Chapter 8: A New Quest

When Qian Ye returned to the Hall of Eternity, Carol was already waiting by the hatch, inquiring, “Did everything go well?”

“Of course. The Wolf King is no fool; he knows what to do.”

“Is there no chance of bringing him over to our side? I mean as a true ally.”

Qian Ye shook his head, replying, “No. Up until now, we still don’t know the Wolf King’s real intentions, or even why he appeared in the Neutral Grounds. Under such circumstances, rashly forming an alliance would be incredibly risky. At least for now, I don’t trust him.”

Carol smiled faintly, saying, “Then why do you trust me so much? Even giving me partial control over the Hall of Eternity?”

Qian Ye was momentarily at a loss for words, stammering and trying to evade. Of course, there were many reasons. During the Floating Land battle, Carol had protected the Hall of Eternity fearlessly, taking on her duties wholeheartedly. A comrade who had shared life and death with him was undoubtedly a reliable ally.

Yet, Qian Ye felt somewhat insecure, even as he said these words. If he couldn’t discern Carol’s feelings by now, he truly would be a fool. However, Qian Ye always preferred not to dispel this layer of mist, content to let things remain unsaid.

A flicker of disappointment passed through Carol’s eyes, but she quickly regained her composure, saying, “It’s good that you trust us. Let’s return to the Frost Thunder Temple first. I will gather more people to assist. I think at least two-thirds of the temple’s guard can follow us.”

“That would be perfect!” Qian Ye exclaimed joyfully.

The Frost Thunder Temple’s guards were all stewards, each needing the cultivation equivalent to a human warrior general. These were the temple’s accumulated elite over the years, with only about a dozen members. With two-thirds joining, it meant an additional seven or eight powerful warriors for Qian Ye.

As Qian Ye headed toward the ship’s bow, passing through the gun deck, he suddenly thought of something and patted one of the crossbows, saying, “Take this down.”

This crossbow was over ten meters long, with massive arrows several meters in length, clearly a main cannon for a cruiser. But with a casual pat, Qian Ye made it bounce, and the sound was a dull thud, unlike metal, more like wood.

Several warriors approached, lifted the huge crossbow effortlessly, and carried it to the elevator. They moved with light steps, showing no strain. When the crossbow was lifted, wooden grain was revealed beneath. This so-called main cannon was actually a wooden model.

“Taking it down now, the Wolf King might see,” Carol reminded.

Qian Ye chuckled, “It’s for him to see.”

“You really are a mystery,” Carol said, shaking her head as she left for her cabin.

Meanwhile, Qian Ye directed the crew to remove the disguises from the other models and store them in the warehouse.

In the ancient totem fortress, the Wolf King had just sat down in his study when he heard hurried footsteps. A young priest burst in, exclaiming, “Chief, you should see this.”

Seeing his urgency, the Wolf King did not scold, following the priest up the main tower. Gazing upward, he saw the Hall of Eternity slowly ascending, and noticed the side-mounted crossbows disappearing. Being astute, the Wolf King immediately understood the situation.

In moments, most of the gun positions were empty. Originally, dozens of crossbows, nearly half with cruiser-level firepower, now remained only one main cruiser cannon and five destroyer cannons, a fraction of the original.

The werewolves watching from the ground turned pale, knowing they had been tricked by Qian Ye.

The priest gritted his teeth, “How dare he deceive us! Chief, this cannot be tolerated. No matter what he demanded, if we attack Nanqing City, we’ll see what he can do!”

The Wolf King pondered, then laughed, “Ignore it. Continue cooperating with him. Notify our army: from today, no one touches Nanqing City. That’s it!”

The priest was dumbfounded, asking, “But, Chief, you saw what he did!”

The Wolf King shrugged, “I saw, and I know he wanted me to see. So, we continue to cooperate.”

The priest, puzzled, went to relay the orders, planning to consult the high priest afterward, unable to sleep without understanding.

In Nanqing City, there was a flurry of activity. Darkflame’s expansion and preparations were significant, affecting countless people.

On the top floor of one of the few tall buildings, several figures watched the mercenaries training in the distant training ground.

The Darkflame base was openly in Nanqing City, with many facilities exposed. To Song Zining, the training ground wasn’t crucial and didn’t need special closure.

About three thousand new recruits, divided into groups, trained in the crowded field. On one side, another thousand recruits, having completed initial training, were registering for gear and weapons.

High-powered telescopes were set up on the roof, and two elderly men peered through them. The clear view allowed them to identify the models and types of weapons and gear the new recruits received.

Though using origin power vision was better, it could alert strong opponents, so tools and instruments were safer. It showed how cautious the observers were.

After observing for a while, the two men exchanged glances, put down the telescopes, and led their group to a sealed conference room. Seating themselves, they carefully closed the door, finally relaxing. One elder asked, “Brother Liu, what do you think?”

The central elder narrowed his eyes, musing, “Darkflame equipped the new recruits with common, albeit quality, weapons. But, to my knowledge, they still fall short of the Imperial main army’s standard. Some larger mercenary groups in the Neutral Grounds can also afford these. Equipping fifty thousand new recruits with such equipment costs about as much as equipping one main division of the Empire.”

Another added, “The recently arrived batch of equipment was truly high-end, custom-made for elite Imperial forces. Only two thousand sets, with half already delivered.”

Elder Liu reflected, “So, Qian Ye wants to form an elite force similar to Red Scorpion and Broken Wing Angels, with the rest maintained at a top-tier mercenary level in the Neutral Grounds.”

Many nodded, agreeing, “That seems likely.”

They had observed and gathered intelligence, and their guess was almost certain.

Finally, someone broke the silence, “What should we do? Watch him attack Yongsu Continent without acting?”

The room fell silent. Eventually, Elder Liu replied, “For now, remaining passive might be wise.”

One objected, “But if he stabilizes in Yongsu, won’t his strength increase further, making him even harder to handle?”

Elder Liu sighed, “Nobody wants Darkflame to grow. But, we have no good options. Even if we attack, what do we target? Destroy some common mercenaries and grab supplies? As you saw, such mercenaries can be replenished in a month.”

Though they knew this, accepting it was hard. They hadn’t expected Qian Ye to focus resources on a small elite unit, while the rest remained at typical Neutral Grounds levels.

One grimaced, “Then, let’s cancel the plan.”

“After a month of preparation, can we just cancel?”

“If not, what else? No one dares act against Qian Ye. Without him, Darkflame has no value. The most valuable thing in Nanqing City then would be the merchant workshops, and we can’t plunder ourselves.”

“Yuan’an Heavy Industry still has several workshops here?”

“Those workshops produce simple components and raw materials. The actual assembly workshop is in the Empire. Those parts are only valuable to them; in our hands, they’re junk.”

The discussion concluded. Elder Liu declared, “Cancel the plan. Be careful not to reveal anything suspicious.”

One protested, “Our workshops produce gears, essential for airships, and some models only we can produce. Can Darkflame afford to offend us?”

“Without their orders, who would buy our gears?” This silenced the dissenter.

The meeting ended in frustration, with the group leaving gloomily.

Several days later, Qian Ye finished Darkflame’s preparations. A large transport fleet, carrying twelve thousand mercenaries, ascended and joined the escort fleet in space, heading to Yongsu Continent.

While the main fleet was still assembling, several fast airships departed early, contacting local forces in Yongsu.

The Hall of Eternity, along with war cruisers and faster airships, carried Darkflame’s elite two thousand warriors, departing first. Slower transports and older warships, carrying ten thousand common mercenaries, followed behind.

In Qian Ye’s plan, these ten thousand mercenaries were for maintaining order and holding territory, with little to do upon arrival.

Inside the Hall of Eternity, Qian Ye reviewed the elite unit list. Among the two thousand were Darkflame’s finest, White City survivors, Gaohu top mercenaries, talents selected by Song Zining from Yuan’an Heavy Industry, and a few Frost Thunder Temple guards.

Forming an elite force comparable to Red Scorpion and Broken Wing Angels required this mix. Relying solely on Darkflame’s growth, without external elites, wouldn’t suffice.

Qian Ye had reviewed the list multiple times, nearly memorizing it. But he realized he hadn’t named the squad yet.