She didn’t know how long it had been.
‘A minute? Ten minutes? A year? Or perhaps a century?’ Qin Yu jolted awake.
She found herself standing in a room.
The furnishings around her looked like a changing room.
“Stop spacing out! Hurry up and change. We’re here for the military exercise!” Luo Shangyu urged Qin Yu, who was still somewhat dazed, from the side.
Qin Yu turned her head and saw Luo Shangyu standing nearby. She had already changed her clothes and even donned her armor.
Qin Yu went to the wardrobe and rummaged for suitable attire.
She chose a form-fitting short-sleeved top and shorts. The material was like a synthetic fiber, very thin, making it perfect to wear under armor.
Qin Yu looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but marvel. This virtual world was amazing, even her own model was replicated so realistically.
Once Qin Yu was dressed, Luo Shangyu helped her put on the armor properly.
The armor resembled medieval Western plate armor, its tailored fit perfectly outlining Qin Yu’s body curves.
In a world with magic, such armor wasn’t heavy. Qin Yu felt as light as a swallow wearing it.
The two pushed open the door. In the next instant, a blinding white light flooded their world.
“Welcome to the Virtual World!”
A line of black text materialized out of thin air, floating before Qin Yu’s eyes.
As the white light faded, an endless expanse of space unfolded beneath her feet.
This was a room floating in the air. Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu stood on a transparent floor, as if flying at a great altitude. Through the floor, they could see a vast forest below.
“What is this…?” Luo Shangyu was a bit confused about the current situation.
“This should be the spawn point, right?” Qin Yu guessed, drawing on her gaming experience from the modern world.
“Greetings, Your Highness!” A clear, pleasant female voice rang out behind the two.
Qin Yu turned around. A young woman had suddenly appeared behind her.
The young woman had long black hair, dark eyes, and coldly beautiful, exquisite features.
“Hello!” Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu bowed slightly in return.
Qin Yu had seen the files. This was Chen Yufei.
Chen Yufei was a high-ranking frontier official. Qin Yu didn’t dare to offend her. Moreover, the Chen family’s influence was deeply entrenched in the imperial court. Facing Chen Yufei, the rising star of the next Chen generation, Qin Yu was even more cautious.
Chen Yufei said, “I have long heard of Your Highness’s illustrious reputation. It is truly my honor to be able to conduct military exercises with you today!”
“Haha, you flatter me! You, my esteemed subject, are young and accomplished, truly a hero of our time,” Qin Yu replied modestly.
Chen Yufei had genuinely been tempered on the battlefield. Her practical combat experience was far richer than Qin Yu’s own.
“Where are we now?” Luo Shangyu asked.
“We are in a sort of waiting hall, waiting for all soldiers participating in the exercise to connect to the virtual world,” Chen Yufei explained.
“Once all soldiers have entered the virtual world, we will be directly teleported to our respective military camps. That will mark the official start of the exercise.”
As she spoke, Chen Yufei lowered her head, observing the terrain below their feet.
While Chen Yufei was distracted, Qin Yu took the opportunity to examine her closely.
The armor she wore was golden, complementing Qin Yu’s own silver armor.
The golden armor, paired with Chen Yufei’s jet-black hair, gave her a dignified and sacred appearance.
The tightly fitted armor accentuated Chen Yufei’s perfect body curves. Her tall stature made her seem full of power.
Qin Yu couldn’t help but admire her. Chen Yufei truly possessed both talent and beauty.
Just then, Shangguan Rong appeared before the group.
As the Secretariat-Chancellery Grand Councilor, she had come to announce the commencement of the military exercise.
“Friendship first, competition second,” Shangguan Rong emphasized.
“No matter. Let’s give it our all,” Qin Yu said to Chen Yufei. “I want to have a serious match with you.”
“Rest assured, Your Highness,” Chen Yufei smiled slightly at Qin Yu. “I will definitely ensure you have a fulfilling experience!”
“Preparations are about to begin,” Shangguan Rong started the countdown. “Three!”
“Two!”
“One!”
As the countdown ended, a flash of light filled Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu’s vision, and they left the floating room.
When Qin Yu opened her eyes again, she and Luo Shangyu had arrived inside a military tent.
The two stood in the center of the tent. Its contents were simple: a large writing desk, a few chairs, a detailed military map, and a battlefield sand table model.
Luo Shangyu went to a corner of the tent, lifted a thick canvas flap, revealing the space behind it.
It was a bedroom, not large, just enough to fit a double bed.
“A bit crude…” Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu pursed their lips. However, to adapt to this kind of highly mobile warfare, they knew these conditions were actually quite good.
The two walked out of the tent. The soldiers had already formed neat ranks under the guidance of their officers.
Before them was an army of one hundred thousand, all robust combat personnel, imposing and majestic.
Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu ascended the high platform in front of the soldiers, looking down as they reviewed the troops.
“Loyalty! Honor!” The soldiers saluted and shouted in unison.
Qin Yu gestured for everyone to quiet down and cleared her throat. “Warriors, the time for the Empire to test us has arrived!”
“This military exercise is not only a test of our strength but also a moment for all of you to seize merit and gain glory!”
Hearing about merit and glory, everyone’s eyes lit up.
“We will reward achievements based on the standards of actual wartime! And the rewards will be genuine gold and silver!”
Upon hearing this, the crowd became extremely excited.
To maintain the soldiers’ combat effectiveness, the Chengji Empire offered very generous rewards for military merit.
Now, they could receive the same treatment without actually going to the battlefield, just through a military exercise. Naturally, they were thrilled.
“Even though the enemy is strong, I firmly believe we will achieve victory. Because I, Qin Yu, am invincible!”
“Loyalty! Honor!” The soldiers’ voices erupted like a tidal wave, echoing in the air, lingering for a long time.
The crowd’s emotions were stirred up by Qin Yu. For victory (and the rewards), everyone was eager and ready, filled with a desire to slay the enemy and achieve great deeds.
“The entire army is to prepare. We march this afternoon,” Qin Yu ordered the army.
After motivating the soldiers, Qin Yu summoned the army’s officers.
The army had one centurion for every one hundred men, one captain for every one thousand, and one colonel for every ten thousand. Qin Yu summoned all twenty colonels of the entire army.
Qin Yu organized them into the Vanguard, Center, and Rear Armies based on their troop types, with thirty thousand men in each army, led by three generals: Vanguard General, Center General, and Rear General.
The remaining personnel were allocated as logistics troops and reserves.
“What is our plan?” one of the colonels asked.
“Plan?” Qin Yu paused, then walked over to the sand table. “We will concentrate our entire force for a frontal assault and send scouts to patrol and reconnoiter the enemy’s movements in the surrounding areas.”
“At the same time,” Qin Yu picked up a wooden pointer beside the sand table and pointed at the model hills on it, “we will dispatch troops to occupy these hills. This will give us a broader field of vision.”
“I will personally lead elite troops to harass the enemy first. Once they are fatigued, we will swarm them and seize victory. What do you all think?”
After Qin Yu finished explaining her strategy, everyone clapped and cheered.
Qin Yu wasn’t sure if her decision was truly correct or if the others were just expressing agreement to please her.
However, since everyone agreed with Qin Yu’s plan, they all returned to their respective units to convey Qin Yu’s operational strategy.
Simultaneously, each colonel selected elite soldiers from their own troops, totaling three thousand men, to form the vanguard force that would follow Qin Yu on the initial strike. The main force would be led by Luo Shangyu.
Everything was ready. Qin Yu was now waiting for the troops to complete their final preparations and assembly.