Thang Long (Dragon fly) Battlefield and the Solitary Torch

"General, I want to go to the front."

Lam Minh's words weren't loud, but they resonated powerfully in the tense command room.

General Khang and Quynh Nhu stared at him, stunned.

"Absolutely not!" General Khang was the first to object, his voice firm. "I admit you are very strong, Lam Minh. But this is not a battle you can resolve alone. This is a real battlefield, with tens of thousands of enemy troops and three Nascent Soul Realm creatures! Going there is suicide!"

"That's precisely why I must go," Lam Minh replied, his gaze resolute. "You know better than anyone, sir, that against Nascent Soul cultivators, conventional tactics and ordinary soldiers are almost useless. The power gap is too immense. We need super-warriors, individuals who can make a difference."

He looked directly into General Khang's eyes. "I'm not confident I can defeat them. But I am confident that I can hold them off, create chaos in their formation, and create opportunities for our army. I... can be the trump card they never expect."

"But you're still a student! You're only 17!" Quynh Nhu also spoke up, her voice filled with worry. "You're not a soldier! You have no obligation to do this!"

"This is no longer a matter of obligation, Quynh Nhu," Lam Minh said, his voice low. "This is a matter of survival. If Thang Long Fortress falls, then no matter where I hide, I won't be safe. My family, my friends, everyone... will be in danger. Instead of sitting here and waiting, I'd rather go out there, fight, and die like a man."

His words silenced both General Khang and Quynh Nhu. They couldn't refute him. He was right. In the face of annihilation, there was no longer a distinction between soldier and civilian, between adult and child.

General Khang looked at the young man before him. He saw maturity, decisiveness, and an unshakeable iron will. He knew he couldn't stop him.

He sighed, a difficult decision forming in his mind.

"Alright," he said, his voice heavy. "I will make a special exception for you. You will be assigned to the vanguard unit of Blacklight, with the honorary rank of Second Lieutenant. You will have full command of a small squad and are authorized to act independently when necessary."

He placed a hand on Lam Minh's shoulder. "But you must promise me one thing, Lam Minh."

"Sir?"

"Come back alive," General Khang said, his voice hoarse. "At all costs, you must live. You are our hope."

Lam Minh nodded solemnly. "I promise."

He knew that with the Immortality System, "surviving" wasn't the issue. But he also understood the weight in the old general's words.

The decision was made. Lam Minh was immediately put on a supersonic transport plane, flying straight to the Northern Front.

Before he left, he only had time to send three short messages.

To To Quyen: "I have to go away for a while on urgent business. Take care of yourself at home. Everything will be alright."

To Minh Thu: [Airplane emoji] -> [Sun emoji] -> 'Away_on_business. Take_care.'

And to his family: "Mom, Dad, I'm participating in a special military training course. I might not be back for a few weeks. Please take care of yourselves and An An at home. I love you all."

He didn't dare to tell the truth. He didn't want them to worry.

The plane took off. Looking down from above, the city grew smaller and smaller. Lam Minh gripped the Thuan Thien sword in his hand. This time, he didn't disguise it. He carried it with him like a true companion.

He knew this was the most dangerous journey yet. But in his heart, besides the tension, a fire was blazing.

The fire of a warrior.

He looked at his status panel.

[Immortality Points: 78,550/80,000]

"Just a little more. Northern Front, show me your cruelty. Give me enough points so I can truly protect what I cherish."

As the plane entered the airspace of the Northern Front, the atmosphere changed completely. The sky was no longer blue, but a bleak gray of smoke and war. From the distance, he could already hear the echoes of explosions and roars.

He saw Thang Long Fortress standing tall amidst a sea of fire. And he saw the ant-like tide of Madakaros surrounding it.

His heart pounded.

This is it. The real battlefield. The place where I belong.

"Second Lieutenant Lam Minh," the pilot said over the comms. "We are approaching the drop zone. Good luck."

Lam Minh stood up and put on his gear. He looked down at the sea of fire below, his eyes devoid of fear, filled only with coldness and determination.

"Luck?" he murmured. "I don't need luck. I just need... to die and be reborn."

He walked to the aircraft door and took a deep breath.

Then he jumped.

Plunging himself into the heart of hell.

...

Lam Minh stood at the aircraft door, looking down at the sea of fire, his heart pounding. He knew that with his Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, even with the system, facing three Nascent Soul cultivators was still too much. He needed to be stronger.

"Only 1,450 points to go. What should I do?"

He looked around the aircraft cabin. Several special forces soldiers were re-checking their weapons, their faces tense.

A crazy idea suddenly occurred to him.

He walked up to a soldier and said quietly, "Friend, can you do me a favor?"

"What is it, Second Lieutenant?" the soldier asked, surprised.

"Punch me. With all your strength," Lam Minh said, his tone serious.

The soldier was stunned. "Second Lieutenant... are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding. This is a special method I use to 'activate my potential.' Hurry up, we don't have much time," he said, making up an unbelievable excuse.

The soldier was skeptical, but faced with the order and Lam Minh's determined gaze, he had to grit his teeth. "Then... my apologies in advance, Second Lieutenant!"

He gathered his strength and threw a punch at Lam Minh's stomach.

POW!

Lam Minh made no move to defend, deliberately letting the punch sink deep into his gut. He let out a "pained" cry and collapsed to the floor, "blood" trickling from the corner of his mouth.

[Took a surprise attack from an ally. Received 50 Immortality Points.]

"Too little!" he cursed inwardly. "This isn't going to work."

He "staggered" to his feet and looked at the other soldiers. "It's not enough! Everyone, please! Attack me! As hard as you can! This is the only way I can unleash my full power!"

The soldiers looked at each other, utterly bewildered. Had this young second lieutenant gone insane?

But the situation was too urgent, and their orders from high command were to trust him.

"Follow the lieutenant's orders!" the squad leader shouted. "All of you, attack!"

And so, a bizarre scene unfolded on the transport plane. A dozen of the most elite special forces soldiers surrounded their "boss," relentlessly punching and kicking him. Lam Minh just stood there taking the beating, continuously "coughing up blood" and being "severely injured."

[+50 points]

[+70 points]

[+40 points]

...

The points ticked up slowly but surely.

Finally, when the plane was just minutes from the drop zone, a soldier accidentally hit him on the head with the butt of his rifle.

THWACK!

Lam Minh was "knocked unconscious," collapsing to the floor.

[Took a blow to the head. High damage level. Received 300 Immortality Points.]

[IMMORTALITY POINTS REACHED 80,120/80,000!]

[POINTS REQUIREMENT MET! BEGINNING BREAKTHROUGH TO LATE-STAGE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT!]

The moment Lam Minh "fainted," a huge surge of energy erupted inside his body. The ivory-white Primary Core began to vibrate violently as it absorbed all the Immortality Points, continuing to be compressed and tempered.

The soldiers panicked. "Captain! Call the medics! The lieutenant is unconscious!"

But just a few seconds later, they were astonished to see Lam Minh's body suddenly emit a faint glow. The wounds on his body healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

He slowly opened his eyes and shot to his feet. His aura was completely different. Stronger, deeper.

He had successfully broken through. Late-stage Foundation Establishment!

He looked at the petrified soldiers and smiled. "Thank you, everyone. Now, I'm ready."

He walked to the aircraft door without a shred of hesitation.

Then he jumped. Plunging himself into the heart of hell.

Lam Minh descended like an arrow, the air screaming past his ears. Below him was a literal sea of fire and steel.

Thang Long Fortress, a great defensive structure, was trembling under the storm of attacks. Tens of thousands of Qi Refining Madakaros were frantically climbing the walls, disregarding the dense barrage of fire from the defenders.

In the sky, humanity's fighter jets and the Madakaros' flying creatures were locked in dogfights, creating a continuous chain of explosions.

The ground shook from the attacks of giant war machines and Foundation Establishment-level monsters.

This was war. Brutal and unforgiving.

Lam Minh landed in a clear area on top of the wall, where a machine gun nest had just been destroyed. His sudden appearance startled the nearby soldiers.

"Who are you?" a soldier pointed his gun at him.

Lam Minh held up his ID tag. "Second Lieutenant Lam Minh, Blacklight vanguard, here for reinforcements!"

Hearing "Blacklight," the soldiers immediately relaxed, their eyes filling with hope.

"What are my orders?" Lam Minh asked the nearest commander, a captain whose face was covered in soot.

"The situation is dire, Lieutenant!" the captain said urgently. "The main south gate is about to fall! They're concentrating a large number of Foundation Establishment creatures there! We have to hold this position at all costs!"

"Understood," Lam Minh nodded. "Focus your fire on the Qi Refining creatures on the wall. The Foundation Establishment ones below, leave them to me."

With that, without waiting for the captain to react, he rushed to the edge of the wall.

"Lieutenant! It's dangerous!"

Lam Minh didn't listen. He looked down at the base of the wall, where more than twenty Foundation Establishment creatures, both Early and Mid-stage, were combining their efforts to destroy the main gate.

He took a deep breath. The power of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator erupted completely.

He drew the Thuan Thien sword.

Primeval Dragon God Art – Dragon's Fang Slash!

This time, it wasn't just an illusory dragon's fang. A giant, twenty-meter-long stream of jade-green sword qi, carrying the roar of a dragon, descended from the sky, slashing straight into the middle of the Foundation Establishment formation.

BOOM!!!

A terrifying explosion rang out. Earth and rock flew everywhere. When the dust settled, a deep trench had appeared, and at least five Early-stage creatures had been sliced in half.

Lam Minh's "grand entrance" stunned both sides on the battlefield.

"My god! What kind of attack was that?"

"Who was it? Who did that?"

The enemy Foundation Establishment creatures looked up in a panic, only to see a small figure standing on the wall, holding a glowing sword.

"Kill him!"

They roared, simultaneously firing energy orbs at him.

Lam Minh just smiled coldly. He didn't dodge, but leaped straight down from the wall, plunging into the swarm of monsters.

An unbelievable scene unfolded.

Lam Minh, alone with his Thuan Thien sword, fought amidst the encirclement of nearly twenty Foundation Establishment creatures.

His swordsmanship was sometimes as fluid as flowing water, other times as domineering as a thunderstorm. With every swing of his sword, a Foundation Establishment creature fell. He no longer defended, only attacked. The power of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment, combined with an ancient cultivation technique and a divine weapon, turned him into a true killing machine.

He was a solitary torch, yet the brightest in the dark battlefield, igniting a flame of hope for the fighting soldiers.

"Look! Someone is fighting those Foundation Establishment creatures!"

"It's Second Lieutenant Lam Minh! It's the hero!"

The morale of the defenders soared. They roared, fighting with even more fervor.

Lam Minh was like a general from ancient times, single-handedly charging into an army of ten thousand. The blood of the Madakaros stained his entire body red, but his eyes remained cold and determined.

He knew this was just the beginning.

The three biggest threats, the three Nascent Soul creatures, were still observing from a distance.

His real battle was still ahead.