Chapter 601: Ambush (Part 2) [V6C131 - Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
Qianye fished out a large water bottle from Andruil's space and poured the spring-water-like sap into his mouth. The injury on his shoulder quickly closed up and began to heal. Moments later—his wounds gone and his origin power restored to its peak state—Qianye ran back without the slightest hesitation.
Eden's all-out attack couldn't kill Qianye, but similarly, Qianye's sniping had a limited effect on Eden. The key reason was still the fact that Thunderbolt was greatly inferior to Eden's extraordinary sniper rifle. But Qianye had a plan—if he couldn't kill in one shot, then all he needed was to strike a couple more times. In other words, Qianye was looking to exchange blows with the other party.
As the battles on the floating continent grew in ferocity, Evernight Continent enjoyed a rare moment of tranquility—few, if any, skirmishes took place.
The two factions had always been fighting to and fro on that abandoned land, but the recent years have seen the least peace of all time. It all started with Andruil's treasure, and then the bloody battle and Giant's Repose. Armies of millions had gathered on the continent toward the end, far surpassing the scale of a local battle.
The Evernight Continent of today had merely returned to its previous routine. The hunters lucky enough to have survived the wars could now explore the wilderness in relative safety. There were still a fair amount of valuable resources to be found around the battlefields. As such, large numbers of scavengers swarmed over every corner of the wilderness like ants. Some of the braver ones even snuck into the ruins of the Evernight main camp.
Blackflow City was no longer as bustling as it was during the war. The hyenlike mercenaries had all but left, for without battles, there were fewer opportunities for riches. However, development projects had been launched in the new territories pioneered by the Dark Flame independent battalion. With Blackflow City acting as the main base and frontline transit hub, there were still many opportunities for business.
The scale of Dark Flame had changed drastically compared to the past. Their numbers had surpassed thirty thousand following several expansions, and its core warriors had all been baptized by the flames of war. The headquarters had also been expanded time and again, gradually becoming a city within the city. Naturally, only twelve thousand soldiers were recorded in the expeditionary army's registers.
There was a small, elegant courtyard in a secluded corner of the headquarters. This was Qianye's residence, currently occupied by Nighteye alone.
It was currently a rare moment where one could see the sunshine. The beams waved through the leaves and lit up the courtyard with flickering golden spots. Nighteye was reading a book in the courtyard with a warm pot of tea sitting on the small table beside her.
She was dressed simply in a shirt, trousers, and a pair of comfortable low-heeled shoes. The disguised mask was still upon her face, hiding her true appearance. Even so, there was still a natural grace about her—it didn't quite register upon first glance but would attract everyone's eyes after some time.
A knock suddenly echoed from the outside, and soon, Song Zining walked in and sat down across from Nighteye.
The latter only glanced up once at him before looking back at her book. "Weren't you supposed to be at the front lines?"
"It makes no difference. The next phase of this war is a loss either way."
Nighteye glanced toward him with a frown. Song Zining's demeanor was one of thoughtlessness—he couldn't be less concerned about the country or its people.
He waved his fan about and said unhurriedly, "Blackflow City is the real family property. We earned all the money here with our own hands. Is there even a need to discuss which one is more important?"
"I heard your commander-in-chief this time isn't so easily fooled."
"You mean His Majesty Prince Greensun? I didn't try to fool him. Whatever he asks, I reply truthfully. Moreover, my rank is just nominal, no one even recruited me. It's not too late to join the battle after making ample arrangements here. All recent battles are bound to be lost anyway. Wouldn't I be staining my undefeated name if I go now?" Song Zining made no attempt to disguise his smile.
At this moment, he glimpsed at the leather cover of the book in Nighteye's hands. "Imperial History? You're actually reading this. Looks like you're looking to stay for a while in the empire?"
Nighteye nodded.
Song Zining looked over at the teapot nearby. He produced a can of teleaves with a flip of his hand and said, "This is great stuff. Yours truly spent quite a lot of effort to get it. But it can't be stored for very long and is best consumed as soon as possible."
Nighteye glanced at the can. "You didn't come over just to deliver a gift, did you?"
Song Zining's smile didn't disappear even after being called out. He promptly acted on the opportunity without a shred of embarrassment. "I indeed have a request. If I encounter some trouble in the future, I hope you can help me out once."
Nighteye looked up at Song Zining. Her eyes were completely unfathomable—Song Zining shivered at the sight of his own figure within them, and his smile grew rather unnatural.
Nighteye stared at him momentarily before lowering her gaze once more. "That, I can promise you. What else?"
Song Zining felt greatly relieved after Nighteye's gaze left his body. He leaned forward in a relaxed manner and said, "There's something else that's very important. I heard Your Majesty has a sister called Twilight? C-Can you introduce her to me?"
Nighteye was fairly astonished. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!"
Seeing Song Zining full of confidence, Nighteye didn't know what to say. She remained silent for a while before saying, "She'll definitely join the war on the floating continent. There, you'll get the opportunity to make her acquaintance. However… this opportunity might not be very safe."
"Rest assured, I won't do anything to her. She's definitely safe!" Song Zining smiled while flapping his fan.
Nighteye was speechless. "I'm more worried about you."
"She's just a vampire lady. How can yours truly fail to conquer her?" The seventh young master's fan danced swiftly.
Nighteye merely chuckled—she had no special feeling toward the term vampire lady. Song Zining laughed awkwardly for a moment before quickly putting away his frivolous demeanor. "Okay, I'll leave you to your reading. I'm off to attend to other matters."
Nighteye finished her current chapter after Song Zining left before looking over at the can of tea leaves on the table. This can was made from specialized materials, metallic on the outside while the interior was coated with jade. The contents couldn't be pried upon with one's perception. A receptacle capable of isolating the senses was also capable of preserving the aura within. It was fairly suitable for holding top-grade tea leaves.
Nighteye's slender fingers ran over the can and popped open the lid.
However, there were no teleaves inside. Instead, it was filled with ruby-like crystals. A tinge of blood flashed through her eyes upon seeing the high-grade essence blood—she had been starved for too long.
Moments later, Song Zining sat down in his office at the Dark Flame headquarters. The sun was flowing in through the window, imparting a hint of warmth to the entire room.
Song Zining sat in silence, seemingly thinking of something. He shook his head moments later and muttered, "Qianye, this bastard only knows how to bring me trouble! Let it be, this young master has been practicing the ancient art, Jasper Heart, of late. I'll start by practicing it on you two and reluctantly calculate your fortunes."
He placed an old wooden box on the table and spread out both his hands. All of a sudden, a layer of hazy green light flowed past his palms. The lid opened up as though an invisible hand were controlling it, revealing three jade slivers within. All of them were glistening with an intense jadeite hue, but their corners were round and smooth—who knew how many masters these items had seen?
Song Zining waited until the origin glow on his hands had faded away before bringing out the three jade slivers. His gaze flickered as he tossed the slivers onto the table, but just as he was about to read their positions, one of the jade slivers broke into two!
Song Zining was dazed momentarily, but then he let out a sudden groan as blood streamed out of his nostrils.
His countenance was pale as he wiped away the traces of blood in silence.
A knock came from the door at this moment.
"Enter." Song Zining's voice had recovered its calm, and the blood-stained handkerchief was now pressed beneath his palm.
The visitor was Song Hu. He walked over in brisk steps and placed a suitcase onto the table. "Seventh Young Master, I think you need to take a look at this."
Even the usually unflustered Song Hu was trembling as he placed the object down. One could see just how important it was.
Song Zining rose and opened the case. What came into view was an entire suitcase full of black-colored stones, dotted with sparkling crystals upon them. Song Zining's eyes constricted as he said, "Is this neutral crystal iron ore?
"Yes, Young Master."
This ore could be refined into crystal iron of different attributes, and its most important use was in the production of gun-barrels for firearms above grade four.
"Where did you find this?"
"On the border of the werewolves' former territory. There's a black stone mine there which our men had dug through. This crystal iron mine was found below."
"Is this the black stone mine Yuying specifically mentioned?"
"Yes."
Song Zining got up and paced about in silent contemplation. Back then, Zhao Yuying had investigated the ore veins here in great detail and pointed out several potential locations where there might be special accompanying ore veins.
Song Zining finally found some free time after Qianye left for the floating continent. On one hand, he needed to stabilize Blackflow's territories, so he dispatched large patrol units to kill the roaming dark race soldiers. He was completely merciless toward these troublemaking mercenaries. On the other hand, he sent people to the places Zhao Yuying had mentioned and had them perform extensive surveys. Now, the investment had finally paid off.
This new crystal iron ore vein was over a hundred meters below the black stone ore vein, and they had to drill through a thick rock layer before finally discovering it. Judging from the samples here, the quality was superb—it was likely a rare, high-grade ore vein.
Moments later, Song Zining finally came to a firm decision. "Issue an immediate order. Organize people to extract the ore at full force. Also, restructure Dark Flame's forces and send a division of troops to guard it. I'll arrange a new batch of equipment for this division."
"Seventh Young Master, won't everyone notice if we do this?"
Song Zining said firmly, "Can't care about that much. Do it as quietly as possible, but it's a race against time. We won't need to be afraid of anyone if we can produce another regular division."
Back in the Misty Wood, Qianye had lost track of time. He was currently holding his breath and slowly moving the barrel of his gun toward a giant tree at the edges of his vision.
There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary there, but in his True Sight, he could make out a wisp of faintly discernible darkness origin power.
"Is it left or right this time?" Qianye pondered in secret. The muzzle shifted a couple of times before finally pointing to the left.