Challenge

After responding, Han Qingyu looked up. Expressionless, he held Milla's wrist and continued walking forward, calmly passing through the thicket of blades on both sides. The interlude seemed about to end like this. At least, despite his unease, that was what Mosorijin thought and hoped for. In that case, they would return to the standoff they had started with. "Oh, right! Milla's Captain Miss is still in their hands," Yelena suddenly spoke up after Han Qingyu had already walked past where Mosorijin stood. It was English. Turns out she could speak it. Though her pronunciation had a Xiongzanli accent, it was understandable. "Captain Miss?" Wen Jifei turned his head and asked in equally clumsy English, confused. Yelena nodded. "Yeah, a gun! The kind that can pierce through source energy defense—a really formidable gun." Understood. Wen Jifei nodded. Sure enough, Milla had a source energy firearm. They weren't surprised by this at all. Never mind that there were about a dozen in the entire world—even if there were only one, in their minds it should belong to Milla. And was it called Captain Miss? What a truly lifelike name for a gun. "Tell him I want Milla's gun back," Han Qingyu turned to Tu Zi and said. "Ah? Got it!" Tu Zi nodded, turning around to take a step forward with his chest puffed out and his head held high. Now this was the feeling of being on a battlefield he had wanted! First he had the Commander backing him up, and now he had Brother Qingzi backing him up. His only duty was to be arrogant... "The King wants Miss Milla's gun," Tu Zi said, staring straight at Mosorijin. A gun? Mosorijin naturally knew about that gun. He glanced back at the super combat power behind him. The super combat power shook his head subtly. The gun couldn't be handed over; in their plan, it might still be useful in a little while. It couldn't kill a super, and naturally couldn't kill Chen Buer, but perhaps it could cause some slight hindrance. Mosorijin knitted his brows, turned back, and said, "Apologies, but we have no idea where Miss Milla's gun is." "Then look for it. It's fine if it takes a while. We'll wait." Interpreter Tu forgot once again that he was actually just an interpreter. He forgot that Brother Qingzi was behind him, just as he had forgotten about the Commander earlier. What? Wait? The King and his people staying right here to wait! And then? Then Azure's follow-up reinforcements would probably arrive, wouldn't they? He had already endured so much. Mosorijin didn't want to stumble on this final hurdle. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to hold back. However—*whoosh!* "Don't think you can keep threatening us like this." The super beside Mosorijin moved. Unlike Mosorijin, he was a warrior—a super warrior. The petty interpreter opposite him had gotten arrogant past the point of endurance. This sudden turn of events made the people on both sides of the battlefield gasp sharply in unison. That was all they had time to do; there wasn't even time to cry out. A blur of movement, and the Splinter Faction's super lunged, reaching out a hand to seize Tu Zi. With Major The Qing standing right behind him, Tu Zi wasn't afraid. Aside from owing Brother Qingzi money, he was practically fearless and thrived on excitement. Yet out of pure reflex, he still blinked. ...By the time he opened his eyes again, he was already standing behind Han Qingyu. Han Qingyu stood in front of him, keeping his distance, blocking the enemy super. A brief standoff. "I've been wanting to see just what gives The King the right to be so arrogant anyway!" A savage glint flashed in the opposing super's eyes. Drawing his blade, he bolted forward in a charge so abrupt that even Mosorijin had no time to stop him. *Whoosh!* Cries of shock erupted almost simultaneously from both battle formations. The difference was that even as the nearby Splinter Faction battle line gasped, some of their eyes weren't on Han Qingyu and the super. They were looking at a spot on the ground. The dirt there had been churned up, and the blue starlight column sword that had been planted in the earth suddenly shot forth in a state none of them could comprehend. Officers and soldiers of the Splinter Faction along its path gripped their blades, thrusting them forward to intercept the column sword, or attempting to strike it down. *Clang!* And then—*clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter...* After the noise passed, shattered blades lay strewn across the ground, stretching out in a trail. The officers and soldiers stared blankly at the dead iron straight... broken blades in their hands. The column sword shattered through the blades and flew on. *Clang!* Hovering horizontally in midair between the two men, it cleanly parried the super's charging draw-and-slash. At the point of collision, source energy surged... And The King himself? Only now did he slowly look up to cast a glance at the blade in the enemy super's hand. *Thud!* The column sword dropped down, planting itself in the earth between the two men. Then Major Qing turned his head, shifting his gaze to Mosorijin instead. Throughout the entire exchange, he had not even let go of Milla's wrist... *So strong!* In this instant, that was the consensus—a silent exclamation of awe. Major The Qing's first move since returning to this world after more than two years proved that he lived up to every recent rumor about him. He was strong—perhaps strong enough to alter the present battle single-handedly. The people of the Splinter Faction seemed to finally understand Mosorijin a little. "Sigh, nothing but flashy tricks." Only one person on the scene could mutter such a critique. Of course, in truth, it was actually pretty decent. The Commander's mood was considerably better now, so he didn't embarrass him by saying it out loud. ... After that single clash, the scene, still locked in a superficial standoff, seemed ready to explode at the slightest touch. *Fight! This can't be endured! Mosorijin, everyone, hurry up and fight! If a fight breaks out, Sister Shen Yixiu can run away with Sister Milla first, while Major Qing and the Commander fight side by side... and Brother Wu Xu too.* This was the scene Tu Zi had feared wouldn't happen, yet had secretly dreamed of seeing all along. He completely forgot that he himself was right in the middle of the battlefield. Suddenly, *shhhk-clink...* The dense, heavy rasp of metal scraping metal echoed from the flank. Over on the grassy slope, the ten-thousand-man formation of the Stream Vanguard had drawn their blades to a man, preparing to charge. A grand spectacle. "Blades..." young A Zha was practically ready to shout. "Blades your head... Wait and see," Uncle Shiliang cursed under his breath. Everyone on the battlefield looked sideways in shock. "Yes! Let's hack them to pieces!" In this moment, Tu Zi, who hadn't trembled even when a super lunged at him, shook with excitement. *Come on! Let's do this!* He looked forward to it. However, "Give it to him," Mosorijin said in a deep voice, gesturing with his eyes toward the Huaxia battle formation across the field—and toward Chen Buer. ... "Captain Miss" was delivered back by the Splinter Faction. Wen Jifei curiously took it for her, examining it carefully as he walked alongside to see whether every source energy firearm was identical. The young Xiongzanli girl, Yelena, walked woodenly beside him. "So romantic..." Yelena mumbled. She had already decided to bow out of this romantic rivalry, because... she had already lost. At the same time, Yelena now understood why, when Aleksei was so outstanding and so many exceptional officers pursued Milla, Milla had insisted on waiting for a guy who, by her own account, understood nothing of romance to come take her home—waiting three whole years. *If it were me, I'd wait too!* *After a moment like this, who needs romance?!* Yelena looked toward the ten-thousand-man formation over there, then thought of the scene earlier where The King held Milla's wrist while facing down a super... *You really don't need it at all!* As the girl mused and muttered, she suddenly snapped her head around. "Why does Major Qing care so much about Miss Milla?" she asked. Wen Jifei looked at her. "Huh?" Earlier, when the girl had muttered quietly to herself in the Xiongzanli tongue, he couldn't hear clearly and couldn't understand anyway. But this question was in English, and Wen Jifei understood. Why? Did there even need to be a why? That dead-iron straight man cared about plenty of people—men, women, wasn't his feeling toward all of them the same?! Yet answering like that felt so boring. Besides, that was Captain Milla—there had to be something special about it. Wen Jifei hesitated and pondered for a moment. Thinking he hadn't heard clearly, Yelena repeated, "I mean, why does Major Qing care so much about Miss Milla?" "Probably because Captain Milla is the first, and so far the only, woman who has kissed him since he grew up," Wen Jifei said, putting on a serious expression. "...Whoa!" Yelena automatically imagined a real kiss! She thought to herself: *They've already progressed that far?!* Wait. Applying lipstick, holding hands... Yelena instinctively glanced at Milla's right wrist being held. "By the way, do you have a doctor?" she suddenly asked. "Yeah. What's wrong with you?" Wen Jifei asked in return. "Not me. It's Milla. Milla's left hand—the bones are probably all cracked. It's been hurting constantly, and she hasn't received any treatment." Yelena pointed at Milla's left hand, which hung limply even as she walked, speaking with deep heartache. Wen Jifei froze. So it hadn't been Qingzi holding her wrist wrong—it had been this all along. At the same time, Han Qingyu turned back. "What did you say? Milla..." Turning his head further, he looked directly at Milla herself. "Milla, your left hand?!" All eyes fell on Milla—concern, heartache, and an unspeakable sorrow from Wen Jifei... His teacher couldn't shoot anymore. Milla herself didn't seem ready to talk about it yet. Hesitating, she looked up at Captain Miss in Wen Jifei's hands and sniffled. "Actually, I can't shoot anymore." Milla's injury had happened three years ago on the plateau around Xilang Peak. At the time, Squad 1777 had been framed, hunted, and cornered. She had stood on the hillside firing the Milla 11 heavy cannon to lure the swarm of Great Spikes. One of Alphonse's subordinates had impaled her left hand—the one supporting the weapon—with a thrown dagger. The blade had remained lodged in her arm. And Milla had kept firing... That was the Milla 11 heavy cannon. And no matter how much nourishment Milla's constitution received, her foundation was still only Grade E. This was different from Wen Jifei. Wen Jifei was a Dice, but that didn't affect the absorption results when he rolled an A or a B; the physical improvements to his constitution wouldn't vanish even if he rolled an F. Later, treatment had only restored her left hand enough for normal daily life. The doctor's recommendation had been for Milla to give up even her personal firearm. Yet on the night of the rebellion, Milla had used Captain Miss. With that ruined hand, she had fired three shots. Especially the last two, which had been practically rapid-fire. She had done it. But when she lowered the gun, the bones below her left forearm had already completely shattered. Milla finished her brief explanation. "So, that's another debt to tally against Alphonse." "And of course, the Splinter Faction here shares the blame." "It'll be fine, Milla. Back home, we have the best doctors in the world, and super lots of super source energy blocks," Han Qingyu comforted her gently. Then, rather than blowing up on the spot, he held Milla's hand and continued walking forward. Just like that, they walked between the two battle formations, leaving the battlefield and heading toward the grassy slope. "Is he really just leaving like this?" "Leaving the Commander alone to face the fifth on the Dome Leaderboard plus two supers across the field?" "Even if you only helped take on one super, that shouldn't be hard for you." If not for the fifth on the Dome Leaderboard, Butcher Ivan, two supers naturally wouldn't be enough to trouble the Commander. But in the presence of a formidable enemy resolved to fight to the death, those two would become immense trouble. The Commander would still win—no one doubted that. However, he was old. Out of armor, he looked like a tottering old man... Rumor had it that he had only one single strike left at peak burst power. As the footsteps of Han Qingyu's group drifted farther from the battlefield... Mosorijin was rejoicing. Meanwhile, the officers and soldiers of Huaxia watched in silence. At this moment, they felt miserable, stifled, and ultimately furious. Yet the Commander had said nothing, so they could say nothing either. ...Major Qing turned around! As he walked, he angled his body, watching the Commander for a while with an expression whose meaning was hard to fathom. He said nothing. They had already reached the foot of the grassy slope. A few words seemed to be spoken. He Tangtang escorted Miss Milla and the other girl up the grassy slope. The remaining four turned back around. ...Major Qing turned back! "He—!" In this instant, cautious excitement began stirring through the Huaxia battle formation, tempered by the fear of disappointment. While Mosorijin: "..." *Whoosh!* In the distance, a streak of blue light tore free from in front of the Splinter Faction's battle formation, shooting toward Han Qingyu. ...Turns out he had forgotten his column sword. When the blue streak arrived before him, Major The Qing reached out and gripped the column sword, letting his arm drop naturally with the weapon in hand. Then he turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Chen Buer; their eyes met, and he offered a simple, smug grin. Major Qing faced the Xiongzanli Splinter Faction's battle formation. "Um, just saying—call it a challenge if you like: I want to fight Butcher Ivan," he said in a casual tone.