Chapter 97: The Military Exercise Ends?

Purple battle aura surged into the sky from time to time, accompanied by thunderous roars that shook the earth. This was the sight of a duel between two Sword Saints. Most ordinary experts would lose their fighting spirit just by catching a glimpse of such a scene; in their eyes, perhaps even the so-called gods were nothing more than this. But for these two Sword Saints, it was merely a form of exercise.

Of course, the two were not truly fighting, nor could they afford to. They were merely testing and training with one another. Every Sword Saint possessed multiple trump cards, and once unleashed, they would surely be earth-shattering; naturally, those were all being withheld. Their seemingly intense exchange was merely a way to pass the time.

Such battles usually ended without a clear victor. They would never voice who was stronger or weaker, keeping that knowledge to themselves, and the observing experts could see it well enough. Both were commanders of their respective legions, the most prestigious and revered figures in their ranks. If a winner were declared, it would inevitably deal a blow to the morale of the other legion. Since they were all citizens of the Kingdom of Loubole, there was no need to be overly concerned with such trivialities.

There were, of course, exceptions. In the past, there had been instances where sparring Sword Saints grew too heated, turning a mock battle into a real one. But this always led to unpleasantness, and in a fight between Sword Saints, there were very few people capable of breaking them up.

Richard had seen through this. If a victor could not be determined, what would be the outcome? They would tire themselves out, exchange a few words, and head back, or the directing staff would rule that both were severely wounded or even perished together. However, considering General Oude was the commander-in-chief of the Red Army, the directing staff would likely leave him with a breath of life. What Richard intended to do was to take even that last breath away!

The Blue Army’s giant magic staff was quickly set up, and the magic power from a crystal ball was channeled into it, beginning to track the two Sword Saints. Each activation of the crystal ball required burning significant materials, and it was rarely used unless it was a critical moment.

With General Oude’s approximate location known, the crystal ball captured him instantly, displaying the scene of the two fighting amidst the churning purple aura; there was no doubt it was them.

However, the strength of a Sword Saint was extraordinary, and they could sense when they were being probed by the crystal ball. General Oude immediately accelerated, moving with the speed of lightning. Fiora followed suit instantly; one in the air and one on the ground, they competed in unleashing their battle aura without reservation.

"Sir, they are moving too fast; our staff might not be able to track them!" the commander of the giant staff reported hurriedly.

"Do you not know how to calculate for lead time?" Richard snorted coldly. A white light flashed as he teleported directly in front of the giant staff. He picked up his smaller wand and tapped it lightly, using it to control the movement of the giant staff.

"Center on me, and have the other staffs spread out in a blossom pattern!" Richard’s expression was calm as he glanced sideways at the crystal ball beside him.

The giant staffs nearby adjusted their positions nervously, magic runes dancing rapidly in the air as Richard personally began the countdown: "Three—two—one, fire!"

General Oude suddenly felt the water elements in his surroundings gathering frantically. Realizing the danger, he tried to change his charge, but he only felt the water elements growing more concentrated. It was the "Thousand-Mile Frost!" Behind him, Fiora stopped her pursuit, calmly accepting the fate of being frozen to death. General Oude, refusing to believe it, pushed forward, forcefully running out of the frost zone before pulling his reins to a halt.

Ahead, a patch of white light appeared, and several experts from the directing staff teleported in. Among them was the Royal Academy Principal, Anthony. Some clapped, others smiled.

"A Sword Saint duel—truly spectacular!" "It’s a pity, though, that the Blue Army commander didn't intend to let you carry on." "It’s no disgrace; Richard personally operated the giant staff. It’s not easy for an average person to hit you two."

Behind them, Fiora slowly approached and jumped off her Pegasus. "General Oude is still very strong. In terms of the quality of battle aura, he is much better than I am."

"Haha," Oude laughed as he dismounted, "it's about the same."

Anthony stepped forward and patted him. "We planned to teleport over the moment you were hit, but we found you kept running, so we had to wait for you to stop before we could come over to take a look. Hahaha!"

General Oude felt slightly embarrassed. Not dying after being hit was a bit of a "cheat," but he was senior enough and held a high enough rank that everyone just teased him a little. With the power of a Forbidden Spell, he wouldn't have been able to outrun it anyway. A single giant staff was basically equivalent to the spellcasting of a Grand Magus, or even stronger in terms of raw power. Ten giant staffs firing simultaneously were equal to ten Grand Magi acting at once; even a Sword Saint would find it difficult to resist.

"The Red Army commander is dead," Bright, the Sword Saint and commander of the Flame Knights, stepped out. "Is there a deputy commander?"

"Of course there is," Oude replied, then shook his head. "Actually, I anticipated that once I revealed myself, I likely wouldn't be able to return."

"So you deliberately moved away from your subordinates?" Fiora asked.

"Yes," Oude answered. "In our duel, these subordinates wouldn't be able to help much anyway. It was better to go far away so they wouldn't all get frozen by a Forbidden Spell."

"Enough, don't chat here," Anthony waved his hand. "Let's head back to the directing staff; the intelligence will be more comprehensive there."

Everyone agreed. Anthony waved his staff, and a white teleportation array lit up beneath their feet. In an instant, they were gathered within the directing staff's headquarters. Guards immediately brought out two plates of fragrant roasted meat, and Anthony smiled, inviting them, "Both generals have worked hard; come and have some roasted meat first."

The two generals didn't stand on ceremony, clearly familiar with such procedures. Oude only teased, "Is this supposed to be 'treating the prisoners well,' or—oh no—'treating the dead well'?"

"This is a 'lavish funeral,'" Anthony joked, and everyone laughed.

The treatment for a fallen general was, of course, different from that of an ordinary soldier. The generals were brought directly back to the directing staff to watch the remainder of the battle, even if it involved eating roasted meat.

Meanwhile, the Blue Army that had come for a night raid and the Red Army that had been waiting to ambush them were still engaged in battle. Although the two Sword Saints had appeared, they had left after only a moment. The earth-shattering tremors that occurred from time to time left everyone distracted, all eager to know who had come out on top.

But then, everything went silent again, leaving everyone suspicious. Regardless, the enemy was still before them, and the fighting had to continue.

Suddenly, someone in the Blue Army shouted, "Your commander is dead! General Oude has been finished off by us, stop fighting for nothing!"

This news had been relayed by the Blue Army headquarters via parrot. Richard had personally operated the giant staff to take out the two Sword Saints, and the news had immediately reached the front lines. But as soon as these words were uttered, the scene fell deathly silent. Hearing no movement from the other side, the Red Army couldn't determine if it were true or false.

Kevin didn't care about that; he immediately adjusted his catapult, pulled a lever, and launched a slipper at the person who had shouted the loudest.

A raven snatched the slipper from behind him, and the man, caught completely unaware, was struck squarely on his rear. The force of the catapult was so powerful that even though it was just a slipper, the man was sent crashing down into the dirt.

"Oh! You're dead!" There were still members of the Second Battalion of the Thunder Knights present; they had been recalled from the tunnels the night before to bolster defenses, and they were very familiar with this slipper. They immediately shouted in unison.

The man stood up, rubbing his backside, kicked the slipper away, and cursed, "Is this for real? That hurt like hell!"

"A slipper is already a very fake way to go," everyone stopped fighting—after all, they had been at it since the night before and were quite tired, so they were happy to engage in some verbal sparring now. "This is our legion's heavy equipment, the Raven-guided catapult. You were hit in the butt; if this were real combat, your rear would be mangled, and you wouldn't be alive."

"Exactly, your leader is dead, why aren't you running?" Sain was also among them. As a junior officer in the Second Battalion of the Thunder Knights, although his strength was currently weaker than the veterans, he had been protected by others and had survived until now.

"What do you mean?" the other side retorted. "We received news that your commander is dead too!"

"Huh? Really?" The Red Army soldiers looked at each other in confusion. Many looked up to ask the parrots, but the parrots were rushing about trying to confirm the news and wouldn't be back for a while.

"Why would we lie to you? Would this be something we could bluff about?" the Blue Army soldiers replied. "You'll know in a moment."

In the distance, Kevin saw them arguing but didn't care. Seeing no one coming to attack him, he immediately fired the catapult again, launching another slipper.

*Swish!* *Thwack!* "Ouch!" Another person took a hit to the rear and tumbled to the ground.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The Blue Army soldiers turned and shouted toward him, "Stop fighting, let's see what's going on first!" "Your commander is dead, the exercise is over." "Exactly, stop throwing. Do you have that many slippers?"...

Kevin ignored them and launched another slipper. This time, everyone saw it clearly. Someone immediately tried to dodge, but the raven in the air made a sharp turn, and the slipper still flew straight toward him. The man hurriedly raised his shield to block, and the slipper struck the shield with a *clang*.

"Brother, your shield can't stop it either; you're dead too," someone from the Red Army hurriedly jumped out.

"That's not the issue anymore," the Blue Army soldier said, feeling conflicted. "Tell your brother to stop throwing."

"If you want to tell him, go yourself; we can't move him," the Red Army soldier replied, spreading his hands. It was true—Kevin belonged to an independent department, and in terms of rank, only a staff officer or deputy commander could move him.

"I'll go then!" A man from the Blue Army immediately stepped out and trotted toward Kevin.

Kevin immediately drew his bow and fired. The man hurriedly dodged to the left. Kevin fired again, and the man dodged again, shouting, "Big brother, stop shooting!"

Kevin ignored him and kept shooting. The man kept shouting while approaching, dodging the arrows constantly, until within fifty meters, dodging became increasingly difficult. He was finally struck by several arrows and, eventually, too lazy to dodge, he walked all the way to Kevin with several arrows sticking out of him.

"Big brother, can you not be so serious?" the Blue Army brother said, speechless.

"What's your status?" Kevin asked.

"That doesn't matter anymore," the Blue Army brother shook his head. "The exercise is ending."

"Who told you the exercise is ending?" Kevin replied while adjusting the catapult and loading another slipper.

"Hey, hey, really, stop throwing." The Blue Army brother simply hugged Kevin from behind.

"That's enough, you're already dead," Kevin frowned and struggled, only to find the other man had more strength.

"It's really enough, it's really over," the Blue Army brother continued to persuade him.

Kevin couldn't help but roar, "Who told you it's over? I haven't received any orders that the exercise is over! At this stage, the directing staff's parrots and teleportation are very fast—who told you it's over? Even if the commander is dead, does the exercise end just because the commander dies? Our headquarters and base are still here! There's still a deputy commander! The directing staff hasn't said a word, and you few are saying the exercise is over? Are you stupid?"

The Blue Army brother: "..."

Taking advantage of the man's distraction, Kevin leaned forward, kicked the lever, and the catapult fired again. The raven carried the slipper, which flew over and knocked out another Blue Army soldier.

Suddenly, the Red Army parrot flew back: "There's no one over there. It's hard to determine if they are dead or alive."

The Blue Army parrot suddenly screeched: "The exercise is not over, keep fighting!"

The Red Army parrot also immediately yelled: "The deputy commander has taken over, the exercise is not over!"

The soldiers on both sides finally woke up as if from a dream. In the end, it was just a misunderstanding caused by the information transmission in the middle. At the same time, these low-level soldiers weren't very familiar with the military exercise, and another important reason was... everyone was tired. After fighting for an entire night until now, everyone was actually hoping for an excuse so they could sit down. When they heard the news that the exercise was over, many chose to believe it, to the point that because so many believed it, everyone thought it was true.

Kevin pushed away the Blue Army brother who was hugging him. "Big brother, you can go eat your roasted meat now."

The Blue Army brother: "..."

"Wait, wait, wait!" A shout suddenly came from the front. The leader who had been knocked out suddenly spoke up: "Let's do this, everyone is tired. It's not appropriate to die of exhaustion over a military exercise. I propose we let the directing staff make the judgment, alright?"

This suggestion was met with approval from many. However, Kevin was far away and didn't hear it. He was about to launch another slipper when someone suddenly jumped out of the bushes nearby and grabbed Kevin's hand. Kevin was startled, but when he focused, he saw it was Little Spoon.

"What's wrong?" Kevin asked in surprise, his hand held by the other, apparently to stop him from launching the slipper.

Little Spoon just shook his head and didn't speak.

Kevin was bewildered: "Are you... from the third party? The relevant departments?"

Little Spoon: "..."

"Why aren't you speaking?" Kevin asked, feeling strange.

Little Spoon: "..."

Kevin was very puzzled. He looked left and right, but no one else appeared. He peered into the distance and saw many parrots flying down and circling around. He suddenly realized: "Oh? Could it be that they are letting the directing staff make a judgment? So you aren't letting me take action?"

Little Spoon nodded.

"Why aren't you speaking?" Kevin asked again.

Little Spoon: "..."

"Fine, don't worry, I won't use the catapult," Kevin stated. "Let go of me first."

Little Spoon nodded and immediately flew away. Kevin and the Blue Army brother who hadn't gone far were left, both looking at each other in confusion.

Since he wasn't allowed to use the catapult, Kevin decided to go over and see for himself. Both sides were sitting and resting, waiting for the directing staff's judgment. Seeing Kevin approach, they all turned to look, their eyes filled with unreadable expressions. Kevin greeted everyone with a smile.

"The directing staff announces that both sides have perished together!" the yellow-ribboned parrot concluded a moment later.

"Let's go, let's go, eat roasted meat." The morale of both sides actually increased; it was truly a relief.

"What about me?" Kevin asked hurriedly.

"Your catapult was in the distance, it doesn't count," the yellow-ribboned parrot explained.

"Oh, so I'm still alive?" Kevin nodded, hurriedly walked over, and stopped a Blue Army lieutenant colonel. "Then, this officer, please stay a moment."

"What for?" The Blue Army lieutenant colonel was clearly impatient.

"I noticed that you seem to have a spatial ring on your hand?" Kevin smiled.

The Blue Army lieutenant colonel's expression changed immediately: "What for? This is mine!"

"Military exercises are strict and based on real combat," Kevin said. "In real combat, one can naturally seize the enemy's spoils of war. I think..."

"That's not allowed!" The Blue Army lieutenant colonel interrupted him, covering his finger as if someone were about to rob him.

"I will return it in full once the exercise is over," Kevin guaranteed.

"That's absolutely out of the question!" The Blue Army lieutenant colonel continued to shake his head. "This... and this kind of thing? Can military exercises even be like this?"

Seeing the other party's firm refusal, Kevin couldn't help but change his tone: "Could it be that the officer's ring contains some... indescribable things?"

The Blue Army lieutenant colonel looked embarrassed and remained silent. The Red Army soldiers nearby saw that there was a good show to watch and couldn't help but jeer. (To be continued.)