Celestial Human Diagram

At Fortress No. 73, Advisor Rao had barely slept all night. When he received a message from Chen Chuan’s group early in the morning, he murmured, "It seems they’re really all right..."

He then heaved a great sigh of relief. After a moment’s thought, he steeled himself and went to the radio station. He activated a secret channel, one that connected to the intelligence operations room.

He sent a telegram to them: "Requesting to initiate intelligence deception."

After a moment, a simple reply came from the other end: "Confirm?"

Advisor Rao’s hand paused for a moment before he immediately tapped out a string of signals in reply:

"Confirmed!"

Beside a mountain stream, the Cavalry Warrior in charge of scouting and communications delivered his report and then quickly departed.

A Duty Samurai approached the Iron Demon and reported, "Captain, the squad pursuing us spent the night in the open. They have a way to withstand the anomalous incursions of the dark. I suggest we eliminate them as soon as possible."

The Iron Demon, sitting ramrod straight on his horse, did not answer immediately. After a moment, a voice emerged from behind his mask, "String them along for another day or two. If they can still keep up, then we’ll make our move."

The Duty Samurai said, "But what if they manage to keep following us? We’ll be forced to keep evading them, unable to accomplish anything. Besides, if we don’t take this chance to deal with them, our rear will never be secure."

It was their advantage in night marches that allowed them to roam freely across this land, using just a single squad to wreak havoc deep in the enemy’s rear.

If the enemy now possessed this same ability, the threat to them was obvious. Furthermore, while they might seem to be moving at will, they were actually deep in enemy territory. If they got pinned down here, they could be surrounded and wiped out at any moment.

Just then, a Cavalry Warrior on radio duty took off his headset, strode over with a decoded message, and presented it. "Captain, we’ve received a report from our inside source. Another one to two squads are approaching our position, estimated to arrive within two to three days.

Enemy Fortress No. 104 has been confirmed to be on lockdown. There’s also intel suggesting they’ve requested a combat Airship from the rear."

The Duty Samurai immediately looked at the Iron Demon. "Captain, we can’t delay any longer!"

One squad is manageable, but if more close in on us, we’ll be at a complete disadvantage. The root of this problem is the squad on our tail. If we can eliminate them, we’ll have far more options."

The Iron Demon fell silent for a moment.

He had felt a sense of warning back when he was attacking the fortress, but the feeling had vanished and never returned, not even when this squad began its pursuit. And yet, it was as if another voice in his mind was telling him to avoid this particular squad as much as possible.

However, the changing situation forced his hand.

He said, "Give the order. Mount up. We move out in ten minutes."

"Yes!"

Dozens of cavalrymen received the order and immediately readied their gear, performing mutual inspections. Just a few minutes later, the entire unit was mounted and galloping toward Chen Chuan’s position.

In front of the off-road vehicle, Qin Qingque received a telegram. She presented it to Chen Chuan with both hands. "Captain, a telegram from Advisor Rao."

Chen Chuan took it. ’Intelligence deception, is it...’

His Heart Thought turned. ’The Iron Demon must have an inside source; that’s how they dare to weave through our territory like this.’

This intelligence deception claimed that two more squads were rapidly closing in on them. When the Iron Demon’s side learned of this, they would have only one reaction.

He looked up, meeting the gazes of his two teammates. "Get ready. Barring any surprises, the Iron Demon will be coming for us."

Yuan Qiuyuan’s spirits soared, and he asked eagerly, "Captain, are we just going to wait for them here?"

Chen Chuan said, "No. Since they’re coming to us, we shouldn’t make it too comfortable for them. Let’s relocate and prepare an ambush."

Qin Qingque immediately said, "Captain, there was a place we passed earlier that I think would be suitable."

"Alright. We’ll go to the place you suggested."

The three of them quickly gathered their things and headed for the off-road vehicle. Just then, a long spear suddenly flew through the air, arcing down toward them.

Yuan Qiuyuan whirled around and snatched the spear from the air. His arm held perfectly still, only the weapon’s shaft quivering from the force. He raised an eyebrow. He could tell the thrower was at least a kilometer away, hidden by the dense forest in the distance.

Chen Chuan, however, didn’t even turn around, calmly climbing into the vehicle. Qin Qingque paid it no mind either, getting directly into the driver’s seat.

Yuan Qiuyuan spun the spear in his hand, then snapped the shaft in two and tossed the pieces to the ground. He then vaulted nimbly through the hatch on the roof and took his position at the mounted machine gun.

He was ready to mow down any Cavalry Soldier who dared to get too close.

The off-road vehicle quickly started up and drove off.

As Chen Chuan sat in his seat, he mulled over a particular question.

He’d been wondering, ’What exactly is this danger sense of the Iron Demon’s?’ He suspected it was likely a manifestation of a spirit polished to a state of near-perfection.

Of course, it could also be a special ability of a Demon Ghost. It was hard to be certain, given the lack of information.

But this made him an incredibly difficult opponent, one who could seemingly evade danger forever.

But he believed that even a spiritual premonition needed a source. Their retreat that night... ’The problem might have been me.’

That was why, after leaving the fortress, he had merged with his Second Self, using it to deflect all external incursions and strange Domains.

’Worth a try, whether it works or not,’ he thought.

After driving for over two hours, the off-road vehicle reached a wide-open plain. It was situated next to a river with a rapid, turbulent current, and the view was unobstructed in every direction.

Moreover, the ground near the river was a wide expanse of soft mud. This was of little concern to a Fighter, but for heavy horses, it was another matter entirely.

The terrain would effectively prevent a rapid cavalry charge, and with the wide river at their back, they were also safe from being flanked.

In truth, a conventional cavalry charge was meaningless against them. The horses weren’t even as fast as their own burst movements and would only expose more openings. Besides, the machine gun on the vehicle’s roof wasn’t just for show.

However, these were Dragon-nosed Horses modified with Implants and ridden by Fighters. There was no telling what special abilities they might possess, so tactically, they preferred to err on the side of caution.

After parking the vehicle, the trio used their tools to make some simple preparations in the area, then began their pre-battle adjustments.

Yuan Qiuyuan took out his retractable Long Staff, walked to one side, and began polishing it with a cloth. Afterward, he stood holding the staff, his eyes lightly closed, seemingly practicing some kind of Breathing Technique.

He showed no outward signs of tension, but his mind was wound tight. Qin Qingque, on the other hand, was quite different. She seemed completely relaxed, as if long accustomed to this kind of situation.

A little over half an hour later, the silhouettes of a few horses appeared in the distance. Their numbers gradually grew, but they stopped about four kilometers away.

Upon seeing them, Chen Chuan stepped out of the vehicle. He straightened his uniform slightly, put on his mask, adjusted his peaked cap, and, holding the Snow Monarch Blade, strode slowly to the front.

Yuan Qiuyuan came to his left, planted his feet apart, and held his Long Staff horizontally, standing his ground.

Qin Qingque took up position on Chen Chuan’s right, armed with a Red Tassel Lance. She planted the lance in the ground, unslung the Crossbow Spear from her back, and raised it to aim at the enemy.

The enemy cavalry seemed to be observing them. After a moment, the troop split; two detachments swung out wide to the flanks, while one group remained in the center.

Three Knights emerged from the ranks of the Cavalry Soldiers. Spaced about ten meters apart in a triangular formation, they slowly urged their horses forward. At a distance of about five hundred meters, the three dismounted and advanced on foot.

They chose not to fight mounted. Once a Third Limit Fighter was in motion, a horse’s speed became a joke. They were easily dodged on open ground, let alone on this soft, muddy terrain.

But they never relied on their mounts for the actual fight. In their previous ambushes, their method was always to first eliminate the enemy Third Limit Fighter, then clean up the rest.

Of course, their opponents usually had the same idea. It was just that so far, they had never lost.

The two Duty Samurai flanking the Iron Demon had absolute confidence in him. Their Captain’s spirit and flesh had been polished to the brink of perfection. After undergoing that transformation, he could no longer be considered merely human; the potential he could now unleash far exceeded the definition of a single person.

If their opponents failed to understand that, failed to comprehend it, they were doomed to share the same fate as all the others who had hunted them before.

Chen Chuan’s gaze was fixed on the man in the center. He looked almost identical to his photograph, clad in heavy Armor with an Anti-stabbing Robe wrapped over it. ’That must be the Iron Demon,’ he thought.

He appeared to be over 1.9 meters tall. The eyes behind his mask were blood-red, and a thick stench of blood seemed to cling to him.

The two men flanking him were both over two meters tall. Each carried a Long Spear, with five Javelins strapped to his back. As they advanced, their breathing and steps were perfectly synchronized, a testament to their exceptional coordination.

At that moment, Qin Qingque raised her Crossbow Spear and fired at the man to the Iron Demon’s right. The man saw her move and immediately raised a hand to shield his face. With the crack of the shot, his body trembled slightly, but his stride never faltered.

She didn’t stop, firing again at the other escort. That man performed the same defensive maneuver.

After that, the crack of gunfire echoed ceaselessly across the open plain. BANG! BANG! BANG! Bullets struck the three men repeatedly. After emptying her magazine, she swiftly reloaded and continued firing.

But the three men simply ignored the bullets striking them, maintaining their original rhythm as they advanced in silence.

Amid the ceaseless gunfire, the trio gradually closed the distance to two hundred meters. At that point, one of the men behind the Iron Demon suddenly took the Long Spear from his back and hurled it toward them.

The spear’s target was precisely Chen Chuan’s position!

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