Back in Cerulean Wave City, Qianye rubbed his temples helplessly. The firepower afforded by a well-equipped Martyr’s Palace was far beyond a sub-fleet. Three days of outfitting was definitely worth it.
After setting aside his worries, he got down to maneuvering the troops for deployment. The aristocratic family troops had not been reassigned since Qianye couldn’t let them see the number of werewolves he had taken in on Fort Continent. As such, they were all assigned to Zheng—they would serve to guard against Nan Ruohai on one hand while also making up for the empty positions from the recent transfers.
Relying on the massive fleet, Qianye mobilized over two hundred thousand werewolves from the great corridor and Jade Sea, over fifty thousand Zheng soldiers, and twenty thousand Dark Flame mercenaries. There was now a massive army amassed outside of the mist wall of the blessed land.
Even so, Qianye’s heart was filled with a lingering uneasiness whenever he thought about that six-armed creature. Theoretically, his fleet, his army of several hundred thousand, and the hundreds of experts including himself should be enough to deal with the beast army in the valley. What else was there to fear?
Despite that, Qianye still had no idea about the world on the other end.
After gazing at the defense map for an entire day, Qianye summoned Eiseka and said, “I want to mobilize an additional three hundred thousand soldiers!”
“This… shouldn’t be a problem! Sire, when do you want them to be ready? I think the fastest is three months later.”
“No, I want them tomorrow.”
In the depths of the void, an exquisite little airship was flying swiftly. It wasn’t following normal flight speeds but going at full speed, an unusual strategy for intercontinental flights.
The silhouette of a continent was already appearing in front of the little airship. The Qin Continent was not far off now.
A warship leaped out of the void all of a sudden and flew toward that high-speed airship. The captain and first mate were in the bridge, observing this vessel through their binoculars.
Both parties were traveling so fast that they approached one another in the blink of an eye. The first mate whistled after seeing the emblem on the incoming airship, “It’s from Dark Flame.”
The captain shrugged. “Let it pass.”
The first mate wasn’t happy. “Aren’t we going to inspect it, at least?”
The captain let out a long laugh. “What’s there to check on their airships? It’s not as if you don’t know how big Sire Qianye is. Besides, his battle at Whitetown is one for the military textbooks. It’s best we avoid unnecessary trouble.”
The first mate said unwillingly, “Fine! But at this rate, all the smugglers and pirates will paint the Dark Flame emblem.”
“It’s their business if they want to court death. Let’s head to the next patrol point, we can head home earlier after we’re done.”
The Imperial warship changed directions and watched as the high-speed airship left. Then, it went back to its routine patrol.
The airship made straight for the void continent, where it used the gravity of the landmass to turn toward the Qin Continent. Just as it was making the turn at lowered speed, a homing ballista bolt appeared and blasted the airship’s engine, destroying it completely.
A black warship drove out of the shadows and approached the airship rapidly. It was one of those notorious star pirates.
The star pirate vessel approached the airship, and several pirates entered after cutting open the cabin doors. A bearded pirate soon entered the airship with hundreds of star pirates in tow. These men swarmed in like insects and began searching every room.
The sound of shouting and screaming died down rapidly. The star pirate captain laughed loudly as he led the men into the command room.
The chamber was in an utter mess with corpses strewn across the floor. “How many times have I told you not to attack the bridge!? There might be important characters we need to take care of or fragile treasures! You trash have destroyed all my efforts!”
A pirate moved close. “Boss, this is Dark Flame’s airship. You said just now that we shouldn’t leave anyone alive!”
“Did I? Fine, I guess that’s the case. Dark Flame is quite famous recently, maybe we’ll find something valuable. Start searching carefully!”
A star pirate pointed to the command table. “Boss, one of them is still alive!”
The star pirate walked over and picked up the man on the control desk. There was a document under his elbow. “This is… an urgent missive… for Commander Jundu. P-Please… you’ll get generous rewards…”
The star pirate captain swiped the document envelope and looked through it. Then he pulled his gun and shot the wounded man. “Are you trying to kill me!? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
The star pirates nearby glanced at the document envelope. The leader felt the paper growing hotter and hotter in his hands. After some thought, he tore the document to shreds and said, “Knowing too much is not a good thing. I want to live a couple more years still! Clean up quickly, we must return to the neutral lands.”
The star pirates quickly plundered everything valuable on the airship. The airship exploded after their departure and ultimately faded away into the vast space.
Back on the pirate airship, the captain sat restlessly in the command room. The first mate asked, “Boss, what exactly was in that envelope?”
The star pirate captain sighed. “I think I missed something very important.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve killed the people and burned their airship. We just need to be careful after going back, hide the plundered items, and deal with them slowly afterward. Who would know that we did it?”
Their airship was no ordinary cargo vessel—there were no common goods on board, only high-quality military equipment, weapons, and supplies. These pirates were great at handling such goods. After a series of modifications, even the weapons’ designer wouldn’t be able to recognize them.
“True.” The captain’s mood improved a bit. “Speed up, stop thinking about saving fuel. The most important thing is to get back!”
The subordinates were just about to relay his orders when the airship jolted all of a sudden. It was as though they had crashed into a meteorite—everything inside was thrown into disarray and the captain himself fell to the floor.
“What happened!?” The furious pirate captain said as he clambered up.
“Colossus! Void colossus! Something we’ve never seen before!” The pirates were full of terror.
The leader got up and rushed to the windows. “Goddammit, what the hell is this thing?”
A giant white pillar of rolling mist had suddenly appeared in the void ahead. A colossus akin to a stingray squeezed its way out from the fog, followed by a swarm of bat-like creatures with sharp heads.
The stingray colossus circled around in the void before passing by the pirate airship. Its long tail lashed at the vessel, sending it rolling away.
Soon afterward, the horde of strange beasts descended upon the pirate airship and started biting it. Its thick armor was gnawed away like candy, and in the blink of an eye, the airship was full of holes. Miserable screams echoed from the airship as countless creatures made their way inside.
“W-What is this damned thing!?” The leader felt his blood run cold. He had already given up all resistance. A thought flashed through his mind—perhaps this was related to the letter that would never be delivered. Just as he was thinking about it, a strange beast pounced at him and bit his head off.
The incomplete Imperial fortress on the Qin Continent was shrouded in austerity. Zhao Jundu stood gazing at the misty zone through the giant window of the command center. Tens of thousands of soldiers had formed a temporary defensive line outside of the fortress. Even more workers were busy repairing the defenses, both permanent and temporary.
From time to time, some scattered battles would break out on the defensive line as creatures charged out from the mist and at the Imperial formation.
An aide knocked on the door and entered. He said with a bow, “Sire, the new species we discovered yesterday has been autopsied, and the initial results are out. All of the documents are here, please take a look. We’ve found four different creatures up to this point.”
Zhao Jundu picked up the document and saw a creature with razor-edged wings.
The aide said, “This is a flying creature that mainly attacks with an aerial charge. The sawtooth on the wings are its weapons, so we named it the wingstriker.”
“How dangerous is it?”
“It’s very fast, with moderate attack and weak defenses. Overall, it’s a threat to the ordinary soldiers on the front lines and support soldiers at back. Additionally, it can tear through thin armor but not medium armor. We believe their role is for harassment and mobility.”
Zhao Jundu nodded. “Transfer a squad and equip them for concentrated fire, assign them to guard the weak points deeper in the defensive line. Equip the turrets for concentrated fire as well.”
“Yes, Sire.”
The first aide hadn’t left when a different one said, “Sire, Song Zining wishes to see you. He’s already waiting outside.”
Zhao Jundu raised his brows. “Song Zining? Send him in now.”
Song Zining walked in moments later, but Zhao Jundu paid him no heed and only kept on gazing at the mist. Song Zining didn’t feel awkward, either, and kept on walking to the fourth young master’s side. “Is the door open?”
Zhao Jundu asked, “What are you plotting this time, speak directly!”
Song Zining said, “All my schemes are for the Empire, for the human race, and that idiot Qianye.”
Zhao Jundu’s tone softened at the mention of Qianye’s name. “I don’t think it’s all just for Qianye.”
“It’s for his good in any case. Besides, it can’t be considered a loss, can it? Your Zhao clan got the most out of it.”
Zhao Jundu shook his head. “I really have no idea what you’re thinking about all day. Is there any meaning in this? Speak, what do you want this time?”
Song Zining said, “I’ve been scheming for other people all along, I have to think about myself this time. I came to you to ask for help.”
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