Chapter 440 Crimson Blood Battlefield (3k)
That day, Su Jiu packed the 23 Dream Flowers she had developed over the past few days into a storage bag and handed it to Merlin, asking him to deliver it to Li Ziwei.
She didn’t need to worry about anything else. Su Jiu felt that this ambitious man would give her a good report by infiltrating the enemy’s camp, planting the Dream Flowers, and delivering a heavy blow to the enemy!
After sending Merlin away, Su Jiu settled Bai Zhi into the private residence in the war zone. Then, with her alchemy proficiency having reached the Grandmaster level, she began to research a new bomb alone – the Fusheng: “Bright as a dream, a dream floating life.”
Its power was comparable to a Demigod’s strike, and it was on par with the Mica Bomb given by Xiao Qiqi. The difference was that this one did not require the War God level to develop. Ordinary alchemy masters could also attempt it if they had the formula, but the failure rate was extremely high.
She had been researching bombs these days, but it was still in the research stage. After all, this type of bomb required many expensive items, and its main component had been upgraded from Intermediate Magic Crystals to High-Grade Magic Crystals, a step up from the previous Dream Flower. It was known that High-Grade Magic Crystals were dropped by High-Rank Battle Kings at the lowest!
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to create something new. The main reason was that aside from the evil arts, the gold coins plundered from the Ravens were only useful for these bombs.
Time flowed like loaches in a field, slipping through one’s fingers before one could even notice.
“Pack up everything today. We’re going out of the country. I’ll show you what a battlefield is like. By then, you’ll face monsters with live ammunition. Be ready at all times, and be prepared to get injured!”
On the morning of the third day, the female instructor’s voice finally echoed throughout the dormitory. Unlike the cheers from the male dormitory, there were only scattered rustles from the female dormitory.
They had been summoned by their families, and now they had to participate in a field battle against monsters. Many of them had lost their courage. Someone even took the lead and asked, “Instructor, can we girls do logistics? Our strength is only around High-Rank Warrior level, and we can’t defeat Scarlet Flame Wolves!”
“But Scarlet Flame Wolves are only low-level to intermediate-level warrior monsters…”
Upon hearing this, the female instructor’s expression remained unchanged as she scanned the girls with fearful expressions. She then sighed, not knowing if it was out of regret or blame for these girls.
“Alas, do you know? Those students from regular high schools, they only needed to combine their efforts as Initial Stage Warriors to kill Scarlet Flame Wolves. They don’t have the alchemical items you have, nor do they have your skills. They relied purely on their innate skills to kill them.”
When they heard the female instructor’s words, the genuine young ladies fell silent. They didn’t know how to refute. Things that ordinary civilian children could do, they could indeed do, but they might get injured.
Chuan Guang also lowered her head, her eyes filled with disbelief. Her strength was indeed enough to kill Scarlet Flame Wolves, but to surround and kill Scarlet Flame Wolves with the strength of an Initial Stage Warrior was like dancing on a tightrope.
At this moment, her gaze couldn’t help but fall on the only bed with its tent set up. She seemed to have said, “I don’t understand ordinary people…”
Could it be that she was telling the truth?
After being an alchemist for two days on the bed, Su Jiu’s hair had started to lean towards Xiao Qiqi’s style.
Hearing the commotion below, she packed up her equipment. Looking in the mirror at her hair, which looked as if it had been permed, she suddenly thought of tying it into pigtails and got off the bed.
Unlike the empty beds seen in the past, this one was filled with people. The female instructor looked at the “new princess” of the military district cautiously, afraid that her words might displease her.
She scanned the crowd and felt their gazes. Su Jiu blinked, then proceeded to wash up by herself as usual. Afterward, she walked out as if nothing had happened, saying, “Why aren’t you all hurrying to assemble? Didn’t we say we had to gather at the Martial Arts Stage at 8:30?”
These students had strength but lacked the courage of their elders. It would be difficult for them to replicate their elders’ glory in the future, as not everyone was a self-reliant girl like Chen Jia’er.
Upon arriving at the training ground, she saw that Officer Luo Dong was giving a speech on the stage. Four teams were lined up. She stood at the end of the fourth team and could see some boys looking fearful.
Although they didn’t have the surface strength of High-Rank Warriors, their coordinated skills could be comparable to ordinary High-Rank Warriors, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been recruited.
When those boys noticed Su Jiu, the cute girl with pigtails looking at them, their previously overly bright faces gained some spirit. They deliberately stood straighter and expressed themselves in what they thought was a handsome manner before glancing at Su Jiu.
Looking at these people, Su Jiu smiled slightly, but inwardly shook her head. She felt that these good-for-nothings were not as good as her silly older brother. Her brother was a bit of a sycophant, but he was genuinely willing to get things done. Second-generation individuals without mettle would ultimately only remain second-generation.
As the girls shyly arrived, Su Jiu was surprised to find that she was in the same team as the short-haired girl Chuan Guang. The latter was standing right behind her, lowering her head, looking as if she had something to say but hesitated.
As the leader for this occasion, Luo Dong gestured for quiet to the murmuring crowd below. He scanned everyone below with a solemn expression and said, “Everyone, the Crimson Blood Battlefield is located about ten kilometers outside the military district, sandwiched between the Hundred-Year Demon Mountain. The terrain is quite steep, and monsters will appear…”
Listening to Luo Dong’s incessant chatter above, Su Jiu couldn’t help but secretly praise him for being so dedicated, reciting his script so fluently, making it seem as if he genuinely cared about the students. However, the points and rules were the same as those for trials in those places where students were taken.
“Hey, Young Lady, could it be that you’ve really stayed in places like the wilderness before? Two days ago, your fighting style was very strange, giving me a feeling I’ve never encountered before.”
Finally, a female voice sounded from behind Su Jiu. It was the girl named Chuan Guang, her voice carrying a deliberately playful tone as she asked.
Hearing this, Su Jiu turned her head, waved her hand, and smiled, “I’ve stayed for quite a while. I’ve seen many things and many monsters.”
“As expected…”
After receiving Su Jiu’s confirmation, Chuan Guang nodded slightly, then lowered her voice somewhat apologetically, “Don’t take my previous words to heart. I misunderstood you before as the kind of spoiled young lady who has everything done for her at a snap of her fingers… For the upcoming team leadership, I hope you will take charge.”
“It’s fine.”
Su Jiu waved her hand carelessly. Upon hearing about leading the team, she shook her head again, “However, leading the team is out. I’m not suitable for leading a team. That vice-captain was also hard-pressed by the old… Instructor Lu.”
Chuan Guang was disappointed that her suggestion was rejected. She was curious about Su Jiu’s true strength. On the Martial Arts Stage, she had been repelled by External Qi, so that didn’t count.
Could her combat power be at the Initial Stage Battle General level? Perhaps she was intentionally hiding her strength and would seize the opportunity to strike and kill monsters with high scores when they appeared, thus making a name for herself.
She looked again at the back of the pigtails and the thoughtful face…
Tsk, it was 100% like that.
“I won’t waste any more time with pleasantries. When we reach the battlefield, each team will explore in different directions: east, southeast, west, and north.”
The voice from the stage gradually subsided. Luo Dong concluded his speech and slowly stepped down, getting into an armored vehicle that had been waiting nearby and heading towards the border.
“Beep beep—”
Immediately after, a series of honking sounds rang out. Four military green buses drove in orderly fashion, seemingly responsible for taking them to the trial grounds.
Su Jiu and the others’ instructor was changed from Lu Nan to the female instructor from the dormitory. The latter was only responsible for their personal safety; otherwise, she would not intervene.
…
The four buses drove smoothly for about ten minutes. Suddenly, Karst Landforms appeared all around, and within the small bushes, several pairs of scarlet eyes appeared. The female instructor in Su Jiu’s bus’s voice sounded from time to time:
“This is actually a great rift that spans the land, connecting to the Hundred-Year Demon Mountain. On both sides are towering mountains. The Crimson Blood Battlefield we’re heading to is right in the middle of that rift valley. The bottom of that valley is where we are now.”
“Because the military district cleans it up punctually every month, we usually only encounter some unranked Mischievous Monkeys, or lower-level monsters common in our southern region, like Scarlet Flame Wolves, and so on.”
Hearing that someone cleaned it up regularly, many people on the bus breathed a sigh of relief. Su Jiu, however, continued to prop up her face with one hand, her gaze fixed on the towering canyons outside, her eyes narrowed—
In this terrain, if someone blocked the exit directly, reinforcements might be delayed significantly. Given this height, even a Battle General wouldn’t be able to fly that high.
Soon, the convoy passed through the canyons on both sides and arrived at a vast black plain. Lizards crawled on the reddish rocks. The cars in front began to slow down, and then, in an open area, they came to a complete stop.
After assigning directions, Su Jiu and the others were assigned to the west, which was the direction leading to the Hundred-Year Demon Mountain. This caused many people to curse Chuan Guang, the team leader, for her bad luck. If they encountered a War General level monster along the way, the instructor might intervene, but encountering a group of High-Rank Warrior level monsters would be deadly.
After the teams were divided, everyone proceeded in their respective directions. Luo Dong, however, had not appeared yet, as if he had completely disappeared from this battlefield.
Along the way, these young ladies and young masters who had not encountered truly wild monsters rushed forward voluntarily upon seeing an unranked Mischievous Monkey or a Gugu Bird.
Ignoring their amazement, Su Jiu put her hands in her pockets and glanced at the iron-oxidized black land. Then, looking at the scattered white bones on the ground, she felt a bit melancholic.
There was the blood of monsters and the blood of border guards here. In the past, Dragon Country was not as strong as it is now. Facing those great demons, they could only rely on human wave tactics.
When the female instructor instructed them to set up camp, Su Jiu reached into her ring and took out the bone flute she had before. She went to a not-so-high place and began to play the “Requiem.”
The leisurely yet somewhat sorrowful flute music attracted the students. They gathered around Su Jiu, listening curiously. Although they didn’t understand the meaning, they felt a strange sense of melancholy. The female instructor glanced at Su Jiu, then climbed an old Hu Yang tree, leaned against the trunk, closed her eyes, and listened.
It wasn’t until Su Jiu suddenly stopped playing the flute that the female instructor looked at Su Jiu with surprise. Then, she noticed that Su Jiu’s gaze was calmly directed towards the dirt road entrance in the west. Following her gaze, the instructor frowned, quickly straightened up, and shouted down,
“Stop playing, something’s coming!”
