Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The concept of the "Black Armor Guard" quickly moved from blueprint to reality after Xiao Chen and Murong Xue made their decision on that snowy night.

This is no longer a vague concept, but a top-secret project that embodies the highest will of the Prince of Jingbei and utilizes the core resources of Hanyuan.

The study in Nuanyu Pavilion was brightly lit for several days in a row.

Xiao Chen temporarily entrusted most of the daily administrative affairs to Han Lie, Zhou Tong and others, while he and Murong Xue closed themselves off from visitors and devoted themselves to formulating the outline for the establishment of the Xuanjia Guard.

The large desk was covered with various drawings, lists, and scattered records from the Night Owl Archives about the Shadow Guards of the previous dynasty and other similar elite forces from various countries.

Combining his advanced military knowledge with a profound understanding of the technological conditions and forms of warfare of this era, Xiao Chen began to outline the skeleton and flesh of this future sharp blade.

The first step is selection.

A transfer order bearing the vermilion seal of the Prince of Jingbei and the top-secret seal of the Privy Council was delivered to the Night Owl Commander, the headmaster of the Military Academy, and the commanders of various armies.

The order was vaguely worded but extremely stern, requiring each individual to secretly select their top talents and send them to the "Type A Battalion" to report for duty. They were not allowed to inquire about the reasons or leak any information; violators would be punished for leaking military secrets.

The selection criteria were personally drafted by Xiao Chen and were extremely stringent:

1. Loyalty First: A family with a clean record for three generations, no ties to any faction in the Central Plains, and absolute, unwavering loyalty to Han Yuan and the Prince of Jingbei.

This item will be jointly reviewed by the Night Owl Background Check Department and the Prince's Palace Clerk. If there are any doubts, it will be immediately rejected.

2. Inhuman physique: Age between 18 and 25, with moderate height and weight, and physical strength, endurance, explosive power, flexibility, and recovery ability must reach an astonishing standard.

Xiao Chen even drew up simple sketches of the horizontal bar and obstacle course, and formulated specific physical fitness test items, such as long-distance running with loads, timed climbing of high walls, and extreme swimming.

3. Iron Will: Able to endure extreme environments, possesses exceptional resilience under pressure, maintains psychological stability, and can ruthlessly execute orders when necessary. They can also withstand rigorous interrogation without revealing secrets. This test is highly confidential and will be conducted by specialized personnel.

4. Possessing exceptional skills: or having extraordinary talent in a certain field.

For example, sharpshooters, tracking and counter-tracking experts, masters of infiltration and disguise, fluent in multiple dialects or even foreign languages, skilled in climbing, diving, boating, demolition, medicine, craftsmanship, lock picking, disguise, ventriloquism... even thieves, swindlers and other people from all walks of life, as long as their skills are useful and they can pass the tests of loyalty and willpower, can be recruited exceptionally.

5. Quick-witted: While not required to be well-versed in military strategy, one must possess excellent observation, memory, adaptability, and basic cultural knowledge.

Understand teamwork, rather than blindly acting recklessly.

The selection process extends beyond the military to include civilians.

Using the influence of the Prince's Mansion and her own influence in the north, Murong Xue secretly contacted some trusted elders and leaders of wandering knights to secretly look for suitable candidates.

Meanwhile, notices were posted in major cities and border checkpoints to "recruit those with special skills," offering generous conditions, but the selection process was unusually mysterious and rigorous.

The initial plan is to secretly recruit 300 people within three months. Quality over quantity.

Secondly, there's the training base.

Xiao Chen and Wang Dashan personally examined detailed maps of the northern border and dispatched several absolutely loyal teams to conduct on-site explorations.

Ultimately, the location was chosen as "Black Wind Gorge," about two hundred miles northwest of Zhenbei City.

Black Wind Gorge is not a place name, but a huge, remote rift valley with towering cliffs on both sides. The valley meanders through the middle, with complex terrain, including water sources, forests, cliffs, swamps, and a group of naturally formed caves.

The entrance was extremely well hidden, accessible only by a narrow gap, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the surrounding area was deserted for dozens of miles.

What's even better is that the climate here is highly variable, with all four seasons happening in a single day, making it an ideal place for extreme environment adaptation training.

Wang Dashan personally led a team under the pretext of "building a secret armory," mobilizing the most reliable engineering battalion to secretly excavate and build barracks, training grounds, warehouses, command posts, and even simple military workshops deep in the canyon, relying on the mountain terrain and karst caves.

All the craftsmen and soldiers involved in the construction will be temporarily "managed" until the Xuanjia Guard is initially formed.

The canyon's only entrance and exit was guarded by three layers of checkpoints, both visible and hidden, with traps and mechanisms set up. It was guarded by Wang Dashan's elite troops, allowing entry but not exit, with anyone who disobeyed to be killed without exception.

Next is the training syllabus.

This is the part that Xiao Chen has put the most effort into.

He abandoned the conventional training methods of the army at that time and developed a new subject system that could be described as "devilish," aiming to forge these three hundred men into three hundred all-round killing and survival machines, as well as highly efficient and coordinated combat teams.

The core of the training syllabus includes:

Hellish physical training: daily overload of weighted cross-country running, rock climbing, swimming, and obstacle courses.

The training volume is more than three times that of regular elite troops, aiming to push physical fitness to its limit and then break through that limit.

Brutal Survival: Conduct wilderness survival training for days or even weeks in the harshest environments of the canyon.

Equipped with only the most rudimentary tools, they must find their own food and water, build shelters, orient themselves, and cope with wild animals and harsh weather. The training attrition rate is extremely high.

Disguise and stealth: Learn to use the environment to hide yourself, make ghillie suits, and change your appearance, physique, gait, and accent.

Prolonged static observation and close-range infiltration tests patience and camouflage skills.

Killing skills: Not limited to conventional knives, guns, swords, halberds, bows, and crossbows, but also proficient in close combat and concealed weapon techniques such as short blades, daggers, hidden arrows, blowguns, throwing knives, and rope darts.

The instructors are top-notch fighters recruited from the military and civilians, who teach techniques for killing with a single blow.

At the same time, Xiao Chen began to introduce the simple concept of "CQC" (Close Quarters Combat) and team tactical cooperation.

Special skills:

Explosions: Specialists from the Firearms Department of the Gewu Academy will teach you the properties and formulas of gunpowder, as well as the techniques for making, burying, and detonating simple explosives.

Climbing and rappelling: Using tools such as hooks and pitons, perform rapid climbing and rappelling on high-rise buildings and cliffs.

Interrogation and Counter-Interrogation: Taught by Night Owl's experienced interrogation experts, this course teaches how to extract information from your enemies and how to protect secrets, buy time, and even transmit false information while captured. It includes psychological and physiological techniques for dealing with torture.

Basic First Aid and Toxicology: Identifying common poisons, preparing simple antidotes, and providing emergency battlefield medical care.

Intelligence gathering: How to observe, memorize, sketch, and transmit intelligence; how to establish secure contact points.

Multi-environment adaptability: Simulates combat and survival in different environments such as cities, mountains, forests, waterways, and deserts.

Culture and psychology: Murong Xue personally took charge of teaching the necessary cultural knowledge, local dialects, and simple foreign languages, as well as conducting loyalty education and psychological reinforcement, instilling the absolute belief of "loyalty to Han Yuan, loyalty to the King of Jingbei, and that comrades are brothers".

The training cycle is initially set at one year, divided into a basic selection period, a skills specialization period, a group collaboration period, and a practical simulation period.

The entire process employs a brutal elimination system; failure to meet any standard can result in elimination, or even death due to training accidents.

In the end, the three hundred ultimate warriors who have been tempered in both body and will will be the ones who will remain.

Finally, there's the equipment.

Xiao Chen set extremely high standards for the equipment of the Xuanjia Guards and personally drew up sketches to guide the military engineering department of the Academy of Natural Sciences in its research and development.

1. Protection: Based on the existing "Frost Abyss Armor", it has been improved to be lightweight and flexible. Thinner composite armor plates are used to protect vital organs while minimizing weight and reducing noise during activities.

The lining is made of sweat-wicking and breathable material.

The helmet is designed as a neck shield with a faceplate, balancing protection and visibility.

2. Weapons:

Main weapon: A specially made high-strength crossbow, which is small in size, has a foldable arm, and maintains its range and power without any reduction. It is equipped with a variety of arrows.

Melee: A specially crafted armor-piercing short blade made of refined steel, capable of both slashing and stabbing; a serrated fighting knife; and a fine steel hand dagger, etc.

Concealed weapons include sleeve darts, crossbows, throwing knives, syringes, and poisoned caltrops, requiring concealment, speed, and lethality.

Special items: grappling hooks with barbs, grappling hooks with mechanisms, portable saws, lock picking tools, etc.

3. Auxiliary Equipment:

Night vision: A preliminary attempt to create a simple "night vision tube" by utilizing the structural principles of the eyes of nocturnal animals such as cats and eagles.

Gas/Fire Protection: Simple water- or medicated wipes, used with specially designed goggles, to protect against smoke or potential toxic gases. Fireproof cloak.

Communication: Specially designed high-frequency whistle, colored smoke grenades, and flashbangs.

Medical: High-efficiency first aid kit, containing spirits, hemostatic powder, suture needles and thread, splints, pain relief powder, etc.

Damage: Foldable crossbow, smoke bombs, and demolition charges currently under development.

When Murong Xue carefully copied and organized this incredibly detailed "Outline for the Establishment of the Xuanjia Guard (Draft)" and presented it to Xiao Chen for final review, even with her composure and knowledge, she couldn't help but gasp.

This isn't training soldiers; it's creating a bunch of omnipotent "monsters."

However, when she thought about the chaos she might face in the future and the almost impossible tasks she would have to carry out, she deeply understood that only such a "monster" could become the sharpest spear and the strongest shield for the Cold Abyss.

"Let's call it—Project Purgatory."

On the title page of the outline, Xiao Chen wrote these four characters with a vermilion brush, his strokes carrying immense weight.

"Only those that can be forged through this purgatory are the true 'Mystic Armor'."

As his vermilion pen fell, the isolated Black Wind Gorge began to welcome its first batch of silent and powerful "seeds".

The most mysterious and sharpest blade in the Cold Abyss began to take shape quietly through absolute secrecy and near-cruel honing.

No one knows what inhuman trials these outstanding individuals, selected from the entire military and civilian population, will undergo, or what terrifying beings they will ultimately transform into.

They will be another trump card in Xiao Chen's hands, besides his vast army, capable of changing the course of the battle and intimidating people.