Lei Mingyang had been watching Fa Hua as well. Earlier, he had introduced the battalions each Battalion Captain commanded, but had deliberately left out their specialties. That, too, had been a test. After all, Fa Hua and Lan Ge were both far too young. Once Lei Mingyang left, Lan Ge would be the highest commander here. Even though Lan Ge was a prince, Lei Mingyang still could not help feeling uneasy.
Originally, that test had been meant for Lan Ge. But since Lan Ge had pushed Fa Hua forward, Lei Mingyang was just as interested to see what he could do.
“I choose Battalion Captain Leng Lan,” Fa Hua said almost without hesitation.
Lei Minglie immediately looked disappointed. He said sourly, “Sure enough, beauties are always more popular! Ah, rough old men like us just aren’t appreciated.”
Lei Mingyang laughed and scolded him, “Enough nonsense. I choose you. Prove yourself on the battlefield.”
Only then did Lei Minglie turn from anger to delight. He laughed loudly. “The boss still treats me best. Leng girl, hehe, you’d better be careful.”
Leng Lan spoke for the first time, giving a cold snort. “You’re the one who should be careful.” But judging from the faint crease between her brows, she did not seem especially optimistic about a contest between herself and Lei Minglie.
Her gaze turned back to Fa Hua. Fa Hua merely nodded to her and said nothing.
In truth, it made little difference to Fa Hua whom he chose. He chose Leng Lan because, among the Five-Thunder Legion, the only Elemental Warriors he had truly seen were those of the Flash Thunder Battalion. With Lan Ge’s earlier explanation as well, he was more familiar with the Flash Thunder Battalion than the others. But from Leng Lan’s expression, he could also faintly guess that the Hard-Thunder Battalion under Lei Minglie likely countered the Flash Thunder Battalion to some degree. That was why Leng Lan did not look especially confident.
All fundamental judgment came from observation. Fa Hua, of course, had confidence in himself.
“Then let’s go. We’ll meet at the training ground. Leng Lan, take Fa Hua to familiarize himself with your battalion first, or let him choose his own people.” With that, Lei Mingyang did not drag things out. He led Lei Minglie out of the conference hall at once. The other Battalion Captains followed, leaving only Leng Lan behind.
“Prince, Mr. Fa Hua, please.” Leng Lan gestured for them to proceed, her face expressionless, then turned and walked out.
Lan Ge nudged Fa Hua. “How confident are you? Let me tell you, the Five-Thunder Legion is Thunder City’s most elite army. Even across the entire Blue Domain, it ranks among the best. Uncle Lei has commanded the Five-Thunder Legion for years, and when it comes to leading troops into battle, he’s one of the top figures in the Blue Domain. Don’t get careless. The Five-Thunder Legion is famous for its explosiveness. Don’t get beaten before they even have a chance to show it.”
Fa Hua glanced at him. “If you have so little confidence in me, why did you call me here?”
Lan Ge shrugged. “I’m just giving you a friendly warning. How is that me lacking confidence? Besides, I can’t jump in later anyway. If you get shocked into convulsions, I’ll be the one suffering with you. If not for that Backstabbing Pearl, who’d care whether you lived or died?”
“Heh.”
Training Ground.
The Five-Thunder Legion’s main training ground was vast, with lightning-protection measures spread all around it. Nearly all the nearby vegetation had been cleared away to prevent fires.
Beside the garrison lay an Elemental Sea of the Lightning Element, making the area around the legion exceptionally rich in the Lightning Element. It was the ideal place to cultivate.
The Five-Thunder Legion was officially said to number five thousand, but in reality, its total personnel approached twenty thousand. In addition to logistics and supply units, it had reserves, and even a youth Elemental Warrior training base dedicated to raising future forces.
The assembly whistle rang through the camp, and figures quickly gathered in formation. Although the Blue Domain was the Land of Freedom, Fa Hua saw no trace of loose discipline inside the military camp. In only a short while, five square formations had already lined up in perfect order.
Aside from patrol and garrison duty, nearly two-thirds of the force was currently inside the camp. Each battalion had at least five companies.
“Reporting to the Grand Marshal! The Hard-Thunder Battalion is fully assembled!”
“The Fierce-Thunder Battalion is fully assembled!”
“……”
Amid one report after another, the Five-Thunder Legion’s Elemental Warriors completed their assembly.
The five battalions were dressed in clearly different styles. Fa Hua had only seen the Elemental Warriors of the Flash Thunder Battalion before. Now, the other battalions stood before him as well.
Their equipment was almost entirely different. The soldiers of the Hard-Thunder Battalion all wore armor, and from the look of it, heavy armor. The deep-blue plates were thick and solid, set with gems of the same deep blue whose purpose was unclear. Most striking of all was the fist-sized gem set into each chest piece, with additional gems placed at every joint.
Every Hard-Thunder Elemental Warrior, like their Battalion Captain, was powerfully built. Each carried only a single primary weapon: a long-handled battle-axe. The enormous axe blade was half the size of a cart wheel. Just standing there, they naturally gave off a cold, murderous aura. Though they numbered only a few hundred, they looked like a pack of fierce beasts.
The Fierce-Thunder Battalion was different. They wore armor as well, but theirs was dark-blue light armor. More importantly, they were cavalry. Each Fierce-Thunder warrior rode a fine horse with a deep-blue mane. The mounts were at least fifty percent larger than ordinary horses, more than twelve chi from head to tail and roughly eight chi high at the shoulder. Sleek muscle rippled across their bodies, full of power.
Long spears were the Fierce-Thunder Battalion’s main equipment, and each warrior also carried a round shield on his back.
The Sky-Thunder Battalion was the only one of the five without armor. Their weapons were long-handled staves, each topped with the same kind of deep-blue gem. They all wore deep-purple robes embroidered with magical patterns that faintly radiated fluctuations of the Lightning Element.
The Explosive-Thunder Battalion wore leather armor like the Flash Thunder Battalion, but the insignia on their chests was made of several radiating bolts of lightning. Each carried a box on his back. Aside from that, they seemed to have no other equipment. What those boxes contained was impossible to tell.
Fa Hua was slightly moved. From appearance and equipment alone, the Elemental Warriors of the Blue Domain were already vastly different from the Order Warriors of the Law Domain. The Five-Thunder Legion’s main combat force numbered only five thousand, but dividing it into five types clearly created far more tactical variation. Add in the explosive nature of the Lightning Element, and their fighting strength was undoubtedly formidable.
Precisely because of that, he felt even more eager to try.
“Fa Hua, do you need more time to prepare?” Lei Mingyang asked with a smile. He had personally built the Five-Thunder Legion, and dividing thunder techniques into five systems was his proudest accomplishment. It allowed different Lightning Element practitioners to find their proper positions and bring out their greatest effect.
Fa Hua thought for a moment, then said, “Grand Marshal, I have an idea. Please don’t take offense.”
“Oh? Go ahead.” Lei Mingyang gestured for him to speak.
Practitioners respected the strong. Fa Hua might be young, but he was Ninth-Rank, just like Lei Mingyang. In fact, within the entire Five-Thunder Legion, Lei Mingyang was the only Ninth-Rank.
Fa Hua said, “I came here hoping to try commanding Elemental Warriors with the Law Domain’s methods, to see whether the result can be greater than the sum of its parts. If this is only a fair duel, then even a narrow victory would prove little. So I hope to increase the pressure.”
Lei Mingyang’s eyebrow rose. Not only was he not displeased, he admired Fa Hua’s courage. He did not believe Fa Hua had failed to notice that the Hard-Thunder Battalion countered the Flash Thunder Battalion to a certain extent. Yet even in this situation, Fa Hua still wanted more pressure. That was confidence.
“And how do you want to increase it?” Lei Mingyang asked.
Fa Hua answered without hesitation. “Please choose another battalion and add one hundred more troops. I’ll take one hundred against two hundred.”
At those words, the five Battalion Captains’ expressions changed to varying degrees. Leng Lan’s changed the most. Straightforward as she was, she nearly blurted out, “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Within the Five-Thunder Legion, the Flash Thunder Battalion was mainly responsible for scouting, assassination, and decapitation strikes. It was inherently disadvantaged on a frontal battlefield. Each of the Five-Thunder Legion’s five battalions had its own specialty. One-on-one might still be arguable, but in a one-against-two situation, Lei Mingyang’s familiarity with the legion meant he would naturally make the strongest possible pairing. What gave Fa Hua the confidence to win?
Lei Mingyang raised his hand, and the five Battalion Captains fell silent. He smiled, but did not accuse Fa Hua of arrogance. He merely nodded. “Fine. We’ll do as you said. The Sky-Thunder Battalion will also send one company. Meng Qiankun, you’ll take the field as well. For fairness, Prince, why don’t you join Fa Hua’s side to balance the high-end combat power?”
Lan Ge gave Lei Mingyang a strange look. After what Leng Lan had said earlier, he truly wanted to throw the same words back at Lei Mingyang. If he fought alongside Fa Hua, then the result would be far from as simple as one plus one equaling two.
“All right. Unless it’s necessary, I won’t interfere.”
In truth, even Lan Ge himself was not entirely sure whether he supported Fa Hua more or the Five-Thunder Legion more. He was feeling a bit torn. He wanted to see Fa Hua make a fool of himself, yet also hoped Fa Hua would win everyone’s recognition.
The deployment on the training ground was completed. Led by Leng Lan, Fa Hua and Lan Ge walked to one side. On the other, Lei Mingyang, Lei Minglie, and Meng Qiankun led two companies to the opposite end. Five hundred meters separated the two sides.
Li Biao, Battalion Captain of the Fierce-Thunder Battalion, served as referee for the match.
He raised a red flag and waited for both sides to arrange their formations.
“How are we going to fight?” Leng Lan asked Fa Hua, who walked beside her and looked even smaller than she was. Even now, she still could not understand what made him so confident he could win while outnumbered two to one.