Fang Ping and Qin Fengqing had happily killed three Rank-4 martial artists one after the other.
However, that did not mean that everyone was able to do so.
When Fang Ping finished collecting the loot, he turned his head—only to see an instructor in the midst of battle being stabbed through the heart by a sword-wielding Catacombs martial artist!
Fang Ping froze for a moment...
He truly was stunned!
He had thought that MCMAU instructors would have been able to kill these people easily. Not only that, he had expected that the MCMAU instructors would have been able to massacre their adversaries after they had ambushed the camp.
Qin Fengqing had said the casual martial artists in the Catacombs were very weak.
Although Fang Ping was not particularly affected by this particular pronouncement, when Qin Fengqing had managed to kill a Rank-4 in one move earlier, Fang Ping had assumed all MCMAU instructors could do it too...
However, fantasies were just that—fantasies.
When he saw an instructor being killed on the spot, Fang Ping was almost unable to snap out of his state of shock.
He had forgotten that every large battle would lead to countless casualties.
MCMAU instructors were not invincible. Plenty of them had been killed in action before. Just days ago, he had, with his own eyes, seen a few instructors’ corpses being buried deep within MCMAU.
Bai Ruoxi, the instructor whom he knew, had also been heavily injured and near death. She had had no choice but to quit her teaching career.
Fang Ping might have been stunned, but Qin Fengqing was not. He gulped down a pill and flew toward the battlefield, blocking the MCMAU instructor’s killer with difficulty!
Fang Ping immediately snapped out of his trance and was just about to jump in to help Qin Fangqing when an instructor shouted, “Fang Ping, go help the students at the periphery!”
Fang Ping jerked his head around. In just that short period of time after killing their Rank-4 adversary, the students there had already been surrounded by numerous martial artists and were having a hard time holding them off.
Fang Ping gritted his teeth and dashed to the periphery!
No matter how weak casual martial artists were, it was possible to go one against two if both parties were of equal rank—but hundreds of people surrounding 20 people in a concerted attack were extremely dangerous.
...
Fang Ping joined the battle!
He never regarded himself as invincible when faced with opponents of equal rank!
Fang Ping’s changdao was no longer entirely blood-red; only a blood-red sheen remained on the blade itself. With a sideways slash, he dispatched a Rank-3 martial artist at the periphery on the spot!
“Come kill me then!” Fang Ping roared, drawing all eyes to him.
A split second later, he charged into the Rank-3 circle of battle, decimating several of his enemies in one go!
As an Upper-stage Rank-3 martial artist, Fang Ping had honed the majority of his bones; not only that, he had a superior weapon and he had no need to worry about his Vitality. Such Upper-stage Rank-3 martial artists were among a small select group of incredibly powerful individuals in human society.
This area was just one of the Catacombs’ cities; a group of casual Rank-3 martial artists was certainly no match for Fang Ping.
In the blink of an eye, Fang Ping had killed another seven or eight people!
However, he was still surrounded by too many foes; he could not take advantage of the benefits his speed gave him. A few of his enemies’ attacks hit home, reopening some of the old bodily wounds he had suffered.
“All of you give me a hand and attack!” Fang Ping shouted furiously. He suddenly stopped going for the kill, sweeping his changdao in a wide sideways arc instead, slashing indiscriminately!
“I’m going to execute my big move; whoever’s not dead, surround them and finish them off!”
The students watched in awe!
Practically the entire MCMAU student body knew about Fang Ping.
They had also heard that Fang Ping pulled off big moves as casually as if he were eating or drinking.
However, right now quite a few of them were seeing this for the first time with their own eyes!
Fang Ping was like a ferocious, tireless tiger. Changdao radiating fierce blood-red light, he inflicted a whirlwind of slaughter as he dashed into the fray, before swiftly retreating to the circle of students at the periphery.
“Stop attacking; I’ve thought of a good plan. I’ll keep executing my big move, but let me catch my breath first. Help me hold off the enemy for a moment!
Fang Ping’s Vitality might be limitless, but he was not immune to fatigue.
After his killing spree, he was already feeling slightly exhausted.
As soon as he had finished speaking, he dove into the fray again!
Several dozen slashes later, Fang Ping retreated to the students’ battle circle, panting hard.
The students needed no further urging and immediately formed a circle around him, fending off attacks from the martial artists on the periphery!
Fang Ping rested briefly before leaping into the air and unleashing a flurry of slashes!
The martial artists below Upper-stage Rank-3 were practically wiped out in a single move.
The ones Upper-stage Rank-3 and above could not be killed with one blow. Fang Ping did not bother with them however and retreated to rest before once more commencing his attacks.
The next few rounds, however, quite a few attacks from the Upper-stage Rank-3 and Peak martial artists found their mark. Fang Ping’s clothes had long since turned scarlet.
‘How much blood have I lost...’
Fang Ping felt a little woozy. He used his Wealth points to replenish his Vitality, but strength of Vitality did not equal to replacing blood.
The loss of blood had exhausted Fang Ping greatly.
“How long more to kill all of them?”
The Catacomb martial artists seemed to be endless!
When Fang Ping perceived the number of enemies outside the circle gradually decreasing, he heaved a light sigh of relief. Just then, he suddenly heard one of the instructors in the distance shouting furiously.
“Evacuate!”
Fang Ping had no time to think too much. Just as he was about to retreat, he suddenly thought of something and hastily felt about on the ground.
He did not care if the corpses were Early-stage or Peak Rank-3; he hurriedly felt over seven or eight bodies.
The instructors inside were currently putting up a fight as they retreated.
An instructor noticed that Fang Ping was still searching the corpses and yelled angrily, “Fang Ping, retreat!”
Fang Ping turned his head and saw many Catacombs martial artists racing toward him in pursuit. With a shudder, he took off at a speed that left several of the instructors agape.
...
Everyone ran helter-skelter for more than 20 li before an instructor bringing up the rear called out hoarsely, “Rest for a while!”
The moment they heard this, quite a few people collapsed onto the ground.
The instructor-in-charge circled around on patrol, surveying the horizon in silence.
The thought had not occurred to Fang Ping previously but now he asked, “Instructor, what about our injured and our dead? As well as their...their corpses...”
“In battle, people always die,” the instructor-in-charge said measuredly and paused before continuing, “Four instructors and two students died in battle. However...we killed over 200 people and wiped out almost all the Rank-1 and 2 martial artists. We’ve decimated the majority of their Rank-3s and at least half their Rank-4 and 5 martial artists are either dead or wounded.
“We’ve rendered that team useless now!”
With just 6 casualties and so many enemies killed, this could be considered a substantial victory.
If not for the fact that everyone’s Vitality was depleted, they might have been able to annihilate the entire team.
If a group of elite human martial artists could not even kill the casual martial artists in a single Catacombs city, mankind would have become extinct long ago.
Even so, Fang Ping did not feel very happy.
Before, when he had been culling the evil sect martial artists, the ones who died in the line of duty were all people from other schools, so he was not overly affected by their deaths.
Right now, however, a few of the instructors and students who had been chatting leisurely along the way just a little while ago had suddenly perished in battle before his very eyes. Fang Ping did not know if he was confused or sorrowful.
Qin Fengqing was currently bleeding copiously. He sighed as he bandaged his wounds, “Getting killed in action in the Catacombs is nothing. Who can avoid death?
“If you can take a few more foes down before you die, you’ll have hit the jackpot!
“If none of us make an effort to kill our enemies, we might as well be sitting ducks!
“At least they didn’t make us come down here to fight when we were Rank-1 and Rank-2. Over in the Military Department, many Rank-1 and 2 martial artists were killed in action, including ordinary soldiers.
“At any rate, it’s good that we can kill a few enemies to even up the score...
“As for the bodies of our instructors and students...since they died in the Catacombs, it’s fitting that they’re buried in the Catacombs too.
“I hope that if I die one day, I’ll be buried in Sky Gate City!
“No, I hope I’ll be buried deep within the Catacombs!”
Qin Fengqing cracked a smile and laughed a little, muttering, “If someone can kill their way into the deeper parts of the Catacombs, they’re proper warriors!”
The instructors did not say anything but stared into the distance.
At the moment everyone’s Vitality was exhausted. Going back and fighting to retrieve corpses was not encouraged in the Catacombs. Even if one died, one should take out a few more Catacombs martial artists before one expired.
“We’ll go look after the battle’s over...” the instructor-in-charge said quietly before continuing, “Since we’ve crippled this Catacombs team, our mission is complete, but we haven’t gotten much in the way of rewards. There was no time to collect anything. Right now there is a severe shortage of resources. When we go back, the Military Department will be giving everyone a few pills at most as compensation...nobody is allowed to complain!”
The instructor-in-charge added somberly, “Our mission this round is considered easy. The truth is the Military Department has been looking out for us all this while!
“This is because many people feel that martial arts university students are elites and might become Grandmasters!
“That’s why the Military Department’s martial artists scrimp and save, making sacrifices to supply us with a large number of resources!
“Every year, the number of martial artists from the Military Department who are killed in action is more than 10 times the number of martial arts university students who die in the same manner!
“Many ordinary soldiers sacrifice their lives as well!
“Therefore, even if the Military Department doesn’t give us much, we are not allowed to complain about anything. Fighting in the Catacombs is our responsibility!
“As for everyone’s recovery of wounds and depletion of Vitality, MCMAU will have a batch of pills ready when we get back. All of you must collect them yourselves!”
Everybody nodded. Fang Ping felt a little awkward and briefly ran his hand over his bulging military pack. Everyone else had channeled all their efforts into fighting and did not have time to collect any loot.
He, however, had managed to seize quite a few things...
The instructor-in-charge seemed to have noticed Fang Ping’s movements and said indifferently, “Keep it for yourself. In battle, whatever you collect is naturally yours. However, you’re not allowed to loot other people’s kills. Divide some of the spoils you took later on with the other students.”
At the last minute, Fang Ping had looted seven or eight corpses, some of which were killed by other martial artists.
Although the rest did not have time to collect any spoils, since Fang Ping had managed to do so, he had to share some too.
Hearing this, Fang Ping immediately brought out a few things from his bag and passed them to the other students.
Someone shook their head and said, “Forget it. You take them. If not for you, half of us would’ve died this time.”
“No no, everybody please take some. Recovery is important too. There’s not much actually. They were all poor beggars.”
Everyone laughed at that, and each of them took their rightful share of the spoils.
“Alright. Back to the city!” the instructor-in-charge called. Everybody stood up and headed for Hope City.
...
The sky had just turned light when they reached Hope City.
Quite a few martial artists had returned and were outside the city.
Some were carrying the wounded on their backs, and some were carrying corpses. All of them were very somber.
Seeing this, the instructor-in-charge sighed and said in a low voice, “This time, two cities are closing in around us. We have to decimate a good number of martial artists in a lightning strike, delivering a blow to their morale and weakening their strength!
“Even if we sacrifice a little more, we must still fight!”
Fang Ping asked dully, “Must we rely on martial artists fighting head-on? In so many years, hasn’t the Military Department researched anything regarding weapons with high lethality?”
“They have, but it’s a pity we lack energy ore,” the instructor-in-charge answered. “If we use energy weapons to kill martial artists, the cost might be much higher. The energy weapons now are too crude. To kill a Rank-3 martial artist might require 10 grams of cultivation-aiding energy stones!
“Conversely you’d have to kill many Rank-3 martial artists before you could obtain 10 grams of cultivation-aiding energy ore.
“Think about it. Would the Military Department dare to use it?
“They’d be better off producing more pills and weapons for everyone to cultivate with. If you go from Rank-3 to Rank-4, it’s much easier to kill a Rank-3.”
Ultimately, it all came down to this—it was not cost-effective.
There was not enough energy ore either.
Fang Ping sighed and did not say anything else.
Here, he had to get used to death.
Lu Fengrou had told them very early on not to cry or be sad over a martial artist’s death. If they were capable, they should kill a few more Catacombs martial artists to take revenge on their fallen comrades’ behalf. If they were not, then they just had to endure and suppress their emotions for the time being.
...
Everyone went back to the meeting room again.
Tang Feng had just returned as well, still bloodstained from battle.
He swept the room with a glance and asked, exhaustion evident in his voice, “Have you brought them back?”
“No. Circumstances didn’t permit it.”
Tang Feng fell silent for a while. “Then we’ll look for them after we’ve forced our enemies to retreat. Also...the Military Department has permitted us to send our Rank-2 martial artists back. Fang Ping, you can go back too.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You can go back now.”
“Instructor, I...”
“Go back,” Tang Feng repeated wearily, “You’re all newbies. It’s your first time entering the Catacombs. This will do.”
Fang Ping furrowed his brows. On the other hand, Qin Fengqing remarked offhandedly, “I don’t want to slander the Military Department, but at this point, why are they allowing the Rank-2s to leave? Are we really not able to hold out any longer?”
“Hold your tongue!”
Tang Feng scolded. After some consideration, he said, “The Vice-chancellor has decided to enter the Catacombs. Three MCMAU Grandmasters have already entered, but Old Liu went to Nanjiang, so we had to leave someone strong for MCMAU.”
“The Vice-chancellor is entering the Catacombs!”
A ripple of astonishment went through the group of instructors. Someone could not resist saying, “The vice-chancellor...didn’t he say...”
“The vice-chancellor said there’s no difference between going to Nanjiang or coming to Magic City. This time the situation is desperate, so he’s not going to wait, it’s all the same to him.
“Alright, that’s enough. Those who should go back, go now.
“That including Qin Fengqing and the rest of you. Once you’ve stopped the first wave of attack, you all need to go back too.”
Qin Fengqing pursed his lips and said, “I’m not going back. If I go back, where would I get the resources? Here, how much I kill is how much I get.”
Tang Feng glared at him and ordered angrily, “Stop talking nonsense. All students, leave now!”
The students could only exchange glances and leave one by one.
The moment they left the room, the instructor-in-charge from earlier knitted his brows and said, “Even the Vice-chancellor is coming. Is the situation really that bad?”
“Yes. There’s already been a battle among the higher ranks last night. 14 high-ranking martial artists from Sky Gate City decided to come out from their lair!
“This time, Vice-chancellor has decided to kill Tiger Battalion’s marshal!
“The three marshals of Tiger Battalion, Leopard Battalion, and Wolf Battalion respectively are all Rank-8 fighters. If the Vice-chancellor can kill Tiger Battalion’s marshal as well as a few Rank-7s under him, Sky Gate City will retreat without attacking!”
“Then the lord of Sky Gate City...”
“Old Fan will hold him off, but a Rank-9 is hard to kill. Old Fan can only keep him occupied.
“Once the guardians from the south arrive at East Sunflower City, they’ll mount a defense against the enemy. This time a few of the old Grandmasters have decided to kill a few Rank-7 and -8 martial artists!
“Another two Rank-9s are on the way here to prevent any interference from the nether regions of the Catacombs!
“This time, the Vice-chancellor and the others mean to at least cripple two of the Catacombs cities in Magic City. In a fight between equal ranks, the Catacombs’ powerhouses in the interior normally won’t interfere.”
Quite a few of the instructors clenched their fists tightly!
“We’re too weak; we can only kill those of the same rank. If not for that, those are merely two cities!” someone growled quietly.
Tang Feng fell silent yet again for some time before he commented, “It’s no use talking about those things right now. This time, the Vice-chancellor...Vice-chancellor Wu wants to enter a Rank-8 battle. What the Military Department wants is for our students to go back when the crucial time comes. Those of you who are below 50 years old are to go back as well.”
“I’m not going back!”
“Stop spouting nonsense!” Tang Feng ordered, furrowing his brows, “Whether you all go back or not is not up to you. We’ve lost many MCMAU instructors at this point. We’ve enrolled more new students this year too. Are you all just going to let them learn and teach themselves?
“All right, that’s all. I still have some matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first. Make sure you send off that batch of new students.”
“If they’re not willing...”
“They’re a bunch of Rank-1, 2 and 3 spring chickens. What use would they be even if they were here? If it was a small-scale battle, I’d be the first to bar them from leaving, but this time, we’re facing a battle of the higher ranks. It’s pointless for them to stay.”
Nobody said anymore. Tang Feng did not linger either and hurried off.