Dragon Gate Swordsman

He stared at the tower not far away outside the bushes without blinking, and wrote down the movement routes of all the sentries.

Her mission is to retrieve important intelligence documents from the tower. She can choose to go in stealth mode or storm the tower, but both methods involve the risk of the documents being destroyed by enemy officers or support arriving.

"Chen Chen, I've arrived at the designated location!"

"... Please use the combat code name during the battle, Bagpipe."

"Hey, it doesn't make any difference, right, Chen?"

Chen Huijie cut off the communication.

There are five sentries outside the tower, one operating the searchlight on the top, and the other four are divided into two groups guarding the left and right sides. It is certain that after being attacked, they will immediately notify the officers in the tower.

Therefore, the first combat objective is quite clear: prioritize eliminating the sentry on the top of the tower.

Chen Huijie was confident that she could accomplish this in a short period of time, but she was not good at stealth and might be easily discovered, so she needed some cover.

"This is Chen, Slingshot, create some noise near your position to test the enemy's reaction."

"receive."

"Got it, Captain."

Soon, a strange collision sound came from not far away.

One group of sentries went directly into alert, whispered to each other, but did not go to check... Obviously, it was not common to see soldiers in movies leaving their posts when they heard some noises.

They made the most correct response: they activated the crossbows in their hands and shot two arrows at the place where the sound came from.

"Slingshot, report the situation."

"Safe... It's just a tentative counterattack."

"Got it. Then it's your turn to fly the rope."

This time it was no longer a crash, but a figure flashing across the grass, like the healthy beasts commonly seen on the Victoria Plains.

What the sentinels saw obviously made them more nervous than the strange sound... They acted quickly to guard the entrance of the tower and occupy advantageous shooting positions. The sentry on the top of the tower also turned the searchlight and began to search for the target.

This is the opportunity Chen Huijie has been waiting for!

Just like a nimble female leopard rushing out from the bushes, when all the sentries were attracted by the noise created by the slingshots and ziplines, it quickly approached the tower from their blind spot.

There was no need for stairs or steps at all. Chen Huijie jumped directly and accurately grabbed the gap on the outer wall of the tower, followed by the railing and the outer edge of the observation window for easy maintenance, and climbed to the top of the tower at an extremely amazing speed.

All the actions were completed in one go. The only flaw was that the volume of the sound could not be controlled well, resulting in being noticed by the sentry who was operating the searchlight when reaching the top.

“What!? You…”

Tianya was unsheathed in an instant, and a bolt of lightning slashed out in mid-air, hitting the sentry who had just turned around squarely, causing him to twitch violently, and then slowly fall limp.

Chen Huijie did not directly open the entrance on the top of the tower and rush in. Instead, he quickly observed the situation below and deliberately pointed the searchlight to a location where his team members were not present in order to mislead the enemy.

In contrast to the slightly chaotic outside, the interior of the tower was still very quiet, with not even a few lights on.

Wait…no lights on?

Chen Huijie, who originally planned to jump directly from the metal connecting channel to launch a surprise attack, stopped, squinted his eyes and observed the situation below.

It was expected that no enemy was seen in the observation windows or firing ports, but why was there no movement in the central compartment?

A counter-raid trap?... As expected, there is a reason why the external defense is lax.

"This is Chen. Slingshots and ziplines, you continue to hold the enemy back. Bagpipes, prepare to attack at my signal."

"Okay Chen-Chen!"

You guy...

Listening to the voice in the communicator that did not sound tense at all, a vein popped up on Chen Huijie's forehead.

But now is not the time to scold her, we should seize the intelligence file as soon as possible.

"call……"

Chen Huijie, crouching in the dark, took a deep breath and then pulled out Chi Xiao.

Ready, aim, Chi Xiao draws the sword!

Visible sword energy burst out and slashed towards one side of the central compartment. The sound was not very loud, but it was still swift and fierce.

At the same time, Chen Huijie also jumped down, and the Tianya in his right hand suddenly released a cold light!

The preemptive slash and the move that acted as a flash bomb exposed the figure that was lurking beside the central compartment... There were three people in total, all of whom were armed with Victorian standard weapons. One of them was holding a single-soldier chain gun, a weapon that combined the dual effects of restraint and killing.

"She is coming!"

"on!"

The Chixiao sword energy did not hit any enemy, but instead slashed the wall of the tower, making a loud noise.

This was the signal that Chen Huijie mentioned... Fiona, who was slowly approaching the tower, heard it and immediately raised the steam spear in her hand and rushed towards the entrance.

The melee began.

The enemy's goal was clear, which was to use the intelligence documents as bait for an ambush. Unfortunately, Chen Huijie easily saw through it and lost the opportunity to destroy it.

Wielding Tianya and Chixiao to fight against three people alone, and having to deal with powerful long-range weapons, this would undoubtedly be a daunting challenge in an open environment, but the complex terrain inside the tower gave Chen Huijie the conditions to delay.

For a moment, swords flashed and cannons roared, and the terrifying power made the entire tower tremble.

"Damn! She's so flexible!"

"Just destroy the file! Don't let her get it!"

The already furious officer no longer cared about anything else and aimed the chain gun directly at the center compartment.

However, at this moment, a loud explosion suddenly came from behind!

"Chen-Chen! I'm here to help you!"

It has to be said that the physical fitness of Vaifan women is truly amazing... After forcibly breaking through the defense line at the entrance of the tower, Fiona had no intention of stopping. She directly activated the propulsion mechanism of the steam spear and forced the door open.

Chen Huijie did not waste this opportunity. While the enemies were distracted by Fiona, he kicked away the unlucky guy who was blocking his way and jumped towards the officer.

In the flashing red sword light, the barrel of the chain gun was cut in half...

"You lost."

The officer stared blankly at the broken weapon in his hand, and his face soon turned red.

He snorted in annoyance, "The mission objective should be to seize intelligence, not to defeat the opponent!"

"Huh? What difference does that make? If we defeat you, the file will be ours, right?"

"This is... another thing!"

"I'm sorry, Senior, I don't think so."

Chen Huijie retracted the Tianya that was pointing at the other person's head, and then bowed slightly, "So... our team's practical assessment should have passed, right?"

……

Instructor Robin Thomson has lamented more than once: It would be great if Chen Huijie was not an international student from Longmen.

Willpower, insight, physical fitness, self-discipline, personal strength... In most aspects, this seemingly thin girl from Yan Country is extremely excellent, and some character problems that can be called defects have been gradually corrected during her four years of college career.

Instructor Thomson firmly believed that if the Royal Guards Academy had not always prohibited ranking of grades, Chen Huijie would at least be in the top three of the class, and even maintaining the second place and vying for the first place would not be a big problem.

However…she is not from Victoria and will not stay in Victoria.

"Ugh……"

"Instructor, are you feeling unwell?"

"Hmm? Oh no no no, I'm not old enough to need to visit the hospital often."

Instructor Thomson smiled at his two most proud students, and then wrote his signature on their student handbooks for the final semester.

This means that Chen Huijie and Fiona have passed all subjects and assessments at the Royal Guard Academy. Next, they can either choose an instructor or professor to pursue further studies in a different direction, or... they can officially graduate from the Royal Guard Academy.

Instructor Thomson was quite moved when he thought back on the four years during which the two had made continuous progress under his guidance.

The self-disciplined Chen Huijie has almost become a role model for her classmates, and the carefree Fiona has fully met the standards of a Victorian soldier. There is no problem in canceling the supplementary soldier training stage and directly joining the army for formal service.

"What are your plans next?"

"I will return to Longmen, instructor."

Although Instructor Thomson had anticipated Chen Huijie's answer, he still felt a little disappointed.

The situation in Londinium is becoming more and more chaotic. We really need these outstanding young people to calm the civilians and protect Victoria... It's a pity that she is a Yan.

After a moment of silence, he turned to look at Fiona, who looked eager to try, "What about you?"

"I want to enlist in the military, sir!"

The Vaifan girl grinned, "This is my dream after all."

Very good, very good, at least I have trained an excellent soldier.

Instructor Thomson's mouth curled up slightly, and then he suddenly looked down at his watch... The hand on it pointed to twelve noon.

"Then this afternoon is your chance, Fiona."

"Instructor?"

"Your free selection meeting will be held today at 2:00 p.m. Representatives from all the major legions will be present, as will the envoys from the Grand Dukes."

At this point, Instructor Thomson suddenly paused, with a hint of hesitation on his face, "But... I believe you will make the right choice, Fiona."

……

The Royal Guards Academy's free service selection is a "new thing" that was born only twenty years ago. Its specific content is to organize different military armed forces in Victoria to recruit potential new recruits and graduates. The new recruits can also choose the corps or unit they want to serve in. It can be said to be a two-way rush.

In the eyes of those who adhere to traditional Victorian culture, this is an extremely wrong and even blasphemous act, almost equivalent to fighting for troops and destroying the country's proper order.

But for young people with new ideas, this is fair and free, because how recruits want to devote themselves is no longer determined by the government.

In fact, this disagreement is not difficult to understand, and it can be traced back to the revolution more than 20 years ago and the dramatic changes it triggered: the Victorians of the past still remembered the rule of King Aslan, while the young people had no feelings for the royal family that was no longer famous.

In today's Victoria, even the military forces of the capital Londinium are not united, and the legions that once roamed the land are no longer of one mind. As for the grand dukes who each have strong strength?

No one expects them to contribute anything to this country anymore...

So Thomson's last words are easy to understand: he hopes Fiona can choose the army that is truly loyal to Victoria rather than the private armed forces of some ambitious people.

However, Chen Huijie and Fiona are unable to see these things clearly now.

All they knew was that the free selection meeting, which was originally scheduled to start at two o'clock, was already "full" half an hour in advance.

Standing at the first training ground of the Royal Guards Academy, you can see countless flags fluttering in the breeze... Printed with different emblems, they represent the garrison regiments across Victoria and the troops of the Grand Dukes.

In order to show off their style and attract new recruits who have no background connections, the representatives present at the scene can be said to have used all their tricks.

The Royal Guard stationed in Londinium is undoubtedly the strongest "local tyrant", and therefore occupies the most conspicuous position. A large number of cultural relics that should only appear in military museums have been moved here to highlight their "orthodoxy". However, now that the Aslan royal family has almost disappeared, the Royal Guard always gives people the feeling that they are just trying to keep up the show.

The local knights all came wearing full sets of modern composite armor, and various cutting-edge steam mechanical weapons were also lined up for people to experience at will. There were also professional bards and scholars to publicize and introduce the historical achievements of the knights, which included a lot of image beautification and exaggerated narratives, which were indeed very suitable for attracting new recruits.

The armored forces are undoubtedly the simplest and most brutal. The steam chariots and transforming drones can attract the attention of countless young people. The latest military technological achievements displayed by many technicians are comparable to the limited edition figures that appear in front of the modelers. I believe that those technical recruits like to serve in this kind of troops.

As for the representatives of the Grand Dukes, they all have their own characteristics, and the treatment conditions they proposed are basically far better than those of the regular army... Who made the Aslan royal family disappear? The rich and powerful Grand Dukes will not "kindly" support Londinium.

"Wow, this is more lively than I thought, Chen-Chen."

"…Indeed, but don't you think it's very strange?"

"If you say so..."

Looking at Fiona who had reacted, Chen Huijie shook his head secretly.

The renewal of a country's military has always been organized and managed by the government that rules the country. How can it be like... a vegetable market, where people have to pick and choose from all kinds of things?

You know, even in the Imperial Guard Bureau, which practices a mercenary system, each department cannot just hire whoever they want.

Fiona became much quieter after thinking of something. She was just being straightforward, not really stupid, and she had already thought of the crux of the problem.

“…Chen-Chen?”

"Ok?"

"Has something as...wrong happened to you in Dayan?"

Chen Huijie thought about it for a moment, then nodded affirmatively, "It has happened, and the situation is even more serious. Even officials in the court were sold at a fixed price... That is a history that all Yan people don't want to look back on."

"What then?"