Chapter 66: Training

Early the next morning, as the sky grew faintly bright, the eight hundred soldiers of the Vanguard Camp responded to the command and quickly rushed to the parade ground to assemble.

They formed four orderly platoons, preparing for the upcoming military formation drills.

On the high platform of the parade ground, General Gao Yue stood as straight as an ancient pine, clad in an imposing suit of battle armor. Stroking his long beard, his sharp and majestic gaze swept over every soldier below, and a look of satisfaction gradually appeared in his eyes.

Behind him, his second-in-command stood respectfully, bowing slightly, and said with utmost reverence, "General, the selection process for the intelligence squad members is basically complete. Would you like to step over and review them?"

"Hmm." Gao Yue nodded slightly.

Ever since he witnessed the formidable intelligence-gathering capabilities of the Cui family last time, he had entertained the idea of establishing an intelligence squad.

Now that the members had been chosen, involving the crucial construction of the army's intelligence forces, he naturally wanted to personally oversee it.

With that, led by his deputy, Gao Yue strode away from the high platform.

Meanwhile, on the parade ground, Qin Jue's platoon had already lined up in strict accordance with the formation requirements.

The military formation they were about to practice was called the wedge formation.

This was also the most offensive military formation with the greatest impact on the battlefield.

According to Gao Yue's pre-battle deployment, they would adopt an ambush tactic this operation, and the characteristics of the wedge formation would undoubtedly play a huge advantage in an ambush.

Qin Jue's squad was assigned to the middle-rear position of the wedge formation.

Compared to the vanguard charging at the front of the formation, the risk factor of this position was relatively low, making it a safer area within the entire formation.

Seeing this arrangement, many martial artists in the squad secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a trace of fortune welling up in their hearts.

However, Liu Guanghan, the squad leader, was extremely dissatisfied with this.

His face was gloomy, his brows knitted into a deep frown, and his eyes were filled with resentment.

In his view, the reason they were assigned to this relatively safe position was entirely due to Qin Jue's special status as the commander's disciple.

Deep down, Liu Guanghan had always harbored a hint of jealousy and dissatisfaction toward Qin Jue.

Now seeing that Qin Jue had once again obtained "privileges" due to his identity, his hatred toward him grew even more intense.

After the platoon finished the formation practice and entered the squad's wedge formation drill session, a sinister flash crossed Liu Guanghan's stern face.

He had always been stubborn and obstinate; once he made up his mind, he would never waver.

At this moment, he was extremely dissatisfied with Qin Jue, so without a second thought, he gave a grand wave of his hand and assigned Qin Jue to the most dangerous frontline position of the wedge formation.

As an offensive military formation, the wedge formation had near-harsh requirements for the qualifications of the vanguard troops at the front.

Looking around, the vanguard positions of all the other squads were invariably manned by formidable second-realm martial artists.

Yet Liu Guanghan stubbornly inserted Qin Jue, who was only in the first realm, into this spot.

Seeing this, a second-realm martial artist kindly advised, "Captain, although Qin Jue's strength is quite good, there is still a gap between the first realm and the second realm. This front position is dangerous, perhaps we should..."

Before he could finish, Liu Guanghan impatiently interrupted, "I say it's fine, so it's fine! Since he can beat a second-realm warrior, he belongs in this position."

His resolute and unquestionable tone left everyone silent, each of them wearing a complex expression.

Seeing this reaction from the crowd, Liu Guanghan's gaze darkened, and he added sarcastically, "Besides, our squad was previously arranged in the middle-rear of the platoon, which was safe to a fault. Now that Qin Jue is at the very front, doesn't it just give him a chance to showcase his strengths?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present instantly understood that he was making a mountain out of a molehill, indirectly mocking Qin Jue for securing "special treatment" through his special status.

Not just him, in fact, many people in the squad thought the same way.

However...

Qin Jue's expression remained calm, turning a deaf ear, too lazy to offer any explanation.

As for being at the front, he was quite satisfied with it.

Because this way, farming victory points would be a bit faster.

"Start training!" Liu Guanghan shouted at the top of his lungs, interrupting everyone's thoughts.

With his arms crossed, he stood to the side, his eyes tightly fixed on Qin Jue, a trace of contempt flashing in the depths of his pupils.

The good show was yet to come.

...

The squad's training mostly focused on coordination while on the move, lasting until the afternoon before temporarily stopping.

Next, according to the schedule, Liu Guanghan proceeded to divide the groups and personally train the elite vanguards at the front of the military formation.

After all, this was the most important part of the wedge formation; whether the entire formation could unleash its maximum power entirely depended on their coordinated performance.

The front section of the wedge formation consisted of ten martial artists. Except for Qin Jue, who was a first-realm martial artist, all the others were in the second realm.

Liu Guanghan swept his gaze across each of them one by one, his face so gloomy that water could almost drip from it, and said coldly, "You are the elites of the squad; ordinary training intensity is not worthy of you. Next, you must give me twelve hundred percent of your effort and undergo high-intensity physical and strength training!"

While saying this, he also glanced at Qin Jue, and seeing that the other party looked calm, a fierce glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Upon hearing this, the ten men immediately puffed out their chests and stood straight.

At a roar from Liu Guanghan, everyone began their training.

This first training session required everyone to carry thousands of pounds of heavy weights.

For second-realm martial artists, although this weight was challenging, it was still bearable; but for Qin Jue, who was in the first realm, it should normally have been extremely grueling.

Liu Guanghan stared intently at Qin Jue, a faint sneer hanging at the corner of his mouth, waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

However, Qin Jue's expression was as calm as water, his breathing steady, and he was not affected at all.

"Move out!" Liu Guanghan yelled at the top of his lungs.

Hearing the command, everyone immediately started running...

At first, everyone's footsteps were light, kicking up gusts of wind as if the thousands of pounds of heavy weights had no impact on them at all.

However, as time passed and their physical stamina gradually depleted, everyone's footsteps obviously grew heavier and their speed slowed down a lot.

"Get your spirits up, everyone! Whoever dares to fall behind won't get to eat tonight!" Liu Guanghan shouted angrily with a furious expression.

He glanced at Qin Jue from time to time, expecting him to be the first to break down.

Yet reality surprised him again and again!

He hadn't expected that not only did the other party not fall behind the overall pace, but his steps were steady and his speed even, without being affected in the slightest.

After all, Liu Guanghan's understanding of Qin Jue was only skin-deep.

If he had known about Qin Jue's heroic feat of single-handedly fighting more than twenty second-realm martial artists back then, he probably never would have thought of targeting him in terms of physical stamina.

In the blink of an eye, the other second-realm martial artists were physically exhausted and struggling to keep going.

Looking at Qin Jue instead, his expression was composed, his breathing steady, and not a trace of fatigue could be seen.

This scene left the surrounding martial artists, who knew little about him, utterly astonished.

A martial artist who was training couldn't help whispering in amazement, "I never expected Senior Military Officer Qin's physical stamina to be this formidable."

Hearing this, Zhu Xiaohu immediately chimed in mockingly, "What did you expect? Do you think the commander chose him as a disciple just because he's handsome?"

As soon as these words were said, they provoked a roar of laughter from the crowd.

Meanwhile, Liu Guanghan, upon seeing Qin Jue's state, frowned deeply, his expression looking rather ugly.

He involuntarily clenched his right fist, a ruthless glint flashing through his pupils as he brewed a new suppression plan in his heart...