The next morning, the Wang Consortium’s seven-man team arrived outside the command post after their short rest. They wanted to discuss the next step of the battle plan with Ren Xiaosu in detail.
However, it was P5092 who greeted them. He told them, “Future Commander just left a bit ago. If you have any battle plans that require our cooperation, you can speak with me.”
Wang Run was stunned. “Where’d he go?”
“He and Ms. Xiaojin have gone out to the wilderness to look for the expeditionary army’s supply convoy.” P5092 said, “Only by taking out more of the expeditionary army’s supply convoys can we attract more of their main forces.”
Wang Run asked, “Based on what I know, he’s the future commander of the Northwest, so why is he personally going to the front line?”
P5092 answered calmly, “It’s a tradition of our Northwest. Just get used to it.”
At this moment, Wang Run recalled that when he and Ren Xiaosu went to Stronghold 31 to carry out the mission to assassinate Kong Erdong, Wang Shengzhi had ordered him to assist Ren Xiaosu in case he failed.
He was already prepared to make his move when Ren Xiaosu did not show any signs of taking action. But when Ren Xiaosu finally made his move, he nearly took out all of Stronghold 31.
“By the way,” P5092 said, “the future commander ordered me to ask you something before he left.”
Wang Run asked, “What is it?”
“Back then, he ordered you to protect those people from the Trinity Institute at Stronghold 31. Why did you leave them midway?” P5092 said.
“I received an order from the higher-ups to retreat. A soldier must obey their orders, so of course we decisively pulled out,” Wang Run answered calmly.
“The future commander expected you to answer this way. But he said that since you’ve come to our Northwest’s camp this time, you’ll have to accept the arrangements made by our Northwest Army. If you criticize our battle plans, he’ll beat your brains out,” P5092 said.
Off to the side, Zhang Xiaoman praised softly, “The stoic commander looks really cool when he’s saying those harsh words with such seriousness.”
However, Wang Run’s expression remained unchanged. He smiled. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on coming here to command your troops. I only wanted to share some information with you guys.”
P5092 nodded. “That’s good then.”
But Wang Run suddenly felt that P5092 looked a little familiar. “Wait a minute, aren’t you the Pyro Company’s…”
“That’s me,” P5092 admitted.
Immediately after, Wang Yun and Ji Zi’ang also returned from outside. Wang Run looked at the two of them and found them very familiar as well. “Aren’t the two of you… from the Kong and Zhou Consortiums?”
Wang Yun was amused. “That’s right, we’ve both joined the Prosperous Northwest.”
Wang Run was the field intelligence director of the Wang Consortium, so he still had some understanding of the other organizations. However, his memory was not as good as Wang Yun’s, so he was a little unsure of their backgrounds.
After receiving confirmation from Wang Yun, P5092, and Ji Zi’ang, Wang Run was plunged into a state of confusion. If anyone did not know better, they would think this was the joint forces of the Kong Consortium, the Pyro Company, the Zhou Consortium, and the Northwest.
Why were there people hailing from everywhere here?!
The news of the Pyro Company dealing with P5092 and changing their commander had caused quite a stir. When Wang Run heard that P5092 had been kidnapped, he did not expect him to be taken here to the Northwest Army.
With that in mind, the identity of the kidnapper also surfaced.
At this moment, the radio in the command post crackled. When P5092 answered it, Ren Xiaosu’s anxious voice rang out, “Prepare for battle. I’ve discovered a large group of the expeditionary army advancing towards Mt. Zuoyun!”
Then Ren Xiaosu hung up. After a brief silence in the command post, P5092 shouted to a staff officer, “Summon the four regimental commanders for a meeting. We’re in for a tough battle!”
Honestly, no one expected the expeditionary army to arrive so quickly. If Mt. Zuoyun got surrounded by the enemy, the Wang Consortium’s subsequent supply runs could not get transported in.
This was going to be a tough battle.
…
The large hawk in the sky flew north. It traversed over mountains, rivers, and grasslands before returning to the nomads’ imperial court after flying for nearly a 1,000 kilometers.
Hassan was waiting there for it when it returned. After the hawk turned back into its energy form and entered his body, Hassan jogged into the royal tent and said, “Master, the hawk has located the person you’re looking for.”
Yan Liuyuan asked, “Are you sure it’s him?”
“Yes, he looks very similar to the sketch that Ms. Xiaoyu drew, but he’s slightly more handsome than the portrait.” Hassan said, “Moreover, the black saber matches what you described.”
Nearby, Xiaoyu said, “I’m not good at drawing, so my sketch was definitely a little crude. It’s only to be expected that he would look different. But the fact that the black saber matches means that we’ve really found him.”
“What’s the situation in the Central Plains now?” Yan Liuyuan asked.
Hassan answered carefully, “I’m not sure about the situation in the Central Plains, but the person who Master is looking for has occupied a mountain range with his troops where they’ve built some defensive fortifications. However, just when my hawk was leaving, I saw that he had engaged in open battle with the northern tribe’s troops. He was fleeing back towards the mountains at that time.”
Xiaoyu asked nervously, “How many people do they have? And how many people does the northern tribe have?”
“More than them by many times over.” Hassan said, “It looks like they plan to attack that mountain range.”
Yan Liuyuan remained silent while Hassan tactfully excused himself.
Outside, Bulan Zir and Kirghiz Yan asked, “How was it? Has the person who Master is looking for been found?”
“Yes, but Master didn’t say what’s next,” Hassan said.
“I wonder who Master is looking for,” Bulan Zir muttered softly. “And weren’t we supposed to go to the East Sea to fish? Why did we set up camp here?”
“I don’t know who he’s looking for.” Hassan said, “But when Master first arrived on the steppe, he accidentally mentioned that he had an older brother. I’m guessing that person might be Master’s older brother?”
Bulan Zir and Kirghiz Yan looked at each other. This was not what they expected.
Yan Liuyuan was still silent in the imperial court’s royal tent. He was wearing the ferocious-looking faceplate, so Xiaoyu could not see his expression.
Suddenly, Xiaoyu said, “Liuyuan…”
“Big Sister Xiaoyu, you don’t have to say anything. I understand. I’ll think about it again.” With that, Yan Liuyuan walked out of the imperial court. He headed off into the distant grasslands alone where he found a grassy mound and sat down.
The cold spring wind blew across the ground, and the shoots of grass swayed like waves in the sea.
Wolves appeared in the distance and quickly came to his side.
The large Wolf King lay down close to Yan Liuyuan. The wolf pack had grown even larger. Currently, there were almost 2,000 wolves in total, and the sight of them was extremely spectacular.
Yan Liuyuan suddenly said to the Wolf King, “If I don’t turn back this time, I really won’t be able to go back anymore, right?”
The Wolf King looked at Yan Liuyuan doubtfully, not understanding what its master was talking about.
Yan Liuyuan suddenly stood up and got onto the back of the Wolf King. He made a very important decision. “Let’s go and save him. After saving him, we’ll come back to the steppe. In the past, he was always the one protecting me. This time, I’ll protect him.”
