novelhk Chapter 4: Iron-Blooded Glory, A Rapid Rise from Private to Marshal
Chapter 4: Iron-Blooded Glory, A Rapid Rise from Private to Marshal
Chapter Four: Iron-Blooded Glory, A Rapid Rise from Private to Marshal
The night wind in Donghai City seemed to grow even more biting, carrying the distinctive salty smell of the distant sea.
Mo Runshu and Yue Mianmian's figures did not land on the ground, but were suspended in the stratosphere ten thousand meters above the ground. Below them were the dazzling lights of Donghai City, and above them was the vast and boundless Milky Way.
"After leaving the academy, the real hell mode begins." Mo Runshu unbuttoned his collar, as if he could still feel the tightness of his old military uniform digging into his flesh. "Mianmian, do you remember the day we first enlisted? Back then, we were the laughing stock of the entire Federation's recruit camps."
Yue Mianmian crossed her arms, her gaze cold and clear: "I remember. Two geniuses with the potential to become Title Douluos, yet they chose to start from the lowest rank of private. Everyone said we were rich young masters and ladies who went to experience life, and that we wouldn't survive the first week of grueling training."
"Heh," Mo Runshu sneered, a golden glint flashing in his eyes, "and the result? We covered in three months what others took ten years to accomplish."
……
####Memories: Seventeen years ago, the First Field Army of the Federation, recruit company.
In the north, the winter wind is as cold as a knife.
Amidst the heavy snowfall, hundreds of new recruits lay prone in the snow, carrying heavy packs on their backs and holding standard-issue guided rifles in their hands.
"Everyone lie down properly! Anyone who moves an inch can forget about dinner tonight!"
A burly instructor, driving a Soul Guidance Jeep, roared in front of the formation.
At the very back of the group, two figures appeared exceptionally thin.
"Are you cold?" Mo Runshu turned his head to look at Yue Mianmian, who was pale beside him. Her lips were already purple from the cold, but her eyes remained stubborn.
"It's not cold." Yue Mianmian gritted her teeth, her voice trembling. "This little bit of suffering is nothing compared to being isolated at the academy."
"Well done," Mo Runshu said in a low voice. "Remember, here, no one cares what your martial spirit is, they only care whether you can withstand it. What we need to do is shut them up."
At two o'clock in the morning, the shrill whistle of an emergency assembly pierced the night sky.
"Everyone, get ready! Thirty kilometers of cross-country running with heavy loads! Destination—Black Wind Pass!"
The recruits wailed in pain, but under the instructors' guns, they had no choice but to get up and run.
Mo Runshu grabbed his bag and casually picked up Yue Mianmian's backpack as well, hanging it directly on his own body. The sixty kilograms of weight pressed down on his thin shoulders, but it couldn't bend his spine.
"What are you doing?" Yue Mianmian frowned.
"Save your energy, we'll need it later." Mo Runshu grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "I'll do this kind of physical work."
However, the real test has only just begun.
When they reached the ten-kilometer mark, the line had stretched out considerably. Suddenly, a loud bang came from ahead. A new recruit had accidentally triggered a leftover soul-guided landmine. Although the explosion wasn't very powerful, the shockwave knocked several recruits to the ground, including Yue Mianmian.
"Enemy attack! Take cover!"
Before the instructor's shout had even finished, a dark figure had already rushed out.
Mo Runshu made no attempt to conceal himself; like a cheetah, he instantly rushed to Yue Mianmian's side. At that moment, two more landmines were triggered, and red laser beams locked onto the fallen Yue Mianmian.
"Don't move!"
Mo Runshu's pupils shrank sharply, and the Goddess of Light's Cross of Eternal Sigh Cross Sword Martial Soul within his body instantly possessed him. However, he did not release his soul skill. Instead, relying solely on his physical reaction, he threw himself on Yue Mianmian, using his back to block the shockwave that was about to explode.
boom!
Smoke and dust rose everywhere.
When the smoke cleared, everyone was shocked to see that Mo Runshu was covered in blood, but still tightly protecting Yue Mianmian in his arms. In his hand, he was actually holding the two landmine fuses that hadn't yet detonated—he had actually used his soul power to forcibly sever the detonation circuit at the critical moment!
"This...how is this possible?" The instructor stared in disbelief. "That's a level four soul-guided landmine, its reaction speed is in the millisecond range!"
Mo Runshu stood up unsteadily, helped Yue Mianmian up, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and coldly said to the astonished recruits and instructors:
"Reporting, Instructor! Recruit Mo Runshu has averted the danger. Requesting permission to continue training!"
At that moment, the entire hall fell silent, then erupted in thunderous applause.
That was their first "appearance" in their military career.
……
####Flashback: Fifteen years ago, the "Ghost" team of the Federal Special Operations Brigade.
Two years into their service, Mo Runshu and Yue Mianmian are no longer the greenhorns they once were.
They rose through the ranks at an astonishing pace, from private to corporal, then to sergeant, and so on... In every battle, they were always at the forefront.
At this moment, they are in the "Valley of Despair" at the edge of the abyss plane.
"Captain, there's a lair of abyssal creatures ahead, at least two that are ten thousand years old!" came a terrified voice from his teammate over the communicator.
"What are you afraid of?" Mo Runshu's voice was frighteningly calm. "I'm the captain, I'll lead the charge. Mianmian, cover me."
"Received." Yue Mianmian's voice rang out in the channel, carrying a hint of determination.
The two did not wait for the main force and charged directly into the enemy ranks.
Mo Runshu had replaced the cross-shaped sword in his hand with a specially crafted soul-guided battle blade, its blade shimmering with golden light. He moved like a golden lightning bolt, weaving through the claws of the abyssal creatures, each strike precisely severing the enemy's vitals.
"Left!" Yue Mianmian set up her sniper rifle from behind, and activated [Prophecy Angel] at full power.
Her eyes turned pure silver, and countless future paths intertwined in her mind.
"Three flying-type Abyssal Beasts will swoop down from the upper left in three seconds. Captain, duck!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Runshu didn't even look and immediately launched a sliding tackle.
Whoosh whoosh!
Three eerie green venomous stingers flew past his scalp and embedded themselves in the rock wall behind him, instantly corroding three large holes.
Thanks!
Mo Runshu roared and activated his second martial soul, the Goddess of the Sun and Moon.
"Ninth Soul Skill, Sun and Moon Shining Together - Cross Judgment!"
A massive cross-shaped beam of light shot into the sky, illuminating the dark canyon as if it were daytime. The two ten-thousand-year-old abyssal beasts didn't even have time to scream before they were instantly vaporized.
The battle ended so quickly that the main force that arrived later didn't even have time to deploy.
When Mo Runshu emerged carrying two enormous abyss beast heads, his military uniform was covered in black blood, but the medals on his chest gleamed brightly.
"Reporting to the brigade commander, the 'Ghost' squad has completed its mission, with no casualties among all members." Mo Runshu gave a standard military salute.
The brigade commander looked at the two excessively young majors in front of him, his eyes filled with shock.
"Two majors, leading a ten-man squad, wiped out an outpost of the Abyss Legion and annihilated two ten-thousand-year-old lords..." the brigade commander muttered to himself, "Are you two monsters?"
Mo Runshu smiled and glanced back at Yue Mianmian: "Reporting to the brigade commander, we just don't want our comrades to bleed."
In that battle, the name "Light and Dark Duo" resounded throughout the Federal Military.
Their promotion speed broke the Federation's historical record.
At seventeen, he became a private.
At the age of eighteen, he became a corporal and was awarded the Silver Star.
Nineteen years old, lieutenant, serving as the leader of a special forces team.
At the age of twenty, he was a major and was promoted ahead of schedule for his outstanding achievements in the Battle of Despair Canyon.
Twenty-two years old, colonel, in charge of the Federation's most elite "Sun and Moon Divine Guard".
……
####Flashback: Ten years ago, at the Federal Supreme Command, the conferment ceremony.
On this day, the sky above Mingdu was obscured by countless airships.
Federal Square was packed with people, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered together.
"In recognition of the outstanding command abilities and fearless fighting spirit demonstrated by Generals Mo Runshu and Yue Mianmian in the 'Abyss Invasion War,' the Federal Parliament unanimously approves the following award:"
The old marshal's voice resounded throughout the entire continent via the soul-guided loudspeaker.
"The Federation's youngest general!"
Under the spotlight, Mo Runshu and Yue Mianmian stood side by side.
Mo Runshu wore a crisp white marshal's uniform, the three stars on his epaulets gleaming brightly in the sunlight. He was only twenty-five years old, yet he had already reached the pinnacle that countless soldiers dreamed of.
Yue Mianmian, dressed in a black general's uniform with three stars on her shoulder insignia, was the first female general in the Federation's history and the only supreme commander with a dark attribute martial soul.
The old marshal personally pinned the medals on them.
"My children," the old marshal looked at them, his eyes filled with pride, "you have made history. From recruits to generals, you have only taken eight years. This is a miracle."
Mo Runshu straightened his back and gave a perfect military salute: "Reporting to the Marshal, this is not a miracle. It was won with the blood of our comrades, the bones of the enemy, and our loyalty to this country!"
The audience erupted in thunderous applause and deafening cheers.
Yue Mianmian turned her head slightly and looked at Mo Runshu beside her.
Eight years ago, they ran through the snow carrying heavy loads and were ridiculed as rich young masters and ladies.
Five years ago, they crawled out of a pile of corpses and were known as the "Light and Dark Duo".
Today, they stand here, becoming the guardians of the Federation.
Mo Runshu seemed to sense her gaze, turned his head, and under the watchful eyes of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, gently grasped Yue Mianmian's white-gloved hand.
"Mianmian," he said into the microphone in a voice only the two of them could hear, "the General is just the beginning. I want the scepter of the Federation to eventually be in our hands. I want this world to be a place where no one will dare to wrong you in the slightest."
Yue Mianmian grasped his hand in return, her eyes glistening with tears, yet she smiled radiantly: "Okay, I'll stay with you."
……
"Later, we actually did it."
In reality, Mo Runshu looked down at Donghai City and spoke in a calm tone, as if he were talking about a trivial matter: "After that old marshal retired, the parliament nominated me to succeed him as the speaker of the federal parliament. At that time, I was only thirty years old."
"Yes," Yue Mianmian said softly, "a thirty-year-old Federal Speaker and a thirty-five-year-old Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The outside world calls us a 'devil couple,' saying that we will do anything for power."
"Let them talk," Mo Runshu sneered. "Without our swift and decisive suppression, the Federation would have long since fallen apart amidst the Abyss invasion and the Soul Beast uprising. Our power was earned step by step, by each and every strike."
He turned to look at Yue Mianmian, his eyes filled with tenderness: "From private to speaker, this road has been difficult. But what I'm most proud of isn't those medals, but that you've always been by my side along the way."
"From that backpack in the snow to that hand at the conferment ceremony," Yue Mianmian leaned on his shoulder, "Mo Runshu, this life has been worthwhile."
"It's not over yet." A golden glint flashed in Mo Runshu's eyes. "Our journey is still long. That little brat Tang Wulin is still watching from below. We need to set an example for him on what it truly means to be—"
"His power was absolute, and he was invincible in the world."
The two exchanged a smile, their figures transforming into two streaks of light, one black and one gold, just like twenty years ago, swooping down with unparalleled domineering aura.
Target: Donghai City, Tang Wulin.