"What are you... what are you doing?"
Tian Ba flinched backward in fear. If he were caught in the blast of a vacuum implosion bomb at this distance, he would be severely injured, if not killed. The people opposite him were all wearing full armor, which would surely withstand more damage than he could.
"Tell those men to come back."
Wan Lei pointed his gun at Tian Ba's head and said.
"Back, all of you, come back here, damn it!"
Tian Ba yelled repeatedly.
The dozen or so Immortal Realm soldiers who had not flown far away flew back.
"No, we were just sparring, do you have to use regulated weapons?"
"What regulated weapons? This is a battlefield pacifier, specifically designed to make you calm down."
Wan Lei sneered.
"Alright, alright, I'm very calm now. Put away your vacuum implosion bomb. And you over there, the young lady pointing a portable proton impactor at my head, you calm down too. If that thing explodes, half the camp will be gone."
"We also have a super nuclear bomb, a real proton annihilation cannon. Do you want to try it?"
Bao Bao shouted.
"No, no, no, if you use that, you'll go to a military court. It's enough to destroy our entire Base 18. Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive."
Tian Ba was in misery. In the past, they relied on the power of their artillery to make the demons cry and wail. Now, they were being threatened by others with artillery.
He, a dignified artillery battalion, had his artillery power surpassed by these rich second-generation individuals. Where was he supposed to complain about this?
Besides, who would have thought that a small team could casually produce more destructive weapons than an artillery battalion?
Was there any law anymore?
Wan Lei and the others put away their artillery. After all, bringing out such powerful weapons at this moment was only for deterrence; they certainly couldn't be used. Using even one would result in countless casualties.
At that point, they, who had just arrived at the front line, would be recalled, go to military court, and their fate, whether life imprisonment or the death penalty, would depend on the judgment of the enforcement hall.
"Are you still going to fight? If you can't, surrender early. We haven't had lunch yet."
Wan Lei weighed the Origin Thunder Hammer in his hand and looked at Tian Ba opposite him with a sneer.
Tian Ba was seething with anger. He had intended to discipline the other party, but he had been repeatedly slapped in the face. Now, being mocked by Wan Lei, his slightly calmed reason reignited.
"Fight, why wouldn't we fight? There are no cowards who retreat in our military camp, no men who surrender. Even if we fight to the last man, we will never say the word surrender!"
Tian Ba roared and charged forward.
Wan Lei sneered, slammed the hammer into Tian Ba's jaw, sending him flying, and then kicked him in the stomach.
Tian Ba fell heavily to the ground. Wan Lei stepped on his chest, lowered his head, and looked at him with a cold smile.
"Scoundrel, are you still not surrendering?"
The battlefield was chaotic, but the soldiers present were all cultivators with sharp divine senses and hearing. They could clearly hear everyone speaking.
When they heard Wan Lei insulting Tian Ba, they were all furious.
Tian Ba was not yet on the verge of death, but his cultivation was momentarily shaken. Combined with the paralysis from the constant lightning released by Wan Lei, he felt somewhat weak. After struggling a few times, he still couldn't get up.
"Hmph, if I can't beat you, I can't beat you. I admit that, but I will never surrender. Kill me, torture me, do whatever you want, but don't insult me."
"Heh heh, insult you? How did I insult you? I'm just returning your own words to you.
If you had spoken to the demons like this on the battlefield, I would have respected you as a man. But who are you speaking to? To a comrade who has just arrived at the front line and knows nothing.
How much backbone you have.
Ah?
And you say 'don't insult me'? You're already defeated, and you're still speaking to me in a commanding tone?
It's amazing how such an idiot like you has survived this long. You, a flower in a greenhouse, are fit to come to the battlefield?
Go home and suckle your mother's milk. The battlefield is a place for real men, not for sissies like you. You should be hiding in your mother's arms, so scared you'd wet your pants."
Wan Lei returned all the words Tian Ba had said to him, causing Tian Ba to spit out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
The surrounding soldiers, upon hearing Wan Lei's words, were all enraged. This wasn't just scolding Tian Ba; it was a direct slap in the face to all of them in the military.
"What? Can't take it? Do these words sound familiar? Just two quarters of an hour ago, you said these things to me.
What's the matter, you can insult others, but others can't insult you? Is your military so delicate?
Oh dear, you really are a sissy, can't even handle this.
Scoundrel, when you were insulting others, did you ever consider how they felt?
Do you really think every disciple from the Five Elements Hall deserves to be insulted by you?
You said it yourself, in the military camp, whoever has the bigger fist calls the shots. Now that I have a bigger fist than you, do I deserve to insult you?"
"You... you are presumptuous... the honor of us soldiers cannot be insulted by you. If we hadn't killed countless demons in the Sea of Suffering, where would you have your comfortable cultivation in the Five Elements Hall!"
"The honor of soldiers cannot be insulted, but can the dignity of ordinary people be trampled upon as you please?"
Wan Lei's tone suddenly became fierce.
"What a hypocrite. As I said before, you have your pride, and you can insult others with impunity because of your military merits. Does that mean others deserve to be insulted by you?
Such soldiers are not worthy of being called soldiers; at best, they are military bandits, thugs. If you were to guard a region, you might indeed become a兵匪 (bīngfěi - soldier-bandit) who wreaks havoc on the populace, since those without military merits are to be insulted by you.
Let's talk about military merits then. Our team has killed over a million demons combined. Distributed among each person, how many demons have any of you in the military killed more than us?"
Wan Lei wasn't exhibiting the villain's tendency to talk too much; rather, he was genuinely annoyed by the arrogant and disrespectful attitude of the military throughout their journey.
"We are also here to help you fight. We are comrades, after all. We don't expect you to treat us exceptionally well, just to treat us equally. If that's not possible, then at least let us mind our own business.
But this is how you treat newcomers? This is how you treat new recruits? Why does every new recruit deserve to be insulted by you? Are you great because you've fought battles? Did you kill demons in the womb?
Everyone here is here to kill demons.
Where does this sense of superiority come from?"
Wan Lei felt it was necessary to teach these "soldier bosses" with distorted values how to behave.
"You little thief..."
Before Tian Ba could finish speaking, Wan Lei kicked him directly in the mouth, then smashed his dantian with a hammer, and kicked him out of the training ground.