Qin Tian sat down beside the temporarily assembled stones and gestured for Shen Juan and Lu Sheng to sit down and talk as well.

"You two, tell me about the general situation of our Third Battalion, the Chijin Battlegroup, and the Sixth Battle Zone."

Shen Juan organized his thoughts and said in a deep voice, "Let me start with the battle zone. Our Sixth Battle Zone Commander is Commander Xiao Yunsheng, a genuine Tier Eight powerhouse. He is currently suppressing high-tier demons on the Third Floor of the Demon Abyss, overseeing the entire defensive strategy of the Sixth Battle Zone."

At the mention of Xiao Yunsheng's name, a trace of awe flashed in his eyes. "With Commander Xiao here, the defense line of the Sixth Battle Zone barely holds."

Lu Sheng added on the side, his tone indignant, "There are hundreds of battlegroups like ours in the battle zone. The Chijin Battlegroup doesn't even make the ranking, only mid-to-low level. The full battlegroup consists of eight battalions, a full strength of five thousand men, but now, probably just over three thousand are able to fight."

"Commander Yan Song took over three months ago," Shen Juan's voice lowered, "He comes from a Golden Bloodline family and brought five hundred elites with him upon arrival. The previous commander died in a raid, and he naturally took his place."

"Hmph, I think he couldn't wait for the previous commander to die!" Lu Sheng spat on the ground, his voice suddenly rising,

"That Yan guy is an opportunist, those bloodline family members around him are all well-equipped and endlessly supplied. Even if they lose a battle, nothing happens to them. But people like us, from the grassroots, are nothing but disposable trash in his eyes!"

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, "Take our previous Battalion Commander Xu Xiong for example, he was a real tough guy. On other battles, he risked his life to earn military merits and managed to exchange them for a Bloodline Potion, forcing his way into acquiring a Bronze Bloodline. He couldn't stand Yan Song's attitude and clashed with him multiple times during battlegroup meetings, saying he couldn't just throw brothers in as cannon fodder."

Shen Juan sighed and continued, "Commander Xu was bold and straightforward, and no one could complain about him to the brothers below. It was due to Yan Song's insistence on attacking a demon stronghold last time that Commander Xu argued based on the lack of personnel, saying rushing in was like sending us to our deaths. But Yan Song suppressed him with 'disobeying military orders', and in the end, we charged in with half a battalion... and never came back."

Hearing this, a trace of coldness flashed in Qin Tian's eyes as he continued to ask:

"So this time, making you defend this stronghold to the death was also his idea?"

"Exactly!" Lu Sheng said through gritted teeth, "Knowing there's a Demon Cave nearby and our Third Battalion's manpower is severely inadequate, he's clearly trying to wear us down here! If it weren't for you, Camp Commander Qin, rushing over in time, we..."

He didn't continue, but the resentment in his tone was apparent.

Shen Juan glanced at Qin Tian, hesitated for a moment, and added, "Among the eight battalions, only the second, fourth, and fifth are his confidants. They get priority in equipment and supplies, while other battalions are treated like step-children."

He knew why Yan Song repeatedly targeted the Third Battalion. It's simple, Xu Xiong and Lu Sheng often spoke ill of Yan Song in the camp, and all those words were relayed to Yan Song by spies within the camp.

Moreover, Yan Song was a narrow-minded person, so you can imagine the situation of the Third Battalion.

Qin Tian listened in silence, lightly drumming his fingers on his knee.

A Sixth Battle Zone guarded by a Tier Eight powerhouse, a battlegroup ranking behind others, a family-born yet narrow-minded commander, and those grassroots warriors being discriminated against... The waters here are deeper than imagined.

He looked up at Shen Juan, "Is Commander Xiao aware of the situation with the battlegroups below?"

"Commander Xiao has been fighting high-tier demons on the Third Floor of the Demon Abyss constantly, where would he find the energy to manage such trivial matters?" Lu Sheng scoffed, "The battle reports filed by people below have long been embellished by Yan Song and his cohorts."

Qin Tian recalled the man with a smiling demeanor he reported to earlier, and a gleam appeared in his eyes. He stood up, dusting off his clothes, "Alright, I understand. Let's deal with the situation at hand first, there will eventually be an explanation for the rest."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried a force that inspired confidence.

Shen Juan and Lu Sheng exchanged glances and saw a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes—perhaps, this new Camp Commander Qin could really change something.

"Camp Commander, there's something I need to tell you."

Lu Sheng spoke, "Our battalion's communicator, the short guy with a shifty look, he's Yan Song's spy. He reports the Third Battalion's situation, even the usual conversations, all to Yan Song, so we need to be wary of him going forward."

Qin Tian turned his head, his gaze piercing through the crowd and locked onto the communicator.

Earlier, he listened to the process of the communicator reporting to the battlegroup. To be fair, the entire report was relatively professional, without much embellishment or exaggeration, with a focus more on him, the new battalion commander.

But hearing Lu Sheng say this, it turned out this guy was a spy planted by Yan Song in the Third Battalion.

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on him. You two organize the troops, we'll have a meeting shortly," Qin Tian said.

"Yes!"

The two stood up, saluted, and turned to leave.

After watching the two return to the camp, Qin Tian found a secluded spot, gesturing and saying:

"Come out."

Buzz

The air rippled, and a figure appeared out of thin air.

It was Li Qi.

"Boss, here's the map of the area within 20 kilometers around the camp."

Li Qi handed over a newly drawn map to Qin Tian. As it unfolded, the central tent symbol represented the Third Battalion camp, surrounded by red circles, some large and some small, with small notes marking the discovery times beside them.

Li Qi pointed to the tiny circles as small as fingernails and said, "These are the demon squads lurking nearby, numbering approximately between 20-50, with unpredictable movements. Most are Tier Three and below cannon fodder, nothing to fear, but this place..."

His fingertip landed on the northeast corner of the map, where a blood-red cross as big as a fist was drawn, the edges marked with three warning lines in red pen: "This is a demon cave, hidden in the canyon of the Obsidian Mountains. When lurking on the outskirts to investigate, I could sense at least seven different demonic qi, three of which had particularly strong fluctuations, conservatively estimated to be over 3000 in number. There might even be Tier Six demons overseeing."​

Qin Tian's heart tightened, his fingers gripping the map sharply. The fact that there's such a large demon cave within 20 kilometers around the camp meant they were sleeping on a volcano, always at risk of being engulfed by spewing lava.

More than 3000 demons, if they all rushed out, not to mention the Third Battalion, which previously had only over two hundred people left, but even the entire Chijin Battlegroup might have to pay a painful price.

Did Yan Song arrange this setup to truly place the Third Battalion in peril?

A trace of coldness flashed in Qin Tian's eyes. He then patted Li Qi's shoulder and said:

"Thank you for your hard work."

Li Qi lowered his head, "It's my honor to work for you, Boss."

With elite warriors like Xiong, Poisonous Widow, and Terreda emerging one after another, Li Qi's nerves were growing tauter - previously, he only had to compete with Feng Mochuan, but now, three formidable opponents showed up all at once, each displaying the ability to stand out on their own, a slight carelessness and he would be overtaken.

To stay by the Boss's side for the long-term, he must show his unique value.

And right now, the Demon Suppression Abyss is just the perfect stage.

This place filled with dangers also allows him to best utilize his strengths - he found the location of the demon cave, clarified the movements of the demons. As long as he provides more crucial intelligence in the upcoming operation, his status in the Boss's mind will be hard to surpass.

I, Li Qi, am the Boss's number one warrior, everyone else step aside!

Li Qi shouted inwardly.

"Li Qi, you still need to keep an eye on the demon cave moving forward, but remember, safety comes first," Qin Tian said sternly.

"Yes."

Li Qi responded, his figure shook and he entered stealth mode, disappearing from sight.

After Li Qi left, Qin Tian temporarily had nothing to do, giving him just enough time to reflect on the recent gains.

After a few rounds of heavenly thunder, he had killed more than 300 horned demons, harvesting over 400,000 Evolution Points, and acquired the talent of the horned demon.

[Name] Demon Physique Hardening (Blue)

[Type] Passive Talent

[Introduction] You can absorb the surrounding demonic qi to strengthen the body, allowing the physical defense to grow continuously with the absorption of demonic qi, and the muscle explosive power will also continuously increase with the nourishment of demonic qi.

A blue talent enhancing physique with somewhat better-than-none effect.

But this talent is not completely useless.

After entering the Demon Suppression Abyss, Qin Tian could feel the environment of demonic qi suppressing the spiritual energy inside his body, which affects his combat power to some degree.

But after merging [Demon Drive Hardening], this negative impact disappeared immediately, even bringing a feeling of thriving, in this respect, it also implies a significant enhancement.

Turning his gaze to the already assembled warriors, Qin Tian suddenly realized this was his first time leading a team as an officer.

Previously, he battled solo, at most leading a special squad, but now, he finally could try tactical leadership.

Maybe, I really do have some talent for command?

A smile curved at the corner of Qin Tian's mouth.

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