Qian Ye was covered in dust, his combat uniform reduced to tattered rags. His battle armor fared no better, and only the sturdiness of the base material kept it from completely disintegrating. The gray paint Qian Ye had applied had flaked off in many places, revealing the silvery-white underneath, a mottled appearance reminiscent of an old house’s weathered exterior.
Before entering the camp, as usual, there were sentries manning the roadblocks, checking the identities of those passing through.
While waiting, Qian Ye noticed that the insignia on the sentries’ shoulders had changed, which might indicate a change of guard or that the previous guards had been reassigned. However, for ordinary soldiers, guarding the base was a good duty, especially during wartime.
He moved forward a few steps in the short queue and suddenly noticed new bullet holes and explosion marks on the camp walls. Although most areas had been repainted and repaired, the scars of battle were still evident.
“Did dark races attack here?” Qian Ye asked.
A veteran replied, “Last week. About a dozen bloodsuckers and arachne attacked. Their firepower was fierce. See, this entire wall is newly built.”
To bring down the camp wall? Qian Ye’s heart sank slightly. The Li family’s base was built to the standard of a home military city. Though the outer wall seemed merely high, if not for siege weapons, it would take a high-rank dark warrior to destroy over twenty meters of the wall.
“How many casualties?”
The veteran sighed, “About two hundred, mostly regular soldiers. The entire company guarding this gate was almost wiped out in the first moment of the attack.”
“What about the generals in the camp?”
At this, the veteran smiled wryly, “A few generals came, but what good did they do? Word has it that the other side had at least two counts.”
After a few more questions, Qian Ye got a rough idea of what happened. It was a quick strike by the dark races, small in scale but extremely powerful. When the attack occurred, two units were moving in and out, causing chaos and heavy casualties.
The dark races struck and retreated, even killing a brigadier general who had come to aid. They then retreated into the Misty Forest, vanishing without a trace.
No wonder there were new watchtowers with cannons on either side of the camp gate. Qian Ye looked up at the new equipment, but honestly, these towering structures didn’t give him much sense of security. Their range exceeded the visibility limit of the Misty Forest, and without special abilities, even high-ranking warriors couldn’t see much from them. Therefore, the Li family likely built these towers to reassure the lower-ranking soldiers.
Under the veteran’s urging, the young sentry quickly verified Qian Ye’s identity. Without asking more, Qian Ye entered the base.
The veteran watched Qian Ye until he disappeared into the base, then sighed.
The young sentry, curious, asked, “Old Liu, you never pay so much attention to even the brigadier generals. What’s different now? If not for your stubbornness, you should have been promoted by now, at least to a lieutenant colonel. Why are you still guarding the gate with me?”
Old Liu glared at him, spat, and said, “Those brigadiers are nothing, their insignias don’t even show a proper rank. Who knows where they come from. But that one just now, he’s definitely a tough guy! Don’t be fooled by his rank; if it comes to a fight, he could easily take out those brigadiers.”
“Impossible!” The young sentry was skeptical. Qian Ye’s insignia was genuine, but the unfamiliar badge of a musket and bloody bayonet made the young sentry unsure of his affiliation.
“Notice anything unusual about his armor? The blue light at the damage points. That alloy is usually used by high-ranking generals. Who do you think wears such armor, and what kind of enemies can damage it like that? And look, he isn’t even injured. How strong must he be?”
The young sentry was awed, “Really that strong?”
Old Liu snorted, “In my opinion, those so-called generals wouldn’t even scratch his armor.”
Unbeknownst to Qian Ye, the blue light from the damaged sections of his nearly disintegrated armor had revealed some of his true strength.
Inside the camp, Qian Ye saw a vast area of ruins, with hundreds of engineers working frantically. The destruction spanned two entire blocks, and the cleanup would take days.
Seeing the war’s aftermath, Qian Ye knew the veteran wasn’t exaggerating. At least a count, and not a weak one like Stuka, was needed to cause such destruction.
The dark races had come this far? Qian Ye felt the weight of the situation.
Thinking of Aiden escorting the elite soldiers, it was clear the dark races intended to make a move in the Misty Forest. If they managed to take down the Li family’s base, the entire forest would fall, and the central maze would become part of the Evernight territory. Then, the Empire would only have the Zhao battlefield under its control.
Qian Ye passed through the camp, stopping at a new road sign to memorize the layout, then headed towards the military merit exchange area. Along the way, he saw bustling soldiers and military vehicles filling the roads. The Li family clearly understood the situation and was quickly mobilizing their forces.
The area for free hunters remained in the same place, and Qian Ye saw many new faces, indicating the Li family’s efforts to recruit strong fighters.
Qian Ye wasn’t bothered by the competition. More people meant sharing the burden against the dark races. The grueling battle in the Misty Forest with the young demon had taught him the difficulty of earning military merit, every point earned with great risk.
The private rooms in the inner hall were all occupied, and a few people were waiting. After a while, it was Qian Ye’s turn.
As he entered, he felt a gaze on him, slightly painful. Ignoring it, he closed the door, cutting off the gaze. The Li family’s generous treatment attracted many strong fighters, hiding many capable individuals.
In the hall, a group of people, led by a young man with slanted eyebrows, turned to see Qian Ye enter the room and paused.
One of the men asked, “Young master, what’s wrong?”
The young man frowned, “Find out who that person is. He has a familiar aura, maybe something I want. Oh, and keep it discreet for now.”
The man noted the room number and said, “Young master, you’ll have the information after lunch.”
The young man nodded and left with his entourage. His voice was low, and the hall was noisy, so no one noticed the exchange.
Entering the room, Qian Ye found a sharp-eyed female officer, quickly handling paperwork. She completed the registration and looked at Qian Ye, “Sorry for the wait, it’s been busy. How can I assist you?”
Qian Ye said, “I need the latest intelligence, particularly about the strong dark race fighters in the Misty Forest. Also, I have some military merits to register, including high-rank equipment.”
“Equipment? Can I see?” The officer handed Qian Ye the latest intelligence files.
Qian Ye scanned the pages, “Not possible. These items are special. You don’t have enough origin power; you might get hurt.”
The officer’s eyes gleamed, “Are they black titanium weapons?”
Surprised by her knowledge, Qian Ye replied, “Yes. These are of high quality. You’d better not touch them.”
Recognizing the items, the officer stood and said, “These are beyond my authority. Please wait, I’ll call General Wei Shi.”
She returned with a capable-looking middle-aged man.
Qian Ye recognized him, Li Wei Shi, a competent general from a Li family branch, but his rank and background limited his potential unless he broke through.
Li Wei Shi entered, smiling warmly, and whispered, “I hear you have some good stuff?”
Seeing Qian Ye nod, Li Wei Shi dismissed the officer and closed the door. Qian Ye took out a radiation-proof metal box, revealing two short swords.
“Shadow Blades?!” Li Wei Shi’s voice trembled with recognition.
Hearing the name, Qian Ye gave him a second look. This meant he might identify the attacker.
Qian Ye pushed the box to Li Wei Shi. As he saw the swords, his body lit up with origin power, forming a shield. The shield flickered, especially near the swords.
Li Wei Shi, delighted, picked up a sword and ran his finger along the blade, emitting a dark aura. “High-purity black titanium! Excellent swords!”
He reluctantly put the swords back, sealed the box with origin power, and called a subordinate to store it safely.
“These need careful evaluation to determine their exact value. I’m not making this difficult, but the value is high, and we must be cautious. So, the military merit confirmation and issuance will take some time.”
Reasonable, Qian Ye agreed, “Then convert them to Empire military merits, under my name.”
“No problem,” Li Wei Shi smiled, sealing the box and sending it to the inner vault.
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