On the journey back to the fortress, they passed many soldiers who saluted when they saw the three scratched-up trucks. This kind of assignment should have been done by them. It didn’t matter if it was because of the competition. It wasn’t voluntary and they still went without complaint—they were heroes. 

When they returned, the soldiers had received news that, out of the three teams, one was completely decimated and one of the trucks had arrived from Fortress Three. These assignments should have been executed by the soldiers, yet they had fallen into the hands of these young people. 

Within the trucks, pride and glory swelled within every heart as they saw thousands of soldiers saluting. The kids were all grown up; there was finally fresh blood in this war against the beasts. 

Xiang Ning had grown up in an orphanage and hadn’t watched any footage of wars. But since he’d received the crystal television from Uncle Zhao, he’d been watching them and remembered how much the scenes had impacted him, especially during the first battle at Tranquil City. He had never told anyone then, but he’d wondered why those people had courageously charged ahead even though they knew it would mean their deaths. 

He subsequently asked a soldier that question. He had saved the soldier while killing beasts in the wilderness. Everything below his thighs was a blur of flesh and blood. If it weren’t for Xiang Ning’s heightened senses, no one would have known that he was still alive. 

This was what the soldier told him: “To be honest, I was afraid, too. But since the formation of my team three years ago, we’ve already lost one thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven seniors. Each and every one of them had a home, so we must protect every single one of these one thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven families.” 

Xiang Ning hadn’t really understood him, but slowly, as the warmth of friendship seeped into his life, he finally did. Those one thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven families must have been like his, right? 

“Glory to mankind, victory to the Federation,” muttered Xiang Ning. He wasn’t loud, but the rest heard him clearly. 

“Glory to mankind, victory to the Federation!” cried Wu Rui, suddenly climbing up the truck. 

The rest of the soldiers roared in response, shaking the heavens. Within the fortress, the commander proudly smiled as he watched on. He understood that, while they could stand guard here, and the other fortresses too, the final ones who could determine the outcome of the war wouldn’t be them. 

That was why, from a different perspective, one could call these people silly. So silly they were cute, so silly his heart ached….

......

When they returned to the fortress, everyone exited the trucks. Li Zihao went to submit his report, bidding Xiang Ning farewell. Charotis stood in his spot, simultaneously waiting for Xiang Ning and wanting to leave, but he felt that it would look like he was running away. They were in a fortress, so what could Xiang Ning do? Most importantly, they hadn’t actually sustained huge losses, so they couldn’t hold Charotis responsible for anything. 

But that was it. Xiang Ning didn’t go looking for trouble with Charotis. Once Li Zihao’s team settled the point distribution matters, Xiang Ning and his team left. 

Along the way, the team filled each other in on their days. Xiang Ning told them what had happened over the past two days, including the situation in Hang City. He left out a few important events, as per Chen Tianhua’s request. Those matters couldn’t be told to just anyone. 

But certain things could still be made known to his team. 

“So it’s true. The vice city lord of Hang City was removed from his position due to special circumstances.”

“The Seven Deadly Sins is a scary organization, even infiltrating Hang City. If he’s being fired, I’m sure it’s related to them.” 

“Thankfully, Hang City has many masters or it would’ve been a major problem.” 

“Right under everyone’s noses too.” 

Xiang Ning listened to their hushed discussion. Although he knew Fu Yingxiao was in deep trouble, he didn’t think he would actually be fired. Fu Yingxiao had a great relationship with Mr. Chen, so it shouldn’t have been this easy to be fired based on just this one incident. Also, he had made many contributions to society and his intentions were good. 

But! 

It didn’t matter what his intentions were, or what contributions he had made. It was still a mistake. It involved alien races, too, and humans didn’t have many advantages against them at this point of time. Taking off his vice city lord hat was alright, but Chen Tianhua might be involved or Fu Yingxiao wouldn’t have been removed so easily. 

Walking over to the resting area, he saw Lei Zhongyuan waiting. 

“Heh, you remembered to come back.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry, Instructor Lei.” 

“You’ve got a good one there,” said Akting from next to Lei Zhongyuan. He had a good impression of Xiang Ning, since there were few Karan tribesmen in history who were as strong as this kid. 

Xiang Ning saw them standing together, both wearing instructor uniforms, and thought he was Lei Zhongyuan’s friend. “Thank you for your praise, it was all because Instructor Lei is a very good teacher.” 

Lei Zhongyuan blushed a little, but he had indeed taught Xiang Ning a few things. Naturally, he counted as Xiang Ning’s teacher, right? Who wouldn’t like to be praised? Especially in front of Akting, too. It felt even better. However, he still had to say something. “Xiang Ning, he’s Toro City’s instructor, Akting.” 

“Nice to meet you. If we get the chance, I’d like to talk to you about the Karan tribesmen. I think you’re very suited for our Karan combat techniques and it’ll definitely help take your abilities to the next level.” Akting held out his hand with a grin. The Karan tribesmen took recruitment of foreign talent seriously, otherwise, how could they have set up their own autonomous city without suppression from the Federation? Did they think they could go against a whole Federation if they worked alone? 

Obviously not. That was why foreign talent made huge contributions to their city. 

“Oh! Nice to meet you, I’ve heard many great things about the Karan tribe.” 

After Lei Zhongyuan’s introduction, the mood had turned awkward, but Akting didn’t notice until Xiang Ning’s reply. Akting stiffened. 

“Instructor Lei, I haven’t eaten since I left Fortress Three. Is there anything to eat now? Also, where’s my sister? And Jiang Youyou? I need to talk to her about Hang City,” Xiang Ning said with a smile. Other than the curt reply, he hadn’t looked directly at Akting. Toro City? Karan tribe? I haven’t even made you guys pay yet, and you think you can recruit me? 

Alas, the resting area was filled with too many people and his team had just returned from a mission. They had been attracting a lot of attention since they’d encountered a rarely-seen Demonpede. 

Xiang Ning’s team had suddenly shot from the thirties to the top ten overnight. With so many people watching, he wasn’t in a position to drag Marsh City’s reputation through the mud. He would show them basic manners… nothing more. That was where he drew the line.

Charotis and the rest have no idea what is going to happen to them