A gunshot pierced the night.

Lu Yuan, who had been fast asleep and snoring in his tent, was jolted awake.

’Huh?’

’What’s going on??’

Lu Yuan shot up from the simple wooden plank bed.

He was completely bewildered.

The glow of firelight danced outside his tent.

People holding torches were frantically running in one direction.

As Lu Yuan hurriedly threw on his clothes, he called out, trying to ask someone what was going on.

But just then, a series of sharp whistles pierced the air.

Hearing the whistles, Lu Yuan no longer needed to ask.

He basically knew what was happening.

After all, as a member of the Zhao Family, Lu Yuan had led the first Firearms Team to deal with the Xingzi.

Lu Yuan knew how to blow the Zhao Family’s whistles, and he understood their meaning.

’A fight broke out??’

’This is...??’

’What the hell!!’

’We’re still inside Qilu territory, and those whistle calls...’

Lu Yuan listened for a moment longer...

’Holy shit??’

’The three-three system?’

’What the fuck??’

As has been said many times, the men Lu Yuan brought with him were the core loyalists of the Zhao Family.

And as the Zhao Family’s core loyalists, their most devoted Travelers, Lu Yuan had taught these men almost everything he knew.

Previously, Lu Yuan had obtained the first volume of *Military God* from Aunt Song.

Later, he got the second volume from Song Chi.

Lu Yuan had studied both volumes carefully.

After all, wasn’t it *Military God* that they relied on to crush the Liangshan bandits last time?

And although Lu Yuan hadn’t dabbled in military matters since then...

...he continued to read *Military God*, and whatever he learned, he taught.

These men from the Zhao Family had all studied *Military God*.

They weren’t great at large-scale formation movements, but when it came to small-scale operations...

...operations involving a few dozen men, they knew those like the back of their hands.

How to put it? For this era, these core Zhao Family loyalists were basically the special forces of special forces.

Even a single soldier from the Divine Ling Empire’s most elite corps might not be a match for one of these core Zhao Family men.

And the whistle calls right now were for the most famous tactic of his army: the three-three system.

There’s not much to say about it; a quick online search would explain it all.

It wasn’t some earth-shattering, revolutionary tactic in itself.

But the problem was, those were fucking combat signals!

’Why the hell were they using them here?’

’What the...??’

’What’s going on??’

’Dammit, don’t tell me the northern Beast Race broke through the Great Wall and the Northern front?’

’And fought their way south all the way to Qilu??’

Still dazed, Lu Yuan haphazardly threw on his clothes and shoes.

He looked around, then immediately grabbed the nearest person and asked:

"What the hell is going on??"

But the man Lu Yuan had grabbed was clearly just as bewildered as he was.

Like Lu Yuan, he had probably been fast asleep just moments ago.

Only to be suddenly yanked to his feet.

He was just acting on instinct after hearing the gunshot and the whistles.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan didn’t bother asking any more questions.

He let the man go and hurried toward a nearby carriage.

By the time Lu Yuan reached the carriage...

...Su Liyan was just climbing out.

Naturally, Su Liyan had no idea what was going on either.

She had been drifting off to sleep when the commotion started, and she wanted to ask her husband what was going on.

Lu Yuan didn’t explain, simply looking at his wife and saying:

"Stay in the carriage."

’I don’t know what’s happening, and it could be dangerous. My wife can’t be running around.’

After speaking, Lu Yuan climbed into the carriage as well.

He rummaged through their belongings and finally pulled out a firearm that looked almost identical to a modern automatic rifle.

Su Liyan stared in astonishment at the weapon her husband produced.

’That thing...’

’I’ve never seen that before.’

’I don’t know when he built it, or why it looks so different from the firearms the Zhao Family Travelers outside are carrying.’

Of course, now wasn’t the time to ask about it.

’But seeing him pull out that gun... surely he’s not planning on going to the front lines?’

’That’s too dangerous.’

Su Liyan instinctively grabbed her husband’s arm.

However, what neither Su Liyan nor Lu Yuan expected was that...

...the gunshot and whistles had come on suddenly and urgently.

But they faded just as quickly.

Lu Yuan had only just pulled out his gun when—hey, it was over!

The whistles blew again, signaling the cleanup.

Lu Yuan’s face darkened with exasperation.

’What the hell was that!’

’The whole thing didn’t even last five minutes.’

’Making such a huge racket, I thought something serious had actually happened.’

Su Liyan, who was beside him, could also understand the whistles.

Of course, she couldn’t understand them all like Lu Yuan could.

Nor could she use them to communicate.

But Su Liyan could understand some of the simpler calls.

What was it like?

It’s like living next to a military base or something.

At first, you don’t understand the bugle calls blown every morning.

But after listening for three to five months, you’d come to understand which is the wake-up call and which is the call to drill.

Hearing this, Su Liyan also breathed a sigh of relief.

In the end, Lu Yuan, still holding his gun, prepared to go out and take a look.

However, when he saw his wife was about to follow, Lu Yuan immediately said:

"I’ll go, you stay in the carriage."

But Su Liyan looked at her husband with a worried expression and said:

"Honey, my mother isn’t back."

Huh?

With a strange expression, Lu Yuan glanced around the carriage again. In his haste, he hadn’t noticed.

Lu Yuan frowned.

"Where’s your mother? Where’d she go?"

Su Liyan quickly told him what had happened.