"Vice-General Jiang, it was my failure." Huo Yuanyi suddenly spat out a mouthful of poisoned black blood. The venom had already seeped deep into his organs, leaving his life hanging by the thinnest of threads. Jiang Xiaofan rushed forward to support him. If only Big Brother were here. With his medical skills… His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. Without Big Brother, he could do nothing! "No, Commander Huo. You have already done more than enough." Drawing in a steady breath, Jiang Xiaofan ordered men to carry Huo Yuanyi back to the main camp. The battle raged on. There was no time to tend to others, and even less to dwell on his own helplessness. He flicked blood from his blade, roared again, and hurled himself into the enemy ranks like a wild beast. Once one entered the fray, there was no return. Only death lay at the end! Inside the command tent of the Tianfeng Battalion. "How's the battle at the front?" Li Bufan sat in the command tent, his fists clenched. For five days he had remained here, restless as if sitting on needles, unable to find a moment of peace. It would almost have been easier to fight on the battlefield himself. Yet as commander of the camp, he could not leave. If anyone discovered the chief general was absent, morale would collapse and defeat would sweep over them like an avalanche. "The coalition of demons has launched another assault. The main battalion has no men left to send." A bloodied commander clenched his teeth and raised his fist. "Vice-General Li, let me go again. I have only lost one hand and one eye. I can still fight!" "Let me go instead… Cough, cough…" Another staggered to his feet but coughed blood before he could finish. In his state, he could not even lift a blade. Li Bufan looked around the tent at these battered soldiers. Could it be that Tianfeng Battalion truly had no men left to send? "Who said there are no reinforcements?" A sharp, clear voice cut through the gloom. A young woman in soft armor pushed past the guards and strode inside. "You… you cannot enter here! Ouch!" A guard tried to block her, only to be sent flying with a single kick. Li Bufan's eyes fixed on her, his tone heavy. "Hmph. I change neither name nor surname. I am Chuchu!" It was Yan Chuchu, granddaughter of the Southern Army's commander-in-chief. She had slipped into the reserve under a false name during the initial assembly. Ling Feng had discovered her at the time, but since she had some skill and would remain in the relatively safe reserve, he chose not to drive her away. Since then she had done little beyond hauling, sorting, and counting supplies. She had never once set foot on the battlefield and had grown restless with boredom. What enraged her most was that while the front bled, Ling Feng, the "supreme commander", was nowhere to be seen. To her he was nothing but a coward hiding away. She had clearly misjudged that man! Moments ago she overheard that no reinforcements remained. At once she barged into the command tent to offer herself for battle. Li Bufan frowned. "Your uniform... You are from the reserve. Return to your duties and stop making trouble!" Yan Chuchu glared. "Who says the reserve can't fight? These are extraordinary times, and every citizen is a soldier. It is time for us to take up arms and shed blood as well!" Li Bufan rolled his eyes and cut her off. "Enough. That time has not yet come. Go back." "Hey, hey, hey, are you looking down on women?" Yan Chuchu leapt up in outrage. "Damn it, bring your General Ling here! That coward hides in seclusion while the front burns. I despise him!" She even made a face at Li Bufan, leaving him speechless. Never had he met a woman so unreasonable. "Vice-General Li, I believe her words hold some merit." Lin Xian'er rose to her feet, her tone solemn. "The reserve has decent strength. Even if only a little, we can still help ease the crisis." "That's right!" Yan Chuchu nodded eagerly. "My strength is ranked within the top eighty on the Hundred Battles Ranking!" Li Bufan frowned, silent for a long moment before finally nodding. "Very well. The reserve numbers over a thousand. Its commander is early king-tier, which gives it some fighting power. They can be sent to reinforce the front. However, Miss Xian'er, you must stay behind." With only a Transformation Realm cultivation, Lin Xian'er was too fragile for battle. "It's fine. Yan'er will protect me!" She tugged on Tuoba Yan's arm. Tuoba Yan hesitated, then nodded. "Mhmm. I will keep her safe." Li Bufan wavered. Tuoba Yan was clearly capable. As long as they did not face a king-tier opponent, they should not be in grave danger. "Very well. Tuoba Yan and Commander Bai will lead the thousand-strong reserve to the front and take orders from Vice-General Jiang." "Hey, what about me?" Yan Chuchu protested at once. "At least give me a title!" Li Bufan ignored her. She stamped her feet and cursed until Lin Xian'er coaxed her along by warning that the troops would depart without her. In the end she relented, though she kept muttering curses under her breath. Other than Ling Feng, Li Bufan was probably the only man who treated her with such little regard. And so, the last remnants of Tianfeng Battalion's strength set out. The reserve, more than sixty percent of them women, marched to the battlefield as the so-called Women's Battalion. A quarter of an hour later, the thousand were assembled and departed under the watch of Li Bufan and the wounded generals. As she left, Yan Chuchu shot Li Bufan one last venomous glare, as if declaring, Just wait. When I return with great merit, I will blind your dog eyes! Li Bufan clenched his fists tighter. In truth, the only ones he could rely on were Commander Bai and Tuoba Yan. The others would serve mostly to lift morale and tend to the wounded. "Brother Ling… your decision to march into the demon domain alone. Was it truly the right one?" Li Bufan sighed and lifted his gaze to the blood-colored sky. A heavy helplessness pressed down upon his heart. Fresh chapters posted on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱