A necromancer summoning a 055? What the heck? Section 37

This really was a major problem.

At present, Commandery Princess Liushuang's studies mainly consisted of memorizing texts. If she had memorized them through her own efforts, she would have had no trouble continuing from any line Lady Linda prompted her with. But right now, the little princess was listening to a recording through an earpiece and repeating it herself. The moment Lady Linda asked her a question, her brain crashed, and she could only hurry over to ask for help.

Chen Mo immediately assured her that she had nothing to worry about. He would definitely take care of it.

The cyber leader was capable of anything, but this would take some time!

First, she should explain to Lady Linda that the speed-memorization method he had taught her only worked when reciting a text from beginning to end. Well... it was a little rigid, but being able to recite it was better than not being able to, right?

"Um... once you've memorized the whole book, I'll go over it with you a few more times. Then you'll know it backward and forward. Don't worry, I'll definitely get it sorted!"

The little princess blinked. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Chen Mo thumped his chest and swore he would never lie to her. If he did, she could stop giving him Life's Eternal Song.

Liushuang believed him.

Though she was somewhat naive about the ways of the world, she could tell how much Chen Mo valued the pill.

Life's Eternal Song really was effective, but for professionals, it was ultimately just a highly effective healing medicine. It could have a significant effect when someone was acting alone, but in a group, there were several spells used by healing professionals that could replace it, all of which restored health much faster than the medicine.

To Cloudmist Territory, the medicine was valuable, but only to a certain extent. Its value could be measured against equivalents.

For Chen Mo, however, it was an entirely different matter.

The people who used this medicine on Blue Star were ordinary people, and elderly, frail ones at that. The gap between them and professionals was no less than the difference between fish fry and blue whales. The difference in their vitality meant that both the dosage and the medicine's effects were entirely different.

Even divided into several portions, Life's Eternal Song could produce results on Blue Star comparable to miracles.

In Chen Mo's eyes, if it could save even one unparalleled national treasure, its value was already beyond what money could measure.

The two sides' considerations were on entirely different planes.

As far as Chen Mo was concerned, even if he obtained nothing else, sending a batch of Life's Eternal Song home every year would make his trip to the Starry Continent worthwhile.

He had to cling tightly to the little princess's thigh.

With that in mind, Chen Mo regarded Commandery Princess Liushuang's request as his top priority for the current stage. He was ready to pass her needs back home the moment the altar opened again.

They had to bring the full strength of the nation to bear to help Commandery Princess Liushuang cheat.

The little princess's explanation about the "beginner stage of the associative memory method" left the serious Lady Linda frowning, full of doubts. But Chen Mo trotted out a pile of technical terms like "directional activation of neuronal synapses" and "temporal consolidation of information flow," spinning such an elaborate tale that he managed to bluff his way through.

All Lady Linda could do was remain half-convinced and continue looking forward to the "advanced learning" of the "next stage"!

The group continued onward. Chen Mo cultivated diligently, while the little princess memorized her texts with half a mind on other things. If nothing unexpected happened, they would pass White Stone and cross the Dark Forest, travel through Green Pine and enter Emerald, the little apprentice would present his wondrous items, and the scholar princess would return home...

However, on this return journey, it was impossible for nothing unexpected to happen.

When the group camped a few dozen kilometers from White Stone City, Tikpot, the Zircon Family's captain, caught up with them, leading a squad of knights.

The noise of galloping warhorses was simply too loud. To advanced professionals, it was no different from chasing after them with a siren blaring. By the time Tikpot drew near Cloudmist Territory's camp, its forces had already formed up for battle.

One glance told Captain Tikpot, who was equally experienced in battle, that there was no chance of winning. Not only did the other side have superior numbers, but they also had a full complement of heavy infantry and heavy cavalry.

The Zircon captain was quite speechless. Were they sick in the head? Did they need to bring this kind of force while traveling through a friendly country?

The paperwork and fees for getting his few cavalrymen across the border had been trouble enough. With so many of them, all heavily equipped, the approval paperwork for the personnel and equipment alone would have cost an astronomical sum.

After all, a heavy cavalryman did not consist of just one man and one horse. Normally, a heavy cavalryman traveling needed at least two warhorses, one pack beast, and two auxiliaries.

On the road, the pack beast carried the incredibly heavy armor and weapons, while the auxiliaries tended the horses and supplies. The knight himself remained unburdened throughout the journey, changing mounts at intervals to ensure that one warhorse was always resting.

Before battle, the two auxiliaries helped the cavalryman put on his full armor and equipped the well-rested warhorse with barding. Only then could knight and horse fight at full strength for a period of time.

That was how Cloudmist Territory's traveling camp operated. They had enough pack beasts and auxiliaries, so by the time Tikpot's cavalry squad saw them, a third of the Emerald Duchy's soldiers had already donned their heavy armor and tightened their reins. Their mounts wore head armor, their hooves pawing uneasily at the ground.

They were ready to charge at the order.

His own squad members, though elite heavy cavalry back home, had been forced to travel light to cross the difficult terrain quickly.

He had originally intended to make an imposing entrance and show the other side what they were dealing with. Now, it looked like he was only asking to be humiliated.

In that case, he would have to try courtesy before... well, courtesy first. He would see what happened afterward.

At an arrow's distance, he dismounted and ordered a soldier to remove his armor and sword. The man went forward with the Zircon Family's calling card and loudly announced their visit.

"Proof of the Li River's radiance, descendants of crystal brilliance, honored bulwark of the southern frontier, foundation of mankind's defense!"

"Tikpot, Mystic-Armor Knight from the famed city of Huiyao, in service to the Zircon Family of the Green Pine Kingdom's marquisate, requests an audience with the young highness of the Emerald Duchy's Cloudmist Territory!"

At the front of the formation, Peiwen, the captain of the guards, moved the hand resting on his sword hilt slightly. The blade, already half drawn, slid neatly back into its scabbard with a sharp ring.

Expressionless, he lifted his chin, signaling a soldier to step forward and take the calling card before turning and hurrying into the heart of the camp.

More than ten minutes later, Tikpot was permitted to approach Cloudmist Territory's formation.

"Speak. What is it?"

Chapter 61: Cloudmist Territory's protection

The Mystic-Armor Knight had a powerful voice. Though he was several hundred meters away, his words carried clearly into Cloudmist Territory's camp.

It was time for the daily "reading" session. The little princess was responsible for reading, while Chen Mo provided "guidance." Although Noble Etiquette had long since been recorded in full, Chen Mo had chosen to have Commandery Princess Liushuang continue "memorizing" one passage a day, both to avoid arousing too much suspicion and to buy time.

At the mention of the Zircon Family, Chen Mo immediately realized that they were probably here for him.

His nerves immediately went taut.

Although he had gotten along quite well with the little princess and her companions during this time, he had no idea whether there were any shady ties between the nobles.

Chen Mo remembered the warning from the elders back home: prepare for the worst when trouble came!

He cleared his throat and called out to the little princess, who was craning her neck to look outside. "I have a bit of a conflict with the Zircon Family. They might be here for me. I'm going to make some preparations. I'll be right back!"

Before Commandery Princess Liushuang could react, Chen Mo had already jogged over to his personal carriage.

He put on a stab-resistant vest and inserted the armor plates, secured his first-aid kit and grenade belt where he could reach them easily, tucked a folding mini submachine gun beneath his coat, and put a pistol in his pocket with its magazine fully loaded...

He attached a stick-on bomb to the drone and placed it by the carriage window. He stripped all the assorted equipment off Little White, leaving only the automatic rifle and remote-controlled bomb...

Only after doing all that did he take a deep breath and push open the carriage door.

As soon as he jumped down, he met Commandery Princess Liushuang's clear, curious amber eyes. She was staring straight at him-or rather, at his slightly bulky coat.

Am I overreacting a little?

A thought suddenly occurred to Chen Mo. If things go wrong later, should I... take this little girl hostage?

That would be a bit unfair to her...

But nothing can happen to me yet. The people back home are waiting for news from me.

Yeah, I'll try not to let it come to that. But if... if I really have no way out, I'll just have to apologize.

At worst, once I'm through this, I can compensate them with more things.

Chaotic thoughts clashed in his mind, but Chen Mo forced a gentle smile onto his face and slowly approached her.

Preparing for battle had taken some time, and the two sides had already completed their first round of talks. The little princess proudly began telling him about it. "The Zircon people say you killed their heir. Is that true? I bet he was the one who provoked you, right?"

"Was he one of those... simps you told me about?"

She waved her little hand, mimicking someone giving orders. "I had Peiwen tell them to get lost! But the big, silly-looking one in charge is still outside shouting that he wants to 'hold you accountable'! Hmph, I told Peiwen that if they dare keep pestering us, he should tie them up and throw them in the river to feed the fish!"

"Don't worry! You're the teacher who's going to teach me how to 'memorize texts,' after all!"

Chen Mo felt a tiny bit ashamed of the nasty thought he had just entertained.

He decided to explain the matter clearly, both to give them an account of what had happened. Accompanied by Captain Peiwen, Chen Mo shouted an exchange with the other side from a distance.

Captain Peiwen first took control of the situation. "Mr. Chen Mo is our commandery princess's guest. We had no intention of paying any attention to the Zircon Family's unreasonable harassment, but for the sake of our shared status as nobles, he has come out to clarify the facts. We hope you won't continue to pester him!"

Chen Mo nodded gratefully to Peiwen, then took out a small electronic megaphone and addressed Knight Tikpot, who had been stopped outside the guards' defensive line. "Knight of the Zircon Family, your young master attempted to murder me. I was forced to defend myself and had no choice but to fight back."

"In fact, even if you hadn't come looking for me, once I finished my business in the Creek Moon Federation, I would have come to demand an explanation from you!"

"First, the Zircon Family must be held accountable for failing to discipline him, indulging his brutality, and allowing him to slaughter people-even to the point of joining forces with his mercenaries to attack a noble's offspring by vile means!"

As he said this, Chen Mo felt a trace of sadness.

This defense had been prepared for him by the people back home, who had analyzed this "incident in a virtual game scenario" in detail from every angle. The most important point was that legal experts had noted that Little Goldie's repeated killings in the past, because his victims were commoners, could only be considered a fault, not a crime, in this world with its vast differences in social status.

In other words, those of higher status had the right to punish and dispose of those beneath them. The punishment had merely gone too far and crossed a line; it was a matter of disproportionate severity.

Only the attack on Chen Mo, who was also a "noble," was a wrongdoing they could seize upon.

And in fact, Chen Mo was not a noble of this world.

Thus, Chen Mo had to use a fabricated, hypocritical pretext to condemn Little Goldie's very real crimes. How could that not feel absurd?

Chen Mo composed himself and continued reciting the prepared speech. "Second, your territory has conducted itself improperly, posting a bounty on the underground black market, wantonly trampling on continental conventions and Federation law, and treating noble honor as worthless!"

Chen Mo's point amounted to dragging an improper unwritten rule into the open and denouncing it. The inexperienced little princess and her maids were naturally dazzled by what they heard, while the worldly Captain Peiwen and Master Locke could only give faint, bitter smiles.

"Third, despite the existence of national laws and noble covenants, you attempted to replace public law with private punishment. You are a disgrace to the nobility!"

"Fourth..."

Chen Mo simply did not know that the other side had made several more unsuccessful attempts on his life. Otherwise, the speech would have needed a seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth point.

Overall, the entire speech was the kind of political correctness that sounded righteous but was largely unenforceable on paper.

However, with their side currently possessing greater military strength, that political correctness still had considerable value. Knight Tikpot tried several times to argue back, but the well-prepared Chen Mo mercilessly shut him down each time. In the end, Tikpot could only give an awkward knight's salute and turn to leave, full of anger.

The immediate crisis was over.

The knight captain of Gaoshi Territory did not dare return with the matter so unresolved. He could only send word back while leading his squad after Cloudmist Territory's group at a distance, hoping to wait for the outcome of negotiations between the higher-ranking nobles.

When the group reached White Stone Outpost, bad news arrived. Because the airship on this route had crashed, and it would take time to transfer another one here, Cloudmist Territory's group could not fly across as originally planned. They could either stay and wait for an airship that might arrive who knew when, or travel west to another airship crossing.

Or they could take a long detour home by the overland route at the easternmost end of the Dark Forest.

After discussing it, Master Locke and Captain Peiwen decided not to wait and to take the eastern route instead.

The journey was suddenly much longer. During this time, Chen Mo toned down his cultivation-maniac routine a little and began flattering and fawning over Commandery Princess Liushuang in every way he could.

He had no choice. Even with guns and explosives, his life and safety still depended on a single thought from these nobles. Besides, without the little princess's protection, he might not fare well facing those knights alone.

That day, after helping the little princess "memorize" her text, Chen Mo made up a little joke.

"So, there was a huge explosion at a factory, and the factory owner fired the dwarf craftsman who worked there. Everyone asked him why, and the dwarf looked dejected and said..."

Chen Mo deliberately paused, and sure enough, the little princess rushed to answer. "I know, I know! The dwarf broke the machine!"

"Wrong. Guess again!"