393: Chapter 393 Small Print Note!!!

Cang Hai watched Lin Shui leave, then turned to face the group of young and somewhat green faces before him, his lips curling into an ambiguous arc.

"Classmates," his voice was loud and clear, carrying the crisp decisiveness unique to a soldier, "I am Cang Hai, Commander of the Tenth Regiment, a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist.

In the time to follow, I will be assigning your specific combat posts and missions.

The battlefield is no joke; an assignment is a military order. Be sure to keep that in mind."

With that said, he gave the students no time for questions or reactions, directly unfurling the list in his hand. His gaze was like a torch as he began calling names and making assignments.

"Lu Qingfeng," he read the first name, "Report to the Fiftieth Battalion, assigned to the Third Brigade."

Lu Qingfeng, holding his greatsword, remained expressionless and only responded in a deep voice: "Yes!"

"Zhou Yan, proceed to the Equipment Refining Department for auxiliary work and follow Master Liu's arrangements."

"Chen Yu, assigned to Medical Logistics Third Squad."

"Zhao Feng, go to the Array Maintenance Group, Southeast Corner Third Array Core."

...

Cang Hai's speaking speed was steady as names and corresponding posts spilled from his mouth one by one.

Most students were assigned to different battalions within the combat sequence. A few with special skills, such as equipment refining, basic medical knowledge, or a slight understanding of array foundations, were assigned to corresponding logistics and auxiliary posts.

Based on the information he had previously learned, a full-strength battalion in Zhenhai City's army consisted of one thousand people.

The designations of these fifty battalions roughly corresponded to different garrison areas, mission types, and... the level of danger faced.

Battalions with higher numbers usually occupied garrison positions further back.

They mostly undertook second-line support, reserve duties, or garrison tasks in relatively stable defense sectors.

Cang Hai's current assignments clearly took into account the actual situation of these students' first time on the battlefield, placing most people in higher-numbered, relatively safe battalions.

This could indeed be considered a form of "care" for them as students.

Suddenly, the sound of Cang Hai reading names paused slightly, and he let out a very soft "Eh?"

His gaze focused on a certain line of the list, and his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

On that paper, it was clearly written:

[Qin Yan]

[Strength: Fourth Rank Peak]

[Remarks: Also practices Alchemy, a First-Grade Alchemist]

Cang Hai's gaze drifted for a moment between the two vastly contrasting pieces of information: "Fourth Rank Peak" and "First-Grade Alchemist."

According to the conventional assignment logic on the front lines,

Talents possessing special skills like alchemy or equipment refining would often be prioritized for assignment to logistics support departments.

Because the overall value of a mature logistics technical talent on the battlefield,

Especially their supporting role in the army's sustained combat capability, often exceeded that of a pure combat martial artist.

But this Qin Yan before him was truly a bit of a special case.

With Fourth Rank Peak strength, he was absolutely among the top tier of this batch of students who had come to support, and he would be a vital combat supplement to any front-line combat battalion.

Yet, he was only a First-Grade Alchemist.

"Fourth Rank Peak combat power, and at such an age..."

Without almost any hesitation, Cang Hai already had a decision in his heart.

He looked up, locking his gaze on Qin Yan in the crowd, and announced loudly: "Qin Yan, assigned to the Fiftieth Battalion, Fifth Brigade."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yan's brow immediately furrowed slightly.

He took a step forward, his posture upright, and faced Cang Hai:

"Officer Cang, I, student Qin Yan, am an alchemist in addition to being a martial artist.

I believe that assigning me to the medical department or the medicinal pill logistics department would allow me to be of greater use to the army."

He was trying to fight for it; after all, refining pills to farm Skill Points in a relatively safe area couldn't be safer.

Cang Hai glanced at Qin Yan, his gaze calm and rippleless, and shook his head:

"Your alchemist rank is only first grade.

With your current alchemical attainment, the value you can generate in the logistics department is far less than the advantage brought by deploying your combat power to the front lines.

This is a judgment based on the needs of the overall war situation."

Qin Yan's mind whirled, and he immediately said: "Reporting, Officer, my alchemy has had a breakthrough recently, and I can actually stably refine High Grade Second-Grade pills!

I am fully capable of undertaking more important alchemy tasks!"

He currently had 20 Skill Points on his panel and could raise his alchemy level to second grade at any time, so these words weren't entirely a bluff.

However, after Cang Hai finished listening, his expression still didn't waver in the slightest; instead, his tone became a few degrees firmer:

"Even for a Second-Grade Alchemist, what the front line needs more right now are Fourth Rank Peak martial artists who can wield weapons and withstand impacts!

The shortage of manpower is a reality.

Your application is denied."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Qin Yan with an unquestionable decisiveness:

"Execute your orders. Report to the Fiftieth Battalion."

Seeing Cang Hai's determined attitude and lack of room for negotiation, Qin Yan knew further argument was useless.

He sighed inwardly, but no longer pressed the issue on the surface. He crisply responded with a "Yes" and retreated back into the queue.

"Teacher Xiao's connections... aren't that strong after all."

Qin Yan couldn't help but mutter to himself inwardly, feeling a bit helpless.

Seeing Qin Yan retreat, Cang Hai said no more and continued reading the list.

Soon, he reached the next name:

"Xiao Wangshu—"

Qin Yan noticed that when Cang Hai read this name, there seemed to be an extremely minute hesitation in his speaking speed, and his gaze lingered an extra moment near that name on the paper.

But in the end, he showed no abnormality and clearly announced:

"Proceed to the Fiftieth Battalion and report."

Xiao Wangshu's cold eyes looked toward Cang Hai. There was no change in expression on her face; she only nodded slightly to indicate her acknowledgment.

Qin Yan's heart, however, stirred slightly.

Xiao Wangshu was the biological granddaughter of Grandmaster Xiao Shan; this was no secret among the upper echelons of Modu University of Martial Arts.

Xiao Shan himself was very likely currently overseeing things in Zhenhai City.

As a war zone officer, it was impossible for Cang Hai not to know about this relationship.

Yet, he still sent Xiao Wangshu directly to a "Battalion" that needed to execute combat missions,

Rather than a relatively safe clerical or logistics post.

This attitude of treating everyone equally, even appearing somewhat "impartially stern," gave Qin Yan a deeper understanding of this Officer Cang Hai's style.

In the eyes of this soldier, the actual needs of the battlefield were perhaps far higher than any personal background.

The assignments continued.

Before long, the destinations of all the students had been arranged.

Immediately, several officers or non-commissioned officers with capable auras and wearing the identifying attire of various battalions walked over from different directions.

After a brief handover with Cang Hai, they each led away the student groups assigned to them to report to their respective camps.

Once the crowd had dispersed, only Cang Hai remained in place.

He once again unfurled the list in his hand, his gaze falling on the very bottom of the paper.

It was a line of small print remarks written in special vermilion pigment, the font clearly more eye-catching.