When the flag of Thainan was planted at the highest point of the city, Malin was leading the soldiers willing to follow him to break through the last line of Chaos. They wore imitation power armor and wielded the same imitation powered swords. Back in the day when firearms hadn’t yet become prosperous, Thanan long knife warriors were always the main force against the Bleeding Ghosts. These mortals once even went without armor, only to gain faster speed and evasion capability. But today, their power armors were adorned with starlight, the dark armor plates full of starry patterns. These white-haired old men were just as ever, only this time they followed Malin who held a long knife. And this was the blessing Malin bestowed upon these old men— they were the last generation of long knife warriors in the Thainan army. Forty years ago, after the Thainan army began to massively use firearms and bayonettes, long knife warriors like them no longer received systematic training and conscription. Now, this was the final performance for these old men, because the military would by any means kick these old men, with an average age of over seventy, out of the army. Even though these soldiers were at the pinnacle of mortal ability, each having transcendent capabilities regarding physique, honestly, the first thought Malin had upon seeing these old men was whether they were really okay. The leading old man, coughing like he had tuberculosis, expressed himself in the accent of Daigyōbu Moh Naka. Goodness, he was some guy from the Four Islands too. Yet Malin still respected him and his soldiers, thanked them for their contributions to this land, and then said, "You useless old fellow, just lie down in the hospital, I’ll take your men to the front lines and slaughter all those possible Bleeding Ghosts." "You? You haven’t eaten as much food as the sea salt I’ve consumed!" The old man from the Four Islands laughed heartily. Malin said nothing more, reaching out to pull a structurally intact piece from the roadside ruins from the earth, then hurled this giant piece of architectural debris toward the Chaos ranks. The saying "Strength that can uproot mountains and clout that blankets the world" pretty much described someone like Malin, so the old fellow who called himself Tsuchimikado Tadashi rolled his eyes, and in a chorus of astonished cries, was dragged away by military medics. So after the Bleeding Ghosts in front appeared, Malin blessed these old men to the fullest. Thus, when Malin took the old man’s long sword and led the charge, he found that the old men behind him had all averaged up to Astarte-level capabilities, able to run a hundred meters in 7.1 seconds. And then the old men holding big knives became powerful again with Malin’s war cry. This war cry not only gave these old men greater empowerment but also variously weakened the Bleeding Ghosts. Thus, two seconds later, the bipedal war apes entirely crushed the Bleeding Ghosts in battle for the first time, and the old men, following Malin, cut through four layers of Bleeding Ghosts’ formations, each long knife warrior bathed in blood. But when Malin raised the head of the Bleeding Ghost leader high and shouted loudly, these warriors still lifted their long knives in ecstasy. The remaining Chaos began to flee— now that all their commanders, Great Demons, and chosen champions had been slain, despairing, they could only choose to escape. These cowards would be chased down by light cavalry using short-barreled riding rifles. Malin tossed the head in his hand to the approaching Li, the garrison officer, then looked at these long knife warriors: "Veterans, I have something to say to you." The old men ended their revelry among themselves and began to gather around Malin. They indeed still had wounded among them, but these wounded were still supported by their old companions. "His Highness Malin, you have brought us glory, please say it." The deputy among these long knife warriors stepped forward. Like the sole named Tadashi, but because his mother was from the Four Islands, he had a Thanan surname, Qin Ancheng. "I know, those who speak the truth are often unpopular, but I must say it, the era belonging to you has passed, veterans." Malin looked at these old men and said. The garrison officer Li instinctively wanted to stop Malin from saying this, but this time, he didn’t see long knife warriors angry, instead, these old men, who never wished to admit defeat, all lowered their heads. "Veterans, trust in the younger generation, your era has passed. In future wars, firearms will replace the long knives in your hands. Engagements spanning hundreds of meters will be the norm in the coming era. Perhaps there will be moments to defend and kill with cold weapons, but there will be no more veterans like you charging against enemy ranged firepower, just as today even you know that if you charged wearing only the gear I had not blessed against any line guarded by Chaos, you would suffer heavy losses." At this point, Malin reached out and patted Qin Ancheng’s shoulder: "Retire, to the Veterans’ Home, or your homeland, this world, though full of danger, will surely have a place for you. I swear to you, if you have nowhere to go, you can come with me to New Hangzhou." Malin said with a smile. "No, I can return to my homeland, thank you, His Highness Malin, but some of my subordinates’ homelands are further North... More than half of us long knife warriors have our homelands in the North... We’ve been away from home for eight millennia." The old man sighed at this point. Malin fell silent, for he saw the helplessness and sadness on many of the old men’s faces.