This Martial Saint's Health Bar is Too Thick!-Chapter 43 - : First to Ascend

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: First to Ascend

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed through the forest, as over a hundred inspectors wielding Tiger Rifles opened fire upon command.

Several members of the Calming Sect, holding rudimentary rifles on the hillside, immediately panicked and turned to flee; two were struck by bullets and fell to the ground.

Li Fei drew his saber and followed calmly behind the others as they ran up the hillside.

From atop the hillside, they could see a village below with an altar made of stones at the center, marked with a sinister pattern drawn with the blood of some unknown animal—the symbol of the Calming Sect.

“Captain, it’s here! It’s here!”

The guide, Liu Asi, pointed excitedly at the village below.

“Good, well done, you’ll be rewarded once we return.”

Lu Sheng nodded and then turned to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping, looking at the village below, also showed excitement:

“I sense strong magical forces at that altar; it’s definitely used for important cult rituals. This must be the headquarters of the Calming Sect!”

Destroying a cult headquarters to completely eradicate the cult would earn him enough merit to exchange for the Implant he needed for his Tao Foundation.

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He was already getting impatient.

“Charge, try to capture them alive!”

Wang Ping gave the order.

Lu Sheng turned and called over three platoon leaders:

“Second platoon flank from the left, third platoon flank from the right, first platoon charge straight in.”

“Yes!”

The three platoon leaders took their orders and left.

As for the students of the Martial Arts Hall, they had already been assigned to the various platoons and moved with them.

Li Fei and Lu Changwu were assigned to the first platoon, directly commanded by Lu Sheng.

Attacking from the front naturally meant the greatest merit.

Lu Changwu, with a proud look, quietly said to Li Fei and the others:

“Brothers, seize the opportunity when you see it, our chance has come.”

Soon, the main force charged down the hillside and began their assault on the village.

The village gate was protected by a three-meter-high wooden wall, from which people returned fire with rudimentary rifles and bows.

However, the effective range of the rudimentary rifles was only about fifty meters; beyond that, the lead bullets could end up anywhere.

As for the arrows, although they could reach beyond a hundred meters, their power was too weak; unless hitting the limbs, they posed no threat to the inspectors and students wearing Anti-stabbing Clothes and steel helmets.

The inspectors, armed with Tiger Rifles, fired in volleys, suppressing the enemy on the wooden wall from over two hundred meters away, preventing them from even raising their heads.

Even though a few brave souls dared to peek and return fire, they were quickly targeted and shot dead.

The first large platoon led by Lu Sheng, which came out of the Xing City Inspection Bureau, had the strongest combat capability, with excellent marksmanship and coordination among the inspectors, quickly managing to advance to within twenty meters of the wooden wall, causing those on the wall to barely dare to show themselves and only managing “hit-or-miss shots.”

Next was to breach this wooden wall and penetrate the village gate.

None had brought professional climbing gear, but against a mere three-meter-high wall, no tools were needed.

“Who among you is willing to rush up and take this section of the wall, opening the village gate for us?”

Lu Sheng turned, looking at Lu Changwu, Li Fei, and the others, asking aloud.

Climbing the wall and engaging in close combat inside the village, the people from the Martial Arts Hall were definitely more useful than the inspectors.

A senior instructor with genuine Martial Artist capabilities would naturally be the best choice, but this battle was also a test for the students, so Lu Sheng’s query was directed at Li Fei and others.

This was an excellent opportunity; ancient battlefields featured ‘slaying generals, capturing flags, and first to scale’ as the three great feats, with the feat of being the first to scale referring to the first person to ascend the city walls in a siege.

Although this battle wasn’t exactly a siege, the feat of ‘first to scale’ truly existed—if achieved, this feat would virtually guarantee a top evaluation for this operation.

Lu Sheng was offering everyone a chance, or rather, offering his son, Lu Changwu, an opportunity.

“I’m willing!”

Lu Changwu didn’t disappoint Lu Sheng and was the first to step forward.

“I’m willing too!”

Li Fei was the second to step forward.

Implant indeed had to take great risks, but with the Myriad Blood Pearl in his possession and thrice the usual “health bar” of a normal person, he felt confident in his ability to protect himself.

“I’m willing too.”

“I’m willing.”

The remaining dozen or so members of the Inspection Bureau also spoke up one after another.

“Good.”

Lu Sheng pointed at Lu Changwu and Li Fei, “You two go up first, open up the situation, and the rest will follow immediately.”

“Yes!”

Lu Changwu was both excited and nervous, while Li Fei was relatively calm.

Lu Sheng briefly explained the tactics to everyone and then said solemnly,

“The people inside are either senior members of the Cult who have blood on their hands or those who have been brainwashed by the Cult, beyond redemption; so when you encounter the enemy, do not hesitate, being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to yourself, to your families!”

“Understood!”

Everyone nodded in unison.

In the end, Lu Sheng took a deep look at Lu Changwu, said nothing, and waved his hand forcefully:

“Go up!”

He could have let Lu Changwu go up the wall alone to start the action, with the rest following, so that the glory of being the first to ascend would belong solely to Lu Changwu.

But ultimately, he was worried that there would be unexpected dangers atop the wooden wall, so he decided to let Li Fei and Lu Changwu go up together.

Letting Lu Changwu lead the climb was the decision of a Captain.

Letting Li Fei accompany him was the kindness of a father.

A dozen cadets rapidly charged towards the wooden wall.

“Cover fire!”

Without needing a command from Lu Sheng, the surrounding inspectors started shooting at the wooden wall.

With the cover fire from several dozen rifles, Li Fei and the others successfully reached the base of the wooden wall.

Four of them stood under the wall, two in each group, hands joined together, making a leg-up motion to help each other over the wall.

Li Fei and Lu Changwu exchanged a look, took a few steps back, then sprinted forward, accelerating towards the wall, and at close range, their right foot forcefully stepped on the doubled hands of their companions.

All four comrades simultaneously exerted force upward, propelling Li Fei and Lu Changwu upwards.

Li Fei, with his left hand, grabbed the edge of the wooden wall and pushed himself up effortlessly, landing steadily on the wooden platform behind the wall.

On the other side, Lu Changwu also landed smoothly on the platform.

About two meters to Li Fei’s left, there was a man crouching behind the wall holding a homemade gun, and not far in front of him stood another wielding a bow and arrow.

He made an immediate decision, without any hesitation turned, and charged to the left, his saber forcefully slashing down.

Bang!

The opponent instinctively lifted the homemade gun to block, the barrel was chopped, creating a notch, and then it clattered to the ground.

Li Fei flipped his wrist and swung the saber upward in a reverse strike.

He had been practicing the Saber Technique taught by Hao Yi during this period, and the Rolling Thunder Style had almost become an instinctive part of his body.

Swish—

The blade smoothly sliced across the opponent’s chest.

Blood splashed out, and the opponent emitted a piercing scream.

Before Li Fei could fully experience what it felt like to chop someone for the first time, the Steel Armor Implant at the back of his neck suddenly twitched, sensing danger.

Without thinking, Li Fei instantly crouched down and then swung his saber in a rapid turn.

An arrow flew over his head.

It was the bow-wielding enemy, seizing the opportunity to shoot an arrow at Li Fei, targeting the unprotected back of his neck.

The opponent, a seasoned hunter accustomed to the mountains and skilled with the bow, was able to shoot so quickly and accurately.

A wave of fear followed by anger surged through Li Fei, he leaped forward and swung his saber, chopping the enemy to the ground!

It was only after the man twitched a few times on the ground then lay still that Li Fei realized:

He had killed someone.

…