The command platform of the training grounds was positioned squarely against the mountain.
A line of people stood atop it.
*Clack, clack!* Two successive, crisp scrapes of dead iron rang out.
As the crowd slowly recovered from the brink of despair, as Lao Jian and everyone else turned their eyes back and looked slightly upward... the two dead iron straight swords that had just swirled through the air in a slaughtering dance traced an incomprehensible trajectory back, dropping straight into the sheaths behind the shoulders of the man standing dead center.
Besides that, a long black wooden case was slung across his back.
In the outside world, people called him Major The Qing, or The King. He was a newly ascended pinnacle super on the Dome Leaderboard, which signified a combat power ranking among humanity's top ten... He was Squad 1777's Han Qingyu, the boy they used to call Qingzi.
Beside him stood Wu Xu in a black combat uniform, gripping a black spear; Wen Jifei, carrying the legendary infinite source energy sniper rifle on his back; He Tangtang; Milla; the Little Prince...
And on the other side was Shen Yixiu, that iron-clad armor holding a broadsword horizontally, standing guard all alone at the edge of the forward slope.
Except for Young Master Shiheng, who was presumed to have returned to the ordinary world to live a life of leisure, all of them were back.
At this moment, the thrumming roar of source energy apparatuses all around remained dense. The enemy had been estimated at four to five hundred, and plenty of them were left, yet for the time being, none dared charge forward.
Because what they had just experienced was too terrifying.
When they had charged in ferociously to launch their offensive, ready for a massacre... what met them was not stubborn resistance, nor even a countercharge, but a crushing, one-sided slaughter.
In the first wave, the more than seventy men who had lunged forward were wiped out completely in under five seconds. Not one returned alive.
"Woof, woof-woof!" On the training grounds, a large black dog broke the silence, raising its head and dashing this way and that, barking excitedly.
Then: "Ahhh... Major Qing!"
Squad 1777's enthusiastic new female soldiers erupted into their first wave of screams, like aggrieved junior sisters who had been bullied suddenly seeing their legendary senior brother appear.
"Lieutenant Wu Xu!" "Brother Plague Chicken!" "Uncle Tangtang!" "Captain Milla!"
"Ahem! You're all back, then?" The veteran squad members tried hard to maintain a calm, reserved facade as they greeted them one by one.
"Damn it, do you have any idea how scared I was just now?! You bastards! Three years ago, I helped fly a few people out, and you went and left me behind!"
The only discordant voice came from Yang Qingbai, who was jumping up and down below, cursing at the top of his lungs.
Three years ago, Yang Qingbai had been with Han Qingyu and the others too. Later, during the battle of Qu Family Village, he had piloted a plane to evacuate the captured Azure soldiers first, and then... they had left without even leaving behind a message.
For the past three years, Comrade Yang Qingbai, a driver of both vehicles and aircraft with Grade F fusion, had been stationed with Squad 1777, where his primary duties were feeding the cats and dogs.
A ripple of low chuckles rose across the grounds.
Amid the lively stir, an old man and a cat took no part in the chatter. They merely stared blankly at the other side, gazing at that suit of iron armor that felt so familiar, yet had grown somewhat foreign.
The crowd seemed to have forgotten the enemy, but the enemies were indeed still there, still threatening everyone present.
"What do we do now? Should we hack them down first?" The groom, sporting a red corsage and holding a blade, turned to gesture at the vibrations of source energy still surging from three sides.
Judging by what had been said earlier, these attackers had no way of retreating now. In all probability, they would make a desperate, fight-to-the-death stand. Lao Jian was wondering whether they should all mobilize to clear them out first before doing anything else.
Yet if the people here went out to clear them, casualties would be inevitable. Han Qingyu thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we just continue?"
"Huh? What... what continue?" Captain Lao blanked for a second.
"Continue the wedding." Han Qingyu turned his head, gesturing toward the bride and the red carpet.
Meaning the fighting would continue, and while the fighting went on, so would the wedding.
Lao Jian understood. His gaze lingered on them for a few seconds before he sheathed his sword, nodding. "All right."
Straightening his tie and buttoning his suit jacket, he walked over to Shang Nianhua.
Amid a round of applause, Shang Nianhua turned toward him as well.
Suddenly, *boom!*
The massive roar of apparatus detonations mingled with shouted commands. That was likely the enemy's order: they were preparing for their desperate final stand.
The enemies surged in from three directions, a chaotic and precarious onslaught.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Two sudden, powerful bursts rang out as two top combat powers concealed among the ordinary fighters accelerated into the air simultaneously, their targets locked onto the bride in her red qipao.
She was too conspicuous, her identity too obvious. Taking her hostage was their only hope of survival. Even if that failed, killing her to turn the wedding into a funeral would be their greatest possible act of vengeance today.
Cries of alarm swept through the venue.
"Nianhua!" Lao Jian didn't even have time to draw his sword as he threw himself toward his wife's back.
In that very instant, Wu Xu moved on the command platform.
From the perspective of part of the crowd, they saw him vanish from the platform, only to reappear in the air behind Shang Nianhua's head. By the time the trajectory of the black spear became visible, the attack was already concluding.
*Bang!* A heavy crash—the iron spear smashed straight across the chest of one top-tier combatant.
Midair, the man's chest caved in as he flew backward, dead on the spot.
A top-tier—instantly slain.
Rumor had it Lieutenant Wu Xu was now a super as well, and by no means an ordinary one.
"Y-You startled Sister-in-law just now." Wu Xu landed with spear in hand, casting a backward glance. He tried very hard to smile, but failed, and simply said, "Sister-in-law."
Shang Nianhua replied, "Yes."
It was nice being their sister-in-law; back then, she had been captured by them.
Wu Xu did not pull back, holding that side of the field.
At that moment, the enemy's other top-tier combatant was still airborne. Thanks to the distance between them, he had managed to pull back forcefully in midair, evading the sweep of the spear Binggu, and was now bursting in continuous succession, preparing to flee the scene.
Yet his body suddenly froze midair... Bullets had already pierced his heart—three in a row.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
By the time people heard the gunshots, the corpse of this enemy top-tier had already been driven by the tremendous kinetic force of the source energy bullets to crash down behind the perimeter wall.
On the command platform, Wen Jifei's long rifle spun around, its muzzle settling back over his left shoulder. He had just whipped out the sniper rifle with his right hand, fired three consecutive shots, holstered the weapon, and swung it smoothly behind his back to hang in place.
The grounds fell into a stunned silence.
Over this past period, they had heard countless rumors and known for some time that those familiar figures of the past were now extraordinarily powerful.
Yet witnessing it with their own eyes on this field, the sheer magnitude of that power still left them struck with disbelief and awe.
"Then I'll take this side," the Little Prince broke the silence, drawing his blade and leaping toward the other flank. "This work counts toward my wedding gift money, Captain Lao! I'm dirt poor."
People thought he was joking... laughter broke out.
"Shall we continue, then?" Regimental Commander Li Wangqiang suggested.
In reality, the desperate frenzy of parts of the enemy force was still underway. They repeatedly attempted to charge in, but Rusty Sister was at the front, Wu Xu guarded one flank, the Little Prince held the other, and Han Qingyu stood watching atop the command platform...
"Yeah." Lao Jian nodded once more, walking toward his bride.
Amid the sounds of combat, the clashing of dead iron, and a rain of blood, the wedding of Squad 1777's captain continued.
"The bride and groom bow to each other!"
"Whoo... Kiss her!"
"Kiss her!"
"Whoo..."
While hollering and egging them on, the guests unhesitatingly sheathed their swords, returned to their seats, and picked up the wine poured earlier that had gone undrunk.
"Super and top-tier combatants guarding the perimeter... Tsk, with treatment like this, we'd better drink to our hearts' content!"
"Ain't that the truth!"
Right there in such a setting, they genuinely began drinking with joy.
As a result, Han Qingyu, Wen Jifei, and He Tangtang, who stood on the command platform overlooking the whole venue, found themselves with nothing to do for the moment, simply standing there and watching.
Han Qingyu's gaze drifted casually around the grounds...
*Crap, eye contact.*
Someone was waiting for him.
...Having finally caught Major Qing's gaze, the thirty-odd young women from the Research Institute 2 outreach troupe seized the opportunity, instantly tilting their heads up and shouting at him:
"What are you looking at? Are we not allowed to come?"
"Yeah, so what if you're a super?"
"Once the performance starts, we'll kick you out just the same!"
"Hmph!"
Han Qingyu could only force a meek, placating smile. "I just wanted to say thank you for coming."
"Thank us for what? It's not your wedding!"
"Get married? He probably can't even find a girlfriend."
"..."
Amid the proud, yet secretly wistful giggles...
"Plague Chicken." Regimental Commander Li Wangqiang stood up with a cup of wine in hand.
"Here, Commander," Wen Jifei replied at once.
"How about firing off a few shots? We've never seen such a thing in action, and we didn't catch it clearly just now... Isn't that rifle of yours 'infinite'? Just consider yourself in charge of lighting firecrackers today."
Lighting firecrackers? With a source energy sniper rifle?!
"I can't afford that, Commander. The gun's one thing, but the bullets are hard to come by," Wen Jifei pleaded with a wry smile.
"Then switch to Han Qingyu." Regimental Commander Yang Wudong stood up as well and called out, "Qingzi, that blue-glowing column sword of yours—they say it goes *swish-swish-swish*, flying all over the place, doesn't it?"
"...Yeah." Han Qingyu gave a helpless nod.
"Then give us a show with that! It's the perfect chance to go help out too." Commander Yang turned and gestured toward the sporadic clashes still flaring on the three flanks.
Having said that, he thought to himself: *Holy crap, I can actually talk like this to someone on the Dome Leaderboard! Haha, that feels so damn good.*
Han Qingyu: "..."
"Qingzi, could you? I'd like to see it too. I've been curious for ages," the bride suddenly said.
"Me too, Qingzi," Commander Li Wangqiang chimed in.
"Don't be shy, Qingzi. Let your uncle broaden his horizons too. Uncle just made you some preserved potherb mustard with pork cracklings," Head Chef Old Fang said with a grin from below, personally carrying a platter of their favorite dishes.
"We want to see it too!" The troupe girls joined the chorus, saying that if they were satisfied with the show, they might consider not kicking him out later.
Then Lao Jian spoke up, and Qin Guowen...
"Well, since Sister-in-law, the commanders, Uncle Fang, Uncle Yang, and everyone else want to see it... all right." Han Qingyu resignedly unslung the rectangular wooden case from his back.
Everyone in the venue tilted their heads back, straining their eyes wide.
Yet they couldn't see clearly at all. All they heard was a soft *whoosh*, followed by an illusory flash of blue light—and Han Qingyu had already materialized at the left corner of the training grounds, sending an enemy flying through the air.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*
Trailing streaks of blue light wove like spiderwebs and lasers crisscrossing the air. Han Qingyu's silhouette flickered into view only occasionally... The sky was filled with enemies flying backward, bursting outward like scattered fireworks.
The entire audience stood frozen in silence, their heads craned upward, paralyzed with awe.
This was the most magnificent battle they had ever witnessed in their lives.
It was The King, one of humanity's top ten, delivering a performance for his captain at the wedding banquet of Squad 1777's leader.
Chapter 558