A Necromancer Summoning a 055? What the Heck?

"It's still better than you charging out there, getting chopped into pieces by the enemy, and betraying everyone left here."

Liushuang held her cheek and looked at Chen Mo. The merciless scolding had doused her impulse, leaving only bewilderment and immense hurt.

She stood rooted to the spot for a long moment before dropping into a crouch with a wail, sobbing like a child.

Well, she was a child!

Everyone fell deathly silent. Even old Locke, a class holder, held his breath, afraid to make a sound.

Chen Mo stood quietly in front of the shelter's ventilation opening, discreetly rubbing his swollen, reddened right hand as he looked into the distance. A few minutes later, the Skylark returned automatically and landed steadily on the platform outside the opening.

Chen Mo grabbed the Skylark and stuffed it into his pack. Grimacing, he slung the pack onto his back. "Let's go!"

With more than half the party gone, Chen Mo decisively abandoned most of their supplies, even throwing away all his own magic materials and cultivation potions. He took only the gimbal, equipment, and a small amount of food and water.

Six people and one skeleton stumbled eastward, guided by two fully charged micro drones, one in front and one behind.

The fifth knight of Gaoshi's household made an error based on experience. From Captain Peiwen's decision to set an ambush in advance, he concluded that their hiding place had to be within sight of the decoy squad's escape route.

The prisoner's death had robbed him of his source of information, so he had to search for it himself.

After a brief survey of the terrain, Knight Gaoshi focused the search on two densely wooded areas of low hills within three kilometers. Troops arrived in a steady stream and formed close ranks to conduct a dragnet search.

On the perimeter, he deployed a small number of mounted scouts on scattered patrols, mainly to prevent any swift individuals among their targets from breaking away and escaping.

The remnants of the Cloudmist Territory squad, who had been outside his search area from the start, once again escaped the encirclement of Gaoshi's main force.

With the drones providing early warning, the group evaded enemy patrols several times and spent the rest of the day in a wetland shelter before moving again under cover of darkness.

Thanks to Master Locke's constant recovery spells along the way, the mixed group of old and weak members trudged onward. Before daybreak, they found an abandoned village backed against a hillside.

The villagers might have died or fled. After scouting the place twice, first with a drone and then with a soldier, the bedraggled squad took shelter there.

More than a dozen corpses hung from a large tree at the village entrance. They looked as though they had been there for quite some time.

The shriveled remains swayed in the wind, their empty eye sockets gazing at the visitors from afar.

The group found an inconspicuous earthen house, set the solar panel in a concealed spot on the roof, and forced down some rations.

Chen Mo shared a room with old Locke, whose face looked haggard and sallow. Linda shared another with the distracted Yunshuang. The other two soldiers took turns standing guard, and the exhausted group fell into a deep sleep.

They slept until the sun was high overhead.

When Chen Mo woke, he still felt light-headed, and the ground under his feet felt like a thick layer of cotton.

He shook his head hard and walked out of the room. The others were already up. Old Locke and Linda were crouched beside Liushuang, talking on and on about something, while the little commandery princess stared blankly out the window.

At the sound of him, they all turned around in unison.

The moment she saw Chen Mo, tears welled up in Commandery Princess Liushuang's eyes. She held her lips tightly between her teeth, leaving deep bite marks.

Chen Mo wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say.

He grabbed a piece of dry rations, stuffed it into his mouth, and walked out into the courtyard. Then he noticed something wrong.

"Where's the other person?"

Chapter 77: A Squad on the Verge of Falling Apart

Before resting, Chen Mo had specifically assigned the two soldiers to take turns at the sentry post. He had repeatedly instructed them, "No one! Under any circumstances! Is to leave the post!"

The point was to ensure that anyone in the courtyard could see the sentry at a glance through the observation hole.

Now, however, although one soldier was at the observation hole, the original sentry post was empty. Only the howling north wind swept dust from the ground, sending it swirling gently in the sunlight.

Old Locke coughed. "Oh, it's Eliel. He said he wanted to go out and look for some fresh food for the commandery princess..."

Chen Mo's face turned ashen in an instant. "Didn't I say no one was allowed to leave the group alone?"

"Uh, young Eliel's family has served the territory as household soldiers for generations. His whole family works for the lord. He wouldn't do anything he shouldn't."

"Who allowed him to leave?!!"

Seeing that Chen Mo wouldn't let the matter go, old Locke grew somewhat irritated. He pushed himself up against his legs. "I did. I agreed to it. The warriors of Emerald aren't as contemptible as you imagine!"

Chen Mo let out a deep sigh.

He suddenly realized that Peiwen's death had brought with it a very troublesome practical problem: command of the group had become unclear.

Before this, Chen Mo had made an enormous contribution to the group because he controlled and knew how to operate certain special equipment. He also had access to overall reconnaissance information from the drones, so Peiwen had given him a great deal of say.

If Chen Mo said there was danger to the east, the group would immediately turn west. If he said something was ahead, the group would immediately turn back or take cover.

So after Peiwen was gone, Chen Mo had naturally taken over command.

But now he understood keenly that his ability to have his orders obeyed had rested entirely on Peiwen's considerable authority.

With that "support" gone, Chen Mo was ultimately just an outsider to the Cloudmist Territory group.

Details from their hurried flight for survival came back to him one by one.

Whenever Chen Mo gave an order, the soldiers would instinctively look to their masters-the little commandery princess Liushuang, Master Locke, or the lady official Linda.

Only after they nodded their assent would Chen Mo's instructions be carried out to the letter.

It was a deeply ingrained sense of class, and had nothing to do with Chen Mo's ability or whether his decisions were right or wrong.

Chen Mo decided to withdraw.

"There's a saying where I come from: people who walk different paths cannot work together!"

"The reason we've been able to make it this far, supporting one another, is first because I'm grateful for the medicine the little commandery princess gave me, and second because Captain Peiwen promised to get me a territory from the marquis."

"When all's said and done, we're just working together."

"Since you don't accept my command, let's part ways here and go our separate ways!"

Chen Mo's resolve caught old Locke, who had just been feeling embarrassed and annoyed, completely off guard. The old man's lips moved as he tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come.

The lady official Linda hurriedly stepped forward, trying to ease the tension. "It was our oversight. When Eliel returns, we'll give him a stern reprimand and never break your rules again..."

The little commandery princess looked at Linda, then at Chen Mo, a trace of pleading in her eyes.

Chen Mo resolutely turned away and began packing his things.

It wasn't that he was particularly hard-hearted. Rather, during the time they had spent together, he had come to trust Peiwen's judgment.

Peiwen's act of finishing off one of their own soldiers before he died would not leave his mind.

If even Peiwen didn't dare trust them, how can I?

Before entering the village, Chen Mo had carefully surveyed the terrain. Behind the village lay a stretch of mountains. Let alone one person-even a combined arms brigade could hide there, and it would probably take some time to find them.

Chen Mo planned to go into the mountains and find somewhere to lie low. With the Bloodline Altar, at least he wouldn't have to worry about starving. Given more time, he would eventually think of something.

In any case, he was done playing this heart-pounding game.

He climbed onto the roof using the creaking wooden ladder and swiftly packed away the folding solar charging panel. At the same time, he sent another drone out to scout. The micro drone swayed in the strong wind.

He had just climbed back into the courtyard when the soldier at the observation hole in the wall suddenly cried out, "Eliel! Eliel's back!"

"Good, he's back! Thank goodness he's back!"

Old Locke hurriedly forced a smile at Chen Mo. "Look, he's back..."

Chen Mo felt a little relieved too. Even so, he habitually sent the drone higher, pulling out to a panoramic view from above.

Then the image on the central control screen made him feel as though he had plunged into an ice cave.

A well-equipped force of at least fifty or sixty was silently advancing along the shadows at the foot of the mountain, moving to encircle the lonely village!

The soldiers in front were less than a hundred meters from the crooked fence at the village entrance!

Just then, the courtyard gate swung open with a clang. The young soldier Eliel strode in, his face full of delight. He was clutching a small bundle wrapped in rags, seemingly containing something precious, and calling out, "Your Highness! I found..."

What greeted him was Little White's dark gun barrel.

"Why did you betray us?"

"Betray you? I... I didn't!" The smile froze on Eliel's face, then gave way to the anger of someone insulted. His cheeks quickly flushed red. "Don't slander me! I went to find some fresh food fit to eat for Her Highness the commandery princess!"

"Her noble Highness hasn't eaten properly in days. This is game I caught in the mountains..." The young soldier excitedly raised the bundle. Then Chen Mo mercilessly exposed his act.

"Are those dozens of Green Pine Kingdom bastards behind you here to share your game?"

Chen Mo's words made Eliel turn deathly pale and stand frozen on the spot. They also drove everyone else present into a frenzy.

"What?"

"Eliel, have you lost your mind?"

"Bastard! How could you betray Her Highness?"

Old Locke was the angriest of all.

At the thought that a single mistake on his part was about to doom the entire group, especially the little commandery princess's future, the old man's gaunt body trembled uncontrollably.

The mage's hand shot up, and elemental energy began gathering in the air. A fireball radiating searing heat slowly formed above his palm, filling the air with a faintly scorching warmth.

Faced with everyone's accusations, the soldier called Eliel backed away again and again. At last, fear appeared on his face.

"No, I didn't betray the commandery princess. I was protecting her!"

"Green Pine won't do anything to her. We can ask the count to pay a ransom for her! The one who's afraid to die is this fellow who came from who knows where!"

The young soldier pointed at Chen Mo and shouted somewhat hysterically, trying to shift their focus. "Have you forgotten? This madman actually hit Her Highness just to save his own life. Didn't you see it?"

"He hit the commandery princess! He hit the noble commandery princess! That's a grave crime, an unforgivable crime!"

Eliel desperately defended himself. At that moment, the fear of death overwhelmed the joy of having just been promised immense wealth and status.

He waved his hands frantically, trying to rally his comrades to his side, but all he received in return were several furious stares.

Old Locke's hair and beard bristled. "Animal! You damned animal! A disgrace to Cloudmist Territory!"

The old man was a master of healing and enchanting, but before changing classes, most mages learned the basic skills.

However, his spellcasting was clearly no match for that of a specialist arcane mage. The Fireball Spell struck Eliel hard in the back with a wave of searing heat as he tried to turn and flee, but failed to kill him in one blow.

"Boom!"

A muffled blast rang out with a piercing scream. Eliel was knocked forward to the ground, the clothes on his back instantly blackening and charring as his flesh sizzled.

Eliel rolled on the ground in agony, twisting his partially charred body and pleading hoarsely, "No... I don't want to die... Captain Peiwen was so strong... even he couldn't stop them..."

"We can't escape!"