Volume 1, Chapter 216 – Military Orders

Shi Lan did not care much about battle merit, but she did care about the system’s mission. Yet they were on the battlefield now, so all she could do was memorize that man’s face and settle accounts with him later.

Everyone behind Shi Lan had seen the whole incident.

The other Thousand-Man Commanders took advantage of the moment before the demon beasts closed in again and moved over toward Shi Lan.

“That man’s conduct is utterly shameless!”

“Once this battle is over, we can all testify for you and ask General Bai to judge the matter. However much he swallowed, he’ll have to spit back out double!”

“Exactly. We can all bear witness. We’ll make him pay for this!”

All of them were indignant. If Shi Lan had not held back that golden ape, the casualties would have been catastrophic by now.

Snatching battle merit was something rarely seen within the Demon-Suppressing Army. Unless there was a deep personal grudge, or someone deliberately wanted to offend another to the bitter end, nobody would do such a thing.

Battle merit meant far too much to the Demon-Suppressing Army.

It was something earned only by risking one’s life. Shi Lan had been only a single sword strike away from killing that golden ape, yet that man had still stepped in out of nowhere. Such behavior was hardly any less serious than a mortal enmity.

Shi Lan shook her head and began reorganizing the battle formation. This was not the time to dwell on such matters.

To prevent another surprise attack by a demon beast like the golden ape, Shi Lan did not send Golden Rainbow out again. She took out the Leiyin Bow once more, drew and nocked it, and continued picking off Earth Fiend Realm demon beasts within the beast horde.

Shi Lan was not the only one doing this. All of the Ten-Thousand-Man Commanders were carrying out decapitation strikes against the demon beasts. Killing the high-level demon beasts controlling the horde first would break the beast tide faster and reduce casualties.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, a figure fell from high in the sky like a meteor, blasting up a mushroom cloud. The earth within a thousand zhang split apart inch by inch, and countless Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers and demon beasts entangled in combat were thrown into the air. Flying sand and shattered stone blotted out the sky.

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Shi Lan’s expression changed slightly. Her eyesight was keen enough now that she had clearly seen who had just fallen from the sky, drenched in blood and clad in the battle armor of a Demon-Suppressing General. His identity was obvious.

Screee!

A long cry rang out as a hundred-zhang predatory bird, entirely azure in color, crashed down from the sky right afterward. Its body was covered in wounds, and its left wing had nearly been completely severed, hanging on only by a strip of flesh and sinew.

A figure rose from the warship, climbed through the clouds, and shot straight into the heavens. It was the Demon-Suppressing General who had remained behind on the warship.

Another chain of thunderous explosions erupted in the sky. Layer upon layer of demon clouds shook violently, almost collapsing altogether.

Once that portion of the high-level demon beasts in the horde had been slaughtered clean, the countless low-level demon beasts became a heap of loose sand and began to rout.

Several square platforms rose into the air, and the killing aura they released felt incomparably familiar to Shi Lan, filling the entire world.

Demon-Slaying Platforms!

Under the influence of the Demon-Slaying Platforms’ killing aura, the low-level demon beasts became little more than lambs awaiting slaughter. They had no power to resist and fell beneath the blades of the Demon-Suppressing Army.

Several hours later, with the fall of a giant lion whose fur shone like purple jade, the demon clouds overhead were swept clean, and the whole world brightened.

The remaining demon beasts, apart from those that had fled too far away, were all put to death.

Smoke drifted across the battlefield, and bones lay everywhere.

Some of the soldiers began cleaning up the battlefield, collecting the corpses of their fallen comrades, while stripping the hides and bones from the more powerful demon beasts and taking the essence of their flesh and blood.

Bai Weiyang and the other Demon-Suppressing General each gave the still-breathing azure bird another strike, then sent the heavily wounded Demon-Suppressing General back onto the warship.

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When Shi Lan returned to the warship with her men, she happened to run into Bai Weiyang. Before she could say anything, Wang Ning spoke first.

“General Bai, this subordinate has something to report.”

The instant Wang Ning spoke, the people behind him stopped walking, and several Thousand-Man Commanders gathered over at the same time.

“Speak.”

Bai Weiyang swept a glance over Shi Lan and the others, then nodded.

Wang Ning had just started to speak when Shi Lan lifted a hand to stop him.

“General, I would like to ask: on the battlefield, what is the punishment for forcibly seizing a comrade’s battle merit?”

Looking at Bai Weiyang, Shi Lan spoke calmly. Her own account, naturally, had to be settled by her own hand.

Bai Weiyang’s brow furrowed slightly as he asked bluntly,

“Who?”

Shi Lan rapidly swept her gaze across the warship deck. Her eyes suddenly fixed, and she lifted an arm to point directly at the young man not far away.

Bai Weiyang turned, reached out with one hand, and made a light grasping motion. An invisible giant hand shot forth and dragged the young man sideways right in front of him.

That commotion drew everyone’s attention, and the deck instantly fell silent.

The young man looked flustered at first, but after seeing Shi Lan, he quickly calmed down and saluted. “General Bai, for what reason has this subordinate been summoned?”

Bai Weiyang ignored him and instead looked at the several Thousand-Man Commanders beside Shi Lan and the soldiers gathered there.

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“Is it true?”

“It was this man. Just when the Thousand-Man Commander was about to kill a golden ape, he suddenly interfered and seized the battle merit,” Wang Ning answered at once.

The others quickly understood and all spoke up.

“It’s true.”

“We all saw it with our own eyes.”

Bai Weiyang’s gaze turned slightly cold as he looked at the young man.

“How much battle merit?”

“General, this matter…”

“I am asking you a question. How much battle merit?”

Bai Weiyang cut him off, his tone turning cold.

After a burst of whispering, the surrounding soldiers all understood what was going on. Some of them looked at the young man with outright hostility, while a smaller number showed no particular reaction, as though they were already used to such things.

The young man’s eyes flickered. Just as he was about to speak, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of a figure, and he immediately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

“Weiyang, why make such a big fuss? It’s only a small matter. There may well be some misunderstanding here.”

A burly, bearded man some eight chi tall strode over. It was the other Demon-Suppressing General.

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“This man belongs to you?” Bai Weiyang asked with a frown.

That boy is called Wan Yuanwu, from the Wan family of Yisha Prefecture. His uncle, Wan Mingxu, is a Nascent Soul Realm expert who has already come from the Central Heaven Domain and is now in Xianwu City.

Du Tian’an’s expression did not change. He did not speak aloud, only stroked his beard as he sent a voice transmission in secret:

This is not the first time. Let it be smoothed over as a minor matter. Afterward, compensate that little girl with battle merit and be done with it. I know your Bai family does not think much of the Wan family, but with the situation as it is now… you understand what I mean.

Listening to the voice transmission at his ear, Bai Weiyang looked at Wan Yuanwu before him and said evenly, “Return the battle merit at triple the amount, and this matter will be dropped.”

That was already a concession on his part.

“Weiyang?” Du Tian’an said in a deep voice.

Wan Yuanwu’s expression changed slightly. “General Bai, on the battlefield, conditions change in an instant. I acted out of concern for the safety of my comrades and intervened to help. Why should that merit punishment?”

At that point, Wan Yuanwu shifted the subject. “Besides, when has the Demon-Suppressing Army ever had such a military regulation? Since this subordinate has not violated any military order, on what grounds do you punish me?”

Smack!

Before he had even finished speaking, Wan Yuanwu was struck across the face. He flew dozens of zhang through the air, and when he hit the ground, one side of his face was already swollen red. He spat out several broken teeth and could not get back up for the moment.

“You want to speak to me about military orders?”

Bai Weiyang withdrew his hand, his eyes filled with cold fury. “If not for the fact that we are in need of men at this very moment, I would behead a shameless wretch like you today and offer your head beneath the banner to set the army’s discipline straight!”