Chapter 770.2: Taught By The Same Fellow

The Governor cared little for minor nobles like them who reclaimed land in the wilderness. Merchants from Port Gallon who established factories and workshops had become the nobleman’s new favorites.

Unfortunately, changing his words now appeared too late. The commander laughed loudly and patted him on the shoulder. “... How about this? It’s already getting late. I’ll bring some brothers to stay at your home for the night, so those Moon Clan bandits won’t come and steal your money, grain, or wife.”

The baron immediately panicked. “N-no need, my lord. I’ll simply lock the doors tightly tonight!”

“No need?” The commander narrowed his eyes and inspected him from head to toe. “Could it be that you’re hiding Moon Clan bandits in your home?”

Seeing the military lords place their hands on their waists, the baron’s legs weakened, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.

How pathetic! This man called himself a member of the Tiger Clan? He was even a noble!

The commander stared coldly at the worthless man and waved his hand with a smile that did not reach his eyes. Two soldiers immediately understood. Grinning, they approached from either side and supported the baron, who looked ready to collapse onto the ground.

They understood their leader’s character. If he ate meat, he would certainly leave them a few mouthfuls of soup.

“You two, help him up! We’ll follow the Baron home and offer our greetings to his wife.”

“Yes, boss!”

“Hahaha!”

The two soldiers laughed brightly as they dragged the baron to his feet.

The surrounding nobles remained as silent as cicadas in winter. No one dared speak. They merely watched numbly as the man kicked his legs and wailed like a piglet awaiting slaughter.

When the Moon Clan first attacked, they had hoped the emperor would save them. They had never expected to be stabbed by their side first.

The soldiers felt the same. They possessed not the slightest reverence for titles or imperial authority. Some were already laughing obscenely while wondering what the nobleman’s wife and daughters might taste like.

Almost simultaneously, in the minds of both those wielding the whip and those being whipped, Wutuo Xilande had already died. The general of the Fierce Tiger Army had not declared himself king, but north of Rowell State, and even the entirety of Tiger State, had already become his domain.

...

Meanwhile, north of the nameless valley, a group of people who had escaped with their lives sang joyfully through their tears. They threw themselves beside a stream, scooping up handfuls of water and splashing it across their faces.

They owed their escape to the heavy rain the previous night, which prevented the pursuing troops from even catching sight of their backs.

Of course, even more importantly, they owed it to their great General!

Before Laxi arrived, they had never won a single battle. In one night, they had won two.

Even the veteran leaders of the resistance had to admit that he truly possessed considerable ability. He might lack any grand vision or sophisticated ideology, act arbitrarily and tyrannically, and even utter the outrageous declaration that his words were law, but he was at least highly capable in battle.

Before reaching Mammoth State, there would be no harm in allowing him to lead everyone.

They could replace him later...

However, those veteran leaders failed to notice that the young men they had rescued from farms looked at Laxi as though they were gazing upon the Moon God incarnated in mortal flesh. Their fanatical eyes shone brightly. That included the boy whom Laxi had kicked in the backside during their first meeting, as well as the inexperienced recruit who had fastened his rifle sling tightly around his shoulder.

The members of the resistance had rescued them from the farms, and they were certainly grateful. But in the end, they still had to farm, starve, and endure humiliation. Nothing seemed to have changed.

Moreover, there was no red soil in those remote mountains and forests. After cutting down trees and clearing weeds and shrubs, they became so hungry that they had to gnaw tree bark and eat kaolin their bodies could not digest.

Had they rebelled merely to starve? Of course not!

They had rebelled because the people who extended hands to them had promised that if they joined the uprising, then once success was achieved, each of them would receive land of their own and more grain than they could ever eat!

The Moon Clan elders had also told them that everyone would one day be able to afford a wife, just like free citizens.

At present, only Laxi appeared capable of helping them realize that distant dream. After all, farming could never make that dream come true, even if they farmed until the Wasteland Era ended.

They had to seize any opportunity they could! They had to seize it from the nobles’ farms and estates! They had to seize the most fertile land and overflowing granaries, reclaim the money and grain the Xilande Emperor had taken from them, and recover everything that had always belonged to them, like a raging mountain fire in midsummer!

Looking at the high-spirited young men, Laxi narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

It was the first time he had seen even the faintest shadow of hope in them instead of the pathetic cowardice described in the battle reports.

More than 4,000 people had escaped with him. Roughly half were veterans who had once followed the Order of the White Bear in creating chaos throughout Port Gallon. Most of the remainder were people rescued by the resistance from nearby farms.

They included men, women, and some half-grown children.

Old people were uncommon. Unless an elderly slave possessed some valuable skill, slave owners generally did not feed livestock incapable of working. Many were simply buried in the red soil.

“You did well! But it still wasn’t enough!” Looking at the countless eyes fixed upon him, Laxi raised his voice and roared. “On the battlefield, time is your life! You must move faster than your enemies and strike more ruthlessly than they do. Then you will be the ones who survive!”

“Remember! If you want to crawl out of the pit of corpses, you first need to be ruthless toward yourselves. If you want to live, stop treating yourselves like fucking human beings!”

“Today, I will teach you how to stay alive. In the future, you will teach these skills to your own soldiers! Today, we number only a few thousand. Tomorrow, we will number tens of thousands. One day, there will be countless tens of thousands!”

“Our breakout is not over. We must cross Tiger State, then Horse State, until the Empire’s forces can no longer catch us! Follow me north! Pack your belongings and move out!”

...

“Today, I’m teaching you the skills you need to stay alive. In the future, you’ll teach them to your own soldiers! Keep your eyes wide open and your ears pricked up!”

“Goddamn it, you’re copying the way I talk again!” What the hell? Is ‘the hell’, all you know how to say! I say ‘what the hell’ and then you say ‘what the hell’ too! Is that something you’re allowed to say? Shout, ‘Yes, sir’!”

At Camp Rowell in Port Gallon, irritable roars echoed across the open training ground. A line of young men in military uniforms stood neatly at attention, chests raised and backs so straight they could have been measured with a ruler.

They were reserve officers promoted from the grassroots ranks, the future captains, battalion commanders, and perhaps even regimental commanders of the Port Gallon Militia.

Standing before them was Zero Rush, an instructor from the Burning Corps, the New Alliance’s most elite troops.

The fellow might not have been a particularly respectable person, but he carried out his assigned work properly. The methods he used to train them were basically those employed in the real world.

The officer he had reprimanded did not dare breathe too loudly. Raising his chin, he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Yes, sir!”

“There’s no spirit behind that! I can’t hear you!”

“YES! SIR!”

“Very good!”

The shout had used nearly all the young man’s strength. Zero Rush finally nodded in satisfaction, reached out to pat his shoulder, then gripped it and shook him hard. “Not bad, not bad. You’re very spirited!”

Normally, he was actually a rather civilized and well-mannered person. During training, however, he could not afford to be overly polite.

These people possessed only one life and could not respawn like players. Naturally, he could not teach them as though everything were a joke. When severity was necessary, he had to be harsh.

Moreover, judging from the looks in their eyes, these young men were genuinely grateful to him.

They were not fools. The more hardship and sweat they endured now, the less blood they would shed once they entered the battlefield. Beyond the settlement lay the wasteland. Sooner or later, they would have to rely upon themselves to face certain things.

“Today’s training is over. Everyone worked hard. Go eat and drink whatever you need...”

Returning to the front of the formation, Zero Rush rolled his shoulders and slowly walked past them, casually glancing at the group.

No one moved.

They were completely different from the reckless idiots he had encountered when he first arrived three days earlier. At last, a faint shadow of discipline had appeared in their hearts, making all his shouting worthwhile.

Zero Rush finally nodded in approval and waved his right hand. “Everyone! Dismissed!”

Almost the instant the words left his mouth, the group charged toward the mess hall like a tornado destroying a parking lot. After marching and training for an entire day, they were all starving. They practically wanted to eat rice from buckets.

Looking at the energetic young men, the corner of Zero Rush’s mouth curled into a smile. He then followed them into the mess hall and found his three teammates, who were already seated.

Watching the young men devour their food, Two Moonlight sighed. “I’m not going to lie. I feel like an instructor sent to Africa... Teaching these people is genuinely difficult!”

Mountain River Dreaming laughed. “Haha, what a coincidence! I feel the same way!”

Version Firstborn was reading a newspaper and did not join their conversation. Surprise suddenly appeared in his eyes. “Laxi and a group of retired militia officers joined up with the resistance three days ago. They’re currently breaking through the Fierce Tiger Army’s encirclement and advancing northeast... Holy shit! This guy can really fight!”

He had misjudged the man. He had assumed Laxi was merely an incompetent and cynical hothead. Who would have expected him to genuinely throw away his wine bottle and pick up a weapon when trouble arrived, rather than merely satisfying himself by ranting in newspapers like the city’s intellectuals?

As expected of Ample Time. His judgment of people was exceptionally sharp!