Chapter 59 - Sword Pointing at the Blood

When Lu Yu arrived at the military camp of the 4th squadron, a bunch of new members were busy training.

Lu Yu made a tour of the place. All the troops were training in earnest. The atmosphere was good, and everything was arranged very well and orderly.

A burly man saw Lu Yu and came over with a face full of excitement.

“Captain Lu, you’re here!” The burly guy looked at Lu Yu with a face full of admiration.

Lu Yu nodded slightly. As he looked at the thriving 4th squadron, he could not help praising with some satisfaction, “You arranged all these? Not bad!”

The burly guy in front of him was named Qin Yong. He was the only Martial Master among the new members of the 4th squadron.

Although he was just a junior Martial Master, simply having a Martial Master on board was already a good thing.

The rest of the Martial Masters had either been recruited by other factions long ago and given generous treatment, or they had joined the dojos, receiving good treatment as well.

As for the 4th squadron, as a military unit, their treatment and benefits were not as generous as those given by the dojos and other factions. On top of that, they had to risk their lives. Therefore, very few powerful experts chose to join the military forces.

In Lunan City, this situation was especially pronounced.

Whether they joined the dojos or other factions, Martial Masters and those above this level would receive excellent treatment and benefits and would normally not face any dangerous situation.

As Qin Yong was a newly promoted Martial Master, he had not joined other dojos or factions prior to this.

Added to this his admiration for Lu Yu, he refused the offers from other dojos and various factions. He headed straight away to join the 4th squadron under Lu Yu.

Lu Yu saw that he was the only Martial Master among the new members of the 4th squadron, so he temporarily made him the team leader of the 4th squadron.

During this time Lu Yu had been busy with the dojo and his own training matters, so he did not spend much time managing the 4th squadron.

He did not expect that everything in the 4th squadron would be managed so well and orderly under Qin Yong’s management.

When Qin Yong heard Lu Yu’s praise, he was very happy. He scratched his head and said somewhat foolishly, “Thank you, Captain Lu. I used to be in the army, then I retired temporarily to go into martial arts training full-time.”

Lu Yu nodded his head when he heard his explanation.

“On yes. How are the combat abilities of these new recruits now? There is an urgent mission. We need to send people into the blood-sucking wasteland. This mission is more dangerous, so it needs warriors with a high level of ability to qualify.” Lu Yu inquired.

When Qin Yong heard that, he looked very anxious. He took out a small booklet and handed it to Lu Yu. He then proceeded to explain to him,

“After the last battle with the city-attacking Fearsome Beasts, it was very difficult for the military to recruit newcomers as people knew how dangerous it was. Everyone valued their own lives. However, due to your great reputation, quite a number joined in. Some of them are quite strong, but generally speaking, their numbers are few and far between.”

“At present, as far as the strength of the 4th squadron stationed here in Lunan City is concerned, there are only 2 Martial Masters. One is me, the other is Vice Captain Song Yu, who is still in recuperation.”

“Other than that, the rest of the new recruits are all at the level of Martial Arts Warrior.”

“Furthermore, they have not had much training, so their combat abilities are not that great. If you need to send people out of Lunan City to the blood-sucking wasteland, they should be at least at the level of Advanced Martial Arts Warrior. Here, only 8 members are at this level.”

As Lu Yu looked through the name list, it was indeed as he said.

There were plenty of Junior Martial Arts Warriors. There were also quite a few Intermediate Martial Arts Warriors. however, none of them had much military training. They did not have group combat ability. If they leave Lunan City for the blood-sucking wasteland, they would simply become sacrifices.

In other words, he could only take Qin Yong and these 8 Advanced Martial Arts Warriors along for this mission.

Lu Yu nodded his head and said, “Fine, then let’s proceed with these. Train up these 8 members well today, then pack up your gear. Tomorrow, you guys will follow me to go out of Lunan City and head for the blood-sucking wasteland for this urgent mission.”

“Yes, Sir!” Qin Yong acknowledged his instruction.

With a nod of his head, Lu Yu turned to leave.

Qin Yong hesitated for a moment before calling out Lu Yu again.

“Er… Mr. Lu, the blood-sucking wasteland is a perilous destination. Although you are very strong, even with us tagging along, I think it is still very dangerous. If possible, perhaps you can pick a few powerful experts from the Central Dojo to join us. There are many more powerful experts in the dojo than in the 4th squadron.”

Lu Yu was still worrying about insufficient manpower at this point. When he heard Qin Yong, his eyes lit up immediately.

There might be only one Martial Master in the 4th squadron, but there were plenty in the Central Dojo.

As Lu Yu’s reputation spread, many martial arts experts came to register. With such high numbers, there would naturally be some high level experts in their midst.

Lu Yu recalled that there were indeed quite a few such experts in the Central Dojo.

Following that, Lu Yu headed for the Central Dojo.

Due to the fact that Lu Yu had been spending more time at the Central Dojo these few days, everyone was training hard and dared not slack off.

Lu Yu asked for the name list and confirmed his hunch.

The recruitment exercise for the 4th squadron was conducted in tandem with the Central Dojo. Both entities were related to Lu Yu’s fame and so attracted many applicants.

However, only one Martial Master joined the 4th squadron while the Central Dojo had a total of 6.

As Lu Yu passed down his instruction, the 6 Martial Masters very quickly arrived before Lu Yu.

“Tomorrow I have to embark on an urgent mission. Do you guys have any issue with following me out of Lunan City and venturing into the blood-sucking wasteland?” Lu Yu asked these 6 candidates.

The 6 Martial Masters exchanged glances with one another.

Some of them were hesitant. However, seeing that it was Lu Yu’s order and they all admired Lu Yu so much, with Lu Yu, such a powerful expert, leading this mission, they felt safer.

After some hesitation, they all agreed to join him.

“I am willing to join Dojo Master Lu on this expedition!”

“I am willing to go into battle!”

“…”

All the 6 Martial Masters finally agreed to join in.

Lu Yu nodded his head, pleased with their response.

In truth, as the Dojo Master, he could have simply ordered them to join him directly. However, he decided to ask them to see what they were thinking.

This matter with the City Lord and the other dojo masters had been a rude awakening for Lu Yu.

Some martial arts experts might be very strong, but they were cowardly and only cared for their own self interests.

If any of his dojo members had this sort of attitude, he could just kick them out. There was no need to retain such characters.

“Good. That’s the right spirit. You guys start preparing now, and set off with me tomorrow!” With a nod of his head, Lu Yu turned to leave.

The 6 Martial Masters stood rooted to the spot, their faces aglow with joy when they heard Lu Yu praising them.

Lu Yu was a Great Martial Master, and the hero who defended Lunan City in the last battle. Receiving praise from such an eminent hero was no doubt very flattering to all of them.

After Lu Yu left the dojo, he began to feel less worried.

With these additional 6 Martial Masters, he now had 7 Martial Masters and 8 Advanced Martial Arts Warriors. With himself at the pinnacle of the Great Martial Master level, the strength of this team was sufficient. Lu Yu felt more confident about this mission.

Lu Yu then thought more deeply and decided to inform Giovanna to get the two children to come home to discuss some matters and not stay in the school dormitory tonight.

This expedition would take some time, so he needed to get the things in his house in order.

In particular, with the attitude of the City Lord and those dojo masters, Lu Yu felt very uneasy.

Therefore, he had to make sure he left things and his family in good order, to prevent his own backyard catching fire while he was away.