Chapter 92: Battlefield Rapport
Since childhood, Luo Shizhen had always been a person who was exceptionally easy to please. But at this moment, he finally experienced the pinnacle of joy. In their daily, perilous battles against the Bizarre, Luo Shizhen made progress almost every single day. However far behind he had lagged in his cultural classes in the past, his progress in actual combat was just as breathtakingly rapid. This feeling of seeing his hard work yield immediate results was simply intoxicating. Furthermore, Luo Shizhen discovered that the pollution left behind by Anomalies he personally dealt with allowed his Qi body to grow at an even faster rate. Besides, the sensation of eating his fill felt absolutely wonderful.
Even the guide was struck with awe, noting that he had never seen a Purifier with such immense combat talent and learning capacity. He first led them to fight hordes of Tier 1 Anomalies, followed by Tier 2 and Tier 3. These Anomalies all shared a common trait: they possessed virtually no intelligence and mostly appeared in massive quantities.
The guide explained, “We discovered that Low-Rank Anomalies instinctively yearn for the flesh and blood of High-Rank Anomalies. Therefore, we established four districtsâEast, South, West, and Northâin every city, specifically storing different pieces of High-Rank Anomaly flesh to lure the vast majority of Anomalies entering the city into these four zones.”
“These four districts have their own garrison troops, but whenever the quantity of Anomalies spikes, they will request reinforcements from Eternal Day. Your First Squad is one of those dispatched to aid them.”
This place felt more like a training ground located outside the school. When fighting, the young Guardians would naturally sustain injuries and make mistakes. Virtually every single day, First Squad lived amidst blood and sweat. Sui An would not step in to help; on the contrary, he would sometimes intentionally cause trouble.
First Squad had just finished a bloody battle against a pack of ChangchengâAnomalies that looked like leopards with wings, could fly, and loved joining conflicts. The young men were splayed across the ground in all directions, every face a mask of exhaustion, their bodies covered in dirt and green blood as they panted heavily.
Right at that moment, Sui An lured over a swarm of Xuanfeng.
Luo Shizhen was the first to spot them.
“Sui-laoshi is here.”
He was leaning against a tree trunk, his chest heaving violently from the fierce battle as he tried hard to catch his breath. Through the thick mist ahead, the silhouette of a man slowly walked into view. Luo Shizhen recognized him with a single glanceâit was Sui-laoshi.
Sui-laoshi’s stride was highly distinctive. He always walked at a seemingly unhurried pace, yet perhaps due to his long legs, a speed that appeared slow would cover a massive distance in a flash. Furthermore, Sui-laoshi had an exceptionally fine physique. Even though he was clad in a tightly wrapped combat suit and was quite a distance away, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs were still clearly discernible, every step faintly radiating latent power.
Luo Shizhen happily waved at Sui-laoshi.
Within the heavy mist, the man paused. Looking at the young Purifier whose eyes were filled with pure, absolute trust, he let out a somewhat helpless smile. He also raised his hand, waving back at him.
Then, a massive swarm of black Xuanfeng flew out from behind Sui An, like a dense, pitch-black shroud blotting out the entire sky. The Controller’s mental power shielded his presence from the Xuanfengâs perception; they bypassed Sui An entirely, charging straight toward the young Guardian squad.
Luo Shizhen blinked. “Ah!” He immediately sprang up, shouting to his teammates, “Get up, quick! Xuanfeng!”
The moment Cheng Yunshao heard Luo Shizhen greeting Sui An from afar, he knew something was wrong. Sui An rarely showed himself, and every single time he appeared, it meant he was giving them “extra training.” It had reached the point where the instant Cheng Yunshao saw Sui An or heard his voice, he would instinctively enter a combat-ready state. In the entire squad, the dull-witted Luo Shizhen was likely the only one who would still happily wave and greet Sui An with total trust upon seeing him.
Cheng Yunshao had actually asked him once if being chased by the Anomalies Sui An lured over multiple times hadn’t left him with psychological trauma.
Luo Shizhen had simply replied, “I know Sui-laoshi is doing it to improve our combat strength. Heâs doing it for our own good.”
Cheng Yunshaoâs reaction at the time: “…”
Of course he knew Sui An was doing it for their own good, but whenever they were being pursued ruthlessly by whatever Anomaly he had lured over, it was truly difficult to maintain peace of mind. It was exactly like being drilled by instructors at schoolâyou knew the instructors meant well, but how could a student who had been run ragged like a dead dog feel any affection for them? Yet against all logic, Luo Shizhen could.
The Xuanfeng were only Tier 2. They looked similar to regular wasps from the human world, but their bodies were as large as birds, and the venom in their stingers was comparable to a rattlesnake’s. Granted, an Awakenerâs physique was incredibly robust; even if they were stung, the affected area would merely turn numb at most, and their bodies would naturally flush out the toxin within two or three hours. But it was obviously best to avoid being stung entirely.
The members of First Squad, who had felt entirely drained of strength just moments ago, had no choice but to drag themselves up to fight on.
Lu Qiujin conjured a wooden shield, Rong Nian summoned water spheres to drench the Xuanfeng’s wings, and Xiao Shan used his ability to encase the stingers so they couldn’t strike. Cheng Yunshao’s puppets drew their bows, while Chu Xiao mobilized thousands of ice shards, weaving through the descending stingers from the swarm’s golden-element attacks to retaliate in reverse with his ice spikes.
Wen Hu, who had been completely majestic while fighting the Changcheng earlier, was now howling in agony from being stung repeatedly, as his giant tiger form possessed very few defensive measures. The giant tiger leaped violently into the air; though a flightless beast, he seemed to grow invisible wings, soaring high into the sky to swat down wave after wave of the massive wasps.
But this method was far too inefficient, not to mention that as the only person on the field entirely lacking defensive capabilities, Wen Hu was practically being used as a pincushion for the stingers.
Luo Shizhen noticed his plight and called out, “Big Brother! Help Wen Hu!”
Once an Awakener entered a battle, they generally wouldn’t pay attention to their surroundings. Only High-Rank Guardians could forge the combat awareness to track their companions while fighting through relentless battles. But at this moment, Xiao Shan was still instinctively keeping an eye on Luo Shizhen. Hearing Luo Shizhen’s plea, he raised his hand, deflecting a portion of the incoming attacks away from Wen Hu.
The giant tiger, who had been roaring in frustration from being stung repeatedly, finally caught his breath. With a ferocious growl, he launched an even more brutal assault on the Xuanfeng. Charging up to Cheng Yunshao, he directly flung one of the puppets into the air. Catching his drift, Cheng Yunshao had the puppet spread open a massive net, sweeping down a whole cluster of the wasps for the giant tiger to stamp to pieces.
Gaining inspiration, Rong Nian conjured a wave of water, an exquisitely beautiful gradient fish tail materializing amidst the torrent as he navigated across the field. With a powerful slap of his tail, massive, violent waves crashed toward the Xuanfeng.
Chu Xiao immediately unleashed his ability upon the waves. The originally gentle water instantly froze into razor-sharp ice blades, slicing through wasp after wasp. The members of First Squad were gradually forging a true battlefield rapport.
Right at that moment, Xiao Shan was knocked back, and Lu Qiujin extended his vines in an attempt to catch him. Instead, the vines bound his limbs tight, causing him to be stung several more times. Even from a distance, Luo Shizhen could hear his Big Brotherâs furious roar: “Lu Qiujin!! You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!”
Well, they were still quite a ways off from a perfect rapport.
Compared to his teammates’ flashy abilities, Luo Shizhen’s offensive style was far simpler. He purely attached his Qi body to his cold weapon and continuously swung his blade. Structurally, it resembled a live game of Fruit Ninja. Having been dragged into playing a bit of Fruit Ninja by Xiao Shan during their squad’s downtime, Luo Shizhen sliced through the Xuanfeng while simultaneously monitoring his teammates’ pollution status. The instant a wasp released any pollution, his Qi body would immediately coil around it, swallowing the pollution entirely.
This battle dragged on for over an hour. The Xuanfeng weren’t hard to deal with; it was simply that their numbers were overwhelming, and they held the aerial advantage. By the time it ended, Luo Shizhenâs arms were so sore he could barely grip his knife, yet he didn’t rest immediately. Instead, he activated the protective shield issued to Guardians by Eternal Day before collapsing onto the ground, staring up at the sky as he panted heavily.
The rest of his teammates lay splayed out in equally wretched postures, everyone trying hard to catch their breath. For several minutes, a total silence fell over the field.
Once Luo Shizhen recovered slightly, he stared at the sky and suddenly burst out laughing.
“That was so thrilling.”
The young Awakeners, who had been completely mired in exhaustion and painful stings, felt their hearts inexplicably relax upon hearing his laughter. Looking over at each other’s wretched appearances, they suddenly found it incredibly hilarious.
“Wen Hu, did your butt get stung swollen? Don’t hide, let me take a photo!”
“Mind your own business, Cheng Yunshao! Your tongue is so swollen you’re slurring your words!”
“I’m fine. Chu Xiao, why do you keep covering your face? I remember your stings weren’t as bad as mine.”
“Chu Xiao is always like that; he cares too much about his image. Chu Xiao, let me apply the medicine for you. Eternal Day’s new medicine stings a bit, but it heals you up instantly.”
“Shizhen, help me apply some medicine too. One of those Xuanfeng bit me right on the thigh.”
On the thigh? Leaning right next to Luo Shizhen, Chu Xiao immediately kept one hand over his face while looking up. “Xiao Shan, I’ll apply it for you.”
The moment he lifted his head, his swollen face locked eyes with Xiao Shan’s swollen head.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
“Hahahahahahaha!!!”
As their laughter erupted, the others caught sight of their usually proud, aloof teammates looking so completely wretched, and they couldn’t hold back their own chuckles either.
Luo Shizhen looked at them. He completely failed to get the joke; since his teammates were injured, his only thought was that they needed to apply the medicine quickly. But even though he had no idea what they were laughing at, flanked by Chu Xiao and his Big Brother, he simply joined in with a silly, cheerful chuckle. The young Guardian’s laughter drifted far into the distance. Sitting up in the tree, the man who had always seemed somewhat detached from the rest of the world revealed a subtle trace of a smile in his eyes.
Luo Shizhen wanted to help everyone apply the medicine, but everyone suddenly became exceptionally helpful toward one another, insisting on doing it themselves so he could get some proper rest.
The young Purifier lay back down on the grass, gazing up at the deep blue sky. His heart was filled to the brim with pure happiness. Perhaps it was because their combat operations were going smoothly, or perhaps because he saw his friends becoming so cooperative instead of constantly brawling like before, or perhaps because the tree formed by his Qi body had already grown into the shape of an apple tree, with about a dozen unripened fruits growing smoothly.
We truly are a unified, friendly Guardian squad.
“Hissâ” Luo Shizhen rolled over, suddenly finding that his waist throbbed slightly. He unzipped his combat suit and lifted his inner shirt to inspect it. As it turned out, he had been injured too. It was also a stinger scratch, but it had likely only nicked him a fraction; he hadn’t felt a single thing during the battle, but pressing down on it now brought a faint sting.
Thus, as he yanked up his shirt to reveal that smooth, tight span of his waist, he looked over at his friends who were busy helping each other apply medicine.
“My lower back got stung too. Can one of you help me put some medicine on?”
Two minutes later, an excessive amount of medicine had been slathered across Luo Shizhen’s lower backâvirtually every single friend had taken a turn applying it for him. He lay prone on the grass, his tight, beautifully contoured lower back dipping slightly as he lay flat, and the wound exposed to the air rapidly closed under the potent healing properties of the heavy medication.
The pain vanished, but Luo Shizhen paid no heed to it, merely looking with utter bewilderment at his friends who were currently locked in an all-out brawl.
This must just be the natural instinct of Awakeners, he thought. They had clearly been fighting side by side and helping each other out just moments ago, yet now they had turned around and started brawling again. Besides, after fighting two consecutive rounds, his own arms were entirely numb and sore; didn’t they feel tired at all?
Cheng Yunshao, whose physical combat strength was the weakest, hadn’t participated in the brawl. Instead, he sat right next to Luo Shizhen, recording the scene with his camera. He had originally been filming his teammates walloping each other; as someone who loved watching a good show, Cheng Yunshao was always deeply enthusiastic about recording the others tearing into each other. He even categorized his recordings meticulously, strictly tagging them with dates, times, and contents.
Cheng Yunshao had already thought of a title for this specific recording: Dog Eat Dog, Vol. 187. He could store it right alongside Vol. 196. Whenever he felt bored, he would rewatch these videos to analyze his teammates’ combat styles and tactical movements, integrating them into his own understanding for future study.
But for some unknown reason, though he was supposed to be filming the others brawling, the lens gradually drifted until it focused squarely on Luo Shizhen, who was tensely tracking the fight.
Sensing the camera shifting toward him, Luo Shizhen didn’t get angry at being filmed at all. Instead, he turned his head amicably and flashed a bright smile right at the lens. The young Purifier still bore a few dirt smudges across his face, yet his eyes were brilliantly clear. Facing the companion who had been by his side for so long, he split the bread in his hands right down the middle, handing one half over with a natural, unreserved intimacy.
“Cheng Yunshao, are you hungry? Have some food while we wait for them to finish fighting.”
“They really love to brawl, don’t they?”
The lens trembled inexplicably.
The young Purifier was still airing out the sting on his lower back, and seeing no response from his companion, his slightly rounded eyes blinked with a trace of confusion. In the depths of those eyes lay a pure, untainted trustâa trust that no Awakener could ever resist.
Behind the camera, Cheng Yunshao’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice turning inexplicably raspy:
“Okay.”
Luo Shizhen caught him seemingly swallowing his saliva and silently thought to himself: See, he really is hungry.
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