Star Gate

Chapter 720: Fool (I)

White Moon City was as bustling as ever. Although it was cold and bitter, living didn’t seem so hard in Silver Moon. True, there were complaints and grumbles to be heard on the streets. When the Li Hao of old heard those voices, his first thought was that the officials of Silver Moon were full of shit! How could they operate the province to such dismal straits!

But now that he took another look, while the people weren’t dressed in pretty clothes, everyone had thick garments to wear. Their faces were flushed with decent health, which indicated that food was acceptable and they could at least eat their fill.

In comparison, the central region may shine with a glamorous veneer, but there was much that one could learn about their true situation. Their appeal was built on the back of shadows. It was abnormal that no beggars could be seen in their cities. While some could be seen in Silver Moon, that was the normal occurrence.

Silver Moon denizens didn’t particularly react to the Inspectorate conducting patrols on the streets. Wasn’t it normal for inspectors to be carrying out their duties? Whether it was Silver City or Silver Moon, the Inspectorate conducted their normal routine. Li Hao had once participated in run-of-the-mill cases such as apprehending thieves. He’d never thought much of them before, but now he felt that Kong Jie performed well enough in his position.

He wasn’t in a hurry to head to the Night Watchers or the Silver Moon Guard barracks. After some thought, he headed to the military base. Huang Yu had come to help him last time—he’d never had much to do with the commander before that.

That was one reason for his agenda. The other was that his senior sister and her husband were in the army. Li Hao contemplated the relationship between Hu Dingfang and the Bais. That family had an unclear connection with the royal family. Was this senior brother-in-law of his a secret royal agent?

Chen Yuhua knew the Breathing Method of the Five Styles—many wanted it. There were many who wanted to seize even the first version of the method. Did Hu Dingfang’s promotion have anything to do with the breathing method?

His teacher had never mentioned it and Li Hao wouldn’t have cared before. Now that he’d witnessed the greed from the three great organizations, seven divine mountains, and even the City of Supernaturals, he was of the mind to look around, ask, and investigate.

......

The army headquarters in the western quadrant of the city.

The western outskirts were where the army was encamped. Silver Moon only had three hundred thousand in its army. It wasn’t much compared to the province’s one hundred million in population. This level of troops was very low.

These numbers had been maintained for many years. Ever since Great Li vanished from the north, Silver Moon spent many years whittling down its army and not adding to it. This amount of troops didn’t pose too much of a burden on Silver Moon finances.

There were one hundred thousand people each in the Silver Moon, White Dragon, and Tiger Wings divisions. Huang Yu was the central commander and in charge of the Silver Moon division. Hu Dingfang commanded the Tiger Wings and Ren Tianchuan was in charge of the White Dragons. Wang Ming’s grandfather was the vice commander of that division.

Li Hao wasn’t familiar with the White Dragon commander, but he’d been in contact with the man when excavating Battle Heaven. This was a man of few words. The young man was curious what the armies of this age looked like. He’d seen some—they were all trash, corrupted, and didn’t have any morale to speak of.

He approached the western outskirts, catching shouts that drifted toward him upon the air. The troops were still training in the bleak of winter.

In this age of the supernatural rise, ordinary people didn’t have much guarantee of safety. Not even soldiers could do anything, so most armies had slackened their training requirements. The three divisions of Silver Moon, however, stuck to their schedules.

Li Hao was like an invisible person as he passed through layers of defenses and entered the practice grounds. The three divisions were in the middle of training!

There were supernaturals among them, but very few. A martial master led the soldiers through the training routine. Hot air wafted from the tops of their heads as they panted for breath. One man held sway in the center of the practice grounds. Although he was elderly, he moved with the vigor of a tiger in its prime.

Huang Yu!

Li Hao was surprised. Huang Yu was running through a boxing routine!

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

His shout was echoed by the practicing soldiers, as were his movements. He flourished a spear and struck! This was once more aped by the soldiers around him. In a period of time that abounded with hot weapons in military hands, Huang Yu was leading his people through basic hand and fist coordination!

Off in the distance, the man seemed to sense something and tilted his head in Li Hao’s direction. He ignored his senses and continued practicing. “Hup!”

“Kill!” A dense killing intent rose. It was like this troop had the experience of war. It was an awe-inspiring display of might as there were one thousand people to a team. A martial master led each team and ran through practice routines.

Shortly thereafter, Huang Yu tossed his spear to an officer. “The practices continue!” He vanished on the spot, leaving his men to it. Some officers looked in his direction. Commander Yu was steadfast and unwavering, he trained with the troops almost everyday unless other duties called. Why had he left halfway today?

Some suddenly realized that a person had appeared in the distance, one that didn’t exist before. Shocked, they couldn’t determine who it was that’d snuck into their camp. However, they were much more at ease upon seeing the commander head over.

......

“What are you doing here?” Huang Yu frowned. “It’s not a good thing to infiltrate the military barracks. According to the law, execution is listed as the punishment for prying into military secrets! Of course, it won’t be that easy to execute you since you’re so strong, so I will make an exception this time. This is not to be repeated!”

“I just wanted to take a look at the provincial army.” Li Hao nodded. “Now that I have, I see that they are well deserving of their reputation. Discipline remains strict and has not fallen to the wayside.”

“Of course.” Huang Yu proceeded to the rear of the camp with a composed expression. “Let’s not talk here.”

“Understood!” Li Hao responded subconsciously and followed the man forward. Huang Yu looked at him without saying a word.

As the two walked to the rear, the commander explained softly, “Silver Moon’s army has always been filled with ferocious troops! There aren’t many of us, but the entire world knows of the northern barbarians. It’s just that the uses of an army have greatly declined after the rise of the supernatural, but that is of no matter.

“Powerhouses can be left to powerhouses. A well-disciplined, strong army is useful any time. Whether it is calming people’s hearts or pacifying minor turmoil, there is no problem with any of that.”

Li Hao nodded. Heavyweights were very useful at times, but that didn’t mean that armies were useless. Not to mention, this army seemed different from the rest.

“Commander Yu, are the soldiers all martial masters?”

“No.” Huang Yu shook his head. “While the supernatural has risen in prominence and the number of martial masters increased, it’s not possible for every soldier to be one. They’ve just learned some elementary secret arts and enhanced their blood qi. They’ve also absorbed small amounts of mysterious power and mysterious power stones, making them much stronger than mundanes but far less than supernaturals or Slayers of Tens...

“Of course, a dozen or so of them can still fight a Starlight or Slayer. A Slayer is only capable of killing ten ordinary soldiers. Those of Silver Moon are fearless, so a Slayer likely won’t be able to kill ten of us.” He spoke with some pride.

“Then why doesn’t Commander Yu train more martial masters? Why focus on ensuring equitable strength across the soldiers? Concentrating your resources might produce more powerhouses...” His cultivation resources were too spread out!

“No no no, you’re wrong. An army is one whole, there is not much use in concentrating resources to produce a few powerhouses. In fact, it will disrupt troop deployment instead and throw coordination into chaos.

“There are powerhouses in the army, but they are individually managed. For example, if you are a Slayer of Tens, then you would be in a team of Slayers. They cannot be intermixed. That would be too chaotic, which will also affect coordination.”

Li Hao nodded, that made sense. The two entered a small building as they talked. The soldiers inside swiftly saluted when they saw Huang Yu. “Commander Yu!”

“Mmhmm.” Huang Yu inclined his head. These people were surprised to see Li Hao. Some didn’t recognize him, whereas some of the higher ranking officers did. They were further confused and astonished.

Li Hao!

The young man was known throughout the world; the higher levels knew of him and had seen his picture before. What was he doing back from Skystar City?

The two entered Huang Yu’s office, the commander indicated for Li Hao to take a seat. It was a spacious room without much in it. It was empty apart from a small bookcase and desk.

“When did you get back?”

“Last night.”

“I see.” Huang Yu didn’t say or ask anything else. The atmosphere turned awkward as the silence dragged on. Li Hao had to start the conversation himself.

“Commander Yu, this is the camp of the Silver Moon division. Are the White Dragons and Tiger Wings not here?”

“They’re nearby.”

“I have a question that I wanted to ask the commander. Were you the one who approved of Hu Dingfang becoming the commander of the Tiger Wings?”

“Yes.”

“Then he and the Bais and royal family...”

“Are you asking if he traded the Breathing Method of the Five Styles for his position?” Huang Yu looked at the young man.

“Yes!” Li Hao was forthright. “Teacher didn’t say anything when my senior sister taught him the breathing method. He never mentions it. But now that the three great organizations are all looking for it, I’d like to understand the situation.”

“If this is indeed so, are you going to clean house?” Huang Yu asked faintly. “He is the commander of the Tiger Wings. Attacking him means attacking me, to say nothing of anything else. Will you persist in your course of action?”

Li Hao frowned and looked at the commander.