At the eastern border of the Duchy of Baiyan, Renyu gazed at the heavily fortified military base before him with a complex expression. Prominent "No Trespassing" signs dotted the base, but what caught his attention more were the soldiers standing at the ready, wielding the iconic Zhuge crossbows—this was unmistakably a military base inspired by the Chinese faction from Age of Empires II.

  Upon arriving on this plane, Renyu and Yun Chenhe received their first order from Xiao Feng: to guard this military base. Leveraging noble privileges and purple gold, Xiao Feng mustered three thousand soldiers, forming a formidable private army. Yet this force remained idle, merely maintaining a silent vigil around the base.

  Power struggles within the White Rock Duchy raged fiercely. Xiao Feng's identity in this world was originally that of a frail, marginalized heir incapable of martial cultivation. Now, suddenly possessing a military base and private army, he naturally aroused the apprehension and hostility of the other heirs.

  Not long ago, a group of masked knights had abruptly stormed near this military base, now cornered by a phalanx of spearmen. The masked attackers' eyes betrayed utter terror. They had never witnessed soldiers so utterly fearless—even when knocked down by cavalry charges, these spearmen maintained perfect formation, advancing steadily like a mobile iron fortress. Such discipline was typically reserved for the empire's most elite units.

  Yet Renyu felt a pain so sharp it nearly choked him—this battle had cost him fourteen conscripts. Proportionally, that equated to a loss of over a ton of gold. Yun Chenhe's face was equally grim; his own forces had suffered over fifty casualties. Ever since entering this mission world, Yun Chenhe had recognized the immense value of Renyu's soldiers and had always treated them with special care. Seeing Renyu's ashen expression now only reinforced that conviction.

  Just then, the remaining cavalry suddenly drew their longbows, preparing to fire. This action ignited Renyu's fury completely.

  "Dare to shoot arrows?!" he roared. His legs, fueled by abundant oxygen, erupted with astonishing power as he leapt three meters high and five meters forward, kicking up a cloud of dust upon landing.

  Renyu charged directly into the enemy ranks—only after confirming the cavalry had lost their ability to charge. Facing a swinging broadsword, he neither dodged nor retreated. Closing in, he seized the opponent's wrist with a crack, snapping it clean off. Seizing the sword, he swung it back with lightning speed. The blade flashed like lightning, and a head flew into the air, frozen in terror. Renyu deftly dodged the spattering blood, his form already darting like a ghost into the cavalry ranks.

  The ensuing battle was nothing short of artistry: Renyu's blade flashed multiple times per second, always a split second faster than the hastily swung weapons of the surrounding cavalry. Sparks flew from the blade in fierce clashes, its edge soon becoming jagged. But Renyu swiftly adjusted his tactics—after the initial strike, all subsequent attacks employed bayonet techniques. The blade's tip darted like a venomous snake, precisely targeting hearts or throats. He advanced as if through empty terrain, claiming three horsemen with every step.

  Deprived of their mobility advantage, the knights could only futilely twist their upper bodies in defense, utterly helpless against the Combat Evolution Officer's high agility attribute. Such agility required sufficient strength to sustain it; otherwise, muscle fatigue would swiftly distort their movements. At this moment, Renyu perfectly demonstrated the fusion of both lightning-fast speed and endurance for sustained output.

  "The Grand Knight! It's the Grand Knight!" Panicked shouts erupted from the cavalry ranks. Though Renyu, newly arrived in this plane, couldn't understand the local language, the real-time subtitles provided by the Evolution Screen made the enemy's terror clear. The once-ferocious cavalry now scattered like plague victims, some even crashing headlong into the rigidly formed pike formation in their panic, instantly impaled by the sharp spears.

  "All of you, kneel! Hands on your heads!" Renyu roared, his words instantly translated by the Evolution System into the local tongue. The bandit cavalry, who had previously refused to surrender even in death, finally dropped their weapons and trembled to their knees under this thunderous command and threat of death.

  Witnessing Renyu's display, Yun Chenhe gaped in astonishment. This was the first time Renyu had fully revealed his prowess before him—the fluid coordination of his movements resembled a masterpiece forged through countless trials. In the Evolution Battlefield, high-agility warriors could indeed unleash astonishing combat power. Yet simultaneously controlling pore expansion and muscle bursts—two actions demanding extreme focus—was like asking someone who couldn't jump rope to leap and swing the rope at the same time. Though seemingly simple, achieving precise coordination between them was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Most high-agility officers could only unleash a single strike after a one-second oxygen charge, yet Renyu executed them with effortless fluidity and relentless continuity.

  Possessing high-tier attributes is one thing; fully harnessing them is another. Renyu endured countless failures without faltering, meticulously refining every nuance of muscle control until he reached this masterful state. This was the true combat prowess of a Tier One warrior.

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  Renyu's rage burned fiercely now—not only at the enemies before him, but also at Xiao Feng. That bastard had offered no support whatsoever from the start, clearly intent on exhausting their entire force. Yun Chenhe witnessed Renyu's intense negative emotions erupt for the first time and momentarily struggled to find words of comfort.

  Just as Yun Chenhe was about to speak, Renyu's emotions began to settle: "Yun Chenhe, I am prepared to bear the consequences of disobeying orders."

  Yun Chenhe paused, a flicker of secret satisfaction crossing his mind, though he maintained outward composure: "That should have been my suggestion. Now, let us go speak with him together."

  And what was Xiao Feng, the very person they were thinking of, doing at that moment?

  Within the grand council chamber of the Duchy of Baiyan, a magnificent welcoming ceremony was underway. Two squads of knights stood flanking the entrance, clad in mirror-like breastplates. The lions carved into the frosted patterns glared fiercely, as if poised to leap from their armor at any moment. These elite knights were fully encased in steel armor, their twenty-kilogram swords hanging at their waists, yet this did not hinder their heroic posture as they mounted two-meter-tall steeds. Behind the knights stood a colossal banner. Upon it, a lion with mane blazing like fire seemed to move with lifelike vitality—a marvel born of this magical world's unique power.

  In stark contrast to the Flame Lion family's splendor, the White Rock family's emblem—a plain white square crystal—appeared remarkably simple. Though both were grand ducal houses, the Flame Lions commanded the military forces stationed along the northern border of the Thornstone Empire. Through generations of royal marriages, their power had reached its zenith. Meanwhile, the White Rock Duchy, situated along the northwest coast, showed signs of decline after years of exhausting defense against northern beastmen invasions.

  At the center of the knightly order stood a young woman with fiery red hair and exquisite features. Clad in specially crafted heavy armor, she radiated knightly valor while accentuating her slender form—none other than Selena, the youngest daughter of the Flaming Lion Duke, hailed as the "Flame Rose."She possessed not only the robust physique of a knight but also inherited a rare magical aptitude. In this world, humans gifted with magic typically lived more than twice as long as ordinary folk, as magical elements effectively slowed the aging process. Precisely for this reason, Evolution Battlefield had simply set the Combat Evolution Officer's aging rate to zero.

  Standing behind his father, Xiao Feng watched the dashing female knight with burning eyes, already calculating in his mind: Allying through marriage with this noble would catapult his advancement in this plane to a whole new level.

  Upon entering this mission, Xiao Feng discovered reality was less straightforward than imagined. Following Xiao Long's instructions, he immediately sought out the Combat Evolution Officer stationed here for the Canglong Society—Yang Yan. However, she had already established herself on the eastern frontier of the Eastern Alliance, becoming a domain lord through marriage alliances. When Xiao Feng demanded leadership authority, he was refused. Consequently, he had no choice but to select the empire's northwestern frontier as his deployment point. Yang Yan's strategy of consolidating power through marriage alliances with local factions was not uncommon among Combat Evolution Officers, making it difficult for Xiao Feng to criticize him further.

  Emotionally, Combat Evolution Officers largely followed their whims; those like Renyu, who exercised Puritan-like restraint, were the exception.

  Xiao Feng was well aware of the formidable rivals he'd face pursuing Selena—within the rear knight corps, every knight gazed upon their legion commander with devout reverence, as if serving a goddess. The five brothers by his side, too, watched this high-mountain flower with mesmerized eyes.

  As the welcoming ceremony reached its climax, Xiao Feng's expression abruptly hardened. His personal evolution interface silently activated, revealing Renyu and Yun Chenhe's refusal to execute the defense order. A cold smile tugged at Xiao Feng's lips: "Unreliable, as expected."

  Immediately, he issued a forced command to the two through the Evolution System. On the mission assignment interface, Xiao Feng's brow furrowed deeply—he had intended to directly order Renyu and Yun Chenhe to attack the northern orc capital, only to have the command rejected by the Evolution System as "extremely unreasonable."

  "Hmph." Xiao Feng narrowed his eyes menacingly and instead assigned another mission: requiring the pair to infiltrate the mountainous region northwest of the Thorns Gem Empire's capital, conduct raids without revealing their identities, and accumulate wealth for him. This was clearly a scheme to use others as tools—eliminating disobedient subordinates while reaping the riches.

  Yet the Evolution System warned again: failure would hold the assigner responsible for seventy percent of the consequences. Xiao Feng's fingers hovered over the light screen for a moment before reluctantly modifying the mission—dispatching the pair to conduct reconnaissance in the empire's northwestern provinces.

  "Is this acceptable now?" Xiao Feng confirmed the mission through gritted teeth. With his vindictive nature, revenge never slept. To him, sending two reservists without base support deep into the empire's heartland was tantamount to walking into a trap—that region was the vortex where rival factions clashed, where the slightest disturbance would draw the thunderous strike of the empire's elite legions.

  After the mission was assigned, Yun Chenhe turned to Renyu with a questioning look: "What do you think of this arrangement?"

  Renyu pondered for a moment, mentally mapping the terrain: "A mountainous region spanning three hundred square kilometers—a major range. Our resources should suffice for basic supply exchanges. The key lies in the local iron ore reserves."

  Yun Chenhe smiled meaningfully at this: "So, this area will become our base?"

  "More accurately, an ideal foothold," Renyu nodded. "What we lack most now is population. That area is filled with refugees—nobles couldn't care less about their survival."

  "Ha!" Yun Chenhe couldn't help but laugh aloud. "So Xiao Feng has actually done us a huge favor? Then let's see this 'task' through properly.I can't wait to see the hammer and sickle flag flying over this land."

  Renyu looked at Yun Chenhe, who had suddenly become excited, with surprise. "I remember you weren't particularly enthusiastic about these ideas before?"

  Yun Chenhe's expression turned serious: "When one truly finds themselves among the exploited class, awakening comes naturally."