After another two days of waiting, a fleet of forty flying vessels arrived from beyond the Earth Star. They released a Radiant Transmission overhead to identify themselves to the garrison, then descended onto the Mooring Boat Terrace.
The hatch of the lead vessel opened. An elderly Daoist was the first to emerge, followed by ranks of armored soldiers and more than ten administrative officials who were clearly from the Military Affairs Office.
Miao Guangwu led the garrison soldiers in greeting them below. Seeing that the people from the Military Affairs Office had finally arrived, he at last let out a breath of relief.
He had been under immense pressure during this time, fearful that the Upper Firmament Heaven cultivators would launch a large-scale assault amid the blizzard. If the place fell, or if any other trouble arose, even ten thousand deaths would not absolve him.
Moreover, he did not know whether there were still hidden agents among the garrison troops. This was one reason he had been willing to hand the defensive formation over to Zhang Yu. Fortunately, nothing of the sort had happened in the end.
He stepped forward and bowed to the elderly Daoist at the forefront. "Greetings, Daoist Yan."
This old Daoist was named Yan Zhuang. He was a formation warden in the Military Affairs Office and had spent more than a hundred years in the outer layer. He was a grandmaster of formations; the formations in many regions, including the Frost Star Defensive Formation, had been laid by him. He came every year to inspect the formations, so Miao Guangwu knew him.
Old Daoist Yan returned the greeting with a Daoist salute. "Greetings, Commander Miao."
Miao Guangwu looked upward and asked, "Has Deputy Deng not returned?"
Old Daoist Yan shook his head. "This Daoist came here