, "This is something we got from the Vanguard Army's Barbarian Wolf Cavalry. This talisman can bring out the potential of barbarians, giving them more power. You've seen the threat of the Barbarian Wolf Cavalry, so help me think of a way to use these Wild Heart Protection Talisman."

"Oh?"

Han Yuan took the talisman from my hand; after glancing at it for a moment, he said, "I am a brute and can't understand it; I can head to Fan Shu City to find some Mages to take a look."

"Great!"

……

In just ten minutes, Han Yuan returned and said excitedly, "General, Mage Gongting said that, as long as a spell touches it, it can merge with a barbarian, but it demands a really high Magic Attack. That's why please write a letter for me to bring enough Mages who can try merging with the talisman. How many do you have?"

"Enough for all the barbarian soldiers to merge with it."

"Good. That's great!"

……

Things proceeded really smoothly; with my letter, Han Yuan was able to do things without facing any obstruction.

Emperor Lochlan replied and stamped the emperor seal. Han Yuan swiftly sent two hundred Mages to Fan Shu City, and in the afternoon, he started the merge with the barbarian talismans.

In the drill field, a large group of people, these barbarian soldiers, waited to merge with the talisman. All of them were filled with anticipation. Having spent a long time in the Royal Army, they had a good relationship with humans and naturally felt pride in the Royal Army. They also knew that killing the enemy was something that men should do. This talisman could make one become stronger and obtain more glory.

"Are you ready?" a male Mage looked at a young barbarian.

The barbarian nodded. "I am ready!"

The young Mage raised his arm and the Wild Heart Protection Talisman flew up, turning into a streak of light. Magic swiftly covered his body; instantly, he was shaken and retreated a few steps back as his muscles swelled up. He punched a few fists to vent his newfound power. The young Mage's face was ashen white. "I need a few minutes of rest!"

……

Fan Shu City was the base of [Zhan Long] and I set up many treasury managers in the city. Our tens of thousands of Wild Heart Protection Talismans were all stored within and we could just casually take them over to replenish.

By the time it was close to night in real life, most of the Royal Army barbarians had merged with the talismans, their strength greatly increasing. They would most probably be able to do well in the next battle.

After dinner, I stayed in Fan Shu City to consolidate the city and the troops. Lin Wan Er shared some photos; she heard the people speak while sitting at Flaming Cloud City. This was something she did every day and she got annoyed at it. However, to stabilize Flaming Cloud City's rule, Lin Wan Er could only continue doing such boring things.

Only when it was close to seven did I finally get some news. Xiao Lie rode on the road, the black cloth covering his eye nearly flying away. He held the spear in his hand and laughed out loud. "General, good news! General, good news! Hahah..."

I was surprised. "What good news is there?"

Xiao Lie said, "Do you recall the ten thousand people we sent to Bright God Hall? The first batch have returned; there are a total of two thousand of them!"

"Ah?!" My heart jumped and I smiled. "Quickly tell me: Do we have two thousand Saint Hall Cavalry already?"

Xiao Lie was stunned and then smiked. "Sir there aren't that many. Saint Hall Cavalry isn't cabbage; only 10% of them became quasi-Saint Hall Cavalry. They passed the Saint Hall Cavalry graduation exam and learned all the Saint Hall Cavalry techniques. After which, with more training on the battlefield, one can become a real Saint Hall Cavalry. Although the other one thousand eight hundred didn't pass, they learned many high-grade techniques. These two thousand are the new blood of our Royal Army!"

I laughed. "Where are they?"

"They'll reach us soon; sir, just wait for a moment!"

Roughly after ten minutes, a rumbling sound of horse hooves spread in the distance. A black wave of Cavalry surged into the city. Looking out, they all wore black custom-made armor. The Bright Saint Hall was so rich, actually crafting new armor for all the people I sent over. One thousand eight hundred people wore black armor, while two hundred wore golden ones. Without needing to think, those in gold were quasi-Saint Hall Cavalry!

Hua hua hua...

A bunch of people got off the horses and knelt on one knee before me, saying loudly, "Greetings, general!"

I nodded my head in satisfaction and said, "Stand. After the evaluation, who got the best results?"

One of the golden-armored male walked forward and reported, "Sir, I scored 297 in the evaluation and ranked the highest. Does sir have any orders?"

I looked at him in praise and said, "Come, show me what you learned in the Bright God Hall."

"Yes, sir!"

That quasi-Saint Hall Cavalry took several steps back and pulled out the sword at his back. He hollered, and his sword glowed with a golden light, his arms clenching around it. A saint shield wrapped around him and then he hacked down, light smashing it onto the ground. Instantly, the stone floor shattered and a deep crater was formed.

Xia Ye, Xiao Lie, Han Yuan, Long Xing, and I were all stunned. Long Xing clapped his hands and smiled. "What a Saint Hall Cavalry, they really opened our eyes!"

That Saint Hall Cavalryman kept his sword and cupped his fist. "General, we spent dozens of days after entering Bright Saint Hall to comprehend the power of light and then our bodies were cleansed. Now, our power is really pure and has a really high killing effect to the Hybrid Demons in the north. We can judge their souls such that they will never recover!"

I smiled in satisfaction. "En, that's great, but what we may make you all do isn't to face Hybrid Demons but rather enemies from Moon City, Iron Skull City, and Swirling Abyss City."

The Saint Hall Cavalry cupped his fist. "We will follow the general's orders to the death!"

I patted his shoulder and smiled. "I don't need you all to die; I need you all to fight and protect the honor of the people of Tian Ling City."

"Yes, sir!"

……

At this moment, there was a sudden di; it came from Shen Bing, whom I had not seen for a long time. "Little Li, come offline to the base; I have a mission for you!"

"Oh?"

I was slightly shocked. I did not expect that there would be a mission so quickly. I did not ask any more and just said my goodbyes to Han Yuan and Xiao Lie. I waved to Lin Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue before going offline. Lin Wan Er told me to be careful. Actually, the care and concern was excessive. With my Yang Yan strength, who could even threaten my life?

I went offline, wearing the Guardian Base uniform, carrying Butterfly on my back, and prepared all the ammo before heading out. The A4 exited the school quickly and I headed to the Guardian Base.

When I arrived, Shen Bing was waiting for me at the underground entrance. She laughed when she looked at me. "Don't be nervous. Life has been good to you these few days; you look much better!"

"Naturally, I look much better than that half dead state when I killed Ouyang Chuan!"