The Northern Wasteland Kingdom

Standing on the pristine, smooth, and gleaming white floor, the black-armored warriors felt an unusual unease. Even when facing the paladins, they hadn't trembled with such fear. Perhaps they would have felt better if they had known this was merely a primal human reaction to the unknown. Only when Yi Aier's voice broke the eerie silence did they feel somewhat at ease.

"Master, I have brought the person."

"It's them?"

A deep male voice rang out, and then Li Lin appeared before the crowd. Angela was still by his side, but judging from the little one's rubbing eyes and yawning, she was clearly not very energetic. Looking at the black-armored warriors before him, Li Lin planned to finish the battle quickly. After all, he had initially only been curious and surprised that there were still countries that could use civilization from the Magic Empire era.

Hello, I am...

The captain of the black-armored warriors stepped forward, about to say something, when Li Lin interrupted his self-introduction.

"I'm not interested in what you're called right now, and in fact, the only reason I'm helping you is for one reason..."

As he spoke, he slowly swept his gaze over the black-armored warriors. Although there was no threat in his eyes, everyone felt a chill run down their spines; clearly, this hurdle would not be easy to overcome.

"I'm very interested in the signals you sent out earlier. Tell me, where did you get them from?"

Upon hearing this, the captain of the black-armored warriors was greatly surprised.

This man wants our country's magical beacon!? Who is he, and how does he know...?

You don't need to be so nervous.

Li Lin sat down in the chair that had appeared behind him at some point, smiling as he looked at the black-armored warrior captain before him. Although the soldier's face mask concealed his expression, his rapid breathing and tense heartbeat had betrayed him in an instant. As Arcane Mage, Li Lin could easily detect these anomalies.

"I don't intend to steal your technology—but then again, it's surprising that someone is still using it, since it's originally our skill. I'm not asking how you made these things, because I can make the same, or even more perfect, distress beacons than your rudimentary signals. I'm asking where you obtained this technology and knowledge. I thought these things had been abandoned long ago."

Li Lin spoke slowly and deliberately, but this had a significant impact on the black-armored warrior captain. This was, after all, their nation's most secret technology—a communication technique that no one could detect, the very foundation of their nation, an absolutely secure method of communication that any country would covet. Knowing this, they had naturally spared no effort in protecting this technology; even the Five-Nation Alliance couldn't ascertain its details. And now, this man, who didn't seem very old, claimed to know the technology... even though he was just a military officer, only in charge of using it, not manufacturing it. He didn't know how the magical beacon was made. But as a soldier, he knew about secrecy technology. If the other party was just an ordinary person, the black-armored warrior would think it was just a trick. But now, this huge magical ship floating in the air had completely overturned their understanding. Not to mention them, even the five nations couldn't build such a huge magical warship. Not to mention that the Five-Nation Alliance was different from these peripheral countries; they were well aware of the fact that magic was severely suppressed. Therefore, the black-armored warrior didn't think that this magical ship was a weapon of any of the five nations in the Five-Nation Alliance.

Could it be the Mages' Association? I heard that the Mages' Association did indeed have a falling out with the Five-Nation Alliance recently, but they couldn't possibly create something this huge.

"I'm sorry, but I am not qualified to obtain the information you requested."

I guessed so.

Li Lin was not surprised by the other party's answer. He didn't think a junior border guard officer could possess such classified information; it was just a casual question, and now it seemed to have no value. But then, Li Lin shifted his gaze to the window beside him.

"However, I think those qualified to answer the questions should be arriving soon."

"Why?"

Just as the black-armored warrior was slightly taken aback by Li Lin's words, bright flames and explosions came from outside.

"Boom!!"

A tremendous amount of energy erupted from the ship's hull, but the entire magical vessel only swayed slightly and showed no other reaction. As a magical ship, it naturally prioritized defensive considerations; ordinary spells were essentially ineffective against such a powerful magical construct.

"It seems they are truly hospitable."

Li Lin sighed.

"Then, Yi Aier, go and invite our guest here."

"Yes, Master."

"Please, please wait a moment!!"

Seeing that the blonde maid with twin ponytails was about to leave, the captain of the black-armored samurai hurriedly spoke up to stop her.

"I believe those arriving from outside are our reinforcements. Please leave this to us; I guarantee we will give you a satisfactory result."

"What a joke! Since a magical signal was used, the black-armored warrior captain naturally knew which unit would come to reinforce him. His superiors had solemnly instructed him when they handed him the magical beacon that it should only be used in the most urgent situations to summon the most powerful 'Red Armament' unit, and never used unless absolutely necessary. And now, it was clear the enemy had already arrived. Based on the black-armored warrior captain's understanding of the 'Red Armament,' they would show no mercy to strangers. If this maid went out, she would most likely be attacked, and at that point... things could become quite troublesome."

Although the Red Armament are the strongest force in the entire country,... that destructive white light cannon just now... it possessed a truly terrifying deterrent power.

"Random."

In response to the black-armored warrior's words, Li Lin made a gesture indicating that he was neither in a hurry nor not in a hurry. The black-armored warrior immediately bowed and then led his subordinates toward the door.

This night was indeed unforgettable for the Red Armament Forces. As the armed forces with the strongest military in the country, they had to remain hidden in order not to provoke the Five-Nation Alliance, and their image outweighed their strength. Therefore, when the border patrol sent a distress signal, the Red Armament Forces immediately assembled at the fastest speed. They naturally would not miss this rare opportunity to demonstrate their strength in actual combat, and thus rushed here as quickly as possible.

However, Red Armament arrived at the beacon's deployment point, what they saw astonished them. Aside from the haphazard cracks on the ground, the magical ship floating in the sky alone was enough to stop them in their tracks. For the group that had rushed to the scene after receiving the distress signal, since they couldn't see their own army there, the strange ship floating in the sky was their enemy. Therefore, the Red Armament Forces immediately launched an attack to prevent the enemy from gaining the upper hand first.

However, despite their fierce attack, it seemed to have caused no damage to the strange ship.

Just then, the enormous ship slowly landed on the ground, and then the figure of the black-armored warrior appeared before them.

"Stop the attack! Stop the attack! They are not the enemy!!"

The black-armored warriors who stepped out of the cabin shouted desperately, trying to stop the attack by the Red Armament Forces, but they soon found themselves surrounded by their own reinforcements.

"State your unit number! Samurai!!"

One of the warriors from the Red Armament spoke up and asked.

"Border Patrol Special Intelligence Investigation Team 27! Please cease your attack immediately. This ship is not our enemy."

Upon hearing the black-armored warrior's report, the Red Armament soldiers quickly ceased their attack. However, they remained armed, warily watching the group of black-armored warriors before them. Then, the Red Armament Forces soldier who had spoken earlier stepped out from the crowd and approached the black-armored warriors.

"I am the commander of the Third Special Operations Unit of the Red Armament Forces. What on earth has happened here?!"

"Red Lions?!"

Upon hearing this, the black-armored warrior's expression changed slightly. Although they knew that the strongest troops in the country would arrive, they hadn't expected it to be this group. However, this wasn't something the black-armored warrior should worry about right now. He quickly reported what had just happened in detail, and specifically mentioned the request that Li Lin had made earlier.

"Is someone able to sense our magical signals?"

Upon hearing this, the other party's expression also turned serious.

Are you sure?

"Yes, and they also said that it originally belonged to them..."

"Nonsense!"

Before the black-armored warrior could finish speaking, the commander coldly interrupted him.

"This is a top secret of our country, how could it possibly be known by others?!"

"..."

"You just said he wants to see us, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Very good."

The commander slowly nodded, staring at the massive magic ship behind the black-armored warrior.

"I'll go with you to see him... The rest of you stay put. If we haven't come out in half an hour, attack immediately!"

Faced with the commander's orders, the black-armored warrior instinctively wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only shake his head and sigh. The Red Lions were the strongest unit in the Red Armament Forces, and their style of acting brutally was also quite well-known among other units. And now, this was all he could do.

Soon, Li Lin met the commander.

"Is it you who wants to see me?"

Standing before Li Lin was a remarkably handsome young man, clad in bright red leather armor, even his cloak a uniform shade of red. Unlike the other soldiers, he carried a long, bright red spear. Perhaps this was the origin of the name "Red Armament Forces." At this moment, he was staring intently and solemnly at Li Lin.

"I heard that you intercepted our magical signal?"

"Since someone has released it, someone will naturally receive it."

Faced with the other party's aggressive gaze, Li Lin simply shifted his position in the chair with great ease.

"Besides, it was something manufactured using our system, so it's only natural that we received it."

"Nonsense."

Upon hearing Li Lin's words, the young man frowned.

"The magical beacon is a top secret of our country, how could it possibly be something you created? Who exactly are you? What do you want to do in our country? Depending on your answer, I will consider whether or not to let you leave!"

"Let us leave?"

Yi Aier chuckled dismissively.

"With your strength alone, do you have the right to tell us where we came from and where we're going? You..."

"Uh-huh."

Suoxiate coughed softly, which immediately silenced Yi Aier, but she still glared at Angela with displeasure, clearly hoping that the sharp-tongued little one would come in handy when it was her turn. However, Angela seemed to be behaving like a real little girl at the moment; she was simply fast asleep on Li Lin's lap, showing no sign of waking up, and her usual sharp tongue seemed to have no intention of showing at all.

"As of now, we have no connection with you."

Li Lin gently stroked the long hair of the sleeping Angela, as if he were petting a kitten.

"Of course, depending on your answer, I might consider having some kind of relationship with you..."

"You!!"

Upon hearing this, the young man roared angrily, raised his spear, and aimed it at Li Lin.

"Oh?"

When Li Lin's gaze fell upon the young man's long spear, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"This is really interesting... A magical weapon? No, this is..."

As he spoke, he extended his right hand.

The young man quickly noticed that the long gun he had been holding so skillfully was now shaking violently and uncontrollably. Then, a tremendous force pulled it out of his grasp and it landed swiftly and steadily in the hand of the black-haired man sitting in front of him.

"Oh... I see."

Li Lin slowly spun his spear, muttering to himself. Then, a faint white light suddenly emanated from the originally bright red spear shaft.

"It's not a magical weapon... it's Augmented Armament, Master."

Yi Aier also gazed at the spear with great interest, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"This is a very ancient technology; I thought it was extinct."

Augmented Armament was the precursor to Weapon Spirit Transformation. At the dawn of the Magic Empire, as a nation of mages, the unanimous belief among all mages was that they should use weapons imbued with Magic Power. However, magical weapons were still far too expensive at that time. Therefore, initially, in order to find a cheaper method for manufacturing magical weapons, they didn't possess the clear functions of magical weapons; they simply enhanced the abilities of mages. Although the degree of enhancement varied depending on the quality of the materials used, they at least resembled magical weapons in some way.

However, in the subsequent development, magical weapons and Weapon Spirit Transformation gradually became the mainstream of the Magic Empire. Therefore, antiques like Augmented Armament, like firearms from Earth's era, only have the value of being displayed in museums.

"... Who exactly are you!?"

Seeing that Li Lin could so easily wield the weapon that was originally only meant for him, the man's expression changed drastically. He didn't even notice that a few beads of cold sweat had appeared on his cheeks.

"At least for now, they are not your enemies, and judging from the situation, they may very well become your friends."

Li Lin fiddled with the bright red spear for a while, then flicked his hand, and the red spear flew back to the man's side, embedding itself in the ground beside him.

"So, can you tell me now how you obtained the magical beacon you possess?"

"..."

The young man didn't answer immediately. However, although he was proud, he wasn't stupid, and in the current situation, he didn't have the right to refuse.

"I'm very sorry, but all I know is that this is a technique passed down through generations in our country, nothing more."

"Passed down from generation to generation..."

Hearing this, Li Lin became even more puzzled and curious. Could it be that back then, someone from the Magic Empire fled to this remote Wildlands and settled down? Thinking this, Li Lin's mind raced, and he came up with a brilliant idea. During this time, he had been focusing on the Five-Nation Alliance, neglecting these smaller, peripheral countries. In Li Lin's view, the only use of these smaller countries was currently to cause trouble and create obstacles for the Five-Nation Alliance. He didn't expect these countries to have enough courage to unite against the Five-Nation Alliance, after all, the Five-Nation Alliance possessed most of the land and resources; whether in terms of manpower or material strength, these smaller countries were no match. However, now, he seemed to have discovered a new continent.

"You should be glad, at least I don't intend to be hostile to you right now, and... I need you to convey an invitation for me."

"Invite?"

The young man looked up, staring at Li Lin with a puzzled expression.

"That's right."

Li Lin smiled slightly.

"Please turn to your country's ruler. I will be going to his palace two days from now to hold some talks... regarding the likely development of relations between our two countries."