Infinity, The Arcade Age

The Hound Corps—officially known as the Federation Military's Hound Special Forces Regiment—currently had a total of over thirty-seven thousand personnel, with full autonomy over their operations and administration.

Lately, they'd been busy putting out fires—figuratively—chasing around the wandering General Moden and constantly suppressing uprisings he incited.

At this moment, this powerful corps was stationed in a desert region, locked in battle with local rebel forces.

Above a city, high in the sky, a massive airborne fortress floated silently.

Soldiers were constantly going in and out through descending passageways, bustling with activity.

This airborne fortress served as both the command center and military camp of the Hound Corps—widely known as a mobile stronghold.

Of course, in the mouths of the rebels, it had another name: the Devil's Nest.

Right now, the two deputy commanders, Shuke and Beta, were in the city below the fortress, attending a meeting with other officers—faces expressionless.

Looking around at the other military commanders present, both men wore matching scowls of disgust and disdain.

They made no effort to hide it—not because they lacked social tact, but because, frankly, who could blame them?

Imagine your troops going through hell to capture a city, only for it to be handed off to someone else, and then watching it fall back into rebel hands the very next day. Trust me—you'd look even more pissed off than they did.

Surrounded by these incompetent blowhards, both men were deeply frustrated.

They were sick and tired of leading their troops around in pointless firefighting efforts. But what could they do? As much as the Hound Corps had independent operational authority, they were still, at the end of the day, soldiers of the Federation.

Exchanging a look, both sighed and braced themselves once more, diving back into yet another round of arguments with the other officers.

"I've said it multiple times already—we're only responsible for quelling the uprisings! It's not our job to manage or govern these cities afterward!"

"But the rebels in the city haven't been fully wiped out! Their numbers are still massive!"

"That's not our problem! That's your job! You weren't sent here by the Federation to sit around and spectate! Fine, you can't handle the frontlines—but you can't even deal with scattered remnants?!"

"We can fight! But the losses would be heavy! You guys aren't busy right now—why not just help us out? We'll even give you a share of the military merit. How about 30%?"

"Like hell! Are our soldiers' lives worth nothing to you?! You want us to send them into battle without orders?! And if they die, what do we say to their families—or their brothers-in-arms?!"

"Uh... how about 40% then?"

Watching the other officer shamelessly try to bargain military assistance with merit points, Shuke's face turned red with fury. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to walk over and punch the guy, only to be forcefully held back by his comrade.

Honestly, it was no surprise these commanders kept losing battles. They were the kind of people who treated their soldiers' lives like poker chips, calculating gains and losses without a second thought. With attitudes like that, how could they possibly win against rebels who fought with real conviction?

To be honest, if it weren't for the Hound Corps anchoring the region, these forces alone wouldn't have held the surrounding cities for long—they'd have fallen already.

As Shuke's face twisted with fury, the officer he was arguing with still hadn't caught on. He thought Shuke was just unhappy with the cut he'd offered, and was about to up the percentage again.

But just then, a dull thud sounded from the direction of the conference room door.

The next second, a tall and imposing figure strode in from outside. Two soldiers tried to block him—but he casually swatted them aside with a flick of his hand, knocking them down as he snapped,

"What rank are you?! You think you can stop me?!"

Seeing Qin Ming stride into the room, both Shuke and Beta were stunned at first. Then, recognizing him, they lit up with joy and immediately stepped forward to salute.

"Deputy Commander Shuke (Beta), reporting to the Commander!"

Qin Ming gave a small nod, face stern, as he glanced at the two standing at attention. Then his gaze shifted toward the others nearby.

Noticing several other commanders rise to their feet as well, Qin Ming frowned slightly.

"Who are they?"

"Reporting, Boss! They're the commanders of three nearby army groups."

"What are they doing here?"

"They can't beat the rebels and want us to step in to help suppress the city."

"Oh? I don't see any of our soldiers sitting around twiddling their thumbs. Where'd they all go?"

"Reporting! The troops have spread out to nearby towns to suppress the rebels!"

"Have them all return. Notify everyone—we're holding a meeting. Big operation incoming."

"Yes, sir!"

With Qin Ming's order, Deputy Commander Shuke immediately turned and left.

Hearing his words and realizing his identity, the other commanders in the room turned pale. They had figured it out—this was the infamous Hyena Major General.

Exchanging uneasy glances, one of them suddenly spoke up.

"Wait! You can't pull your troops back! General Hyena, if your forces withdraw now, the enemy will likely regroup and launch a massive counteroffensive from all directions! We'll be in danger then!"

Qin Ming looked up at him, expressionless.

"Let me correct you. You'll be in danger. We're not afraid of them."

"Uh..."

"And another thing—what's your rank? Who the hell are you, anyway? Don't stick your nose into how I command my troops!"

He gave a casual wave of his hand, clearly done wasting words on this bunch. Then he turned to Beta and barked out an order.

"Once the troops return, get ready for a strike. Our target this time is the local rebel command! The Barabbas Legion! We're going straight for the throat!"

"Yes, sir!"

Qin Ming had zero patience for pointless orders, and even less for waiting around.

So the first thing he did upon taking command was mobilize the troops for a direct assault.

As for the orders from the Federation? What did those have to do with him? If they wanted someone to follow orders, they could go find someone willing to take them.

Qin Ming's sudden appearance—and his blatant disregard for military orders—clearly rattled the other commanders.

Watching as he seriously began withdrawing his forces and preparing to abandon the current area, the other commanders' faces turned ashen.

They knew exactly how weak they were. If the Hound Corps pulled out, there was no way they could hold off the local rebels on their own. Now they were completely panicked.

One of them slammed the table and shot to his feet, yelling,

"General Hyena! Are you planning to defy orders from the Federal Government?! The government ordered the Hound Corps to assist us in combat! But you're pulling out and abandoning captured territory—that's basically handing it back to the rebels! You'll be court-martialed for this!"

Staring at Qin Ming with wide eyes, the man was visibly agitated.

"If you go through with this, I'm taking this straight to the Federation!"

The other commanders were stunned for a moment, but quickly followed up, each one voicing their outrage.

"Exactly! You can't just walk away like this! You must help us take this region—if not, we'll file a joint complaint to the top brass!"

"Yeah! Get you stripped of command!"

"You want to lose your rank? Even if you don't care about your own future, think about your men! They deserve better!"

The officers all started shouting, ganging up on Qin Ming.

But through it all, Qin Ming stood there, face utterly blank—not saying a single word.

He merely turned to glance at Deputy Commander Beta, then made a small slicing motion across his neck with his hand.

Recognizing the familiar gesture, Beta—who'd long had it up to here with these useless, meddling windbags—immediately broke into a bright, delighted smile.

(End of Chapter)