Time to Head Back

The final breath of life sustained by source energy was fading. Zhang Dao'an was leaving. Regiment 425's recruit head instructor, who had drawn so much resentment over all these years, was on the verge of death. People watched his head, once always held high, droop low; his back, once always ramrod straight, bow forward... His tall, stalwart frame hunched toward the column sword skewering his abdomen. Everyone stood in mournful silence, searing into their minds the image of him bathed in blood, standing alone with blades in hand to block the blue-sheened Great Spike. Yet in truth, no one truly understood just how at peace Zhang Dao'an felt in his heart at this moment. At least, none of those present did. When, in the visions of his dying moments, he once again saw his former comrades and squad leader—the people who, to some extent, had died because of his mistake—and saw once more the strongest in Regiment 425's history, the Red Eraser... he could finally say those words: "34473 requesting permission to rejoin the ranks." His guilt-ridden life, his long path of atonement over all these years, was finally released. Years later, he had used his own life to add the final glory to the legendary Red Eraser that had faded into history; he had also, at last, given Regiment 425 of the Eraser Ninth Army an answer. At this moment, across the mountains and hills, from the cliff top nearby to the distant ridges... everyone raised their hands without thinking, saluting to send off the figure that still refused to collapse. "For all that breathes, fight without retreat; bar the boundless skies with our bodies." The motto of the Azure Coalition's Sole Witness Legion echoed through the mountains. The blue-sheened Great Spike's continuous roars of fury were drowned out. In the next moment, it moved. It had only one target... that figure currently standing on the cliff top. Why had it left the device it had set up? Because formidable though it was, its reliance on close-quarters melee combat meant it could not completely prevent enemies from getting close... Which meant that as long as a certain number of soldiers managed to close the distance, then regardless of the battle's outcome, they would inevitably succeed in destroying it. Therefore, the blue-sheened Great Spike had chosen to set up the device on the flank of the cliff top, then kept a certain distance to conduct interceptive strikes, driving enemies away and rapidly executing kills... It should have been able to pull this off; its speed in rushing back to defend upon spotting any abnormality should have been more than sufficient. Yet... it had run into an unlisted squad of seventeen from the Sole Witness Legion, and met with the most brutal, tenacious interception Azure's front lines had seen in five or six years. It was covered in wounds. Roaring, the blue-sheened Great Spike glared at the cliff top and took its first stride. And what followed next... would be remembered for years to come. It was the final movement of Zhang Dao'an's life before it faded away. He had been thought dead, yet he suddenly moved once more... Perhaps in his world, Squad Leader Wang and his fallen comrades were watching at that very moment. With the column sword still skewering his abdomen, Zhang Dao'an surged forward, closing the distance, and then... wrapped his arms deathly tight around the Great Spike's waist, his hands gripping firmly onto the two combat sabers plunged into the monster's lower back. These were the gravest wounds the blue-sheened Great Spike had suffered: two dead iron straight swords, buried halfway through its flesh, driven into both sides of its lower back. Those had been delivered in the earlier clash by the second lieutenant of Squad 1123 and his comrades. For their squad leader, for Azure, for the recruits, to repay a debt of gratitude they could never afford to owe, and for the unit designation of 1123, they had struck... the final blows of their lives. And so... when they returned, standing once more before their former comrades and squad leaders, they would surely feel proud, with stories grand enough to brag about. *** Han Qingyu was running. Zhang Dao'an had just used the final ounce of his life's strength to buy him time, and now, the blue-sheened Great Spike had only one target: him. It paid no heed to anyone else, nor could anyone else keep up with it. The chase had already lasted over ten minutes. The gap had closed rapidly at first, but later remained hovering between two to three hundred meters. If not for the Great Spike's severe injuries, Han Qingyu would likely be dead by now. And so, he sprinted ahead while the Great Spike pursued from behind... and behind the Great Spike, another figure was giving chase. It was Xin Yaoqiao. As she pursued, she shouted strange sounds at the Great Spike using all sorts of tones and inflections—ranging from threats to negotiations and curses... Unfortunately, the blue-sheened Great Spike completely ignored her. Han Qingyu heard her, but couldn't understand. Looking back and seeing her, he shouted, "What are you saying?" "Huh? That wasn't for you, it was for it! It's an alien language I tried to make up myself..." Xin Yaoqiao called back. "Though it seems it can't understand either, or maybe it just doesn't want to talk to me." "..." Han Qingyu was speechless and exasperated. "Then why the hell are you chasing after us?! Get out of here!" "I..." Having failed at dialogue, and seeing that she truly couldn't catch up, Xin Yaoqiao didn't have time to ponder why a recruit like Han Qingyu could run so fast... Perhaps this was why, despite being combat personnel, he had been placed into the Sub-Sequence. All she could do was yell, "Then run toward that pit we were lying in! There's a bag there... It has a bunch of fully charged source energy blocks!" Got it. Han Qingyu veered around, doubling back toward their previous position. Running past the pit, he scooped up Xin Yaoqiao's bag. Money... so much of it... Source energy blocks, found them. Slinging Xin Yaoqiao's bag over his shoulder, Han Qingyu looked for opportunities to quickly swap out source energy blocks, and then kept running. The blue-sheened Great Spike locked onto him like a lunatic. In the end, the chase lasted over an hour. Until—*chop-chop-chop-chop-chop*—two military-painted helicopters landed nearby, and four people stepped out. One masked man, carrying a three-dimensional apparatus on his back, walked straight toward the Great Spike with blade in hand... This was the first time in Han Qingyu's life that he witnessed an Azure S-grade super combatant in their prime make a move. The battle was so fast he couldn't even see clearly. The entire clash might have lasted only ten seconds; the already grievously injured blue-sheened Great Spike had its arms severed, legs chopped off, waist cut clean through... dismembered completely. Even sliced to pieces, the Great Spike still carried out its self-destruction. It seemed it could not only actively self-destruct using the energy of source energy, but would also trigger self-destruction upon losing source energy. Someone went up to collect the blood it left behind. The masked man sheathed his blade, turned around, and cast a glance at Han Qingyu. Then Xin Yaoqiao emerged from the edge of the woods. The moment she caught sight of the masked man, she spun around and bolted. Yet she was quickly dragged right back by the collar. Han Qingyu didn't hear the exchange between them. He stood there dazed, thinking: *If I were that strong, then... everything would be different.* Then he saw that when the conversation ended, the masked man stood at attention, saluting in the direction where Zhang Dao'an, the other instructors, and the soldiers of Squad 1123 had fallen. Turning and passing by Han Qingyu once more, the man paused and said, "Thank you. And I'm sorry—I came too late." With that, he walked off, waiting beside the helicopter. Xin Yaoqiao took his place and walked over. "Um, he's my teacher... and also one of the Huaxia Front's current four S-grades, God Lü, Lü Moyi." Xin Yaoqiao paused, then added, "You're cleared to know this, because your current status actually puts you in the Sub-Sequence." Han Qingyu was taken aback. "What? Sub-Sequence?" "Well, it's a classification..." Xin Yaoqiao offered a brief explanation without going into detail, ending with a smile. "I'm in it too." "Oh." Hearing that this Sub-Sequence didn't come with any immediate perks, Han Qingyu showed little interest. His heavy mood left him with no desire to say much either. The helicopter was waiting for Xin Yaoqiao. Han Qingyu handed the backpack back to her. "I have to go. It's a shame we met under circumstances like these, with so much happening... I thought about it, and it's probably not the right time to say 'nice to meet you.'" "Still, I really am glad to have met you... and glad to have lain in that pit with you." "Remember, don't leap into the air." "Also, my name is Xin Yaoqiao. You can call me Qiaoqiao, or Yaoyao, or Huanghuang—any of those is fine... Just not Yaohuang, okay? Mmm... we'll definitely meet again." With that, she waved, turned around, and walked toward the helicopter. "Hey," Han Qingyu suddenly called out from behind. "Hm?" Xin Yaoqiao turned back happily, looking at him. "Um, thank you too... And that little bug of yours—remember to take it out." Xin Yaoqiao froze. "Ah..." It was fine when she wasn't thinking about it, but the moment she was reminded, the girl blew her top. Right there and then, in a frantic fluster, she unbuttoned her collar and used some paper to carefully wipe away the squashed beetle's remains. In that moment, her graceful neck was revealed, her skin very pale, and her collarbones were likely quite pretty too, given how deep the hollow there was... None of this caught Han Qingyu's attention, however. It was time for him to head back—after witnessing scenes destined never to fade, and losing people who had grown familiar.