Chapter 168: ‘Night Battle’ in the Mountain Pass (I) (1/2)

Chapter 168: ‘Night Battle’ in the Mountain Pass (I)

The conference lasted a short duration. After Sheng Lingxin’s little speech was over, ten officers came in from outside. They were the ten infantry battalion commanders, each of them leading a newly formed Demon Hunt Squad to the barracks. Naturally, they would not waste any time as the newcomers had already arrived.

Her eyes glued on Long Haochen, Cai’er left together with her 1st soldier grade Demon Hunt Squad. Lan Yanyu, controlled by her emotions, wanted to stand up to chase after her, but was stopped by Sheng Lingxin. The latter shook his head with a solemn face and Lan Yanyu’s beautiful eyes immediately turned moist.

Long Haochen’s group was assigned to the first infantry battalion. The battalion commander was a middle aged man with an external appearance somewhat resembling that of Gao Yingjie’s.

“All of you are amongst the Alliance’s elites. I feel deeply honored by the fact that you have, even if it is only temporarily, joined my battalion. I am the battalion commander of the first battalion, Zhang Hairong.”

Exiting the conference room, this commander of the first battalion simultaneously led the group to the barracks while introducing himself.

The responsibility of social interaction naturally fell upon Long Haochen. Faintly laughing, he said: “Battalion Commander Zhang, you are too modest. The soldiers of Exorcist City are all heroes who guard the nation, and it is more accurate to say that it is our honor to be able to enter the 1st Battalion. From now onwards, we will be a group of soldiers under your command. As the representative of the 1st Demon Hunt Squad, I guarantee you that, although we are not soldiers, we will obey strictly to each of your orders.”

Hearing Long Haochen’s declaration, Zhang Hairong felt comfortable deep inside. He really didn’t expect that this ten or so years-old youth would actually act in such a suitable manner.

Demon Hunt Squads were something every soldier from the Temple Alliance yearned to be a part of, but Zhang Hairong wasn’t really too interested in temporarily adding one of them to his troops. Even if these proud and talented youngsters had all at least reached the fourth step of cultivation, would they actually obey orders?

In fact, Zhang Hairong was a mere warrior of the fourth step himself. In the case that these young talents didn’t listen to his orders on the battlefield and started acting of their own accord, they would not only be of little use, but would also likely bring them a lot of trouble.

Although Sheng Lingxin said that these Demon Hunt Squads’ elites had to be treated like average soldiers, could they really do so? Each one of these Demon Hunt Squads were made up of the favorites of the Alliance, and if harm was to ever come to them, they would possibly be unable to bear the consequences. Furthermore, Sheng Lingxin had told these battalion commanders in private some time ago that, no matter what circumstances, their foremost priority was to guarantee the safety of these young talents.

In particular, when Zhang Hairong had seen this group that formed the 1st soldier grade Demon Hunt Squad for the first time, he felt even more disappointed. Among them, aside from the bald one who seemed a little older, it looked as if none of them were above twenty years old. And from the looks of it, the younger ones weren’t even eighteen! Only heavens knew how they became Demon Hunt Squad members. To have this privilege at such a young age was not necessarily a good thing; they would most likely be extremely arrogant upon arriving.

But when he felt worried over this, Long Haochen’s words melt those worries, those sentiments of unease, like a cup of hot tea.

To a soldier, the most important thing was to listen to his superior’s command. The words of the young captain Long Haochen were not only formulated politely, but also immediately settled the unease within him. Zhang Hairong immediately felt at great ease, and at the same time, could not help but feel full of praise, He’s indeed worthy of being called a young talent! What great awareness!

Long Haochen’s declaration was naturally not something he came up with by himself. Yesterday, Gao Yingjie warned him again and again on how to act when entering the army, and at the same time, told him what a soldier’s most important duties were. Although even without Gao Yingjie’s repeated warnings, Long Haochen would still have behaved correctly. With this declaration he just conveyed, it would undoubtedly become even easier for this new team to blend in with the soldiers.

Zhang Hairong laughed out loudly and responded, “Captain Long, you are too modest. With a vulgar old man such as me, politeness is not needed. From now onwards, your group will act as new soldiers. Your duty will be to follow me in assaulting the enemy.”

Sima Xian could not restrain himself from asking, “Battalion commander, will we get to fight in the front by your side?”

Zhang Hairong straightened up his own chest, formed a fist, and placed it on his chest, “You’re right to ask about this. The battalion under my command does not have a single coward in it. My sworn brothers and I will be staking our lives together with you, acting in the most suitable way for a soldier to act. You may be at ease; by my side, you will always be fighting in the frontlines, facing the most powerful enemies.”

At this point, everyone could only feel complete respect for this man. Zhang Hairong’s implication was very clear. On the battlefield, he would be at the very front. If the commander of the battalion, the one who commands a thousand soldiers, was assaulting the enemy in the front, how could the officers and soldiers not follow him?

“Yes.” Long Haochen performed a salute toward Zhang Hairong. Within the army, a salute was not a very standard way to show respect. Of course, a knight salute was even more unstandard.

The infantry battalions were located close to the city. With the great threat that was the demon race, the military power had to be robust. In the case that a battle was to break out right in front of the population, they would have no chance at survival. Thus, since long ago, the humans have been attaching great importance to the defenses, and the most important part of these defenses is naturally the infantry.

Zhang Hairong assigned them to a living quarter that accommodated ten people, though boys and girls living together there seemed a bit indecent. Because of the distinction of genders made within Demon Hunt Squads, the standard equipment wasn’t given to them, but everyone had only a set of clean military clothes.

There weren’t any uniforms for females, though Wang Yuanyuan wasn’t too bothered by it because she had a tall build which could be said to be a match for men. However, the uniforms were too baggy when worn by Cai’er and Chen Ying’er, making everyone have a hard time holding back their laughter.

At that moment, Chen Ying’er revealed another side of hers. This girl had actually taken a set of needles and threads with her, cutting up her uniform together with Cai’er’s and sewing it anew. And after only half an hour of work, the two girls’ uniforms fit them closely.

“I didn’t expect that you would have such a move up your sleeves, Ying’er. It’s no wonder that Yang Wenzhao is so conscious of you.” Lin Xin said with some surprise.