Star Gate

Chapter 447: The New Twelfth Troop (I)

“There’s a call button here, do I press it?” Li Hao looked at the two behind him.

Hong Yitang thought for a bit. “Press it! Entering without invitation is the act of thieves. There is no one here upon our arrival and if there is no response after we hail them... then we are not thieves.”

He was treating this city as a living city as well. Otherwise, there was no need to be so cautious. Li Hao thought it over, nodded, and pressed the button.

There was no movement, but they still waited. Perhaps there would be something different forthcoming.

It took less than a minute before the look in Li Hao’s eyes shifted and Hong Yitang went on the alert. Two figures appeared behind the guardrail. There was someone there! The city was still operational! It was not Black, Bronze, or Silver Armors that came to welcome them, but two soldiers in red armor.

Red Armors!

Li Hao blinked and looked closely at the two soldiers. There was small text on their arm—supervisor. This was a different military branch!

He Yong’s expression changed rapidly—there was another type of soldier they didn’t know about in Battle Heaven! This was a special troop as the two armored soldiers in front of them seemed to belong to another system. Their exact strength was currently unknown.

“Supervisor!” Li Hao transmitted. “Their armor says supervisor. It’s possibly the army’s internal corps or supervisory office, the type that looks after internal affairs.”

The two men nodded, but were also at a loss. How should they communicate with the soldiers? Was that even possible? Although the soldiers inside the city could still fight, they seemed to have lost the ability to communicate. That was possible only when they revived, but it also meant that complete death was soon to arrive.

Li Hao thought rapidly when the soldiers quick-marched their way. He quickly took out the “Travel Guide to Battle Heaven City” and flipped it to the recruitment page. When the soldiers approached him, he raised the pamphlet high to indicate that he wanted to join the army!

As for whether or not this method would work... who knew!

The two soldiers stopped in front of the guardrail. There seemed to be empty air inside the Red Armors, or perhaps of lingering sentience or obsession that compelled them to carry out their missions in life.

Recruitment!

Whether it was seeing the pamphlet or knowing that any visitors that visited at this time would want to join, one of the Red Armors waved their hands and opened the iron guardrail with a sparkle of light.

Can we? The thought flashed through the trio’s minds.

The other Red Armor pointed at Li Hao and Hong Yitang, gesturing for them to enter. Li Hao found it odd, but walked inside. So did Hong Yitang do the same. But when He Yong tried to enter...

Bam!

The Red Armor drew its blade and slashed it downward. The weapon crashed on the ground in front of He Yong instead of on the man, blocking his way. A beam of red light shot out of the Red Armor’s visor in warning!

He Yong looked on with an unpleasant expression, both morose and depressed. Damn it! Was this what happened to someone without a key? He didn’t even have the chance to be a soldier! Motherfucker!

Li Hao was also startled. Would this not work? So would it be very difficult for He Yong to obtain a legal identity?

The young man rapidly considered their options, then tossed the key in his hand to He Yong. He took out Stellaris; the sword emanated a faint hue under the watchful gaze of the Red Armors.

The two soldiers abruptly imitated the earlier Silver Armor and balled up their right hands to thump their chests. Li Hao hastily returned the gesture—the exchange suddenly felt rather sacred. These ceremonies were quite manly. The young man’s thoughts wandered and a random question popped into his mind—it was fine for men to perform the gesture, but would it be painful for women?

The Red Armors seemed different from the Silver Armor; they hadn’t recognized his identity at first. Some perception dawned only after Stellaris was drawn. Did this mean that they were lower level than the Silver Armors?

Silver Armors were ranking officers. The Black Armors hadn’t sensed Li Hao at first either, they performed the salute only after the Silver Armor did. Meanwhile, the Red Armors had to see the weapon before saluting.

Key in hand, He Yong wasn’t attacked when he tried to cross the guardrail again. Perhaps it was also due to Li Hao’s identity, but the two Red Armors didn’t move. The man smiled ruefully. Thank goodness for Li Hao! He would have such a difficult time of it even though he was in the inner city.

The Red Armors didn’t move after their salute. They waited for a while, as if soundlessly imparting something. Moments later, they waved the guardrail shut again. They took point and led the way, the trio followed with trepidation.

The group moved through the massive barracks complex, a stern wave of desolation washing over them. And so they moved forward...

A large hall appeared in front of them after five minutes. Li Hao brightened at the sight.

“The Recruitment Hall!” he transmitted. “This is where they recruit people, these two Red Armors do know what we want to do! Do you think they’re conscious?”

The soldiers really had brought them to the recruitment point!

Hong Yitang and He Yong found it odd. Were these soldiers really just moving mechanically, or did some consciousness still exist in them and they were just unable to speak?

The hall doors were open and Li Hao seemed to see some armored warriors inside when he swept a glance at it. There were still soldiers posted at their stations even when battle raged outside.

The Red Armors stopped in front of the doors. A Bronze Armor walked out after a while. Its empty gaze ran over the three newcomers before turning to wave them into the hall.

Li Hao quickly walked forward, as did the other two. But upon the young man’s first step, he suddenly felt a drag on his clothes. Jerking with surprise, he turned to see a Red Armor had reached out with its armored arm to pull him back.

The soldier pointed in another direction as Li Hao stared blankly at him, while the other Red Armor made an inviting gesture to walk in another direction. The young man gaped, what did this mean?

He Yong and Hong Yitang also stopped, but a Red Armor unsheathed its sword and smacked He Yong like it was shooing a fly. The rough and tumble man forced himself not to react.

“We should go,” Hong Yitang said wryly. “These two want us to follow the bronze centurion, while Li Hao may be going elsewhere. I get it, a young master joins the army at a different place than us!”

He Yong rolled his eyes and couldn’t restrain himself anymore. “The fuck man? It’s been countless years, but the ancient civilization still practices preferential treatment? Someone from the eight families gets different treatment when they join the army?”

He finally understood now. There was another place ready to host Li Hao. The two of them were to follow normal recruitment procedures; they were completely different.

Hong Yitang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry either. Who knew? Perhaps it was very normal for the eight families to receive preferential treatment in the ancient civilization. What could they say?

Nothing at all!

Seeing that the Bronze Armor in front of them was about to vanish from sight, the two quickly caught up to the soldier.

“Go on,” Hong Yitang transmitted to Li Hao. “Perhaps being different from us is good!”

......

Li Hao scratched his head. To be honest, he hadn’t experienced special treatment anywhere on account of his eight families bloodline. Who would’ve thought that it would happen in Battle Heaven? He was well and truly feeling the uniqueness of his bloodline. It was nice being a young master!

He walked forward with the Red Armors; they stopped after roughly ten minutes. The Red Armors remained put. One of them knocked on the door of the small building that they stood in front of. The door opened amid Li Hao’s astonished gaze and another Red Armor walked out.

Contrary to the two leading the way, this one did not wear a supervisor medal. The three Red Armors held a brief exchange before the newest one cast its empty gaze at Li Hao. It looked on the shortsword in his hand, as if it recognized the weapon and what it represented!

It mechanically reached out and waved at Li Hao. The young man quickly stepped forward! The Red Armor stepped back into the building, whereupon the other two saluted and left.

Li Hao quickly returned the gesture, not daring to view these soldiers as mere puppets anymore. They were possibly still alive—not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense.

The Red Armor led Li Hao into the building. It appeared modest on the outside, but was quite spacious after one entered it. There was more than one Red Armor inside—there were many bustling to and fro in their duties. This building was still operational.

Li Hao of the special treatment felt something different here. Red Armors consistently saluted him and he continuously returned the salute. It truly felt like he was in a massive barracks—the feeling was much more apparent than when he was in the Silver Moon Guards. This atmosphere wasn’t really present there.

They walked down a long hallway and reached an office at the end. It opened automatically when the Red Armor knocked. The soldier entered, returned after a moment, and indicated for Li Hao to go inside. Its mission was complete.

An apprehensive Li Hao hesitated for a second before quickly walking in. He was stunned as soon as he did so. The office was set up very similarly to modern offices, but... there... was... a Gold Armor sitting inside!

Li Hao nearly swallowed his tongue! How were there more Gold Armors?! How was this possible??

If Silver Armors were ranking officers, then that meant Gold Armors were likely the commanders. But one had already appeared in the city lord manor, which meant it was most likely the city lord. There shouldn’t be any others!

So how was there another one here? What was the one in the city lord manor? The city lord? But it looked the same as this one—first rank gold?

A myriad of thoughts ran through Li Hao’s mind as he quickly saluted. He absolutely treated this one as a living person.

The Gold Armor rose to its feet, saluted, and sat down again. Its assessing gaze fell on the shortsword, as if that was the heart of the matter.

Dead silence reigned for a while before a fist suddenly appeared in front of Li Hao’s baffled eyes.

BAM!

It connected before the young man could react and sent Li Hao flying. He smashed into the wall and slowly slid off like he was boneless.

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