Chapter 123: The Ironclad Legion

"Young General! Can you tell me what on earth is going on?!" After Xu Yin had finished arranging for his men to gather their respective subordinates, he couldn't wait to press Du Long for answers.

"Don't ask why! I can only tell you that this is top secret! Your future training, too, will be of the utmost secrecy. The two training bases must never have direct contact with Fengli County City. It is best to use Black Profound Iron Mountain as a logistics transfer hub. The soldiers training here and those garrisoned at Black Profound Iron Mountain must be rotated periodically, and we must try our best not to attract the attention of any outside forces!" Du Long said with a rare, grave expression.

"This subordinate understands! I will certainly prioritize security and confidentiality!"

At this point, Xu Yin finally understood why Du Long had consistently emphasized secrecy. The slight sense of resentment he had held toward Old General Du for assigning him to such a remote, minor territory had long since vanished!

"Very good!" A smile returned to Du Long's face. "General Xu! Issue the orders: have the men pair up to ride each Armored Water Rhino, load the supplies onto their backs, and prepare to enter the Monster Swamp!"

"As you command!" Xu Yin replied with excitement before setting off to execute Du Long's instructions.

The soldiers of the Cavalry Legion, initially terrified, soon realized how docile and obedient the Armored Water Rhinos were. Their fears eased, and they began to load their supplies and climb onto the backs of the two-to-three-meter-tall beasts.

Curious and excited, they observed the massive herd. These terrifying creatures, a single one of which could claim dozens of lives on any given day, were now to become their mounts; everyone felt as if they were in a dream.

"Alright! It is getting late, let's move out!" Seeing that all personnel and supplies were ready, Du Long waved his hand and gave the order.

Led by the Great Lion, Ben Long, and Ben Lei, the massive group of Armored Water Rhinos, laden with supplies and soldiers, advanced rapidly into the depths of the Monster Swamp. These beasts were intimately familiar with the terrain, knowing which waters were too deep to traverse and which marshlands were passable, allowing them to travel deep into the swamp without obstruction.

By nightfall, the main force finally arrived at Ben Lei's territory. It was a vast expanse of land spanning several dozen miles, perfectly suited for establishing a training base for the Armored Water Rhino Legion, and conveniently close to Black Profound Iron Mountain.

Under the command of their officers, the four thousand recruits of the Cavalry Legion began to work in shifts. Some began setting up camp; the marshy terrain was ill-suited for wooden barricades, so they had to make do with simple rain-and-windproof tents.

As the domain of several thousand Armored Water Rhinos, no ordinary monsters dared to encroach upon the area, ensuring their safety.

Others set up cooking stoves. At Du Long's suggestion, over a hundred Armored Water Rhinos were dispatched alongside several hundred men to go fishing. The swamp was lush with aquatic life, and schools of fish and shrimp could be seen along the way. Fishing in such a place was effortless, especially with the Armored Water Rhinos' unique lightning abilities; a single discharge into the water could yield several thousand large fish.

That night, the four thousand soldiers enjoyed a rare meal of river delicacies. Once they were full and satisfied, Du Long summoned his key officers and the two Armored Water Rhino Kings for a meeting.

"Gentlemen! The six major Armored Water Rhino tribes of the Monster Swamp have actually submitted to me! This means that the entire Monster Swamp can effectively be considered our territory!" Du Long announced to the officers once the core members had gathered.

The soldiers, who had initially been somewhat dissatisfied with their assignment to Fengli County, now watched this miraculous young general with eager eyes, awaiting his next words.

"This is the Armored Water Rhino King, Ben Long; his strength has reached the Fourth Rank, equivalent to our human Gangdan stage! This is the Armored Water Rhino King, Ben Lei, whose strength is at the peak of the Third Rank, similar to the peak of the Qihai stage! As for the other four Rhino Kings of the six tribes, they are quite old, so I did not have them come out." Du Long continued his introductions.

"Ben Long, Ben Lei! This is General Xu Yin, the commander of the Cavalry Legion. Whenever I am not here, you must follow General Xu's commands!"

*Hng-ooh-roar...*

"Understood!" Both Rhino Kings roared simultaneously. With the help of the Spirit of the Ring's translation, Du Long understood them, though the others could not.

"General Xu! Ben Long and Ben Lei can understand human speech, though they cannot speak it themselves. In the future, feel free to give them any instructions you have. As for learning to understand their language, we shall have to find a way in time."

"There are six or seven thousand Armored Water Rhinos across the six tribes in the Monster Swamp, with about three to four thousand of them in their prime. I have made a promise to them that each tribe will keep twenty to thirty percent of their adults to guard their respective territories. Therefore, we can only mobilize between two and three thousand."

"Here, I want to tell everyone that, besides subduing the six Armored Water Rhino tribes, I have also subjugated all three major tribes of the Blazing Tigers in the Fire Mountain region!"

When Du Long said this, Xu Yin and the others, including the two rhinos, widened their eyes in shock, clearly startled by his words.

"Is this true?!" Xu Yin couldn't help but ask.

"Haha!" Du Long replied with a wry, helpless smile. "General Xu, we have reached this point; surely there is no need for me to deceive you?"

"This subordinate was rash!" Xu Yin realized immediately that he had repeatedly doubted the young general. Fortunately, the young man was broad-minded and did not hold it against him.

"No matter," Du Long waved his hand. "It is precisely because I have subdued those Blazing Tigers that I mentioned establishing two secret military training bases. I can tell you all now that the number of Blazing Tigers is quite large—over thirteen thousand in total, with about six or seven thousand adults available for conscription!"

*Hiss!*

The officers drew sharp intakes of breath, their faces filled with shock and excitement. They knew exactly what these numbers represented!

"Therefore! The two monster tribes are enough for us to establish a ten-thousand-strong monster legion! I suggest that we have the strongest soldiers serve as Armored Water Rhino riders, and all others serve as Blazing Tiger riders," Du Long proposed.

"Alright! That is the general situation! Do not ask me how I subdued the Rhino and Tiger tribes! You need only focus on how to build a powerful monster legion from this!"

"Because time is tight, we can only stay here for three days. Within these three days, two thousand men will remain to establish the first training base, while the other two thousand will accompany me to the next location to establish the second!"

In his seat, Du Long finally gave an overview of the secret mission and dismissed the meeting. Xu Yin and the others left, filled with questions, yet utterly exhilarated.

The night passed in silence. The next morning, after breakfast, the entire training base became a hive of activity. The Cavalry soldiers, upon learning they could choose to become either Armored Water Rhino cavalry or Blazing Tiger cavalry, were filled with excitement.

Subsequently, Xu Yin began the process of selecting the strongest soldiers. Soon, two thousand men who were noticeably taller and more robust were selected from the four thousand.

These two thousand men, under the envious gazes of their peers, began to scout for the Armored Water Rhino mounts that would be their lifelong companions!

The rhinos all looked quite similar, and the recruits had little to choose from. They quickly settled on their targets and climbed onto their backs.

The rhinos had received prior instructions and remained docile, allowing the human soldiers to mount. They knew their fates were now tied to these humans, and thus they behaved with unusual friendliness.

Seeing how gentle and obedient the beasts were, the soldiers' last shred of vigilance vanished. One by one, they affectionately stroked the necks of the great beasts, hoping to forge a close bond as quickly as possible.

"Soldiers of the Cavalry Legion!" After all two thousand had selected their mounts, Du Long stood up and shouted.

The noisy, chaotic scene immediately fell silent. Everyone listened quietly to what their mysterious young lord had to say.

"Today! This is a day to remember! Two thousand soldiers of our Cavalry Legion have become riders of the Armored Cavalry Legion!" Du Long said with a grave expression. "I want to say this to all the soldiers of the Cavalry Legion: whether it is an Armored Water Rhino or a Blazing Tiger, do not treat them as mere monsters! From this day forward, they are your lifelong comrades-in-arms! They are the brothers who will stand with you through life and death!"

"For a long time to come, you will live together, train together, and fight together!"

"To reduce casualties on the battlefield, you must train twice as hard. Only by sweating more in training will you bleed less in war! Do you understand?!"

"We understand!"

*Hng-ooh-roar!*

Across the training grounds, thousands of cavalry soldiers and over two thousand Armored Water Rhinos let out a collective roar. Clearly fired up by Du Long, their fighting spirit was high, and they were filled with excitement!

In particular, the phrase, "They are your lifelong comrades-in-arms! They are the brothers who will stand with you through life and death!" caused the last of the rhinos' resistance toward humans to fade away.