In the north, a small city was taking shape, with several towns scattered around its periphery. Though the city was not large, it was well-organized, with workshops either already in production or under intense construction.
Valhalla hovered outside the city, its massive hull resembling a town itself. Hundreds of craftsmen were bustling about, repairing damage, replacing equipment, and dismantling faulty devices for maintenance.
Qian Ye’s escort ship descended outside the city, and as soon as he disembarked, his gaze was drawn to a cemetery at the foot of a distant hill. In his memory, the cemetery was just a plan on paper, but now it had become a reality, with rows of gravestones already erected.
“Let’s go take a look,” Qian Ye instructed, then rose into the air, flying towards the cemetery.
The cemetery was divided into several areas, each with a distinct style, even the gravestones reflected the strong tribal characteristics. For instance, the graves adorned with mechanical parts and firearms belonged to the Gao Hu people. The square stone or wooden gravestones were for the orthodox human race. Another area, no smaller than the ones for humans and Gao Hu, contained only three gravestones, each made of white stone and inscribed with patterns of ice crystals and thunder. These were the marks of the Frost Lightning Temple, and the craftsmanship suggested that the buried were no ordinary individuals.
“What’s going on here?”
The attendant guarding the cemetery replied, “A few days ago, when Valhalla returned, it brought back many corpses, which we buried here. The divisions were determined by Lady Qing Yue and Princess Carol.”
Qian Ye nodded, turning to look at the small city. Sensing Carol’s presence, he headed straight for the city. After the battle at White City, Valhalla had returned to the north, and Qian Ye hadn’t had a chance to talk with Carol properly.
In a tranquil courtyard within the city, Carol was wearing a casual long dress and reading a book. Seeing Qian Ye descend from the sky, she first ordered a cup of fresh tea, then dismissed the attendants and looked him up and down, her eyes gradually widening in surprise. “I can’t read you anymore? How is that possible?”
Qian Ye was somewhat surprised as well, “Really? I don’t think I’ve made much progress. But you…”
Carol’s aura was noticeably weak, not much better than when the battle had just ended, indicating that her injuries were far more severe than Qian Ye had anticipated.
Carol smiled, “That old spider was quite a challenge. If he hadn’t damaged Valhalla, causing the residual will of the dragon to counterattack and severely wound him, you might not be seeing me now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the casualties among your people?” Qian Ye asked.
“This is your war, and our battle for new territory. For the sake of a place to live, sacrifices are necessary and worthwhile. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you specifically. It’s enough to give them a peaceful resting place. This place is nice; I like it very much.”
Qian Ye could only sigh.
The battle on Valhalla was clearly more intense than anyone on the ground had anticipated. He and Song Zining had been too complacent, thinking that with Carol and her people, everything would be fine. Now, it was clear that without the dragon’s will, the determined Spider Duke might have caused irreparable damage to the dragonship, or at least crippled it.
If the Spider Duke had destroyed the control engine attached to the dragon’s heart, the entire ship would have been out of control, essentially destroyed. Given the Spider Duke’s strength, his final blow, if not intercepted by Carol, could have even destroyed the dragon’s heart. What set Valhalla apart from other warships was the still-living dragon heart, which allowed Valhalla to retain some of the beast’s spirit and power.
Qian Ye’s mood grew somber, but Carol seemed to have fully recovered. She tilted her head, curious. “Why did you suddenly come over? Are all the matters in Darkflame resolved?”
“Are there ever truly finished matters?” Qian Ye said with a hint of self-mockery. “I came to see you, and also to train here for a while. I want to see if I can make a breakthrough.”
“A breakthrough? You mean to ascend to the rank of divine general?” Carol was very surprised.
Qian Ye thought for a moment and said, “Not necessarily to divine general. I plan to train until your injuries are healed.”
“And then what?” Carol blinked.
“Then we’ll return to South Green together. By then, the newly formed army will be trained and the equipment should be ready. It will be time for me to fulfill my promise to you.”
Carol’s eyes lit up, “Then I need to speed up my recovery.”
“The faster, the better.” Qian Ye smiled.
Half a month passed in a blink, with Qian Ye immersed in training day and night, unaware of the passage of time. The skies above the northern land were constantly filled with clouds and wind.
On this day, the leaden clouds hung unusually low, and the whirlpool of clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. At the center, faint lightning flickered, with purple electric flames so dense they resembled a pool, ready to drip at any moment.
As the purple lightning reached its peak, a bolt of lightning streaked down like a waterfall, heading for the small city!
Just as disaster seemed imminent, a blue lightning dragon suddenly soared from the center of the city, breaking through the purple waterfall and averting the catastrophe. An uplifting and vibrant aura then ascended, diving into the pool of lightning, spreading an indescribable joy.
Sensing something, Qian Ye slowly opened his eyes. A flash of lightning appeared in the empty meditation room, and the walls and ceiling crumbled to dust.
Qian Ye paused, slowly gathering his origin power, then stood up, looking toward the center of the city. Carol, holding a lightning whip, was approaching through the air, appearing before him in an instant.
“Your injuries are all healed?” Qian Ye asked.
“Yes, faster than expected. I couldn’t wait. How about you? How close are you to divine general?”
“Should be… a step away.” Qian Ye slightly released his aura, and in Carol’s perception, nine origin vortexes glowed with intense, fiery light, like nine tiny suns.
Qian Ye’s Dawn origin power was too intense, and even Carol, with her keen eyes, felt a sharp, burning sensation, unable to penetrate the brilliance.
After a brief release of his aura, Qian Ye sealed off his internal state again.
“Why not try to break through now?”
Carol was puzzled. With the high grade of Qian Ye’s Dawn origin power, breaking through to divine general shouldn’t be too difficult. At this point, all nine of his origin vortexes were nearly perfect, at least to her discernment, with no obvious deficiencies.
From her experience, this state was a sign of reaching the pinnacle, the starting point for ascending to divine general.
Looking at those nine sun-like origin vortexes, she even felt a bit envious. If this were the foundation, Carol was already beyond most so-called geniuses. She had leaped over the divine general threshold, but Qian Ye’s starting point was even higher, perhaps just a light jump away from the realm many strong warriors yearned for.
After some thought, Qian Ye said, “I’ve been away too long; it’s time to go back. As for the breakthrough, it’s not urgent.”
“Not urgent?” Carol felt an urge to strangle Qian Ye.
Moments later, the two boarded Valhalla, and the massive dragonship slowly ascended, heading toward South Green City. For the next period, Qian Ye would have Valhalla remain in outer space, ready for use, where he would continue his training.
On the floating dock exclusive to Darkflame, transport ships were lined up, and squads of mercenaries, under the command of officers, were unloading heavy crates from the ships and moving them to warehouses.
The crates were freshly painted, with no markings, but an expert could recognize them as standard models of imperial military ammunition.
More than a dozen transport ships had already docked, and the adjacent warehouses were full. Additional crates had to be transported by heavy trucks to more distant storage.
Qian Ye landed on the dock, and a mercenary general, who was briefing a group of officers, rushed over. “Lord, you’re back!”
“What’s with these supplies?”
The mercenary general replied, “They’re all military supplies sent by Lord Zining from the Empire, just arrived this morning. Here’s the list, please check it.”
Qian Ye glanced at the list, seeing the numbers matched the agreement, and nodded. Verification and acceptance were handled by specialists, so he didn’t need to worry.
At that moment, another mercenary general hurried over, handing over a document. “Lord, we just received this information; you might find it interesting.”
Qian Ye took the document, tore open the seal, and quickly scanned it. “Zheng State’s civil unrest?”
“Zheng State?” Carol seemed to have heard of it but couldn’t recall immediately.
The mercenary general quickly explained. Zheng State was a small country on Yongsu Land, mainly inhabited by humans, though dark races also resided there. The ruler, the Zheng King, had not declared himself emperor but had shown submission to the Empire, making it one of the nominal vassal states.
Yongsu Land was a complex region with many small countries, both human and dark races, and both the Evernight Council and the Empire had supported various proxy regimes. Zheng State was one of them. Neither side held Yongsu Land in high regard but didn’t want to cede their interests, leading to a shared strategy of supporting local puppet governments to fight on their behalf.
Thus, Yongsu Land was in constant turmoil, more chaotic than the neutral zones, with numerous conflicts between small powers, some of which claimed to be countries but were little more than a few cities.
The civil unrest in Zheng State was due to the sudden illness of the Zheng King, who seemed near death. Several princes vied for the throne, allying with military and political figures, bringing the situation to the brink of explosion. Without the divine general, the Zheng King, the surrounding dark races posed a significant threat, making the situation precarious.
Qian Ye was familiar with Zheng State primarily because of Nan Hua.
Carol, understanding the location of Zheng State, looked at Qian Ye. In a moment, he made his decision, saying firmly, “Zheng State cannot fall into the hands of the dark races! Order the assembly of the army, we will march to quell the rebellion!”
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