17th Regiment

Staying hidden in the enemy base, Xuan Yueji spied around the area trying to memorize the locations that soldiers were stationed to stay guard at. Anyways, he just needed to kill a few people to calm down the rush in his body at the moment, so he did not plan to stay full undercover mode. He planned to do sneak attacks on the coming men and hide their bodies in remote areas that were hard to discover.

By the time that person in charge of the base found the dead bodies, he would already have disappeared from the base and the empire would not be able to place a charge on anyone. There was only one reason why this was so. In the midst of the night, deep into the base, the center, where so many soldiers stood, how can dozens die with no apparent wounds?

Xuan Yueji was skilled in using weapons to fight, but he stayed true to one quote. "Sharpen yourself and you will have the sharpest blade in the world." He was experienced and advanced in killing people with just his hands and leaving no bruises or wounds on the body, making it seem like a supernatural occurrence.

It was also because of this that Xuan Yueji managed to sneak around the base killing almost all the men there, leaving only a few pitiful ones. At some point, he also reached the main tent where the generals, commanders, and lieutenants were at, but he decided to not attack for it would not be fun if his dead bodies were found too late. The later they found the bodies, the later the reaction and the less emotion there would be in the body movements.

There was a reason why Xuan Yueji received the name "Xuan". Xuan stood for black and he was very black-bellied. His favorite thing to do in the world was to create chaos, despite having a character that demonstrated peace and calmness.

When Xuan Yueji finished coloring the base in red, only a bit of time had passed and the moon was still hidden by the clouds. Since he had lots of time left before having to get back to the capital barracks, he decided to pay a visit to the seventeenth regiment in Yuezhong.

According to myths passed down from generations, the 17th regiment was stationed in Yuezhong in the year of 512 when the Dinqingian War was ongoing causing many hardships on the common lives. However, it was there merely to be supporters of the religious parties that announced that the city was a pure city with no dark energy, so it would be the optimal location for them to help the empire in the war. At first, many people did not believe the parties, but after the war ended, all the priests that participated in the war were praised for their valor.

Eventually, the story began to disappear for no apparent reason despite historical records and now no one knew the actual truth of the event or why the city actually had troops there. For now, Yuezhong has become a famous city with the occurrence of five famous priests living there in harmony, maintaining the purity of the city. Though, no one actually knew what they looked like, where they lived, or what they actually did to maintain the clean air of the city.

Though the spiritual sense of the city intrigued Xuan Yueji, he was more into learning about the troops that were stationed there with nothing to do. Yuezhong has long since become peaceful compared to the past centuries, so it was weird that there was still a regiment based in the city. At the same time, he was curious to see how their fighting abilities were like considering the mass number of soldiers in the garrison.

Xuan Yueji did not have to worry about being treated as a stranger from the barracks because he had a special pass that gave him special privileges and with the way he dressed, it was not hard for the soldiers to know who was passing through the gates. Though he had to wait for three days before finally getting his name enlisted, it was because Chen Shi wanted to spread the news about him to all the regiments. Of course, despite the wait and patience, not every single regiment received news of him, so the pass was the other thing that gave proof of his special identity.

As he sped through the dark night with his silver mask on, he reached the gates of the 17th regiment. Instead of calling out in a loud voice or knocking on the giant door, Xuan Yueji opted for kicking down the door. Why would he do something so disastrous and blunt like that?

Nobody knew why, but it was most likely because he was in the mood to kick something. Xuan Yueji just spent a night having a killing spree, but he still could not get the excitement out of him. Maybe this was why he decided to behave so atrociously instead of like a gentleman who had backing from a powerful figure.

With his loud appearance, it shocked the regiment and all the troops readied themselves for battle. When Xuan Yueji saw the quick reactions of the men in the barracks, he nodded in appreciation. Even while he was beautifully dodging all the arrows being shot from about a hundred men, he still laughed upon seeing the skills of the trained men.

Loudly, but calmly and gracefully, Xuan Yueji announced, "My name is Xuan Yueji. I have come to merely test your skills as a soldier."

He then leaped up to the walls where the archers were and showed his green pass to the soldier while saying, "Though the news is slow, surely you guys recognize this?"

Taking a time to pause, all the soldiers looked at what was in Xuan Yueji's hand and nodded. Naturally, who did not know the pass that belonged to General Zheng? Such a famous figure, anybody would know.

"Then, please allow access for me into the barracks. Unless you plan to fight more, of course," Xuan Yueji teasingly joked while standing on the wall on the tips of his toes.

Setting down their swords and bows, all soldiers opened up a way for Xuan Yueji. At the same time, they all thought, "Why did a crazy bastard come in the middle of night to scare them in such a way? Was this a new method of training now?"

Upon entering, Xuan Yueji said in appreciation, "I thought that with the amount of chaos here, your skills would be miniscule. Looks like you guys are not a disappointment."

Hearing his comment, a soldier who was following behind Xuan Yueji said, "Although we do not have a skillful or experienced commander in our unit, we have the priests. They have been essential in training us."

With intrigued curiosity, Xuan Yueji asked, "Oh? When did priests learn how to fight?"

"It is not the normal style of fighting, but a spiritual way. It has increased our stamina, endurace, and strength," a soldier immediately answered with a defending tone though he knew that Xuan Yueji meant no insult when asking the question.

"Hm… Right, why did you guys allow me to come in so easily just now? I really wanted to fight a bit longer," Xuan Yueji remarked.

Instantly, a bunch of soldiers almost puked blood. How could this monster say this? Does he not realize that they would be wasting arrows on him since none of their hundred men were able to shoot him down whether in air or on the ground?

However, none of the soldiers spoke and kept their respectful stance. Zheng Ruogang was supreme general and his pass held lots of power. Not allowing Xuan Yueji to pass despite showing the green token, only soldiers who wanted to die, get punished, or lose their jobs would do that.

Reaching the center of the barracks, Xuan Yueji asked, "Alright. Is there a place I can rest at?"

Normally the regiment did not receive outsiders or visitors so they did not have a regal place set up for guests. However, since Xuan Yueji had Zheng Ruogang's pass that meant that he was probably a soldier, so he should be used to the crude materials of the military. This was how all the soldiers thought so they all pointed towards one tent which was set up for Zheng Ruogang despite the old man never visiting the city.

Though Xuan Yueji was not a person who learned magic on how to read minds, he was born with the gift so he could tell what the soldiers were thinking. In fact, he agreed with them. Soldiers who went to war had to live in the wild for most of the time, so only crude food and materials accompanied them everyday.

This was why many nobles did not want to send their children to the military and would rather train and educate their kids to become a scholar. Being in the military, it was much easier to achieve accomplishments and earn rewards and ranks compared to being an official that could take years before getting promoted. However, the noble families of the world would rather waste their life away for ambitions rather than put them at risk of death or torture.

Xuan Yueji was glad that despite being a new recruit, everyone was welcoming of him. He was aggressive, but perhaps he was edgy so people liked him. Well, this was how he thought and he was right.