Chapter 45
Chapter 45: The Crown Prince Got Taken Out, So the Commander-in-Chief Is Angry and Wants Us to Blow Up the Cadets’ Stamina Limit
Thirty Legion Commanders answered in unison.
Ye Ying shouted the loudest, voice booming with enthusiasm. “Received, Commander-in-Chief! This subordinate will immediately have people herd a pack of mutant giant alligators to chase the ‘wipe out the other twenty-nine military academies’ squad!”
“I’ll also drive piranhas at cadets near the water and send mutant giant ants after cadets in the forest—make sure we chase them until they beg their fathers and cry for their grandmothers, push them past their physical limits!”
“Received, Commander-in-Chief! The Second Legion hasn’t let any cadet sleep. We’re actively pushing them toward forfeiting and calling for rescue!”
“Received, Commander-in-Chief! The Third Legion won’t let any cadet go. We’ll train talent useful to the nation!”
“Received, Commander-in-Chief! The Fourth Legion—”
Instructors had always trained cadets like cats toying with mice. They loved watching them smash the forfeit beacon, beg for help, sob, call for Mom and Dad, and curse the instructors with everything they had.
Chong Ming listened without comment, then said evenly, “Thank you for your hard work.”
He cut the shared frequency.
The thirty Legion Commanders switched to their private channel. They all knew the Information Bureau listened anyway, but habits were hard to break.
“Hey,” someone said, lowering their voice out of pure superstition, “did you notice the Commander-in-Chief sounded… more irritable?”
“Twelfth Legion—don’t say it. I heard it too. I swear he sounded kind of… sexually frustrated.”
“Fourteenth Legion Commander, Twelfth Legion Commander—why are you women so full of wild fantasies? The Commander-in-Chief is always like that.”
“Yeah. He’s always like that. Also—I heard something. Our Crown Prince is in this competition.”
“What? The Crown Prince is in it? That explains it. That’s why his voice sounded off.”
“Why?”
“I eliminated three dragon clan women and five dragon clan men on my side. You tell me—could the Crown Prince be one of those five dragon clan men?”
“Wait. If you’re saying that, I eliminated dragon clan too. Don’t tell me the Crown Prince really got eliminated and the Commander-in-Chief is disappointed, so he’s pushing us to train the other cadets harder.”
“Damn. I took a quick look at stats: thirty schools, over 1.8 million cadets. Dragon clan cadets, ages sixteen to twenty-two—25,080 total. The Royal Military Academy has the most, almost a thousand.”
“Enough,” Ye Ying cut in. “I’m done talking. The First Legion is strong. We train the most dragon clan. I believe the Crown Prince is in the Royal Military Academy under the First Legion’s training—and he hasn’t been eliminated.”
“I, Ye Ying, First Legion Commander, will be the first avian beastfolk to train the Crown Prince. I’m honored. You lot can keep chatting.”
The other twenty-nine Legion Commanders fell silent.
Look at him—delusional and smug.
But they all thought the Crown Prince was among their cadets too. They all wanted to be “the first.”
—
Night settled cold over the rainforest, thick with poisonous insects.
Huang Da Zhuang stayed in beast form and pressed along the edge of the tent. His dog ears flattened to the ground as he listened. The moment he heard something, he barked sharply.
The others jolted awake. “What is it?”
Huang Da Zhuang shifted back to human form. “Something’s coming. About fifty meters out. More than one.”
Cheng Xiao Ting dropped into wolf form and pressed his ears to the earth. Ten seconds later, he shifted back. “Not bad, Huang Big Dog. Your dog ears are even better than my wolf ears.”
“About seventy-five meters out. Four legs. Dozens of them. Each one’s at least two tons. They’re running toward us.”
Sui Xuan Chu didn’t hesitate. “Pack up. Wake Jiang Tea Tea.”
Cheng Lin Yue yanked open the tent and shook the sleeping figure inside. “Sister Tea! Sister Tea, wake up—wake up!”
No response.
It slept like the dead, breathing evenly, as if it would never wake. Huang Da Zhuang even collapsed the tent entirely, and the figure still didn’t stir.
Sui Xuan Chu frowned. “After killing over a hundred three-headed giant pythons, she must be in deep sleep. If she won’t wake up, I’ll carry her.”
He scooped her up and rattled off orders.
“Cheng Xiao Ting, Ju Que—you two clear the path. Yan Yu, Huang Da Zhuang—cover the rear. Zhang Ting Zhou—watch Cheng Lin Yue. Move!”
No one argued. Packs went on backs. Feet hit the ground. They ran.
Canine and feline beastfolk had natural night vision, sharp hearing, and keen scent. In the dark Primeval Forest, that advantage mattered.
But as Sui Xuan Chu ran, his brow tightened—because Jiang Tea Tea felt too light in his arms.
Too light. Like he was holding an empty shell.
He had no idea where her “ten basins of meat per meal” went. How could she be this light? Was she sick? When this was over, should he drag her to a healer?
—
Somewhere above, Ye Ying watched the chase and complained to the instructor his cadets had tied up back at the Royal Military Academy.
“Wolf,” Ye Ying said, “your canine legs sure can run—fast and slippery.”
Wolf snapped into a salute. “Legion Commander, let me go chase them and regain my dignity.”
Ye Ying rolled his eyes. “You’ve already cost us ten points. If you go down and get caught again, I don’t care if you get eliminated. I care that I’ll lose face.”
The First Legion had been the first to have an instructor tied up by cadets. Other legions laughed until Ye Ying’s ears rang.
Wolf beat his chest. “Legion Commander, I’ll bring more instructor team members. We can force them to smash the forfeit beacon and quit.”
Ye Ying’s expression darkened. “If you dare force them to quit, I’ll break your dog legs.”
He jabbed a finger at the rankings. “Look at the squad and individual leaderboards. At the start, they helped others jump ships and harvested 89,000 points. Their personal base score stayed at one hundred, and they got extra points for catching you.”
“This afternoon, they killed over a hundred three-headed giant pythons. They farmed another hundred-plus points.”
“With their scores, from this moment on they could smash the forfeit beacon and lie around for three months until the competition ends—and still place near the top and take the championship.”
“So why are we chasing them? To make them quit?”
“No. We’re training them. We’re blowing up their stamina limits and their wilderness survival limits.”
Wolf’s face tightened. “Understood.”
Then he beat his chest again. “Legion Commander, I can do it. Drive aberrant beasts to chase them. Give me another chance.”
Ye Ying hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. Paint more camouflage on your face. Don’t let them recognize you. It’s embarrassing.”
Wolf saluted sharply. “Thank you, Legion Commander. I won’t let them recognize me.”
He turned and ran.
—
Sui Xuan Chu’s team had been sprinting hard when Cheng Xiao Ting and Ju Que suddenly doubled back.
“Instructors ahead,” Cheng Xiao Ting said grimly. “At least ten. We need to change routes.”
Ju Que’s face tightened. “Left has them too.”
Huang Da Zhuang’s voice came from behind. “Right too. Only the back is open—but there are aberrant beasts behind us.”
Sui Xuan Chu’s brows knotted. “They’re doing it on purpose. They’re blocking our escape and forcing us to pick a side and fight!”
Huang Da Zhuang glanced at the “sleeping” Jiang Tea Tea in Sui Xuan Chu’s arms and swallowed. “Sister Tea still hasn’t woken. We’re missing our strongest fighter. How do we fight?”
Sui Xuan Chu’s gaze hardened. “Left, right, front—which side has fewer instructors?”
Huang Da Zhuang and Cheng Xiao Ting answered together, ugly and certain. “Same on all three sides. Ten to twelve each.”
“And they aren’t holding paintball guns,” Huang Da Zhuang added. “They’re holding iron clubs. They’re here for us.”