Chapter 149: The End of Military Training

Chapter 149: The End of Military Training

As Li Hongshen truly integrated himself into Ma Zhongliang's city administration, he acquired a vast amount of additional knowledge and management experience. This encompassed subjects such as the career planning, training systems, and class advancements of territorial citizens.

Liang City, governed by Ma Zhongliang, held a population of nearly ten million. This scale was only achieved after his ascension to the transcendental realm, which granted sufficient spatial capacity for a greater population boom. Even so, Ma Zhongliang had established a comprehensive career system long before his ascension—specifically, the path of the Mechanical Warrior, just as Li Hongshen had noted.

In the early stages, citizens of Liang City learned how to operate machinery and cultivated mechanical force within their bodies. Upon reaching a certain threshold and passing the requisite evaluations, the central intelligence would direct them to the Advancement Hall to change their class. The Advancement Hall was a specialized structure custom-built by Ma Zhongliang using military merits; he had permanently embedded the Mechanical Warrior class within it, granting specific bonuses to citizens who underwent the transition.

Consequently, there was no traditional distinction between warriors and spellcasters here. Differences arose primarily from the types of machinery employed, as Ma Zhongliang had rewritten the rules within his territory, converting the fundamental spiritual energy into mechanical force via specialized professions.

Mechanical Warriors utilized armaments of varying tiers and destructive capabilities depending on their mechanical force rank. They existed as a specialized profession within Ma Zhongliang's territory, and the internal laws of the land were correspondingly skewed toward this unique path. Supporting this advancement and training system for Mechanical Warriors was a thorough educational infrastructure.

Broadly speaking, the educational mechanism in Liang City was divided into two distinct tracks: a clerical track leaning toward research, and a training track for Mechanical Warriors. Initially, the two tracks shared a unified curriculum, but by the second year of high school, students were separated and enrolled in distinct academies. Thereafter, they followed two divergent promotion pathways: one relying on combat achievements and operational command, and the other on research, design, and contributions to the territory's technological tree.

Within this framework, Li Hongshen recognized many concepts taught in standard textbooks, proving that the systems taught in high school remained highly applicable even into the transcendental stage.

Beyond education and professional training, the ultimate arena for deploying these achievements was the military. Currently, Ma Zhongliang maintained an army of nearly one million personnel, of whom professional soldiers accounted for roughly one-third—exceeding three hundred thousand. The standard equipment relatively unified across these troops was the individual exoskeleton combat armor, provided directly by Ma Zhongliang to maximize the combat efficacy of the Mechanical Warriors.

The equipment supplied by the main military legions, however, leaned more toward disposable items or high-wear armaments such as energy cannons, missiles, and select firearms and melee blades. Li Hongshen had questioned Ma Zhongliang about this during a briefing session, and Ma Zhongliang explained that this weapon configuration was the result of consultations between his own think tank and the legion's strategists, representing the most optimal setup.

Most lords operated similarly because they could never relinquish core technologies, which were invariably tied to the specialized professions of their respective territories. Meanwhile, standardized gear like artillery and firearms could be sourced from the legions, and even ammunition specifications could be aligned with legion standards as closely as possible. This facilitated rapid resource replenishment, alleviated pressure on both the legions and the lords themselves, and brought mutual convenience.

Upon entering the transcendental tier and advancing into the low-security zones, lords could attempt independent development. Replenishment in low-security zones was considerably more arduous, often requiring lords to devise solutions entirely on their own. Consequently, many lords transitioned toward energy weapons at that stage to reduce reliance on physical ammunition—a transitional phase Ma Zhongliang was currently undergoing.

During the first year of his stint in the Secretariat, Li Hongshen and his peers also encountered an enemy siege, specifically orchestrated by the most perilous Void Zerg. At the time, Li Hongshen and his classmates stood alongside Ma Zhongliang on the hundred-meter-high outer wall of the colossal city.

In the distance, they spotted a thin black line advancing across the terrain. As the distance closed and details came into focus, Li Hongshen gasped aloud. It was a boundless ocean of dense Void Zerg, surging toward Liang City like a tempestuous tsunami.

Yet, Ma Zhongliang informed them that this monstrous horde was merely the remnants of a swarm that had already been subjected to wave after wave of bombardment by transcendental lords stationed further ahead in the low-security zones. Li Hongshen was entirely at a loss for words, unable to fathom the magnitude of the trials faced by those elite figures in the low-security zones.

Faced with such a swarm, Ma Zhongliang demonstrated precisely what it meant to be a hedgehog bristling with defenses and the sheer destructive power of carpet bombing.

The operation commenced with volley after volley of cluster missiles blanketing the insect tide, blooming into clusters of fiery mushrooms amidst the swarm. Unfazed by the ferocious barrage, the Void Zerg pressed forward. Unsurprised, Ma Zhongliang immediately ordered the activation of the peripheral defense grid.

Li Hongshen then watched as automated laser turrets, automated tracking multi-barrel Gatling guns, and directed-energy weapons rose from the earth outside Liang City.

A crisscrossing barrage of firepower and laser beams wove a formidable defensive line across the front lines. The Void Zerg at the vanguard were blasted into pulp by the torrential firepower, yet the waves of successors did not halt for a moment, pressing ever onward. Gradually, an increasing number of defensive systems came online within Liang City. The insect sea began to encircle the entire metropolis, and while a few agile creatures managed to pierce the dense web of fire, they were promptly sniped and eliminated by Mechanical Warriors.

Ma Zhongliang explained to the students that such occurrences were commonplace. They stood like a lighthouse amidst the ocean, remaining unshakeable despite the battering waves. It was impossible to quell the assault of a zerg tide by individual effort alone, but they would do their utmost to snipe high-tier specimens within the swarm while obliterating whatever portion they could handle.

The battle against the insect tide persisted for over half a month. Throughout this period, Li Hongshen and his companions remained stationed at the front lines, observing the engagement, studying command strategies for such crises, and gradually solidifying their visions for future development.

Once the zerg tide subsided, Li Hongshen observed Ma Zhongliang ordering his soldiers to gather the insect carcasses and feed them into specialized structures within the city to be converted into origin points.

During this interval, Li Hongshen also heard one of Ma Zhongliang's famous maxims:
"I am not interested in origin points. I don't care about origin points; I haven't even touched an origin point lately. Once you all arrive here in the future, you should start by setting a small goal, like earning a hundred million origin points. Right now, four or five hundred million origin points are nothing to me; military merit is the true hard currency."

Following this military campaign and the completion of a full year in the Secretariat, Li Hongshen and his peers officially commenced their departmental rotation. They rotated through dozens of large and small departments, including Liang City's Research Institute, educational system, administrative system, logistics management system, and military system.

Throughout this process, they encountered numerous hostile factions, such as offensives from the Undead Scourge and probes originating from other crystal-wall systems.

These experiences left a profound impression on Li Hongshen and the others. They realized that the absence of war within the civilized domains was not because war did not exist, but because someone was striving with every fiber of their being to keep the war at bay.