Everything Was in Place

"Cough, cough, cough. Ah, ah, ah. Oh, oh, oh. Testing, testing. Can everyone hear me?"

"The Qian squad received the message, croak!"

"The Kan squad received the message, croak!"

"The Dui squad received the message, croak!"

"Oh, oh, good, good. Everyone, don't be nervous. Just stick to the rehearsal, and everything'll go perfectly!"

"Understood, croak!" *8

The nine-headed crow hidden in the shadow cawed eight times in a row, making Zheng Zetian dig at his ears.

It was a little noisy, but it worked well enough for real-time communication. This messenger-crow technique had originally been taught to him by Qin Jiu as a way to call for help. After studying it carefully, Zheng Zetian realized that the crow had nine heads. With a few modifications, he could have nine messenger crows active at once. Borrowing the Chengshan Fleet's telegraph command system, he could send messages and give orders in real time. He no longer had to wave his arms around like someone having a seizure just to telegraph and communicate with the various squads.

The downside was having nine crows perched on his head. They were unbearably noisy, and they couldn't stop adding "croak" to the end of everything...

"A lion dog's come out of its den, croak! A lion dog's come out of its den, croak!"

"It's a golden retriever, croak! It's a golden retriever, croak!"

"A fox has entered the den, croak! A fox has entered the den, croak!"

"Good, everyone, stay alert and follow the plan, croak... Cough, cough. Follow the plan!"

Tch, even he was starting to talk like them...

Now that the operation was underway, Zheng Zetian climbed out of the Spiritual Spring where he'd been soaking in medicinal herbs. He waved the crows on his head back into his shadow, tidied himself up,