The Returning Ranger

The Northern Lands of the Cold Mountain Kingdom, a plateau.

General Price led a regiment of special forces, braving the heavy snow, and reached the outskirts of the Bearfolk Clan before dawn.

It was a large campsite built in a mountain valley.

Thick wooden stakes formed the outer wall, and layers of animal skin tents were stacked on top of each other, with the smell of embers from a campfire wafting in the wind.

Human armies never come here at this time of winter, so the Bearfolk Clan are very careless.

They only deployed a minimal number of sentries, and some were even dozing off under the wall.

"Break down the door and break in," Price said coldly. "Don't let a single one escape."

The sound of horns suddenly tore through the night, White Graupel Cavalry charged out from behind the snow slope.

Boom!

The wooden door shattered under the attack of the mage team.

The bear-man warriors inside the tent rose in shock and anger, but before they could even don their armor, a rain of arrows pierced through the tent and fell.

The cavalry charged straight in, screams, roars, and the neighing of warhorses blending together, turning the entire camp upside down. Price also rushed into the camp.

His longsword sliced through the charging bear-man warrior, the blade drawing a line of blood. The opponent's massive body crashed into the campfire, sparks flying everywhere.

"Push in quickly and take control of the entire area!" Price shouted.

With an overwhelming numerical advantage, the camp was quickly and completely suppressed, and the battle was coming to an end.

"Search for the priests of the Plundering Clock," Price ordered.

"Found it," the soldier reported.

It's actually easy to find; it's right outside the warmest tent.

Price walked over and found a member of the minute Minute Hand of the Plundering Clock, but unfortunately, he was already dead.

At the very first moment of the attack, the Minute Hand grabbed the scepter and went outside.

It barely showed itself before being focused down and killed by the mage team.

****

The soldiers quickly entered the priest's tent and began sorting through the items, looking for any documents or similar items. Princess Dafulin had instructed them to obtain as much information as possible about the Plundering Clock.

Inside the tent, on the ground, was a small altar made of animal bones, covered with dense serpentine runes.

Beside the altar was a bloodstained cage, inside which lay a man.

Everyone instinctively mistook him for a corpse.

A responsible soldier walked over and conducted a thorough inspection.

"It's alive!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Price entered upon hearing the news, his gaze immediately sharpening.

The man had penetrating wounds to his shoulder blade and abdomen, and his breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible. A faint natural glow swirled around him, barely protecting his life force.

Price quickly stepped forward, and upon closer inspection, recognized the other person.

"Leoni!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Leoni, the Saint Rank Ranger of the Northern Lands, was injured in a serious accident about two years ago and fell from his rank.

When Su Ming encountered Abigai, it was this ranger in Lisi City who, through "Trace Shadows All Things," uncovered the truth behind the opponent's domain, "Thread Puppet Prison." "Medic, quick!" Price urged.

The military doctor arrived quickly, and everyone worked together to lift Leoni out of the cage and place him on the priest's still warm bed for treatment.

***

About half a day later, Leoni was lying in a nearby town, and his healer had been replaced by a professional healer.

He slowly woke up, lifted his eyelids, and recognized Price.

"You guys... saved me," Leoni said, his voice hoarse.

The healer nearby immediately moistened his lips with a cotton ball.

Leoni suddenly remembered something, "Now... what time is it!"

Price told him the time, "March 14th, 274."

Leoni paused. "I... was imprisoned for almost a year."

With the help of the healer, he struggled to sit up. "Su Ming and Bay Owl, what's the situation now?"

Price briefly recounted the story of Su Ming and Bay Owl during this period. They attacked the Holy Mountain Divine Might Prison, formed the Final Bone Mad Machines with necromancers as its core, then destroyed the Temple of Light's punitive fleet, negotiated with the Dragon Race to establish a base, port, mines, and hydroelectric power station, and successively defeated the Gray Ridge Goblins, the Super Crystal Dragon, the Temple of Light's Divine Covenant Faction, Charybdis. Currently, they are sharpening their knives and eyeing Water Chestnut Island.

"What are you doing?" Leoni had an expression that said, "I'm just imprisoned, not turned into an idiot."

Price didn't say much; he waved his hand, and soon a soldier brought some publications from the local bookstore.

These publications were printed several months ago, and many show signs of having been read multiple times.

Leoni looked through it and, sure enough, found reports of some of the events Price had mentioned.

But Leoni still didn't believe it.

"Even if we were deceiving you, we couldn't possibly print this pile of stuff months in advance," Price said. "Otherwise, your ' Trace Shadows ' ability would be able to distinguish the real from the fake."

Leoni reluctantly lay back down.

"My God, what's wrong with this world?" he murmured. "Was I really not imprisoned for ten years?"

After a pause, Leoni said to Price:

"I need to see Su Ming and Bay Owl. Is there any way to do that?"

"They're looking for you too," Price replied. "I've already reported your situation to Princess Dafulin. Rest assured, we should hear from you soon."

****

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the sky, Su Ming's "Interdimensional Snatch" team was on its way to the Immortal Spirit Peninsula.

Because it was a satellite signal, communication was not affected.

Su Ming leaned back in his chair, handling his business.

There were progress reports from the Earth Support Base, as well as important requests from various departments of First Sunrise.

Su Ming criticized what needed to be criticized and refuted what needed to be refuted.

After finishing his work, he found Zijin sitting next to him, reading an e-book.

The girl watched intently, her slender fingers swiping across the tablet screen, her eyes reflecting the light. The occasional turbulence of the plane did not interrupt her.

Su Ming reached out and pulled her close, then lowered his head and kissed her a few times on the cheek.

We've been married for a long time.

The entourage members sitting behind him pretended to be engrossed in studying the documents in their hands. Zijin looked up and kissed him back, then naturally rested her head on Su Ming's lap and continued reading.

Su Ming immediately became dissatisfied.

He was about to continue his "reasonable" emotional exchange when his gaze fell on the content on the tablet.

It is a classic work by Red Flag that he is very familiar with.

Su Ming suddenly felt the enchanting air vanish.

"You actually watch this?" he asked, utterly bewildered.

"To understand a country, shouldn't we look at the things it came from along its route?" Zijin replied naturally. "That's what Chloe taught me."

Su Ming thought about it and found that it actually made a lot of sense.

To help Zijin understand their hometown, it's essential to delve into its cultural history; otherwise, many things will remain incomprehensible.

"How are you feeling?" Su Ming asked.

"Very, very special," Zijin replied, "These simple theoretical texts are like an epic."

Su Ming also felt a bit emotional. "Speaking of which, we have to thank Ma Shengkaiyuan back then."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have such a strong industrial base to support us now."

****

Earth Support Base.

Jin Rongjia was drinking tea when he heard this and almost spat it out.

He slammed the cup down.

"Comrade Su Ming, your thinking is flawed!"

On the communication channel, Jin Rongjia's tone was very serious.

"What's wrong?" Su Ming's eyebrows twitched. "Without this, there would be no all-round revolution!"

Jin Rongjia was about to continue; he needed to explain this matter thoroughly.

A staff member next to him, with a subtle expression, quickly reached out and nudged him, whispering a reminder:

"Manager Jin, the Scholar Bay Owl is looking at... ' Capital '." Jin Rongjia's open mouth froze in mid-air.

Capital?

So the revolution Su Ming was referring to was --

Jin Rongjia choked on his words.

Su Ming, however, had no intention of letting him go.

"Hey, say something."

"Why don't you say that his act of open source is selfless?"

"Did this lay the foundation for us?"

Su Ming clicked his tongue twice.

"I never expected someone with such thick eyebrows and big eyes like you to have such serious problems with your ideological awareness."

"The organization is deeply saddened, Supervisor Jin."

**** A message has been sent.

Su Ming glanced at his phone, and the smile on his face slowly faded.

He didn't speak, but handed the contents directly to Zijin.

Zijin sat up immediately.

"Leoni, the Cold Mountain Kingdom has found him!"

This Leoni was present at the scene when her mother, Atiya, was attacked.

He must know what happened!

Su Ming made a call to Princess Dafulin. Soon after, the video call equipment was delivered to Leoni's side.

In the video, the forest ranger is Pale and has thick bandages wrapped around his shoulders and back.

"Mr. Leoni, you can say what you need to say through this," Su Ming said.

Leoni looked at Su Ming and Zijin, his gaze sweeping to the edge of the screen as he instinctively tried to determine the structure of the alchemical artifact.

But he quickly stopped; now was not the time for curiosity. "It was the Plundering Clock that attacked Lady Atiya."

Leoni's voice was still a little hoarse, and he spoke slowly, but his enunciation was very clear.

Zijin's fingertips tightened little by little. "Who did it?"

"The one leading them is Yexiya."

"Yexiya?" Zijin's voice rose, "She... can she kill my mother?"

Yexiya was the first Saint Rank enemy that Zijin and Su Ming encountered, and also the first member of the Plundering Clock they met.

But compared to the Death Knell and the Hairspring, even compared to the Saint Rank Taya, Yexiya's performance is at the bottom.

Otherwise, given their strength at the time, they would have had no chance of surviving, let alone killing her afterwards.

This Yexiya is only slightly stronger than those Pseudo-Saint Rank Quarter Hand.

Su Ming never understood how she ended up third in the rankings.

Leoni clearly knew about this too; he shook his head.

"The Yexiya you encountered later is not on the same level as the one we encountered back then." "She is incredibly powerful, completely beyond our previous understanding!"

A lingering fear flickered in Leoni's eyes.

"What caused me to be severely injured and fall from my rank was merely a casual attack from Yexiya."

Su Ming immediately understood.

"That was right when Yexiya had just arrived," he said in a deep voice. "Atiya encountered Yexiya, who was at the Destiny Level!"

"Destiny Level."

Leoni muttered something.

"Is this what they call this kind of combat strength?"

****

Leoni gave a very brief overview of the situation.

Zijin listened with her eyes closed the whole time.

Su Ming reached out and took her hand, gently smoothing her tense knuckles with his thumb. Leoni then added some details.

Among the enemies that appeared at the same time were several Saint Rank enemies.

Those Saint Rank are just strange.

The energy intensity is high enough, but when it comes to actually using it, it feels empty, as if it has the rank but lacks the corresponding depth of understanding.

"That's the Legendary- level Quarter Hand that just arrived as well." Katharine also joined the communication.

Beside her, Yise spoke:

"That's the feeling I got from Matiasu, the Quarter Hand warrior I encountered in Mist Mountain Bay."

Zijin opened her eyes.

Thank you for telling me this.

Her voice was softer than usual.

"At least it makes it clear to me who I should hold accountable for my mother's actions."

The vengeful oath scar on Zijin's left wrist flickered, like a flame dormant beneath her skin being stirred from its ashes. Although Yexiya had been killed, the mastermind behind all of this was still alive.

"Thank you for your hard work, and I am grateful that you fought alongside my mother." Zijin bowed to Leoni.

Leoni shook his head and said, "There's no need for thanks; we're teammates."

Su Ming noticed that Leoni wasn't in good condition.

"Mr. Leoni, please rest for a while. We can continue our communication later."

Leoni frowned.

We still need to meet.

"As you already know, I possess the power to recreate scenes—'Shadow Trace Shadows '."

He explained, his gaze falling on the Zijin.

"Scholar Bay Owl, some of these are things your mother left you."

"It cannot be conveyed by language."

**** Nearby, the healer was still tending to Leoni's injuries.

The simple external injuries have been almost completely healed, and the torn muscles and broken bones have been barely repaired with healing magic.

However, his foundation was severely damaged, and he also suffered hidden injuries from prolonged torment.

Su Ming glanced at the Zijin.

Zijin didn't speak, but her eyes said it all—she was eager to know what Atiya had left behind.

Su Ming quickly began to calculate in his mind.

They are currently flying across the ocean, carrying the formation team and all the materials for "Snatch" the formation, and it is impossible for them to turn back temporarily.

But you can't go to the Northern Lands after you arrive there.

Since the teleportation time to Eden is only four days away, the nodes here cannot be delayed.

Su Ming pondered for a moment, then quickly came up with a solution.

"Mr. Leoni, could you please come to Immortal Spirit Peninsula?"

"I'll arrange a plane to pick you up." Leoni frowned.

Crossing half of the Planet Taiya, even in the fastest flying beast, is by no means an easy task.

It's questionable whether his current body can even hold on.

Upon seeing his expression, Dafulin immediately understood the key point.

She began to explain:

"An airplane is a very fast and stable alchemical beast."

"It can hold you inside its belly."

"It only takes about twenty hours to easily reach Immortal Spirit Peninsula."

Leoni paused for a moment.

"Twenty hours?"

He instinctively wanted to say it was impossible, but then he thought of the Legendary story he had just heard, and the amazing device that allowed them to have real-time audio-visual conversations even though they were thousands of miles apart.

Leoni wisely swallowed his words. His eyes brightened, and he said, "Then I absolutely must see for myself!"

Leoni said to Su Ming, "I can come over now."

Despite his severe injuries, he was still Saint Rank transcendent being, and not someone who couldn't walk.

Su Ming nodded, then turned to Katharine.

"Yise."

"Although you just took leave to visit Katharine, I would appreciate it if you could pick up Mr. Leoni and accompany him on this trip."

Yise's face showed the expression of an office worker who receives a call from their boss on their day off asking them to work overtime.

She nodded resignedly.

"OK."

After the call ended, Katharine gently patted Yise's head, her eyes filled with affection.

I'll go pack your luggage.

"No!" Yise exclaimed, "I can do it myself!"