CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: DO YOU REALIZE YOU’RE FLAYING THE SKIN?

EDITOR: ENDLESSFANTASY TRANSLATION

The night sky was silent and dimly lit. Within the secret realm, day and night still existed. However, daytime wasn’t very bright, and night wasn’t too dark. The sky overhead seemed like a lamp that changed with the passage of time.

The Exotic Beasts of the junior trial field had completely quieted down. Soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Martial Arts Corps spread out to every corner of the field, starting a carpet search from the outside in.

The command center bustled with people.

Wireless devices couldn’t be installed in the trial field, and there weren’t even any wired telephones. Consequently, contact with subordinate units relied solely on messengers running back and forth.

Wu Changfeng commanded from the center, while Wang Lan quietly watched him swiftly issuing orders and rapidly receiving situation reports. This scene resembled ancient television dramas from his previous life.

"Report to the Battalion Commander! Squad 32 discovered traces of Biochemical Demon Soldiers. They were attempting to attack the White Ape tribe and incite chaos among the Exotic Beasts. Squad 32 has eradicated them. Awaiting instructions."

"Continue steady exploration. Focus on the areas where Exotic Beast tribes reside."

"Yes!"

"Order Squads 15 through 30 to pay special attention to the Exotic Beast tribes. I predict the Demon Clan will create chaos before making their move."

"Understood!"

While the main camp was bustling with activity, at the perimeter of the Star Martial Army’s encampment, the ground suddenly bulged with large mounds. With slight tremors, fifth-generation Biochemical Demon Soldiers emerged one after another from beneath the ground.

One by one, in the blink of an eye, nearly three hundred densely packed figures appeared.

They made no sound, appearing and approaching the camp in utter silence. The camp’s main forces had already deployed to search for the Demon Clan. The Star Martial Army never imagined the Biochemical Demon Soldiers would launch a sneak attack on their base at this critical moment.

As expected, the camp’s defenses were thin. Yet, the lights of the distant command center shone as conspicuously as fireflies in the night.

The Demon Soldiers advanced stealthily, converging from all directions. When they were within two hundred meters of the command center, the Biochemical Demon Soldiers suddenly charged, transforming into streaks of dark light as they rushed towards it.

"ROAR—"

Wolf-like howls resounded. Anything standing in the Demon Soldiers’ path was mercilessly torn to shreds.

Encountering almost no resistance, they successfully breached the command center’s gates.

The overhead lights swayed slightly. Inside, the flickering figures were all dummies.

The Demon Soldiers, naturally, couldn’t distinguish between real people and dummies; their only directive was to shred everything in sight.

"RRRIP—"

"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—"

Flares shot into the sky. In the temporary command post, hidden in a canyon north of the main command center, Wu Changfeng slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.

"Good! The fish have taken the bait! Brothers, follow me and slaughter those Demon Bastards!"

The controller behind the ambushed Demon Soldiers hastily ordered a retreat. But just as they pulled back to the encampment’s perimeter, they ran headlong into Wu Changfeng’s approaching forces.

"You think you can run after coming all this way? Kill!"

Wu Changfeng ripped off his shirt, his bare upper body exposed, and roared as he charged toward the Demon Soldiers.

Wang Lan, at the rear of the team, felt his blood boil. A true man should be like this!

Wu Changfeng had to be a Gold Attribute Star Martial Warrior—a rare yet exceptionally powerful attribute. After ripping off his shirt, his body seemed to inflate like a balloon.

However, this wasn’t an inflation that made him larger yet more fragile; rather, his muscles grew at a terrifying rate, reminiscent of the Hulk’s transformation.

As his muscles bulged, his body gradually took on a steely sheen. He charged to the very front. Facing the nearest Demon Soldier, he raised a fist as large as a pot lid and smashed it down on the Biochemical Demon Soldier.

The Biochemical Demon Soldiers were mere war machines, devoid of thought and fear. Even knowing it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, they would resolutely swing their Mantis Blades at Wu Changfeng.

The sharp blade grazed Wu Changfeng’s body, striking brilliant sparks from his silver-white, steely form, and then...

Nothing.

The Demon Soldier’s head vanished as if bitten off clean.

One punch. Instant kill!

If the Biochemical Demon Soldiers were war machines, then Wu Changfeng was a war behemoth. His body was like steel, his power immense enough to topple mountains. If the Biochemical Demon Soldiers possessed thoughts, facing such a high-attack, high-defense tank in close combat would have plunged them into utter fear and despair.

In less than half an hour, all three hundred Demon Soldiers were annihilated. Wu Changfeng himself accounted for half of them—one punch, one kill; sometimes, one punch took out several.

When the battle concluded and all Biochemical Demon Soldiers lay slain, the original encampment was completely obliterated. Wu Changfeng walked with heavy steps. Each movement produced a clang of metal on metal, like a Transformer.

Wu Changfeng’s body was now completely drenched in green blood, his original silver-white sheen entirely obscured.

"Little Brother, these Demon Soldiers... aren’t much, are they?"

Wang Lan was speechless. I used to think he was a serious person. Only after getting to know him did I realize this guy isn’t all that proper. You’re a mid-stage Galaxy Stage warrior, and a tank at that; of course, you’d find mere Demon Soldiers weak.

He’s clearly posturing. How can I let him get away with it?

"Well, they are just Demon Soldiers. To the Demon Clan, they’re expendable cannon fodder. The Demon Clan wouldn’t care less how many are killed. Taking half an hour for three hundred of them... what a waste of time." With that, Wang Lan turned and left decisively.

"Battalion Commander, all invading Biochemical Demon Soldiers have been eliminated! Awaiting further instructions!" Ren Star Martial approached Wu Changfeng’s side, saluted, and reported crisply.

"Mm. Right, how many of these Demon Soldiers did you encounter last time?"

"One hundred and fifty," Ren Star Martial replied, looking at Wu Changfeng with puzzlement. Did his brain turn to muscle when he bulked up? Hasn’t this already been reported? His memory can’t be that bad, can it?

"And how long did it take Wang Lan to kill one hundred and fifty Demon Soldiers?"

"Around... less than a minute."

"..."

Wu Changfeng’s body gradually shrank, soon returning to its original size.

Hmph, what’s there to be proud of? Our combat styles are different. Fast doesn’t necessarily mean strong! Wu Changfeng felt somewhat indignant. As a top student from Modu City’s Star Martial Academy, he had always been the one showing off in front of others; when had anyone ever stolen his spotlight?

"Report to the Battalion Commander! One hundred soldiers participated in the operation. Twelve are seriously injured, thirty-three lightly injured. No fatalities."

Hearing this, Wu Changfeng exploded, pointing at the mangled remains of a Demon Soldier on the ground. "And *these things* managed to injure our men?"

The surrounding soldiers looked at Wu Changfeng, their eyes filled with silent reproach.

Previously, injured warriors meant a loss of combat strength. Even lightly injured soldiers would need seven to eight days of rest before rejoining a battle. Although the Demon Clan lost three hundred Biochemical Demon Soldiers, they had, in turn, managed to incapacitate fifty soldiers of the Star Martial Army.

Demon Soldiers were mass-produced. To the Demon Clan, their deaths were inconsequential; they could always make more. Thus, trading them to reduce the Star Martial Army’s numbers by fifty was a worthwhile exchange.

Of course, this was assuming an anomaly like Wang Lan wasn’t present.

"Line up, one at a time! One Soul Bead for light injuries, two for serious! Three for those close to death. Soul Beads have a price, but life is priceless. Don’t you dare hide your injuries!"

"Anyone dying? Anyone on the brink of death over here?"

"None? Then the seriously injured, come on in! Two Soul Beads a piece!" Wang Lan called out excitedly, like a hawker drumming up business on a small-town street.

A single Soul Bead not only replenishes Star Power but also allows me to accumulate skill points. What a sweet deal, truly sweet!

"Zhang Xiaofei, Lieutenant, Third Battalion, Martial Arts Corps, seriously injured... That’s two... two..."

"Hold on, don’t speak!" Wang Lan pressed down on Zhang Xiaofei, tearing open his shirt. "I mean, man, you call this a serious injury? Just one Soul Bead, is it worth all this fuss?"

"Young Brother, don’t try to rip me off! I was just grazed by a Demon Soldier’s armor spike. Calling it a serious injury is already stretching it. If there were no Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors here, this would barely count as a light injury!"

"What the hell? You call that a graze? You were pierced from front to back! It went through your lung and nearly got your heart! Near death, that’s three Soul Beads!"

"Have some decency! How can I be near death when I’m this lucid? Besides, even if my lung was pierced, what the hell has that got to do with my heart?"

"The left lung lobe! Plus, this clarity you’re experiencing, there’s a medical term for it: ’terminal lucidity.’ Another three minutes and you’d have been a goner. I’ll start the treatment. Brother Ren, mark down three Soul Beads."

"Alright..."

"Alright, my foot! Old Ren, you can’t help this tyrant... This kid’s a complete skinflint! Can’t you see he’s war profiteering?"

"I can’t see that, but I *can* see you coughing up bloody foam."

"HISS—" Zhang Xiaofei glared angrily at Wang Lan. "You bastard, press any harder and you’ll squeeze all the blood out of me... Damn... Ugh... Ah... that’s... that’s better..."

"Control yourself! Don’t make it sound like a cat in heat. Alright, next!"

"Liao Mingming, left artery damaged, serious injury..."

"Damn it! That last guy had a puncture wound and called it serious, I let it slide. But your throat was cut, and you have the gall to call it a ’serious injury’?"

"I used a Star Martial Skill to seal the wound. For now, at least, my life isn’t in danger."

"Foolish child, you need to listen to the doctor! Just because you say there’s no danger doesn’t make it so. Even mental patients claim they’re not sick! Brother Ren, if someone slashed *your* throat, would you die or not? Near death! Mark down three!"

The treatment room was filled with clamor, and it was even noisier outside.

"Fuck, our Military Department’s Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors are so arrogant; begging them for help is like kowtowing and calling them ’Daddy’. This Wang Lan, though, he’s quick to act. I thought he was a good comrade."

"Damn it, turns out he’s a damn skinflint! My leg fracture, such a minor injury, and he calls it severe? Two Soul Beads! That’s half my monthly quota of four Soul Beads!"

"Be glad. With that injury, in an outside hospital, they’d amputate your leg. Calling it a serious injury isn’t wronging you. I just broke two ribs, and he had the nerve to demand two Soul Beads!"

"I’ve figured it out. This Little Miser Wang doesn’t even have ’light injury’ in his vocabulary. Even if you just scraped your skin, he’d call it a serious injury!"

"Battalion Commander!"

"Good to see you, Battalion Commander!"

"Alright, how are all the brothers holding up?"

"Battalion Commander, the brothers are hurting..."

"Can’t you lot have some backbone? Are there really soldiers in the Martial Arts Corps afraid of pain? Did you sneak your way in here?"

"Our bodies don’t hurt, Battalion Commander, but our hearts do! That Miser Wang is too ruthless with his fees. One treatment, and two or three Soul Beads are gone!"