Chapter 757

"The Ganwu Battalion is heading for the front lines."

The torrential rain had just let up. Scattered droplets of water glimmered as they fell from the red walls and vermilion tiles onto the gray bricks, sending ripples splashing outward. Looking down from the mountain-top palace city, one could see mist surging and billowing over the peaks. When the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds and fell upon the world, the mist dispersed, and the immense city built into the mountains gradually awoke.

The streets teemed with commoners and merchants. Officials from the Heavenly Crafts Bureau hurried through the densely packed districts, organizing postwar reconstruction. Two squads of Black Scale Iron Guards, taking a short break at a roadside teahouse during their patrol, kept order.

There was no need to wear heavy armor while on patrol. The young squad leader, dressed in light armor, kept an eye on the passing pedestrians as he spoke slowly. "Commander Yuan should have been summoned back to the capital a few days ago. It looks like we'll be taking responsibility for guarding Di'an for quite some time."

At that, another squad leader, a middle-aged man, pondered for a moment before replying slowly:

"Zhou Ping, do you think that's a good thing?"

The young squad leader smiled faintly. Compared to when he'd first been air-dropped into Lin'an Prefecture, he seemed much more composed now. "You should know this war absolutely won't end anytime soon. After going through the Jiangnan campaign, our Third Garrison needs to rotate in new recruits. It's not so bad to rest and recuperate in the rear for a while."

The middle-aged squad leader shook his head and glanced toward the Black Scale Army camp to the south, lowering his voice. "You should know that's not what I mean."

"Then what do