The formal establishment of the Blazing‑Flame Legion numbers over forty thousand soldiers, and with logistics and transport included, totals fifty thousand. The vanguard detachment is made up of ten squads, each with a hundred members and one squad leader.
The vanguard isn’t part of the regular battle sequence; their job is to blaze a trail to the battlefield—cutting through mountains, throwing bridges over rivers—making sure the main legion can reach the designated warzone without a hitch.
Now, Evan Lin’s first trial mission, assigned by Jun Yang, is to join the vanguard and complete this seemingly pointless—but actually extremely dangerous—task.
A ten-man sub-squad is currently trekking along a winding path through a mountain valley. This is already the territory of the Blood Demon Star Region—after disembarking from the star-boat warship, everything must be done on foot. The Blazing‑Flame Legion is totally unfamiliar with the Blood Demon Star Region, which is the main battleground this time.
According to earlier reports, the Blood Demon race supposedly sent out three mid-stage Saint Lords leading three thousand Saints to raid a Frostbane Dynasty-controlled mining star region and snatch Starstones. When the garrison caught up to reclaim the stolen Starstones, they were suddenly ambushed by nine thousand Saints and sixteen Saint Lords from three allied sects.
Outnumbered and outmatched, the garrison was quickly crushed, and all eight thousand low-grade Starstones freshly mined from that small star region were completely looted.
As one of the Three Thousand Dynasties, the Frostbane Dynasty absolutely refuses to tolerate this kind of provocation from minor powers! Killing dynasty soldiers is a direct slap in the face to Frostbane itself.
So this time, the Blazing‑Flame Legion is mobilizing for war, ready to wipe out all three sects and the Blood Demon race in one sweep.
Before this, intel said their strongest lineup was just a single mid-stage Saint Venerable and five peak Saint Venerables. With Jun Yang’s overwhelming power, taking down those three would be a breeze. His legion elites are even said to be able to fight ten foes apiece.
"Senior brother, according to the map, just ahead is the Blood Demon race’s encampment. Are we sure we want to keep moving forward?"
Violet Thunder held a map and looked at Evan Lin, asking.
This sub-squad has ten members, with Evan Lin appointed as captain by the squad leader. The other nine all follow Evan Lin’s orders. Of course, this is Jun Yang’s intention—he wants to see Evan Lin’s command and leadership ability. After all, ruling a dynasty takes more than just peak fighting power.
Every member of this sub-squad is a newcomer who passed the recent trial assessment. They’ve all witnessed Evan’s strength firsthand, so nobody objects to him being captain.
"No, up ahead isn’t the Blood Demon race’s encampment. It looks like a place they once occupied, but my Light Transformation avatar already scouted it—right now the city is empty, with only a few human Saints patrolling the area.",
"Huh? How could that be? Did the Blood Demon race run away?"
"No way. If you ask me, this smells like a setup. Weak forces wouldn’t provoke the Frostbane Dynasty for no reason—they’d never pick a fight with someone they have to look up to. There’s got to be something else going on, and I think we’ll see the truth soon enough.
Everyone stay put right here—just wait quietly.
After listening to Evan, Violet Thunder thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up at him. "You mean, there’s someone—or some force—pulling the strings behind all this?"
"That’s what I think. But with such a clumsy trick, I don’t know what their goal is—so all we can do is wait here."
"Then... what about the vanguard commander? We’re supposed to scout this five-thousand-li area, and if we don’t get back in time, it might mess up the whole operation."
"Right, thanks for the reminder. Here’s what we’ll do: we’ll split into two groups. You take five people and head back to report the situation here, while I stay behind. If anything happens, I’ll send word. Remember—until I give the signal, don’t let the main legion get anywhere near this place!"
Evan Lin had a bad feeling about all this, which is why he gave these orders.
"Got it. I understand!"
So, Violet Thunder called out five names, and they quickly headed back the way they came. Meanwhile, Evan Lin once again sent out his Light Transformation avatar, sneaking into the Blood Demon race’s city.
Half an hour passed with no sign of movement. Evan grew more and more uneasy—something about this was seriously off.
"No, this isn’t right! We must’ve been exposed!"
Just as Evan finished speaking, the sky suddenly filled with a dark mass of star-boat warships, flying the demon-banner. Behind them, three groups of human Saints in different martial robes followed.
"Blazefire Sect, Northstar Sect, Southern Star Sect—and the Blood Demon race..."
The star-boat warships overhead weren’t high-grade—just basic transport ships with limited firepower. And while five thousand enemies pressed in, none of them were above late-stage Saint; most were just early-stage.
The four leaders in front were a bit stronger, each at the Saint Lord level—but only early-stage.
The four behind Evan were already panicking. Four against five thousand—and their position blown before the fight even started? How could they possibly win?!
"Pathetic. After all this waiting, you only just realized you’ve been exposed? What’s the plan—send someone to report back so the main legion can come wipe us out? Heh… Hate to break it to you, but your vanguard detachment was surrounded and wiped out a quarter-hour ago!
And those five who split off half an hour ago? They’re as good as dead. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this."
Swish! The Saint Lord on the Blood Demon race’s star-boat waved his hand, and four heads tumbled down from above—thudding to the ground in a spray of blood.
"Too bad—one slipped away. But it’s no problem; three Saint Lords are hunting him down. I doubt some late-stage Saint can make it out alive.
But you four—what do you have to say for yourselves? Before I kill, I love hearing people beg and flatter me. Maybe if you grovel well enough, I’ll spare you. Hm? Hahaha!
Looks like the famous Blazing‑Flame Legion is just a bunch of useless cowards. Everything is going exactly as I planned!"
Watching this man gloat and laugh wildly, Evan Lin’s face darkened.
The one who escaped was definitely Violet Thunder. Now, with their position exposed and surrounded, Evan Lin’s first thought wasn’t how to break out—it was that his earlier suspicions were confirmed.
This Blood Demon battlefield campaign was a death trap set specifically for the Blazing‑Flame Legion! And the intel was wrong—there’s a traitor in the ranks!