Chapter 43: First to Ascend

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out in the mountain forest. More than a hundred Inspection Academy members holding Tiger-style rifles fired after hearing the order.

Several members of the Anshen Sect on the hillside holding crude guns immediately turned and fled in a panic; two of them were hit by bullets and fell to the ground in response.

Li Fei drew his sword and followed behind the crowd unhurriedly, rushing up the hillside together.

Looking down from the hillside, one could see a stronghold below. In the center of the stronghold was an altar built of stones. A weird pattern was drawn on the altar with the blood of some animal, which was exactly the sect symbol of the Anshen Sect.

"Officer, it's here! It's here!"

The guide Liu Asi pointed excitedly at the stronghold below and said.

"Good, well done. You can receive the reward after going back."

Lu Sheng nodded, then turned his head to look at Wang Ping.

Wang Ping looked down, his face also showing excitement:

"I felt a very strong art-law ritual on that altar. Such an altar must be used to hold important sect rituals. This should be the Anshen Sect's lair!"

Destroying an evil sect lair, thereby completely clearing an evil sect—such merit can allow him to obtain enough merit to exchange for the implant required for his Dao foundation.

He was already somewhat impatient.

"Attack down, try to capture alive!"

Wang Ping gave the order.

Lu Sheng turned around and called three squadron leaders:

"The second squadron outflanks from the left, the third squadron outflanks from the right, and the first squadron charges down from the front."

"Yes!"

The three squadron leaders took the order and left.

As for the Martial Arts Hall students, they had already been assigned to various squadrons in advance and followed these squadrons to act.

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

Attacking from the front, the merit is naturally the greatest.

Lu Changwu showed a proud expression and whispered to Li Fei and others:

"Brothers, act according to the situation in a while. Our opportunity has come."

Soon, the main force rushed down the hillside and began to attack the stronghold.

The gate of the mountain stronghold had a wooden wall over three meters high, and people on the wall were fighting back with crude guns and bows and arrows.

But the effective range of the crude guns was only fifty meters; beyond fifty meters, the lead pellets fired would fly off to who knows where.

As for bows and arrows, although the range could exceed one hundred meters, the power was too weak. Unless they hit the hands and feet, they posed no threat to the Inspection Academy members and students wearing stab-proof clothing and steel helmets.

The Inspection Academy members holding Tiger-style rifles fired in batches, starting to suppress the enemies on the wooden wall from more than two hundred meters away, beating them until they couldn't lift their heads, only able to perform "random shooting."

Even if a few brave people dared to keep showing their heads to fight back, they were quickly targeted by concentrated fire and shot to death.

Lu Sheng's First Squadron, which he brought out personally, was the strongest in combat power in the entire Xingcheng Inspection Academy. The marksmanship and coordination of these Inspection Academy members were quite good, and they soon successfully reached a position twenty meters in front of the wooden wall, beating the people on the wooden wall until they basically didn't dare to show their heads, only able to perform "random shooting."

What needs to be done next is to break through this wooden wall and attack the stronghold gate.

Everyone didn't carry professional climbing tools, but facing a wooden wall only more than three meters high, they didn't need any tools.

"Who among you is willing to rush up and take down this section of the wooden wall to open the stronghold gate for us?"

Lu Sheng turned to look at Lu Changwu and Li Fei and others and asked.

Climbing the wall and entering the stronghold for close combat, Martial Arts Hall people are definitely better to use than Inspection Academy members.

Senior lecturers with the strength of official martial artists are naturally the most suitable candidates, but this battle is also an assessment of students, so Lu Sheng asked Li Fei and others.

This is a very good opportunity. In ancient battlefields, there are the three great merits of "beheading generals, seizing flags, and first to ascend," among which the merit of "first to ascend" refers to the person who rushes onto the city wall first in a siege battle.

Although this battle cannot be counted as any siege battle, the merit of "first to ascend" does indeed exist. If it can be taken, the A-plus evaluation for this action will basically be stable.

Lu Sheng is giving everyone an opportunity, or rather, giving his son Lu Changwu an opportunity.

"I am willing!"

Lu Changwu didn't let Lu Sheng down and was the first to stand out.

"I am also willing!"

Li Fei was the second to stand out.

First to ascend does indeed need to take a great risk, but he has the Ten Thousand Blood Bead, has a "blood bar" three times that of ordinary people, and is confident that he has the ability to protect himself.

"I am willing."

"I am willing."

The remaining dozen or so children of the Inspection Academy also spoke one after another.

"Good."

Lu Sheng pointed at Lu Changwu and Li Fei, "You two go up first. After opening the situation, everyone else will follow immediately."

"Yes!"

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

Lu Sheng briefly told everyone the tactics, and then said solemnly:

"The people inside are either veteran members of the evil sect, stained with blood, or stubborn members brainwashed by the evil sect, hopeless; so don't hesitate when you meet the enemy. Being kind to the enemy is being cruel to yourself and your family!"

"Understand!"

Everyone nodded in unison.

Lu Sheng finally looked deeply at Lu Changwu and didn't say anything, waving his hand heavily:

"Go!"

He could actually let Lu Changwu go up the wall first to open the situation, and then let others follow, so that the merit of "first to ascend" would belong entirely to Lu Changwu alone.

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

Letting Lu Changwu ascend first is the decision of a squadron leader.

Letting Li Fei follow together is the kindness of a father.

More than a dozen students rushed toward the bottom of the wooden wall quickly.

"Covering fire!"

There was no need for Lu Sheng to give an order; the surrounding Inspection Academy members began to shoot at the wooden wall.

With the cover of dozens of guns, Li Fei and others successfully rushed to the bottom of the wooden wall.

The four stood under the wall, in groups of two, putting their hands together to make an action to assist in climbing the wall.

Li Fei and Lu Changwu looked at each other, retreated a few steps, then took a run-up, accelerated, and when approaching the wall, stepped their right feet hard on the hands of their companions.

Four companions exerted force upward at the same time, letting Li Fei and Lu Changwu jump upward.

Li Fei grabbed the edge of the wooden wall with his left hand and pushed hard, easily flipping over the wooden wall and landing steadily on the wooden platform behind the wall.

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

About two meters to Li Fei's left, there was a person holding a crude gun crouching behind the wall, and not far in front of him was a person holding a bow and arrow.

He immediately made a decision, turned around without hesitation, and rushed toward the left, slashing with his sword with all his might.

Bang!

The opponent subconsciously raised the crude gun to block, the barrel was slashed with a notch, and then it was shaken to the ground.

Li Fei turned his wrist and backhanded the sword upward, slashing from the lower left to the upper right.

He had been practicing the knife technique Hao Yi taught him during this period, and this move, the Rolling Thunder Style, had almost become a physical instinct.

Swish—

The blade cut smoothly across the opponent's chest.

Blood splashed out, and the other party let out a shrill scream.

Before Li Fei could carefully experience what it felt like to kill someone for the first time, the steel armor implant on the back of his neck suddenly became restless, sensing danger.

Li Fei didn't even think about it, immediately crouched down, and then turned around and slashed fiercely.

An arrow flew over the top of his head.

It was the enemy holding the bow and arrow who took the opportunity to shoot an arrow at Li Fei, aiming at the unprotected back of Li Fei's neck.

The other party was a hunter who had been hunting in the mountains for many years and was used to using bows and arrows, so he could shoot so quickly and with high precision.

Li Fei felt a lingering fear, then felt anger, jumped out in one step, and slashed the other party to the ground!

It wasn't until this person twitched a few times on the ground and stopped moving that Li Fei reacted:

He had killed someone.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 44 =====