Chapter 214 - Open Conspiracy

Chapter 214: Chapter 202 Open ConspiracyThree days later, the official military order was handed down to Lu Hong. With a temporary promotion as the captain of the Roland Knight Regiment, he led Lock Fan and others through Jinhui City and Diyalos City to receive the Second Transition masters, and they were all headed to Haiya City. This marching order had to be completed within eight days, otherwise, they would be punished according to military law for the offense.

Lock Fan packed up his bag and muttered, "Isn’t there a teleportation array? Why do we have to march by foot?"

They had already reported to the Military Department, so they were issued standard military equipment. Level seven weapons were not appealing to Lock Fan and the others. Although they hadn’t done anything earth-shattering in the mercenary group, they did manage to get their hands on quite a few handy tools from Lansa’s logistics.

Besides weapons, there were miscellaneous items like the army’s standard uniform, signal devices for calling for help, modular tents, and so on, a large pile of them. And since Lu Hong had a Space Ring, it’s not like the group had to carry everything in large and small bags, which would be too cumbersome.

"It’s probably for a short period of acculturation during the march," Lu Hong guessed correctly. All temporarily selected Roland Knight captains would lead their assigned members to establish a brief trust and hierarchical relationship during about a week of marching. If the chosen captain could not command respect after the march, he would be directly replaced by a veteran leader, and his assessment score would be reduced to zero without any explanation. Those without leadership capabilities did not deserve to be a captain of the Roland Knights.

More than three thousand teams set off from Ice Spirit City, heading toward the distant regions along the crisscrossing avenues of the northern border.

Lu Hong and Lock Fan said goodbye to Nono and stepped out of Ice Spirit City to begin their military journey.

Danni stood above the clouds, quietly watching Lu Hong disappear into the distance until he was out of sight.

"Aww, can’t bear to see him go?" Lando’s voice rang out inappropriately, oozing sarcasm.

Danni spoke calmly, "I advise you not to test my patience."

"No fun?" Lando never showed herself from beginning to end. After standing still for a while, Danni also turned and left, not knowing when they might meet again.

"Boss, I’ve learned a new skill. You think I’m cool?" Lock Fan brandished his Colorful Magic Sword, intending to give a performance.

"Dizzy needle, not looking," Lu Hong refused directly and carefully surveyed the thirty classmates gathered around him.

Under Lock Fan’s leadership, these people had also made significant progress. Those who could come out of hell alive already possessed strong talents. Originally, they should have gone their separate ways after graduation, but a series of events had brought them together. Living and growing together, their coordination was incredibly smooth, eliminating the need for Lu Hong to make any further assignments.

"Lock Fan, you’ve made considerable progress," said Lu Hong. Even the weakest among his classmates had reached the strength of the Second Transition fifth level. This force could certainly build substantial merits under Lu Hong’s protection.

"Of course," Lock Fan smiled and said, "Every time we hear about the impressive things you do, boss, it gives us an indescribable motivation that pushes us forward."

"Not bad," Lu Hong affirmed. His experience in the Endless Forest enabled him to break through to level six, and he even jumped ranks continuously. Now, he was an eighth-level Angry Blood Warrior.

Joking and chatting about interesting things in life, time flew by quickly. Three days later, Lu Hong safely arrived at their first destination of the journey, Jinhui City.

However, when they went to report at the Jinhui City Military Department and to gather personnel, they were informed that the enlisted Second Transition soldiers had set off a day earlier.

"They’ve already left?" Lu Hong was stunned, "Without me, who did they set off with?"

"I don’t know; it seems to have been a spontaneous act," said the junior leader of the Military Department, who recognized the identity of Baron Yitian with one glance and spoke politely.

"Are you sure?" Lock Fan asked with gravity: "Acting on one’s own is punishable by military law!"

"Not sure," the junior leader shook his head, "They’ve come from other realms and aren’t joining this northern war as imperial soldiers, but rather as a voluntary army, not under the direct control of the Military Department."

"What should we do?" asked Lock Fan, looking at Lu Hong, "With a glitch in our established military order, will we be punished when we reach Haiya City?"

"They left yesterday?" Lu Hong asked the junior leader for confirmation again.

"Yes, I’m not sure about the exact time," the junior leader recalled, "It was definitely in the evening. I only found out when I sent my subordinate to their temporary camp to check the roster."

"The city’s teleportation array wasn’t used in large numbers, was it?" Lu Hong continued to inquire.

"No, I checked that too; these people left from the north gate and seemed to be heading toward the Salt Lake Sea."

"Salt Lake Sea?" Lu Hong had never heard of the place before. Lock Fan quickly took out a map and located it.

"How could they march towards the sea?" Lock Fan wondered aloud, "Isn’t that a detour?"

"Could it be that something has happened somewhere?" Lu Hong speculated, "Could it be that the Naga sea creatures have come ashore?"

"Haha, Baron, you really know how to joke," a junior leader explained, "The sea creatures haven’t appeared for tens of thousands of years, and my Jinhui City is not far from the sea. I’ve never heard of anyone encountering the sea creatures in the ocean."

"That’s good," Lu Hong nodded in agreement. It was good news that the sea creatures lurked in the shallow waters and deep sea, at least sparing the empire from a major calamity.

"Baron, you should catch up with those people quickly. They come from all walks of life and are not easy to get along with. If this affects your mission, it would not be worth the loss," the junior leader, having been in the system for many years, saw things clearly.

"Thank you." Lu Hong turned away from the junior leader and, leading Lock Fan and the others, left the Military Department.

"Boss, should we chase them or not?"

"Let’s chase, we should be able to catch up."

An hour later, after a short rest in the city, Lu Hong and his companions hurriedly took baths and followed the trail of the scattered soldiers all the way out of the city.

The Salt Lake Sea wasn’t actually far. The official road from Jinhui City to Diyalos City was not far from the coastline, and going around the Salt Lake Sea was just an extra detour. The round trip wouldn’t take more than half a day.

When Lu Hong and his group arrived at the Salt Lake Sea, they couldn’t find any trace of a large group having been there after searching thoroughly.

"Boss, I think there’s a problem," Lock Fan mused after pondering, "Maybe someone is targeting you."

"Targeting me?" Lu Hong contemplated and indeed, his recent popularity had soared above other young powerhouses blessed by the divine grace. A person lives for fame and fortune, and Lock Fan’s guess was completely accurate. Someone had intentionally taken away the scattered soldiers Lu Hong was supposed to recruit, trying to trip him up.

"It doesn’t matter. As long as these people aren’t dead, I won’t bear much blame. At worst, I would only be stripped of my position as group leader," Lu Hong clearly wasn’t too concerned with his temporary leadership role. It wasn’t the true position of a group leader. He could reclaim it in the war against the Snow Tribe; military merits were indelible.

"That’s true. With Nono backing you, who would dare to touch you? The most they can do is play some dirty tricks behind the scenes."

"Since that’s the case, we needn’t waste time here. Let’s hurry to Diyalos City to see if the scattered soldiers there are still present."

"Okay."

The group sped up and arrived at Diyalos City in two hours. Just like in Jinhui City, the Military Department informed Lu Hong that the scattered soldiers he was supposed to gather had disappeared half a day ago.

"What shall we do?" Abey, anxious, stepped out of the Military Department, "Boss, you won’t be punished when you get to the Haiya City Military Department, will you?"

"This is certainly premeditated," Lock Fan spoke with gravitas, "Once we get to Haiya City, we must investigate thoroughly to at least find out who is targeting us."

"We’ll discuss everything when we get to Haiya City. Let’s rest in the city for now; we should have enough time."

The disappearance of two batches of recruited mercenaries; it was clear to anyone that someone was playing dirty behind the scenes.

That person was Hu Buping. He had been pondering for a long time, finding a pretext to strike at Lu Hong was not an easy task. As long as the other party obeyed military discipline, Hu Buping couldn’t do much.

So what to do? If there is no opportunity, create one.

"Sir, everything has been arranged," a non-commissioned officer whispered to Hu Buping in his tent, "Tukuru and his men have already reached Diyalos City. If nothing goes wrong, they should be able to reach Haiya City in time to report."

"They didn’t fall for it?" Hu Buping was surprised. The affair at Salt Lake Sea was his deliberate arrangement, with the purpose of delaying Lu Hong’s marching speed. If Lu Hong failed to reach Haiya City Military Department in the specified time, this reason would be more threatening than the failure to recruit the scattered soldiers.

"Yes, they noticed it quickly, and it seems that his men are all above level five of the Second Transition. Focused on marching, they could reach Haiya City from Diyalos City within two days."

"Unacceptable, find a way to hold them back!" Hu Buping commanded sternly, "They must be delayed!"

"Yes, sir! Your orders will be obeyed."