Shackles of Humanity

The Nanzhao Kingdom’s military industry was much stronger than the Xingma Kingdom’s. The front lines consisted of heavy machine gun posts built from trenches and sandbags. Behind those were mortar squads, and further back, heavy artillery units. With such dense, layered defenses, it was nearly impossible for Ironwood Castle to stage a large-scale breakout.

As they walked, Gao Gang sketched on a sheet of stiff paper. Luo Kai leaned in for a look and saw that he was actually hand-drawing a military map. Simple lines clearly outlined the layout of every sentry post and military force they had passed. ’In my past life, this guy would have definitely been an artist!’

Around midnight, the small squad arrived at a narrow valley. Lying in the grass, they peered inside. Numerous concrete guard towers stood on the valley’s outer edge, along with a number of light wheeled combat vehicles. The tents within the valley were brightly lit; it was an officers’ command post.

Black Bear rubbed his stubble, a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. He said in a low voice, ”Boss, wanna hit ’em?”

”No.”

Gao Gang shook his head and pointed to the sky. ”There are big-eared bats.”

Luo Kai looked up at the sky. Several dark shapes were circling above the valley—a number of strange-looking, large-eared bats. The bats were about the size of rats, but their ears were astonishingly large, nearly half the size of their bodies.

”What are these bats for?”

Gao Gang looked around, then waved them over, leading the men into a hollow in the mountainside.

Luo Kai thought something was wrong, but then he saw Gao Gang pull a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and hand one to each of them. Turns out the boss’s nicotine craving had just kicked in. Following suit, Luo Kai lit his up, and the group started blowing clouds of smoke.

Gao Gang took a few deep drags from his cigarette. ”These bats can actively emit sound waves to survey their surroundings,” he said. ”They’re natural sentinels. If we get any closer, we’ll definitely be discovered.”

He went on to explain in detail, ”They say the Xingma Kingdom’s Military Punishment Department has a type of Stealth Garb with the miraculous ability to conceal a person’s presence. The people from the Military Punishment Department are already experts at assassination, and with this equipment, they’re even more formidable.

”The Nanzhao Kingdom suffered heavy losses because of this, so they purchased a batch of large-eared bats from the Dongyuan Upper Country’s Genetic Research Institute. Hounds and humans like us need to rely on the scent or movement a target gives off to perceive them. But these bats can use sonar for active detection, which is far superior to passive detection. Not even a Stealth Garb can hide you from it.”

It dawned on Luo Kai. ’Isn’t that just radar?’ he thought. Then he remembered the young female soldier named Yue Han. ’So that was a Stealth Garb she had been wearing.’

”Boss, what should we do then? Have Old Gu take out all these bats?”

”No. These bats have extremely fast reactions and high Sensing Power. A bullet might not even hit one. We’re just here to scout. There’s no need to start a fight. We’ll rest a bit and then climb over the mountain.”

The mountain wasn’t high, but it was extremely steep—mostly sheer rock faces that looked as if they’d been carved by a knife, making it very hard to climb. Ah Shan went first to clear the way. The man was built like a gibbon, a natural-born climber. He used a sharp knife to dig small handholds into the rock face and slowly ascended.

They soon made it past the steep cliff face, only to be met by a jagged slope of loose scree that was no less difficult to climb.

Luo Kai, still bringing up the rear, started quietly talking to Gu Shun as he climbed. Gu Shun was the older brother of the sniper, Gu Ming, and the two had completely different personalities. Gu Ming was rather cold, whereas Gu Shun was much more affable.

”Old Gu, have... have you noticed a strange smell on Black Bear?”

Gu Shun chuckled and whispered, ”You smelled it too, huh? Black Bear used to be one of the Slave Soldiers. He was buried alive in a corpse pit once. It was summer, and all the bodies were rotting and stinking. The guy soaked in that pit for several days. He’s had a weird smell ever since he got out.”

”You damned old man, talking shit about me again!” Black Bear flung a rock at him.

Gu Shun dodged to the side and continued in a hushed voice, ”It’s because of that problem he still can’t find a wife. Even the prostitutes charge him extra!”

Luo Kai chuckled too. ”What about you? Do you have a wife?” he asked.

A smile spread across Gu Shun’s face. ”Of course. My son’s almost an adult.” Then he started cursing, ”Damn it, the sports academy tuition is too expensive. The little brat is always pestering me for Genetic Potions. He drinks that stuff like water.”

’Looks like these guys are just like ordinary people, struggling to make a living,’ Luo Kai thought. He hesitated for a moment, then asked the most important question on his mind. ”Um... is Hongyun married?”

Gu Shun fell silent. After a moment, he said, ”Yes. Sister Hong’s husband was also a mercenary.”

Luo Kai’s mood instantly sank. It wasn’t that he had fallen for the beautiful redhead, but that when their frequencies resonated earlier, it had created a kind of spiritual and conscious fusion. The feeling was simply too wonderful, like a first love, making it hard to forget.

After a long pause, Gu Shun suddenly added, ”Kid, I think you’ve got a decent chance. You should give it a shot.”

Luo Kai was confused. ”What chance? Isn’t she married?”

”She was, but her husband died three years ago. On the second day after they got married.”

”Ah!” Luo Kai let out a soft cry. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache for her. ’I can’t believe this beautiful woman is a widow.’

Although they were speaking quietly, the men in front heard them. Gao Gang slowed his pace, turned back, and said with a smile, ”Xiaoluo, you’re a Water Elemental Master too. You two are a good match. You have my support!”

”Huh? You all knew?”

”Of course. You think it’s that easy to get into the Sun Mercenary Corps? I was an outer member for three years before Sister Hong picked me,” Gu Shun replied.

Black Bear also turned back and said, ”I support you too. Want me to teach you some ways to hook... uh, attract girls?”

Luo Kai said, a little embarrassed, ”Don’t get the wrong idea. I was just asking.”

”Heh heh, we’re all men here. We get it!”

Chatting and laughing along the way, Luo Kai started to get to know his five companions a little better. They had all been soldiers and had fought in countless battles before leaving the army for various reasons.

Military life is quite disconnected from civilian society, and battle-hardened Warriors often develop a sort of addiction to war. Once they leave, they feel lost and out of place, so they join mercenary organizations.

Except for Black Bear, all the others had started families, with wives and kids at home. Being a mercenary was a profession with both high risks and high rewards. In order to provide a better life for their children, even those who thought about quitting had no choice but to persevere.

They soon crested the mountain. The path ahead was much easier to traverse, and there were no Nanzhao Kingdom army patrols in sight.

As the sky began to lighten, they finally reached Ping Mountain Port. Ping Mountain Port was a small military harbor, a low-lying area where Tieheng Mountain extended into the sea, which had been built up over generations. As long as the port stood, the Xingma Kingdom could continuously deploy troops from the sea, making its strategic importance even greater than Ironwood Castle’s. The Great Lord, Duke Yiven, was stationed here.

Ping Mountain Port was garrisoned by thirty thousand officers and soldiers. While not a massive force, several large warships also guarded it from the sea. The Nanzhao Kingdom had no navy, so the only real threat to the warships came from aircraft. However, the fighter jets of this era lacked advanced ground-attack missiles and precision-guided bombs. They relied entirely on the pilot’s experience to drop their payloads, typically in a dive, which made them highly vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire.