Chapter 51 - Cruelty

Looking at Lu Shan and Lu Shui’s eager faces, Giovanna could guess that their awakening process had gone very well.

“How was it?” Giovanna asked gently.

Lu Shan and Lu Shui exchanged glances. Both could not contain their excitement anymore and gushed out,

“I hit the Grade 3 Martial Arts Warrior level, just one step away from Grade 4.”

“I am already a Grade 4 Martial Arts Warrior!”

As Giovanna listened to them, she was stunned momentarily. Then shock overcame her.

Lu Shan and Lu Shui, who were not even Martial Arts Warriors before last night, not only awakened successfully overnight and became martial arts warriors, but also improved their strength by so much at once!

With the strength of the Grade 3 and 4 Martial Arts Warrior, they were already considered geniuses in their schools.

It was well-known that once a student reached the level of Grade 4 Martial Arts Warrior, he would be able to enter one of the top 10 martial arts universities. Then he would not only receive all kinds of generous Federation’s funding and help, he could gain access to a large number of resources. That meant he would have an extraordinary future, and he was destined to be a powerful expert!

In the whole school, thousands of students took the martial arts exam every year. In the end, only a handful would make it into the top 10 martial arts universities. Generally, it was just 3 or 4 candidates.

“This Perfection-grade Awakening Pill is so miraculous? ” Giovanna looked at Lu Yu with a shocked expression.

Lu Yu smiled and nodded slightly, saying: “That’s right. This Perfection-grade Awakening Pill can stimulate a lot of potential, and the power that has accumulated through years of training before can be unlocked. Lu Shui’s strength is a little higher than Lu Shan. It seems that Lu Shui has been more hardworking and that’s why she managed to get this result.”

Giovanna smiled after listening to him. She understood now, and she felt very pleased.

The family was very happy, and after breakfast, Giovanna went out to work, while Lu Shan and Lu Shui went to school.

Lu Yu, on the other hand, proceeded to the military camp.

After all, in addition to being the dojo master of the Central Dojo, he was also the captain of the 4th squadron.

After the last battle in which the city was attacked, the 4th squadron suffered heavy losses. The whole squadron was wiped out and only Song Yu was left.

In yesterday’s recruitment exercise, they recruited many members.

Lu Yu had just arrived at the military camp when he heard the sounds of training coming from within.

As he looked into the far distance, a dark shadow was standing in front of the team with a serious demeanor, berating them.

“All of you guys are quite high-level martial arts warriors, but why is your combat awareness so poor?”

“With this kind of performance, when you go into battle, none of you will survive, all of you will die!”

“Still laughing? Is this kind of thing very funny? Do not think that just because you are not weak, you can feel proud. The Fearsome Beasts are immensely powerful. If you go to the battlefield in this manner, all of you will suffer! ”

“…”

The person reprimanding the team was none other than the vice captain of the 4th squadron, the recently recovered Song Yu, and also the sole survivor among the original members of the 4th squadron.

As Lu Yu walked closer, many members of the 4th squadron looked in his direction.

They had all signed up due to Lu Yu’s fame, so they all knew Lu Yu. When they saw him, they became very excited. Lu Yu was the true hero in their hearts, who could single-handedly slay so many Fearsome Beasts!

Song Yu noticed their agitation and looked over her shoulder. When she saw Lu Yu,

her eyes glimmered with gratitude. Without Lu Yu, she would have perished in battle in the outer city. She would not be standing here today.

However, now was not the time to express gratitude. Song Yu immediately invited Lu Yu to say a few words to the team.

Lu Yu did not turn down her request. He walked up to the team. He was the captain of the 4th squadron after all, and he had to perform his duties too.

Lu Yu stood up front before all the team members and looked over all of them.

There were more than 100 members. All of them were gazing at Lu Yu with respect and gladness, unable to conceal the happiness in their faces.

Slowly, Lu Yu began to speak.

“Everyone here knows me. And you all know the contributions I made in the last battle when the Fearsome Beasts attacked the city. But do you know the real, horrifying situation during that battle?”

All the members looked at each other and were all at a loss.

They did not participate in this battle. In fact, the vast majority of them have never really experienced any battle with the Fearsome Beasts. Therefore, they knew nothing about battle combat, and they most definitely, knew nothing about the last battle.

Lu Yu saw their reaction and continued. “Then let me tell you. The 4th squadron was completely wiped out. Other than Vice Captain Song beside me, the rest of the 4th squadron’s original members all died in battle!”

When they heard Lu Yu’s words, everyone was stunned speechless.

The City Lord’s Office did not announce the actual casualty numbers in this battle. They only announced that they had successfully repelled the wave of Fearsome Beasts. As for the dead and wounded, not a word was mentioned.

They had thought that this round of recruitment was just the usual exercise of adding new recruits, and that there would be veterans to join them.

They never expected that the truth was like this.

They would not have imagined that they would be the only members in this squadron because all the original members had perished in battle.

In the last battle, the 4th squadron had suffered such massive losses. In the whole squadron of more than 100 members, only Song Yu had survived!

This sort of casualty ratio was indeed alarming.

All the new members exchanged glances. All their faces now displayed fear and shock. They had not realized that real battle was so brutal.

Lu Yu looked at them without any expression, before continuing.

“Do you think the casualty ratio is very alarming?”

“But let me tell you. This is what real battle is like. You only see me surviving the battle and achieving great success, but you have not seen that I encountered many life-threatening situations during the battle as well.”

“And I was lucky. That’s why I survived in the end. But how many people would be as lucky as I am? In reality, how many more were very unlucky and did not survive the battle?”

“If you guys think this is brutal, you may leave now. Otherwise when you get onto the battlefield in future, you won’t have a chance to leave again.”

“For those who decided to stay, train hard and prepare yourselves well to go into battle.”

“Although in war, there will always be casualties, and some of you may be destined to leave me after stepping into the battlefield, I still hope that this group will be kept to a minimum. In fact, it is best if there are no casualties!”

“I know you guys hold me in high regard, but I hope all of you will understand, nothing is more important than your own lives.”

“So train hard and survive in battles. That is my biggest hope for all of you!”

As Lu Yu finished speaking, the whole training ground was silent. No one spoke for a long time.

Many of these new recruits were still recovering from the shock of this announcement.

They had all trained and developed into Martial Arts Warriors. They were the best among humankind, and could enjoy the preferential treatment that ordinary people did not enjoy. They could have access to a variety of resources and be respected by many people.

However, with regard to the cruelty of war, they had only tasted just a bit today. They never imagined the truth to be so harsh.

All the original members in the 4th squadron were all Martial Arts Warriors or above this level, yet they still perished in this one battle, in such a tragic fashion.

After a long while, one of the member shouted out,

“Captain Lu, I am not leaving. I am definitely staying here in the 4th squadron. I will train hard and then see for myself just how powerful these Fearsome Beasts really are!”