51: Chapter 51 Lin Mo's Background

On the other side.

Inside Luo Cheng's tent.

He sat on a folding chair with a simple map spread out before him, but his gaze didn't fall upon it at all.

The scene from the afternoon kept replaying in his mind: Zhao Lie's headless corpse, that rolling head, and his arena opponent for tomorrow—that young man named Lin Mo.

"Captain."

A subordinate lifted the tent flap and walked in, followed by three others. These men were all veterans under Luo Cheng's command; they hadn't been present that afternoon and had just returned from a mission.

"Did you find out?" Luo Cheng looked up.

The leader was named Zhou Mang. Like Zhao Lie, he was also at the Fifth level of Tier Two and had followed Luo Cheng for five years.

As soon as Zhou Mang entered the tent, he plopped down opposite Luo Cheng, his expression somewhat strange.

"I've found out!"

"That Lin Mo is a freshman at Jiangcheng University, nineteen years old, with the white trait [Swift Step]. His position is the Mobile Bait Post, but he's currently been temporarily assigned to the Elite Assault Team by the Seventh Battalion commander, Yuan Shoucheng."

Luo Cheng's brow furrowed: "A white trait? A Bait Post?"

"Yes, but that's only the information on the surface."

"What do you mean?"

Zhou Mang took a deep breath and began his report:

"The first thing!"

"Yesterday afternoon, at the stronghold's main gate, he faced three opponents alone and killed Zhao Zhongliang with a single strike."

Luo Cheng's pupils constricted slightly.

Zhao Zhongliang, late-stage tier two. He knew the man; although not one of his own subordinates, he was a veteran of over ten years from the Sixth Battalion's Patrol Posts.

"You're saying a single strike?" Luo Cheng emphasized the last two words.

"A single strike," Zhou Mang nodded.

"There weren't many people present at the time, mostly the Tier Two experts around Li Chengxi. They all said they couldn't even clearly see how he moved. Zhao Zhongliang didn't even have a chance to react before he was gone."

The tent fell silent instantly.

"Captain..."

The three veterans who had been involved in the training field incident that afternoon had originally been sitting upright listening to the report, but now their expressions had completely changed.

The one with a scarred face was the first who couldn't help but lean forward: "Zhou Mang, you're not fucking kidding, are you? I knew Zhao Zhongliang; that old guy was as slippery as they come. A couple of years back in the patrol team, several late-stage tier two veterans tried to give him trouble and couldn't even touch him. He was instakilled by a student?"

"I didn't believe it at first either."

Zhou Mang gave a bitter smile.

"But I went and asked three people who were there, and their stories were all the same—"

"Zhao Zhongliang and two other veterans made the first move. The kid was being suppressed at first, but then he suddenly exploded with power. Zhao Zhongliang didn't even get to draw his blade before he was on the ground."

Another tall, thin veteran chimed in: "What's that kid's realm?"

Zhou Mang thought for a moment and replied:

"On the surface, he's early-stage Tier Two, but to instakill Zhao Zhongliang, he must be hiding his true cultivation?"

The tall, thin veteran fell silent, his Adam's apple bobbing.

A bald veteran who hadn't spoken until now suddenly said: "Captain, Zhao Zhongliang was late-stage tier two, right?"

Luo Cheng said nothing.

A layer of fine sweat broke out on the bald veteran's forehead.

"Instakilling a late-stage tier two..."

"Then his true combat strength must be at least Peak Tier Two?"

"More than that."

Zhou Mang spoke slowly.

"Listen to the second thing before you jump to conclusions."

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly grew tense.

Scarface picked up a water cup to take a sip and calm his nerves, but hearing Zhou Mang say this, his hand suddenly shook, spilling water all over the table. He cursed and simply set the cup down.

Zhou Mang continued: "The second thing!"

"You know about the 17th Patrol District being breached yesterday afternoon, right?"

The tall, thin man nodded.

"I heard over a hundred people died, and only three female students survived."

Luo Cheng's brow furrowed even deeper: "I know about this. They said a student rescued them!"

"Could it be..."

"It was him."

"Captain, I found a veteran from the patrol team and got the details of the situation. The 17th Patrol District was surrounded by hundreds of fierce beasts at the time. Leading them were thirty or forty Tier Two Shadow Leopards, and two Tier Three leaders."

"I heard that Lin Mo, all by himself, slaughtered his way through that pack of Shadow Leopards!"

Luo Cheng's breath hitched for a beat.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. The people who cleared the battlefield said so. Their team went to collect the bodies; the leopard corpses were piled like mountains, and the two Tier Three ones were lying right in the middle, covered in blade wounds."

The tent went completely silent.

The three veterans who had caused trouble at the training field looked at each other, their faces full of disbelief.

The man with the scar on his face couldn't help but speak: "Zhou Mang, you're not fucking kidding, are you? One person killing two Tier Three Shadow Leopards? He's only nineteen! I don't believe it!"

Zhou Mang gave a bitter smile: "I didn't believe it at first either, but the accounts from several people I asked were all the same. And—"

He paused and looked at Luo Cheng.

"And what?"

"And this afternoon, Zhao Lie was in his hands. You know Zhao Lie's strength."

Luo Cheng's expression finally changed.

He slowly stood up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the flap, and looked out into the night.

Zhou Mang walked up behind him and lowered his voice:

"Captain, I have a suggestion, though I don't know if I should say it..."

"Say it."

Zhou Mang hesitated for a moment but spoke anyway:

"Captain, this person is too abnormal. Tomorrow's duel..."

Luo Cheng turned around and stared intently at him.

"I think... maybe we shouldn't fight tomorrow's duel."

Zhou Mang gritted his teeth and forced the words out.

A deathly silence filled the tent.

The three troublemaking veterans looked at each other.

Scarface swallowed hard and said in a small voice: "Captain, Zhou Mang is right. This kid is too eerie. Killing Tier Three fierce beasts at nineteen? Is he even fucking human? We... we don't need to risk our lives against a monster like that."

Another veteran also spoke: "Yeah, Captain. We're all hurting over Zhao Lie's death, but if you also... tomorrow..."

He didn't finish, but everyone knew what he meant.

Luo Cheng remained silent.

He remembered the look in Lin Mo's eyes this afternoon.

In those eyes, there was no fear, no anger, no emotion whatsoever.

It was like looking at a dead man.

At the time, he thought it was the fearlessness of the ignorant.

Now...

He suddenly realized his palms were sweating.

Zhou Mang took a step forward, his voice even lower:

"Captain, I've asked around. From yesterday to today, that kid has killed so many fierce beasts and people, yet he doesn't have a single injury on him. Think about it, is that normal?"

Hearing this, Luo Cheng's face finally changed completely.

Killing thirty or forty Tier Twos plus two Tier Threes and managing to not sustain a single injury?

Luo Cheng fell silent.

He couldn't do it himself.

Absolutely not.

Even an ordinary Tier Three Awakener couldn't do it.

Killing that many fierce beasts, it was impossible not to get hurt, especially with two Tier Threes involved.

But that kid had done it.

What did that mean?

It meant his strength had likely already reached Tier Three; he wasn't nearly as simple as he appeared on the surface.

"Captain, how about... finding a reason to call it off tomorrow? Just say we'll let Zhao Lie's matter go, pay some compensation, apologize, and we'll..."

"Bullshit!"

Luo Cheng suddenly roared, startling Zhou Mang into taking a step back.

"I, Luo Cheng, have led troops for twelve years. When have I ever bowed my head to anyone?!"

He glared at Zhou Mang, his eyes bloodshot.

"He killed my man; tomorrow, I want his life!"

Zhou Mang didn't dare speak further.

But the three veterans exchanged looks, their eyes filled with worry.

Luo Cheng turned around, his back to them.

"Everyone out."

The men looked at each other and silently exited the tent.

Luo Cheng was left alone in the tent.

He stood there staring at the map, but his mind was filled with Zhou Mang's words.

Thirty or forty Tier Twos.

Two Tier Threes.

Killing Zhao Zhongliang in one strike.

At some point, Luo Cheng's forehead had become covered in beads of sweat.

Outside the tent, moonlight spilled across the ground.

Scarface walked about a dozen meters away before suddenly stopping.

Zhou Mang walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't think about it. The Captain will decide for himself."

Scarface didn't look up, only muttering gloomily:

"I've... it's the first time I've ever seen the Captain so scared."

Zhou Mang was stunned for a moment. He looked back at the tent where the light was still on and sighed.

...