Necromancer, What the Hell Is Summoning a 055? Section 32

"The Strategic Committee has granted you the highest authorization. From now on, any research team, equipment, or expert anywhere in the country that you consider necessary-whether they belong to a national team, a research institute, or a private company-will cooperate unconditionally, as long as you ask for them by name!"

"There's no limit on the budget!"

"There's only one requirement: deliver a finished product that meets the specifications as soon as possible, as soon as possible, as soon as possible!"

"Please!"

"Understood..." Xu Yanfeng nodded. What was there not to understand?

"I'll put together a list of personnel and equipment as soon as possible. Please take care of the communication and coordination, sir."

"And sir, I'm not putting on airs and making demands, but about that leading talent slot in the 'Ten Thousand Talents Program' last time, I wouldn't have minded if you hadn't given it to me. There are plenty of outstanding engineers at the institute; Old Xu or Old Zhou would have been fine. But nominating a bootlicking administrator really wasn't appropriate!"

The deputy director nodded deeply and vigorously. "Right, you're right. We need to respect engineering and technical talent. Don't worry, we'll make the adjustment when we get back and correct it immediately!"

"As for you, Engineer Xu, don't worry about the Ten Thousand Talents Program. Do a good job on this project, and I'll nominate you for a Changjiang Distinguished Professorship!"

Chapter 52: Creek Moon, Emerald, and Green Pine

Eastern Xia was pulling out all the stops to design and produce every kind of support item for Little Chen, whether he needed them or not, whether he would use them or not-or rather, "cheating tools."

Meanwhile, Chen Mo continued grinding day and night, night and day, like a tireless machine.

By now, he couldn't even name most of the trainees in his group, but "Roy's" fearsome reputation as the king of all grinders had spread throughout the Glimmer Group. Even the Dawn Light Group, one level above them, had heard of him.

And in two other directions on the continent, two other groups of people were independently thinking about this little necromancer apprentice.

One group was, of course, the party from Cloudmist Territory in the Emerald Duchy.

The direct descendant of a noble from a nation with diplomatic ties had been attacked by orc cavalry on their soil. It was a major incident enough to shake all of Creek Moon. The ruler's wrath set the skies above North Foothills ablaze, and the entire federation was shaken.

Mounted scouts rode out in every direction, hooves thundered, and Creek Moon's famous Clearwater Knights dispatched three squadrons of elite cavalry to conduct a sweeping search in every direction along the Longwind Hills.

The scattered wolf riders were hunted down one by one, and the fur of their wargs became new decorations on the crests of the federation knights' helmets.

"Your Highness, word has come from Creek Moon. They say they've basically gotten to the bottom of the matter!"

Captain of the Guard Peiwen looked somewhat weary. He had hurried back covered in dust and presented a report bearing Creek Moon's official seal.

"According to the Creek Moon Federation's explanation, this band of barbarians sailed south from the north and landed in secret at Xiasha Port. They hid by day and traveled by night, and under the guidance of spies lying in wait, set up an ambush on the outskirts of the Longwind Hills."

"So far, Creek Moon has only captured ordinary wolf riders. Under interrogation, they said only that their leader had ordered them to intercept and kill an important person. They knew nothing about the details."

"The harbor master of Xiasha Port committed suicide. That means all the leads have gone cold!"

"Also," Captain Peiwen said, taking out a thick stack of calling cards, all adorned with gold and purple and shimmering with color, "several Creek Moon nobles wish to invite Your Highness to their estates as a guest. They say they hope their warm hospitality might offer some small consolation for the fright Your Highness suffered here."

Commandery Princess Liushuang's eyes lit up.

Staying secluded and never stepping outside these past few days had been sheer torment for the lively, active young commandery princess.

Visiting those noble estates, listening to interesting stories, and taking in the scenery seemed like a good option.

But just as that eager thought surfaced, she caught sight of Master Locke's old face beside her, stern as eternal ice.

The young commandery princess wisely drew in her neck and swallowed the words on her lips.

Old Locke, the brains of the party, read through the intelligence sent over by the Creek Moon Federation, one report at a time, then let out a long sigh.

"We need to find a way to leave this damned place as soon as possible!"

"Huh?"

"Your Highness, Captain Peiwen, the Creek Moon Federation appears to be making a great show of force, but in reality, they're avoiding the serious issues and dwelling on the trivial ones."

"A force of elite orc wolf riders this large could burn through a small town's entire monthly tax revenue in a single day once it left the grazing lands. Could the harbor master of a mere fishing port afford to support them?"

"Not to mention the hundreds of kilometers from the port to here. Without tip-offs and cover from important people in the federation, how could they have tracked our movements so precisely?"

"Now they're placing all the blame on that damned port official. Whether the federation doesn't want to investigate further or doesn't dare to, Creek Moon is no safe place for us."

"Captain Peiwen, what do you think?"

The Golden Scale swordsman nodded without hesitation. "Master Locke is right!"

"Xiasha's harbor master has already 'committed suicide out of fear of punishment,' and the dead can't testify. When the federation's inspector spoke with me, all he cared about the entire time was where our fire-element master was."

"I suspect that if it weren't for this 'Elemental Control' expert they hadn't accounted for, a second attack on us might already have come!"

Of course, this was a complete misunderstanding.

When Creek Moon Federation investigators surveyed the Longwind Hills, they were frightened by the gruesome state of the dead orc leader. They sent several advanced professionals to the scene in succession to examine the mass of bone and iron repeatedly.

Unfortunately, when the thermite grenade detonated, the grenade itself had melted as well, dissolving completely into the muddy puddle of armor remnants. As a result, they could only offer a possible explanation: it was the work of a high-ranking fire-element archmage.

After a brief review of the members of the Cloudmist Territory party, their suspicions became more specific: the party had used some kind of magic item or magic scroll they had brought with them to kill the orc leader.

To be able to deal with a fifth-rank Bulwark Knight from a distance, the archmage's strength could probably only be described as unfathomable.

That was also the main reason the Creek Moon Federation was so wary. In a country like Creek Moon, those of the fifth rank and above were already considered the pinnacle of military might. When an archmage from the Radiance Mage Tower visited the royal capital, the ruler would personally receive them whenever he had the time.

Did they have any more of those scrolls? How many?

The Creek Moon Federation nobles who had visited during this time had all probed them, subtly or otherwise. Fortunately, Master Locke had foreseen this and immediately placed the surviving guards and personal maids under the strictest orders to keep silent, so the federation's people had found no clues.

Among Cloudmist Territory's decision-makers, the young commandery princess was of exalted status but followed all arrangements, while the lady-in-waiting Linda handled internal affairs and rarely voiced her opinions to outsiders. Now that Master Locke and Captain Peiwen agreed, the decision was as good as made.

"When will the party from home arrive?" Master Locke asked. That was what concerned him most at the moment.

Ever since the ambush, the young commandery princess had stayed inside the government-run inn at Boulder Fort without setting foot outside. Although the Creek Moon Federation had repeatedly offered to send an escort, Captain Peiwen had firmly refused, insisting on waiting for their own guards to arrive.

"According to the message from the swift-travel owl, they've landed in White Stone. Once they finish the entry procedures, they'll travel day and night and arrive in three or four days at most."

Old Locke slowly smoothed his graying hair and let out a long breath. "That's good, that's good!"

"By the way, is there any news of that little necromancer?"

Peiwen lowered his voice slightly. "I sent the guide to look for him. The little mage obtained his identity through a friend of the guide, so his friend knows where he is, but..."

"What?" At this subject, both the young commandery princess and the lady-in-waiting Linda pricked up their ears.

Clearly, everyone was curious about the mysterious necromancer.

"Luke, the guide, said that although his friend knows where the little mage is, he can't tell us right now. They have to send someone to ask the little mage himself for permission before they can reveal his whereabouts."

Locke couldn't help laughing. "It looks like this little fellow is quite well liked."

"Then let's wait a little longer. Once the guards from home arrive and we're ready to leave, we can see if we have a chance to pay him another visit!"

The young commandery princess seemed unwilling to give up. She hung her head. "Then we're not going to Sixth Sister's anymore?"

"Another time. There will be a chance later," Master Locke said gently but firmly. "The situation is unstable now, and your safety comes before everything else! We can't take risks."

Linda gently drew the young commandery princess into her arms. "Even if you don't think of yourself, there are so many people following you!"

"All right..."

The lady-in-waiting knew exactly how to handle the girl's temperament, and she could only nod helplessly. In one last effort, she made a tiny request. "If I can see that little necromancer again, I want another good look at his skeletons!"

"All right, all right, whatever you say. We'll see if we can invite him back to Cloudmist Territory. Then you can look at them for as long as you like!"

"That would be wonderful!"

Just as the Cloudmist Territory party was considering how to invite Chen Mo to visit the Emerald Duchy, another group, clad in armor and carrying blades, was quietly crossing the Dark Forest and heading straight for White Stone Outpost.

They were the fourth group of directly affiliated swordsmen from the Zircon Family of the Green Pine Kingdom!

Chapter 53: Pursuers from Gaoshi Territory

The Green Pine Kingdom lay in the central part of the continent, and most of its territory had once been part of the Moonrest Dynasty.

Every nation that had broken away from the Moonrest Dynasty shared one distinctive trait: they valued martial prowess!

After all, at its peak, the Moonrest Dynasty had been a super-empire that swept across more than half the Starry Continent.

If the noble lords hadn't acted so human when the dynasty began to decline, provoking a mass uprising against them-from their own people's charlatan priests to their paupers, from the elves to the dwarves of other races, from the barbarians and orcs on the borders, with even gnomes and goblins lending a hand-until war broke out everywhere and the dynasty's fortunes crumbled, Chen Mo wouldn't have had to worry about crossing the North Foothills River only to enter a new language region.

The Green Pine Kingdom, the Mirror Lake Kingdom, the Emerald Duchy, and the Creek Moon Federation were the four southern nations that had broken away from Moonrest. Their main languages were mutually intelligible, their customs were similar, and they maintained close relations, but they also remained wary of one another.

Previously, faced with pressure from the orthodox Moonrest Dynasty to the north, the four small powers had stood together and supported one another. Their nobles had intermarried and exchanged hostages on a large scale, forming a military alliance in practice and ultimately bringing the dynasty's ambitions of marching south again to nothing.

But in recent years, as the Moonrest Dynasty and the Mist Moon Divine Court entered a period of all-out confrontation, the four nations' external threats faded, and friction between them began to occur more frequently.

As for interests, how could they ever be divided evenly? There was always something to fight over.

That was why, at first, the Zircon Family had not planned to send its directly affiliated warriors across the border to deal with the lowly servant who had dared offend a noble. An underground bounty would have been enough!

But events had developed far beyond what the family head expected.

Among the mercenary parties in White Stone City, the destruction of the Mountain Vine Squad had originally been nothing more than an ordinary case of an underground black adventurer squad losing contact. No one would mourn them, and no one would even collect their bodies.

Wolves and rats in the wilderness would soon erase every trace of them from the world. Like the tens of thousands who went missing in the federation every year, they would not cause the slightest ripple.

But to the Zircon Family of the Green Pine Kingdom, this was undoubtedly a resounding slap in the face.

As a marquis of the kingdom, the Gaoshi family head possessed vast territories of his own. Under the kingdom's feudal system, this was an independent kingdom in itself. With so many important military and political affairs to handle each day, the marquis would hardly take to heart the minor matter of arranging for someone to deal with Chen Mo.

However, assignments issued by the marquis's manor, even underground ones, were tracked regularly. The failure of the mission to intercept and kill Chen Mo soon caught the attention of interested parties.

A failed mission was nothing unusual, especially when entrusted to others, with so many factors beyond their control. Ordinarily, it would not have caused much of a stir. But because there were human factors behind this failure, someone soon began to scheme.

At a grand ball held for the marquis's youngest daughter, a guest casually remarked, "I hear the nineteenth young master was exceptionally gifted at necromantic summoning and made rapid progress. A boy in my family hasn't been able to make his way as a warrior and wants to try the path of a summoner mage. I wonder if I might ask the nineteenth young master for an introduction?"

"What? He was killed by villains? What a terrible shame!"

"I must pay my respects! I imagine the villain's head has been offered at the nineteenth young master's grave by now?"

After that, the voices grew quieter, but the information spread farther and farther.

By the time the ball ended, word that a Preparatory Apprentice had assassinated a child of the Zircon Family and was still at large had spread throughout the marquis's domain.

Sensing that something was amiss, the Zircon Family's eldest young master and first heir, Gaoshi Haisen, immediately sent people to investigate.

"Eldest young master, we've basically gotten to the bottom of it! A rival of the external affairs steward happened to hear about the matter and wanted to use it to bring the steward down and take his place, so he found a chance to let it out."

"The blame lies with that fellow for drinking too much. He got drunk and talked nonsense, saying he'd taken a commission from it..."

Bang!

A metal gauntlet flew straight into the clerk's forehead with a dull thud, leaving a shocking dent. Blood instantly streamed down his cheeks.