Beyond the Zenith

An Only Witness platoon from the front lines had been wiped out. Every last one. This was the first time this had happened since the Red Shoulder Descent.

Two figures stood on the main stage.

The 453rd regiment commander, Qiu Youchuan, was there to accept the collective First-Class Merit on behalf of Platoon 1123 as its former platoon leader. He stood facing the crowd, tears falling without a sound. Behind him, the aging Legion Commander Chen stood with his back turned, face tilted skyward, his shoulders trembling.

The moving sight had stifled sobs rippling through the crowd.

Han Qingyu wasn’t accustomed to this outpouring of emotion, and even he fought to keep himself in check.

When the legion commander regained his composure, he once again called on Platoon 1123 before finally unrolling the long list of First-Class Merit recipients. He read out their names one by one.

“Here,” the crowd responded as one.

The recruits from the 491st and the 425th were answering on behalf of their instructors.

These recruits remembered their instructor’s faces vividly. After all, they had lived alongside them for a time, sharing laughter and frustration alike. During the battle, their instructors had stepped forward to stand between them and the Sharpies.

Their instructors never came back.

The recruits from the 453rd, on the other hand, were answering on behalf of their predecessors.

Even when Platoon 1123 had been reduced to just six wounded, they had still fought their way to rescue the recruits. They had swung their blades and carved the platoon’s honor into history with every last breath they had. Their response came heavy with grief, but also with pride.

Many more were answering for Coalition soldiers they never even had the chance to know.

Han Qingyu couldn’t hold back either. “Here.”

At last, the first segment of the recruitment briefing assembly came to an end.

It was rare for the legion commander to attend a recruitment briefing assembly in person, so Lu Wuzheng coaxed him into saying a few words to the Eraser recruits who would soon be heading to the front lines.

This was supposed to be an official address. However, when Legion Commander Chen opened his mouth, eyes still rimmed red, he sounded less like a superior officer and more like a grandfather from the countryside seeing his grandchildren off to join the military.

“Little Erasers,” he began slowly. “I’m sorry for making you my soldiers—the Coalition’s soldiers. How’s your training been? Are you all ready?”

The recruits replied that they were.

“That’s good. That’s good.” Chen Bu’e nodded. “Starting today, the maneuvering devices and dead iron straight blades you carry won’t need to be returned to the equipment hall anymore. They, and the serial numbers on them, will go with you now. To the battlefield. Back in my hometown, when you see someone off, you’re supposed to say something auspicious, but how do you even say something like that here?”

The old man didn’t seem to have prepared a speech, and he fell silent in brief thought.

“I’m a village kid,” he eventually continued. “I only had two winters of schooling before I enlisted in the Coalition at seventeen. After that, they held me down and forced me to study. My teacher taught me many subjects. I remember learning this saying—a hero in twilight.

“Back then, I didn’t think much of it. I actually thought it was sad. Looking back now, I realize it’s actually pretty good.

“To have been a hero, yet still live long enough to grow old... that’s a blessing. I hope that all of you will one day know that blessing. Heroes in twilight; blades sheathed; armor laid to rest.”

With that, the old man turned to leave. His steps were neither fast nor slow. For a few paces, he absent-mindedly clasped his hands behind his back as he walked, head lowered. He was the picture of an ordinary old man from the countryside.

Then he stopped, turned back, and squinted at the recruits below. A grin suddenly stretched across his weathered face as he straightened up and snapped to attention. He then marched off with an exaggerated arm swing, like a grandfather putting on a show to make the kids laugh.

Warm smiles broke through the tear-streaked faces across the auditorium.

This was the commander of the Only Witness Legion. The sole recipient of the Starlight Azure Guardian Medal in the Oriental Republic Army Group’s eighty-year history. The man who had once taken a Red Shoulder’s head with his own hands.

This is the Coalition.

***

Only the platoons that had ranked in the top twenty the previous year could appear on stage and introduce themselves during this briefing assembly as part of the mutual selection at recruit graduation.

These platoons were free to recruit across regimental lines and were unquestionably the best choices for the thousands of recruits in the audience. Joining one meant more energy core rewards, better safety, faster growth, and greater glory.

The catch was that each platoon had very few openings. Outside of replacements for casualties, a platoon could only take in fresh blood after it had produced and sent a trained veteran to serve as a front-line platoon leader or deputy elsewhere in the army.

Looked at another way, the recruitment briefing assembly was also something of an award ceremony. Nearly every platoon that took the stage used the army’s projection materials to present its history, honors, combat record, and notable achievements.

Li Wangqiang sat in the crowd, his grief giving way to envy despite himself.

Back in the day, the Red Erasers had taken the stage every year. The 425th Regiment had once carried weight. Their Captain Wang Liuzheng had stood on this very stage, but as a man of few words, all he’d said was, “We are the Red Erasers from the 425th Regiment.”

The auditorium had still erupted in cheers.

Silent Gourd?[1] Mn. A Blood Gourd, on the other hand? Sigh.

Lei Guan, leader of Platoon 869, stepped up to the stage. The projection behind him showed that Platoon 869 had ranked third overall in the army the previous year, had one top-tier fighter, a rescue helicopter, and was stationed in the Yuchuan region of the southwest.

“Over where we are”—Lei Guan coughed—“the girls are really pretty. They honestly are. Join us, and I’ll introduce you. It doesn’t matter if you’re bad with words. We’ll teach you everything.”

Lei Guan did the exact thing he had looked down on Shao Xuan for doing not long ago.

Laughter broke out.

The rugged captain’s gaze swept restlessly through the crowd until he found the person he was looking for.

“Actually, our 869 is better suited for developing new talent than the Color Erasers,” he said pointedly. “Really...”

He went on and on, adding plenty of humor and warmth. Even after he ran over time, he still wouldn’t leave the stage. Army Commander Lu Wuzheng had to go up on stage and drag him off.

Next up were the White Erasers.

The projection displayed their record. They ranked first overall both two and three years ago. Last year, however, they had ranked second. First in support contributions, though.

Surprisingly, the White Eraser on stage didn’t make a recruitment pitch. Instead, he announced the decision to reopen the recruit combat assessment, which would involve recruits taking turns going up against each other in the arena.

The White Erasers were putting up five energy cores. All recruits B-rank and above were invited to participate. Three cores would cover combat consumption during the assessment. The remaining two would go to the final winner as a reward.

Interestingly, the winner wasn’t obligated to choose the White Erasers.

“What if three cores aren’t enough?” asked someone in the audience.

The White Erasers member seemed prepared for this. Smiling, he replied, “We trust that since Platoon Leader Shao Xuan of the Gold Erasers has made an appearance today, he won’t be stingy.”

Shao Xuan stayed silent.

Wen Jifei glanced at Han Qingyu and said flatly, “Your move.”

By now, Han Qingyu had collected the ten energy cores that came as the one-time reward for his Gold Azure Guardian Medal. He held the box of cores tight against his chest. The Gold Medal also earned him three cores per quarter for the next five years, and that was on top of the one core per quarter that the Silver Medal brought in.

After a moment’s thought, Han Qingyu gritted his teeth and said, “Forget it. I’m not participating. There are so many recruits in the army. I can’t take everything for myself.”

1. A “silent gourd” or 闷葫芦 (mèn hú lu) is a person who doesn’t speak much. ☜