Chapter 3: The Expeditionary Force

From beyond the town, a squad of warriors in black uniforms approached. Though only a dozen strong, each one exuded a heavy stench of blood. The insignia on their armbands, a flintlock and bloodstained bayonet crossed, was that of the Imperial Expeditionary Force!

The gates of the town had completely collapsed, with broken pipes spewing steam uselessly. Several houses around the gate had been ripped open by the force of the explosion. The bald sheriff was half-buried in the debris, moaning softly.

Because the town gate blocked the path of the expeditionary force, they simply blasted it open.

Behind the expeditionary soldiers, dozens of injured people staggered along, their hands bound with rusty wire and chained together. The wire bit deeply into their flesh, and fresh blood continued to drip from their wounds. If they moved too slowly, a soldier would lash them with a whip.

In the darkness, the dim light of the tavern’s sign and the shattered windows of Manshu Sahua stood out prominently. The imperial troops turned and headed towards the bar.

Two towering soldiers entered the bar first, scanning the area with eagle-like gazes. No one in the bar dared to meet their eyes. The automatic rifles in their hands were formidable, capable of turning everyone in the bar into corpses in under a minute.

One soldier pointed at Qian Ye and said coldly, “Prepare food for twenty people. Quickly!”

The other soldier gestured at the scavengers with his gun and barked, “You filthy swine, clean the tables and get out! Now!”

The scavengers desperately smiled and quickly wiped the tables, then fled the bar. The others instinctively vacated the best tables, retreating to the corners. No one dared to move without permission from the imperial soldiers.

A tall officer leisurely walked into the bar, ducking slightly as he passed through the doorframe. He had thick, sword-like eyebrows, and his eyes were as fierce and cunning as those of the most vicious night hawk in the domain of Eternal Night. His gaze swept over everyone in the bar like they were prey, then he chose a central table and sat down.

Outside, there was a commotion as the dozens of captives were herded in, crowding into the corner.

The officer surveyed the bar and said in a low, hoarse voice, “Look at them! These are the ones tainted by the dark blood, doomed to the black mines where they will dig until they turn into monsters, craving fresh flesh. They will be killed by the guards when the dark blood consumes them. Open your eyes and look! This is the fate of anyone who falls to the side of Eternal Night!”

Fear filled the eyes of all present.

These captured individuals were known as blood slaves. Bitten by vampires, they became beasts, losing their sanity. They craved fresh blood at mealtime and would attack targets furiously on command until they perished.

Blood slaves discovered anywhere in the Empire were usually executed on the spot. A few who had not yet succumbed were sent to the black mines to die.

Pure-blooded vampires were rare, but blood slaves were equally dangerous. Legend had it that even a scratch or a bite from a blood slave, or even proximity, could taint one with the dark blood. The bar’s original patrons and women huddled together, trembling, trying to distance themselves from the blood slaves.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man rushed out from the captured group, kneeling before the officer and shouting, “I am not a blood slave! I have not been tainted by the dark blood!”

A twisted, sneering smile appeared on the officer’s face. “I know.”

The man was stunned, looking up in disbelief. But what met him was the deep black barrel of a gun!

A loud bang echoed, and every bottle and glass in the bar shook. The man remained kneeling, but his head had been completely obliterated, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.

The officer blew the smoke from the gun barrel and said to the headless corpse, “I know you weren’t a blood slave, but harboring blood slaves is the same crime.”

A soldier stepped forward and asked, “Colonel Liu, should we take care of his two sons as well?”

Liu glanced at the blood slaves, where two pale-faced young men, the middle-aged man’s sons, stood. They cowered, trying to hide behind others.

Liu pointed at them and said, “You two, come here. Throw this body out to the dogs, then clean the floor. I hate the smell of blood.”

The two young men came out, trembling, and carried their father’s body out. Everyone knew that resistance would result in unspeakable agony.

As Colonel Liu and the soldiers’ attention was diverted, one of the blood slaves suddenly screamed, “I don’t want to go to the black mines!” and rushed towards the back door, trying to escape.

A sneer spread across Liu’s face again. He unslung a peculiar rifle from his back and aimed at the fleeing blood slave. His movements, though seemingly slow, were swift. The blue lines on the rifle lit up just as the blood slave crossed half the hall.

At that moment, Qian Ye emerged from the door, holding a tray.

In that instant, Qian Ye, the blood slave, and the officer’s gun barrel aligned in a straight line!

Liu saw Qian Ye, but his lips curled, and he pulled the trigger!

The rifle didn’t fire a bullet but a mass of red light!

A large hole appeared in the center of the blood slave’s body. The red light, still potent, continued forward, piercing through two walls before dissipating. Its power was extraordinary, comparable to a large-caliber cannon!

Qian Ye’s body was not shattered, nor was he injured. His body tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, and his feet were planted firmly, narrowly avoiding the shot.

A drop of blood fell from above, landing on Qian Ye’s face, forming a small, striking blood flower against his pale skin.

Qian Ye’s breathing grew heavier, and a faint, deep red flashed in his eyes. But the anomaly vanished, and his body straightened, as if pulled by an invisible thread, without spilling a drop from the tray.

The blood slave’s body finally hit the ground, his outstretched hand just centimeters from Qian Ye’s toe.

Colonel Liu’s pupils constricted, and he laughed, saying, “I never expected to find a true master who has awakened the source power in such a small place! What a surprise!”

Qian Ye murmured, “Just barely surviving.”

Liu’s sharp gaze fixed on Qian Ye, asking, “You’re not even eighteen, are you?”

“Seventeen, just past,” Qian Ye replied.

Liu circled Qian Ye, saying, “Seventeen and already ignited the source node, quite a talent! With source power and your youth, you could have a bright future, but you hide in this small place. There’s more to you than meets the eye, isn’t there?”

Qian Ye remained silent.

Liu took out a metal tag with the expeditionary force’s emblem and threw it onto Qian Ye’s tray, saying, “My name is Liu Jiang. I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done. If you want, take this tag to the expeditionary fortress and find Colonel Chu Xiong. He’s short-staffed right now. Join the Imperial Expeditionary Force, and no matter what you’ve done, even killing a noble on the upper continent, it won’t matter. Understand?”

Qian Ye bowed slightly, saying, “Thank you.” But he showed little reaction to the opportunity many would covet.

Liu Jiang noticed Qian Ye’s lack of enthusiasm for joining the expeditionary force and didn’t press the issue, sitting back down. Qian Ye placed a large glass of hard liquor and a plate of smoked potatoes in front of him.

Liu picked up the glass, sniffed it, and his eyes lit up. “Excellent wine! I never expected to find such good wine in this small place. Chu Xiong would definitely want you if he knew your skills.” But he set the glass down, saying, “Alright, bring me water. I don’t drink on missions.”

Qian Ye took away the glass and replaced it with water.

This was the Imperial Expeditionary Force stationed on the Eternal Night continent. They were ruthless and brutal, slaughtering without mercy, yet they were also the bulwark against the dark races, numbering in the millions. With their presence, human settlements like Beacon Town were safe from the onslaught of the dark races.

Qian Ye brought out plates of food, and the imperial soldiers ate in silence. The bar suddenly quieted, and everyone felt suffocated, but no one dared to move, let alone leave.

As the soldiers were halfway through their meal, the door opened silently, and two men in black trench coats entered.

They were impeccably clean, out of place in the wilderness. Strangely, no one noticed their arrival.

Upon entering, they scanned the room, frowning more deeply at each sight, as if nothing pleased them, including the imperial soldiers.

Liu Jiang saw a symbol on their coat hems and stood up, his face changing. But before he could speak, one of the men said coldly, “Did I say you could stand?”

Liu Jiang was furious but, upon meeting the man’s gaze, he was struck as if by a physical blow. He grunted and fell back into his seat, his face pale, clearly injured.

The man snorted disdainfully, “A bunch of trash, no wonder you can only guard this wretched place. If we relied on you to fight the dark races, the Empire would have fallen long ago.”

Liu Jiang’s mouth twitched, wiping the blood. He signaled his soldiers to stay still and, in a hoarse voice, asked, “What brings you, sirs, to this forsaken place?”

The other man said coldly, “You don’t deserve to know! One more word, and I’ll kill you all!”

Liu Jiang’s veins throbbed, his hand moving towards his source rifle, but he wisely stopped.

Seeing this, the two men in black trench coats sneered even more.

An old voice outside the door said, “Miss, this place is not clean. Not only are there blood slaves, but also some dregs of the expeditionary force. You should not enter.”