The First Order

1219 Fulfilling a promise

The intermittent singing in the wilderness was like an ethereal mist in the morning.

The ten off-road vehicles drove on their respective routes of no return. What these soldiers wanted was not to earn individual glory, but to fight for an opportunity for their other comrades to live.

All of the soldiers, including Zhang Yuge, were determined to die. From the moment they set off, they only wanted to give hope to their other comrades.

This was the honor of the Qing Consortium’s troops.

The 40-odd strongholds in the Southwest were still in a peaceful state. The blood Luo Lan spilled when he killed those people had already been wiped clean. It was as though nothing had happened at all.

The stronghold residents used Luo Lan’s killings as their after-dinner banter, and everyone was guessing why he had suddenly killed those people. They privately fabricated many stories that were openly and secretly discussed. Those stories were embellished further and further as they spread, but no one felt that the incident had anything to do with themselves.

After all, the struggle in the superstructure had nothing to do with ordinary folks like them. Therefore, they did not know the real war had actually started somewhere they could not see.

War was not just limited to artillery bombardment and machine gun fire. The turbulent undercurrents were equally terrifying as well.

Qing Zhen had previously told Qing Yi it was fortunate Luo Lan had gone on a three-day killing spree to eliminate all the hidden threats to the Qing Consortium.

Otherwise, if they had found out that “Qing Zhen” and Luo Lan had gone to the Central Plains, their ambitions would definitely have started stirring.

Although these people could not shake the foundation of the Qing Consortium, they could still cause some minor inconveniences.

The Wang Consortium had sent out an invitation for a dialogue, but it was turned down by Qing Zhen. Back then, before Luo Lan and Ren Xiaosu parted ways, Luo Lan said he might still have to make a trip to the Central Plains eventually. That was because a lot of developments had gone beyond the Qing Consortium’s control.

Therefore, Luo Lan killed those people and bore the infamy of causing their deaths because he wanted to leave a stable and united rear for Qing Zhen before he departed.

Luo Lan was still the same old Luo Lan. He was always taking care of this family in his own way.

Qing Yi slept on the cold marble floor for the night. Fortunately, it was summer now and Ginkgo Manor was not situated at a high altitude, so it was not too cold.

When he woke up, he realized Qing Zhen was still sitting calmly in the “black lake.” It seemed like he had not slept all night.

“Second Bro, you didn’t get some rest last night?” Qing Yi wondered.

“Mhm.” Qing Zhen nodded. “I was thinking about something.”

“Are you worried Zhang Yuge and the others won’t be able to deliver the news to the Northwest?” Qing Yi asked, “Second Bro, do you really think none of them can break through the AI’s communications lockdown?”

“Mhm.” Qing Zhen seemed to already have an opinion on this matter. “They won’t succeed. Qing Yi, I’ve said it before, you can’t take any chances when playing Go with the AI.”

“Then what should we do?” Qing Yi frowned and said, “If we can’t get Ren Xiaosu to go to the Central Plains, won’t Big Bro be in danger?”

“There’s still a chance,” Qing Zhen said.

“What chance?” Qing Yi was stunned. It seemed Qing Zhen had made other arrangements after he fell asleep. Other than those ten soldiers, there should still be others heading to the Northwest. “Second Bro, you mustn’t let the news that you’re still at the Qing Consortium leak out at a time like this.”

“It’s fine, I used a crow to send the letter. I can trust the person I’m communicating with,” Qing Zhen said.

Qing Yi knew Qing Zhen had a superhuman hidden in the shadows who could control crows. Back when Qing Zhen and Luo Lan were placed under house arrest, Qing Yi used crows as messengers to relay information.

When Luo Lan was placed under house arrest in Stronghold 88, Qing Zhen also used crows to relay information to him.

However, Qing Yi had always thought the person who controlled the crows was Xu Man. Now that Xu Man had gone to the Central Plains, it should be someone else.

He was a little puzzled. “Second Bro, who else did you send to the Northwest?”

“Tang Zhou.”

Qing Yi was stunned. He knew why Qing Zhen had sent Tang Zhou on the mission.

Yesterday, his second brother had told him that if there were anyone else in the world other than the few of them who were willing to risk their lives to save Luo Lan, it could only be Ren Xiaosu and Tang Zhou.

On this turbulent morning, Tang Zhou was riding a horse in the wilderness.

Heaving violently on the horse’s back, Tang Zhou leaned down low to reduce wind resistance.

He was even holding the reins of two other warhorses galloping next to him.

One rider, three horses. This was the ultimate configuration cavalry scouts were assigned in ancient times.

An adult male soldier weighed about 160 kilograms. If a horse were to be saddled for an extended period, it would be greatly pressured and burdened.

In a long-distance raid like this, the cavalry would have to constantly observe how tired their horses got before switching mounts so that the burden on the three horses would be balanced.

Actually, the Qing Consortium’s internal forces were all modern troops, so there was no such fighting force as the cavalry.

The reason why Tang Zhou rode in the wilderness and did not take the main road was that he did not want to be discovered by the enemy.

From the beginning, those ten off-road vehicles that took different routes were used by Qing Zhen to take the attention off Tang Zhou’s movements.

Therefore, Qing Zhen had already determined from the beginning that if the artificial intelligence really wanted to cut off the Southwest, none of these ten soldiers would survive.

In this long-distance race against time, Tang Zhou was Qing Zhen’s true hope.

However, it was only hope at best. As for whether Tang Zhou could reach the Northwest, no one knew.

Just as Qing Zhen had often said to Qing Yi, one should not take any chances when playing Go with an artificial intelligence. He did not say this to tell Qing Yi but to remind himself.

He needed to repeat it over and over again so he would remember it firmly in his mind.

Tang Zhou had already ridden nearly 500 kilometers north. He kept switching mounts along the way, but he could still feel his warhorses’ conditions constantly deteriorating.

It was clearly a summer morning, but the sweat on the warhorses’ bodies was still emitting a white mist. It could be seen that the body temperature of the warhorses was so high it was almost hitting the limit of what they could bear.

However, Tang Zhou could not stop. He could only whip and spur the horses harder to urge them to continue running.

These three horses were even mutated breeds bred by the old fogeys of the Qing Consortium. It was said they could cover 600 kilometers a day while carrying a rider.

Under normal circumstances, warhorses could travel between 20 to 60 kilometers per hour, and covering 300 kilometers a day was the limit. It was very easy for horses to run to their deaths.

In the past, when the old fogeys of the Qing Consortium were still alive, there was talk that these three warhorses were their darlings they raised in the low mountain ranch behind Ginkgo Manor.

Usually, there would be people who specially attended to their meals and daily care. There were even people responsible for training them in various movements.

A caretaker accidentally grazed the skins of these three warhorses once and was sent to prison by the old fogeys of the Qing Consortium Board where he was forcefully locked up for seven years.

However, Qing Zhen did not care about the fate of these warhorses. Even if they were an evolved breed, and even if they were ridden in rotation by Tang Zhou for the journey, they would still die from running all the way to Stronghold 144 in the north at full speed.

A precious toy in the hands of others was only a qualified tool in the hands of Qing Zhen.

…

Last night, when Tang Zhou was advancing in the wilderness, he had vaguely heard a gunshot in the distance.

There was also melodious singing.

The loud and clear singing was like a farewell song of laughter and wine between men.

“Adieu, my friend.

“Adieu, my friend.

“Adieu, my friend.

“Adieu.

“Adieu.

“If I… sacrifice myself in battle, please continue marching forth and carry on our honor.”

Tang Zhou roughly understood that a soldier, whose purpose was to take the attention off him, had encountered the enemy. At this moment, Tang Zhou could not even confirm what the enemy was yet. He could only silently utter,”Farewell.”

He could not go and save his comrade who had covered for him. That was because the note the crow had sent over said: “Deliver the news of Luo Lan’s expedition to the Central Plains to Stronghold 144 in the north. Ten lives will be sacrificed to secure this one chance for you. You are only to succeed!”

He was getting closer and closer to Stronghold 144. The valley where banditry used to run rampant was already right in front of him.

Tang Zhou knew that as long as he could get through this place, the operation would be a success.

That was because there was a battalion of the 6th Field Division’s troops training in the north of the valley. All he needed to do was to get their attention and someone would help him deliver the news north.

But a moment later, he suddenly saw a lone sparrow standing in the early morning mist and staring straight at him.

Tang Zhou swore he had never seen a sparrow staring at him like that before.

He could not be bothered to think too deeply into it. Instead, he whipped the horse’s rump ruthlessly. The horse started running with all its might again from the pain.

When Tang Zhou passed under the treetop where the sparrow was, he subconsciously turned around to have a look and realized the huge sparrow was flapping its wings and following close behind him.

When he looked farther behind it, he suddenly saw a flock of birds floating like dark clouds in the direction where the gunshots had rung out.

Tang Zhou’s horse was slowing down, but the “dark cloud” of birds was getting closer and closer to him.

“So we were facing such a terrifying thing in that AI.” Tang Zhou gave a bitter smile. But after that, he immediately came to a decision.

As one of the core figures of the Qing Consortium, how could Tang Zhou not know about the attack on Military Base 12? Therefore, when he saw the sparrow, he already understood what was going on.

He understood what kind of opponent he was facing.

As the warhorses galloped forward, Tang Zhou nimbly leaped up and landed on the back of another warhorse in an instant.

The stamina of this warhorse was the best preserved.

After mounting it properly, he immediately let go of the reins of the other two warhorses. “Go, you don’t have to follow me to your deaths. Head back to the wilderness. You’ve already done your best.”

After that, he clenched his mount’s ribs tightly and broke away from the group like an arrow fired from a bow. After the two warhorses behind were freed from their reins, they ran off towards the wilderness on both sides.

Actually, Tang Zhou knew why Qing Zhen had chosen him to relay this news. That was because Qing Zhen knew he would get it delivered to the Northwest even at the cost of his life.

Tang Zhou thought about when he first met Boss Luo.

It seemed to be that autumn ten years ago when Tang Zhou was still a refugee at Stronghold 111. His only family, his father, had just passed on.

A person dying was like a candle getting snuffed out. Even as refugees, they would still want to bury their loved ones properly. At the very least, a coffin was a must. Otherwise, wild dogs would dig up Tang Zhou’s father’s bones and take them away.

The young Tang Zhou wanted to borrow money from his neighbors to bury his father, but no one was willing to lend it to him. Coincidentally, Luo Lan had just come out of Stronghold 111 and was heading to Stronghold 113 to serve as commander-in-chief of the Qing Consortium’s 6th Combat Brigade stationed there.

When Luo Lan saw Tang Zhou’s father’s corpse rolled up in a straw mat by the roadside, he got out of his vehicle and asked cheerfully, “What’s the matter?”

The 16-year-old Tang Zhou was a little angry. His father had just died, yet this big shot from the stronghold was smiling.

However, he was anxious to bury his father, so he said helplessly, “I want a coffin to bury him in.”

Luo Lan smiled and said, “What can you give in exchange?”

“My life.” Tang Zhou said stubbornly, “If you give me the money, my life is yours.”

“Your wretched life is of no use to me. Be a man and come serve under me.” Luo Lan got back into his vehicle with a smile.

Tang Zhou clenched his fists and looked quietly at the other party.

After that, an orderly helped Tang Zhou bury his father before heading together with him to Stronghold 113.

Tang Zhou thought if that were all there was to it, there was a high chance he would end up becoming a soldier for a few years before retiring and being allowed to live in the stronghold.

At that time, he might even be able to find work at a factory. With the Qing Consortium’s military pension, his life would be considered quite stable.

But after he arrived at the garrison base in Stronghold 113, the first thing he did was to look for Luo Lan. Then he said stubbornly to Luo Lan, “I said my life is yours, so I’ll definitely keep that promise. You don’t have to reject me so quickly. My life will surely be useful to you.”

At that time, Luo Lan scolded jokingly, “You’ve got guts.”

At that time, Luo Lan was 23 years old and the elder brother of the Qing Consortium’s Shadow. Tang Zhou was a 16-year-old with nothing more than his poor life to offer.

From then on, Luo Lan rose through the ranks while Tang Zhou served under him. At the age of 24, Tang Zhou became a major working under Boss Luo.

Tang Zhou had served Luo Lan for ten years since joining the military.

How many decades was there for one to enjoy in their lifetime?

Currently, Tang Zhou was 26 years old while Luo Lan was 33 years old. These ten years felt like a karmic cycle.

At this moment, the warhorse was running slower and slower, and Tang Zhou was about to pass through the entire valley region as well.

However, the dark cloud of sparrows were already overhead.

Tang Zhou, who was on the warhorse, suddenly felt himself falling. The horse he was riding could no longer bear the force of its galloping after it became completely exhausted. In an instant, it fell to the ground together with Tang Zhou.

Tang Zhou was covered in dirt as he hurriedly got back up. He immediately checked the pistol on his belt and disengaged the safety.

He could not wait for the sparrows to descend, because if he also got controlled by the artificial intelligence controlling the nanomachines, the other party could easily retrieve his memories and know how he was going to transmit the information to the Northwest.

“It’s time I paid you back with this life of mine,” Tang Zhou said with a smile.

Qing Zhen was aware of this promise too as it was occasionally brought up. At that time, everyone treated it as a joke to tease Tang Zhou with.

However, when Tang Zhou received the note delivered by a crow, he understood this note was specifically for him, a high-ranking officer who was a colonel, and no one else. Actually, by assigning this mission to him, Qing Zhen was silently telling him that it was time to fulfill his promise.

Qing Zhen had forced himself to treat everyone coldly as tools for Luo Lan’s sake.

Be it Zhang Yuge, Tang Zhou, or Ren Xiaosu, they were all chips Qing Zhen wanted to use to increase Luo Lan’s chance of survival.

Qing Zhen did not care what others thought of him. All he wanted was for his elder brother to live.

Tang Zhou wondered if he blamed Qing Zhen for sending him to his death like this.

The answer was that he did not have any complaints. He even felt a little relieved.

There was no tragedy, no desolation, only relief.

‘Since I promised you my life, I will definitely deliver on my word.’

Thinking this, Tang Zhou walked to his horse and pulled out a flare gun from the saddle. Then he pulled the trigger at the sky.

A purplish-red signal flare rocketed into the air like a brilliant shooting star in broad daylight.

Immediately after, Tang Zhou looked up and saw the signal flare plunging through the dark cloud of sparrows, attempting to soar higher in the air.

The flock of birds seemed prepared for this. Half of the sparrows split off and formed a tight circle around the signal flare to shield the light it was giving off.

But a second later, the signal flare exploded again and went off a second time.

In just an instant, the high temperature enveloped all the sparrows and turned them into dancing balls of fire in the sky, converting them into even more conspicuous “signal flares.”

This was a signal flare Qing Zhen had specially prepared for these sparrows.

Tang Zhou smiled. What a treacherous tool.

The sparrows in the sky that were not hit by the signal flare started circling and diving at Tang Zhou.

As Tang Zhou looked up at the dazzling fireballs, he raised his pistol and aimed it under his chin.

The information to be relayed was hidden on him. He could not let the nanomachines control him and discover where the item that held the information was hidden.

Actually, he already knew from the beginning that those three warhorses had been trained ever since Qing Zhen took over at the Qing Consortium. Even with three horses per rider, he would not be able to reach Stronghold 144.

Even if the three warhorses were to run to their deaths, they would not be able to get there.

Therefore, this matter was a dead end from the beginning.

Tang Zhou smiled and said, “What did I say back then? When I said my life was yours, I’d definitely give it to you. You didn’t have to reject me so quickly. My life will surely be useful to you.”

After saying that, he pulled the trigger.

A gunshot rang out like thunder.

…

“Commander Black Fox, I heard you demolished Future Commander’s house?”

While the recruit battalion of the 6th Field Division was being put through their training, a sprightly recruit suddenly asked his commander this question.

These recruits did not have the chance to participate in the battle of the Kingdom of Sorcerers. When everyone heard their seniors discussing the war excitedly after their return, they were extremely enticed.

When Black Fox, who was leading the troops at the front, heard this question, he turned around and looked expressionlessly at the recruit who kept asking the tough questions. Then he replied in seriousness, “Future Commander did not say we couldn’t tear down the door. He only said not to damage the floor.”

The recruits were stunned for a moment. So the hearsay was actually true.

In fact, it was precisely because of this that Black Fox was “sent” here to train the recruits.

But while they were chatting, a purplish-red flare flew up into the sky of the wilderness in the distance. It was also at this moment that everyone noticed a flock of birds in the sky moving a little unusually…. There were too many birds, and they were flying too closely together.

Then the power of the secondary explosion swept through countless sparrows and burnt them into fireballs.

“Commander Black Fox, what’s with this situation?” the recruits asked in a daze.

Black Fox’s intuition was much sharper than theirs. He immediately shouted, “Prepare for battle!”

The recruits immediately loaded their rifles. Although they were new recruits, they had been training for about three months, so they didn’t behave like ignorant children.

The past three months of training had made them understand one thing. When their commander gave an order, they only needed to follow it.

Black Fox started running quickly towards the flock of birds. As he ran, he shouted to the soldiers behind him, “Maintain formation!”

After they quickly got within 500 meters of the birds, Black Fox started shooting at them in an attempt to scare them away.

However, the birds did not seem to be afraid at all as they continued guarding that spot.

This time, Black Fox was even more certain of his assessment. There was something odd about these birds, and someone was being attacked by them… or might even have already died inside the flock.

When they got within 350 meters of the flock, Black Fox did not dare to advance any further. Instead, he had the recruits get down on one knee and start firing at the birds in the sky.

The Type 178-23 automatic rifles in their hands had an effective range of 400 meters.

The so-called effective range was, in layman’s terms, a range that satisfied everyone’s expectation of the lethality of a firearm.

Although the 500 recruits’ marksmanship was not that good, there were simply too many birds in the sky. As a result, they could randomly shoot at the huge sparrows and send them falling to the ground like rain.

At this moment, Black Fox took a look through his binoculars. He could clearly see a young soldier in a Qing Consortium’s military uniform lying on the ground. Meanwhile, more than a dozen sparrows were rummaging through the body of that Qing Consortium soldier as though they were human.

Not only were they rummaging through the pockets, but they were also flipping through his collar, hair, and sleeves. Black Fox even saw a sparrow pushing open the Qing Consortium soldier’s mouth to check his teeth. It was as though it was the most extensive body search ever conducted.

What made Black Fox’s scalp tingle even more was that the sparrows actually used their sharp beaks to peck at the other party’s skin as though they were specifically searching for something.

However, this was the first time Black Fox had seen sparrows searching a human being like this!

Five minutes later, more than half of the sparrows in the air had been shot down by the recruits. However, the sparrows still showed no signs of leaving.

Furthermore, the sparrows actually started pecking at the corpse of the Qing Consortium soldier!

Black Fox clenched his teeth. “Let’s keep advancing. Reload and switch to burst mode!”

Although he did not know why a Qing Consortium soldier would appear in the Northwest, the scene in front of him was way too strange. He had to figure out what was going on.

Finally, when there were only about a dozen sparrows left, they started flying southwards.

Black Fox said, “First Company, Second Company, stand by and wait for further orders. Third Company, Fourth Company, advance with me in attack formation.”

When they arrived at the spot where Tang Zhou’s body was, Black Fox was stunned when he saw his appearance. When he was at the Pyro Company, he was second only to a P5 commander while Tang Zhou was a trusted aide of Luo Lan’s. Therefore, how could he not know Tang Zhou?

But why would such an important figure from the Qing Consortium’s military suddenly come to the Northwest, and he even got attacked by an inexplicable group of sparrows? Moreover, what were those sparrows searching for?

Due to the mutation of birds that roamed the sky, the entire Alliance of Strongholds had lost the concept of air superiority several decades ago. But a threat from the sky had appeared now.

Tang Zhou lay quietly on the ground with injuries all over his body. Black Fox checked on them and said, “The fatal wound was caused by a gunshot through his lower jaw to his head. It was suicide.”

Then he looked at the horse lying off to the side that had died from exhaustion. “It lost a lot of water through sweat, and its tongue turned white with no signs of external injuries. This warhorse met its demise running. Based on the speed of a mutated horse, it would have to at least have traveled 500 to 600 kilometers over an entire day for it to die of exhaustion.”

Did Tang Zhou commit suicide because he did not want to endure the torture? Or was it because he knew he could not survive, so he ended it quickly instead?

But Black Fox felt that something was off. The troops under Qing Zhen and Luo Lan were famous for their fearlessness.

How could someone like Tang Zhou possibly commit suicide out of fear?

This kind of death was more like the self-sacrifice of a loyal spy who wanted to keep a secret!

The other party seemed to know they were nearby, so he ran all the way here before firing the signal flare.

“Sorry, bro,” Black Fox said softly.

After that, he took off all of Tang Zhou’s clothes and carefully checked every inch of them with his fingers. However, he found nothing.

Immediately after, the recruits saw Black Fox starting to pinch Tang Zhou’s skin and muscles inch by inch with his index finger and thumb. When he pinched his calf, Black Fox suddenly felt something strange. He took a deep breath and apologized again before using his dagger to cut open the other party’s calf.

He saw a thin metal tube hidden close to his fibula.

Black Fox wiped his bloody hands before unscrewing the metal tube.

A small note inside read: “Luo Lan set off for Stronghold 61 in the Central Plains on July 5th. Please rescue him.”

Black Fox was stunned on the spot. He suddenly felt a sense of respect for this Qing Consortium officer named Tang Zhou.

The other party had traveled hundreds of kilometers without rest. Even at the cost of his life, he had to send this cry for help to the Northwest.

Moreover, if he had hidden the metal tube close to his fibula below the muscle layer, he would have had to cut open his own leg first. Black Fox could imagine how painful it was for the other party to conceal the metal tube.

However, there was something that Black Fox could not understand. When he cut open the other party’s calf earlier, he had not come across any indication there was such a deep wound. The sparrows’ pecks had only penetrated the surface layer of his skin.

However, now was not the time to dwell on that.

Black Fox stood up straight and said to the recruits, “He died to save his master. I hope that when it’s your turn to protect the Northwest one day, you’ll also have the same firm belief as him. Salute.”

The 500 soldiers of the recruit battalion saluted in unison before quickly retreating with Tang Zhou’s corpse.

While they were retreating, no one noticed there was still a sparrow in the treetops in the distance that had not left with the flock of birds.

In Ginkgo Manor, Qing Zhen had been sitting on the dark gray marble floor for over a day without any rest.

He was only looking forward to hearing one piece of news now.

At this moment, Qing Yi walked in anxiously from the outside. “Second Bro, our garrison troops said they saw a huge creature that resembled a lizard suddenly rushing out from the edge of the Jing Mountains. The garrison troops were unable to stop it. Not even machine gun bullets could penetrate its skin.”

Qing Zhen looked up at Qing Yi and said, “It should be that monster in the volcanic crater of the Jing Mountains. Where did it head?”

“It went north!” Qing Yi said.

Qing Zhen heaved a sigh of relief. “The news that Tang Zhou was relaying has been delivered.”

“What do you mean?” Qing Yi was puzzled.

“Although I don’t know what’s with that monster, it’s probably one of the AI’s contingency plans.” Qing Zhen said calmly, “It’s obvious that this contingency plan had stayed hidden in the Jing Mountains for so long because the AI was planning to use it to deal with our Qing Consortium. But now that there’s been a sudden change of plans, it means that someone has forced the AI to do so.”

“Then why did the lizard head north?” Qing Yi asked.

“To stop Ren Xiaosu from going to the Central Plains.”

“Then…” Before Qing Yi could finish speaking, he realized Qing Zhen’s expression had become extremely desolate. “What’s the matter, Second Bro?”

Qing Zhen turned to look at Qing Yi and said softly, “Tang Zhou is dead.”

From the moment the news was successfully delivered, Qing Zhen could guess Tang Zhou’s fate. That was because he was the one who had personally sealed Tang Zhou’s fate.

But what made Qing Zhen most upset was that even though Tang Zhou knew that Qing Zhen was the one who sent him to his death this time, he still went.

“Then is there any hope that Big Bro gets saved?” Qing Yi asked, “Ren Xiaosu will go, right?”

“If Ren Xiaosu rushes over immediately after receiving the news and my brother executes the plan as scheduled, it should work out.” Qing Zhen said, “But Qing Yi, you have to understand if there are any hiccups in any of the…”

It was precisely because it was so dangerous that Qing Zhen wanted to accompany Luo Lan to the Central Plains.

Qing Zhen had tried his best. The rest would be up to fate.

On this huge Go board, Zero moved first with Black while Qing Zhen played his moves alternately. The two sides were fighting in the shadows with the most ruthless strategies, but the state of affairs was about to be brought to light.

…

In the humble residence of Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin in Stronghold 144, a group of officers were sitting in rows in a small courtyard on small folding stools.

Ren Xiaosu was giving a lecture on a blackboard in front of them. “The Eyes of True Sight you’re holding are the weapons of the sorcerers. All spells must be cast through this Eye of True Sight. Now, hold the Eye of True Sight in your hand and close your eyes as you breathe. You’ll only need to count to a 100 respirations to get into your inner world of meditation where you can practice sorcery.”

Zhang Xiaoman, who was sitting on a folding stool, suddenly asked, “Future Commander, why is the color of this Eye of True Sight different? The Great Hoodwinker, P5092, and the others are holding gold-colored ones, but why am I the only person holding a red one?”

Ren Xiaosu explained, “The different colored Eyes of True Sight represent different grades. Under normal circumstances, the higher the grade, the stronger the spell that can be cast. The red stone you’re holding is second only to the black stone that I hold.”

Zhang Xiaoman wondered, “Really?”

The Great Hoodwinker looked at Zhang Xiaoman enviously and said, “Future Commander actually gave you a red stone. He’s so good to you!”

Wang Yun also said, “Yeah, Zhang Xiaoman, we were only given gold-colored stones while you got the red one. Hurry up and thank Future Commander.”

Zhang Xiaoman thanked Ren Xiaosu in a daze that even earned Ren Xiaosu a gratitude token.

Zhang Xiaoman somehow felt that this group of wicked fellows were lying to him, but he did not have any proof!

After all, he had never been to the Kingdom of Sorcerers before, so there was no way he could clarify his doubts with anyone from there.

But a soldier suddenly ran over. “Future Commander, Black Fox is coming back. He wants to see you.”

Ren Xiaosu raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t he told to conduct wilderness training for a month before he can come back?”

The soldier answered while panting, “He said he encountered Tang Zhou from the Qing Consortium, but Tang Zhou was killed in action in the north of the valley region. Right now, Commander Black Fox is returning to Stronghold 144 with Tang Zhou’s body and a really important piece of news.”

Ren Xiaosu’s expression changed. It seemed that bad news always came when one least expected it.