Chapter 147 – Someone Wants to See You
The afternoon of that day.
Ye Qingyu went to the military supply department for the third time. According to the contents of the military order jade piece, he went there to obtain the various tools and resources he needed for this operation.
The position of the patrolling sword envoy was not low. Every time they went into battle, they were able to receive the needed resources free of charge.
This time, Ye Qingyu did not see Zhao Ruyun at the military supply department.
But the soldiers and officers of the supply department had gazes burning with hostility when they saw Ye Qingyu. No matter what their relationship was with Zhao Ruyun, since Ye Qingyu had struck Zhao Ruyun, this was equal to striking the entire supply department on the face. Evidently, from top to bottom, the supply department did not hold any good feelings towards Ye Qingyu.
As for the military officer in charge of approving the resource request, he was a middle-aged man.
His face had a smile that was not a smile. With a slightly cold gaze, he stared at Ye Qingyu for a short moment before signing the request.
Even if so, as he obtained the allocated military resources, Ye Qingyu could not help but shake his head.
Evidently, the people of the military supply department had ultimately done something to the supplies. The medicines and herbs that Ye Qingyu received was of low quality; the large majority were either not of enough years yet or dried and withered. The armour and weapons he obtained were also rusty and old, evidently not the best of the lot.
“It’s said that in the army, one must not offend people from the supply department. It seems that this saying is not false at all.”
Ye Qingyu smiled, not disputing anything.
In such a situation, the supply department had already allocated the resources according to the instructions on the military order jade piece. On some level, they had already fulfilled their duty. If he made an issue out of this, not only could he not gain any advantage, but instead he would give off an impression that he was a pain that fussed over minor matters.
This was the supply department of the Empire. To think that they would be so stagnant and stuck in the old ways, disregarding the greater good, really made Ye Qingyu feel disappointed.
After returning to White Horse Tower, Ye Qingyu placed some of the resources that he had no use for in the stores of White Horse Tower like rubbish. He arranged for the White Horse sword slave Bai Yuanxing to take care of it.
At that time, the Big Head who was in the midst of slumber finally woke up.
After considering for a moment, Ye Qingyu placed this glutton into his embrace. Then he gathered the clothing and resources he had long prepared. When it was evening, he left White Horse Tower, heading towards the army to report for duty.
This was the arranged time on the military order jade piece.
Bai Yuanxing and Mother Wu were left behind to look after White Horse Tower.
…… ……
One day later.
Twenty miles away from Youyan Pass.
A formation airship with the clouds shrouding its presence slowly travelled closer to the Explosive Snow Glacier.
Ye Qingyu stood at the forefront of the airship.
The long wind blew, mist and fog drifted everywhere.
This airship was twenty meters long and five meters wide. It was constructed in a similar way to the rafts on the river. Sleek and streamlined, a pale white colour, it was created with a metal material that Ye Qingyu had never seen before. There were tightly clustered formations carved on the exterior of the airship. The heart of the ship was operated using the Origin crystal as a power source, and hence it could easily traverse through the air. The noise made from this ship was extremely little, and it’s colour was also similar to the surrounding white clouds. If one was far away and did not examine carefully, it was very hard to discover its existence.
There was a formation field around the airship that enveloped everything inside. It blocked the cold strong wind outside.
Ye Qingyu sat cross legged at the head of the ship.
And on the metal plates behind him, there stood nearly a hundred soldiers donning silver armour.
These soldiers were elite soldiers that were chosen carefully from the Vanguard camp. The lowest of their strength was at the first Spirit spring level. They were led by a warfare officer called Liu Zongyuan, that stood silently on the metal plates of the airship. Every one of them was like a stone sculpture, persistent and determined, awaiting the arrival of battle.
Ultimately, Wen Wan could not participate in this time’s [Gale Operation].
Ye Qingyu vaguely knew that the number of soldiers taking part in this operation this time were nearly ten thousand. The Vanguard had allocated twenty military officers, and the Right and Left camp had also allocated another twenty military officers to command this operation. In coordination with five patrolling sword envoys, there were countless experts of the military that embarked on this mission. With a deputy commander class leader leading the way, they set off towards the dangerous area guarded by the [Southern Incline Legion] of the Snow Ground Demon Race.
Just from the numbers and military power invoked, one could judge that this was an extremely important military operation.
Forty military officers of all camps, according to the prearranged plan, set off towards different directions.
Ye Qingyu’s formation airship flew alone. During the night, it embarked and flew through the air. Travelling at a very slow speed, it borrowed the cover of the clouds throughout the sky and slowly headed towards a Northern direction.
The airship’s highest commander, Liu Zongyuan, was a silent expert. The first time they met, he had only slightly nodded at Ye Qingyu and not spoken a single word more. He was like a boulder that did not speak. Every military order was issued by his deputy commander. The two people had evidently worked together for a lengthy period of time, and was hence extremely coordinated.
Ye Qingyu had also secretly observed this Liu Zongyuan.
From his appearance, this person seemed to be around thirty years of age. With a muscular figure, wide back and shoulders, he had a robust exterior. He was wearing silver armour with a white cape behind his back. There was also a huge battle blade that was hung behind his back. The inner yuan in his body was vast and deep, his strength unfathomable. At the very least, the current Ye Qingyu could not see through the cultivation stage that Liu Zongyuan was in.
“If I do not remember wrongly, this Liu Zongyuan is ranked eighty-three on the [Military Star List]. He can be counted as a powerful character within the Vanguard camp; his ranking is even higher than Wen Wan.” Ye Qingyu furtively recalled in his heart.
The soldiers under Liu Zongyuan’s command were as silent as him.
This airship was like a spirit ship that traversed and sliced apart the clouds without making any sounds. It swam slowly through the dome of heaven.
The military order in the jade piece was very simple. Ye Qingyu was to coordinate with Liu Zongyuan’s operations. On one hand, he had to survey military discipline, recording the battle deeds of the various soldiers, and on the other hand, he had to fight at crucial moments. He was there to guarantee the success of the military officer’s mission. As for what Liu Zongyuan’s mission would be, since Liu Zongyuan did not mention it, Ye Qingyu had no way of knowing.
But from the speed and route of this airship, Ye Qingyu guessed that the people on this mission should not be part of the main battle force. They should be playing some sort of coordinating role or preparing a surprise ambush.
Without knowing why, Ye Qingyu vaguely felt through his observation that this Liu Zongyuan did not have any warm feelings towards him. He even held a faint enmity towards Ye Qingyu.
“Could it be that he is also someone of the Cool Breeze Mountain Faction?” Ye Qingyu guessed.
On the way, apart from the occasional rest, Ye Qingyu spent the large majority of time sitting cross legged at the forefront of the ship, circulating his qi and training.
On the noon of that day, the head of the formation airship suddenly changed directions. It headed straight towards the West and increased its speed slightly.
Clouds and mist were everywhere throughout the skies. The vision was limited. One was only able to see a hundred meters into the skies. Ye Qingyu did not know just where this airship was heading to. He could not even see the terrain down below. He could only vaguely sense the direction it was travelling. Time passed extremely slowly, the airship completely silent. Ye Qingyu felt very bored.
The way the ship travelled seemed not to have any rules whatsoever.
Sometimes it would speed up, sometimes it would stop as if it was waiting for something. It completely did not seem to be following any military orders, but rather soared on aimlessly.
There were several times that Ye Qingyu wanted to ask the reason for this. But as his gaze met the figure of Liu Zongyuan that was as silent as a boulder, for some reason he dispersed such an intention.
In such a state, three days slowly passed by.
On the way, they did not encounter any squads of Demon Race soldiers or other airships. Not to mention battle, even a state of alert and caution did not happen.
They continued to slowly travel through the clouds. It was as if they had entered into a silent and white world. The slow passing of time was so stifling that it made one mad.
“Through our travel, we have halted many times over. Perhaps we received an order that came from the military or perhaps it was to detect the defenses of the Demon Race and prevent discovery of our presence. We are trying to hide from the Demon Race. Could it be that for our mission we must enter deep into the territory of the Explosive Snow Glacier?” Ye Qingyu gradually understood. But it was hard to imagine what kind of method was being used to communicate with the army at Youyan Pass. The technology of the formations far exceeded his previous imagination.
It made Ye Qingyu realize even more that coming to Youyan Pass was the correct choice.
Only at such a place would his vision of the world expand. He would not spend his life confined within a little city. If he stayed, he would live a mediocre life and his sight would never stretch far. His vision would always be confined to one corner.
The fifth day.
Ye Qingyu could not make clear just how far the airship had travelled.
At that time, the airship stopped. The formation on the center of the airship stopped functioning and the airship silently floated in the clouds like a hidden claw. The soldiers on the armoured plates also began to be cautious. Liu Zongyuan always sat on the armoured plates. The sensation he gave off was as if he was a patient hunter that was hiding within the clouds, silently waiting for the arrival of his prey. Then he would kill it in one strike.
In the expressions of Liu Zongyuan and the others, Ye Qingyu could see a shred of anxiousness.
This indirectly confirmed Ye Qingyu’s guess.
He and these people, must be deep within the Explosive Snow Glacier at this time. Once they were discovered by the Demon Race, what faced them was a gigantic disaster.
During this time, Liu Zongyuan had entered twice into the cabin inside the airship.
Every time, not long after Liu Zongyuan entered, he would come outside and issue new orders.
“Most likely within the cabin, there is a truly great leader of the army sitting there giving out commands. So the highest commander of this airship is not the military officer Liu Zongyuan,” Ye Qingyu suddenly realized this point.
On the way, Ye Qingyu had not asked any questions of his initiative. He was like an outsider, silently observing everything that occurred.
Sunset.
Night time came.
The armoured soldiers became increasingly cautious and nervous.
Ye Qingyu approximated the time.
If the previous military plan had not changed, then he believe that at this time, the Vanguard Camp, the Right camp, Left camp, these main battle force should already be directly doing battle with the [Southern Incline Legion] of the Demon Race. This time, it was a large scale military campaign with over ten thousand people participating. It must be incomparably tragic on the battlefield. Every moment and every second, there were lifeforms perishing, and every moment and every second there were martial experts falling…
“The mission that we are doing, just what is it?”
Ye Qingyu became increasingly curious.
Youyan Pass had planned such a large scale military operation. It should not be as Wen Wan had said, that this was for them to train the soldiers and investigate the military power of the Demon Race. It was most likely that there was some special aim apart from this.
And he himself, in such a battle, just what role would he play?
The black night descended.
And when Ye Qingyu had his eyes closed in thought, the military officer Liu Zongyuan for the first time took the initiative to find him. He stood in front of Ye Qingyu.
“What is it?” Ye Qingyu opened his eyes.
Liu Zongyuan had no expression on his face. He said slowly, “Officer Ye, someone wants to see you.”
Ye Qingyu was taken aback, “Who is it?”
“You’ll know when you see him.” Liu Zongyuan turned around, heading towards the cabin of the airship. “Please follow me.”
