novelraw Chapter 198: Veteran
Chapter 198: Veteran
Night fell.
The massive outline of South Cang Fortress appeared particularly stern under the starlight and lamps.
On the towering city walls, cold winds howled, carrying the uniquely solemn and deadly atmosphere of the border region.
The five members of Su Zhan's team wore military uniforms as they conducted night patrols along their designated section of the city wall.
Their mission was simple.
Remain vigilant, monitor the dark wilderness outside the city walls, and immediately sound the alarm upon detecting any signs of Mist Creature activity.
After patrolling for about half an hour, everything around remained normal with only the sound of wind.
Their tense nerves relaxed slightly.
Liu Ziming was the first to break the silence, pointing at his own head: "Hey, what do you think about that guy from daytime... Zhao Meng, does he have some problems up here?
Pure brain damage! He actually dared to fight with an officer.That's like an old man seeking longevity eating arsenic - courting death!
That officer was clearly a ruthless character who fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The blood on his hands probably exceeds all the water we've ever drunk. With Zhao Meng's mediocre skills, he actually dared to act up?"
Xu Hao nodded: "His name suits him perfectly."
"What's the use of being fierce!"
Liu Ziming sneered: "Didn't you hear what Brother Su said? Realm suppression! That officer was at least mid-Stream Realm or even higher! Dealing with him was as easy as playing! This is called overestimating oneself!"
Feng Jue gave a concise evaluation: "Stupid."
Su Zhan walked at the front of the team, his gaze vigilantly scanning outside the city walls: "Consider him a cautionary tale, just entertainment."
Liu Ziming nodded deeply in agreement: "Exactly! We should take this as a warning! By the way, have you noticed that this fortress is quite... creepy at night? I always feel like something is watching us from the darkness."
Xu Hao immediately chimed in: "I feel that way too. I heard many Mist Creatures prefer nighttime activities..."
"Mostly psychological effect."
Xie Xi shook her head: "This section of the wall isn't the front line. The defensive fortifications are complete. If there were large-scale enemy activity, the early warning system would detect it before we do. However, maintaining vigilance is correct."
"Sigh, I wonder when this will all end."
Liu Ziming sighed: "They said we're here for training, but we're just doing night patrols every day, like night watchmen... Will we keep patrolling like this until the two-month period ends?"
"No."
Su Zhan denied it firmly: "The first month is for adaptation. There will definitely be more combat-oriented missions later. The academy won't let us waste two months."
"True..."
Liu Ziming thought for a moment: "I just don't know what kind of missions they'll be. I really hope they're not those small team clearance missions - too terrifying."
While whispering among themselves, the group continued patrolling slowly along the city wall.
No one dared to truly relax their vigilance.
Beyond the city walls lay endless unknown darkness, and no one knew what might happen the next second.
On the city walls.
Besides Su Zhan's team, they occasionally encountered other veteran teams performing patrol duties.
These veterans mostly had dark complexions, moved efficiently, and carried a battlefield aura honed through years of experience that was completely different from academy students.
When they passed by Su Zhan's team.
Their gazes would always subtly sweep over these overly young faces, with obvious contempt in their eyes.
As if looking at a bunch of privileged soldiers here for decoration and life experience.
But this contempt didn't contain much hostility, more like an established impression of unreliable juniors.
When they passed another team of three veterans.
One veteran smoking a cigarette seemed to find the silent atmosphere boring and spoke first:
"Yo, you academy kids again? Not sleeping at night, coming here to drink the northwest wind with us old folks?"
"Brother, you're joking, this is our mission!"
Liu Ziming put on a smiling face and responded: "Besides, it's our honor to patrol with experienced seniors like you! We can learn something from you!"
The smoking veteran sneered, blowing a smoke ring: "Slick kid, quite the smooth talker. Learn something? What the hell can you learn on this wall besides feeding mosquitoes and watching stars?"
Another slightly younger veteran examined them and asked: "Which academy are you from? With your delicate skin and tender flesh, you don't look like you're from regular troops."
"Vermilion Bird Academy."
Liu Ziming quickly reported their affiliation.
"Vermilion Bird? Whoa, one of the Five Great Academies?"
The smoking veteran raised an eyebrow: "No wonder. But here, academy reputation doesn't work. You need real skills to survive."
"Yes yes, brother, you're absolutely right."
Liu Ziming nodded repeatedly: "That's exactly why we're here to learn humbly! Brother, how long have you been guarding here? You must have experienced many storms, right?"
Su Zhan and the others also stopped walking.
Social matters were best left to Liu Ziming.
Since they were bored anyway, they wanted to hear the veterans' stories.
This seemed to spark the veteran's interest in talking.
"Storms? Heh, plenty of those."
The smoking veteran flicked his cigarette ash: "During last year's mist surge, a Shadow Claw Beast almost split my skull open. Luckily I reacted fast and blocked with my arm, leaving me this souvenir."
He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a ferocious scar on his right arm.
The younger veteran beside him added: "Our squad leader received a third-class merit! If he hadn't discovered those Venomous Bee Beasts infiltrating our flank that time, our defensive line would have been breached!"
"Ancient history, why bring it up."
The smoking veteran waved his hand: "Kids, don't think patrolling the city is boring now. When those damn things outside really come at you, you'll understand how fortunate it is to patrol peacefully. Many of our brothers never even got the chance to be bored."
Liu Ziming also dropped his playful expression and said solemnly: "Thank you for the reminder, brother. We'll be extra careful."
The veteran nodded, extinguishing his cigarette butt: "Alright, enough chatting with you. We need to continue patrolling. Kids, keep your eyes sharp. Your lives are your own - don't expect to be lucky every time."
After speaking, the three veterans continued forward along the city wall, their figures quickly merging into the night.
Su Zhan's team remained silent for a moment.
The veterans' words gave them a more direct sense of the frontline's brutality than the officers' shouts.
"Let's go, continue."
Su Zhan broke the silence, taking the lead forward.
These veterans were the ones who best reflected the fortress's true situation.
Su Zhan looked toward the artillery positions along the city wall.
These Thermal Weapons from the old era were still placed on the city walls resisting the mist.
Then...
Even the ultimate weapon - nuclear weapons - must be very effective.
Su Zhan asked Xie Xi: "When does Daxia typically use nuclear weapons?"
Xie Xi was momentarily stunned, then spoke: "They're produced every year. The information I received is that thousands need to be consumed annually."
Thousands.
Su Zhan found this both expected and surprising.
One thousand could turn a small country into Swiss cheese.
So many used every year.
Yet the situation remains precarious.
The Mist Creatures... are just too overpowered.
Xie Xi continued: "Fortunately we have abundant nuclear weapon resources, otherwise..."
She didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood the implication.
Su Zhan sighed.
He felt that nuclear weapons were one of humanity's important inventions.
Some might say nuclear weapons lead to war.
Su Zhan wanted to say that would indeed be the case if one country dominated.
But when multiple countries possess them, they restrain each other.
Now with the mist invasion, they can serve as a major weapon.
Good stuff.