30: Chapter 30: Evidence Lay on the Table, Vice Commander, Guess the Ending

As Li Zhengyang walked toward the command headquarters, the entire Fortress No. 13 was still immersed in the chaos following the beast tide.

Medics ran back and forth carrying stretchers, and the screams of wounded soldiers came from all directions.

Below the western section of the city wall, thirty-seven corpses covered in white sheets were lined up in two rows.

A few new recruits were squatting nearby, crying.

As Li Zhengyang walked past that row of white sheets, he lowered his head and took a glance.

The corpse at the very edge had half an arm exposed, and a watch was still on its wrist, the screen shattered.

He recognized this person; he was from the 3rd Platoon, 7th Squad, arrived a day later than him, slept in the upper bunk diagonally across from him, had asked him about Zhang Mang just yesterday, and showed two canine teeth when he smiled.

Li Zhengyang withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace.

The command headquarters was the tallest building in the central district of the fortress, three stories high, with four armed guards standing at the entrance.

Li Zhengyang walked straight inside.

"Halt! You are not permitted to enter the command headquarters without authorization."

He did not stop.

He released a sliver of his Qi, and the legs of all four guards went soft at the same time, causing them to kneel on one knee.

It wasn't because they were struck, but because they were suppressed.

To guards at the Great Martial Master level, the pressure of a 9th-Rank Martial Spirit was like having Mount Tai pressing down on their heads.

He pushed the door open.

Inside the command headquarters' operation room, over a dozen officers were gathered around a sand table, reviewing the battle situation of the beast tide.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao stood beside the sand table, pointing his finger at the northwest section, saying something to the staff officer beside him.

The sound of the door being pushed open made everyone turn their heads.

Li Zhengyang walked in covered in beast blood, his dragon gall golden spear gripped in his right hand, the spear tip pointing downward, dragging a scratch across the floor.

The officers in the room looked at his appearance, and a few subconsciously placed their hands on their weapons.

The moment Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao saw him, the expression on his face was one of great surprise.

This brat is still alive?

"Li Zhengyang! You trespassed into the command headquarters; do you know what kind of crime this is?"

"I have come to ask you one thing."

Li Zhengyang slammed his spear onto the ground, making a clanging sound.

"All three fire points on the western section of the city wall malfunctioned; no backup weapons were distributed, and there was not a single reinforcement for the four hours the beast tide lasted. Thirty-seven new recruits died."

"Who signed off on this deployment plan?"

The operation room went quiet.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Operational deployment is the result of a collective decision by the command headquarters; it has nothing to do with a private from the Po Feng Battalion like you. You must immediately..."

"A collective decision?"

Li Zhengyang took two steps closer, interrupting him, took out his phone from his pocket, flipped to a photo, and held it up.

The photo showed the defense zone allocation table for the western section of the city wall.

In the signature column at the bottom right, there was only one name.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao.

"This deployment schedule is something I photographed from the western section command post. It only has your signature on it, without the approval of Commander Zhao Tiehan."

"According to regulations, orders involving major adjustments to the city wall defense zones must be approved by the highest commander. You bypassed Commander Zhao Tiehan and made the deployment yourself."

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's expression finally crumbled.

"What would a private like you know about regulations!"

"I know other things as well."

Li Zhengyang flipped to the second photo.

A panoramic view of the warehouse inside the Bloody Canyon mine.

Spirit ores, medicinal pills, and weapons; the Quartermasters Office serial numbers on the crates were clearly visible.

The third one.

A shipping manifest.

Shipper: Fortress No. 13 Quartermasters Office.

Signatory: Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao.

The fourth one.

A close-up of the Quartermasters Office serial number on the medicinal pill bottles.

Li Zhengyang turned the phone around to let everyone in the operation room see clearly.

"Deep in the Bloody Canyon, there is an underground transit warehouse storing spirit ores, medicinal pills, and standard-issue weapons intercepted from the Fortress No. 13 Quartermasters Office. The shipping manifest bears your name, Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao."

"Frontline soldiers were injured and had no healing pills to use; they lay in the infirmary for half a month with meridian damage so severe they couldn't return to the battlefield."

"Where did the medicinal pills go? You sold them off."

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's face turned bright red instantly.

The surrounding officers began to whisper to one another.

A few people's expressions also turned ugly, as they recalled their own soldiers becoming disabled due to a lack of medicine.

"You are spouting bullshit!"

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao slammed the sand table violently.

"These photos are all fakes! A new recruit from the Po Feng Battalion like you, where did you get the guts to frame a Vice Commander!"

He turned back and scanned the officers in the operation room.

"What are you all standing there for! Seize him! Trespassing into the command headquarters, framing a superior officer, and disrupting military morale."

No one moved.

It was not that they did not want to.

It was that they did not dare.

Li Zhengyang's aura pressed down on the room; these officers at the Great Martial Master level were struggling just to stand straight, so who would dare to step forward and seize him?

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's breathing became heavy.

He stopped calling for others and moved himself.

The life force of a Level 5 Martial Spirit circulated at full power, and Qi burst forth from his body.

He drew his saber from his waist with his right hand, took a step spanning three meters, and the blade slashed toward Li Zhengyang's neck.

One slash.

He used his full strength for this slash.

All the life force of a Level 5 Martial Spirit was poured into the blade, and the Qi on the blade was three times thicker than usual.

Li Zhengyang did not take his spear.

He raised his left hand and pinched the blade with two fingers.

He caught it.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's full-strength slash was caught by two fingers at a position two inches from Li Zhengyang's neck.

The blade vibrated with a humming sound between his fingers, yet it could not be pushed in even a fraction.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's pupils contracted violently.

Can he not be shaken even by me, a dignified Level 5 Martial Spirit?

Just what kind of strength does this brat have?

Li Zhengyang applied force with his fingers.

Crack.

The standard-issue saber snapped in two from the middle.

The top half of the blade tip stuck into the sand table, still vibrating with a hum.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao held the hilt of the broken saber, stunned in place.

Li Zhengyang raised his foot and kicked him in the chest.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao flew backward, his back slamming into the wall of the operation room, causing a section of the wall to collapse.

He slid down from the wall, sprawled on the ground, and spat out a mouthful of blood foam.

"Thirty-seven human lives."

Li Zhengyang walked over and squatted in front of him.

"To cover up your smuggling, you transferred all the new recruits to the worst defense zone, letting the beast tide kill them to silence them."

"Do you really think you deserve to wear this military uniform?"

The door of the operation room was pushed open at this moment.

A person walked in.

All the officers stood at attention simultaneously.

Commander Zhao Tiehan.

The highest commander of Fortress No. 13, a 9th-Rank Martial Spirit.

He was about fifty years old, not tall, but his entire aura made everyone in the room unable to breathe.

His gaze swept over Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao on the ground, scanned the broken bricks and the broken saber all over the floor, and finally landed on Li Zhengyang.

"Li Zhengyang, where is the evidence you spoke of? If there is no evidence, your crime will be great."

Li Zhengyang handed over the phone.

Commander Zhao Tiehan took the phone and flipped through it, one by one.

There was no sound in the operation room.

When he flipped to the last one, Commander Zhao Tiehan closed the phone.

"Someone come here."

Two military police officers walked in from outside the door.

"Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao, you are suspected of selling military supplies and abusing your power, causing the deaths of combat personnel. You are immediately relieved of all duties, imprisoned, and will face the death penalty at a later date!"

The military police stepped forward and dragged Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao up from the ground.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao was still spitting blood, shouting incoherently.

"Commander Zhao Tiehan! You are relying on just a few photos from a new recruit."

"Shut up." Commander Zhao Tiehan did not look at him. "I have had people check the Quartermasters Office accounts for those goods you handled for three days. Did you think he was the only one with evidence?"

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's face completely lost all color.

As he was dragged away, his legs dragged along the ground, leaving two marks.

Only Commander Zhao Tiehan and Li Zhengyang remained in the operation room.

Commander Zhao Tiehan returned the phone to him.

"I have read the battle record for the northwest section of the city wall. One person held it for four hours, zero breakthroughs."

Li Zhengyang did not respond.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

Commander Zhao Tiehan looked at him for a few seconds.

"A twenty-year-old Martial Spirit. In the entire Fortress No. 13, there is no second one."

He took a letter out of his pocket and tossed it over.

"A notice just sent over from the Northern Border Military Region headquarters. Next month, there will be a military-wide martial artist selection tournament. The age requirement is under 25, and the top three will directly enter the military region's core combat team. The prize pool is four million great xia currency, with the champion taking two million alone."

Li Zhengyang had already been about to leave.

His footsteps stopped.

"How much?"

"Four million."

Li Zhengyang opened the letter and read it through once.

Commander Zhao Tiehan stared at his reaction and added a sentence.

"Of course, the strength of the contestants will not be too low. The favorite for the champion is the captain of the First Fortress of the military region, at the Martial Sect level."

Martial Sect.

One whole major realm higher than him.

Li Zhengyang folded the letter and put it into his pocket.

"When is the registration deadline?"

"In two days."