Not that no one sought to acquire the force grenades, but even for a force as large as the Southern Green City Guard, with a vast household to maintain and a substantial number of warriors, the cost was too great to bear such an expensive item. Even if they were to compare their wealth, they would not match Qian Ye, who had plundered the riches of hundreds of mercenaries.
As Qian Ye meticulously prepared, far in the wilderness, Qing Yue stood by a natural pit, patiently waiting. After a moment, the two elders beside her emerged from the pit, saying, “Going down here leads to the underground maze, roughly at location A-19.”
Qian Ye, we should go fetch him, the sooner we act, the greater our chances,” Qing Yue said.
The three of them boarded the off-road vehicle, dashing towards Southern Green City. The driving elder suddenly asked, “Young Miss, is it really necessary to pay such a heavy price to ally with Qian Ye? There are only two Dream Devourer Kings in the clan, both brought back by our ancestors during their underground expedition.”
“Qian Ye is the best helper,” Qing Yue said coolly.
“But the cost of choosing him could hire five or six equally powerful individuals,” the other elder interjected.
“All those people combined are not as useful as a single Qian Ye,” Qing Yue said firmly.
The driver no longer tried to persuade, just sighed, and said, “Since Young Miss has decided, I will not say more. However, the pressure from that side is increasing. Without their consent, giving away the Dream Devourer King might cause trouble in the future.”
Qing Yue replied, “Dragon blood is more important than anything. No matter how precious or valuable the Dream Devourer King is, it cannot solve the crisis at hand.”
The other elder added, “Zhaoye’s agreement was too quick; there might be deceit, and we must be cautious.”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as he reaches that place, we have achieved our goal. At that point, what he thinks or does is irrelevant,” Qing Yue said indifferently.
“That’s true,” the elder nodded.
At this moment, Qian Ye had already prepared the supplies and returned to the courtyard. He set out the tea set, imitating Yeting’s manner, and brewed a pot of tea for himself, then sat quietly, sipping and waiting for Qing Yue to arrive.
Although the technique and timing of the tea were poor, Qian Ye still felt the solitude and tranquility of drinking alone. Before, when he was constantly battling on the front lines, Yeting must have felt this loneliness when she was home alone, right?
Suddenly, Qian Ye realized he should have spent more time with Yeting. But now that she had left, there was no chance to do so.
Before she left, Yeting displayed incredible power, far beyond her current level of vitality, and completely overwhelmed Qian Ye. It wasn’t about strength but a gap in realm, an irreparable gap. Her parting words, “My rightful place is on the Sacred Mountain,” made Qian Ye understand that if she did not wish to be found, he would never find her.
Could it be that they would never meet again?
She left an opportunity, a chance for Qian Ye to climb the Sacred Mountain to find her. But such an opportunity was virtually non-existent.
Qian Ye’s hand trembled slightly, spilling a little tea. These days, he felt as if in a dream, even experiencing a strange excitement to avoid thinking of her, to avoid the emptiness of the courtyard. One could escape for a day or two, but not forever. Sooner or later, the dream would end.
Just then, the courtyard door knocked, and Qing Yue pushed the door open.
Qian Ye roused himself and asked, “Found the passage?”
“Yes. You should be ready, let’s go.”
Qian Ye nodded and picked up his tactical backpack. Seeing the small bag, Qing Yue was slightly surprised, “Is that all you’re bringing?”
Qian Ye patted the Dongyue sword, “This sword is enough.”
Every warrior’s fighting style is their greatest secret, and Qing Yue did not ask further. They boarded the vehicle and sped towards the outskirts of Southern Green City.
As the off-road vehicle disappeared on the horizon, Ji Rui emerged from the city tower, gazing in the direction Qian Ye had gone, deep in thought. Guan Zhongliu stood beside him, frowning, “What is the Gao Hu War Maiden of this generation doing with Zhaoye?”
Ji Rui waved his plump hand, “It doesn’t matter what they do, as long as they leave Southern Green City. The bigger their plot, the more chaotic the situation, the better for us. Best if they fight each other to the death.”
“That’s true, then they won’t have time to covet Southern Green City.”
Ji Rui glared at Guan Zhongliu, “You, always fighting. You need to learn more strategy. With the water so murky, just self-preservation isn’t enough. I’ve already ordered a large batch of military supplies, which will arrive in a couple of days. Contact your friends in the factions and see how much they need. Don’t be shy about the price!”
Guan Zhongliu suddenly understood, though he hadn’t expected Ji Rui to be thinking of profiting from the war. But then, that was how he had accumulated such a fortune.
Ji Rui sighed, “Zhongliu, all the force grenades in the market were bought out recently. Such a big event, and you didn’t notice. If you had organized the supplies earlier, it would have been a huge sum of money.”
Guan Zhongliu slapped his forehead, “I’ll get on it right away.”
“No need, I’ve already ordered all the force grenades, bullets, and shells from nearby cities. If we waited for you, the gold coins would have gone into someone else’s pocket.”
Guan Zhongliu suddenly remembered something, “There were quite a few force grenades in the market a couple of days ago. Who bought them all out?”
Ji Rui pointed to the distance, “Zhaoye.”
Guan Zhongliu gasped, “What does he need so many force grenades for? And where did he get the money?”
No wonder Guan Zhongliu was surprised. So many force grenades could kill him several times over, and Qian Ye’s displayed wealth was at least several times more than his.
Ji Rui squinted his eyes, “It doesn’t matter what he does. The more chaotic, the better. I’m looking forward to the reactions of those factions when they receive casualty reports. Zhongliu, urgently order a batch of armor and sell it to Zhubi and others.”
The off-road vehicle sped across the wilderness. The journey was monotonous, and neither Qian Ye nor Qing Yue spoke. In these turbulent times, riding an airship was quite dangerous, and one might be shot down at any moment.
After a half-day’s drive, the vehicle stopped at a natural pit. Qing Yue jumped out, saying, “We’re here.”
Qian Ye got out of the vehicle and peered into the pit. An old man he had seen before was standing guard at the entrance of the passage at the bottom.
Before entering the pit, Qing Yue threw a grenade into the off-road vehicle, turning it into a fireball. This was more eye-catching, but Qian Ye remained silent.
Once they entered the pit, the two elders set up several traps at the entrance, then said, “Alright, we can go now.”
Even to Qian Ye’s discerning eye, these traps were extremely treacherous and vicious. The Gao Hu people, with centuries of mercenary experience, had accumulated abundant combat knowledge. If anyone followed Qing Yue and the others, they would likely suffer severe damage in the passage. That’s why Qing Yue destroyed the vehicle, to lure the followers into the trap.
For the next stretch, the two Gao Hu elders laid more traps, turning the passage into a real death trap.
After setting up several lines of defense, the two elders were satisfied and, along with Qing Yue and Qian Ye, accelerated forward.
The underground passage was dark and winding, with numerous forks and crisscrossing underground streams, leading to unknown destinations. After half a day, the surroundings looked almost identical, making Qian Ye somewhat disoriented, only knowing they were heading towards Linggang City.
The leading elder seemed to have a method to navigate, moving swiftly and decisively at every fork. Suddenly, he stopped, made a combat gesture, and slowly moved forward while suppressing his presence.
All four, experienced in combat, immediately used the terrain for cover, advancing cautiously. They soon reached a cliff, and beyond it, a vast underground space opened up. The hall was a kilometer in diameter and hundreds of meters high, with countless hidden passages and rough rock walls. Qian Ye noticed several distinctly different caves.
These cave entrances were nearly circular, several dozen meters high, much larger than the others, clearly not naturally formed, and seemed to be used by some giant creature.
Qing Yue lowered her voice, “From here, we enter the territory of the ground dragon. Be extremely cautious, and only use force if absolutely necessary.”
With that, she led the way, sliding down the cliff, followed closely by the two elders. The Gao Hu people, with their body modifications, moved silently, aided by mechanical enhancements. Qian Ye went last, sliding down tens of meters, then grabbing onto a rock crevice to stop his fall, and then sliding down to the bottom.
The two elders were impressed by the strength Qian Ye displayed effortlessly. His strength was comparable to their mechanically enhanced bodies, and his ease suggested he had even more hidden strength.
Once on the ground, Qian Ye spotted a patch of moss, picking a piece and crushing it. The moss was thick and fleshy, growing to the thickness of a palm. This type of moss, along with mushrooms, was the basic food for the underground creatures, indicating the underground maze was teeming with life.
This was not a good sign.
Qian Ye pointed to the large caves, “Are those the ground dragon’s passages?”
Qing Yue shook her head, “Of course not, the ground dragon wouldn’t fit in such small spaces. Those are used by its vassal beasts.”
Qian Ye nodded. Among the beasts, size generally represented strength. Such massive beasts, no wonder Qing Yue and the others were cautious. And these were just the vassals, under the ground dragon’s control.
They avoided the large passages and continued. A short distance later, Qian Ye sensed a vast, cold presence sweeping through the underground space. Without Qing Yue’s reminder, he immediately suppressed his presence, lowering his force fluctuations. Qing Yue and the two elders also instantly hid their auras, becoming like three stones.
The cold presence paid no attention to a small insect like Qian Ye, passing by with a whoosh and fading into the distance.
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