The old chief of staff brought over the Red-Slaying Saber.
He had always kept this saber. In truth, one could hardly call it keeping—it had simply been placed inside a drawer.
It was an antique low table once used by a prominent family in olden times. Specially constructed, it had only one large drawer, into which the Red-Slaying Saber fit diagonally from corner to corner almost perfectly. Thus, neither the saber nor the drawer was small.
Of course, neither was absurdly large either.
As for why he had initially gotten into the habit of keeping his combat saber in the drawer of a table meant for drinking wine and tea, it was largely because of his youthful pride back then—a feeling that anyone in the world could be slain before his cup of wine cooled.
Strictly speaking, the material of the Red-Slaying Saber was somewhat ordinary, merely a top-tier weapon by the standards of past understanding. There was no comparing it to Han Qingyu's column sword, and in material quality, it even fell short of the core section of that Great Spike mothership atop Xilang Peak.
Yet that did not matter, nor was there any need to replace it, because what mattered was the man who wielded the saber.
Every nation's Azure Front in this world had a legion commander, but if one omitted all prefixes and simply said the Legion Commander... nearly everyone knew who was meant.
The Legion Commander said, "Let me sleep a little longer."
"Sleep on the plane. The troops that can be mobilized near Siberia have already begun assembling," the old chief of staff said.
Chen Buer had no choice but to change into his military uniform and strap the Red-Slaying Saber onto his back. Still wearing a Sixth Generation apparatus, the old man tightened the tactical vest-style device.
It looked like nothing more than a casual motion, but in doing so, one saw Chen Buer, invincible in the mortal world.
In truth, on ordinary days, if he did not carry these things or wear his uniform, he truly looked just like an ordinary old farmer.
"Ivan's blade is ferocious, as you well know. So unless necessary, don't try to suppress him by sheer force," the old chief of staff cautioned.
"Oh." Chen Buer turned his head. "So you're not going this time?"
"I can't go."
"True." Chen Buer nodded, thought it over, and said, "Then find me someone else to shout curses."
By this, he meant he needed an interpreter who dared face ten thousand troops on the front line and curse at the fifth rank on the Dome Leaderboard.
The interpreter had to shout insults without trembling and capture Chen Buer's tone.
This task had originally always fallen to the chief of staff. Comrade Xu Xiaohong was proficient in thirteen languages, whereas Legion Commander Chen could not even speak standard Huaxian Mandarin very well.
"All right. I'll have someone wait for you over there," the old chief of staff said.
The plane took off.
It vanished among the stars of the night sky.
***
Xiongzhanli. A specialized city located in the freezing wasteland, formed over time around an Azure military town, closed off from the ordinary world.
The uneven silhouettes of the buildings stood cold and bleak; the soil of the streets was frozen solid; even the yellow glow cast down from high streetlights evoked a sense of desolation, even bleak misery.
A sense of turmoil pervaded the entire small city. Ragged footsteps from squad after squad, the howling of source energy apparatuses, doors kicked open amidst shouts, and sounds of combat intermingled with searches...
Behind the street, nestled in a pitch-black corner between uneven buildings on all sides.
Milla stood upright with her gun, pressed against the wall as she carefully and calmly observed the situation outside. Yelena still held her saber to Boris's neck.
They had broken out of the academy and shaken off their pursuers.
"See? I told you, you won't be able to leave," Boris whispered, gesturing with his hand toward the conditions on the street to show he truly had not been lying.
Nearly the entire core region of Siberia was now close to falling under the Splinter Faction's control.
"And you only have two bullets left..." Boris continued.
"Shut up." Yelena pressed down slightly with the combat saber in her hand, then turned her head toward Milla.
From hitting the dirt so many times, her clothes were filthy now, but she was neither panicked nor despondent.
Though it felt difficult—nearly impossible—now that Milla had brought them this far, Yelena believed they would have a chance to get away.
"Thank you for your cooperation along the way, Colonel Boris. Thank you for being such a sensible man." Milla turned back with a smile, gesturing with her eyes toward a truck on the street outside.
"If nothing goes wrong, I believe that truck can carry us away... I hope the colonel will follow our swift movements in a moment. I can promise once more that I definitely will not harm you."
It was a tarp-covered military truck that had just transported a squad of soldiers into the city.
Now Milla intended to board it.
Boris understood and knitted his brows. He knew where that truck was headed; along the way, it would pass through vast stretches of uninhabited terrain. So they truly did seem to have a chance of escaping.
"Fine," he nodded.
People would certainly escape tonight—quite a few of them—so Boris felt it wasn't worth risking his life over this.
"When do we move?" Yelena asked eagerly.
Boris listened as well.
"When the driver gets back in the cab." As Milla spoke, her eyes remained fixed intently outside.
A squad of soldiers passed no more than eighty meters away. They had put their apparatuses to sleep and did not move an inch.
Huff, huff.
The truck driver appeared on the street, heading over. Yelena adjusted her breathing as subtly as possible, mapping out a route in her mind... Just follow Milla, that's all that matters.
The driver walked over to where the truck was parked.
He lifted the tarp to inspect the cargo bed, then got down to check beneath the chassis. Satisfied, he stood up and walked toward the cab.
Chatting with his comrade in the passenger seat, he reached out and took hold of the door handle...
In that very instant.
The instant Milla prepared to move.
Boom! An abrupt, tremendous crash.
The sound was like the controlled demolition of an entire building.
In panic, the driver swiftly let go of the handle, crouched down, and covered his head.
Less than a hundred meters away diagonally along the street, the entire top floor of a building was sliced horizontally clean through midair, shifted sideways... and then blew apart and collapsed, sending masonry flying in all directions.
Then, crack-crack-crack-crack...
From up high, the source energy shockwaves of slashing strikes and collisions rippled through the air, snapping flagpoles, railings, and roof beams across vast swaths of surrounding rooftops.
Next came the successive thuds of massive chunks of masonry crashing to the ground.
"Super!" Everyone around the area cried out in their hearts.
For only a battle between super combatants could produce such destruction.
This was actually advantageous for boarding the truck and escaping.
However, Milla stepped back, looked up, and glanced through her scope.
A figure flitted past the scope.
Milla recognized him.
Marshal Hua! A sudden jolt struck Milla's heart. Up above, the familiar Huaxian super combatant held a short blade, drenched in blood.
And behind him, on the rooftop opposite...
Milla quickly swept her scope across. Standing there was a Xiongzhanli Splinter Faction super combatant, followed by perhaps five or six top-tier fighters.
Could they alone severely wound and hunt down Marshal Hua?
"Halt, Marshal Hua. I suspect that if this goes on, you will die on your own without me having to pay much of a price," the Splinter Faction super combatant spoke in a relaxed tone.
For Hua Bixuan was covered in wounds right now, the most severe being the diagonal gash across his chest... He had just fought a battle against Ivan.
"Heh!" Hua Bixuan came to a halt. He chuckled, turned around, barely steadied his stance, and scoffed disdainfully:
"You act as if you actually dare to kill me."
"Indeed, who dares face Mr. Legion Commander's wrath?!" The man opposite admitted candidly, then continued, "Therefore, taking Marshal Hua alive has become our top priority, because we need leverage."
The Splinter Faction was prepared to face Chen Buer.
Naturally, Hua Bixuan knew this as well. Fuck Azure, fuck Xiongzhanli... he cursed several times in his heart.
Once, Marshal Hua was one of Azure's most carefree high-end combatants, never suffering indignities or stifling frustration... until three years ago, when he was ordered to Xiongzhanli. In a sense, it was he who had held off this split for three whole years by sheer force of will.
"Well then, let's see you try." With that, Marshal Hua turned and shot forward, vaulting through midair toward another distant rooftop.
Almost simultaneously—whoosh!
The super combatant on the opposite rooftop burst into motion, leaping in hot pursuit...
Pew! A faint gunshot rang out.
The bullet arrived from below, looming in his vision, aimed straight at his eye. It was that kind of gun—judging by the bullet's velocity and trajectory, he realized it in an instant.
So—clang! He raised his saber and deflected it.
In that single instant—slash! Marshal Hua's body vaulted back diagonally upward in reverse, his blade sweeping across the pursuer's chest.
The pursuer should have died.
A pity...
Hua Bixuan knew his own condition. Helpless, he could only turn back around and flee into the distance... Weakly, he tilted his head in midair for a glance, but caught no sight of whoever had fired the shot.
The shooter never made a sound either.
Someone's covering me from the shadows. Could it be those kids from the sea? Or does Azure have other arrangements? His consciousness grew increasingly hazy as he speculated, yet he dared not hesitate for a second.
Pew! Another bullet delivered the final delay behind him.
This was Captain Lady's third shot...
Marshal Hua's figure vanished into the night.
Wounded and stumbling, the Splinter Faction super combatant still led his men in pursuit.
Down below, Milla lowered her gun...
Turning around with guilt in her eyes, she looked at Yelena.
"I'm sorry, Yelena," Milla said.
"It's fine. Tee-hee, I like being on the run with you." Yelena laughed. Then, as promised, she pulled the saber away from Boris's neck and said, "Could you have them lock us up together? Do us a favor, Boris."
Holding Colonel Boris hostage was pointless now.
Because Milla had fired, a large number of Splinter Faction officers and soldiers were sweeping in from all sides... and had already entered their field of view.
Chapter 537