Knight's Bloodline Update Parts 13-22 Complete

Hmm... It took some time to finally finish organizing. Up to volume 22 is all the (Blood Knight) I currently have.
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Blood Knight Episode
13 Chapter 1 Where Does the Road Lead?
A humming sound from the nasal cavity echoed in the cramped basement. The sound was so beautiful that
anyone who heard it would surely be aroused with boundless lust.
In the very center of the basement, two naked bodies were intertwined, constantly writhing, throbbing, and twisting
.
A circle of women lay scattered around, some with faces full of satisfaction, others flushed
and expectant.
After an unknown amount of time, the woman on the bottom straightened her legs, even her toes were completely pointed,
her pale thighs trembling slightly.
After a few more moments, everything returned to normal.
Withdrawing from the other's body, Richie immediately sat cross-legged on the straw mat, his brow slightly furrowed.
The female knights watched quietly from the side, none daring to disturb Richie at this moment.
At this moment, Lich's body contained various types of battle qi, as well as an
energy .
Most of this battle qi was as smooth and long as silk. In terms of quality, it was
far superior to his own battle qi.
As the battle qi circulated, it gradually melted away like snow under the sun, no longer
resembling solid threads, but dissipating into formless and intangible form.
Although its quality decreased, this dissipated qi was exceptionally pure, without any attributes whatsoever. Unfortunately, it came quickly and went quickly; this newly generated battle qi was dissipating
at a noticeable rate . After an unknown amount of time, the speed of the battle qi finally slowed down. Lich stopped circulating and shook his head at everyone. "Don't be discouraged, this is normal, we've all experienced bottlenecks," Jiulin comforted him from the side. The youngest of the three sisters snorted, "Is it really necessary to be so frustrated? Most people that they couldn't sleep." She was referring to herself. Not just her, except for Rosa and Nora, who were slightly better off. With their cultivation techniques and aptitudes, becoming aces was only a matter of time. The three of them were completely different. Their excitement at that time was indescribable, because before that, reaching a bottleneck was so unattainable for them, and breaking through to become an ace was an even greater dream. Richie smiled. Perhaps because his own path to advancement had always been smooth, he couldn't understand the excitement the female knights felt when they reached a bottleneck. Instead, he felt extremely worried about the slow growth of his battle qi. If he compared it to his previous battle qi growth rate, when he first became a knight, his battle qi growth was like walking slowly. After obtaining the initial combined cultivation technique, it was like running fast. Later, after obtaining a better combined cultivation technique from Lina, his battle qi growth was like galloping at full speed. Moreover, as more and more female knights joined, this horse transformed from an inferior breed into a thoroughbred, then into a superior breed, and finally into a rare gem. However, at this moment, he felt his battle aura growth was like "crawling," with each training session yielding only a tiny bit of progress. "It's the same bottleneck period, but when I advanced from apprentice knight to knight, it wasn't like this," Richie complained. He was met with a chorus of scoffs. "Apprentice knight to knight, that's a bottleneck too," Jiulin said with a smile. "The path of a knight is easiest ; the success rate for apprentice knight to knight is almost 100%. But the success rate for knight to ace knight is less than one in twenty. Most knights are stuck at this hurdle their entire lives. The success is even lower." At this point, Meilin couldn't help but think of that genius girl. The success rate of ace knights being promoted to honor varies from country to country. Established nations have their own methods. For example, the Omor Empire, home to the prodigy Trisly, guarantees roughly one in a hundred ace knights will be promoted to honor. The oldest nation, the Perkinton Holy Kingdom, has an even higher success rate. The Republic, however, is disappointing in this regard, lagging far behind established nations and even behind its greedy neighbor, the Valedin Empire. The Republic has always been considered wealthy but not powerful, and the low success rate of ace knights being promoted to honor is one of . Lina focused solely on higher levels: "The real difficulties begin beyond that. From honor to glory, the bottleneck suddenly becomes two, one of which is related to spirit. Whether you can break through depends entirely on fate." The other female knights didn't have Lina's high aspirations, and the three sisters were the most realistic: " You don't need to break through both. Breaking through one is already good enough. While a near-glorious knight is considerably inferior to a glorious knight, compared to before, it's like comparing heaven and earth," the eldest of the three sisters said enviously. "Don't be so narrow-minded. I don't like most of what my old man says, but there's one thing he says that I find very true. Your vision determines your level. If you think becoming an ace is your limit, then that's all you'll ever reach." In Squad 105, only Lina could lecture the three sisters like this. The most interesting thing was that the three sisters and Lina were the least compatible in the squad, fighting separately on the battlefield and rarely cooperating, yet they always listened to this kind of lecture. Slowly rising to her feet, Lina walked towards the makeshift bathroom beside her; the evening's intensive training was over. As she passed Lich, Lina paused. "There's no use in rushing. The more you rush, the less likely you are to break through." "You're not the first person to say that to me," Lich smiled wryly. "Master was the first , and then Hagate said the same thing." "In that case, just treat it as enjoyment, relax, and maybe you'll break through sometime." In the past, these words would have been exactly what Lich wanted, but not now. Having witnessed so much death, some people become numb, while others become even more terrified of it. Lich was both. Even with swords slashing his body, he felt no fear.

Fear gripped him. Once on the battlefield, his mind was consumed by fighting and killing; all other thoughts
vanished.
But outside the battlefield, he felt an intense anxiety, constantly sensing his own inadequacy.
This feeling hadn't been so strong before, but as the female knights rose to become aces one by one, this
anxiety grew ever clearer.
Emerging from the basement, it was already late at night.
Although the squad's quarters were separate from the rest of the camp, Richie and the female knights dared not spend the night in the basement as recklessly as
before , returning to their respective barracks to sleep.
"There seems to be someone outside," Nora said, turning her head to look out the window as she passed the corridor.
Everyone immediately crowded to the window to peer out.
They only saw a figure pacing back and forth outside the wall.
Upon seeing this figure, the female knights immediately lost interest. "It's looking for you,"
Lina patted Richie's shoulder.
Richie also recognized the pacing figure as Haget.
Of course, Haggett couldn't just come in himself. Although he knew Richie's background and what the 105th Squad
was doing in that basement, he could only talk about these things privately when joking with Richie.
In public, he still had to pretend he didn't know.
Besides, Dinah was on guard duty, and she couldn't let him in either. Although she and Richie had a relationship, as his mentor, Dinah rarely acted like that in front of other female knights, so she and Robin had been on guard duty
lately . Richie glanced at the dark sky, feeling inexplicably depressed. It was already past midnight. But Haggett had already come knocking, so he had to go out and deal with him. Aside from the temporary encampment, Richie walked straight over and asked, "What brings you here so late?" Highgate's face remained expressionless, still with that lazy air. "Nothing special , just a bit annoyed, so I came out for a stroll. I didn't expect to end up here." This was the truth, but not entirely. At least halfway here, he already realized he was heading towards the 105th Squad's encampment. If he wanted to stop then, it would have been a simple thought. "How about a drink, as long as it's not alcohol?" Richie had nothing else to do anyway; going back to the barracks to sleep was just a cover. Combined rest was essentially light sleep, so it didn't matter if he didn't sleep. "I have coffee and tea." Highgate was naturally happy. He hadn't had any particular plans when he first arrived , but after wandering around outside the 105th Squad's encampment for so long, some thoughts had begun to form in his mind. In the center of the barracks, the command post area where Highgate was located was brightly lit. This area was also separated from the rest of the area by a wall made of sandbags, enclosing the entire command post area with only a gap for entry and exit. The sandbag wall was only knee-high, easily crossed with a lift of the leg; its existence was more symbolic. In other regiments, Lich often saw soldiers and officers casually crossing such barriers, and sometimes he did it himself, but in Highgate's barracks, he had never seen anyone dare to do so. As a former regimental commander and now acting commander, Highgate's barracks didn't appear any larger than the others, except for an extra folding desk and a filing cabinet. Lazily sprawling on the bed, leaving the chair for Lich, Highgate made no attempt to be polite. He told his adjutant to make coffee, and while the room was empty, Haget whispered, "I need your help. The records inside those armors are absolutely not something I can touch, and neither can you. But there are a few people who don't have that concern, like Ilo and Trisley..." "I knew it, you're definitely going to give me a hard time." Lich wasn't too bothered. He 'd used a similar method when he showed Haget the records of his and the honorary knights of the Valedin Empire's fierce battle in the swamps of Pomeranian , only back then, Squad 105 wasn't as highly regarded as it is now. "Don't think I don't know this is nothing to you." Haget knew Lich wouldn't agree so easily and would definitely try to negotiate. "Then why don't you do it yourself? With your current status, Ilo will definitely give you some face ." Lich wasn't wrong. With Haget's current status—whether as a leader or as acting legion commander—he was someone Ilo and his associates needed to win over. With a wry smile, Haget said helplessly, "I don't want to owe them favors, because the price I'd have to pay to repay them would be too high. So I'd rather owe you one." "That way the cost is lower, you might not even have to repay," Richie scoffed, though he was mostly joking. If Richie had heard Haget's words when he first arrived in Penes, he certainly wouldn't have understood their meaning, but now he grasped the key. The higher one's status, the less convenient it is to ask for favors, especially when those favors are foreigners. "I'll ask around for you," Richie said, sounding uncertain, but in reality, the success rate was over . "Thanks in advance," Haget smiled. "Besides that, I need your help with something else." "You…you really know how to boss people around," Richie thought, a slight resentment creeping into his heart. In his memory, Highgate wasn't the type to take advantage relentlessly. How had he changed now? "Don't rush to refuse," Highgate quickly explained, not wanting Rich to misunderstand. "I've been planning how to rescue those legions trapped by the Valedinians. Most of their commanders are old friends , some are members of the Youth Army, and others, while not members, are very close to us." Rich knew all this perfectly well. The Second War Zone was practically the Youth Army's domain. The war zone's commander-in-chief, Valen, was the person with the closest ties to the Youth Army among the Republic's high command, so many Youth Army members served under him. Although Valen himself wasn't a member of the Youth Army, he had exceptionally close relationships . As it turned out, Valen's choice was correct.

This alliance's attack was unusually sudden, catching all five military regions off guard. The situation in the other four
regions was dire; the garrison troops were either defeated or besieged, forcing the higher command to send large numbers
of reinforcements to temporarily stabilize the situation. Only the Second Military Region managed to hold on,
allowing Valen to retain his title as the region's commander-in-chief.
However, Valen also had his own troubles. No reinforcements were sent to his region, and despite his best
efforts only managed to secure a few corps commander titles.
"How can I help you? Your squad might be recalled to Penes at any time," Richie said. It wasn't that he didn't want
to help, but he was powerless to do so.
"I didn't say I needed your squad's help. You alone are enough," Highgate
said
. "Don't worry, I won't send you into battle. In corps-level battles, individual combat ability has very limited impact." Richie immediately understood; Highgate valued his ability to fly.
Richie silently calculated.
At least for now, he's the only one who can roam freely in the vast sky, and
he won't .
If all Hagett has to do is scout from the sky, there's no danger.
As for the people Hagett wants to rescue, he suspects they're most likely from the
legions . If the plan succeeds, each rescued unit will add to Hagett's strength,
making him a truly deserving legion commander.
Knights always value life-saving grace highly. In the 105th Squad, everyone gives
Mary some respect, even the unruly Lina and the three sisters, because everyone in
the squad has been saved by Mary.
The legion commanders Hagett rescued are unlikely to resent him for suddenly becoming their superior, whereas he was once their
equal . This
saves the trouble of dismantling the existing organization and reorganizing.
No reorganization is needed; only replacements for lost troops are required. These legions could quickly become combat-ready.
Furthermore, since Hagate and these legion commanders already knew each other well, there wouldn't be any
problems , not even a need for adjustment.
Of course, there were bound to be some narrow-minded individuals among the legion commanders; with Hagate's shrewdness, he wouldn't have
overlooked how to deal with such people.
After much deliberation, this matter was indeed very beneficial to Hagate, but upon closer reflection, Richie also felt that it
wasn't without its own advantages.
Again, for knights, the debt of saving a life is extremely important.
If he were Hagate's subordinate, or if he were from the Second War Zone, those legion commanders might not be grateful to him,
but would only attribute the debt of saving their lives entirely to Hagate.
But he wasn't, so he also had a share in the debt of saving their lives.
Richie felt he was being too opportunistic, but then he felt relieved. Because this world
is opportunistic; if he were just an ordinary soldier, even if he saved those legion commanders' lives, they wouldn't
remember it—that's human nature, and he shouldn't feel ashamed of his opportunism.
“I can help you.” Leach didn’t hesitate this time, not even haggling.
Leaving Highgate’s barracks, Leach headed towards Ilo’s quarters.
It was also isolated, and like Squad 105, Ilo and his men had too many secrets.
The scattered monster parts all bore top-secret markings. Ilo’s men often forgot
where they needed the parts, leaving them in some corner. No one would hold them accountable; at most, they’d have to make a new part.
But if even one of these things got out, Highgate’s legion would be in big trouble. The Internal Affairs Department would
definitely send an investigation team to search the entire legion.
Nobody wanted to get involved in such a huge problem, so security in this area was far tighter than elsewhere.
Not only was the surrounding wall over a meter high, completely blocking the view, but a ring of sentries stood outside the wall
.
Fortunately, Richie had free access to this place. Although not officially acknowledged, everyone involved in
the research knew he was the second most important person after Ilo.
Like the command center, this place was brightly lit, and the researchers were all busy. Seeing Richie enter,
they simply nodded and continued with their work.
Richie knew what they were doing. Originally, they were in Bolmo for field testing, but
the outcome .
Now, it wasn't just field testing; combat testing was almost complete.
They didn't have enough recording devices, so the few they had had to be rotated.
The daily records had to be analyzed as quickly as possible, and the necessary segments extracted and preserved. The recorders
themselves had to be cleared before they could be reused.
This was a very important and arduous task.
"You actually have time to come here?" As soon as Richie entered, the short, stout Yiluo,
having came out to greet him.
Ilo's eyes were still somewhat red and swollen, but better than before.
He and his men were still exhausted, but they no longer needed to work through the night. In fact, this
combat record wasn't originally part of the plan; it felt more like icing on the cake.
However, this data shouldn't be underestimated. Although there's only a one-word difference between combat testing and field testing, the
difference is significant.
Now, the new armor was finally complete, awaiting mass production and further improvements
.
Here, Ilo also had his own laboratory.
Upon entering, Richie was choked by the pungent smell.
In the center of the room stood a glass cabinet, filled with liquid—he didn't know where Ilo had gotten it from—
the pungent acidic odor emanating from it.
A "Yaksha" suit was completely submerged in this liquid.
This armor was bare, without armor plates, and only part of the magic tendons were attached, making
it appear quite slender.
"This is for me," Richie immediately showed interest, even forgetting to mention Haget's request for his help.
"Do you remember that piece of activated metal that your women created, and the consequences they caused?"
The ensuing debate was also sparked by you, who was the first to propose using materials from the Quzi creatures to create battle armor. "
Ilo said leisurely.
Reminded by the short, fat man, Lich remembered that it was the first time he'd joined an expert's
debate ; before that, he'd only been an observer.
Lich walked into the glass case filled with liquid, looking at the suit of armor inside through the glass and the clear liquid
.
Compared to the one he'd been using, this one looked much smoother, not at all like an industrial
product , but rather had a biological feel to it.
Part of its skeleton was exposed, revealing the gray body underneath, which, although slightly
metallic , didn't generally look like metal. The joints and other parts were completely integrated,
lacking the springs and hydraulic shock-absorbing components found in other suits of armor.
Of course, not being able to see it didn't mean it wasn't there.
With Lich's current eye, he could discern some of its secrets.
"What material did you use for the base leather?" Lich asked curiously.
Ilo completely considered Lich a colleague with whom he could discuss things, and since Lich had initially suggested
this , he had nothing to hold back.
“Leather has too low an activity level, so I used living biological materials directly, mainly intestines and
diaphragm tissue, because they are easier to process.”
Ilo’s words made Richie’s face change slightly. To be honest, he could completely accept using animal skin to make things.
Before the invention of cloth, humans used leaves and animal hides as clothing, so it was normal.
But wearing a bunch of internal organs on his body was disgusting to even think about.
“Feeling uncomfortable all over,” Ilo smiled slightly. He had already guessed this would be the result, so he
casually asked, “Do you like money?”
“Who doesn’t like money?” Richie felt a little strange, not understanding why Ilo would ask such
a question.
“Don’t you know that your country’s banknotes are made of rotten burlap? You seem to
enjoy using them, don’t you?” Ilo said jokingly.
This was both an explanation and a joke. Hearing this, Richie immediately felt
a little .
“I don’t know,” Ilo gave a very irresponsible answer: “Theoretically speaking, it’s like the knight’s blade that
your teacher forged for you; it can self-repair.” Moreover, its maneuverability is
far superior , and its perception of the outside world is enhanced. However, all of this is just theory;
we'll only know how effective it is in practice after it's completed.
Hearing this, Richie felt somewhat discouraged.
Theoretical things are always unreliable, and Richie's enthusiasm plummeted.
"I came to you to ask for your help."
Since he wasn't interested in the battle suit, he suddenly remembered why he
had come. "Let me guess, you're not here for your own sake." Ilo wasn't just a
bookworm who only knew how to do research.
"How did you know?" Richie was somewhat surprised; he had often asked Ilo for help.
"Time. If you need my help, any time is fine, but nighttime is so
important ." "Ilo's words were somewhat veiled; he certainly wouldn't openly say that you and the female knights were probably entwined in
the basement .
Richie's face flushed slightly; he understood the implication in Ilo's words, but he
was increasingly thick-skinned, and people like Ilo always left room for interpretation, so he could tolerate it.
After a slight blush, he simply stated the matter directly: 'You and your men have been organizing the records; could you make
a copy for me?'
Ilo didn't show any surprise; he had already guessed it was about this.
He knew very well that when One-Knife was here, Haget didn't immediately come knocking, partly because it was
inconvenient to speak, and partly because there were simply too many records, and taking action might leave too many traces.
But now all the records had been organized, leaving only the most useful parts, significantly reducing the number
.
Haget must have learned about this from someone, and thus had his eye on it.
Ilo never cared too much about such things; after all, this was Haget's territory, and making a copy of
the records wasn't a big deal."
“I happen to have a condensed record here, covering approximately forty-four hours. He can come and take a look if he’s
interested .”
Night was deepening, and most of the lights were off. Except for those on night duty, both knights
and ordinary soldiers were asleep.
Lich, however, was awake. Two recorders sat on the table in front of him, one of them reading a recording.
A beam of light projected the recorded image onto the wall.
The image was divided into two layers: the upper layer showed a first-person perspective, mostly battle scenes,
while the lower layer contained various data.
Recording while displaying was a clumsy method. An easier way would be to connect the two
recorders , copying the content from one
to the other in just half a minute. However, this would leave indelible
traces . Using the current method, traces would also be left, but that would only prove that someone
had read the recorder—the reader being Iro. Even if the higher-ups wanted to investigate, they wouldn't find anything wrong.
Leach yawned widely, feeling tired and bored. He regretted bringing
Haggett here; that guy had a bunch of cronies, any one of them could easily replace him.
Now he was in a real bind. This side couldn't stop; someone had to keep an eye on things. Haggett
didn't know what he was doing, and Ilo's favor was somewhat against the rules, so he couldn't let his subordinates
know.
He didn't even have a chance to slip away for a moment; Leach felt he had miscalculated.
He could only wait for someone else to come tomorrow morning, or wait until Ilo woke up and had the short, fat man
call Haggett over.
Leach knew that seeing this kind of record was extremely rare; if it were someone else
, they would be wide-eyed and wouldn't even blink. But to him, it was nothing special.
Suddenly, Richie felt a surge of amusement. Everyone has their own expertise, everyone possesses
their own resources. When he was just an ordinary person, he envied everyone. He envied the wealthy
classmates, those with good grades and favored by teachers, and even the petty
thugs who didn't have to go to school. After becoming a knight, when he was weak, he envied the powerful knights; when he gained
strength , he envied generals like Haget.
But wasn't Haget envious of him too
? were nothing to him.
Richie gave a wry smile and looked up at the image projected from the recorder.
Because it was a first-person perspective, it was impossible to tell whose recording it was, but judging from the fluid combat style,
it was most likely the genius girl Trisley.
It had to be said, the new type of armor it involved seemed tailor-made for Trisley,
its performance in speed, agility, and maneuverability was absolutely top-notch.
Watching the fluid movements on it, Richie felt an itch to try it himself; he was envious again
, but he dared not try to imitate it.
Everyone has a different fighting style. When his master, Miss Dinah, laid the foundation for him, she only taught him the
very basics , with a large amount of practical combat training beyond that.
He used to think Miss Dinah was holding back, but now he understood that this was the correct method of guidance. Miss Dinah's path
was one of relentless, brute force, which wasn't suitable for him, who had just awakened.
Compared to Miss Dinah, the genius girl Trisley was indeed much stronger. In the shadows, Trisley
weaved and darted among a group of Alliance knights, as agile as a fish. Her speed didn't seem particularly
fast, but the Alliance knights couldn't touch her at all, repeatedly injuring their own men, and Trisley even
managed to kill four of them in the chaos.
This kind of battle scene, resembling a massacre, was nothing new to Richie.
He had already witnessed a one-sided battle on his way back from Morina. Compared to Trisly's light and agile
movements, the honorary knight, later identified as Anderson,
wielded an incredibly heavy double-headed lance with unparalleled skill, his effortless mastery far surpassing Trisly's.
Now, thinking back, the honorary knight's martial arts techniques were all quite ordinary.
No wonder the librarian told him that once mastered, any move could possess
power exceeding expectations. Therefore, comprehension was more important than the level of the technique itself.
However, divine skills and ultimate techniques are, after all, the culmination of the efforts of predecessors and refined by countless
individuals, possessing inherent advantages.
The choice depends on each person's own perspective.
This reminded Richie of his current predicament.
His inability to break through wasn't without reason; the reason was that he hadn't decided which
path to take.
While the Light Wheel Slash he cultivated was a divine skill, it couldn't be used as a breakthrough point.
A breakthrough only applies to core techniques, and specifically, core techniques that must be practiced alone.
Combined cultivation techniques also couldn't be used as a breakthrough point.
This made things much more complicated.
He practiced a whole bunch of things haphazardly, but only a handful of core techniques met the requirements.
The heavy-armored defense technique he practiced first met the requirements, but its
level was too low. As a publicly available technique, almost no one practiced it, and Lich himself had
abandoned it a long time ago.
Besides, his current path was increasingly diverging from heavy-armored defense, and he wasn't even a light-armored
defender ; he was becoming more and more offensive.
Relatively speaking, "Wind Control" was quite suitable.
"Wind Control" could be considered a core technique, although its power wasn't great and it offered almost no
enhancement , but it allowed people to fly, a unique characteristic that definitely made it a worthwhile
breakthrough direction.
The only problem was that "Wind Control" had only reached a preliminary level of perfection so far, with a lot of
room for improvement.
Once it became his breakthrough direction, the path of his battle qi circulation would be fixed.
Although it's only in its initial stages of refinement, judging from various indicators, "Wind Control" is definitely a
mid-to-high-level core technique. Once fully perfected, it will certainly enter the ranks of advanced techniques.
It's a real shame to solidify it now.
The last one is "Heavenly Hearing."
"Heavenly Hearing" is a core technique for scout knights. Like "Wind Control," it doesn't enhance attack power
at all , but it has special uses.
Haget once said that once a scout knight's technique breaks through its bottleneck, it will bring
immense benefits, making the path much smoother. However, that doesn't mean using the scout knight's technique as
a breakthrough point. Haget himself cultivates an advanced technique, so he probably wouldn't be willing to do that.
What will happen if it's used as a breakthrough point? Nora is probably the most experienced in this matter.
He once asked Nora, but for some reason, Nora refused to answer. This frustrated him greatly.
He could only ask Landy to help contact the rear and ask the librarian for an answer.
The result was equally frustrating.
For a reconnaissance knight to advance to ace is an absolute miracle, even in the Holy Kingdom of Parkinton.
Although the uncle was knowledgeable and well-read, he had no information on this.
As the saying goes, the first to try something new is a true hero, but the question is, how many people
actually
This was precisely why he had repeatedly failed to break through.
Suddenly, several cannon shots rang out in the distance. The initial shots were soft and muffled because of the great distance, but
the subsequent shots became increasingly clear.
This was an enemy attack alarm. Because the warning line stretched for fifty kilometers, ordinary alarm bells couldn't travel that
far, so horns were used to sound the alarm.
Richie jumped up.
He had no time to worry about the two recorders now.
Locking the door behind him, Richie ran towards his squad's encampment.
The entire camp was in chaos. This time, the first to rush out were all knights: the ordinary soldiers
were still sleepy and wouldn't wake up immediately.
Running towards the base, the squad was already prepared, even his armor was placed beside him.
The silver armor was close to the equipment vehicle, its front flap open, while the "Yaksha" was moved to the entrance,
its glider already attached.
Richie had chosen the "Yaksha," of course; its ability to fly was its greatest advantage.
There was an open space in front of the base, reserved specifically for him as a runway.
The wind was strong that night, and the snow fell heavier after midnight, but this harsh weather
was exactly what Richie wanted.
Because of the rush, high altitude was impossible; he could only rise to five or six hundred meters at most.
In clear weather, such an altitude would certainly be detected, but with the heavy snowfall, even if someone saw him,
they would think they were seeing things.
After only ten minutes, he saw a flurry of lights ahead—the armor's headlights. He
quickly zoomed in with his observation scope. Although he couldn't see clearly, Richie could roughly deduce from
the density that the enemy force was definitely no less than a battalion.
The battalion that Varedin had encountered was larger than the Republic's, numbering between four and five hundred. While
not small, it was definitely weaker than Highgate's army.
Had the opposing commander accidentally gotten his head caught in a door?
The more Rich pondered this, the more suspicious he felt, which reminded him of the Battle of Morena.
Thinking of the Battle of Morena, he felt even more uneasy.
Just like now, the enemy's momentum during the Battle of Morena was exceptionally intimidating, their arrogance laced with
murderous .
Rich was exceptionally perceptive in this regard; without much hesitation, just like when he was halfway to Morena
, he immediately turned and flew in another direction.
As he flew, he activated his communicator: "Landy, can you hear me?"
"What special discovery have you made in the sky?" The first
voice , but Miss Carrie's.
"The enemy is about thirty kilometers south-northwest, roughly a large battalion, all with their headlights on,
looking quite brazen. I don't know how they got so close without being detected."
Lich didn't voice his suspicions.
This wasn't because he was hiding anything from Garley; he was wary of the recording device on his armor still running.
The Republic's military regulations were highly flawed; the more you said, the more mistakes you made. If he voiced his suspicions now, and it turned out
there were no raiding party, he would bear considerable responsibility. What crime he would be charged with would depend on the investigators
.
If the investigators insisted on a serious charge, they could easily accuse Lich of fabricating false intelligence,
intending to cause their own defeat, and being suspected of espionage.
If he remained silent, even if someone investigated, at most he would be considered to have retreated for the enemy, which wasn't a serious
crime and would easily lead to disputes.
“Be careful, don’t rush too far ahead. I might need your support at any time.” Although
he couldn’t explicitly state his suspicions, he could still subtly convey his meaning:
“I’m worried there might be undetected enemies on other lines. I plan to take a look around.”
There’s a way to understand these kinds of statements. Having been a captain for so many years, Garley naturally understood
the implication .
“Should I contact Highgate?” Garley asked.
Leech fell silent. He wasn’t sure if he was overreacting. What if there wasn’t another force, and
Highgate missed an opportunity due to excessive caution after hearing his advice? That wouldn’t be good.
Although given his relationship with Highgate and his potential, Highgate might not blame him, but Highgate’s
evaluation of him would certainly be somewhat diminished.
Leech felt a headache coming on. At this moment, he finally understood the dilemmas of decision-makers.
This reminded him of General Paul, who was assassinated after stepping down and leaving his residence.
The mere mention of this name immediately brings to mind the Battle of Morena,
where .
Previously, he only felt contempt and a faint resentment towards him, but now, Leach felt a pang of
sadness. He wondered if he would have made the same choice if he were in that position.
Leach's face flushed crimson. When had he become so indecisive? Following this path
, though he could climb high, he would only be a second Paul. Suddenly
, a surge of energy and exhilaration washed over him, and many things he had previously struggled with became clear . "Contact Highgate for me. Being careful won't hurt." Having made his choice, Leach abruptly turned and flew off in another direction. Red Valley wasn't particularly large, nor was it small. Unlike the complex terrain of Pomeranian, it lacked rivers and swamps, surrounded only by mountains. These mountains weren't very high, averaging only one or two hundred meters , but they were very long, their undulating ridges resembling the folds of a gathered cloth. Red Valley was the largest of these folds. For Leach alone to search for a hidden, stealthy team in this valley filled with undulating peaks and ravines was no easy task. This is where the advantage of having Garry and Hagate make contact became apparent. Upon hearing Garry relay Leach's words, Hagate hesitated slightly before immediately instructing his adjutant to contact all the surrounding outposts. Of course, so many outposts couldn't be without a Nen user. Red Valley was divided into eight areas, each with inner and outer layers, and each had a designated supervisor; only there were Nen users stationed. After contacting sixteen Nen users, within a few seconds, Hagate sensed something was amiss. The Nen users in the other areas reacted immediately, but one hesitated for a moment before responding. This direction, ironically, forms a pincer movement with the enemy force that has already been discovered. At this point, if Haigate still couldn't discern anything, he wouldn't be qualified to serve as acting commander . Tactics like "feinting to the east while attacking in the west," "luring the tiger away from the mountain," and "drawing the snake out of its hole"—using one force to feign an attack to attract attention while another secretly strikes the vital point—have long been used in past wars.

He'd been thoroughly outmaneuvered.
Although he'd figured out the enemy's tactics, Haggett felt no relief. There was a reason
why such old tactics continued to be used and successful . Whether setting traps or launching a preemptive strike, there was a prerequisite: knowing the movements of the other two forces. If you were completely unaware of whether the enemy was advancing or retreating, or when they would attack, even if you figured out their plan, you could only cower and defend yourself. Haggett, a man determined to become a legendary general, still didn't want things to end this way. So he placed all his hopes on Leach. "There might be a problem in District Six. I'm counting on you." Haggett directly connected to Leach's communicator. Hearing this, Leach finally felt reassured. He turned and flew towards the area Haggett had mentioned. The clouds were thick, and the moonlight penetrating them was very dim, but with so much snow falling, the thick layer of snow on the ground reflected light easily, so it was still somewhat visible below. The overhead microphone scanned back and forth constantly. Its highly directional capabilities filtered out most of the whistling wind . Although there was a definite direction, the area was not small, and time was of the essence. If they waited until the enemy was close to the inner circle before detecting them, it would be pointless. Sweat beaded on Richie's forehead. The more anxious he became, the more chaotic his mind became. The tragic image of Morena flashed through his mind every now and then . Several times, he even saw Lina and Lanty being trained as "beauty dogs," crawling naked on the ground with other women. Those images didn't arouse him ; instead, they filled him with a wave of bitterness. Suddenly, a soft, rhythmic rustling sound entered his ears, fleeting as it came. Richie jumped in fright, quickly switching the microphone back. A few seconds later, the soft rustling sound returned . Listening carefully, Richie felt the sound was very familiar; he thought he had heard it before, but could n't quite place it. Just then, a soft "thump" came from his listening device, followed by a teeth-grinding scraping sound. Richie's eyes lit up; he knew why the rustling sound was so familiar. It was the sound of sleds scraping across the snow. On the way from Bolmo here, when they stopped to rest, he mostly sat in a small cart, which not only had a sled but also two skids. The skids rubbing against the snow produced this rustling sound, and the collision and scraping sound he had just heard was from the skids hitting the sharp edges of rocks beneath the snow. Richie immediately flew towards the direction of the sound. With a little effort, he saw something vaguely in the valley below. Although he couldn't see clearly, judging from its length, it should be the human force that had suddenly appeared and been searching for. Lowering his altitude, he could finally see the situation below more clearly. He saw a long line of sleds speeding along the mountain road, each sled carrying more than one suit of armor. Although he couldn't count them all, Lich was certain that this force was definitely more than one large contingent. He couldn't help but gasp. In his memory, feint attacks usually involved a larger force to create a show of force and attract attention; ambushes, on the other hand , prioritized speed and were usually smaller. The fact that the ambushers outnumbered the feint attackers meant one thing: the enemy was determined to succeed, and if a sneak attack failed, they would launch a full-scale assault. Realizing this, Lich immediately raised his wing, trying to fly higher and see further . The same principle applied to communication. At a height of one thousand meters, the communicator's range would double compared to the ground, enough for him to send a message directly from Aniu to Haigate without having to fly back . As Richie was pondering how to explain the situation to Hagert, he suddenly felt a . It was as if someone had locked him in place. Chapter Two: Mental Pierce A sharp, intense pain shot straight to his head, and almost instantly, Richie lost consciousness, feeling as if were dead. This is where the superiority of a hang glider over a real bird becomes apparent. If a bird were to suddenly "stop" in mid-air, it would plummet straight down, but the hang glider continues to fly forward, at most dropping slightly in altitude, and its initial direction is altered by the wind. It flew forward for an unknown distance before Richie shuddered violently and regained consciousness. Upon waking, the first thing he remembered was the sharp pain he had just experienced. He desperately wanted to touch his forehead to see if there was any blood, but he couldn't. Unlike ordinary armor, the Yaksha didn't have many gaps; this armor was completely form-fitting, leaving no room for movement. To check if his forehead was injured, he would have to land on the ground, remove the armor, and then examine it. But this wasn't the time to ponder such things. War was raging, and Helot was waiting for his message. After reconfirming the direction and checking the distance, Richie was surprised to find he could actually make contact. He quickly activated his communicator. "Found something." "What did you find?" Helot and Garry's voices came simultaneously from the other end of the communication channel. "Sure enough… there's… a force, more than… the ones responsible for the feint attack… definitely… more than… a whole battalion. They're all… riding… sleds, very fast. At most… half an hour… they'll reach you." Richie stammered out everything he knew. As he spoke, he felt a splitting headache; the inexplicable attack earlier seemed to have seriously injured him. "You're injured?" Helot wanted to know more; the more he knew, the better he could treat the , but he had to express his concern. "I almost lost my life just now because of this intelligence." Rich didn't care that the recorder would record his words . He wasn't one of Helot's men. As a guest soldier, he could refuse to obey orders let alone complain.

"You were attacked? Were you flying too low?" Helot wasn't quite sure what was going on,
but one thing was certain: he didn't want Leach to risk it if it was too dangerous. Leach's survival
was more important than a perfect victory for him.
"I don't know what happened either. My altitude wasn't low, it was about..." Leach
pulled up the part of his recorder showing his flight status: "The altitude was 625 meters. Besides muskets, I
don't know what could reach that altitude. But I didn't hear any gunfire."
A rustling sound came from the other end of the communication channel. Helot, holding the communicator,
directed his subordinates to make arrangements.
After a long while, Helot spoke again: "One last thing I need from you. Can you tell me
what kind of armor those are ?"
Leach was quite annoyed. He had to go back and scout again, which was a huge risk.
But considering the current situation, he had no choice but to take the risk. The enemy was aggressive and determined to win;
without his help, Helot's chances of survival were slim.
"Alright, I'll give it a try," Richie sighed.
Helot remained silent for a long time, but ultimately didn't take back his words, only apologetically saying
, "Be careful." After saying this, a "beep" sounded in the communication channel, and Helot
turned off the communicator. The members of Squad 105 didn't leave. Lina asked, " What did
you feel when you were attacked ?" "Feeling," Richie thought for a moment, "I felt a sharp pain in my head, like being pierced by a red-hot steel needle, and then I lost consciousness..." Before Richie could finish, he heard several voices simultaneously. "Mental Pierce." Richie recognized that at least Lina, Trisley, Dinah, and Robin were speaking. The saying "family tradition" definitely holds true in the world of knights; even a lazy guy like Robin could immediately understand the attack. The others, who were much more diligent and stronger than Robin , didn't even know what "Mental Pierce" was. Even without knowing the details, one could sense something ominous from the tense tone of these four people. "I'll go tell Helot immediately, this time we're probably in big trouble," Lina was the first to realize. "Lich, fly as high as you can. 'Mental Pierce' is an evolved version of 'Mental Suppression,' but to use it effectively, you need to reach at least the Quasi-Brilliant level, and specifically, a Quasi- Brilliant ," Diana explained quickly, showing concern for her disciple and man. Upon hearing "Quasi-Brilliant Knight," Rich immediately felt a throbbing pain in his forehead again. Don't underestimate the difference between Quasi-Brilliant and Peak of Honor; it's like heaven and earth. The former is a top figure in any country, and even if they are useless in any other aspect besides martial arts, they can at least serve as the deputy commander of the Royal Guard, like Diana's father. The Royal Guard is directly under the Supreme Command, managing all the corps around the capital, as well as the Knights' Headquarters. The deputy commander of the Royal Guard Regiment—this position was far more important than the theater command. This wasn't just true of the Republic; other countries were similar. Positions of this rank weren't easily filled. Everyone couldn't help but speculate. Did the Valedinians value Harlot and his regiment so much, or were they after Ilo and the new armor? The more they thought about it, the more confused they became, and Richie felt his head throbbing. Just then, Harlot's voice rang out again through the communication channel. This time, Harlot wasn't as composed as before; his heavy breathing revealed that his heart was also unsettled. "Brother, I'm counting on you this time. Whether we can get through this depends on how much ." Helot said this upfront, not caring if it was being recorded. " I need you to hold off that group. It would be best if you could tell me the models of those suits of armor; this is very important." Richie knew this was crucial. The preparations for dealing with light armor and heavy armor were completely different. Being prepared in advance wasn't just about success or failure; if done correctly, and the preparations perfectly countered the enemy's formation, a major victory could be achieved with minimal losses, while a disastrous defeat could follow. Gritting his teeth, Richie decided to go all in. Everyone he cared about was taken care of; even if he died , he had nothing to regret. Turning around, he simply turned on the main light on his armor, a beam of light shining straight down, while simultaneously maximizing the magnification of the observation scope. Almost at the same time the light came on, a chorus of gasps erupted from the listening device. Originally, only one person below sensed Richie's presence. Richie actually recognized this person; he was the honorary knight who had captured Lina. When they fought the 105th Squad, Anderson was already at the pinnacle of honor. That battle was incredibly beneficial for , allowing her to break through her bottleneck and become an ace knight upon her return . Conversely, it also greatly benefited Anderson. Because of Lina's escape and the fat man's death, Anderson, as someone connected to them, was somewhat affected and relegated to the second tier. After the war broke out again, he was largely sidelined for a long time. If it weren't for the situation, he would probably have been frozen out. Adversity often breeds motivation—this saying is absolutely true. During this period of being frozen out, one of the two bottlenecks that had been preventing him from further improving his strength loosened. Just a week ago, he suddenly broke through. As is customary, once an Honor Knight becomes a prospective Glorious Knight, they must go to headquarters to have their rank re-verified. Anderson, however, didn't do so because he had just captured a prisoner who was trying to contact Helot. In the Second War Zone, Helot's legion was always considered the toughest nut to crack. Unlike other commanders who relied on city defenses, Helot hid in the mountains, not even using scanning nets, instead deploying hidden sentries all around. Therefore, no one knew his legion was hiding in Red Valley.

Having obtained the long-awaited news from the prisoner, Anderson's excitement was no less than
that of becoming a near-Glorious Knight. He wanted to win a battle and celebrate his promotion.
Anderson was absolutely confident he could deal with Helot.
After becoming a near-Glorious Knight, he could not only sense who was watching him, but also sense if someone was secretly spying on him from all around —an ability that was the bane of any reconnaissance knight. He had taken down Helot's hidden sentries
in the mountains one by one without even having time to sound the alarm. Until just now, Anderson was still grateful that everything had gone smoothly. But now, his good mood had vanished. When he first sensed someone spying on him from the sky, he thought it was an illusion; that his "Mental Pierce " was entirely based on feeling. After casting the "Mental Pierce," nothing happened, and the feeling of being watched disappeared immediately. Anderson had thought it was just a hallucination caused by his excessive tension. But now, a beam of light was shooting down from the sky; it couldn't possibly be an illusion. "Scout Knight, tell me what's up there," Anderson said, activating the corps commander's private communication channel , which connected him to every single one of his subordinates. Anderson himself squinted, gazing at the point of light diagonally overhead. It was flying very fast, which alone proved it wasn't a hot air balloon. The Alliance had indeed experimented with using hot air balloons to carry scout knights for aerial reconnaissance and surveillance. Hot air balloons could easily ascend to two or three thousand meters, much easier than setting up lookout posts, and offering a much greater observation range. However, they also had significant problems and drawbacks, far from being practical. He hadn't expected the Republic of Monstok to already possess something similar, and already put it into practical use. This discovery was more significant than annihilating the Helot corps. Anderson desperately wanted to shoot down that thing overhead, but looking around, he couldn't find any suitable throwing weapons. He regretted not having a firearm at hand. As a traditional knight, Anderson also looked down on firearms. In his view, while firearms had a long range, they couldn't be fired continuously, and their power was somewhat lacking. Even without firearms, a javelin would suffice; with his strength, a javelin thrown at full power could travel a kilometer. Somewhat unwilling to give up, Anderson took a one-handed sword from a nearby knight and hurled it with all his might. The sword flew out with a sharp whistling sound, the battle aura infused into its blade leaving a long trail of light behind it. As soon as the sword left his hand, Anderson immediately unleashed a "Mental Pierce." In the sky, Richie felt another sharp pain approaching him, but this time he was prepared. The battle aura within his body was circulating continuously along the pathway of the Heavenly Hearing, gathering at the pineal gland in the center of his forehead , standing upright like a shield. The shield wasn't very sturdy; it was pierced through by the "Mental Pierce." However, even a tattered shield is still a shield, and the power of the "Mental Pierce" was greatly reduced after being blocked. His head throbbed, but Lich didn't lose consciousness like before. However, the danger wasn't over; the straight- on sword sent chills down his spine. Dodging was impossible; there was nowhere to gain leverage in mid-air, and his body was far less agile than on the ground. He could only parry. He tilted the small shield on his arm at a seventy-degree angle, blocking the sword's path. A faint yellow light enveloped the shield's surface. This small shield was the only part of the "Yaksha" that was entirely made of metal. With a "clang," sword and shield clashed, and the sword was deflected, grazing the leading edge of the glider. Lich felt his entire arm and half his body go numb from the shock, and he couldn't feel anything in his hand. This was at an altitude of over six hundred meters; if the distance were any closer, he wasn't sure if he could have blocked it. Being a target is no good. Leach tilted his body to the right, and his glider slid to the right, covering four or five hundred meters in the blink of an eye . This rapid turn reduced his altitude considerably, by about fifty meters, but it significantly increased the linear distance between him and the group below. Once he was slightly safer, Leach pulled his glider back up, changed direction, and flew towards the rear . Although the time between turning on his headlights and turning to run was short, it allowed him to see that the group ahead was entirely in light armor. Apart from a small number of "Valkyrie" suits, most were "Cheetah " suits. "Cheetah" armor was for "Hunters," who were generally rookies who had just joined the army. Their targets were mostly demoralized individuals who only wanted to escape, some even wounded. Therefore, this type of armor only needed to be fast; other performance characteristics were irrelevant. Leach clearly remembered that the first knight he killed was the "Hunter," and the first suit of armor he destroyed was the "Cheetah." Now, the only question was whether the armor on the sleds behind would also be "Cheetahs." If so, thank goodness. Seeing the bright spot in the sky quickly disappear, Anderson felt somewhat helpless. He hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand, and the large force charged back up the Red Valley. This was no longer a sneak attack, but a full-scale assault. Anderson was in a bind. If the feint attack hadn't started yet, he could retreat. But once the feint began, the plan couldn't be changed. If he retreated, it would mean completely abandoning the force responsible for the feint attack. He absolutely couldn't do that. Flying shakily over a mountain ridge, he saw a slightly flatter slope ahead and lowered his altitude . At this moment, his head not only throbbed as if it were about to split open, but he was also dizzy and could only barely control the glider. As he was about to land, Richie didn't even have the strength to change his posture. He and his hang glider swayed like a drunkard before plunging headfirst into the snow. He had completed half of the task Highgate had asked him to do. Although he couldn't keep an eye on the group in the air, he had at least ascertained the enemy's situation and relayed it back.

The group that launched the sneak attack was entirely equipped with light armor. Besides the Valkyrie and the Cheetah
, there were also some Centaurs. This was a type of light armor used by the Republic of Bikna within the Alliance,
positioned between the high-end Valkyrie and the low-end Cheetah.
As one of the few mass-produced light armors in the world today, Richie had studied this type of armor.
The Centaurs were designed for routine patrol missions; they were lightweight, simple, inexpensive,
and required little maintenance. Although not designed by a renowned designer, it was a very successful light armor.
Fortunately, the number of Centaurs in the attacking force wasn't large, otherwise, Highgate's
side would have been truly hopeless.
Lying on the ground, Richie was still worried about the camp and the people inside, but he
couldn't do anything now, not even have the strength to get up.
As his mind relaxed, the waves of dizziness intensified, along with an indescribable
nausea.
Influenced by the genius girl Trisley, he had read many
books such as "Human Anatomy," "Biology," and "Neurology," so he could roughly guess that this was probably damage to
some .
Compared to other parts of the body, nerves are relatively fragile. Strong light takes an hour
to burn the skin, but only a few minutes can permanently damage the retinal nerves.
No wonder that against honor knights, numbers can compensate for a lack of strength, but once you reach the quasi-glorious
level , this tactic is useless. With the "Mental Pierce" killer move, no matter how many honor knights join forces, it's useless.
They'll probably be hit by "Mental Pierce" before they even get close.
However, Richie had some questions. If that's the case, wouldn't knights above the quasi-glorious level
be able to dominate the battlefield? What would be the point of the other knights?
Why not just let those above the quasi-glorious level fight each other to determine the outcome of the war?
But that's not the case. Countless battles have proven that the final victory is not determined by the number of knights above the quasi-glorious level
, but by the number of ace knights and honor knights.
There was definitely something fishy going on, but no book mentioned it.
Lying on the ground, dazed and confused, his mind was filled with all sorts of random thoughts.
But one thing Richie understood very clearly: the direction of his next breakthrough.
He had never forgotten that when he first awakened, Miss Carrie had made him a heavy-armored defender because it
would increase his survival rate on the battlefield.
Living was more important than anything else.
Richie lay quietly in the snow, and after an unknown amount of time, he finally heard some
strange sounds. It was someone walking on the snow, trudging through the thick snow.
The sound grew closer.
Although Richie's body couldn't move, his fingers could still move. He casually activated the safety switch for
the reverse .
The switch was on the inside of the wrist of the armor; he could reach it by simply pulling his hand back slightly. Then, following
the sequence of six turns to the left, six turns to the right, and then five turns to the left, the safety immediately disengaged.
Suddenly, a metal tube was thrust into his mouth. This was the switch; with a slight bite,
the power core would immediately reverse, followed by a deafening roar…
He didn't want to take this step, but compared to falling into the hands of the Alliance, death might be
more .
The footsteps grew closer, and Rich finally saw clearly that it was a "Green Iguana,"
the same armor Nora used before—the armor used by Republic scout knights.
Although the people coming were most likely his own, Rich still dared not let his guard down. He himself was
an expert at this kind of thing. To blow up enemy supply depots, he and his tribal squad often ambushed
Alliance convoys, killed them all, drove past the warehouse guards, and then let them do as they pleased.
Perhaps because he was used to fooling others, Rich's suspicion grew stronger.
"Where are you injured? Are you alright?" the person inside the "Green Iguana"
asked Judging from the voice, it was a man, not too old.
"So-so." Richie's voice was muffled, his teeth constantly
clenching the detonator.
It wasn't impossible for him to be tricked into talking, then strike when he lowered his guard,
so Richie had to be cautious. Even so, Richie wasn't entirely safe.
"I don't have any medicine on me. If you're not seriously injured, you'd better bear with it," the scout knight
seemed quite kind.
"Can you help me contact Highgate?" Richie challenged the man. If this guy dared to say he
could , it proved he was a fraud.
"I'm sorry, the observation post responsible for liaison was taken down by the enemy." The scout knight shook his head.
"You didn't raise the alarm?" Richie questioned.
"I did, didn't you hear it?" The scout knight must have been new to the army, because he
sounded somewhat aggrieved at Richie's question, his voice carrying a natural air of grievance.
Leach then remembered vaguely hearing a cannon blast.
He was starting to believe the man in front of him: "What are you planning to do now? Go back to camp?"
"I heard you land, so I came to check. Do you want me to drag you back?" the scout
knight asked. He genuinely meant well, but his kindness was tinged with ulterior motives.
They rotated shifts weekly, and he was already at camp when Leach and his group arrived, so he knew
how much the acting commander valued them.
The formation of the Raiders by Highgate was no secret to the locals, and everyone knew that
being selected for the Raiders meant a meteoric rise to power—the survivors of the "Tribe" squad were the best
proof.
Although he was just a rookie assigned to the front-line regiment, previously doing
sentry duties , he also had ambitions: to join the Raiders and have a bright future.
Now, a golden opportunity was before him, and he certainly didn't want to let it slip away.
The hang glider transformed into a ski, and Richie lay on it, being dragged back.
The scout knight's observation post was only two kilometers from the crash site. This was located in a semi-circular area...
The bunker on the mountainside, slightly raised like a grave mound, was well-hidden, with
shrubs .
Behind the shrubs was a ring of rocks, which concealed the alarm cannons.
The bunker was initially dark, but when the scout knight touched the wall near the entrance, a lamp
immediately lit up. The light wasn't very bright, barely enough to illuminate the interior, let alone
read.
The space inside wasn't large, slightly smaller than a typical barracks.
After looking around, Richie finally believed the scout knight's identity, as there were no
signs of a struggle.
When the scout knight emerged from the "Green Iguana," Richie was even more certain, as
the knight was wearing a combat suit made by Richie's family.
This combat suit had to be custom-made. Not only did they require measurements of chest, waist, and height, but
also the position of the collarbone, the degree of shoulder flexion, and the difference in distance between the bent and straightened arms. The measurement
chart required over sixty data points. If someone else wore the suit made this way, it
would be immediately obvious that something was wrong.
Knowing there was no danger, Richie certainly didn't want to keep the reverse switch in his mouth. If he
accidentally bit it, wouldn't he die a very unjust death?
He put the switch away, relocked the safety, and called out, "Help me out of there
!"
Emerging from the Yaksha, Richie gasped for breath. He tried to stand up, but his legs had no strength. The room
contained only a simple wooden bed, a folding chair, and a few
wooden planks embedded in the walls. Most of these planks were used as shelves, and the one near the observation hole appeared to be
a table.
The scout knight helped Richie to the bedside.
Lich initially tried to sit up, but he couldn't even manage that; his body swayed constantly, so he
ended up lying down.
The scout knight turned and walked to the observation port. A listening tube hung on the wall, with two knobs next to it.
He turned one of them.
Instantly, a series of loud bangs came from the listening tube.
It was a series of very faint and muffled explosions, like a string of small cannons wrapped in two layers of cotton
and then detonated.
"They've started fighting over there," Lich said, as if answering himself, just trying to find a topic of conversation. Of all
the knights , the scout knights were the most troublesome for him. Nora, for example, was a different story, and even
the two scout knights in the "tribe" squad barely spoke ten words a day.
Fortunately, this one wasn't one of them.
"It's cannon fire! The enemy has entered our artillery barricade; they're in for a world of hurt," the scout knight said with
a bright smile.
He was indeed young, at most eighteen or nineteen according to Richie's estimate. He had a fair complexion, was quite handsome, and
had a tall, slender figure. His short, brown hair lay neatly against his head, giving him a sunny, boyish
charm.
"My name is Richie, I'll be seventeen in a month. What about you?"
"Raz, seventeen, just like you."
Just then, a loud bang rang out from the receiver, much louder than the sound of cannon fire.
Richie immediately understood what this was—an explosion caused by energy crystals, and
quite a few at that.
Then came another bang, even louder this time.
The sounds of energy crystal explosions and cannon fire mingled together, rising and falling in waves.
Richie and Raz both became solemn.
Although their expressions were similar, their feelings were worlds apart. Richie knew the enemy's strength;
just that one near-Glorious Knight was someone none of their side could handle, so his heart was
pounding.
Raz was also very nervous, but his nervousness was a natural reaction after the battle began.
The gunfire grew increasingly intense, eventually becoming a continuous cacophony.
The cannons in Haigate's hands were all two-inch rapid-fire cannons, breech-loading. The shells were pre-loaded
with gunpowder and tucked into the barrel for ignition, allowing for at least nine rounds per minute.
These cannons were only effective against armored vehicles, with a range of two kilometers. A direct hit on any armored vehicle, except for heavy armor,
would be disastrous.
Of course, the hit had to be successful.
"Victory is definitely ours. You don't know why we chose this place as our hideout.
Red Valley used to be called 'Copper Valley,' full of copper mines, but the ore has long been depleted, and those
mines have been abandoned for centuries. This time, the corps commander re-excavated them, turning them all into defensive fortifications.
Whoever enters the artillery barrage will only get beaten up. Listen, the gunfire is getting denser and denser, it hasn't
stopped ." "
As he said this, Raz's face was still full of smiles, but his smile instantly froze because
the gunfire was noticeably sparser than before.
"But... maybe the gun barrels are too hot and need to be cooled down." He quickly came up with a
plausible excuse.
Leach had no intention of listening to his explanation, nor did he intend to continue thinking about the battle over there. He was afraid he
couldn't take it and would have a mental breakdown.
"How long have you been here?" Leach tried to change the subject.
"Just over half a year. I used to be in the Greenpin Guard. After the first phase of the campaign ended,
the various regiments were reorganized, and the original Guard was scattered. I was assigned here." Raz had
nothing to hide. He was also interested in Leach's situation, but he didn't dare to ask. The secrecy
level was too high.
"What about your parents?" Leach asked casually.
"I don't know much. I only know that my father was wounded in a battle at the beginning of the war. I don't know
if he's recovered now." When he said this, Raz didn't seem to care much.
Leech had always found it strange that the knights rarely mentioned their parents.
Of the members of Squad 105, he had only met Lina's father and Diana's father, and neither of them left a good impression on him. The others
hadn't mentioned their parents at all.
"How long has it been since you saw your parents?" Leech asked.
Raz looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought, which gave Leech a general idea.

"The last time we met was about three years ago. My father went back to Zanes for a meeting, and
my mother took a vacation to be with him," Raz recalled . He suddenly shrugged and smiled bitterly. "
Families like ours are all similar. Parents are relatively close to each other, but they're in their respective regiments, so it's not
easy for them to see each other. They can't take care of the children at all. After they turn three, they're sent to the Knight Academy, and at most they'll come to see them on holidays and vacations .
" He pulled up a chair, sat down, and sighed softly. "My parents are just ordinary people.
They didn't have much to leave me. They practiced the military's publicly known techniques."
"My parents are also ordinary people," Richie quickly said, but he didn't explain further. Although
they were both ordinary people, the meanings were different. When Richie said "ordinary people," he meant ordinary civilians without any knightly blood,
while Raz meant the most common and ordinary group of knights.
Upon hearing Richie's words, Raz felt a sense of closeness, but along with that closeness, a hint of jealousy also crept into his
heart .
He'd met many people from similar backgrounds, most of them similar to him, and even those who were doing slightly better were only
marginally successful. He'd never encountered someone like Richie before.
But then he felt something was off. Based on age, they should be in the same year,
but he had no recollection of this face.
"You're an exchange student, but that's not right!" Raz immediately thought of his own year and the two years before and after.
Although he couldn't remember everyone's identity or appearance, one thing was certain:
none of the three years of exchange students were from his circle.
"Which circle did you hang out with most of the time at the academy?" Raz asked, his
initial wariness fading without him realizing it.
"What circle?" Richie wasn't sure, so he didn't dare to answer carelessly.
Raz looked at Richie in surprise, and after confirming that Richie wasn't joking, he explained, "You were probably so focused on cultivation at
the academy that you didn't notice. People from different backgrounds all have their own circles.
The one with the fewest teachers but the highest status is the circle of those from prestigious families. These people have everything; they practice their family
's top-tier techniques. After their regular classes, they get special tutoring to learn
things that others don't have the opportunity to learn. They also take up most of the exchange student spots. This
circle they rarely bully us. The second circle is a bit mixed. Everyone in it is from aristocratic families
, and they all practice their own family's techniques. In other aspects, they're pretty much the same as us, but having a
good technique really makes a difference..."
Raz went on and on, expressing his envy and the faint hint of dissatisfaction in his heart.
Richie listened quietly from the side.
He hadn't met many knights. Aside from the members of Squad 105, he knew very
few . Of these, Lina, Robin, and Trisley definitely belonged to the first circle, and Diana
could barely be considered one. The others were mostly in the second circle, with Nora perhaps belonging to the
third .
Maybe there were more people in the third circle among the "Horde" squad members!
"Thanks to you this time, otherwise I don't know how long I would have been lying in the snow, or if
the Alliance would have found me." Lich said, while observing Raz. Sure enough, he saw Raz's expression become
unnatural . Although he pretended to be calm, his eyes were full of anticipation: "I don't have much else to offer,
but I do have two sets of techniques. Want to learn them?
" "Yes, yes." Raz lost his previous reserve.
He would never be so foolish as to give up a great opportunity for the sake of saving face.
Lich smiled slightly; he had anticipated this outcome.
"These two techniques, one is called 'Wind Control.' After mastering it, you can fly in the sky like me." " This is
the core technique!"
After saying this, Richie looked at Raz again, and to his surprise, Raz showed no
expression , appearing completely unmoved.
Raz wasn't actually unmoved; he was simply stunned.
Countless people in Red Valley secretly envied Richie's ability to fly. Raz was
one of them, of course, but he never dared to dream of ever having the chance to fly himself. So when such a
huge windfall fell from the sky, he was instantly knocked unconscious.
"The other technique is perfect for you, called 'Heavenly Hearing.' Although I don't know
how the Scout Knights' techniques are graded, one thing is certain: 'Heavenly Hearing' is definitely not bad. Even if it's not the top-tier
one , it's at least an advanced level."
Richie assumed Raz's indifference stemmed from his reluctance to abandon his original technique. In this world, perhaps
only the members of Squad 105 dared to so recklessly practice other techniques simultaneously.
Raz completely ignored what was said afterward; he was still reeling from the previous news,
his mind filled with fantasies of flying through the sky.
Practicing other martial arts simultaneously was indeed a major taboo, especially for a novice knight like him.
The training of a reconnaissance knight's techniques was already slow; practicing other techniques would only slow progress further.
He even doubted whether he could become a full knight before the age of twenty-five if he did this.
No matter how advanced the technique, it was useless if he couldn't master it, and would only ruin him.
Thinking about this, Raz hesitated again.
This was the difference between an ordinary knight's family background and that of a noble family. If it were a noble family scion
, they would definitely agree without hesitation, because for them, the
future . Even if it meant ruining themselves, they would absolutely accept an advanced technique in exchange, as the technique
could be passed down, and their descendants could potentially benefit from it.
Of course, if it were a knight from a prestigious family, the outcome would be different. Someone like Lina,
born into a noble family , has seen countless advanced cultivation techniques, and she herself practices top-tier techniques.
She might not even care about slightly more unusual ones.
That's the difference in circumstances and perspective.
Seeing Raz's hesitation, Richie didn't say much. He wasn't entirely well-intentioned; while he wanted to repay a favor
, he also harbored the idea of using Raz as a guinea pig.
He had already proven the applicability of "Wind Control" on Mary and Rosa, but those two women were somewhat
special. He wasn't sure how much of their success was due to combined practice, so he needed to find others
to try it on .
He had previously considered recruiting from Haigate's subordinates, but the cost was too high;
if it failed, those people would all be crippled.
This raised a question: should the test subjects be those with good aptitude and strength, or
those with less strength?
Only just now did he realize there was another option.
Many of the scout knights had excellent aptitude, but their techniques didn't reflect aptitude
; everyone was roughly the same.
The scout knights' techniques were unique, also lacking any attributes, so they wouldn't
conflict
The problem was that after practicing "Wind Control," their battle aura would carry the wind attribute,
significantly reducing their reconnaissance effectiveness.
Trading significantly reduced reconnaissance effectiveness for the ability to fly, while it was hard to say whether it was a gain or a loss, one thing
was certain: the person wouldn't be crippled.
Moreover, scout knights wouldn't care about becoming ace knights anyway.

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