Liu Mang is also a member of the chat group, hailing from the Rising Sun Empire, one of the major powers in his world.

  He is the illegitimate son of the Great General Zhenyuan. Later, when the general’s eldest legitimate son suffers a severe injury on the battlefield and becomes infertile, Liu Mang is brought into the family registry and officially recognized as the general’s second son.

  Liu Mang enters the general’s mansion at the age of seven but is far from welcomed, especially by the general’s wife and her retives.

  However, Liu Mang’s remarkable intelligence wins the favor of his grandmother, saving his life.

  Over the next ten years, Liu Mang gradually earns a reputation as a pyboy, at least to outsiders. The general’s wife hopes he remains a reckless, uneducated youth.

  Since Liu Mang started going down that path, aside from the general and grandmother who frequently reprimand him, his retionships with others in the household improve considerably.

  But as a selector, Liu Mang is far more than just a pyboy.

  In those ten years, he not only builds his own team of loyal assassins but also establishes a trading company and various other enterprises.

  He even supports a band of forest rebels, and his personal combat skills have surpassed those of his elder brother, who cannot have children.

  Yet, to outsiders, Liu Mang still appears irresponsible, which infuriates the general. As a result, Liu Mang is thrown into the military for training.

  This is exactly what Liu Mang wants.

  During his three years in the army, he constantly stirs up trouble and suffers many beatings with the military baton, switching units multiple times.

  By this point, the general has given up hope on him.

  Meanwhile, the general takes a new concubine who bears a son with exceptional talent, worthy of cultivation from a young age.

  Additionally, a traveling divine doctor cures Liu Mang’s elder brother’s illness.

  Not long after, the elder brother also fathers a son.

  The general’s wife and the favored concubine immediately begin fighting over succession rights.

  Both sides are too preoccupied with this struggle to pay attention to Liu Mang, whom they consider useless.

  Even the general, overwhelmed by family affairs, fails to notice Liu Mang’s subtle moves.

  When Liu Mang is twenty-two, neighboring armies press hard against the borders, and rebellions erupt within the empire.

  General Zhenyuan receives orders to block the invading forces.

  But betrayal by spies within the court leads to disaster, Liu Mang’s elder brother’s vanguard and the general’s central army are completely surrounded.

  At this critical moment, when the family’s fate hangs in the bance, the long-forgotten Liu Mang suddenly steps forward.

  He organizes an 8,000-strong force from the remaining troops and takes the initiative to rescue his father and brother.

  Through a series of fierce battles, Liu Mang dispys exceptional military acumen and formidable personal strength.

  In the end, he successfully rescues his severely wounded father and brother.

  Soon after, under orders from the court’s military overseers, Liu Mang is ‘forced’ to take command of the western forces.

  He immediately promotes trusted men he cultivated over four years in the army to mid-level officer ranks, effectively sidelining the senior commanders.

  By the time his father and brother recover, they are shocked to find that half of the empire’s 130,000-strong western garrison answers to Liu Mang.

  Thanks to several impressive victories, the court is pleased and decides not to repce him before the Western Regions campaign concludes.

  Liu Mang begins to stall, buying time to expand his power within the military.

  At twenty-four, he leads a massive battle, commanding 150,000 imperial troops in the west to crush an enemy force of over 200,000.

  He beheads 100,000 foes and captures tens of thousands more, forcing the enemy to sign a surrender treaty and send hostages to the imperial court to beg for mercy.

  Liu Mang’s name spreads across the nd after this victory. The emperor is greatly pleased and grants him the title of “Barbarian-Driving General” with the rank of Third Rank official.

  Shortly after, Liu Mang receives imperial orders to quell rebellions in the empire’s southwest.

  He pulls 50,000 elite troops from his western garrison to form the Jingzhe Army.

  Two years ter, Liu Mang completely suppresses the southwestern uprising.

  He pacifies the rebel factions and even marries the daughter of the rgest rebel leader.

  From that point on, Liu Mang firmly establishes his position.

  At twenty-eight, he holds the post of Governor-General of the Southwest, a first-rank imperial official.

  Two years ter, Liu Mang consolidates the forces of the pacified rebels, and the Jingzhe Army has grown to 100,000 troops.

  By now, many within the empire have started to notice Liu Mang’s ambition.

  However, the empire’s situation worsens, years of natural disasters, border provocations from northern and southern enemies, and frequent internal rebellions keep the empire too busy to deal with Liu Mang directly.

  Meanwhile, General Zhenyuan begins to realize that his second son is the most talented among his offspring.

  The divine doctor who cured the eldest son’s illness was actually brought in by Liu Mang, deliberately stirring conflict between the main and secondary branches of the family to distract them from him.

  At this point, the general starts reaching out to Liu Mang, preparing to give his second son a reliable family ally.

  Over the next two years, Liu Mang campaigns in the South Regions, quelling rebellions and redeploying troops northward to resist invaders.

  Every time the empire calls on Liu Mang, it comes at a cost.

  By the time he turns thirty, Liu Mang effectively rules the seven southwestern provinces, controlling a quarter of the empire’s territory.

  It’s at this moment that Liu Mang receives orders to support Lucy.

  In summary, those involved in this mission are the cream of the crop among the selectors.

  Many are curious about Henwell.

  After all, Henwell’s style is different from the rest, and the experiences he’s gone through make others doubt they could have survived as he did.

  Within the group, Henwell is considered one of the few skilled in rge-scale warfare.

  Liu Mang often pys online war simutions with Henwell, and has lost to him several times.

  After meeting in person this time, Liu Mang can’t help but want to test Henwell’s true strength.

  What he didn’t expect was how outstanding Henwell’s personal combat ability truly is.

  Most members in the group cultivate either true essence or Qi, fitting within the Eastern martial arts tradition.

  Though no one says it outright, there’s an unspoken belief that the Western knightly system is inferior to the Eastern martial arts system.

  In recent days, Henwell has also studied the martial arts system. From his perspective, both have their strengths and weaknesses.

  Knights excel on the battlefield, while martial artists are better suited for one-on-one combat.

  This difference stems from cultural traits, not from any inherent superiority in being extraordinary.

  Henwell sees martial artists as simir to warriors from his own world, but with much stronger overall capabilities, essentially a fusion of warrior, ranger, and shadow operative.

  Moreover, Henwell’s strength doesn’t come from the knightly system itself, but from his own powerful cultivation method.