Chapter 10: The Fifteen Ranks of Military Rank

"No... I missed!" Below, Angel and Nangong Kexin turned ashen with fear, watching helplessly as Shangguan Yueling brushed past Nangong Yuchen's outstretched hand, and frantically rushed toward the spot where she was falling.

High up in the air, Nangong Yuchen felt a roaring in his head, his heartbeat practically coming to a complete stop! Seeing Shangguan Yueling about to hit the ground, he roared, "L-Little loli!"

"Twenty meters... ten meters!"

Shangguan Yueling was falling far too fast. In the blink of an eye, she was less than ten meters from the ground, and Nangong Yuchen in mid-air, along with Angel and Nangong Kexin not far away, had no time to effect a rescue!

"Five meters!"

At that critical, split-second moment of peril, a high-pitched female voice suddenly rang out from the road across the ruins.

"Shelter!"

As the voice fell, a flash of blue light swept past, appearing right where Shangguan Yueling was about to land. Instantly, it transformed into a massive hemispherical light dome, shining brightly like a barrier and brilliantly illuminating the surrounding area.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

At that moment, Shangguan Yueling landed. The instant her body entered the light dome, her descent speed plummeted drastically. Then, as if falling into water, she drifted down lightly and touched the ground.

"Lingling!" On the opposite side of the street, a seductive figure rushed over, pulling Shangguan Yueling into her arms and crying out with a face full of worry.

Nearby, Nangong Yuchen also landed on the ground. He and Angel stared in utter astonishment at the familiar figure before them, speaking in unison, "H-Homeroom teacher?"

Within their field of vision, who else could this alluring and charming figure be but Shangguan Luoer? However, at this moment, she had shed her usual professional attire and changed into battle gear. Silver armor tightly encased her voluptuous and mature physique, outlining her astonishing curves to perfection. Her right arm bore a ferocious, flame-gleaming gauntlet stained with dried blood, giving her the spirited and formidable bearing of a commanding general.

"A gauntlet? Armor? And that water-elemental energy skill just now... The homeroom teacher is actually a Tier-2 mecha warrior?"

The heart that Nangong Yuchen had clenched tight because of Shangguan Yueling transformed into pure shock at that very moment! He had never imagined that their notoriously tiger-like homeroom teacher was actually a mecha warrior, and a Tier-2 one at that!

Immediately, before the shock could even settle, watching Shangguan Luoer's anxious and worried expression, Nangong Yuchen, Angel, and Nangong Kexin began to wonder: "What relation does Shangguan Yueling have to her?"

"Could they be mother and daughter?" Nangong Yuchen made a bold guess, but quickly dismissed it himself. As he well knew, Shangguan Yueling was the daughter of Mayor Xia, whereas their homeroom teacher was merely...

Just then, Shangguan Yueling let out a soft moan and regained consciousness.

"Lingling! Are you alright?" Shangguan Luoer's suspended heart finally dropped as she asked with concern.

"L-Little aunt?" Shangguan Yueling looked slightly dazed; her memories were still frozen at the moment of the rooftop explosion. After a few seconds of collecting her thoughts, she suddenly buried herself in Shangguan Luoer's embrace and burst into loud tears.

"Sob, sob~ Little aunt, big sister is in a coma at the hospital, and Mufeng is dead too, sob... Now I'm the only one left!" Shangguan Yueling cried with heartbreaking sorrow. She had already been consumed by guilt lately over Shangguan Youran and Mufeng's situation, and coupled with operating entirely alone during her mission, she had endured even the threat of death. But the moment she threw herself into Shangguan Luoer's arms, she finally broke down.

Shangguan Luoer comforted the girl in her arms with a heart-wrenching expression, looking at that moment very much like a gentle mother.

Nangong Yuchen stood nearby, tongue-tied and stunned. Whether it was Shangguan Yueling displaying such vulnerability or Shangguan Luoer showing such tenderness, it was something he was witnessing for the very first time in his life!

"Ahem, homeroom teacher!" After a long while, Nangong Yuchen could no longer hold back and cleared his throat to remind her.

At those words, Shangguan Yueling's crying stopped abruptly, and she turned to look along with Shangguan Luoer.

"Nangong Yuchen? Angel? Nangong... Kexin?" It was only then that Shangguan Luoer finally noticed the three of them, and she cried out in shock, "You've all broken through to Tier 1!"

Tears still shimmering in her beautiful eyes, Shangguan Yueling in her arms looked equally shocked.

"Uh... A fluke breakthrough!" Nangong Yuchen rubbed the back of his head and replied with a modest smile, though internally he was rendered completely speechless.

"Hah!" Shangguan Luoer suppressed her shock, shifting her gaze to look at the three of them with a strange expression. "I didn't expect that after just a week apart, you'd all break through to Tier 1!"

More than a month ago, she had been quite puzzled by Nangong Yuchen's sudden surge in physical fitness. Now, after just a few days apart, it had surged once again, and moreover, all three of them had broken through to Tier 1 simultaneously. While shocked, she was also extremely curious, feeling that there had to be some secret behind this explosive breakthrough of theirs.

Nangong Yuchen felt a bit guilty under her scrutiny. After all, even he felt that his and Nangong Kexin's breakthrough to Tier 1 was somewhat inexplicable. Eager to change the subject, he looked at the mecha on her arm and took the initiative to ask, "Homeroom teacher, what is the relationship between you and Shangguan Yueling..."

"Us?" Shangguan Luoer shook her head, appearing somewhat reluctant to elaborate. At that moment, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from the street intersection. Turning their heads, the group saw dozens of mecha warriors leading a large contingent of troops rushing toward them.

"Tramp, tramp!" Stopping a dozen meters away from Shangguan Luoer, the middle-aged mecha warrior leading the group spoke up, "Major, all fierce beasts in District C have been completely cleared out. Please issue the command to advance on District D!"

"Major?" Nearby, Nangong Yuchen and the two girls were somewhat shocked. Although they weren't very familiar with military rank hierarchies, having so many soldiers and mecha warriors entirely taking orders from their homeroom teacher was enough to thoroughly astonish them!

"First and Second Squads remain behind to continue garrisoning District C; all other squads proceed at top speed to District D and ensure all fierce beasts are cleared out before dark!" Shangguan Luoer seemed like a completely different person. The aura she projected was no longer that of the tiger-like homeroom teacher of the past, but that of a competent, stern commander issuing military orders to her subordinates!

"Yes!"

The middle-aged mecha warrior dispatched two mecha squads, ordering them to take two hundred soldiers and stand by in District C, while he himself prepared to lead the main force toward District D.

"Oh right, Ye Cheng, take the three of them with you as well!" Shangguan Luoer suddenly spoke up, adding.

"Yes!" Without asking questions, the middle-aged commander named Ye Cheng led Nangong Yuchen and the other two, along with the crowd of mecha warriors, taking the lead as they headed toward District D outside District C...

Along the way, whenever fierce beasts were encountered, they were swiftly eradicated by the other Tier-1 warriors. During a quiet moment, Nangong Yuchen's curiosity about Shangguan Luoer's identity flared up again. He recalled that his instructor, Shangguan Mulong, seemed to hold the rank of lieutenant, yet Shangguan Luoer was a major! He honestly wasn't clear which of the two military ranks was higher. Just as he wanted to open his mouth to ask, he glanced at the thirty-odd stern-faced mecha warriors surrounding him and forced the words back down.

After a little while longer, he simply couldn't help himself. Turning to Ye Cheng, he asked with some trepidation, "Hello, Officer Ye!"

"Officer?" The moment his words fell, everyone else around turned to look at him uniformly!

"Uh..." Nangong Yuchen's old face flushed red with awkwardness. With no other choice, he cast a plea for help toward Angel beside him. Soon enough, however, he was disappointed, because even the usually knowledgeable Angel was unfamiliar with military rank structures.

At this point, Ye Cheng broke the awkward silence and suddenly spoke up, "You're the newly advanced Tier-1 elite students from Star Academy, aren't you? Is there something you need?"

"Oh... Well, General, I'd like to ask you to explain our military's rank hierarchy to me!" Nangong Yuchen said cautiously.

"Military ranks?" Ye Cheng looked somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected this young man who had already broken through to Tier 1 to be completely ignorant of military ranks. However, being a veteran commander, he quickly relaxed and explained, "If we count from ordinary citizens upward, our military ranks are: Civilian, Soldier, Sergeant First Class, Non-Commissioned Officer, Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Senior Colonel, Major General, Lieutenant General, General, and Commander!"

"These are the fifteen tiers of our human military ranks! And I am merely a captain—or rather, a second lieutenant, not any kind of general!"

Nangong Yuchen laughed somewhat sheepishly. After hearing the military rank hierarchy, he became even more suspicious because Shangguan Mulong was actually two full ranks lower than Shangguan Luoer! If he wasn't mistaken, Shangguan Mulong must surely be a Tier-2 as well. Since both were Tier-2, yet their ranks... Thinking of this, he couldn't help but continue asking, "Then what is the relationship between Major Shangguan and the Lord Mayor?"