The One Holding the Pass

Aleksei was stronger than Milla—far stronger—yet when it came to drawing the attention of the Great Spike swarm, he was actually less effective. Once he took over, the entire swarm fell into a chaotic, violent frenzy, scattering wildly in every direction. Aleksei led a portion of the Great Spikes in a dive down the side ridge. Instead of charging straight into the pursuing enemy group, he cut directly across their front, drawing a defensive line between them. Out of the darkness whistled another small kukri, deftly threading through the clustered Great Spikes to thrust through the air toward his back. Catching the sound, Aleksei spun around and brought both blades across in a hard block. *Clang!* The violent impact echoed through the valley. This strike was vastly more formidable than the one that had attacked Milla. "Top-tier!" Aleksei bellowed as he vaulted into the trees. "Run! Everyone run!" In this situation, the presence of an enemy top-tier meant that what little advantage their side might have possessed due to Aleksei was completely erased. The dozen or so members of the officer detachment scrambled up the mountain with Milla at once. Down in the valley, the vast majority of Squad 1777 finally broke through the sparse, dispersed swarm of Great Spikes whose attention had been pulled away. Most of the squad carried wounds. "Move!" Lao Jian grabbed He Tangtang and, stumbling slightly, led the squad out along the valley flank. They ran toward his designated final retreat route—the cliff canyon. It was very narrow and very long. Even if the Great Spike swarm gave chase, forming an effective pursuit or encirclement there would be nearly impossible... and the enemy would never dare enter the canyon alongside the Great Spikes. Once they emerged on the other side, they would have a chance of reaching the zone held by Huaxia's main force. *** The rain gradually tapered off, but the surroundings remained pitch black, the ground muddy and the grass slick. Combat boots splashed relentlessly through puddles of muddy water, spraying grime onto their bodies and faces. Now and then, someone hit the ground with a wet splat... and before their arms could even brace them, teammates running behind yanked them up to keep running. The ground where they fell was smeared with blood, but the mud and water quickly swallowed the stains. "Run! Don't fall behind! Stay close, don't get lost! Run!" Lao Jian's voice rang out through the darkness again and again. Squad 1777's flight was frantic and wretched. No one knew how fast they were truly moving or how long they had been running. What looked like a short line on the map was an immense distance in reality... It had taken them two days and two nights to walk here, yet on the return journey, running with their devices engaged, they had to cover it in less than a single night. Under these conditions, combat was out of the question; merely running non-stop with their devices activated was already more than the weaker members' bodies could endure, causing them to cough up blood from the strain. They had completely lost their fighting capacity. "Haha, looks like everybody gets the full Blood Calabash Baby initiation rite now!" Qin Guowen paused midway through the column and cracked a loud joke. "Don't worry, in our 1777, puking blood doesn't count as an injury—spitting up a mouthful brings good luck! *Pfft!*" A layer of dried mud peeled away from the chest of his combat uniform... and blood welled forth. During the earlier charge, this current vice captain of 1777 from the Golden Eraser had seized the point position from Captain Lao and taken a graze across the chest from the tip of a column sword. Qi Rourou ran past him. "Hey, Rourou, why don't you sing us a few lines while we run?" Qin Guowen looked up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smiled. "Think about it, see if there's any opera piece that fits the scene." Qi Rourou glanced back to glare at him, just as he always did. "Get lost!" Exhausted chuckles rose low in the darkness. "Run!" Lao Jian was at the rear, clutching a young soldier by his uniform and hauling him along. "Get your legs moving! Come on, run!" "Captain... Captain Lao... d-don't worry about me." The young soldier's legs could barely hold him upright, his body hunched. "I can't run anymore, Captain Lao. My ribs are broken... If I stay behind, I can still get in a strike." Lao Jian froze and turned to look at him. "Those in front don't look back; those caught turn to block the enemy... You said it yourself, Captain Lao." The young soldier peeled Lao Jian's hand away, took a few staggering steps to lean against a boulder, and drew his war blade while struggling for breath. "Don't worry, Captain Lao. I won't let them take me alive." Lao Jian spun around sharply. "Qi Rourou!" "Here!" Qi Rourou came sprinting back from up ahead. "Can you carry him?" "Yes." "Go!" Lao Jian scooped up the young soldier and tossed him to Qi Rourou. "Hold still," Qi Rourou said, practically tucking the man under his arm before breaking into a mad sprint. The running dragged on without pause... until finally, the sky began to lighten into a dull, murky gray shrouded in dense fog. Visibility remained poor, but the outline of the mountains began drawing closer... Ahead stood a towering, sheer mountain split right down the middle. "We made it!" Up ahead, the experienced Uncle Huodou shouted in immense relief. He stopped and urged them on: "Quick, get in, keep your heads down and run!" "Never mind what's behind you, just keep your heads down and run! Run for your lives!" Figures rushed past him one after another... Qi Rourou pulled up at the canyon mouth, handed the young soldier over to him, and said, "Uncle Huodou, he's yours... I'm going to look back." Qin Guowen turned back alongside him. The vast majority of 1777 made it into the canyon. "They're here!" Almost simultaneously, He Tangtang and Lao Jian, running at the very rear, caught the roar of a source energy burst in the air not far behind them. "You... go, get out of here!" Lao Jian turned and suddenly noticed He Tangtang, seemingly only just realizing that this kid had stayed glued to his side almost the entire night... He immediately bellowed at him. He Tangtang looked at him, nodded, and ran into the thick fog. Then, Lao Jian finally started moving as the last man. As he ran, he shouted into the canyon once more: "Remember what I said! Whether the people behind are caught or locked in combat, those in front run! Those caught turn and block the enemy!" It was a brutal decree, but from the standpoint of a commander, it was a necessary piece of reason and resolve. Lao Jian had spoken it solemnly once when the breakout began; now, he shouted it three times in succession. Qi Rourou and Qin Guowen came running back toward him. Once Lao Jian could finally see who they were, he halted and roared in fury, "What the hell are you turning back for?!" "To help you." Lao Jian did not truly possess the temperament of a commander—Qin Guowen and Qi Rourou had understood that all along. So when he gave such cruel orders and repeated them over and over, the person he had planned from the start to leave behind to block the enemy could only be himself. *They saw through me all along... If that kid Han Qingyu were here, you bastards definitely wouldn't be thinking this much!* Lao Jian's expression stiffened for a moment, and then he let out a weary laugh. "We can't all throw ourselves in at once... How about this: I won't stop you, but we go one by one, holding them off section by section." "Me first, then Guowen, then Rourou. In that order." "That way we might buy a little more time. After surviving this, those green kids will definitely amount to more than us." Qin Guowen and Qi Rourou hesitated, exchanging glances. "Go!" Lao Jian planted a hard kick on Qin Guowen and shoved Qi Rourou. "Run!" The squad sprinted frantically through the canyon. Perhaps because the canyon mouth was not particularly conspicuous, they managed to clear a third of the distance, then half. Finally—*whir!* *Whoosh!* A fierce burst of source energy echoed from behind. Mud and water sprayed violently into the air and against the rock walls, kicked up by a hurtling figure. The instant Lao Jian turned his head— *Whir! Whir!* Two source energy bursts erupted right beside him, sweeping past his flanks. Qin Guowen and Qi Rourou turned in unison, raising their blades from left and right to intercept the figure rocketing in from behind. *Boom!* The crash detonated instantly, reverberating down the canyon in rolling waves. The enemy figure was checked for a beat. At the same time, Qi Rourou and Qin Guowen spat blood into the air, their bodies knocked flying backward! "Top-tier!" Qin Guowen yelled while airborne. *Clack! Clack!* In unspoken concert, the two used the massive recoil to slash into the cliff wall at their sides. *Rumble! Crash!* Two colossal boulders tore free and collapsed into the middle of the canyon, blocking the passage and severing line of sight between both sides. Top-tier—that was Qin Guowen's assessment following the clash. He and Qi Rourou slammed heavily into the dirt. Scrambling to their feet, they crouched low, preparing to pounce again. Although the enemy was top-tier, the blocked vision prevented him from pressing the attack immediately. Lao Jian whirled around, hauled the two of them to their feet, and dragged them forward two to three hundred meters before finally stopping. Not far ahead, members of 1777 heard the commotion and stopped to look back. "What are you stopping for?! Run! Keep running!" Lao Jian turned around, aimed the tip of his blade at Qin Guowen and Qi Rourou, and then pointed at the squad ahead. "I told you, you have to follow my commands today, and back then you said, 'Of course, Captain'... Obey orders and get lost!" Then he turned his back to them... slotted his war blade back into its sheath, and said in a low voice, "Guowen, if I can hold them off for a while, 1777 is yours for the time being." "If I can't even last a few strikes... then maybe you, Rourou." "If Qingzi can't handle being captain for now, or doesn't want to, you can consider Wen Jifei first. That rascal would make the best vice captain and advisor." He spoke in fragmented murmurs. Behind the fallen boulders came a sharp *whir*. A figure with South Asian features—the top-tier—vaulted onto the massive rock blocking the path. Holding an oversized kukri, he stood looking down. Simultaneously, from the canyon mouth came the dense sound of approaching footsteps. Lao Jian looked up, glanced at the man, and gave an easy smile. He began walking slowly toward him. As he took his third step, with a *swish*, the dead iron war blade on his back launched from his shoulder, rising above his head. Then, the moment it began its natural descent, the blade snapped horizontal and began spinning outward. Lao Jian reached out and caught the hilt in his grip. The latter half of this display left nearly everyone in 1777 who could still see it utterly stunned. Because that was hard—immensely hard. The source energy manipulation demonstrated by that move was something no one present could achieve in the absence of Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Rusty Sister. Had Captain Lao been hiding his strength all along?! Was his actual power close to top-tier?! Or did he, like those few legendary masters in the army, possess some do-or-die combat technique meant for desperate gambits?! Perhaps that was why he always charged head-on, always spat blood in battle, yet always came out fine. Uncle Huodou watched from afar... He parted his lips, stopped himself, and lowered his head as cloudy tears welled in his eyes. Qin Guowen and Qi Rourou also turned their faces away, unable to bear the sight. Their Grade C captain—Lao Jian, an eleven-year veteran of Azure who was usually so rigid and meticulous—was now like an unskilled magician, staging a childish, laughable performance with his own life. Tied to his hand was a fine thread used for repairing combat uniforms, the other end fastened to the war blade. Just now, as he pretended to reach out to catch the blade, a twitch of his fingers had leveled it out and sent it spinning, creating the illusion of staggering source energy control. He struggled to project calm, steady confidence, acting for the real top-tier across from him. Then, adopting what he imagined to be the posture of a master in a standoff, he gripped his blade and continued forward with slow, steady strides. All he sought was to buy a little more time. Yet—"Hah!" Standing above, the man looked down at him and suddenly let out a disdainful chuckle. How could such a clumsy performance deceive the eyes of a true top-tier?! Lao Jian kept his expression impassive and continued the act. He didn't care. *Crunch, crunch...* Footsteps sounded behind Lao Jian. Lao Jian felt a flash of annoyance, but before he could turn around— *Thwack!* His body suddenly went limp. He Tangtang, who had been unusually silent almost the entire night, stood right behind Lao Jian. Tossing Lao Jian backward, He Tangtang said, "He'll be out for less than two minutes. Take him and go." Qin Guowen and Qi Rourou caught him, both momentarily stunned. "Captain Qin, take Captain Lao and go. Qingzi and the others aren't here; this is my turf now." He Tangtang had grown quickly and was strong, but there was still a massive gulf between him and a top-tier... Qi Rourou hesitated. "He Tangtang, but you're..." "Me? I'm the highest rank here: B-plus, He Tangtang." His voice rose slightly, sounding like a low shout. As he spoke, He Tangtang slowly drew the greatsword from his back—the blade he treasured, the one he always showed off but rarely used. Then his tone dropped, as if making a statement or talking to himself: "I'm the teammate closest to Qingzi, the one who squandered who knows how many of his source energy blocks, holding a top-tier weapon—He Tangtang. I have to hold down this stage." At this moment, He Tangtang did not yet know that Wen Jifei had already given their small crew a name: Stream Vanguard. Nor did he know that when Wen Jifei came up with that name, He Tangtang had been foremost in his thoughts. What He Tangtang was thinking was: *There are clearly four top fighters, and I'm the fourth. Plague Chicken, you bastard, get the hell out of here.* "Go! I'm talking to you, damn it, get lost!" He Tangtang felt that compared to their small crew, the people in this squad weren't decisive in the slightest. "I haven't even gone all out yet." This was no lie. Unlike the wild guesses people had made about Lao Jian moments before, He Tangtang truly possessed a life-risking combat method. It was a technique passed down from Wu Xu. As someone who had once worn an improperly fitted Third-Generation apparatus, a war slave who had fought to the death for years, Wu Xu had once mentioned that while the apparatus was awful in every other way, it had one terrifying feature: its chest-implanted mechanism could trigger a special state. He Tangtang had badgered and begged him relentlessly, resorting to every shameless trick in the book, until Wu Xu finally relented and taught him. Together, they had named it "Near-Death Surge." He Tangtang wore no Third-Generation apparatus. Out of sight of his teammates behind him, a short blade slid from his sleeve into his grip. Turning his wrist, he stabbed it into a specific spot over his heart, giving his body a critical emergency warning, and then circulated his source energy according to Wu Xu's method. *Boom!* A tremendous roar erupted within his body... His near-death heartbeat pounded madly, and the near-death source energy surge stacked like ocean waves at a speed unimaginable in normal times. Right then— *Whir!* The enemy top-tier finally lost patience and leaped down, slashing his blade through the air. "Die!" He Tangtang grinned ferociously, meeting the strike head-on with a two-handed vertical chop of his greatsword! *Boom... CRACK!* Both figures were thrown back through the air at the same time. However, the enemy's blade shattered. "Can you leave now?" He Tangtang stood with his back to them, swallowing a mouthful of blood as he spoke. That was... a top-tier! Shaken to their cores, Qin Guowen and Qi Rourou snapped back to reality and carried Lao Jian away at full speed. Meanwhile, more and more enemies were arriving, gathering at the other end of the canyon. He Tangtang leveled his greatsword across the passage, one man holding the pass. Just as he had said: Qingzi and the others weren't here. This was his turf, and he had to hold down the stage.