Chapter 147: A Trove of Martial Glory

Elder Li Tianquan’s face darkened, and he roared, “What could be so urgent!”

The female scribe who had just entered trembled with fear but still managed to say, “Young Master Jingzhan has just returned to the base, severely wounded and unconscious.”

Li Tianquan was shocked, jumping to his feet. “How could this happen? He took a full company of elite warriors with him! What on earth did they do?”

“All of Young Master Jingzhan’s soldiers were annihilated. General Hong fought through his own severe injuries to bring the young master back.”

“Where is he? Take me to him at once!” Li Tianquan demanded urgently.

“Elder, there is another matter…” The female scribe hesitated.

“Well, don’t dawdle, speak up!” Li Tianquan barked impatiently.

“It seems that the convoy we sent to deliver supplies to the Song Clan encountered an incident. Only… only a small fraction of them managed to escape.”

“What?” Li Tianquan was deeply alarmed, grabbing the scribe’s hand. “Wasn’t that convoy escorted by Li Ke? Where is he? Have him come see me!”

“According to the survivors, Lord Li Ke… was killed in battle.”

Li Tianquan suddenly felt a darkness wash over his vision, and his body swayed. He steadied himself by gripping the edge of the table and asked, voice trembling, “Killed? How could Li Ke be killed?”

“Yes, the survivors say they saw Lord Li Ke decapitated by the enemy,” the scribe replied softly.

Li Tianquan’s face turned pale, and he could taste the coppery tang of blood in his mouth.

Li Ke was one of the Li family’s key figures, brave and intelligent, capable of holding his ground. If not for his branch lineage, he would have risen to even higher ranks. More importantly, Li Ke was a crucial pillar of Li Tianquan’s power. His loss was a heavy blow.

Struggling to compose himself, Li Tianquan asked, “With Li Ke’s prowess, how could he be decapitated? Who was the enemy, and how many were there?”

The scribe whispered, “There were only a dozen or so, and they went straight for the heart of the formation. The leader was a noble vampire count, and it was he who critically wounded Lord Li Ke before decapitating him. This count called himself Aiden, the Abyssal Dark.”

“A noble vampire count, Aiden…” Li Tianquan murmured, feeling a familiar chill. Suddenly, he remembered Qian Ye mentioning that he had been fighting a vampire count for over half a month. What was the name again?

No matter how hard he tried, Li Tianquan couldn’t recall it, and his frustration grew. He had never believed that Qian Ye could hold off a noble vampire count, nor that the absence of the dark army crossing the border in their defense zone was due to Qian Ye’s efforts.

Thinking about Li Ke’s death while his men managed to escape, Li Tianquan’s anger boiled over. He snarled, “Pass the order. All those who escaped are to be arrested and executed for desertion and for causing the death of their commander!”

The scribe was startled by the harsh order but mustered the courage to suggest, “Elder, perhaps we should investigate first before passing judgment?”

Li Tianquan immediately realized the gravity of executing hundreds of family soldiers, even if they were deserters. As the second elder, he didn’t have the authority to make such a decision without the council or the head of the family’s approval.

Despite this, his unquenched anger turned towards Qian Ye. “Little beast, you must have let that vampire through. Otherwise, how could Li Ke have died so horribly!”

But he kept these thoughts to himself. Taking a deep breath, Li Tianquan regained his composure. “Where are the escaped soldiers now? Take me to them. Also, bring all information about that vampire to my office. Don’t leave anything out!”

As Li Tianquan hurried away, the base was thrown into turmoil. Since the war began, the Li family had never suffered such a devastating loss. In one day, they lost a major general and hundreds of private soldiers. Though the mercenaries were expendable, the Li family would have to pay hefty compensation, or else no one would fight for them in the future.

The more significant the loss, the more Li Tianquan’s hatred for Qian Ye grew. Although he knew it was misplaced, he couldn’t control his anger. But what Li Tianquan didn’t realize was that his suspicions were correct this time.

The losses were just the beginning. Bad news continued to pour in, with some weaker units being utterly destroyed, and even powerful teams frequently attacked. Over half of these losses were linked to one name: Aiden.

Only then did people truly understand the terrifying nature of this noble vampire, especially in the Misty Forest where his presence seemed almost insurmountable.

As the highest-ranking official, Li Tianquan held several meetings to analyze the situation and strategize against Aiden. Information about Aiden gradually became more detailed, but the more they analyzed, the more they realized that only a level fifteen or higher expert could possibly defeat him.

In the Misty Forest, simply increasing the power of origin energy didn’t extend perception proportionally, unless one had a unique talent for sensing. It was estimated that Aiden’s range of vision exceeded four hundred meters, a truly disheartening figure.

The meetings inevitably reached an impasse. Was it reasonable to call in a god-level general just to deal with a dark count? That was certainly not a good idea. If the Empire placed a god-general in the Misty Forest, the Evernight faction would immediately counter with a dark duke. The war would escalate before either side was ready.

As the Li family base was in a state of chaos, Qian Ye completed another hunt.

Unlike Aiden, few dark forces ever escaped when they encountered Qian Ye. He targeted squads of around a hundred, steadily adding to his strength and that of the purple substance.

Nearly two weeks into his mission, Qian Ye’s An Duyu space was full. Adding up all his military merit certificates, he had earned enough for a standard second-class merit, equivalent to hunting a high-ranking noble.

It was time to return. Finishing his last cigarette, he flicked the butt onto a dead werewolf and headed back to the base.

In the Evernight realm, outside Black Flow City, a convoy of cargo trucks approached from the distance. The cargo trucks were only five, but the escorting military vehicles numbered over twenty. The guard officer, seeing the Dark Fire emblem, still insisted on a thorough inspection.

The guard, who was acquainted with one of the escorting lieutenants, pointed at the trucks and asked, “What’s so important that it needs a whole battalion to escort it?”

The lieutenant lowered his voice, “Keep it down! These are from the Wolf City, and I don’t know what’s inside. We’re not allowed to talk about it. Apparently, only the people from the Wolf City and Captain Duan know.”

The guard officer was taken aback. “Captain Duan is here too?”

“Of course! He’s leading the escort. You get it, right?”

Duan Hao was a long-time confidant of Song Zining, brought over from Ningyuan Heavy Industry. He received ample resources and training from Song Zining.

The numerous battles had greatly benefited Duan Hao, who broke through several bottlenecks during critical moments. He successfully advanced to the rank of war captain and became the top fighter in Dark Fire, second only to Qian Ye and Song Zining. Though Duan Hao’s natural limitations meant he might only reach levels eleven or twelve, his actual combat ability far surpassed his origin energy rank.

That Duan Hao was personally escorting the convoy showed its importance.

The guard officer waved them through after completing the procedures. The convoy stayed in the city for only a short while before heading to the airship landing field. Soon, a high-speed airship took off and quickly disappeared into the distance.

In the watchtower, a junior officer lowered his binoculars, watching the disappearing airship, deep in thought. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and carefully tucked it away.

By evening, the junior officer was off-duty. Instead of returning to the barracks, he headed to the bustling commercial district. Such behavior was not uncommon among lower-ranking officers in Dark Fire; many preferred to find entertainment rather than stay lonely in the camp.

He hesitated, entering a small tavern and sitting in a corner, ordering a bottle of wine.

Soon, a seductive woman sat across from him, looking at the label on the bottle. “Aren’t you going to buy me a drink? I like this wine.”

The officer exhaled, taking her hand. She frowned and subtly pulled her hand back, pocketing a folded note. After a while, they seemed to disagree on the price and parted ways.

The woman lingered in the tavern for a bit, then left, seemingly bored. Carefully observing her surroundings, she entered a nearby inn and ascended to a suite on the second floor, handing the note to a man in his early thirties.

The man, with a clean, elegant appearance, stood out in the boisterous, lively, and somewhat crude yet vibrant Evernight continent.

He read the note carefully under the light, while the woman sat quietly beside him, frowning at the constant mechanical noise and the rusty, damp smell of steam. Even with the windows closed, the unpleasant odor persisted.

Finally, the man finished reading and looked at her. “There’s no choice. We have to endure it since we’re here.”

“Can’t we find a better place? This is too close to the power tower,” the woman complained.

The power tower in Black Flow City used black stones as fuel, a method long abandoned in the Empire over a century ago. It was noisy, constantly leaking steam, and inefficient, with a list of drawbacks that could fill a page.

Yet, it had its advantages. It could run on the poorest quality black stones and was durable, operating well past its intended lifespan despite frequent repairs.

This power tower supplied the old part of the city, while Song Zining had purchased a new, efficient one for Dark Fire, which only served the camp and defensive facilities.

Naturally, the poor and low-level mercenaries lived near the old power tower, where they could afford to stay. In fact, most human cities in third and fourth-grade defense zones in Evernight were at the same level, reflecting the true conditions of the desolate land.

The man burned the note, pondered, and said, “This is the second convoy of its kind this month. The Wolf City…