Legend of the Supreme Soldier

lbinia paused. He quickly grasped the significance of the question and replied, “My teacher is Levent. And you are …” If he could figure out how they were related, his situation might be improved.

“Levent. As I suspected …” Sha Ya felt relieved.

She noticed Ye Chong looking at her, and explained, “I know Levent. We worked together before. He likes to put on a green colored string as a bracelet on his wrist, and often shows it off, that’s why I remember it. Looks like his student inherited the quirk.”

Albinia was overjoyed. It was quite fortunate for the lady to know his teacher.

“What do we do with them?” Sha Ya turned to Ye Chong. Since they were students of a friend, she hoped Ye Chong would not kill them. However, she also knew that Ye Chong was never hesitant in killing. Albinia and Lotesh waited in suspense like it was the Day of Judgment.

Ye Chong asked, “How did you enter Darkniss?” The question was a curious one. Every country, including Western Frost, Eastern Cloud and Northern Lands had an entrance to Darkniss. Ye Chong had heard of it, but he did not know the details.

“We started from the Wilkinson Range, then entered the Maze Tunnels through the Snowy Ridge. From there, we entered Darkniss. We went deeper and deeper inside for I don’t know how long, and then we got lost and couldn’t find the entrance anymore,” Albinia explained haltingly, looking vexed. It was easy to tell from their tattered clothing that the past few days had not been easy for them.

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Wilkinson Range, Snowy Ridge, Maze Tunels – Ye Chong had not yet heard of these places, and thus could not quite understand the context. Sha Ya, however, was familiar with them. She explained, “Western Frost has another entrance into Darkniss, different to one in Eastern Cloud. Northern Lands also has its own entrance.”

Ye Chong understood the crux of the matter immediately. “This means that we can enter the other two countries from Darkniss?”

“Theoretically speaking, yes. However, we don’t know where the other two entrances are. Besides, it’s easy to lose your way in Darkniss. It’s easier to cross the border the usual way, even with the war happening right now. No one has tried to enter another country via Darkniss.”

Sha Ya explained calmly. She was already used to Ye Chong’s obvious questions. She had realized early on that Ye Chong was often oblivious to many things that people thought of as common knowledge, but familiar with deep and technical knowledge. She found it curious at first, but got used to it eventually.

Albinia and Lotesh doubtfully stared at Ye Chong. They never imagined that someone would actually ask something like that.

“What do we do with them?” Sha Ya asked Ye Chong again.

“Let them stay, and have them join the training. Start at the very beginning.”

Ye Chong’s orders changed the course of life of these two shooters.

That there were multiple entrances into Darkniss was important intel for Ye Chong. It meant that he would be able to access Western Frost and Northern Lands if he found their entrances.

That was the main point for Ye Chong.

Darkniss was full of natural resources, but it also had two fatal weaknesses. Firstly, Darkniss had no energy crystals. All production works would halt without them. The mechs they built would not be able to run without an energy source. Both Western Frost and Northern Lands sold energy crystals at a very affordable price.

Secondly, Darkniss did not offer enough food. Ye Chong had brought a lot of food and nutrition pills with him, but they would run out one day. There were five thousand mouths to feed, and nutrition pills were too wasteful to be used for daily meals.

For now, with the war going on, Sun Sieha would not try to start a fight with Ye Chong. It would not be too difficult for him to enter Eastern Cloud for resupply, especially for these non-military resources. Moreover, Ye Chong’s unique weapons might just earn him another huge sum.

However, once the war between Eastern Cloud and Western Frost ended, Sun Sieha would definitely start restricting Ye Chong’s access to these important resources, and perhaps even direct national military force at him. It was hard to tell whether his five thousand strong security detachment was enough to take on the military by then.

If Ye Chong could find the other two entrances, his situation would be vastly different.

Ye Chong could head to Western Frost and sell a few pieces of good tech to even out the military strength between the two countries. If Western Frost could start to defend itself using the new tech, it might even be able to overcome Eastern Cloud. The war might come to a stalemate eventually.

That was the ideal scenario for Ye Chong. If he could sell some of his weapons to both countries, he would become the largest weapons dealer, hidden from plain sight. Ye Chong was not a money grubber, but he needed it to fortify his stronghold. Besides, all the resources required to train his five thousand men also translated to money.

Ye Chong could even consider recruiting soldiers from Western Frost to expand his army.

If that did not work out, he could always head for Northern Lands. That country was also rich in natural resources, and sold food products cheaply. In this scenario, Sun Sieha would find it hard to notice Ye Chong’s presence, and it would buy Ye Chong more time to strengthen his position.

Ye Chong did not have definite plans in the long term yet. Whether he chose to enter deeper into Darkniss or to other areas, he would first need to have enough power on his side. This power would come not from Celest or Sha Ya, but his five thousand students. However, these students needed time to develop and mature, and that required a lot of resources.

Ye Chong had to see to this problem.

That Albinia and Lotesh could reach this place by foot meant that the entrance into Western Frost was not too far away. With Celest and its geopositioning system, Ye Chong did not have to worry about losing his way. Anywhere he travelled before would be recorded in the system.

Nevertheless, that would have to wait.

For now, Ye Chong faced the issue of the smelting furnace. Compared to the metal isolator, the smelting furnace was much easier to build. Ye Chong completed the machine in no time. He first designed the furnace structure on the photon processor, then sorted the mechanical parts of the furnace. After that, he used the Research Consortium’s high precision processing equipment to build the mechanical parts. The last part was the assembly.

The final product was a 15-metre wide smelting furnace. The weaponsmiths were no longer so surprised by his creation. Humans are highly adaptable to new things, after all.

This was no ordinary furnace. Ye Chong had combined the smelting furnace with processing machinery. Thus, the machine could directly work on the products of the smelting process.

After the smelting furnace, Ye Chong needed to build metal strengthening machinery, high precision processing equipment, surface processing equipment …

When Ye Chong was done building all the machinery, three months had already passed. By now, the warehouse was stocked with new metal blocks every day. All the purified metal pieces were simply stored inside as well.

At last, the full set of automated mechanical processing machinery was completed. This production line was powerful. It was the result of applying all of Ye Chong’s knowledge. There were signs of influence from the Five Galaxies, He Yue Galaxy and even Gray Valley’s Research Consortium.

The entire production line was approximately 1.2 kilometres long. All the machines were connected into an actual large scale production line. Any engineer from the Five Galaxies or He Yue Galaxy would be astonished by it. Such a large scale production line was usually owned by huge manufacturing companies only.

This was more than enough to build gadgets and machines for five thousand soldiers. In fact, it was enough for provide for 50 thousand soldiers.

Moreover, Ye Chong did not have enough technical experts with him, and he could not possibly spend all his time on the actual manufacturing. Hence, he designed the production to be completely automated. What Ye Chong needed to do now was simply to key in the desired procedure in the main control photon processor, together with other details like the shape of the mechanical parts to build and so on, and the production line will take care of the manufacturing.

Today, the production line began working for the first time.

Ye Chong keyed in the necessary details into the photon processor.

The metal pieces prepared earlier were moved via a conveyor belt to the mouth of the smelting furnace, and fed vertically into the furnace. After that, all the other machinery began to light up.

Xi Yan and the other technical crew watched the long production line nervously. The production line hummed and grumbled while the crew watched with anticipation. Ye Chong had spent three months to come up with this massive beast. They were all curious what the beast could do.

“It’s coming out, it’s coming out!” One of the young weaponsmiths pointed at the oddly shaped mechanical parts that were churned out and cried out excitedly.

Ye Chong picked up one of the black colored parts. It was a diamond-shaped armor for the limb of a mech, coated with a layer of black paint for protection. The entire mechanical part felt heavy in hand, with an excellent feel to it. Ye Chong tested the hardness of the armor with his fingers, looking satisfied with the outcome.

With this production line, he would soon be able to arm all his students.

>>>Dear readers,

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n the training ground, five thousand students fell in formation. They were as quiet as mice. All of them looked eager and excited. Their attention was fixated on the 100 mechs arranged in front of them.

Mechs – these were actual mechs!

Each mech was a standard 12-metre tall, in dark blue and ivory white. Black armour protected its legs. A plasma shield activator was installed on the left arm. Once activated, the mech would be shielded by a layer of plasma. On the mech’s back were four foldable wings, which enabled the mech to fly smoothly within the atmosphere.

The huge figure of the mech did not look sluggish at all. Its lanky structure and compact design made it look powerful. The blue and white coloured laser gun in its hand was sparsely decorated with details. This was Ye Chong’s preferred style.

If Mu/Shang was here, he would definitely recognize what inspired this mech.

Harmony of the Winter Aria – it was a mech that Ye Chong once used before in the Five Galaxies. Of course, only the mech’s exterior mimicked the original. Ye Chong always found the Harmony a very excellent mech. It had many commendable features. There were the foldable bilayer wings, and the Hummingbirds, and the auto lock-on shurikens. Ye Chong had based many of his later designs on these features. As a close range mech, Harmony of the Winter Aria lacked some bite in its main body, but as a long range mech, it was perfect. Ye Chong kept the name of the mech for these simpler incarnations.

The most time consuming, difficult and expensive part of the mech was its laser gun. Called the G-ZS, it was an improved version of the G-Z, much powerful than its predecessor. The laser gun was not made of alloy metal, but of one of the best wooden material found in this world – the Oceanic Cyathea wood. The body of the laser gun was in blue and white stripes, characteristic of the Oceanic Cyathea, giving a mysterious and expensive feel to it.

Another part of the mech that utilized high quality wood was the engine. Ye Chong spared no expenses in building these mechs. He used the best wooden materials he could find when wood was more suitable than metal. Hence, the mechs ended up with excellent specs.

Ye Chong did fit this mech model with anything weapons other than the laser gun and plasma shield, not because he was unwilling to, but because the students lacked the skills to fully utilize them. The more weapons there were to choose from, the more skilled the mech pilot should be. It was better to specialize than to learn bits and pieces of everything. Thus, Ye Chong gave each student a laser gun, albeit a very powerful one.

Ye Chong’s expectation of his students was simple enough – they must learn all kinds of shooting techniques, such as sniping, continuous firing and suppressive firing. Ye Chong’s own standards were much higher than in the Five Galaxies. His students would have to learn advanced military tactics, coordination strategies and so on …

Hundreds of Harmony of the Winter Arias were arranged neatly before the students, like soldiers ready for inspection. In the bright lit training ground, the beauty of these mechs was fully displayed to the students.

They stared with their eyes wide open, breathing heavily. Even the more cool-headed Duan Qian and Shu Mo’er could not hide their yearning for these mechs.

Ye Chong watched his students, who reminded him of himself piloting Winnie a long time ago. Once, he had also longed to own a more capable mech, just like them now.

Today, Ye Chong could not find that kind of longing in him anymore. As his continued to see more and more of the world, piloting all kinds of mechs and fighting more and more wars, he could no longer be truly surprised by anything.

Ye Chong thought of his days of wandering and fighting all these years, leading him further and further away from his ideal way of living, and felt a little bitter.

However, he quickly gathered himself. Looking at the eyes that burn with eagerness and longing, Ye Chong smiled inside.

“Your results are out. As explained earlier, students ranked in the first 100 will get their mechs ahead of the rest. The following are the names of these students.”

The training ground was silent. All the students held their breath and listened.

First in the class was Appilok. This talented man had surpassed Duan Qian and Shu Mo’er later in their training, and became the first student to own a mech. Duan Qian and the Shu sisters were next in the list.

The students who were not in the name list could only watch the first 100 students jealously.

These 100 mechs were important in encouraging the students to study. They had studied knowing how cool it would be to be the first ones to own a mech. Young people were often naïve and impulsive. If Ye Chong had declared earlier that everyone would have their own mech, the students would not have worked so hard. After so long in the outside world, Ye Chong had learned to play tricks of the mind, something he would never have considered earlier in life.

With these mechs, the students improved quickly. However, this was also a vulnerable and risky period for Ye Chong. If they were to be under attack by a large herd of wild creatures at this stage, they had only the stronghold’s defense system to keep them safe. If the defense system was breached, the students could not be expected to fight the wild creatures.

Ye Chong had thought of coming to Darkniss by himself, but he rejected the idea in the end. It was simply too risky. He was especially wary of the red-tailed beasts. He had never seen those creatures singly, as they were always in packs. If that was the case, he did not stand a chance against them. Circumstances forced him to settle with training these five thousand young men to advance him plans. It would take longer, but his chances of success would be much higher. Ye Chong did not want to die before he saw Mu/Shang again.

Mechs were still continuously churned out by the production line, but for now, Ye Chong had to focus on grooming the students to become combat ready.

The students were quick to improve in their basic shooting training, especially for the Shu sisters, who were already shooters before they joined the program. The rest of them were not as advanced as the sisters, but they were also not unfamiliar with shooting. With their own mechs, their skills improved even more quickly. Besides, it helped that the training was so specialized and intensive.

Ye Chong then decided to divide the 100 students into 10 groups, and let them battle against each other. Of course, these mock battles were carried out with practice laser guns.

The gamified training routine was well received by the students. They enjoyed the battles very much.

Ye Chong thought of many ways to keep them motivated. He came up with a strict point system to rank the students according to their individual performance, and then designed a reward system based on these points.

As the whole reward system came into shape, things proceeded more smoothly in the stronghold.

Mechs were released in batches and given to students according to their scores. A month later, all students had earned their very own mechs. Currently, Appilok had the most points. His team had a winning streak of 121 rounds and counting, way ahead of the other teams. As leader of his team, Appilok earned more points than other students. Shu Mo’er and Duan Qian had more points from shooting practice, but their total number of points was behind Appilok’s by a wide margin.

Appilok was an excellent leader.

There were quite a few students like Appilok. They were not good physical fighters, but they could keep a level head during combat and had a good grasp of the battle’s flow. Often, their superior battles strategies led their teams to victory.

Ye Chong knew that this training could never replace actual combat experience.

So far, Ye Chong’s commando troop consisted of 314 students. They performed well in all aspects of training, and were also outstanding in group battles.

Ye Chong decided to bring them out to experience real combat.

The only way to train real soldiers was through actual combat experience.

The commando troop moved out fully armed. While Ye Chong was gone, the stronghold was left to Sha Ya and Xi Yan. Ye Chong briefed them before he left.

Ye Chong flew in Celest. Behind him, 341 Harmony of the Winter Arias followed the bio-mech into the air, forming a fleet of combat mechs.

Down on the ground, the sputtering Lava River was only a thin red line. The students played around with their holographic scanning systems to look around them. They were frightfully curious, since Ye Chong usually did not allow them out of the stronghold.

Behold, Darkniss! Why was it different from expected? Wasn’t it rumoured that Darkniss was a very dangerous place? In the darkness, Darkniss was as quiet as a sleeping infant.

They did not notice a small opening in their formation due to their distraction. Ye Chong, who was feeling tense throughout the flight, saw it immediately.

“Concentrate. It’s dangerous here.”

Ye Chong and his commando troop were flying towards where Albinia and Lotesh came from. Those two shooters were currently drained from their physical training. They were shooters, and now they had to undergo a complete physical training program. Wasn’t that simply exhausting?

Ye Chong did not bring them with him. It would be best if they could find the entrance to Western Frost in this run, but he would not mind if they did not.

It was half an hour into the practice flight, and they had no accidents yet.

However, Ye Chong was feeling more nervous. They were now entering uncharted territory. He had never gone so far this way before.

>>>Dear readers,

ui Bing looked at dojo before her. Her own combat dojo was now the largest in the entire Yi Ju zone. The students consisted of Sang Tribe members and people who joined the Yi Ju community. Rui Bing did not attempt to make the Rui Family’s combat techniques secret. She was more open minded about these things after attaining Jie.

She still wore her signature white training garb. Her aura as a combat expert made her stood out from the other normal, gentle women. To the students in the dojo, she was the untouchable Goddess. The Sang Tribe felt this particularly strongly. Rui Bing’s relationship with Ye Chong was no secret among the Sang Tribe members. Anyone who tried to get closer to Rui Bing would be taught an unforgettable lesson by the Sang Tribe.

The Sang Tribe members inherited Ye Chong’s ruthless and cunning way of doing things. To them, the ends always justify the means. Even Sang Pu and Qiu Man did not discourage this mindset in their subordinates.

Rui Bing loved the Sang Tribe. They were a disciplined group of people. Even though they were now the only dominating power in Yi Ju Zone, they did not slack in their duties. The Sang Tribe members were like natural born warriors who were eager to absorb new knowledge. Their lives were very organized, and perhaps dry and uninteresting in the eyes of outsiders, but they enjoyed it very much. Their lack of knowledge did not allow them to control every side of Yi Ju Zone, but Rui Bing believed that given enough time, they would be the final winners.

She could feel the love and care from all the Sang Tribe members, all because of one man.

Rui Bing watched her students practicing in the dojo, sweating profusely, but her mind was elsewhere. Was her sister alright? How was her mother doing now? Where was Grandpa Qian? What about the naughty little monkey, Wei Yuan?

What about him? Where was he right now? Was he okay?

Rui Bing sighed quietly inside, though her expression betrayed none of her thoughts.

More and more students joined her dojo. The people who came to the Sang Tribe for help in the midst of disaster now realized the importance of power. The Sang Tribe was also very passionate about combat. Their combat skills came from their experience fighting against wild creatures, designed to kill in the most efficient way. However, when it came to the overall system of their combat moves and its efficiency against humans, there was still much they could learn from the Rui Family’s techniques.

Class was over. All the students bid farewell to Rui Bing. After that, Rui Bing tidied up the place. Even though she was now considered by others to be of high stature, she still preferred to do these things herself.

Now, she was going to visit Aried. Now that was an interesting fellow. He won a research fund from Qiu Man, and now had his own laboratory, located close to her place. Rui Bing was not used to living with other people. Since Sang Pu and Qiu Man were getting busier and busier with all the administrative and management work, Rui Bing had found a place of her own near the dojo. Later, she got to know Aried, who became her neighbour.

Aried was a short and petite man, but he had a loud voice. “Haha, Lady Bing is here.” Aried looked completely different from his earlier abject life. He now looked like a bright and sharp old man with a perpetual blush on his cheeks. He liked the polite and kind young woman, despite her deceptively cold appearance. Aried was making some headway in his experiments. He was overjoyed by this, but he did not know anyone well enough, other than his students and Rui Bing, to share the good news. Thus, he invited Rui Bing to visit his laboratory, to witness these moments that he thought would go down the history books as moments of triumph.

Standing respectfully beside Aried was his student, Sang Kan. At the moment, Sang Kan looked like an obedient and meek student, all gentle and courteous, but Rui Bing knew that all members of the Sang Tribe were powerful combatants, having lived in the Archipelago.

“Grandpa Aried, how do you do?” Rui Bing greeted Aried with a cold expression.

Aried did not mind her. He knew that she was only cold on the outside, but was in fact a warm and kind young woman on the inside.

“Ma’am,” Sang Kan greeted Rui Bing, sending a blush onto her white complexion. Nevertheless, she acknowledged softly. All members of the Sang Tribe addressed her in this way.

“Haha, come in come in, we’ve been waiting for you. Sigh, to think that I would live to see this day! I can die happily now!” Aried sounded gratified. He had always been looked down upon because of his small stature, and became a social recluse because of this. Moreover, despite all the effort that he put into his research, people never acknowledged his work. Today, however, he had his own laboratory and incredible results to show the world. After decades of being scorned, he could finally prove himself. Hence, he felt the urge to share his victory, and thought of the one person he was currently close to – Rui Bing.

Rui Bing consoled him, “Don’t worry about it. Your name will be forever etched into the hearts of the people.”

Aried felt encouraged by Rui Bing’s words. The thought of leaving a mark in history made him emotional.

Rui Bing and Sang Kan watched the emotional Aried and went thoughtfully quiet.

After a moment, Aried recovered himself. He blushed and said, “Well, let’s get to it.”

This was Rui Bing’s first time in Aried’a laboratory. She felt overwhelmed by the all the complicated equipment inside.

Aried was prepared for his demonstration. All the relevant apparatus were already in position. A beautiful and complicated network of glowing blue circuits lit up the laboratory, giving it an air of mystery.

“We have built the first model capable of opening a spatial window, called the V-1. Currently, we employ spatial warp jump technologies that bring us from planet to planet, but the process is still time consuming.

“Long ago, I’ve began to wonder if there are simpler ways for us to overcome our limitations in space and time. That is the basis of my theories. In our universe, under specific circumstances, we can create a spatial window, like a physical window in the wall, that connects two points situated very far from each other.

“Do you remember that battle? The one with the red-tailed beasts?” Aried felt excited, seeing Rui Bing listening to him intently.

Rui Bing nodded. “I do.”

“Then you must remember the black circle that continues to expand. That is a spatial window, transforming in a strange way. Before that, I always thought my theory was only just that, a theory, but when I saw that spatial window, I knew that I was right.”

Aried explained. His cheeks were flushed, and his hands balled into tight fists. Rui Bing did not interrupt him. She knew that Aried needed someone to listen to his story.

“Later, when I followed the refugees to Yi Ju, I saw Officer Qiu Man’s funding offer and decided to try my luck, and ended up winning the funding. It was like a dream come true. This was a hard won battle. From the first day the lab was set up, I began thinking about ways to implement my theories. Sang Kan and I tried everything, and finally came up with this machine, V-1, before you.”

In the empty space at the centre of the laboratory was a machine.

On top of the rectangular base was complicated a V-shaped support structure on top, covered with many confusing photon circuits and nodes. The V-structure was nearly twice a human’s average height. The rectangular base had even more photon nodes on it, blinking like the stars in the expanse of outer space.

“Alright, let’s see what the V-1 can do.” Aried, who was leading his audience, turned back to grin at Rui Bing. “Don’t’ worry, it’s perfectly safe. You can go closer to have a look. We’ve tried this many times without issue.”

Sang Kan operated the V-1 with familiar moves. The complicated photon nodes on the rectangular base did not faze him. He tapped on the photon nodes quickly, knowing exactly what to do.

The photon nodes on the V-structure began to move. As Sang Kan continued to operate the machine, the photon nodes moved faster and faster.

Zip zip zip! On the two legs of the V-structure, the blue coloured glowing dots began to converge.

Suddenly, a black circle appeared silently between the two legs of the V-structure. The circle began to expand.

Rui Bing was familiar with this view. This was exactly like the time with the red-tailed beasts.

Rui Bing felt anxious, but seeing Aried and Sang Kan looking at ease calmed her down.

Finally, the circle stopped expanding when its radius reached about two metres wide.

Aried and Sang Kan heaved a sigh of relief. They had done this many times, but never with an audience. Having Rui Bing with them made them nervous. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. Sang Kan felt greatly relieved, despite what his calm appearance suggested. It would be so embarrassing if he were to screw up before Ye Chong’s partner.

Aried turned to Rui Bing, pleased, like a child showing off his new toy. “What do you think? Not bad, right? I’m presenting this to Qiu Man tomorrow. We’ll need time to figure out how to make out of this technology. This will lead to a paradigm shift in the spatial sciences.” He added, “I’ll be sure to call you over again the next time we have something new.” Aried looked like a mischievous, innocent child.

He did not notice the black circle behind him suddenly expanding again, quietly.

Rui Bing noticed it first. She dashed forward and caught Aried’s sleeve. Before she could pull him away, her vision turned black, and the circle swallowed her inside.

In the instant, Rui Bing lost control of herself, and felt a strange sensation unlike anything she had ever experienced.

The strange sensation did not last longer than a second. Rui Bing saw her surroundings changed instantly.

She was shocked, and turned around just in time to see the black circle behind her rapidly contracting. It happened so quickly that Rui Bing could hardly respond to it.

The black circle vanished silently in the air, leaving no traces behind.

Rui Bing stared at the empty space where the black circle once was, unable to understand what transpired.

“Ohh,” Aried cried out in pain, having fallen to the ground, bringing Rui Bing back to her senses. Beside the old man, Sang Kan was studying his surroundings intently.

“Where is this place?” When Aried calmed down, Rui Bing asked without delay. Beside him, Sang Kan seemed surprised but vigilant.

“Huh, what happened?” Aried stared around him, curious. “What is this place? How did we end up here?”

Rui Bing knew immediately that Aried could not tell her more. She described what happened in detail to Aried, hoping that the information could help him.

After she finished, Aried frowned and pulled at his messy hair, muttering, “Instability? What happened? What did it go wrong …” He ignored Rui Bing’s questions after that. Sang Kan quickly explained, “Ma’am, please don’t expect any answers from him now. He’s like that whenever he’s thinking. He’ll be back with us soon enough.”

Rui Bing looked at Aried, absorbed in his thoughts, and decided to follow Sang Kan’s advice. She began to study her surroundings. Safety was of the highest priority, now that they were in unfamiliar territory.

The purple mist all around her was very thin.

Rui Bing was taken aback by the purple mist. It reminded her of the one she saw in the battle at Yi Ju.

Sang Kan looked solemn and careful as well. He did not take part in that battle, but the Sang Tribe had been discussing it ever since it happened. He knew every detail of the battle, including the purple mist.

Nevertheless, the purple mist they were seeing here was much thinner than the one near Yi Ju.

For now, they priority was to figure out where they were.

Sang Kan carried Aried, and exchanged a look with Rui Bing. They advanced carefully. Sang Kan left a marking of the Sang Tribe where they first appeared, so that they could find their way back.

The ground was hard, and the thin purple mist reduced visibility. However, both Sang Kan and Rui Bing had sharp eyes. This was a barren wasteland that harboured no life, only rocks.

Rui Bing asked, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. We’ve done the experiment many times before, and never once did we encounter anything like this.” Sang Kan was also vexed. They talked as they advanced quickly. Both had strong legs and could move quickly. Aried did not notice himself being carried by Sang Kan. He looked like he was in a trance, oblivious to his surroundings as he continued muttering to himself.

Sang Kan was obviously used to situations like this. They seemed to be moving quickly, but were in fact still holding back power in case of emergencies, allowing them enough time to react.

…

Ye Chong had been careful, but they still ended up in a situation.

They encountered a pack of gold-striped black dragons. These creatures were very similar to the silver-striped black dragons, except in their skin colours.

The gold-striped black dragons were quick. They noticed Ye Chong and his fleet from a distance with their sharp senses.

“There are 62 of them! Be careful!” Ye Chong’s loud cry initiated the battle.

The students panicked a little from the sudden encounter. A moment earlier, they were still enjoying the scenery in Darkniss. However, their harsh training kicked in quickly. All the mechs raised their laser guns and fired. Ye Chong frowned. Blindly shooting at the enemy was hardly effective.

Nevertheless, a few of the gold-striped black dragons were hit. They cried out in agony and fell from the sky. The rest of the pack flapped their wings and picked up speed. This change of pace surprised the students. Their shooting rhythm was thus disrupted.

Ye Chong understood immediately that he must bring the gold-striped black dragons under control, or the students will suffer heavy casualties.

From the first few moments of the battle, Ye Chong discerned that these gold-striped black dragons were much stronger than the silver-striped black dragons. The 314 mechs had only shot down five of the creatures and wounded another eight. If Shang were here, he would have laughed out loud at their achievement.

The dragons were quick, and moved unpredictably in the sky. Unless they were hit somewhere vulnerable, the creatures could still fight. They were obviously powerful creatures.

Creatures like these were the hardest to deal with.

>>>Dear readers,

e Chong said, “Appilok, you’re in charge.” He then left the mechs with Celest. Appilok’s personal combat skills did not yet qualify him as a member of the commando troop, but Ye Chong still brought him along. A commander needed actual combat experience as well. An experienced commander was more useful than a mech pilot, especially when they had a sizable mech squad.

Ye Chong did not have time to consider the details. He charged Celest straight into the pack of gold-striped black dragons.

Celest charged with determination, like a dagger driving itsef into the heart of the enemy.

The gold-striped black dragons were infuriated by the open challenge. A few dozen of them flapped their wings and shot up higher in the sky, then folded their wings and dived down towards Celest.

Just when it looked like Celest was about to be charge straight into the pack, the bio-mech suddenly made a quick swerve, tracing an arc in the air, and graced past the dragons. The dragons missed their target and howled, and then shot upwards again.

Ye Chong had angered this few dozen of gold-striped black dragons. They broke off from the pack to pursue Celest.

Ye Chong’s deceptively simple swerve had impressed his students. Celest had charged into battle with strong determination! All the students had thought that it would crash into the dragon pack.

It was, however, a feint. That sharp swerve was timed and executed perfectly. The gold-striped black dragons had missed their target by only a narrow margin. It was hard to imagine how their commander could time his move so precisely.

The students who followed Ye Chong in this operation were the best of the five thousand, and felt proud of the fact. However, seeing Ye Chong’s maneuvor reminded them of what it really meant to be skilled. Whatever pride they had were squashed immediately.

Appilok was the first to react. He was alarmed when he saw the other gold-striped black dragons charging towards them, and ordered, “Our targets are everywhere, fire in all directions. Those who score higher than 90 points in sniping, fire at will.” Ye Chong’s swerve had given them the space to start shooting without needing to worry about friendly fire.

The students heard the order and reacted to it.

Ye Chong could not spare his attention for the students. He now had to face the pack of dragons behind him. There were 26 of them. These creatures were weaker than the red-tailed beasts, but still, Ye Chong had to be careful dealing with 26 of them together. Any misstep, and he would be defeated by these so-called weaker foes, and that was just not worth it.

Celest executed Slithering Steps, widening the distance between it and the dragons with its high velocity. The gold-striped black dragons would not give up so easily. They flapped their wings and continued to pursue.

It seemed that their efforts were rewarded. The dragons closed in on the bio-mech as they flapped their powerful wings. Their blood red eyes reflected their eagerness to draw blood.

It was long since Ye Chong had piloted a mech for combat. It was only now, in battle, that Ye Chong was reminded of his capability as a mech pilot. In that moment, he recalled how he once dreamed of owning a respectable mech and becoming a qualified mech pilot. The thought came and went in a flash. His eyes focused on the holographic screen. Right now, he felt so proud for having reached so far.

Ye Chong moved his hands across the control console without hesitation. He had no idea how fast his hands were now. It the students saw how he was piloting his mech now, those who felt proud of their hand speed would be so very embarrassed.

Return Charge! Celest decelerated and turned back in only 0.9 seconds.

Ye Chong’s vision blurred. Return Charge was a strain on his body, pushing himself to his limit. He did not panic, however. This was not his first time doing it. He just needed to wait for his vision to clear up. It would be over soon, and he needed to be prepared for the next step.

Ye Chong counted the milliseconds as the holographic screen appeared in his vision clearly once again. He could now see the panicking gold-striped black dragons on the screen.

Ye Chong’s gaze sharpened. He typed in the relevant commands quickly on the control console. 10 slender fingers tapped the keys rhythmically like raindrops in a storm.

Celest’s Return Charge surprised the gold-striped black dragons. They panicked, but since they were focusing all their energy on speeding up to chase their enemy, they could no longer move around as easily as before.

Celest charged with absolute determination, undeterred by anything in its path. In that short time, the weapons pack on its back delivered a lance into Celest’s hand. Celest assembled the folded lance with its large mechanical hands. It charged at the dragons with the lance in both hands.

By then, Celest had reached the dragons.

The bio-mech dived straight into the enemies, who were still flying straight at it, unable to react in time.

Ye Chong assessed the spacing between the gold-striped black dragons in that short instant. He captured their positions, angels, and movements … Then, his hands moved accordingly.

The blade glistened coldly!

In just a short moment, Celest’s jet black archaic lance had torn through the throats of seven gold-striped black dragons. Behind him, a trail of blood mist followed. The bio-mech had chosen the optimal path of destruction.

Ye Chong was now a master in power control, timing and mech maneuvering. He was still as calm as he was before, but steadier and more mature.

The attack would not have been so destructive if his younger self had executed it. Ye Chong had gradually become better and better at this.

Celest shot through the dragons like a spear, but the lance was not all Ye Chong had to work with.

When Ye Chong charged through the dragons, he also released 19 auto lock-on shurikens.

The shurikens flew in the darkness like slithering snakes.

Sharp whistles penetrated in the air. The auto lock-on shurikens were fast, and produced a sharp whistle due to air friction. With 19 of them released, the shrieks were enough to send a shiver into the bones.

This was the main attack. 16 of the dragons were hit straight on.

Only three of them escaped narrowly.

The more attacks were made in a short instant, the higher the impact on the enemies. This series of attacks was achieved in that short instant when Celest charged through the gold-striped black dragons.

The rich variety of accurate and well-timed attacks was flawless.

The remaining three gold-striped black dragons were shocked by the turn of events, and flapped their wings in an attempt to escape.

Ye Chong would not let them. Celest traced another arc in the sky and stopped one of the dragons. The scared creature was no longer fierce and powerful. It fell easily to a shot from Celest’s laser gun.

The other dragons did not manage to escape as well. The shurikens cut them into shreds. All 26 gold-striped black dragons perished in Ye Chong’s hands. None of them escaped.

Ye Chong was happy with the battle. He could feel himself improving, and more importantly, he could feel how powerful Celest was! Celest was an extraordinary mech. The battle would have ended so quickly otherwise. It showed especially in its agility and ability to execute sprints. Ye Chong had never seen another mech better in them. Celest had demonstrated its prowess in this battle.

Ye Chong directed his focus back to his students.

They had already gathered themselves after the initial shock. The 300 over mechs were now fighting against 36 gold-striped black dragons, without proper coordination. The newbies were weak, as expected. These were only gold-striped black dragons; what is they were red-tailed beasts? Ye Chong was not sure if the students could survive an encounter with them.

Nevertheless, he did not feel dejected. It was only to be expected that inexperienced mech pilots were weak. Once they grew familiar with combat, all the skills that they learned from training could be fully put to use. This process would not take too long.

They would need to go through at least 10, or maybe seven or eight real battles, to become an effective combat force. In a massive combat troop, personal battle prowess was not as important as coordination among the troop members. Lower level squad leaders must be able to assess the battle and attack rhythm, while the overall commander in charge must be able to assess the bigger picture of the battle accurately.

A troop with experienced mech pilots would be advantageous. This advantage would multiply by folds throughout the entire combat troop. Besides, the pilots would be able to obey their commander’s orders to the letter and affect the battle outcome.

Only actual battles could turn a mech pilot into a soldier. In this sense, the mech pilots in Ye Chong’s starship fleet had all become soldiers, perhaps even elites. They had survived countless intense battles, especially when they were crossing the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. These fierce battles could help a mech pilot grow quickly, honing their minds to become stronger.

The mech pilots in the starship fleet were much stronger than these students. Ye Chong had to train the students from scratch, but he did not give up. If he could train the mech pilots before, he would be able to do it again. Besides, this was the dark and dangerous Darkniss. There was no shortage of enemies to fight against. Ye Chong’s only concern was to make sure the battles were harsh and cruel, but did not result in too many casualties.

The students were now eagerly discussing the battle in their comms channel. That was their first battle, even though Ye Chong thought it was really not that much of a fight. They were 314 against 36 – was that really a battle? Ye Chong thought it was nothing to be proud of. After all, the mech pilots he first trained in the starship fleet could win with five against three when they were battling the red-tailed beasts. These students were still far off from the mech pilots there.

“Take it slow, no rush,” Ye Chong reminded himself. His gaze wandered further into the depths of Darkniss.

…

Rui Bing and Sang Kan treaded carefully in the thin, purple mist. This was unfamiliar territory. Who knew what monsters lived here? Sang Kan carried Aried, moving quickly. The Collision mech was only a recent mode of transport. Before that, the Sang Tribe were a hunter community.

He was better than Rui Bing when it came to stealth.

Rui Bing’s expression was cold and unyielding, unfazed by the unfamiliar environment around her. She treaded lightly, like a gliding bird. Her snow white training garb fluttered in the wind. She was like a dancing swan, her expression clear and determined.

Both of them had incredible stamina. They ran for a full day and night.

The scenery around them changed gradually. The ground was now covered with light greenery, and the air turned moist. The greenery was actually moss. As they traveled further, Sang Kan found a source of water. Knowing how to test the water for safe ingestion was a necessary skill to survive in the wild. Sang Kan knew the drill. He used whatever he had on him to make a water container.

Rui Bing was not surprised with Sang Kan’s skills. The Sang Tribe was similar to Ye Chong in many ways. They were survivors. What surprised her more was how Aried could live in his own mind for an entire day without drinking. Rui Bing found herself impressed with Aried. His commitment and passion were probably the reason for his success.

Rui Bing still had the nutrition pills that Ye Chong gave her earlier. She could not bear eating them before this, but now they would save their lives.

With the nutrition pills, food was not an immediate concern, so they advanced even faster. However, they both knew that it was a matter of time when the pills ran out. They would starve to death if they did not find an alternative source of food. However, they had not seen living creatures so far.

“What’s this?” On the third day, they made a discovery.

It looked like skin shed by some cylindrical lifeform, about two fingers wide. Sang Kan had found it. The discovery was invigorating.

Rui Bing studied the dead shell. It was thin, semi-transparent layer in light purple, with wrinkles on it.

Sang Kan carefully nudged the shell gently. As expected, the centre was empty.

The two of them exchanged a look. Rui Bing shook her head to indicate that she had not seen it before. Sang Kan shook his head as well. Despite his wide hunting experience, he was always uncertain.

They continued their advance, but at a slower pace. The discovery was good news. Anything was better than an endless stretch of nothing.

The purple mist grew thicker, and this made them even more vigilant.

As they advanced further, more and more of the shed skin were found on the ground. Some were over a metre wide, and about seven to eight metres long. Humidity was rising as well, but the empty shells looked dehydrated.

Rui Bing and Sang Kang found something else.

A purple flesh column as thick as an arm planted itself in the ground, extending its other end into high up into the sky, as far as the eye can see. The higher it went, the thicker the flesh column.

“Red-tailed beasts!” Rui Bing and Sang Kan cried out softly in unison. Rui Bing’s gaze turned sharp and deadly. The hostility was not without reason. The red-tailed beasts were humanity’s greatest enemies. The number of people who were killed by these creatures was staggering.

After the great war near Yi Ju, plenty of the flesh columns were sent to Yi Ju for research. Rui Bing and Sang Kan both recognized it well.

Nevertheless, there was something different with this particular flesh column they were seeing. Unlike its solid and firm flesh columns they had seen before, this one was dehydrated and wilting, like it could fall off the mother body anytime. Rui Bing and Sang Kan knew now where the shed skin came from.

Research into the flesh columns had always been important in Yi Ju. They hoped to understand this alien creature and defeat it. Research showed that the flesh columns were hardy creatures. As long as the core was alive, it would not appear dehydrated or wilted. The Sang Tribe called the powerful and regenerative mass of tissue the Flesh Nest.

Was something wrong with this Flesh Nest?

Just then, Sang Kan heard something. He cried out in alarm, “Something’s coming!”

>>>Dear readers,

ui Bing deployed Guardian immediately. She had watched Sang Kan the last few days and was confident of his abilities. Sang Kan saw Guardian, and quickly hid behind Rui Bing, carrying Aried in his arms.

Guardian was infamous amongst the Sang Tribe members. It was one of the most well known mechs for the Sang Tribe. Its capabilities were described to epic proportions. However, few had ever seen Rui Bing use it. As the Sang Tribe members were all deeply respectful of Rui Bing, no one dared to request a demonstration from her.

“It’s all worth it if I can see Ma’am use Guardian,” Sang Kan thought to himself delightfully. Once he returned, this would be quite the story to impress his friends. However, the thought reminded him of how the three of them had gone missing. Sang Pu and others must be searching for them by now.

The honest young man turned anxious. Their young teacher was still missing, and now even his wife was gone. What would happen now?

Sang Kan could imagine the chaos that transpired in Yi Ju right now. The more he thought about it, the more anxious he got. However, there was nothing he could do. He looked at Aried in his arms, deep in a trance, and sighed. If only it was just them. With Ma’am Rui Bing gone missing too, the situation had worsened many times over.

Rui Bing did not know how unsettled Sang Kan was right now. She was focused entirely on Guardian’s black and white vision.

When Rui Bing entered Guardian, her vision was all white for a moment. Then, numbers began to run on the top right corner of her vision. Soon, Guardian’s vision cleared up and became normal again.

Rui Bing relaxed. If Guardian could not be used in the purple mist, she would have to work with Sang Kan to kill the red-tailed best.

The statistics shown to her did not help her at all. Rui Bing focused on the white lines in her vision. There was purple mist everywhere around them, but through Guardian’s eyes, the environment around her looked simple and clearer.

Soon, Rui Bing located the enemy.

As expected, it was a red-tailed beast!

Rui Bing’s eyes flashed dangerously. She charged towards the creature fearlessly.

Guardian’s dagger was a mighty weapon, but it had a silly name – Number Two’s Dagger. However, every time she used this weapon, Rui Bing could feel the emotions behind these plain words. She did not know Gu Shaoze, but had heard of the miniature mech’s origin from Ye Chong.

“I am your Guardian!” Rui Bing felt more confident every time she used this mech.

The wind whispered in her ears as Rui Bing charged towards the red-tailed beast like a gold asteroid. Her expression was focused, and her clear eyes hid a softness behind them.

Here in the purple mist, the red-tailed beast was highly sensitive of its surroundings. It noticed Rui Bing as well. The gold figure gave off an enticing smell. Its eyes glowed with want and hunger.

Red-tailed beasts loved metals. The better the properties of the metal, they more they liked it.

Rui Bing moved quickly. It was only expected from Jie experts. With Guardian amplifying her strength, Rui Bing was now as fast as the red-tailed beast.

Rui Bing stepped lightly. She was next to the red-tailed beast in an instant.

…

Appilok panted heavily. The comms was flooded with the sound of heavy breathing. Even the likes of Duan Qian, who had better stamina than most of the students, were also breathing heavily.

This was their fifth battle. The 151 metalbeak falcons looked almost skeletal, but they were surprisingly tough, and more resilient than the gold-striped black dragons, which looked tougher than they actually were. None of the metalbeak falcons tried to escape, right until the last one that died in their hands.

This was the hardest battle they had so far. The four battles before this were all on a smaller scale. This time, even with Ye Chong dealing with 40 metalbeak falcons all by himself, leaving only 111 of them to the students, they still had a hard time dealing with the creatures.

They won in the end, but no one was cheering. They had suffered their first casualties. Five were dead, and seven heavily injured. Most of the students led normal lives before this. They had never been subjected to such as cruel experience.

They watched their comrades exploding into balls of fire, listened to their pained shrieks in the comms channel – these young men experienced the harsh reality of battle for the very first time. The ones who died were alive only yesterday, but were now irreversibly lost to them. The students grieved. Many of them began to cry.

Everyone was breathing heavily. They needed to recover quickly. Who knew when the next battle was coming.

No one blamed Ye Chong. He had done all he could. If he had not dealt with the 40 metalbeak falcons by himself, the commando troop would have lost at least a fifth of its members. They all understood that this was something they had to endure, having chosen their path as a soldier. Besides, they were mostly people of great determination, and had eventually adapted to their situation.

The students looked at Celest. Their commander was strong! If they could all be as strong as their commander, this would never happen again! This was what the students thought as they gripped hands tightly into fists.

The students all believed that their commander was worth their loyalty. No one would have chosen this useless bunch of youngsters for this ambitious training. There were plenty of people just like them in Su City. They were scorned by others, and led mediocre lives. Even the nobles amongst them lacked a decent future because they did not have talent in parapsychic control.

It was their commander who changed their fates, who trained them and fitted them with mechs.

Who would want to train someone useless? Who would equip them with such luxurious weapons that rival even the equipment of the Royal Guards? As a descendant of the Bayer Family, placed in charge of Eastern Cloud’s military logistics, Darren Bayer once did the math and concluded that the combined cost of all the standard equipment provided to a Royal Guard was not even enough to afford their laser gun. It showed how much importance their commander had placed in them.

Most of them even believed that their commander had brought them here into the never-ending darkness of Darkniss with the sole purpose of training them.

The commander had given the best gear, the best training, and had even led them personally into battles with all kinds of powerful creatures. That they could now be strong enough to fight against the creatures of Darkniss was all thanks to their commander.

They were only normal people, not even shooters. How could they not be grateful for him? How could they not love him?

It would be unforgivable for any of them to not train seriously, or to treat their duties lightly. Casualties were to be expected. Everyone knew how often shooters were hurt or killed. To have 10 Level 6 shooters born out of 100 Level 4 shooters was already considered remarkable. Of the remaining shooters, 40 would remain as Level 4, while the other 40 would die in combat. Shooters had to fight to improve themselves, and casualties were inevitable in combat.

“We’re going to back to base.”

Ye Chong’s plain announcement was like music to their ears.

…

The red-tailed beast lay dead on the ground, a thin line of blood on its throat. Blood was slowly pooling around its neck.

Sang Kan was full of admiration for Rui Bing. As expected, Ma’am was as strong as their young teacher. What an impressive strike of the blade!

Rui Bing stored Guardian as Sang Kan quickly approached the red-tailed beast to study it.

The faint red tail told him that this was a young red-tailed beast, not yet evolved. It only had three fingers.

“No wonder it fell so easily,” Rui Bing thought to herself.

Sang Kan took out his own dagger. Due to Ye Chong’s influence, daggers became a popular weapon for the Sang Tribe members. However, they would only ever carry one made out of lavagold, mined from the Sang Village. Sang Kan began to dissect the red-tailed beast. He knew which parts were edible, and which parts were not. According to his experience, meat from the red-tailed beast was obviously edible, and should taste just fine.

Rui Bing was not used to the bloody scene. She quickly stepped aside.

Sang Kan worked through the flesh of the red-tailed beast, feeling regret for not bringing his Collision mech with him. With his mech, the red-tailed beast would not have been a threat. He had not kept the Collision mech’s dimension keystone on him to prevent it from affecting the spatial stability in the laboratory.

Huh? Wait a second! Sang Kan’s hands stopped moving. He felt like he had just realized something, but could not quite get a hold of it.

The dimension keystone! That was it! He finally knew why they were now in this strange new world! It was the dimension keystone! Rui Bing was wearing Guardian’s dimension keystone! That must be the reason. Sang Kan was overjoyed by this realization.

Beside him, Aried was still in a trance. Sang Kan quickly went to him and shook him strongly, but the old man did not come out of it. Nevertheless, Sang Kan was experienced with this. He took the water container off his waist and splashed Aried on his head, ignoring the waste of drinkable water. Rui Bing watched him in puzzlement.

The trick worked.

Aried’s eyes cleared up. He felt himself wet, and raged, “You monkey, Kan, you ruined my hair!” He self-consciously combed through the few remaining patches of blonde hair on his head.

“Old man, I figured out what went wrong with the experiment,” Sang Kan offered excitedly.

“What?” Aried was surprised. “What was it?”

“The dimension keystone! That’s why!” Sang Kan explained to Aried. “Madam Rui Bing had her dimension keystone with her. It must be the dimension keystone that affected the spatial window.”

“Dimension keystone?” Aried gaped at Rui Bing. “Lady Bing, did you have your dimension keystone on you?”

Rui Bing nodded.

“Sigh, it’s all my fault, I forgot to tell you. The dimension keystone is based on similar principles with the spatial window, but if they got too close with one another, there would be abnormalities. It’s my fault for not telling you this.” Aried looked vexed and dejected.

The three of them finally realized what went wrong. Even so, there remained the problem of getting back.

“D*mn! Something’s headed our way again!” Sang Kan said in alarm. “It’s too dangerous here, we must leave quickly.”

There were 11 red-tailed beasts coming towards them.

Rui Bing took out Guardian again and charged towards the enemies. Sang Kan carried Aried on his back and followed from behind.

The gold miniature mech enveloped Rui Bing within. Her every movement was a blur of gold coloured shadow. Rui Bing knew that now was not the time to hold back. Besides, she felt nothing but hatred towards the red-tailed beasts.

Rui Bing rarely had to fight herself, whether it was when she was beside Ye Chong or on Yi Ju. Her strength was a mystery to most. Now that she was fighting with reserve, Sang Kan could only watch to his great astonishment.

She moved with the intent to kill.

11 red-tailed beasts were not too much of a strain on her. The dagger in her hand moved with a life of its own. If Ye Chong wielded his dagger like a venomous serpent, patient but deadly and with no stylish moves, then Rui Bing wielded her dagger like a swan flying across a lake, close to the water’s surface, with effortless ease and grace.

These were two different styles, but with equal deadliness.

In just a short moment, all 11 red-tailed beasts had the same bloody line on their throats. As Sang Kan followed Guardian from behind, the 11 red-tailed beasts fell to the ground, blood spraying from their necks.

The three of them continued running through the purple mist, with Sang Kan leading the way. Rui Bing could not understand how he could figure out directions in this place.

Soon, Rui Bing and Sang Kan noticed something. The red-tailed beasts here were much weaker than the ones they encountered near Yi Ju. The creatures here were mostly three-fingered, with some two- and single fingered exceptions. The armor on their backs were a light gray, no the shiny black they were used to seeing. The flesh nests here looked like they were dying from a lack of water and nutrition. The skin on the flesh columns wrinkled from the lack of moisture. There were no flesh vesicles like the ones they saw in the holographic feed.

Rui Bing and Sang Kan did not understand the flesh nests well enough. If Ye Chong or Fei Si was here, they might have been able to glean something useful.

However, it was certainly good news that the red-tailed beasts here were weak.

Despite not encountering any strong red-tailed beasts, the three of them still decided to leave this place as soon as possible.

>>>Dear readers,

he journey back to base was not without difficulty. They encountered a few more waves of wild creatures, and suffered more casualties. Ye Chong did not interfere too much, as he decided to let the students do most of the fighting. His objective was to train the students. Being overprotective would not serve this purpose. As long there were no mass casualties, he would refrain from interfering.

This process of elimination was cruel, but necessary.

Once they were back to base, everyone felt relieved. In the next few days, Ye Chong did not bring them out for more battles. Instead, he ordered them to analyze their fights. The analysis process would help new soldiers mature faster, and help them understand more about teamwork.

The students had now experienced the cruelty of battles first hand. No one slacked in their roles. That would be like giving up one’s life. When battling in groups, survival relied on more than just on individual strength, but also teamwork.

Xi Yan approached Ye Chong. “Teacher, all the backup parts for the mechs are done. What do we build next? The metals in the warehouse are piling up. If we don’t use them fast enough, we’ll have to build a new warehouse.” Xi Yan was now the manager of the technical division in their base, leading a busy life.

Ye Chong took a moment to appreciate how plentiful Darkniss was. It was a huge metal wonderland, more than enough to satisfy the needs of five thousand people. All the liquid metal they harvested from Lava River was now starting to challenge the capacity of their warehouse.

The backup standard mechanical parts for all the mechs were completed, and still they could not use up the metal stored in the warehouse. Ye Chong never imagined that he would one day face a problem of having too much metal in his hands.

He considered the issue, and then said, “Build armor for the stronghold’s outer walls. Hmm, change all the support structures to alloys too.”

“Yes sir,” Xi Yan agreed readily. Indeed, a stronghold made of rocks was risky. To Xi Yan and his comrades, Darkniss was a dangerous place. Fitting metal armor to the stronghold was a sizable operation, but not as complicated as building mechs. It should not take too long for them. Besides, he would be able to solve the problem of overstocking metals in the warehouse.

“We might as well expand the stronghold while you’re at it. Extend five kilometres outwards. Do this in stages, from one corner of the stronghold to the next.” Ye Chong reminded Xi Yan of the precautions. Safety was always their utmost priority. When the modification work was underway, the stronghold’s defences would be lowered. If any wild creatures decided to attack the stronghold while they work, it would very well be very fatal to them.

Xi Yan nodded in understanding.

Ye Chong thought of another problem. He asked Xi Yan, “How are they doing?”

Xi Yan knew that Ye Chong was referring to the technicians. He smiled and said, “Those guys are giving it all they got, they know it’s a chance of a lifetime. Since Teacher has offered so much precious knowledge to them, they’re learning as fast as their minds can take it.”

“How’s their progress?” Ye Chong asked.

Xi Yan considered the question. “Not bad, especially the younger ones. They learn faster. However, the others are more experienced, so they’re ahead of the group. I think, though, the younger people have more potential, but it will take time to nurture them.”

Ye Chong nodded and thought about his assessment. He then said, “Divide them into groups of five, and allocate a lab for each group. If they need any materials, they can get them from you, but if they require equipment, have them figure it out themselves. Hmm, they’ll have access to all the equipment available.”

A laboratory needed a lot of equipment to be functional. Ye Chong hoped that the technicians could get more hands-on experience. They must first learn how to use the advanced equipment available to them, and then move on to building their own equipment. The latter would be hard, requiring not only a firm base of fundamental knowledge but also physical strength to tinker with nuts and bolts. Ye Chong did not expect all of them to reach this stage, to all become Masters. Instead, he hoped that this arrangement could help them absorb new knowledge faster.

Xi Yan nodded, understanding the reasoning behind Ye Chong’s decision. “Alright, consider it done.”

The battle analysis session was finally over. Ye Chong was surprised by the thick reports that the students handed in to him. They were doing much better than he expected. In the reports, the students pointed out the mistakes and oversights made during battle, and ways to rectify them. The analysis was detailed but holistic. Aside from a few minor things, Ye Chong found them to be perfectly acceptable.

Appilok, Duan Qian and Shu Mo’er had also handed a personal report each. Duan Qian and Shu Mo’er focused more on the details of the battles, but Appilok’s lengthy report surprised Ye Chong the most. After he was finished reading it, he decided to make Appilok the commander of his soldiers. When Appilok was put in charge in their first venture outside, he had convinced the other students of his abilities. Had he had not made a few crucial decisions in battle, they would have suffered even more heavily.

In the next few days, tension gradually seeped out of the students’ minds.

On the training ground, it was easy to identify which students who had seen actual combat and which did not. The former trained with more specific goals in mind.

Soon, Ye Chong arranged for another round of real battle experience. This time, Appilok was made leader. 100 students were chosen from the first commando troop, and were each in charge of five students who had never seen real battle. Ye Chong could not be there every time for his students. He must let go for them to learn to be truly independent.

600 mechs eagerly left the stronghold. They were about to experience the realities of actual combat.

Back in the stronghold, the students who were left behind trained even harder. They knew that their turn would come, and the only way to stay alive when it happened was to become a capable combatant.

Ye Chong, who stayed behind as well, went to his laboratory. He wanted to build a pulsed signal relay station, one big enough to cover the whole of Darkniss. Ye Chong was familiar with pulsed signal relay stations. Back on the trash planet, he had lived right beside one. Pulsed signal relay stations were the main medium and the fastest way for interplanetary information transmission.

There were many reasons to a pulsed signal relay station. The most important one was to keep the mechs connected to the stronghold no matter where they were. Another was the possibility to send out drones like the Hummingbirds to study Darkniss.

These were two practical and urgent functionalities that Ye Chong needed.

Pulsed signal relay stations were not too much of a challenge for Ye Chong. The technicalities were not an issue, and his stock of luxurious and advanced equipment was definitely enough to build one.

The main issue he faced was power. After all, if the relay station was to cover the whole of Darkniss, it would have to send out and receive strong signals, and be active at all times. The operation was highly energy consuming.

Since Ye Chong did not have many energy crystals at the moment, considering that his students still needed them for their training, he would have to find the spatial windows that lead to Western Frost or Northern Lands soon. Eastern Cloud would be the last resort.

Even with limited amount of energy crystals, Ye Chong decided to go ahead with building the pulsed signal relay station. It was simply too important for the stronghold. As for the matter of re-stocking energy crystals, if Eastern Cloud was not willing to sell them to him, he would take them by force. Ye Chong considered the latter as a viable alternative. Even though he had grown familiar with Sun Sieha, he would not hesitate to rob the King.

Seven days later, a tall metal structure towered over the stronghold. The students watched with intrigue. The pulsed signal relay station was 135 metres tall, visible from afar. The red blinking light at the peak of the tower was like a beacon in the dark sky of Darkniss.

The pulsed signal relay station was not the handiwork of Ye Chong alone. Aside from the initial design, he had left most of the work to his apprentices. Ye Chong only needed to teach them how to use the complicated equipment. He would repeat his teachings to them for as many times as necessary. These people were the backbone of the technical division, and must be nurtured with care.

The pulsed signal relay station took longer than he expected to complete, but Ye Chong considered it worth the effort.

In the following days, Ye Chong continued to work on other projects. He built a good quantity of improved Hummingbirds. These drones were larger than the original version, and could fly longer. Each improved Hummingbird was fitted with a miniature holographic scanning system. The drone would be able to perform scans and send the result back to base.

The improved Hummingbirds allowed them to explore Darkniss on a larger scale. The drones cost little, and were easy to make. Since exploring Darkniss was a long term operation, the Hummingbirds were not fitted with any defenses. If it was to encounter an aerial creature like the gold-striped black dragon, it would most likely be destroyed. That was only a small trouble for Ye Chong. The Hummingbirds were used primarily to avoid human casualties.

Hence, Ye Chong took to building 100 improved Hummingbirds, and then released 50 of them into the wilderness. He also set up a comms station in the stronghold, and assigned some students to the place. Ye Chong was confident that he would uncover all the secrets of Darkniss with the improved Hummingbirds flying out there,.

…

Deep in the purple mist, Rui Bing and Sang Kan ran and ran. Rui Bing’s Guardian still gleamed without blemish in its characteristic gold. Sang Kan carried Aried on his back and trailed behind Rui Bing.

For the past few days, the trio had left a bloody path in their wake.

Madam Rui Bing was strong! Guardian was strong!

Sang Kan had to give it to her. His help was not needed so far. The red-tailed beasts were not a threat to Madam Rui Bing at all. Most of all, Rui Bing had good endurance, never showing any signs of faltering.

Sang Kan was not afraid of the red-tailed beasts that came for them. Compared to the Beast Stampede, this was child’s play.

This was Day Five. They had been running in the purple mist for five days. Sang Kan did not need a watch to know how much time had passed.

The red-tailed beasts here were not powerful. In fact, they were pitifully weak. The flesh nests did not look right too, but the three of them could not spare time to ponder on their observations. Their priority was to get out of the purple mist as soon as possible.

In the past few days, Rui Bing had killed many, many red-tailed beasts. This was probably why there were fewer of them attacking in the last two days.

Thus, they advanced much faster than before.

The purple mist was now growing thinner. It was encouraging news for all of them, and they hurried along the way. Aried was having the easiest time of the three. He was shocked at first, carried on Sang Kan’s back, but had slowly gotten used to it. Mostly, he occupied himself with his own thoughts, and then went to sleep when he got tired.

“Sang Kan had wide, comfortable shoulders to rest on! What a good student I found myself,” Aried mused to himself.

Rui Bing and Sang Kan both had good stamina, but all the running in the past few days was taking a toll on them. Rui Bing had to fight on top of running, and she was beginning to look tired.

On Day 10, they finally emerged from the purple mist.

Rui Bing and Sang Kan looked back at the purple mist, feeling very much relieved. Aried yawned indulgently on Sang Kan’s back.

The three of them rested for a while, and then continued on their way.

The terrain began to transform again. Instead of an endless stretch of flat land, there were now mountain ranges around them. Curiously, some of the mountains were bald, but others were covered with lush greenery. There was a sense of discord in seeing these mountains in between each other.

Rui Bing and Sang Kan exchanged a look, and saw the wariness in each other’s eyes. The stranger a place looked like, the more likely it was to harbor strange things, and these strange things were more often than not dangerous to them.

Suddenly, they heard a scuffling sound from one of the bald mountains some distance away. There was a cloud of dust on that same mountain.

The two exchanged a look, and decided to investigate. They were near the dust cloud in no time. On Sang Kan’s back, Aried yawned again and proceeded to nap.

When Rui Bing and Sang Kan went closer, they saw that it was actually two wild animals fighting.

However, both Rui Bing and Sang Kan, who were not frightened by anything they had encountered in the purple mist, found themselves alarmed by what they saw.

>>>Dear readers,

here were two wild animals fighting. They looked like panthers, but with a small patch of white hair on their forehead. Rui Bing and Sang Kan had never seen such a strong panther. These two were deep into the fight, too absorbed to notice the two human observers near them.

They were strong and quick, leaving holes in the ground wherever they fought. Even rocks around them were vulnerable. Just a single swipe from their paws could smash the rocks into pieces. The panthers dashed around like heavyweight mechs, shaking the ground beneath them.

One of the panthers was flung against a cliff. Huge rocks rained down from above, kicking up a cloud of dust everywhere. Through the dust, Rui Bing and Sang Kan heard roaring from both panthers, and the sound of rocks crushing. The low rumbling sounds of impact were terrifying.

Both panthers were facing off against each other in a fierce battle, but Aried was still snoring lightly on Sang Kan’s back.

To their surprise, the fight between the two leopards did not end conclusively. After a stalemate that lasted for minutes, both animals left the field simultaneously.

When they were far away, Sang Kan heaved a long sigh of relief. “What powerful animals! Even back in the Archipelago, we don’t see many that are so strong. Additionally, they look intelligent.” The Sang Tribe was experienced in fighting wild animals. They had a better understanding of wildlife than normal people.

Sang Kan was complimenting the panther animals. He had seen many wild creatures, and hunted almost all of them, but never had he seen such powerful panthers. The Sang Tribe had always respected strong creatures. Of course, this did not mean they would hold back when fighting against said creatures.

Rui Bing said nothing. She was still nervous from their encounter with the two strong panthers. They had extraordinary strength and speed. Their intelligence made them terrible foes to deal with.

The two panthers also made Rui Bing and Sang Kan more nervous, despite having left the purple mist.

They advanced more carefully. Even though there did not seem to be many of these panther animals, who knew what other creatures lived here?

The long mountain ranges were interspersed with barren and green mountain peaks. This phenomenon did not scare them. Back in the Archipelago, there were much scarier things like strong gravity regions. Besides, there was nothing much they can do except to move forward.

They moved quickly but carefully, for fear of drawing the attention of native wildlife. These creatures could survive despite living near the red-tailed beasts. It showed how strong they were. They must be extra careful now, moving in the territory of these unknown creatures, or suffer the consequences.

Fortunately, with the dense foliage around them and Sang Kan’s experience as a hunter, their problem of food and water was promptly solved. Sang Kan could always find some tasty wild fruits or other food sources for them. Rui Bing and Aried, both inexperienced in surviving in the wild, enjoyed their food.

They dared not build a fire to grill meat, to avoid attracting the attention of strong wild creatures. Those two panthers they encountered earlier would have been enough trouble to deal with, even with Rui Bing’s Guardian. Besides, Aried could hardly defend himself. If it was just Rui Bing herself, she would not have needed to be so careful.

The mountain ranges stretched further than expected. They could only see mountains all around them. Every time they crossed one mountain, another would come into view. Fortunately, they did not encounter anything stronger than the two panthers they saw earlier.

Their journey was long and uninteresting. They crossed the mountains day after day for three months, but still remained within the mountainous region. The weather changed unpredictably, being stormy in one moment, then windy in the next. Even Sang Kan was wet all over, much less his teacher, Aried. Rui Bing, however, had Guardian to shield her.

Soon, Aried fell sick, perhaps due to the rain. This put their travels to a halt. Aried was old. It would be dangerous if he was left untreated for too long. Since they had no medication in hand, Sang Kan had to find suitable plants in the forest to treat him.

Aried’s temperature fluctuated wildly. He was now barely conscious. Rui Bing and Sang Kan worried for him. They found a cave and settled down.

…

Ye Chong kept a firm hand on the stronghold’s expansion. The students took turns going out to seek battle, and the results were apparent. As more and more real combatants were produced, the overall battle capacity of his army increased significantly. From the highest casualty rate of 20 percent at the beginning, they were now able to reduce their casualty rate down to nearly zero. The students got more and more used to fighting. However, there were now only 4700 students left in the stronghold.

Currently, there would be students heading out for battle every day. They would bring back with them the animals that they hunted. The wild game was delicious, much tastier than the basic nutrition in the stronghold. As a result, the students became more motivated to head outside for battle experience.

With the aid of the improved Hummingbirds, exploratory work into Darkniss progressed quickly. For now, Ye Chong had already increased the coverage area by 125 times compared to when he first started. However, the operation had also cost Ye Chong more than three thousand improved Hummingbirds.

Ye Chong did not find the spatial window to Western Frost, but he did find the one that led to Northern Lands. This was an important discovery, as it would directly affect the future of the stronghold.

The war between Eastern Cloud and Western Frost did not extend to Northern Lands. Ye Chong had already found seven shooters in Darkniss, and he had held them all captive. Without fighter aircrafts, the shooters were defenseless against their mechs.

Life in the stronghold was structured. Even though it felt a little dull to some of the students, most of them were happy with their current situation. They were living the dream of their lives, achieving greater strength through their own hard work and earning respect from other people.

They no longer had the look of naivety or impulsiveness. They were steadier and more trusting of each other, working together in a tightly knit team. While their individual combat skills were not as good as the mech pilots Ye Chong once led, they still qualified as real combatants.

The stronghold was expanded once again. It now looked completely different from before. Thick metal armor covered the outer walls. The buildings looked modern, including a tall pulsed signal relay station. Mechanical work stations were built in neat lines. The stronghold was interspersed with training grounds here and there …

Su City looked like a small, backwards village in comparison. The students were proud of their new home. The shooters that Ye Chong abducted hated him at first, but slowly eventually warmed up to the power that lied within this mysterious stronghold.

Only the strongest could be at the top of the food chain. This was the rule wherever one went, including Western Frost and Northern Lands. Those who were accepted to serve the strong would see their service as an honor. Learning was highly encouraged in the stronghold. The students interacted with each other frequently and openly. It was hard to find another place like this outside. Shooters usually kept their knowledge of parapsychic control to themselves. They would only ever discuss it with their students or people they were very close to. Here in the stronghold, the shooters could look up many theories on parapsychic control. Sha Ya told them that it was the work of their commander. Besides, Sha Ya herself had shared her own ideas generously with them. Thus, the shooters quickly fell in love with the place.

The fact was, open communication was very helpful in improving the skills of a shooter.

The only complaint the shooters had was the physical training. They could not understand it – why would shooters need to train their bodies? Every time someone raised the issue, Ye Chong felt like bringing them to Mei Wu, a Level 9 shooter even more powerful than Xuan Ning. However, considering their current circumstances, he would have to put the thought on hold. Fortunately, here in the stronghold, no one dared to disobey him. Even Sha Ya would diligently commit herself to physical training. She had seen Mei Wu’s incredible skills, and so felt more driven to train herself.

Mechs were not suitable for these shooters. Ye Chong prepared Combat Spiders for them instead. These Spiders were smaller than the original model, and more flexible in motion. It was meant for a solo pilot, and fitted powerful weapons, a shooting system and a holographic scanning system to aid them. This greatly improved their capacity as combatants.

Never waste combat resources – that was Ye Chong’s principle.

…

A thousand mechs fell in formation in front of Ye Chong. This was now a mature army with structured leadership. Through actual combat experience, the current thousand-strong mech army was formed. The other students watched jealously at their peers. Those students were personally chosen by their commander. They knew that this was a very important mission. Their commander would be leading them personally. It had been a long time since their commander took the helm. The fact that their commander had finally stepped up told them how important the mission was.

Besides the one thousand mechs, Ye Chong also had 10 Combat Spiders with him, led by Sha Ya. The rest were Transport Spiders, carrying goods. There was a massive troop of 800 Transport Spiders in total. The stronghold had enough resources to overwhelm their warehouse. They must find a way to exchange extra resources for other necessary goods.

Ye Chong decided to stock everything in the warehouse into the Transport Spiders.

The massive troop formation moved out towards the spatial window that led to Northern Lands.

Due to the combat exercises they were having all this while, nearly all the wild animals around the stronghold were wiped out. Where once there were animals popping out frequently, now it was simply quiet.

However, the students were already used to it. Two months ago, they had started to venture further away to hunt those delicious wild beasts.

The wild creatures of Darkniss were smart, and avoided the massive troop formation from far away. Those that survived their encounters with mechs panicked even more. They quickly moved further into Darkniss.

After seven days of flight, the troop reached the spatial window to Northern Lands. They had already set up surveillance devices nearby. They would be able to see anyone who tried to enter Darkniss from here.

With seven shooters from Northern Lands leading the way, the troops maneuvered its way safely through the dangers along the way.

After 14 days of flight and on foot, they finally reached one of the cities near Darkniss, called Ganming City. Ganming City was famed for producing a kind of high quality wooden material known as Gan wood.

“The trading volume is too big. We need to discuss with the merchants first. I don’t think there’s anyone around who can take all we have,” Jin Weidong said, looking worried. He was the strongest of the seven shooters from Northern Lands, the one with the highest reputation. He was also only second in strength to Sha Ya amongst all the shooters under Ye Chong.

Ye Chong’s troops did not enter the city. They hid in the mountains nearby instead. There were too many of them, and would certainly raise a few eyebrows if they showed themselves. Besides, no one here had seen mechs before.

Ye Chong did not need to remind his students to set up their positions according to the terrain. This time, they were not facing vicious beasts, but more dangerous opponents – humans.

Three hours later, Ye Chong’s students had the mountain under control. They set up a temporary signal station that covered a radius of 2500 kilometres around them.

Jin Weidong’s advice was sound. Only tradesmen with large businesses can handle their request. Besides, the materials they wanted in exchange can only be obtained from such tradesmen.

There were not many large scale businesses in Ganming City. They would have to venture to further cities to find suitable merchants.

>>>Dear readers,

he Spiders could not be brought along, of course. Ye Chong settled for taking 10 shooters with him. The students had no dimension keystones for their mechs, and could not follow Ye Chong with the machines outside. 200 of the mechs lifted off and went high up into the sky. The mechs had protection systems that shielded their pilots from the thin atmosphere at high altitudes. The students flew a few hundred kilometres above the ground. Mechs were hardly visible when they flew only dozens of meters above the ground. Even shooters in their fighters could not extend their parapsychic waves so far out.

These mechs were put in touch with Ye Chong through their comms. If Ye Chong was in danger, they would dive from the above surprise the enemy. These 200 mech pilots consisted of the best shooters in the stronghold. Many of them scored 95 or above in their sniper training, and some had even began to practice ultra-long distance sniping.

Ye Chong’s safety was almost guaranteed with his bodyguards above him.

Ye Chong brought the 10 shooters with him and went on his way.

They did not linger in Ganming City. With locals like Jin Dongwei leading the way, their journey went along smoothly. In fact, Ye Chong’s security detail was extravagant. Of the 10 shooters, the weakest shooter was Level 7, as most of them were Level 8. Sha Ya was already approaching a breakthrough. Her aura was intimidating, and even a short glance from her was terrifying.

When Level 8 shooters were approaching Level 9, their mental state would be strained. This would affect their personality and charisma. Xuan Ning, for example, was all gloomy and serious before he reached Level 9, but when he finally came through, all the suppression on his mind vanished.

Level 7 and 8 shooters were the strongest fighters that most people would encounter. Even the Royals and nobles rarely had many with them. Shooters were aplenty, but the strong ones were rare. It was plain to passers-by that the shooters protecting Ye Chong were strong. They could not help but wonder who Ye Chong was.

Fortunately, here in Northern Lands, no one recognized Sha Ya, or Ye Chong’s identity would have been exposed.

Ye Chong did not know how much he was standing out right now. Sha Ya and the other shooters did not anticipate it as well. When Jin Dongwei and his comrades noticed the odd glances they were getting, they realized their mistake. However, when they look back and saw Ye Chong’s indifference, they thought this was his intention all along, and did not speak up.

They did not now that Ye Chong simply did not care about how other people saw him.

Among all the shooters, Sha Ya was the only one who understood Ye Chong. However, she had problems of her own. She looked impatient, which was almost unheard of in strong shooters, known for their calmness. There was an urge in her gut that she could not resolve. She felt more and more pressured, and this made her agitated. She knew that she needed an opportunity, like the one when Xuan Ning was nearly killed by Ye Chong. However, Sha Ya lacked that kind of opportunity right now. This made her even more agitated, and the aura emanating off her changed as a result.

She was the strongest of the 10 shooters. Her aura was unintentional, but shocking. No one dared to stay within three meters around her. Even the Level 8 shooter, Jin Dongwei, kept his distance.

Being sensitive to parapsychic waves, Ye Chong noticed Sha Ya’s condition, but he could not help her with it. Sha Ya was like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

The fact that Sha Ya was improving so quickly was directly related to Ye Chong. He had described his battle with Xuan Ning in detail to her, and then brought her into Darkniss, leading to their encounter with the powerful Mei Wu. Mei Wu’s method of combat was curious to Ye Chong, but an important eye opener for Sha Ya.

Ye Chong’s security detail of strong shooters had already put him on the spot, but Sha Ya’s dangerous aura drew even more attention from the people around thm.

When Ye Chong’s group walked the streets, Sha Ya’s dangerous aura silenced all the noisy bargaining sounds around them. It was only when they left that the people wiped their foreheads, covered with sweat, as they looked at the backs of the scary group of people before continuing on with their bargaining. Sha Ya was like a legendary sword of immense power, surprising anyone who had their eyes on her.

Ye Chong and his shooters advanced quickly, since people all gave way to the group.

They were heading towards Maroon City, the largest and wealthiest place in the vicinity. It was also an important city in Northern Lands, with strong military presence.

The journey to Maroon City cannot be made on foot. They would have to fly in aircrafts. Jin Dongwei and the other seven locals had retrieved their fighters from Ganming City’s landing field. Sha Ya, Albinia and Lorest had to rent three aircrafts. Jin Dongwei footed the bill, for he was well-to-do and a generous man.

Ye Chong and Sha Ya shared their transport. Sha Ya’s aura was unsettling to other people, but hardly an itch to Ye Chong.

Maroon City was much larger than Ganming City, and with more people. Aircrafts and fighters cut across the skies continuously. The landing field was busy. Ye Chong and his group had to wait for five minutes to get the all-clear for landing.

Maroon City’s perimeter walls were made of a kind of dark red colored rock. When Ye Chong and his people finally touched down, they were just in time for sunset. The evening rays spilled over the rocks like raging fire.

Once they were in Maroon City, they could feel the life radiating from the place. The streets were wide, and full of people. There were more strong shooters here, much more than in Ganming City. Sha Ya’s strong aura was still noticeable. Stronger shooters were more likely to appreciate the power and significance of her aura.

In terms of lavishness, Maroon City was comparable to Su City. The people dressed in excessive and luxurious fashion. Even the buildings looked extravagant. The hotel that Ye Chong and his group checked in was even more luxurious than Sun Sieha’s quarters before he was made King.

Jin Weidong seemed to read Ye Chong’s mind. He explained with a bitter smile, “Northern Lands is prospering. With the recent good weather, our people are able to live without worries. As our borders remain peaceful, the King and government officials take to indulging themselves in pleasure. This profligate lifestyle has spread throughout Northern Lands in recent years.” The other shooters from Northern Lands were silent. This was their country. Even though they were unhappy with the Royal household, they were still concerned with the fate of their country.

Ye Chong nodded in agreement and made no comment. Western Frost was a cold wasteland, but its people were strong and resilient. Eastern Cloud always had an inclination for combat, and was now led by an ambitious King, Sun Sieha. While Western Frost and Eastern Cloud were now at war, the victorious party would definitely be coming for Northern Lands next.

All this did not matter to him, however. Northern Lands was a land of plenty, and that worked to his favor.

Ye Chong said nothing more for the rest of the night.

Early on the second day, Jin Weidong brought Ye Chong to the Yu Family’s Establishment. The Yu Family was the biggest supplier of raw materials in Maroon City, and one of the largest trading companies in Northern Lands. Word was the family had a good relationship with the local military.

“Yu Family’s Establishment” – these three words were etched deeply into the signage outside the building. There were no fancy introductions, but the sign left a strong impression.

The person who ushered them was a friend of Jin Weidong. When the man saw the shooter, he laughed. “Old Jin, didn’t you go to Darkniss? How’d you find the time to visit this store? Did you found yourself something interesting?”

The man was warm and courteous. He had a supple body, with a small beardy patch on his chin that lent him a scholarly air. He was surprised by the sight of Ye Chong, surrounded by all the shooters, but quickly contained his emotions. “And this is?”

Jin Weidong smiled and introduced, “This is my master, Mr Ye. We’re here to offer a large business with your establishment.” He said to Ye Chong, “Sir, this is Mr Yu Changqing, one of the managers of the Yu Family, and an old friend of mine.”

Ye Chong bowed in greeting. “Mr Yu.”

Yu Changqing quickly returned the gesture. “Oh, let’s not be too formal. Come in, come in.” He gestured for Ye Chong and his guards to enter.

In the waiting room, Ye Chong seated down. Yu Changqing treated him with a very expensive drink – the Cleansing Sip. No details were discussed yet, but he could see that this was a very important customer.

“I’m here to sell this.” Ye Chong never beated around the bush. He produced a metal block.

It was a rectangular block of pure metal that gave off a dazzling lustre.

Yu Changqing hummed quietly in surprise and took the metal block in his hands. He studied it closely and said, “I’ve never seen an ore so purified. The shape is angular, from processing, I believe.” Yu Changqing sounded intrigued, but he was secretly disappointed. Was this the business that Jin Weidong was referring to? Pure ores like this were hard to find, and considered to be highly valuable. However, this tiny block was hardly a large business.

Ye Chong said, “Mr Yu, please evaluate the worth of this ore.”

“Gravstones are rare, you can’t find them easily in the market, but a pure like this is even rarer.” Yu Changqing considered for a moment, and then offered, “This piece of gravestone is worth 500 thousand ao thereabouts.”

“I see. How much can your establishment accept?”

Yu Changqing paused in confusion, then jolted eagerly. “Does Mr Ye have many of these gravstones?”

Ye Chong nodded without a word.

“How many more?” Yu Changqing asked carefully.

“Many.”

“A thousand?” Yu Changqing tried again.

“More.”

“10 thousand?” Yu Changqing continued to ask, feeling a little anxious.

“More.”

“50 thousand?” Yu Changqing looked shaken.

Ye Chong finally stopped with his suspenseful single-word replies and nodded.

Yu Changqing inhaled sharply. He had never dealt with such a large transaction before. His heart jumped wildly.

Just then, Sha Ya turned abruptly to look behind her inside the waiting room. After a while, she looked away.

Yu Changqing inhaled deeply and turned solemn. “You are not joking, Mr Ye.”

Ye Chong shook his head. “No.”

Yu Changqing tried to calm himself down and composed his thoughts. “If we’re talking about so many gravstones, we cannot offer a price as high as when selling a single item.”

“How much?” Ye Chong asked.

Yu Changqing cleared his throat and said, “350 thousand for each item, at most.”

“Alright.” Ye Chong did not try to bargain.

Yu Changqing kept his ecstatic joy to himself. He then offered hesitantly, “We also hope to become Mr Ye’s exclusive buyer.” He explained, “If so many gravstones become available in the market so quickly, the price will drop. I believe that is not something Mr Ye would wish for.”

Ye Chong nodded again. “Alright.”

“As for payment,” Yu Changqing continued hesitantly, “We can only pay in installments. Since the amount involved for 50 thousand gravstones is huge, we cannot produce so much cash in time.”

Ye Chong shook his head this time, and Yu Changqing’s heart skipped a beat. However, the former’s next words brought a smile to Yu Changqing’s face again. “I don’t want cash. Your payment will be made in terms of other goods.”

Ye Chong produced a long list of items for Yu Changqing.

The man studied the list meticulously up until the last item, and then said, “This shouldn’t be a problem. However, I need to discuss with the other managers to finalize our contract.”

Ye Chong nodded. “Alright.” He then left with his bodyguards to return to their hotel.

When they finally left the shop, Yu Changqing quickly returned to the waiting room. The empty waiting room now had another occupant. The man had long, narrow eyes and an aquiline nose. His expression was cold.

“Did you figure them out?” Yu Changqing sat down heavily and massaged his temples.

“They’re strong!” he man with the aquiline nose said coldly. “All of them were at least Level 7. The woman is the strongest! She noticed me, even without using her parapsychic waves.”

Yu Changqing was shocked. “That’s impossible! How can she notice you without her parapsychic sense? Surely it’s a coincidence?”

“The woman is strong!” The man ignored Yu Changqing. “Jin Weidong had also improved. What do they want?”

Yu Changqing recalled the items on the list. “Energy crystals, mainly. Food, and some other more expensive raw materials.”

The other man looked suspicious. “What do they need so many energy crystals for?”

“I don’t know.” Yu Changqing shook his head. He could not understand them either.

“What do you think of the deal?” The other man asked.

“I think it’s workable.” Yu Changqing was calmer now. “Gravstones are rare materials. If we keep its supply under control, gravestone prices should not fluctuate too much. They’re selling it cheaply, and they only want other goods in exchange. We benefit from both parts, and it’s a huge sum.”

The other man went quiet for a while before saying, “Discuss the details with them tomorrow. I will look into their backgrounds.”

Yu Changqing nodded.

>>>Dear readers,

“That’s the seventh.” Lotesh whistled and smiled. The number of spies around them had spiked in numbers, and some of them were even trying to force their way in.

Lotesh thought they were idiots. No one would miss what Level of shooters everyone in the group was. They must be suicidal to attempt to break in. Besides, the intruders were all average amateurs; he could deal with all of them himself.

Unlike Lotesh, who was basking in his own ego, the other shooters in the hotel room looked concerned. Ye Chong simply looked calm. Things were progressing rather unexpectedly. Usually, people would hesitate to challenge a group of their caliber. Now, however, they were having close to a dozen spies around them, all of whom were incompetent.

Jin Dongwei and his experienced comrades could tell that was amiss.

Sha Ya abruptly opened her eyes, and spoke up with her hoarse voice, “Soldiers incoming.” At the same moment, Ye Chong received a live feed from the mech pilots hovering high above him.

There were about 500 soldiers, looking ready for battle. The people in the streets looked shocked, and stepped aside to give them passage. Northern Lands had been peaceful for a very long time. The people had seen such a large military platoon in recent times.

“We’re leaving,” Ye Chong announced.

The shooters exchanged looks, and followed him.

“Kill the spies.” Ye Chong’s order was delivered in a plain but cold voice.

Jin Dongwei and his men prepared themselves, their laser guns out and ready to fire. Parapsychic waves radiated out from their group.

The parapsychic waves from three Level 7 shooters and seven Level 8 shooters radiated out simultaneously like a deadly tsunami. The parapsychic waves were a warning for anyone who dared to move against them.

Spies who ignored the warning found a laser beam shot straight through their brains.

No one had seen such a rampant group of people before. The strong warning behind their parapsychic waves stopped anyone for stepping up to speak with them. Northern Land shooters had mostly felt complacent. Aside from those were determined to hone themselves, most shooters were not as mentally strong as their Eastern Cloud and Western Frost counterparts.

It was not hard to imagine what would happen when a flock of sheep were to be met with a group of vicious butchers.

Maroon City was an important city in Northern Lands. There were many capable shooters, at Level 7 or 8, in the area, but these capable shooters preferred to be more careful. They stayed in the background and watched, and would not get involved without good reason. To them, Ye Chong’s group was a mystery, and too strong to casually mess with.

Ye Chong and his group exited from the backdoor of the hotel and ran. The 10 shooters stopped spreading their parapsychic waves, and the group vanished without a trace.

The people around the hotel dared not probe with their parapsychic waves for fear of retaliation from their aggressive opponents. Those were experienced with this kind of situation would realize that the best course of action for now was to do nothing at all.

The group ran along the back alleys. Their physical training back in their stronghold was now put to good use. The shooters would not have managed to run like this before their training.

The back alleys twisted and turned. Soon, even Ye Chong could not figure out where they were heading. He was about to reach for a map of Maroon City when a few strong parapsychic waves encompassed them.

Sha Ya hummed coldly and lifted her laser gun. A single laser beam shot through the walls, and someone inside shouted in pain.

“You’re good!” A low and solemn male voice commented from the shadows.

A few men walked out of the shadows of a building nearby. They were led by the man with an aquiline nose at the Yu Family’s Establishment. He was now smiling coldly. Around him were half a dozen shooters, all studying Ye Chong’s group without fear.

“I was wondering, who in the world could have 10 strong shooters as bodyguards? Never did I imagine that you are Eastern Cloud’s Chief Weaponsmith, Master Ye.” The man spoke slowly, looking pleased with himself.

“No wonder you have gravstones of such high purity. Tsk tsk, the Heavenly Gods have smiled upon our Yu Family! Compared to Master Ye, what’s 50 thousand gravstones? I just didn’t expect Master Ye to be so vigilant and decisive. Impressive! My presence would not have been required otherwise.” The man with the aquiline nose was all compliments, but his eyes were shining with triumph.

“The soldiers are closing in on us,” Jin Dongwei warned Ye Chong quietly.

It was obvious what the man with the aquiline nose was trying to do – he wanted to stall Ye Chong, and he had the right people to accomplish this. The shooters around him were all at least Level 7. When it came to an actual battle, they would not be a match for Ye Chong’s group, but stalling the group would not be difficult.

As the soldiers came closer and closer, they could now hear the steady rhythmic sound of footsteps from behind them. Time was running out. The soldiers were only another turn away from Ye Chong and his group.

The man with the aquiline nose was pleased with himself. Everyone knew how powerful this Master Ye was. He was known as the best weaponsmith in the world. The man played an important role in emboldening Eastern Cloud to challenge Western Frost in an all-out war. Eastern Cloud encountered little resistance in the war because of their weapons. The country’s cannon arrays were terrifyingly powerful. This outcome was all because of Master Ye.

If the Yu Family could get its hands on him, the Family would become a power of no equal in Maroon City. The city’s military was already under the Yu Family’s control. This man could potentially help the Yu Family overturn the current government and begin its reign over Northern Lands.

The man with the aquiline nose looked at Ye Chong with fervent eyes.

Ye Chong was unmoved by all of it. He slowly activated his comms device. The man with the aquiline nose had never seen the device before. He was curious but remained vigilant. He had enough strength on his side to stall his opponents, but winning was out of the question.

He needed just another half minute, and it would all be over.

“High explosive grenades, wide coverage!” Ye Chong said quietly and without much emotion, but the man with the aquiline nose could sense that something was wrong. He did not have time to consider the implications of Ye Chong’s words, for a very powerful parapsychic wave had locked onto him in the next moment.

Sha Ya’s eyes glowed intensely.

The man with the aquiline nose had been wary of his opponents, so he reacted quickly. He released his parapsychic waves as well. Two strong parapsychic waves superposed each other. The air around them turned unstable.

Jin Dongwei and his comrades were surprised. They did not imagine that the man with the aquiline nose was on par with Sha Ya. The other shooters on the enemy’s side were also surprised by Sha Ya’s strength.

Sha Ya had been trying to suppress her urge to fight for the past few days, but she could finally unleash herself now. Her opponent was taken aback by her willingness to fight, and immediately upped his game as well with his parapsychic waves.

It was an intense clash of wills between two powerful shooters! The air around them became unstable. Jin Dongwei and his comrades dared not unleash their own parapsychic waves.

These two Level 8 shooters were about to reach Level 9. There was a qualitative difference in their parapsychic waves. This trade of blows was truly magnificent. The particles in the air vibrated, creating a blurry vision for anyone within range.

Creak crack! The walls around them began to crack. The cracks spread out more and more like a spider web. Boom! A loud sound was heard. The walls around them exploded into pieces, spraying debris all over them.

The other shooters were caught in the aftermath. They dared not move, and could only stand still like puppets while tiny brick fragments were sent flying all around them, leaving lines of scars on their face and hands.

Sha Ya and the man with the aquiline nose were deep into battle when the students high above in the air received Ye Chong’s instructions.

“High explosive grenades! Targets are grids H-36 to H-38. Wide coverage attack.”

The order was relayed to everyone in the squad. All the mechs adjusted their laser guns and locked onto their targets.

“On my mark.” Appilok no longer sounded like a naïve young man. He was now calm and steady.

The students placed their hands over the control console and held their breath.

“Open fire!” Appilok howled.

Two hundred pairs of hands moved.

Countless photon grenades rained down from the sky.

When the soldiers realized what was happening, it was already too late. They had nowhere to hide. The high explosive grenades landed right on top of them. The alley ways were narrow, and the soldiers were marching close to each other. The attack was devastating.

None of them survived! No one would have. About 3000 spheric high explosive grenades landed in the five-by-70 meter region within two seconds. The attack was powerful enough to wipe out the place many times over.

All of this happened within two seconds. When the dust finally settled, nothing was left. No building or brick survived, much less a person. There was a massive hole in the ground, where the moist yellow earth was smeared with flesh and blood. It was an eerie and shocking sight.

The powerful explosion happened just nearby; of course the man with the aquiline nose heard it. He knew now what Ye Chong’s words meant. He did now know where the grenades came from, but one thing was clear – the attack had turned the tables on them.

Jin Weidong and his comrades studied the man with the aquiline nose and his shooters with hostility.

Sha Ya noticed the emotional conflict in her opponent, and attacked without delay.

The man with the aquiline nose felt like he was falling into an abyss. Victory was so close, but he was suddenly condemned to defeat. The abrupt change in his position overwhelmed him, much more than the despair he was feeling right now.

He knew that he would not survive this. There was no chance of that. He could tell from the ruthless methods they had resorted to just now.

If that was the case, let them all die together! His gaze sharpened. He unleashed all the parapsychic strength he had in him without reserve.

Sha Ya paused in surprise, and then made her decision.

Ye Chong’s eyes narrowed. His vision was filled with dancing blue lines that flashed into and out of existence.

Jin Weidong and the other shooters realized something was wrong. They sensed great danger approaching.

Boom! The man with the aquiline nose exploded!

His parapsychic energy propelled his body parts as they flew outwards like blades. In his final moments, he unleashed power that could only come from a Level 9 shooter! His parapsychic energy was now in solid form. The tiny pieces of flesh were flying faster than any average human could see.

Sha Ya felt the danger coming towards them. Suddenly, she cried out loudly and gathered all her parapsychic energy in front of her.

Everything in Ye Chong’s vision seemed to slow down. He could see all the tiny pieces of parapsychic energy in front of him despite how fast they were moving. The blue lines in his vision stopped moving so quickly as well.

Ye Chong moved as fast as the wind. He intercepted two pieces of parapsychic energies with his dagger. One of them was flying towards Jin Weidong’s heart, and the other towards Lotesth’s throat.

Cling clang! Ye Chong’s wrist shook a little from the impact.

Sha Ya’s hair stood up. Her eyes glared terrifyingly.

Wham! Sha Ya was sent flying backwards, three metres away from where she was standing. She received the bulk of the attack, and fell unconscious from the blow.

Stab! Shunk! Shluk! There were sounds of weapons going through flesh. The shooters on the side of the man with the aquiline nose suffered the most. Their bodies were covered with holes. Blood gushed out from various parts of their bodies. The light in their despairing eyes slowly went out.

What a terrible attack!

Ye Chong was the only who was unhurt. If Ye Chong had not blocked a few of the parapsychic energy pieces coming towards them, there would have been at least three deaths on their side. However, every one of them was now suffering from injuries of various degrees.

Sha Ya was unconscious as well. They had suffered a heavy loss.

>>>Dear readers,

Ye Chong was rarely ever truly angry, but this time he felt p*ssed off. The Yu Family! His expression was still as cold as before, but his eyes betrayed the deep apathy that he felt towards his enemy. He lifted his head and looked towards a nearby corner.

“To think that Yu Ze was capable of such a powerful attack just before his death. As expected from the Yu Family’s ace. It’s a pity …” An old man stepped out from the corner. He had white hair and wrinkles all over his face. Despite his obvious aging, his eyes were still sharp.

Ye Chong coldly studied his opponent. He could sense an aura from this old man that was similar to the one he found on Huang Baiyi. Huang Baiyi had a very unique aura that Ye Chong remembered very well.

The old man took a long look at Ye Chong and solemnly said, “No need to be nervous, Master Ye. I am Yan Zhongli. As a representative of Maroon City’s Yan Family, I would like to offer a deal with Master Ye.”

Ye Chong took a glance at Jin Weidong. Jin Weidong whispered by his ear, “The Yan Family is the second largest aristocratic family in Maroon City, second only to the Yu Family, although they have always kept a lower profile. Yan Zhongli is one of the famous elders of the Yan Family. His strength is unknown.” Jin Weidong had a close shave with death today. If Ye Chong had not blocked that fatal piece of parapsychic energy towards him, he would have died for sure. Nevertheless, he was still injured. His left shoulder was punctured, and he looked very pale.

Ye Chong returned his attention to the old man. He was not afraid of him. The old man had an aura similar to Huang Baiyi, but he was still lacking compared to the mentalist.

“Our Family would like to discuss about the 50 thousand gravstones that Master Ye was going to sell to the Yu Family. Our Family would like to establish a long-term business relationship with Master Ye.” The old man was neither haughty nor humble. He seemed to be very capable in these matters.

“As for the terms of the arrangement, Master Ye will not have to worry. We will follow the terms that you have agreed with the Yu Family. What do you think?”

Ye Chong looked at the old man and asked about something else, “Have you started attacking the Yu Family?”

The old man did not look uncomfortable by his inquiry. “Master Ye reads the situation well. The Yu Family is wealthy, but they do not have a strong foundation. In fact, they had allocated almost all their best people in order to secure Master Ye. We expected Master Ye to have contingencies against this situation, but we did not expect them to be so overbearing. As such, we had to modify our plans. I believe the Yu Family should be taken down by now.” The old man spoke with great confidence.

Ye Chong felt his heart went cold. Few people knew about the business between him and the Yu Family. That the Yan Family could know so much meant that they had a spy deeply embedded within the Yu Family. The Yan Family had plans, and the patience to carry these plans. They responded accordingly when things went south for their enemy. The Yan Family was truly powerful! Ye Chong’s anger vanished quickly. He knew that with the Yan Family’s capability, the Yu Family would be thoroughly wiped out.

Ye Chong took a long look at the old man, and then expressionlessly said, “Alright. The deal will be Ganming City.” Ye Chong helped his fellow injured shooters up and led them away.

“We will be there.” The old man’s reply came from far behind him.

Ye Chong did not delay their departure. They left Maroon City as soon as possible. Maroon City was already in chaos, but the Yan Family had started bringing back order to the city. “It is over. The Yu Family is over.” Ye Chong thought to himself. He brought everyone out of the city without hesitation.

Back in the wilderness, the mechs that protected Ye Chong from the sky came down and landed. Ye Chong and the shooters went on the mechs and flew back to their temporary camp outside Ganming City.

They had just got out of a pinch, and the shooters were still shaken from their experience. Since they received treatment in time, they were now firmly towards recovery. Sha Ya was still unconscious, but Ye Chong did not worry to much. Xuan Ning told him that it was normal.

All the medication in their base came from Ye Chong. The medication he prepared via alchemy was very effective. The students and shooters all loved them.

The Yan Family was highly efficient. Three days later, they arrived in Ganming City with all the supplies they promised.

As a sign of goodwill, they offered an additional 20 percent of goods at no charge. Ye Chong was relieved to see all the supplies they got. There was also a handsome young man among the Yan Family’s representatives.

Yan Zhongli smiled and made the introductions. “This is Yan Huan, of the Yan Family. I am too old to be travelling frequently. Yan Huan will be our point of contact for our business in future. Please take care of him, Master Ye.”

Yan Huan bowed respectfully to Ye Chong. He was informed by the head of the family beforehand that Master Ye was not to be offended.

The exchanged proceeded quickly. Since there was simply too much supplies, Ye Chong could not move them all at once. Thus, Yan Huan rented almost all the warehouses in Ganming City for Ye Chong to store his supplies. The lease was effective for three years, for Yan Huan was a shrewd businessman.

Jin Weidong represented Ye Chong in the business side of things. He acted diligently, prioritizing the interest of the whole over individual interests. He was also more familiar with Northern Lands.

Yan Huan proposed a new deal to Ye Chong through Jin Weidong. They would like to buy his cannon arrays, or similar technologies.

Ye Chong agreed without hesitation. He now had the means to mass produce items. If he did not put his production line to good use, it would only be a waste of space. Besides, Ye Chong found it easier to use metal alloys than wooden material to build the cannon arrays.

However, Ye Chong asked for something else in return. He wanted supplies, but also shooters, and Level 6 shooters in particular! Jin Weidong thought it was odd. What did his master want shooters for? In Darkniss, mech pilots were more useful than shooters. Even Level 7 and 8 shooters like them had limited power in Darkniss. In this new deal, it seemed that his master was asking for at least a few hundred Level 6 shooters. They all knew that their master was a strange man, but everything he did was for a reason. This request, however, was a mystery to them.

The Yan Family had a wide influence in their society. They agreed readily to the terms.

When Ye Chong and his people prepared for their return, all the Spiders were jam packed with supplies. Even Ye Chong’s dimension keystone was filled to the brim. His dimension keystone had reached its storage limit for the first time. Even so, half of the supplies were still in the warehouses in Ganming City.

After dealing with the matter, Ye Chong let Jin Weidong and a few men stay back to look after the remaining supplies. He then led the rest of the army back to their stronghold in Darkniss.

The trip back was uneventful. Ye Chong was happy with the fruits of their labor. They obtained the goods, and even found a long-term business partner. This would give them time to store enough supplies, especially energy crystals.

When they arrived at their stronghold, Sha Ya woke up. She had reached Level 9. Ye Chong was not surprised, but he offered his congratulations anyhow.

…

Rui Bing and her two companions continued their journey. She and Sang Kan were relieved to find that Aried was getting better already.

They walked for a long time, climbing an endless chain of mountain ridges. The further they went, the darker the surroundings. Daytime turned shorter, while nighttime stretched on longer.

Today, they reached total darkness. Darkness was always intimidating, but that was only true for Aried. Both Rui Bing and Sang Kan were strong-minded people who would not be fazed by darkness.

They continued their advance, hoping against hope. They did not know what laid ahead, but one thing was for sure – all the places they had been were suitable for human life.

Aried continued to think about how they could return to their world.

“We need to find a spatial window. The spatial dimension here is unstable. There must be another spatial window, somewhere. As long as we find that spatial window, our chances of returning will be improved.” Aried said carefully.

“By how much?” Sang Kan asked.

Aried did not tone things down for his student the way he would for Rui Bing. He glared at Sang Kan and said, “From one in a hundred million to one in ten million.”

Even Rui Bing was a little disappointed by the answer.

Aried noticed her disappointment. He hesitated for a while, and then continued, “I suspect that this is actually a world that leads to many others.”

Both Rui Bing and Sang Kan looked to Aried.

Aried continued carefully, “Of course, it’s just a hypothesis of mine. Hmm, a hypothesis that is not yet proven. The spatial dimension in this world must be lower than other worlds, that’s why the spatial windows came to be.”

Abruptly, Aried went off tangent. “We found red-tailed beasts here, right?”

Sang Kan nodded in puzzlement. “Yes. What’s that got to do with this?”

“You remember how the red-tailed beasts first appeared. They came through spatial windows. So, I think that this is very likely the homeworld of the red-tailed beasts. They were able to reach the He Yue Galaxy through spatial windows. I don’t know how many packs of red-tailed beasts there are now. Err, let’s call them hordes. How many tribes of red-tailed beasts do we have in the He Yue Galaxy?”

“Seven. Six, now.” Sang Kan’s reply came quickly. He followed the topic closely.

“Right, there are six now.” Aried continued. “This means that there are at least six spatial windows that lead to the He Yue Galaxy. Besides, if those are naturally occurring spatial windows, and if they were disrupted by interference, then they will reappear again after some period of time.”

Rui Bing broke her silence and asked, “How long will that be?”

“10 years, 20 years, it’s hard to say,” Aried replied without much commitment.

Even so, his words were encouraging to Rui Bing and Sang Kan, who were both starting to tire from their journey. There were six gateways to the He Yue Galaxy alone. This was good news indeed.

As they entered this dark territory, the terrain became flat, and the darkness loomed ever more intimidatingly. However, Sang Kan found the place to be very similar to the Sang Family Village. With the exception of the high gravity zones, this place was too much like the Sang Family Village. Sang Kan also made himself some primitive weapons that were typical of the Sang Tribe. The weapons were deadly tools in Sang Kan’s hands, for he was almost physically comparable to a Jie expert.

What awaited them ahead? Would it be darkness, or light?

…

The stronghold was still as organized as Ye Chong left it. The students were now carrying their battle practices deeper and deeper into Darkniss. The gateway to Western Frost was found, but Ye Chong did not plan to make use of it in the near future. He now had enough resources to last him awhile.

The metal alloy cannon arrays were built quickly. Not much technical skill was required to build this weapon. The alloy cannon arrays were exchanged for an endless stream of supplies. The stronghold warehouse was almost full. Expansion works for the warehouse continued every day.

Aside from the supplies, they also had new shooters. Who knew how the Yan Family got their hands on them? Ye Chong was certain that there must be some informants of the Yan Family mixed inside, but what did it matter? They would not understand his ambitions.

The shooters were all at least Level 6, and obviously military. That was exactly what Ye Chong wanted.

Ye Chong built two more strongholds, one at each of the entrances to Western Frost and Northern Lands. Each stronghold was manned with 500 mech pilots. He must protect himself with his own men.

After completing these two strongholds, Ye Chong relinquished his conservative approach and began to push his way deeper into Darkniss. He took control of the few places he knew to be rich in metal ores. He also visited Mei Wu’s dwelling, but did not find her there. Hence, Ye Chong had to bring the Spider back to his stronghold.

Ye Chong was not aware that his actions had thrown the natural territories of Darkniss’s inhabitants into disarray. Animals moved in hordes to the inner parts of Darkniss. They were not as strong as the animals in the inner parts, but they made up for it in numbers. The millennia old boundaries in Darkniss were disrupted. A new era of chaos was imminent.

Ye Chong did not have the time to notice the movements of these wild animals. He now had enough resources in his hands. Besides the metal ore sites that Mei Wu brought him to, he also located a few more places rich in metal ores.

This meant that the plan he had in mind could finally be set in motion.

>>>Dear readers,

Legend of the Supreme Soldier - Chapter 571-580