Chapter 1080 What Are They?
At the Nebula Boundary between the Federation and Caesar, there was a huge man-made military fortress. This fortress was well-known throughout the galaxy. It was known as the fortress that Caesar couldn't destroy.
Base Nebula was in possession of the most up-to-date military technology. It was built with the intent of it being an easy to hold but hard to attack movable base. In the face of a moveable and impenetrable base, Caesar couldn't do anything to it other than just passively defending from it.
Of course, besides being able to move and having the ability to turn itself into a porcupine with powerful firearms all around it, Base Nebula was filled with powerful people too.
Base Nebula only had mechas as its weapons. It had no need for other weapons.
There were more than a hundred ace mecha clans and more than ten titled super mecha clans in Base Nebula. Of course, most of the mecha clans stationed in Base Nebula were normal mecha clans. No matter how powerful the Federation or Caesar was, they didn't have that many ace mecha clans to waste on the battlefield. Most of the time, the normal mecha clans were the ones who participated in the battles.
The Nebula Boundary was the only place where battles were not fought with gigantic starships. Instead, battles were fought with a huge amount of mecha clans.
At that moment, the commanding officer of Base Nebula was sitting on the sofa with another officer in a blue uniform.
They had a gold star and a gold leaf on their shoulders, informing everyone that they were major generals.
The commanding officer of this base was a gentle and cultured middle-aged soldier around 50 years old. If it wasn't for the white hair near his ears, one might think that he was a 40-year-old young man. His name was Yu Huan. He came from a normal family. Even though, he began from a low starting point, he climbed up to this position with his own abilities.
The person sitting opposite of him was the regiment commander of a first-rank four-star titled super mecha clan, Proud Wind Mecha Clan. His name was Ke Yufeng. He had been stationed at this base for five years.
These two people were the two largest voices of the base. Ke Yufeng took charge of the mecha clans while Yu Huan took charge of all the other matters in the base. Yu Huan was the one who provided all the services for the various mecha clans.
For the past five years, they cooperated well with each other and resisted against attacks from Caesar multiple times. Just as they thought that they would continue their collaboration for the rest of their lives, an order from the military headquarters caused them to part.
Ke Yufeng and his Proud Wind Mecha Clan would be sent back to the Federation. Although Yu Huan knew that he should be happy for his friend since he would most likely be promoted when he went back to the Federation, he still felt weird about his friend's departure. This was because the mecha clan that would take over Proud Wind Mecha Clan was a mecha clan he had never heard of––Lingtian.
"Do you think that there's something wrong with the mainframe of the military headquarters? It must have made a mistake when it sent a new titled super mecha clan to this base." The close relationship between the two allowed them to speak their minds in front of one another.
Ke Yufeng shook his head. "You know that's impossible." If something were to happen to the mainframe of the military headquarters, that meant that the Federation was in deep trouble.
Ke Yufeng knew Yu Huan didn't really think this way. He was just venting his frustration.
"It looks like someone in the military headquarters has been high on drugs recently." Yu Huan smiled coldly. He knew that this was impossible but he was annoyed when he heard that an inexperienced mecha clan was coming to guard their base.
"Maybe the regiment commander has a huge background. He probably came to just gain some merits." Ke Yufeng had been thinking about the reason behind the order ever since he received it, and this was the only reasonable answer he thought of.
"Damn it! This is Base Nebula. This base concerns the safety of a planetary sector in the Federation. How can they treat it like child's play?" Yu Huan rubbed his face and controlled the anger in him. "The entire Federation is in a mess. If this continues, the Federation will start rotting from the inside."
"The ideals of the three great marshals are different and every one of them has a different viewpoint on how they can achieve their ideals. In order to win against their competitors, they might make some decisions outsiders can't understand." Ke Yufeng was in deep thought. "Maybe coming to Base Nebula wasn't the intention of the regiment commander. He might be forced to come here. A marshal might have sent him here in hopes that he would make a mistake so that he can use it to attack the faction the regiment commander belongs to."
Ke Yufeng belonged to the faction of the Second Marshal. The Second Marshal trusted him greatly so he knew about the battle of power between the three most powerful people in the Federation. In the past, he came to Base Nebula because he didn't want to get implicated by this power struggle. He wanted to leave the place where all the feuds arose so that he could place all his heart into doing what a soldier was supposed to do, protecting his country.
Yu Huan's anger diminished a little when he heard Ke Yufeng's explanation. As someone who was a commanding officer of an important base, he was a smart person too. He started thinking through what his comrade said.
"Actually, I feel that there's something wrong with the order," Ke Yufeng told him.
"I agree." The moment Yu Huan received the order, he noticed something amiss with it too.
"The order is too vague. It didn't state that the regiment commander will be here to take over your position. It just states that the mecha clan is in charge of the safety of this planetary sector." Yu Huan sneered. "It's obvious that they want me to handle this matter myself."
"They are forcing me to make a choice, either I give the mecha clan an opening gambit so that they will just become one of the many titled super mecha clans in the base or I pretend that I don't know anything and just let him take over your position smoothly." Yu Huan knew what his choices were. These two choices would bring him on two entirely different paths.
"If I guess correctly, they're forcing you to take a stand too." Ke Yufeng looked at Yu Huan worriedly. After five years of interacting with Yu Huan, he didn't want his friend to get implicated by the power struggle as the waters there were too deep.
On the other hand, he had no say in the matter. His identity meant that he had to become a member of the Second Marshal's faction. He couldn't escape this destiny. Sometimes, he admired Yu Huan. He didn't belong to any factions and he used his own ability to climb to his position. He had no one holding him back and he could move forward without any worry.
"They can't force me to take any stand. I will only choose what I feel is the right decision." Yu Huan didn't have the concerns that Ke Yufeng had. He felt that only capable people should take the lead. If the regiment commander of Lingtian was capable, he would give him the command of all the mecha clans. If he wasn't capable, he wouldn't show him any face. He would do what he thought was necessary to protect the base.
"I hope that the Lingtian Mecha Clan is not as terrible as I think." Yu Huan calmed down. He didn't feel as unhappy about the Lingtian Mecha Clan as before.
Three days later, the mainframe of Base Nebula received a signal requesting to enter their base.
"Commander Yu, we received a signal from Lingtian Mecha Clan. They're requesting to enter the base. All the codes for the 13 signals are correct. Please give an order." Yu Huan received a notification from the mainframe quickly.
Yu Huan looked at the time on his communicator. It was 1:07 pm. He smiled. "They're on time."
It would take around two to three hours for a huge mecha clan to successfully enter a base and settle down. After going through all the procedures, it should be around 4 pm.
Yu Huan opened the screen in front of him and saw a huge starship waiting within the planetary sector outside their base.
"Let them in." Since the mainframe had compared all the codes correctly, the incoming starship must be from Lingtian Mecha Clan.
The 13 codes were not given at once. They were sent to the regiment commander of Lingtian Mecha Clan through various methods on the journey here. If one of them was wrong, the base would reject the starship from entering. If needed, the mainframe would attack the starship without his command.
The starship was given the green light. It entered the spaceport of Base Nebula slowly.
The sounds of chains unwinding could be heard. Many secured docks extended from the spaceport and locked the starship up. Then, the starship was pulled into the dock.
The door of the starship opened. Many soldiers alighted the starships in an orderly manner.
Clear and orderly footsteps were heard.
They looked straight ahead and their footsteps were in unison. The military boots made a crisp sound as it landed on the ground. The sound was loud enough to cover up the shouts of command from the staff members in the spaceport.
The sound of the footsteps attracted the attention of all the staff members working in the spaceport.
"Woah, it's so orderly." One of the staff members couldn't help but exclaim.
'Who are they?' This was the question everyone had in their mind.
All the staff members carried this query with them as they rushed over to find an answer.
Soon, many spectators gathered around the soldiers that came down from the starship. However, the soldiers didn't seem to notice them. They didn't seem to hear the exclamations around them too. They just walked straight until they saw a vast plaza. Then, they stopped.
No, they didn't stop moving. They performed a sharp turn and split into the two ends of the plaza, making space for the soldiers behind them.
More and more soldiers came out of the starship. Soon, the plaza was filled with soldiers. There were around 5000 soldiers.
"Attention!" A loud voice was heard.
"Bam!"
The 5000 soldiers stood in position. The sound of them stomping their feet echoed through the port. There was only a single sound in the entire port.
"They're gathering." The staff member at the side knew what the soldiers were doing.
"Their force of presence is so powerful." Some people were already looking at the soldiers with admiration.
Nowadays, the movements of the soldiers were rarely so unified. This was why the soldiers in the spaceport were shocked by the orderly footsteps of these soldiers.
"May I know who is the captain here?" A young lieutenant colonel walked over and asked the crowd.
"Oh, it's me." The captain was in the crowd staring at the orderly soldiers in daze. He quickly regained his senses when he heard the question.
"I'm the head of the logistics department of the Lingtian Mecha Clan, Lin Zhong-qing. May I know what arrangements Base Nebula has made for us?" The lieutenant colonel revealed his identity and asked the captain.
"Lieutenant Colonel Lin, nice to meet you. This is the camping ground we have set up for you. The Proud Wind Mecha Clan is waiting to handover their camping ground to you." The captain took out a card and handed it over to Lin Zhong-qing respectfully.
Lin Zhong-qing took out his communicator and scanned the card. A map of Base Nebula appeared on the virtual screen of his communicator. There were two red dots on the map. One was where their new camping ground would be while the other was the mecha hold where their mechas would be placed in.
"I understand." Lin Zhong-qing nodded and he walked back. At that moment, a few majors ran out from the group of 5000 soldiers. The 5000 soldiers then split into many teams. They started getting busy.
When the soldiers from Lingtian Mecha Clan left, the entire spaceport turned noisy. Everyone started discussing among themselves.
"Those soldiers must be all mecha operators, right?"
"Of course. I saw many lieutenants and majors." Of course, most of the soldiers were sergeants. There were very little corporals.
To make sure that the new logisticians weren't at a disadvantage, 250 Ace Mecha Clan, oh wait, Lingtian Mecha Clan allowed the new logisticians to keep their military rank. Some of them even got promoted one rank. This allowed those disgruntled logisticians to feel excited instantly. Their unhappiness quickly disappeared.
At that moment, one of the logisticians who was in charge of the mecha hold ran over with a dumbfounded expression.
"Do you know what I saw just now?" The logistician was extremely excited.
"What?" Everyone was curious. They knew that Base Nebula had the most up-to-date technology in the Federation and all the facilities in the base were all top of the line. Hence, it was hard for them to feel dumbstruck or shocked.
"Mechas! There are so many mechas!" The logistician swallowed his saliva. He couldn't use words to express his astonishment when he saw the whole sky of mechas.
"Tsk!" Everyone thought that they would hear some huge news. They looked at the logistician with disdain.
Base Nebula lacked anything but mechas. They could even say proudly that none of the other bases in the Federation had as many mechas as them.
"Have you seen a mecha clan that has ten thousand mechas?" The logistician was unsatisfied about their reaction so he added on. Indeed, they had seen many mechas but the mechas were not what shocked him. It was the number of mechas.
"F**k!"
"Are you serious?"
"You must be lying!"
The soldiers were flabbergasted when they heard what the logistician said. They were in disbelief.
"I heard the numbers they reported. They have 10800 mechas. I couldn't have heard wrong." The logistician was firm.
"That can't be right. I remember Captain Lu saying that there are only 5823 soldiers in Lingtian Mecha Clan. Even if every one of them has a mecha… are they each controlling another backup mecha?"
Someone swallowed his saliva and said, "I think that it's possible."
"Are the 5823 people all mecha operators?"
"Oh my god!"
Another soldier swallowed his saliva too. "I think that that's possible too…"
Everyone exchanged glances with one another. Even a powerful mecha clan like the Proud Wind Mecha Clan only had 2000 mecha operators and 5000 logisticians.
"What on earth is the Lingtian Mecha Clan?" Everyone looked towards the direction where the mechas from Lingtian Mecha Clan disappeared to. They were in awe.
Chapter 1081 Sleepwalk!
Yu Huan, who was in the command center, received a report from the spaceport.
He raised one of his eyebrows and said, "This is interesting." He wondered if the mecha clan was really powerful or were they just trying to boost their image.
"Why? What's wrong?" Ke Yufeng was curious when he saw Yu Huan's change in expression.
"A mecha clan which has around 5800 soldiers has double the amount of mechas. Don't you think that this is interesting?" Yu Huan asked.
Ke Yufeng was shocked. "That number is probably just used to inflate their image. If we minus the number of logisticians… they can use one, have one as a backup, throw one away, and destroy one mecha. They won't be able to use all of them."
The Proud Wind Mecha Clan was one of the top titled super mecha clans in the base. Yet, they only had around 3000 mechas. Besides the reserve mechas for the team leaders, every mecha operator only had one mecha.
"If he is able to get his hands on so many mechas, it means that Lingtian Mecha Clan is not a simple mecha clan. I wonder what kind of person their regiment commander is. I hope that he won't disappoint me," Ke Yufeng said.
"You'll know in a while. I just received a report from the spaceport. The regiment commander of Lingtian Mecha Clan is coming over with his men." Yu Huan frowned slightly. The captain of the spaceport seemed hesitant about something when he reported to him just now. In the end, the captain didn't say anything.
'Did he feel that what he wanted to say was unimportant or was it because he felt that he wasn't able to explain the situation clearly so he decided not to say anything?'
No matter what the reason was, the expression of the captain was enough for Yu Huan to be serious.
Yu Huan was able to reach his position today because of his thoughtfulness and cautiousness. Thus, he wouldn't overlook the change in his subordinate's expression.
"Commander Yu, Major General Ling Lan would like to meet you." The mainframe of Base Nebula received Ling Lan's request and contacted Yu Huan about it.
"Major General Ling…" Yu Huan frowned. The regiment commanders for new titled super mecha clans were usually colonels. A lieutenant colonel was good enough to become a regiment commander.
"Major General? It seems like Lingtian is not a simple mecha clan." Ke Yufeng sat up straight.
"Let him in." Ke Yufeng's words helped Yu Huan regained his senses so he quickly gave his command to the mainframe.
The door of the office opened automatically. Three figures were seen. One of them was standing in the middle while the other two stood beside him. They were half stepped behind the person in the middle. It was obvious that the person in the middle was the regiment commander.
The three people were all wearing blue and white uniforms. The regiment commander had his head down so Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng couldn't see his face. They just felt the malevolent aura around the regiment commander. The great sense of danger emanating greatly shocked Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng.
"That is a dangerous person!' They exchanged glances with each other and communicated through their eyes.
This dangerous person had the major general badge in front of his chest.
This was the regiment commander of Lingtian Mecha Clan, Ling Lan! However, from Ling Lan's aura, they could tell that she wasn't an easy person to deal with. Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng turned vigilant after they confirmed the person's identity and felt the malevolent aura around her.
However, this was just the start. When they focused their attention on the two people behind Ling Lan, they were stunned once again.
The person standing on Ling Lan's left was a major general!
Damn it, it's already astonishing enough for the regiment commander to be a major general. Why was there another major general? When did major generals become so cheap? There were two major generals in a mecha clan that just became a titled super mecha clan.
Then, Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng looked at the person on the right…
Pfft! They wanted to vomit out blood.
What the f**k! This was another major general!
As the only two major generals at this base, they suddenly felt that their rank wasn't that important anymore.
"Regiment commander, the door is opened." Yang Mingzhi noticed his regiment commander was sleepwalking again so he reminded him. He was used to this behaviour after so many days.
Ling Lan looked up when she heard the voice and she saw the two major generals looking at them with a dumbfounded expression.
Huh? What did she do? No wait, she was waiting for the door to open just now. She didn't do anything weird, right?
Ling Lan was puzzled as to why the other party had such expressions. She did plan to do what she did at Base 013 again if the commanding officer in this base wanted to suppress her. However, this plan was not confirmed yet. They didn't know that she was here to destroy… I mean, to take over their power… nevermind, whatever it was, they weren't her opponents yet.
Ling Lan felt a little dizzy so she reached out and rubbed her eyebrows.
In order to ensure that all the members of 250 Ace Mecha Clan… Lingtian Mecha Clan could gel together and reach the basic requirements of going on the battlefield, Ling Lan had no choice but to act personally. The viciousness of this devil regiment commander made the recruits realized that the past few days, which they felt was like hell, was actually their most relaxed and happy moments.
After spending much of her time and effort on the recruits, their weakness, arrogance, and unruly behaviours finally disappeared. They were now all hot-blooded and strong soldiers.
However, her attentiveness caused her to lose focus on whatever was happening around her. Her entire mind was only filled with one thing, training, so to the other team leaders, she seemed to be sleepwalking.
The other party tried to control their expressions so that their real thoughts wouldn't be revealed. However, how could they be able to escape Ling Lan's Profound Insight? She instantly saw through them with one look.
During this period of time, Ling Lan was always in a daze. However, this didn't mean that she was unaware of her surroundings. It could even be said that the sleepwalking Ling Lan was even scarier and more vicious than the calm Ling Lan.
The calm Ling Lan would kill her enemy without wasting any energy. However, the sleepwalking Ling Lan would… well, you have to pray that Ling Lan would wake up before you got torture to death.
Based on what the team leaders said, their boss was currently just a devil with an automated self-defense system. Anyone who bumped into her would die.
"Let's go in." Ling Lan decided to disregard the two stunned people in front of her. She signalled to Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong and asked them to enter.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the commanding officer of Base Nebula, Yu Huan. Welcome to Base Nebula, Regiment Commander Ling." Yu Huan regained his senses and hurried over. He smiled and welcomed the three people.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the regiment commander of the Lingtian Mecha Clan, Ling Lan." Ling Lan introduced herself and then pointed to the two people beside her. "This is the team leader of Mecha Team 01, Major General Yang Mingzhi. This is the team leader of Mecha Team 02, Major General Liu Furong."
Liu Furong gained merit for passing the information of the mineral veins to the military. Hence, with Ling Xiao's help, on the day before Lingtian Mecha Clan came to Base Nebula, Liu Furong was finally promoted to a major general. He became the third major general of Lingtian Mecha Clan.
After introducing Liu Furong and Yang Mingzhi, Ling Lan went into a daze. She started sleepwalking again.
"Welcome! Welcome!" Yu Huan greeted Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong enthusiastically.
When Ke Yufeng heard the introduction of these two people, he found that their names were quite familiar to him. After a few seconds of deep thought, he suddenly shouted, "North Star and South Star."
Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong looked at each other in shock. Yang Mingzhi smiled. "I didn't expect someone to remember our past titles."
"Of course. When the military gave the title of the Seven Stars of the North and South that year, it was really grand. It has almost been 20 years since the ceremony. It's time to give new titles soon." Ke Yufeng was reminiscing about the past.
Every twenty years, the military would award titles to the outstanding mecha operators of the era. In some twenty year cycles, there might be no one who was awarded a title. Sometimes, there might be many people. During Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong's era, there were many powerful mecha operators. It was an era where many stars shone together. Besides the Seven Stars of the North and South, the heaven and earth powerhouse duo and the fire phoenix, which represented eternal life, Ling Xiao, appeared in that era too.
Ling Xiao had already 'died' when he was given this title. As a god-class operator, he didn't have to be awarded this title.
However, this title represented the hope of the citizens of the Federation. They hoped that Ling Xiao would come back just like how the fire phoenix got reborn in a sea of fire. In the end, General Ling Xiao didn't disappoint everyone and came back alive.
"Yeah, time sure flies. One year later, the new bestowing ceremony will be held. I wonder what kind of outstanding people would be given a title." Yang Mingzhi looked at Ling Lan as he spoke. If no accidents happened, their regiment commander would be bestowed a title.
"I didn't expect the two of you to be here. I have long desired to meet you." Yu Huan was excited too. "Have a seat, everyone."
Ling Lan and the two of them sat down. Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng were stunned when they saw the position Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong chose to take. They were sitting beside Ling Lan. They were proclaiming that they were Ling Lan's subordinates.
When they knew that Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong were from the Seven Stars of the North and South, they thought that they were the real owners of the Lingtian Mecha Clan. Yet, their positions made them question their guesses again. Were they wrong? The regiment commander of Lingtian Mecha Clan, Ling Lan, was actually the person in power?
With this query in mind, Yu Huan and Yang Mingzhi chatted with Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong for a while. As for their regiment commander, Ling Lan just continued to keep her head down. She didn't say anything.
Fine. Ling Lan had been sleepwalking all these while. She never woke up.
Ling Lan couldn't get out of her character as a devil instructor yet. Her mind was filled with brutal plans on how to train the new soldiers.
Battles could happen at any time so Ling Lan didn't have leisure to slowly train the new soldiers until they were fully capable of protecting themselves. She could only train the new soldiers viciously so that they would be prepared for war as soon as possible. Ling Lan believed that if you trained more and sweat more now, you would lose less blood in the future.
"Regiment Commander Ling, actually, you just need to send either Major General Yang or Major General Liu over for the registration process." Yu Huan wanted to wait for Ling Lan, Yang Mingzhi, or Liu Furong to start the topic first. However, when he saw that Ling Lan showing no intention of doing so and Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong seemingly ignoring the topic, he had no choice but to raise the topic himself.
Damn it, other mecha clans passed him their registration documents automatically but for the Lingtian Mecha Clan, he had to ask for it.
"Cough!" When Yang Mingzhi didn't see any reactions from Ling Lan, he knew that his regiment commander must be daydreaming again so he coughed out loud to wake her up.
Ling Lan looked up at Yang Mingzhi curiously.
Yang Mingzhi knew that they couldn't rely on their regiment commander now. He gave a wry smile and said, "Our regiment commander felt that it is his responsibility so he must come personally."
After explaining, he turned to Liu Furong. "Major General Liu, pass the documents to Major General Yu."
"Yes, Leader Yang." Liu Furong took out the documents he kept and passed them to Yu Huan.
Although everything was controlled by the mainframe, some orders were still given through pen and paper to prevent their enemies from finding it, especially orders given by the higher authorities.
Yu Huan took over the documents and compared the symbols on the paper. He made sure that the symbols were correct before proceeding to the mainframe and activating his commanding officer authority. After that, he entered the information of the Lingtian Mecha Clan into the mainframe.
This was when Lingtian became an official mecha clan of Base Nebula. If its information was not entered into the mainframe, it was just a temporary mecha clan that came to Base Nebula which authority could be taken away at anytime by the mainframe.
Ke Yufeng smiled after he saw Yu Huan entering the information of the mecha clan. "You should be here to take over my position. Let's go back to the camping ground together and do the handover."
The camping ground of Lingtian Mecha Clan was the best camping ground in Base Nebula. It was five times bigger than the average camping grounds. It could fit around 40 thousand people. No matter how huge a mecha clan was, it would at most have 8000 people. This camping ground was big enough to let any sized mecha clan to live a comfortable life.
"Sorry to trouble you," Yang Mingzhi said gratefully.
"It is nothing. Base Nebula will be in your hands now." Ke Yufeng smiled.
Suddenly, the room turned quiet. Yu Huan, Ke Yufeng, Yang Mingzhi, and Liu Furong gave an awkward smile to each other.
'Sob, can't we converse properly?' (Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng were frustrated.)
'Sob, regiment commander, hurry up and come back. We can't continue this anymore.' (Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong felt resentment in their hearts)
"Regiment commander!" Liu Furong and Yang Mingzhi couldn't handle it anymore so they shouted to remind their regiment commander.
Ling Lan looked at them in a daze.
"We can leave now!" Yang Mingzhi lowered his voice.
"Oh…" Ling Lan replied. Then, she closed her eyes. When she opened them the next second, a cold light flashed by them.
'Yay! Our regiment commander is finally back.' Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong heaved a sigh of relief.
At that moment, the malevolent aura around Ling Lan disappeared. Instead, it was replaced by a cold aura.
Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng couldn't help but shiver from the cold aura. Ke Yufeng's expression changed slightly as he looked at Ling Lan in astonishment.
Ling Lan slowly got up from the sofa. She raised her head and looked at Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng
Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng finally saw the regiment commander's face. He was actually a cold-looking young man with faint scars on his face, and if he was given more time, the scars would disappear.
"So cold!"
Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng couldn't see Ling Lan's features clearly. They only felt the cold air she was exuding. They felt that if they were to look at Ling Lan intently, they would be frozen to death by her coldness.
Chapter 1082 Prince Ling!
"I'm sorry. I'm at my breakthrough stage so my energy is unstable," Ling Lan replied calmly.
So that was what was happening!
Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng felt enlightened. They experienced this stage before. To increase the success rate of advancing, they suppressed their Qi-Jin energy until there was enough accumulated. When everything was prepared, they would then focus on their breakthrough. It was not easy to suppress the overpowering Qi-Jin energy. Sometimes, they needed to use all their concentration to suppress it, causing them to lose awareness of what was happening around them. It was as if they were sleepwalking.
This would explain why the killing intent on Regiment Commander Ling was so strong at the beginning. It must be because he couldn't suppress his energy fully so some of it leaked out. Even when he successfully retracted his killing intent, his cold aura leaked out.
However, was this breakthrough referring to the breakthrough to the domain realm?
The two of them exchanged glances with each other. They couldn't see Ling Lan's face clearly but they could tell that she was young. She was an amazingly talented youth. Besides those monsters from the Flying Dragon Special Forces, no one could be compared with her.
This must be a key youth the military must be grooming. No wonder, he was able to become a major general at such a young age and become the regiment commander of a titled super mecha clan. He even had the members of the North and South Stars as his subordinates.
Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng felt that they had gotten the answers for their questions so they started to pay more attention to Ling Lan. If this person didn't die before he fully matured, he would definitely obtain a high position in the military.
Soon, Ling Lan left the command center with Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong.
Ke Yufeng still needed to finish his leaving procedure with Yu Huan so he arranged to meet Ling Lan an hour later at the camping ground for the handover.
Only Yu Huan and Ke Yufeng were left in the office.
"What do you think?" Yu Huan finally cleared away the smile on his face and asked Ke Yufeng for his opinion.
"Lingtian is not simple," Ke Yufeng said calmly.
"Why do you say that?" Yu Huan asked seriously. There were a million soldiers in the base. He couldn't pass everyone's life to someone he didn't know anything about.
"Yang Mingzhi seems like the one who directed the conversation but before he answers every question, he would always look at Major General Ling first." Light flashed Ke Yufeng's right hand and ten sparkling crystal beads were dancing on his palm. They spun around on his hand. Surprisingly, no noises were made. It appeared as though the ten crystal beads didn't hit one another at all.
This was Ke Yufeng's habit. When he needed to think carefully about something, he would use this method to clear his mind and make a final judgment on the matter.
"Liu Furong acts the same way too. His focus was always on Regiment Commander Ling. I even notice that he was a bit nervous," Yu Huan agreed with Ke Yufeng. At the same time, he said his observations.
"As members of the North and South Stars, they wouldn't be worried about each other. That means that he was worried about Regiment Commander Ling," Ke Yufeng replied.
"That's right. He was probably telling the truth when he said that he was in a bad state due to his breakthrough." Yu Huan interlocked his fingers on his table and turned serious.
"You don't think he is doing it deliberately?" Ke Yufeng smiled playfully.
"If Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong weren't here, I might think this way. However, they're here." Yang Mingzhi's expression softened. "You know Yang Mingzhi. He was known as the sliest person among the Seven Stars of the North. Do you think that he would allow his regiment commander to offend me the moment they enter the base?"
"That's true. Yang Mingzhi isn't stupid." Ke Yufeng agreed with Yu Huan.
"Most importantly, who is Ling Lan? Is he really the one in control of Lingtian?" Yu Huan felt that if he could find the answers to these two questions, he would be able to make a decision.
"I remember that there is a young man with the surname Ling who made a name for himself during the battle on Planet Haijiao." Ke Yufeng was in deep thought.
"Prince Ling?" Yu Huan leaned against the table and crossed his hands in front of his chest. "They wanted to protect him so they didn't reveal his full name to the public."
"However, everyone knows that the young man is the son of General Ling Xiao," Ke Yufeng answered.
"You think it's him?" Yu Huan raised his eyebrows.
"It is possible," Ke Yufeng replied.
"It's possible but he jumped levels and operated a god-class mecha. His actions permanently damaged his body. This is the inspection result from all the military doctors in the hospital." Yu Huan thought otherwise. "Do you think that Prince Ling would appear here and tell us that he was on the verge of a breakthrough?"
Were the military doctors so easy to fool?
"But the Ling family… they have the blood phoenix." Ke Yufeng sighed.
"A legend is just a legend," Yu Huan said firmly, "These are modern times."
Really? Then, why were there physical skills? Why were there innate talents? Why did the domain concept appear? All these couldn't be explained with modern technology.
However, this was how people were like. They respected strength and accepted strength. In their minds, these things were within the acceptable range of humans. However, things like coming back alive from the dead were against the nature of life. No one could understand it. Hence, in their minds, these legends would forever be legends. The blood phoenix, which was said to be able to revive in a sea of flames, just meant that the people from the Ling family were tougher and harder to die compared to the average person.
Since Yu Huan didn't agree with what he said, Ke Yufeng didn't continue.
"Forget it. We'll find out about the Lingtian Mecha Clan one day. I'm not in a hurry." Yu Huan didn't get the answer he wanted so he decided to forgo it and continue helping Ke Yufeng with his leaving procedures.
Before the new mecha clan entered the base, the previous mecha clan wasn't allowed to leave. This was to prevent any mistakes in the handing over process which might affect the strength of the base.
When Ling Lan walked out of the command center, she told Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong, "The mecha clan will be moving into the camping ground soon. The move and the communication within the base will be handled by the ten main leaders as well as Department Head Lin."
"Regiment commander, what about you?" Liu Furong asked worriedly. Ling Lan was spending more and more time sleepwalking. Was it alright for no one to watch over him?
"The energy in my body has been accumulated to the maximum point. If I want to control it, I need all my strength. I won't have the time and effort to care about the things happening in the mecha clan." Ling Lan frowned.
She didn't expect her opportunity to enter the imperial realm to happen when she was grooming her mecha clan. It caught her off guard.
Chapter 1083 JMCs Participate in Day Training!
"I will now put all my efforts into training those new recruits. It will be a great opportunity for them." The reason why she was training those new recruits other than being short on time, was because she didn't want to waste her domain presence that was she was slowly losing control over. If those new recruits could endure a short while under her half step imperial realm presence, it would toughen up their physical bodies and mentalities.
"If you have time, come to join as well." Ling Lan told the leaders. It was also an opportunity for them as well.
"Yes, regiment commander!" Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong shouted with hints of gratitude in their eyes. Although Ling Lan's terrifying presence brought them to the brink of death each time they were under it, they still discovered new realizations of their powers after pushing through the great pain that came with it. Additionally, under Ling Lan's presence, they could also take in and condense more of their elements' energy.
This was like cheating in a sense. Anyone who wanted to become stronger would not pass up on such a good opportunity.
However, if someone thought this was something their regiment commander could easily do, then they would be mistaken.
Ling Lan needed to activate her presence, but control it to an extent that it wouldn't kill them or cut off a limb. Her energy needed to be released at an optimum level. However, doing so depended greatly on one's ability to control the energy. If it was in the past, it ,of course, wouldn't be hard for Ling Lan to do that. However now, Ling Lan was about to advance so her energy fluctuated tremendously in this period of time. Sometimes, she might even lose control of her energy. For Ling Lan in her current state, controlling her energy became a tormenting test.
In reality, during every training session, the pain and pressure Ling Lan was under wasn't any less than anyone else in the training grounds.
There were many instances when she had to hold in her explosive energy which she had to pay the price for in terms of heavy injuries… It was only just that Ling Lan always had her cold and merciless facial expression, making it not obvious that she was in tremendous amounts of pain. If it wasn't for the fact that Li Shiyu had carelessly made small remarks about her condition, none of them would know anything about the pain she was under. They wouldn't know about who was paying the price for them to be able to acquire this great opportunity to train.
Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong were both mature soldiers so they were very grateful towards Ling Lan's selfless actions. However, they just didn't show it outright. They were also very aware that Ling Lan provided them more than just these things. The number of things she was doing for them was constantly accumulating one after another. To repay Ling Lan's kindness, they would need an entire lifetime…
However, they were willing to do so.
After making these arrangements, Ling Lan thought for a moment and added, "However, after one week, you lot will be joining the training for the new recruits. Before that, all leaders pass your work to your deputy and come to train with me." Ling Lan's words made Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong's face instantly twitch.
"A week later, my energy will accumulate to its highest point and it will have a high possibility of losing control. Allowing you to come is one, to let you all feel my uncontrolled powers which will probably good for you in the future, two…"
Ling Lan coldly glanced towards the two of them and said mercilessly, "It is also a test to see how many of you are able to stay alive in the end."
"Huh?!" Even veterans would tremble in fear after hearing such cold and killing intent filled words.
"If you want to become strong, you must pay a price." Ling Lan looked towards the blue sky and white clouds created from the virtual space and said calmly, "Pass my words to all the other leaders. If they don't have the courage to join, they can just give up."
"Understood, regiment commander." Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong returned to their calm demeanor. At their levels, unless Ling Lan said something very unexpected, they wouldn't make much fuss about it.
After giving out these orders, Ling Lan disappeared without a trace.
They were clearly not far away from the entrance of the command center. However, the soldiers seemed to have not realized Ling Lan's appearance and disappearance. It was as though she didn't exist.
"Our regiment commander has become stronger again," Yang Mingzhi said nonchalantly.
"Yeah. Even if his energy levels are not stable, he still has reached a point of zen. However, he doesn't want to people to notice that. Even if he was to stand in front of the 'that person', 'that person' wouldn't be able to notice."
After saying that, Liu Furong and Yang Mingzhi looked at each other and smiled. The two of them then vanished in the blink of an eye.
Although they couldn't do it perfectly like their regiment commander, they could still disappear silently from a large amount of soldiers who were not capable enough to not notice them. As for stronger soldiers, even if they were to discover them, they wouldn't try to intercept them, especially the allied soldiers from the same headquarters.
Three days had passed since then.
Lingtian had finished the handover procedures for Proud Wind's camping grounds on the first day. Then, they used one more day to clear up everything in the base from top to bottom. The new recruits, who had been busily working for the past two days instead of training, would not be able to escape the third day's new recruit training.
However, the new recruit training for this day made those male soldiers feel somewhat better. It was possible that it was because they had rested for two days and were now in tip top shape, or the fact that the JMCs, who were absent from the training, were finally joining them.
Men and women working together makes everything easier! It seemed these words had its merits.
All the male soldiers were suddenly full of energy. They were cautious about showing any ounce of fear in front of the female soldiers in case that they might leave a bad first impression.
"I'm so happy. We can finally participate in the rumored day training," a female soldier beside Lady Mei said excitedly.
Until now, the female soldiers were just trained by Han Xuya and Luo Chao because of their weak physical constitutions. They were all taught from the basics. They were afraid that some of them with weaker physical constitutions or those who were weak in general, would break from the actual training
After half a month, Han Xuya finally made the decision to take female soldiers to get a feel of the intensity of the day training. Unfortunately for them, it was also a day training session held by Boss which was many times more difficult.
So, Han Xuya was afraid that these female soldiers might be in danger. It couldn't be helped, Boss was too merciless so she had to be careful putting sweet lambs in front of a terrifying werewolf. Thus, the medical teams, who hadn't came out for quite a while, came out and stood around the training grounds, waiting to do their duty.
Of course, every member of the medical team had a bitter expression on their faces. During the past few weeks, they worked in shifts for the new recruits training, and it made them realize something. That realization was that their regiment commander would definitely not let anyone off easy, including these medical teams who were on call for duty.
Although the pressure they were put under was much lesser than the new recruits, it still wasn't that much of a difference. In the end, when they had to go to save someone in the training ground, they would first inject themselves. Of course, these injections were specially made for members of medical teams. It was the Medical Department Head Li's newest research results. He successfully cut off the pain of the medicinal agent to two hours after the injection.
That was right. They could still not escape from the pain. The only difference was whether the pain starts right away or after two hours. Every time the medical teams saw the new recruits looking towards them with hope and admiration, they would feel very bitter about it. Injecting themselves with their own medicinal agents made them want to cry, but they couldn't tell anyone about it.
However, if those new recruits thought that entering the medical teams would let them escape from the day and month training pains… Then, those medical team members would happily welcome them to go to hell together.
Chapter 1084 Regiment Commander Sir!
Seeing the excited JMCs, the male soldiers, who had already experienced the torment of the training, couldn't help but worry about these naive young women who still weren't aware that they were stepping into a lion's den. One of the male soldiers stood beside the female soldiers decided to tell them the truth. He had a bitter smile on his face and said softly, "Uh, day training is actually very scary, you may not be able to endure it…"
However, what he did not expect was his nice gesture being misunderstood as contempt by a female soldier, "Don't look down on us. We can participate in the day training because of our own capabilities, not because someone let us in through connections! Hmph!" She glared at him with frustration and anger filling her eyes.
"Ah, that's not what I meant…" The male soldier was instantly dumbfounded by the reply. That was not what he meant at all.
He wanted to clear up the misunderstanding between himself and that female soldier, but the group of female soldiers suddenly moved more to the side, creating half a meter of distance between the two groups that were originally standing shoulder to shoulder.
"Heh, Little Qiu, did you offend then?" A comrade beside him noticed the movements of the female soldiers and criticized his friend who went to talk to them.
"I didn't…" This innocent male soldier understood that he could not explain himself anymore.
Right at that moment, strong presence suddenly came down on their shoulders. All of the soldiers in the area suddenly had a change in expression and began to go against the pressure in unplanned unison.
"Hold!" Han Xuya, who was leading them, was the first to feel this strong pressure and she immediately reminded everyone.
Although these JMCs currently had the weakest physical constitutions compared to the other male soldiers in the training grounds, they were still able to withstand the pressure after Han Xuya's 15 days of training. After Han Xuya's order, all of the JMCS quickly held onto the comrades beside them, creating a long connected line of soldiers. The reason why they were doing this was to equally distribute the pressure among them in hopes that even the weakest among them would not fall.
However, even though they did that, every JMC still had a pained expression on their face. They caught off guard since they had never been under this type of pressure before.
Only Han Xuya, who was standing at the very front, was standing upright with no change in her expression. It was as though the strong pressure was non-existent to her.
Lady Mei raised her head with great difficulty and saw the silhouette of Han Xuya standing upright. Seeing her, Lady Mei instantly calmed her mind and the pressure, that was originally difficult for her, no longer seemed that terrifying.
"Everyone did well, but if you want to actually qualify for the day training, you still have to keep enduring… Don't shame our JMC department."
Han Xuya's words echoed through all of the ears of the JMCs. Every one of them instantly put forth all their effort to endure until the end. They wanted to let the males see that them females were not any weaker than them.
Click! Click! Click! Sharp footsteps suddenly echoed within the hearts of every soldier on the training grounds. Every step was like a sledgehammer smashing their heart. A few less capable new recruits had reddened faces with pained expressions.
Similarly, some JMCs, who were less capable, were also suffering from the same feeling. They felt as though their hearts were going to be split apart by the sound of the footsteps. The line they created by combining their strength instantly began to teeter on the end of breaking apart.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, all the JMCs heard a soft and odd voice echoed in their ears. Of course, it was entirely possible that it was an illusion caused by the pressure put on their hearts.
Every JMC felt that they were going to faint from the terrifying footsteps. Surprisingly, the pressure on their hearts began to lessen. Every one of them started gasping for air as if they had almost drowned. The suffocating feeling they initially felt had already gone away from them.
Although they escaped from the terrifying footsteps, the pressure on their shoulders was still pushing them down. They had only managed to escape from one avenue of death but it didn't mean their troubles were over.
Other than the JMCs, all the other soldiers knew that it was their regiment commander who had arrived. The brutal training they had in the past few days made them realize that their regiment commander was a ruthless person. If he wanted to play with you until you die, you wouldn't be able to fight back at all.
All the new recruits began thinking about the scene from ten days ago in unplanned unison. It was the first time they were underwent training with their regiment commander.
It was just like now. No, more worse back then. Back then, they were not even half as strong as they were currently, and just one wave of pressure already enough to force half of them to faint.
If they only knew what was going to happen next back then, the other half of the new recruits might have forced themselves to faint to join the other new recruits who had already fainted. Unfortunately, they were clueless about the torment they were about to go through at the time. Plus, their pride as a soldier drove them to not succumb under the pressure that easily.
It was those footsteps! Those damn footsteps! Back then, their regiment commander only walked 10 steps. Other than a few hundred soldiers who had reached the peak stage of Qi-Jin, the rest all spat out mouthfuls of blood and fainted.
If you thought these few hundred peak stage Qi-Jin soldiers got away with it, then that would be very naive of you.
Of course, when the few hundred still standing soldiers saw their regiment commander stopped in front of them, they all thought the torture was over. However, what they didn't expect was that an even more terrifying experience was waiting for them.
That was because their regiment commander never thought of letting them off easy.
"How many left?" Their regiment commander calmly scanned the few hundred soldiers and smirked, "Not bad. There are still 427 soldiers." She knew the correct number of people with only a single glance.
"Are the weapons ready?" Their regiment commander raised his head slightly and looked towards the head of the law enforcement department, Gao Jinyun, who was standing at the door. Even the head of the law enforcement department had to come here since the regiment commander had came here himself.
"All ready, regiment commander!" Gao Jinyun shot a glance to his assistants. Not long after, the law enforcement department got 500 or so weapons over to the training grounds and placed them in a corner. These weapons were all made from metal. There were knives, swords, daggers, metal bats, hammers and many more. All 18 types of handheld weapons were present.
"You will only have 3 minutes to choose your best weapon. I am giving you an opportunity." Their regiment commander's cold voice echoed through the ears of all 427 individuals.
Opportunity? What opportunity? The 427 soldier had this question in mind. However, the training they underwent the past few days made them understand that they shouldn't neglect the amount of time their officers gave them. They had learned from that mistake at the very beginning of their time in the clan.
It should be said that after the strength training given from the leaders, although these new recruits did not pass the requirements for Lingtian Mecha Clan, they were still much stronger from when they first joined. If they were based off the requirements of the New Recruit Corps, these recruits would all successfully pass.
Soon, everyone grabbed their weapon of choice. Everyone then looked towards the cold and collected regiment commander standing at the very front of them with clueless expressions.
"So, I heard a lot of people want to leave my mecha clan?" Ling Lan's mocking tone rang in everyone's ears.
Many soldiers shamefully put their heads down. Indeed, the hellish training for the past few days caused the new recruits to be afraid. Some of them even believed that if it continued, they would die on the training grounds before dying on the battlefield.
Chapter 1085 Not a Nice Person!
"I'm a reasonable person!" Ling Lan said calmly.
What a lie!
Not only did the new recruits who stood up to fight denied their regiment commander's words, even those on duty and the medical teams around the training grounds felt the same way.
Boss was definitely a person who was dominant, unreasonable and would use any ruthless methods to make them unable to say 'No' to him!
"So, I'm giving you a chance to leave." Ling Lan looked towards everyone coldly. "Out of the 427 of you, if one of you manages to strike me down, then all of you will be able to walk out of my clan freely."
"Ah…" The 427 new recruits all shouted in surprise. Many of them had excited expressions on their faces and the light of 'hope' was sparkling in their eyes.
Heh!
On the other hand, the veterans soldiers in Lingtian looked at these 427 recruits with sympathetic expressions in unplanned unison.
As expected, he was still Boss who would start a killing spree if they didn't obey him.
A few older mecha operators who were standing on the side remembered the time when they were arrogant in front of their regiment commander… Bittersweet feelings started to appear in their heart.
However, when they saw those arrogant new recruits, they actually felt their moods lighten up a bit.
'Yes you brats. We're watching you. Just continue to be arrogant.' This was definitely not the feeling of schadenfreude.
Suddenly, Ling Lan seemed to have remembered something. She shook her head and said slowly, "Right… tsk, ask you to bring me down? That's probably too much of a demand for you lot!"
Ling Lan looked at these new recruits as if they were ants, "How about this? If one of you hit me with a good hit, I will declare you as winners!"
These words caused the 427 new recruits to have angry expressions on their faces. Pride was something no soldier lacked! Every one of them unconsciously clenched the weapons in their hands with limitless willpower burning in their eyes.
Although not everyone out of the 427 individuals wanted to leave, there were still soldiers who wanted to leave even though they saw improvements in their strength. However, this still shouldn't be a reason why they should endure being insulted by the top commander of the mecha clan.
Beat him! Despite having different goals, these 427 individuals now had one common goal.
The entire training grounds was quiet as it was split into two groups. On one side, there was Ling Lan with her hands behind her back and her signature cold expression on her face. On the other side, there were 427 individuals with hardened expressions. Everyone was prepared to attack and was only waiting for the order to attack.
In the group of 427 soldiers, Huo Zhenyu looked at the person who he now admired and felt a little bitter. In the past, he was somewhat considered an opponent who Ling Lan deemed as worthy, but now, he was only one insignificant person in this group of soldiers.
The promise they made one year ago! Despite him knowing that the difference between himself and that person was like heaven and earth, the scene in front of him still made Huo Zhenyu felt uneasy.
Perhaps Ling Lan had already forgotten their promise from back then!
"Begin!" Ling Lan's cold voice exploded in everyone's ears.
The row of new recruits who were closest to Ling Lan, around 10 or so, shouted and pounced towards Ling Lan with their weapons.
Despite being mad at Ling Lan's words, the new recruits didn't lose their cool. Everyone cautiously clumped together and attacked Ling Lan simultaneously.
Of course, they were also conducting a test. A test to determine just how strong their regiment commander was.
"Bam!" The pouncing soldiers were suddenly sent flying back by a strong force until they smashed into the hard ground.
They didn't even get close to their regiment commander and were swept off their feet just by their regiment commander's presence.
The remaining new recruits were stunned by this scene. The looked at their regiment commander with dumbfounded looks and forgot to continue their attacks.
Who could land on hit on him if he had this kind of power?
Ling Lan stood at the same place without moving a single inch. Her hands were still behind her back. Her eyes scanned the crowd and she calmly said in a mock apologetic tone, "It was my fault just now. I will now suppress my physical skills to the peak stage of Qi-Jin to make it fair for you."
After saying that, Ling Lan's original dominant presence began to weaken. In the end, the presence she was giving off was similar to the peak stage of Qi-Jin.However, despite it being so, her presence's actual power was still two to three times stronger than actual peak stage Qi-Jin individuals…
However, there were 427 of them and most of them had reached the peak stage of Qi-Jin. Furthermore, many of them had even reached the optimal peak. It was only that they hadn't found a catalyst to advance into the domain stage yet. From the looks of things, their regiment commander was indeed giving them a fair fight by suppressing his powers to the peak stage of Qi-Jin. After all, it was 427 people attacking him with some even stronger than him by a small amount.
Now, all the new recruits were under the impression that their regiment commander was definitely a domain realm master and not just any domain realm master, it was possible that he was a titled domain realm master.
"Begin!" Ling Lan ordered again.
However this time, no one made a move. The row of new recruits who were getting closer to Ling Lan looked at Ling Lan with hardened expressions in hopes to find an opening to attack.
However soon, everyone began to swear and cuss in their minds.
Sh*t! Why could their regiment commander just stand there casually and be perfect without any openings?
Just like that, it was a stalemate for half a minute. Ling Lan raised one of her eyebrows slightly. "Looks like I have to make a move."
'Yes, only if you move, we will have a chance to find an opening.' All the recruits were not moving because of this thought.
However, in the next second, the expressions of the recruits quickly changed.
"Too fast!" Ling Lan, who was originally standing in front of them, suddenly disappeared.
Boom, boom, boom… This was the sound of fists hitting flesh.
Ah, ah, ah… This was the sound of pained screams.
Bam, bam, bam… This was the sound of heavy objects falling onto the ground.
The area in the center of the 427 soldiers was in a state of chaos.
Ling Lan entered no man's land with hands moving around with grace. Wherever she went, there would be people sent flying. This caused the entire new recruit group to be thrust into a state of chaos.
"Too merciless." A mecha operator spectating on the side couldn't help but shake his head from the scene.
"How long do you think our regiment commander will take to take down these new recruits?" asked another mecha operator while smiling.
"That would depend on our regiment commander's mood." They didn't dare to guess the mood their unpredictable regiment commander.
"It's actually better for them to have fainted in the beginning from our regiment commander's presence." One mecha operator saw one new recruit spat out blood in mid-air. His face instantly twitched, and a sense of familiarity instantly struck him. Back then, he also went through the same thing.
"Heh, you think newbies who don't know the truth will understand our regiment commander's mercilessness?" Another mecha operator heard those words and instantly laughed out loud.
"Only after experiencing such an unforgettable pain, would they be able to understand that in our mecha clan the person who they should never provoke is our regiment commander." Sighed one person.
"There's a very big problem with your words. In our mecha clan, those who we shouldn't provoke isn't just our regiment commander, right?" rebutted someone.
Those mecha operators all suddenly thought of something and all shivered in unison.
One mecha operator hugged himself in an exaggerated manner and said frustratingly, "Alright, alright, don't talk about that topic Just thinking about it gives me the chills."
In their mecha clan, whether it was team leaders or department heads from logistics, no one was nice!
Chapter 1086 Promise!
Ling Lan was flying gracefully while sending recruits one after another flying into the air. Suddenly, she felt a set of arms of a new recruit blocking her attack. However, the new recruit had to slide back for more than ten metres before he finally managed to completely neutralize the attack.
Ling Lan was surprised that someone managed to block her attack. Although she suppressed her true strength to the peak stage of Qi-Jin, the strength of her attack still exceeded that stage. A normal recruit shouldn't be able to handle it.
She looked at the new recruit instinctively, and was stunned for a moment.
Huo Zhenyu!
He was her opponent when she was still a freshman in the military academy. Before he left the military academy, they promised to have a battle again.
"Senior Huo, this is a good moment to realize our promise of the past. Here's my second attack!" Ling Lan's cold voice rang beside Huo Zhenyu's ears.
She took a step forward and shot towards Huo Zhenyu. In an instant, she arrived in front of him. However, her current attacks were stronger and fiercer than before. She aimed at Huo Zhenyu's forehead.
Huo Zhenyu was in a daze but when he heard what Ling Lan said, but when he saw her fist, his eyes lit up with fighting spirit.
This person whom he looked up to didn't forget their promise! He was willing to fight with him.
"Come!" Huo Zhenyu smiled happily. He congregated his Qi – Jin into his right fist and then aimed it at Ling Lan's fist.
"Bang!"
A dull explosion was heard. Two fists collided and residual waves flowed towards everyone spectating. All the recruits around them were thrown off their feet.
"Half step domain!" One of the mecha operators was shocked.
"I didn't expect such a powerful figure to be hidden among the recruits." Another mecha operator was elated too.
"I want that person on my team!" The two of them shouted simultaneously.
They heard each other's words and glared at each other. Sparks formed in the air. To increase the strength of their teams, they would use any means to snatch anyone powerful into their teams.
Ling Lan and Huo Zhenyu's fist collided for three seconds. Even if Huo Zhenyu had reached half step domain, he was still unable to resist against Ling Lan's frightening attack.
Boom!
Huo Zhenyu flew out. He flew passed the area where the recruits were standing and falling to the corner of the training ground.
Even after he landed on the ground, Huo Zhenyu still took a few steps back before he managed to stand still.
However, Huo Zhenyu didn't feel sad or dejected. Instead, he looked elated.
"Grab this chance to breakthrough to the domain stage." A voice sounded beside him. It was Ling Lan.
Huo Zhenyu suppressed his happiness. He crossed his legs, sat on the ground and closed his eyes. He slowly felt the power behind Ling Lan's fist. This was an opportunity Ling Lan gave him. If he could make full use of this opportunity, he would be able to find the path to the domain realm.
The mecha operators around Huo Zhenyu looked at him with envy. They wanted to get this opportunity too. Wait, they had to get tortured by their boss first. Well, it seemed like they needed to factor that in too.
Those mecha teams that were interested in Huo Zhenyu were more interested in him now. Anyone that got selected by their boss would have a bright future ahead of himself. It would be stupid if they didn't want him.
While Huo Zhenyu was meditating, Ling Lan beat the rest of the 427 recruits to the ground. Everyone laid on the ground and groaned in pain.
On the other hand, Ling Lan wasn't breathing heavily. What was worse was that there wasn't even a crease on her military uniform. She just stood in the middle calmly.
"I've given you a chance to get out of my clan. Unfortunately, you're rubbish!" Ling Lan flicked her left sleeve. She didn't even look at the recruits, showing that she didn't care about the recruits.
The recruits on the ground glared at Ling Lan when they heard what she said. Some even vomited out blood in anger.
"Hence, stay here and train obediently. When you're not a pile of rubbish anymore, you can…" Ling Lan looked up slightly and scoffed. "Though, I think that it'll be difficult for all of you."
All the recruits gritted their teeth. Now, the thought of running away wasn't in their minds anymore. They just wanted to prove that they weren't useless to Ling Lan. They were willing to do anything to prove that.
"Are you unhappy? Then, stand up!" Ling Lan suddenly shouted when she saw the anger and fighting spirits in their eyes.
The recruits on the ground started struggling. However, the damage done by Ling Lan's fist was too great. They kept falling down each time they tried to stand up. They repeated this process until they finally managed to stagger up.
"Those who are still able to stand up will go through the basic training for today." Ling Lan watched them coldly as they struggled to get up. Even when they got up, her gaze didn't change. It was still cold and brutal. Her next order was brutal too.
"He really wants us to die." The recruits were affected greatly by Ling Lan's indifference. They confirmed that their regiment commander really didn't care about them. Even if they died, he would be affected at all.
He was really the devil!
Ling Lan looked at the silent recruits who were staring at her in a daze. She raised one of her eyebrows and said, "Didn't you hear what I said?"
A huge force of presence struck the recruits again. Those that were barely standing fainted from the pressure. Blood started flowing out of their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
Only less than a hundred recruits managed to resist the pressure. They were all at the optimal peak of Qi-Jin. This was the reason why they were able to currently stand despite everything they had been through.
They looked at the 300 recruits who collapsed and turned to look Ling Lan who was looking at them coldly. Without any hesitation, they rushed to the training ground to complete their training. They knew that they wouldn't be able to complete it in their current condition, but they didn't have the ability to say no.
Hence, the recruits had to suffer for many days under the hands of their brutal regiment commander. Every day, they felt that they were going to die. However, they were saved by the frightening agent which tormented them greatly before pulling them back from the gates of hell.
Even they almost died from the brutal training. Would a bunch of female soldiers who were at manifestation stage be able to survive?
Finally, a person appeared at the entrance. He was wearing a blue-white military uniform with a white short whip kept under his arms. He was walking over slowly to them.
Lady Mei and the other JMCs felt an icy gaze passing over them. Then, they heard a cold and heartless voice. "If you can survive for half an hour, I'll allow you to participate in the day training."
Everyone knew Ling Lan was saying that to the JMCs.
The JMCs were filled with fighting spirit when they heard that. Under the guidance of Han Xuya, they were no longer the female soldiers who wanted to fish for a rich husband. They wanted to be like Han Xuya, a female officer who had real power. They didn't want to be just another man's accessory.
Of course, this was because most of the JMCs here came from Base 013. They experienced many life-or-death situations in the battle so they were stronger and more determined than other female soldiers. In the future, under the guidance of these strong-minded females, future females soldiers would walk on the path of independence too.
Chapter 1087 One Kind Of People!
"Did you manage to find out anything about Lingtian?" All the mecha clans in the base wanted to know the background of this new titled super mecha clan which was going to take over the Proud Wind Mecha Clan's position in the base.
Their astonishing number of mechas as well as their grand entrance made the other mecha clans curious about Lingtian Mecha Clan.
However, when they tried to look up information of Lingtian, it just stated that it was just a newly formed titled super mecha clan which was at fifth-rank one-star. Any titled super mecha clan in the base had a higher rank than Lingtian. Hence, a lot of mecha clans weren't convinced about their capabilities to succeed Proud Wind's position in the base.
"Is it true that the regiment commander of this mecha clan is someone with a special background? They probably came here just to gain some merits for themselves." This was the only explanation for their ludicrous amount of mechas.
'We can't let a useless second generation be in control of everyone's safety and the base.' Most of the regiment commanders in the base had this thought.
Before Lingtian proved itself to them that it was capable of sitting on the throne, the other mecha clans wouldn't listen to it even if Yu Huan gave them the power to govern them.
"Maybe we should test them out!" The regiment commanders of some high rank titled super mecha clans were restless that their commander-in-chief might be someone incompetent so they decided to act to ease their restless heart.
"Ah! We can finally take a break." In the JMCs' dorm, a pretty and outgoing JMC laid on her bed and waved her fists around as she shouted out excitedly.
"Little Yao, be quiet!" A pillow flew towards the face of the JMC called Little Yao.
"Empty-Handed Weapon Grab!" Little Yao quickly grabbed the flying pillow to prevent her face from being hit by it.
"Lady Mei, Ah Qing attack me…" Little Yao jumped down and complained to Lady Mei, who was in the bathroom, while she waved the pillow in the air.
"Training is not for us to fight each other." Lady Mei was using a cold towel to wipe her face in an attempt to freshen herself up. She wasn't interested in the insignificant quarrels between her comrades.
One of the main reasons why these JMCs were so active the moment they woke up was because they passed the test. They were finally able to take part in the training too. Lady Mei still felt scared when she thought of the day of the assessment.
Only half of them managed to withstand for half an hour. They thought that they had failed the right for them to go for the training. However, Major Han said that more than half of them had succeeded so they barely passed.
However, Major Han got punished for their shortcomings. She had to go through ten times the amount of their training every day. Every night, Lady Mei would see Major Han crawling out of the training ground with dried and fresh stains of blood on her face.
She wasn't the only one who saw this. All the JMCs saw the heart-wrenching scene. Some weaker recruits even cried.
"What are you crying?" Major Han seemed puzzled when she saw them crying.
When she knew that they were crying because of the brutal training she had to endure, Major Han smiled and asked, "Don't you think that this is fair?"
"Why is it fair? You are a female. How can you do what the men are doing?" The training that Major Han had to go through was much worse than what the recruits were doing. It was almost the same as the training for experienced soldiers.
"Why not?" Han Xuya smiled and asked.
The JMCs didn't know what to reply.
"Actually, I'm very happy to be able to train this hard because to Boss, I'm no longer just a weak lady. I'm also a real soldier now. That is why he gave me the same training as those experienced soldiers." Han Xuya seemed excited when she said this. Only Boss knew what she really wanted.
She wanted to become a powerful person just like Ling Lan. She wanted to be able to protect the people she wanted to protect.
"You are the same too. Since you managed to earn the right to go for day training, you must forget about your gender. There is only one kind of people here, soldiers!" Han Xuya said sternly, "I always believe that a woman, even a normal JMC, is as good as any male soldier."
"Yes, head!" All the female soldiers were motivated by Han Xuya's words.
Yes, in the past, JMCs were known as weaklings that required the full protection of the base to do their job. So, the base and the division wouldn't want to waste resources to train these female soldiers. Hence, their status in the military was low. Sometimes, they couldn't even reject a high ranking officer when they confessed to them.
However here, they were able to train like male soldiers. They were given the same training resources and treatment as male soldiers. If they got hurt and tired after training, they would be given the same expensive agent. Although it made them feel like dying, their body condition really got better after taking those medicinal agents. They even became more agile. When they looked around them, they could see that they were more respected than they were ever before.
After a week of continuous training, all the female soldiers broke through their limits and advanced to the manifestation stage. Some female soldiers who were already in manifestation stage, for instance, Lady Mei, even managed to advance to refinement stage after she finished her treatment yesterday night.
Refinement stage was nothing much in the Lingtian Mecha Clan. If any of the male soldiers didn't reach refinement stage… they would be sent for training all the way until they reached refinement stage.
However, females were different. Due to the restriction on their physical constitution, they would be stuck at manifestation stage even if they were highly talented. Therefore, they needed to find an opportunity to break through the manifestation stage. Without an opportunity, they would never be able to advance to the higher stages.
Hence, Lady Mei was considered to be very powerful when she advanced to the refinement stage.
"Oh right, since we have a day off today, let's go shopping." Little Yao suggested excitedly after she finished dressing up.
She had been stuck training at the training grounds for the past ten days. She could feel the itch in her body to go out, even more so when she heard that there was a huge shopping mall in the base.
Every base had a shopping mall or a shopping district. However, these shops were all controlled by the base. The attendants inside were all logisticians of the base. They were a form of service for the soldiers.
"Sure. I need to buy some daily necessities too." Ah Qing quickly sat up from her bed without any signs of drowsiness she had before.
Lady Mei wanted to get some necessities too so she agreed to go together.
Soon, the three of them reached the shopping mall.
Chapter 1088 Present?
The shopping mall was huge. It looked the same as the shopping malls one would find in the cities. However, most of the products sold inside were daily necessities and all kinds of mecha equipment. There were some household items too. However, there were very few selections of clothes, and most of it were just military uniforms and boots. They were just different styles of military wear. The uniforms of all the divisions were sold here. At the very least, they did sell casual clothes.
The huge array of items delighted the ladies. Soon, their hands were filled with shopping bags.
"Okay, since everyone is done, let's go back." Lady Mei didn't want to waste her entire day off shopping
"Wait, let's go over there." Little Yao suddenly pointed to a cold weapons shop.
"You want to get a cold weapon?" Lady Mei was curious.
"Don't you think our regiment commander looks very handsome carrying a whip?" Little Yao replied indirectly.
'That's because our regiment commander is handsome, not the whip.' Lady Mei was speechless, but Little Yao already dragged her into the shop so she had no choice but to go inside. Ah Qing quickly caught up with them.
There were many soldiers in the cold weapon shop, and most of them were males. Hence, when three beautiful ladies entered the shop, most of the eyes in the shop turned to them.
Little Yao saw the whip category and she quickly pulled the two of them over.
It had to be said that all the cold weapons on Base Nebula were of amazing quality. Little Yao was amazed by what she saw. She didn't know which one to choose.
"These prices are a little too high." The thrifty Ah Qing was shocked by the prices of these whips in front of her.
"High quality weapons are expensive," Little Yao said dismissively. Suddenly, she saw a shining black whip and her eyes lit up. She immediately pressed the virtual screen beside
Soon, the materials, method of assembly, and the various components of the whip were displayed. Little Yao was satisfied with the figures.
"Wow… it's 1.33 million credits." Ah Qing looked at Little Yao seriously. She asked in puzzlement, "It's just a short whip. Why is it so expensive?"
"This whip is made from the tail bone of the Demon Teeth Leopard. It's a rank seven savage beast so it's very hard to catch. Whether it's the flexibility or the tenacity of the bone, it's one of the best, making it the most suitable material to make a whip. Most cold weapons aren't able to destroy it. Hence, the price displayed there is very reasonable." The soldier beside them frowned when he heard what Ah Qing said but he still patiently explained to them.
"Thank you." Lady Mei thanked the soldier as his explanation allowed her to understand the whip better.
"Sister Mei, let's get this." Little Yao's eyes were sparkling
"Do you have enough money?" Lady Mei glanced at Little Yao. She destroyed Little Yao's dream.
"No. However, we can gather enough money from everyone." Little Yao smiled.
"Huh?" Lady Mei was stunned.
"Major Han's birthday is coming up soon," Little Yao replied, "If she has a whip like this, don't you think she will look very handsome."
"I thought only the regiment commander can use a whip." Lady Mei was uncertain. She didn't see any other team leaders carrying a whip. Would it cause trouble for their department head if they bought a whip for her?
"No." Little Yao looked around her before pulling Ah Qing and Lady Mei closer. "Someone from the medical department secretly told that all the leaders and heads will need a whip soon."
"Why?" Lady Mei was curious.
"I heard that it is to make punishment easier. It was an order by the regiment commander," Little Yao replied seriously.
"F**K. Does every battle team need to have one? So vicious?" Ah Qing stuck her tongue out.
"Don't you realize that the whip will be used on us?" Lady Mei was speechless. She had never seen someone giving the weapon used to punish them as a present to their department head.
"Our head won't punish us!" Little Yao wasn't worried about this. Major Han was strict with them but she never punished them physically. "I'm just worried about the upcoming assessment. With a good weapon, she may have a higher chance of passing the assessment."
Little Yao sighed. "I don't want our head to get punished again."
Lady Mei remembered the bad state Major Han was in during the past few days. She looked at the best whip in the shop and said, "Let's buy it. I'll pay."
"It's supposed to be a gift from everyone," Little Yao objected.
"Let me buy it first and then we will go back and ask them if they want to share the cost. If they don't want to, it's fine. I'll pay for it." Lady Mei had already decided to give the whip to her department head.
"If they don't want to share, the three of us will pay for it." Little Yao turned to look at Ah Qing. She threatened her, "Ah Qing, don't tell me that you don't want to pay for it."
Ah Qing immediately answered, "I'll follow Sister Mei all the way." The three of them stayed in one apartment so they were very close with each other.
"It's decided." Lady Mei quickly went up to the virtual screen. She wanted to press the purchase button but a hand suddenly moved past hers.
A cold light flashed in her eyes. She quickly nudged with her wrist to push the hand away.
Then, she pressed her finger towards the purchase button.
Bam!
The hand reached out again and slapped Lady Mei's hand away.
Both of them took a step back from the force of this exchange.
Lady Mei looked up slowly. She saw a twenty-something-year-old second lieutenant looking at her in astonishment.
"Second lieutenant, I've been looking at this whip for quite a while. Do you mind letting me purchase this whip instead?" The second lieutenant's attitude turned softer when he noticed that he was facing against a female second lieutenant who was as strong as him.
"I'm sorry. I really like this whip. Please look for something else." Lady Mei rejected him without any hesitation. This whip was important to Major Han. How could she give it away.
"Why are you so shameless? How dare you snatch something from Brother Han," an arrogant lady behind the second lieutenant shouted pompously.
Lady Mei turned around and saw a bunch of people standing around them. A pretty and sweet-looking female soldier was also glaring at her.
"If I remember correctly, this whip would have been mine if your Brother Han didn't stop me. Who is the shameless one here?" Lady Mei sneered.
"Brother Han wanted to buy this whip a week ago. If he had enough credits back then, it would have been his long ago." The female soldier didn't want to give up.
"However, it is still clearly here now." Lady Mei's smile turned colder.
"Why are you preventing us from buying the whip when you don't even have enough money to buy it? You are just being unreasonable." Little Yao was unhappy.
Chapter 1089 Door Guard!
The second lieutenant's expression changed and a vicious look appeared in his eyes. "Yes, the whip is still here, so it means that it doesn't have an owner yet. What's wrong with me trying to buy it?"
"Plus, this weapon is a weapon worthy to go to the battlefield, not a toy for a lady. Moreover, you buying it is humiliating to the weapon itself." The second lieutenant looked at the three ladies with contempt.
Lady Mei's gaze turned cold.
There was a moment of silence. Then, the two of them attacked at the same time.
Boom! A figure flew back. Lady Mei pressed the purchased button decisively.
The second lieutenant looked at Lady Mei with a dumbfounded expression. He didn't expect to lose to a woman.
The protective beam around the whip disappeared. Lady Mei took the whip and coldly said, "Thank you."
The second lieutenant turned green with anger when he saw Lady Mei buying the whip. He scoffed and left angrily.
"That soldier is from Piercing Arrow. They are known for being unreasonable so it's better to leave quickly." The soldier, who explained the whip to them just now, reminded Lady Mei when he noticed that they didn't know who that person was.
Lady Mei frowned slightly but she still said gratefully, "Thank you."
The three of them didn't want to cause any trouble so they hurried back to their base.
They were in such a hurry so they didn't notice someone following them.
"Brother Han, I've found where they come from." The scout who followed them came to his camping grounds happily.
"Which mecha clan are they from?" Brother Han got excited. He had never been so humiliated before. What was more humiliating for him was that it was a woman who defeated him.
"It's the new Lingtian Mecha Clan."
"It's them…" Brother Han's expression darkened. He said, "I understand. You can leave now."
The scout's expression quickly froze. However, he didn't say anything and left.
After walking for some distance, the scout spat on the ground in the direction where Brother Han was at. "Damn it! Does he really think he is somebody? If he didn't have a team leader as his brother, no one will want to see his ugly face."
Brother Han didn't know that none of his subordinates truly respected him. After the scout left, he left his place too and went to find his brother.
Soon, he walked out of his brother's apartment with an evil smile.
"The people from Piercing Arrow are going to mess with the people from Lingtian." The moment the people from Piercing Arrow left their camping grounds, this piece of news spread to all the other regiment commanders.
"There will be a good show." The regiment commander of the Slaughter Mecha Clan smiled as he said to his secondary commander.
He thought that after the Proud Wind Mecha Clan left Base Nebula, they would be the clan taking over its place. Yet, a newly formed titled super mecha clan snatched his rightful position. If it was a long-standing titled super mecha clan like theirs, he wouldn't mind. However, the mecha clan taking over his position was too weak in his eyes. He was unwilling to accept this.
"Will Yu Wei send a competent person over?" The secondary commander was puzzled.
Yu Wei was the regiment commander of Piercing Arrow Mecha Clan. If he wanted to understand Lingtian better, he must send over a competent person to really test their depths.
"Zhang Han has a brother called Zhang Chao. He is one of the 36 Heavenly Warriors under Yu Wei. Zhang Han is a pampered child so he will definitely ask his brother for help."
The secondary commander felt enlightened. "I see. Regiment commander, you've planned everything right from the get go."
"Planning and luck must be both present for a scheme to go perfectly. I just didn't expect the chance to do so would come so quickly." Lin Yang smiled.
"What do we do now?" The secondary commander was restless.
"Watch over Yu Wei. If he acts, I will have a reason to meet this famous regiment commander of Lingtian Mecha Clan." Lin Yang smiled.
Soon, the people from Piercing Arrow arrived at the entrance of Lingtian's base. They started to scream and shout for the people inside Lingtian to come out.
After some time, the doors of the base finally opened. A young man walked out. "Why are you screaming for?"
Zhang Chao glanced at the young man and he received a shock. This young man wasn't an insignificant soldier. He was a lieutenant colonel.
He looked pass the doors and saw there were no soldiers standing behind in rows. In fact, there was no one in sight. It seemed as though this lieutenant colonel was the man guarding the door.
'How luxurious to have a lieutenant colonel guard the door.' Zhang Chao was stunned. He forgot what he wanted to say.
Just like what Li Lanfeng expected, there would be people trying to provoke them. To prevent these outsiders from interrupting their boss and the training of their team members, the 21 team leaders would take turns guarding the door. Today, it was Xie Yi's turn.
Why are there 21 team leader? Have you forgotten about Yan Three? He's the 21st team leader of Lingtian. However, he was only given a hundred team members as the rest of the soldiers were snatched away by the other team leaders.
However, Yan Three wasn't angry about it. His team, Team 21, was already a super huge team. His team had three times the amount of people as the other teams. It was the biggest team in the entire mecha clan. As for its strength… let's not talk about it first.
Even the confident Yan Three wouldn't appear arrogant in front of the other 20 teams who were strong enough to pummel his team to pieces even if they split up.
"Hey, I'm talking to you." Xie Yi asked again impatiently. He already saw that the leader of the entourage was a major. Hence, he displayed some attitude.
"Lieutenant colonel, nice to meet you." Zhang Chao was stunned by Xie Yi's appearance. He quickly saluted in frustration. They weren't in the same mecha clan but since Xie Yi's rank was higher than his rank, he had to salute to him to show respect.
Xie Yi crossed his hands in front of his chest and smiled at Zhang Chao's show of respect. He didn't reply to him.
Zhang Chao put his hands down and said, "Lieutenant colonel, I came here to seek for an explanation. Your soldier had snatched a weapon from us. Please give us an explanation."
"Snatch your weapon?" Xie Yi touched his chin. He seemed serious but inside, he was actually elated. He wondered which soldier did such a good thing.
"So what if we snatched it?" Xie Yi replied lazily, "What else are you here for?"
Zhang Chao's expression changed. One of the first lieutenants beside him said angrily, "Why are you being so unreasonable?"
"Unreasonable?" Xie Yi laughed hysterically when he heard what the first lieutenant said. "Why are you talking about being reasonable in the military? Have you forgotten about survival of the fittest?"
In this world, everyone respects the powerful, especially in the military. This was why Xie Yi burst into laughter when he heard what the soldier said.