The Evernight experts had been assaulting Zhao Jundu’s command center for several days straight. The two factions would engage in a major battle almost every couple of days, and countless bodies had fallen before this steel fortress.
Zhao Jundu had displayed an unsurmountable degree of combat strength, killing powerful enemies under seemingly impossible circumstances. In less than a month’s time, three marquis and seven counts had fallen under his spear, along with countless viscounts and barons. Be it frontal assaults or surprise attacks, whether it was a duel or a group battle, the experts of Evernight found that Zhao Jundu had no weaknesses. He could adapt and face every situation accordingly.
After failing miserably at some surprise attacks they thought were ingenious, the Evernight side finally gave up on shortcuts and began relying on their advantage in expert lineup and manpower. They launched a continuous frontal assault in hopes of suppressing the enemy.
But Zhao Jundu yet again displayed unprecedented valor in battle.
He was gravely wounded thrice in the same month and also sustained countless minor wounds, yet he wouldn’t take half a step away from the command center. There was one time the enemy had attacked before his injuries were healed. Zhao Jundu sallied forth despite his wounds and fought from dawn to dusk, killing one marquis and two counts before the enemies were repelled. Thus, the Evernight’s plan to surround and kill him was effectively thwarted.
After this battle, the steel fortress was stained red with the blood of experts and Zhao Jundu’s fame skyrocketed. He was now regarded on par with divine champions. Thereafter, that steel fortress came to be known as Duskgrave on the Evernight side.
It was because of this accomplishment that the imperial generals only blamed Zhao Jundu’s methods for the high casualties and failure to make use of the defensive advantage. Ultimately, they never replaced him. Duskgrave would’ve been leveled by Evernight if it wasn’t for Zhao Jundu holding the fort. The aristocracy and military generals weren’t dumb. They knew that this wasn’t the time to fight for status, and no one was willing to replace that difficult position anyway. That place was the mouth of a volcano. The slightly less capable people would surely die without a grave.
Countless imperial soldiers and smiths were working nervously within the steel fortress, repairing the damage from recent battles. The soldiers stationed at the firing points stared nervously into the distance, ready to fire at the first sight of the enemy. At this moment, a good number of technicians were digging into the ground to open up more space. The current underground area of the fortress was already larger than the structure above.
There was a girl clad in imperial military uniform and holding a roll of blueprints. She pointed at a corner of the paper and instructed, “Dig a hall here. Thirty meters long, ten meters wide, and optimally over ten meters high. I’ll be placing a set of engines here to support the entire fortress with enough kinetic power. We can then dismantle a warship main cannon and install it atop the fortress.”
Most of the technicians near her were old and a fair number of them were already grey-haired. Many of them wore the insignia of the Zhao clan, clearly smiths from the main residence. The technician usually had to accumulate experience for many years, so the older ones were naturally more skilled. Yet, they accepted the girl’s arrangements willingly and had no doubts about her ability.
The young girl then pointed at a different side of the paper, saying, “Install three kinetic pipelines to push steam to the upper parts of the fortress.”
Two of the engineers nodded as they accepted the mission.
A couple of young technicians stole glances at her while listening to the instructions. The young girl looked fairly tender with a hint of confusion in her expression. Only when she was looking at the blueprint would she speak with great assurance.
The imperial uniform on her was clearly not a good fit. The long sleeves had to be rolled up to facilitate work, and her skirt was also too long. The attire was clearly oversized, yet it could barely hold around her chest. People couldn’t help but wonder if the buttons on her shirt would suddenly pop.
The attraction from such a girl was naturally lethal to many young men, especially on a dangerous battlefield like this one.
The enticement was exponentially stronger.
It was at this time that a soldier walked over hurriedly. “General Nangong, General Zhao seeks your presence.”
“Very well, I’ll head over immediately.” The young girl handed the blueprint to a nearby engineer before leaving.
The two passed through a couple of doors and finally walked into a secret underground chamber. Zhao Jundu emerged from inside—his hair wasn’t even dry yet, and he was buttoning up his shirt as he walked. Through the unbuttoned portion of his shirt, one could see the well-sculpted muscles, along with his unhealed wound.
The young girl bowed, “General Zhao!”
Zhao Jundu smiled as he pointed to a chair. “Xiaoniao, don’t be nervous, have a seat.”
The girl sat down tensely. Few people would feel relaxed while facing the fourth young master of the Zhao clan.
“How goes the base construction?”
“The advanced recovery pool will be done in two days. At that point, the critically injured will receive swift treatment, and your injuries will also recover faster. The origin power replenishment pool is also under construction, should be done by tomorrow. It can help you recover all of your origin power in around four hours, two if we double the black crystal consumption rate,” the girl replied.
Zhao Jundu praised, “The origin power replenishment pool will be pretty good. With it, I can defend this place with confidence, stopping the dark races from taking a step forward! I never expected that you would be able to design such facilities. If we introduce them to the army in the future, the empire will surely gain greater momentum. At that time, you’ll get the greatest merit. Tell me if there’s anything you want.”
The young girl blushed as she spoke in a soft voice, “All I want is to remain in the Zhao clan.”
Zhao Jundu was startled. “That’s not a problem, you can stay as long as you want. If those old men from the Nangong family dare to demand anything, I’ll beat them half to death.”
The young girl nodded excitedly.
After all this time, the rookie Xiaoniao from Red Scorpion had grown up. She not only became a champion but displayed great talent in origin power and mechanical design. Zhao Jundu transferred her from Evernight after hearing of this and put her in charge of designing the steel fortress. This fortress also played some role in Zhao Jundu’s stunning accomplishments in battle.
The fourth young noble glanced at the young girl. “Xiaoniao, what do you think of Qianye?”
This question caught her entirely off-guard. Nangong Xiaoniao’s burned bright red. “Ah, this… that… erm… what do you mean what I think of him?
“What do you think of him as a person?” Zhao Jundu repeated his question.
Nangong Xiaoniao’s voice dropped to a hush, so much so that even Zhao Jundu couldn’t hear her very clearly. “Naturally, everything about Young Noble Qianye is… is… good.”
Zhao Jundu nodded. “Are you willing to stay at his side?”
This time, Nangong Xiaoniao shot to her feet and knocked her chair over. While trying to catch the falling chair, she bumped into the table and sent the teacup flying into the air. She pounced forward to catch it, but the porcelain hopped about in her hands and drenched her in tea.
Zhao Jundu could no longer sit back and watch. With a wave of his hand, the teacup flew into his hand, a wisp of origin power restored the furniture to their rightful positions, and even the splashed tea evaporated. Zhao Jundu’s origin power utilization could be considered perfect to be able to do so many things in a single moment.
Nangong Xiaoniao stood there gripping the hem of her skirt, almost in tears.
Zhao Jundu said gently, “Judging from your reaction, it looks like you’re willing.”
Nangong Xiaoniao tensed up and even forgot to breathe. Only after a good while did she give a barely noticeable nod, one that might have gone unnoticed if not for Zhao Jundu’s perceptive abilities.
The fourth young noble said in a serious tone, “Xiaoniao, you will only be there to accompany him. There will be no status, nor will you be his first wife. Are you sure you’re willing?”
Nangong Xiaoniao didn’t dare look up. Finally, she mustered up what little courage she had and replied, “I’m willing, no matter what.”
Zhao Jundu sighed. “I know this will be tough on you, but Qianye does need someone like you to take care of him. That fellow can never learn to take care of himself. Since you’re willing to stay at his side no matter what, I naturally won’t be stingy. You can tell me if there’s anything you want or if anything is worrying you. There’s very little I can’t do in the empire right now.”
Nangong Xiaoniao gave it some thought. “I… have nothing else I want. Things are already quite good as they are. Nothing will be better… if I can stay beside him…”
Zhao Jundu laughed, “It seems I picked the right person. Since you won’t say things out loud, I’ll help you make the arrangements.”
Nangong Xiaoniao lowered her head. “But… there are so many people beside Qianye, Sister Nighteye is so beautiful. I-I’m nothing… why would you pick me?”
Zhao Jundu laughed heartily upon hearing this. “You’re good, very good in fact. You’re the best candidate for Qianye as far as I’m concerned, but that guy is stupid. He won’t listen to me.”
The young girl looked up and said in a serious expression, “He’s not stupid, he’s very smart!”
Zhao Jundu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Fine, fine, he’s very smart, even smarter than I am!”
Nangong Xiaoniao nodded immediately. She then realized something was not quite right, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Zhao Jundu’s escalating laughter embarrassed her even further.
The chamber doors opened at this point, and an aide walked in hurriedly. Ignoring Xiaoniao, he walked over to Zhao Jundu and whispered in his ears, “Young Master, urgent report from the neutral lands.”
Zhao Jundu picked up the message-tube and fished out the strip of paper within. He read the message several times, his expression stern as he muttered to himself, “Medanzo and Noxus have gone to the neutral lands, the Eternal Flame as well? That means there isn’t a single great dark monarch on the void continent. Perhaps there’s one, but one at most!”
He paced around quickly as he thought, “Why does Prince Greensun and the Pointer Monarch not know of such an important matter? That’s not right, they never sent word, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know about the enemy’s movements. Perhaps they’ve already left!”
At the thought of this, Zhao Jundu stopped abruptly and shouted, “Issue my order, all squads will prepare for combat, the entire army will march out in half an hour!”
Soon, Zhao Jundu charged out in full force, routing the enemy and hunting them down for the entire night.
