Border Guards are akin to legends within the Great Tang Empire.

People only know that their peaceful lives are possible because of the Border Guards’ existence, protected by the all-encompassing city walls of the Tang Empire, but very few know what kind of lives the Border Guards lead!

Yet Ye Luo could already see that the true powerhouses of the Great Tang Empire must reside among the Border Guards, and that joining them, seeking to become stronger, was perhaps more effective than even the training camps of the Royal Academy.

Accompanied by a flash of white light, Ye Luo had already been teleported to the border battlefield.

Long-distance teleportation, it seems, is also one of the unique privileges of the Border Guards!

At this moment, what appeared before Ye Luo and his companions was an immensely huge and indescribably terrifying city wall.

It was called terrifying because the wall was almost completely blackened by blood!

Especially at the base of the wall, where the endless white bones lay scattered; this was no border - this was Hell itself! 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

And around Ye Luo and his group, thousands of Border Guards silently watched them.

Indifferent, quiet, save for the whispering winds and the patrolling guards’ footsteps, the place was as silent as the grave.

Soon enough, Li Long had already come over.

"Now, you will be sent down below the city wall. Do you see that outpost in the distance? Inside the outpost nests a large group of Demon Beasts. That there is your battlefield. Remember, by any means necessary, excluding using your teammates, as long as you can kill ten Demon Beasts, you may return!"

"The most taboo thing for Border Guards is betrayal. You best remember, if you find a comrade injured and have the ability to save them but choose not to, on your return, you will be executed according to military law!"

A strange and merciless command.

In truth, out of the less than a thousand people like Ye Luo, since only five hundred could survive, they are naturally each other’s competitors. One could say that with each comrade’s death, the chances of the others’ survival increased. Yet now, with Li Long’s order, they were supposed to help each other out, even to the point of saving any teammate at all costs.

If they did not do so, they would face execution upon return.

This was an utterly ruthless command!

With the issuance of this command, even Ye Luo felt as if Li Long was set on playing them all to their deaths for his entertainment!

However, Ye Luo was very clear in his heart that Li Long had no need to do such a thing.

So, what was the reason, what was the purpose behind subjecting Ye Luo and the others to such cruel tests?

No one knew, perhaps only the Border Guards themselves understood what they wanted to achieve.

Soon, whether Ye Luo and the others were willing or not, they had no choice but to descend the city wall and head towards that distant outpost.

Halfway there, suddenly, someone shouted loudly at the others.

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment!"

At this moment, everyone had no emotions to speak of, so they all silently watched the man, even Ye Luo, who simply observed him coldly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please hear me out. We no longer have a choice. What the Border Guard represents, I’m sure you are all well aware, and let us not forget that it is the existence of the Border Guard that allows us to live in peace! To tell you the truth, since I was a child, my dream was to become a Border Guard, and today, my wish has come true!"

There was a smile on the man’s face, albeit a forced one.

"Alas, aren’t we all the same? The Border Guard is the guardian deity of our Great Tang, but no matter what, to forcibly recruit us like this, what is the meaning of this!"

"Exactly, this is simply to drive us to our deaths! Those are Demon Beasts, and surely none of them are weak in strength. Any Demon Beast is beyond our ability to slay, not to mention killing ten of them? This is simply pushing us on the path to death!"

"Damn it! The Border Guard, and Li Long, by what right does he decide our fate!"

It was as if at this moment, all the emotions suddenly erupted, everyone was freely venting, perhaps this kind of venting could make them feel a bit better.

However, Ye Luo said nothing, instead, he looked at the man who first spoke.

Ye Luo had guessed the man’s intention because he was the calm one. Ye Luo had no concept of the Demon Beasts of the Martial Realm, nor any concept of the Border Guard of the Great Tang Empire, so he could view all this calmly.

The seemingly ruthless command of Li Long was probably meant to select people!

And the urgency of the Border Guard to select talents must be due to some special task!

Of course, these thoughts were just in Ye Luo’s mind.

At this moment, the man who first spoke shouted again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down and listen to me once more!"

"I believe, regardless of why the Border Guard is doing this to us, the situation is already like this, we no longer have the chance to choose, so we can only try our best to complete the task. The power of the Demon Beasts, presumably everyone understands. To kill a Demon Beast, it’s not something any of us here can accomplish alone. Therefore, I suggest that we must act collectively. We have nearly a thousand people here, so why can’t we unite together!"

"Perhaps everyone is thinking about those five hundred spots, but first, we must complete the task. The War God of the Western Frontier did mention the five hundred spots, but he did not say that if we die down to five hundred people, he will save us and bring us back. It can be said that if we cannot complete the task, even if we all die out, the Border Guard will not lift a finger to help us, but will simply find another group of people!"

Ye Luo nodded, and so did everyone else; this man’s analysis was not unreasonable. Li Long said that five hundred people could stay, which probably meant a maximum of five hundred spots, but it did not mean that this group alone would necessarily have all five hundred spots. It is very likely, out of these thousand people, as many as are selected is as good as it gets.

With the methods of the Border Guard, it’s no big deal to find another group of people!

How many people die is probably of no concern to the Border Guard; they only want five hundred people who meet their requirements, that’s all!

"What are you trying to say?"

Suddenly, someone asked the man who spoke first.

"Everyone, let me introduce myself first; I am Zheng Wen, from the Duke Zheng’s house, and my father is Duke Zheng."

Seeing that revealing his background did not pique the interest of others, the man continued: "My proposal is actually very simple. That is, all of us must unite. After all, the strength of one is limited."