Chapter 48:

While Murphy was leading the survivors to rescue people in the ruins of the outer city of Kadman City, in another place that directly caused the disaster in Kadman City, inside the pioneer army’s fortress in the East Prussian region, Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer was standing his last guard shift. He was still wearing a crisp military uniform, with the military insignia on his collar neatly arranged. He was currently on duty in the vital intelligence room of the fortress, with a neatly packed suitcase placed at his feet. There were still four hours until the end of tonight’s shift, after which he would be able to return home with the first batch of soldiers recalled from the country. As General Loren’s trusted aide who was personally promoted during the Ten Years’ War, Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer had not been shortchanged. Yesterday, the general had spoken with him, and after a three-month rest at home, he would be promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel upon his return. With such a rapid promotion, coupled with the support of his family, he might have the opportunity to become a brigadier general before the age of fifty. It was like riding a rocket. Unfortunately, such a rapid promotion opportunity might not come again, because the war was over. “I wonder if the young lady arranged by the family would like these military stories?” The lieutenant colonel’s thoughts wandered a bit as he flipped through the files. No matter how composed he was, he was still a young man. Moreover, the letter from his family had clearly stated that he had an important mission during his three-month return. That was to hurry up and find a partner for marriage! It was best to marry within a month and resolve the issue of offspring within three months. That way, even if something happened to Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer of the ancient Silan nobility on the battlefield, his family would not face the risk of the main lineage being cut off. The lieutenant colonel was very helpless about this. He was a man with ambition, and after being “trained” by General Loren during the Ten Years’ War, he deeply believed that spending his thoughts on anything other than becoming a brigadier general would be a waste of his life. “Lieutenant Colonel, there is an urgent military matter!” The messenger’s call interrupted Frayzer’s wandering thoughts. Upon hearing the words “urgent military matter,” the lieutenant colonel immediately straightened his body like a spring, picked up his military cap, and quickly followed the messenger to the adjacent Spirit Communication Room. At this moment, on the surface of the instrument powered by Spirit Beads but with a very complex base, blurred reconnaissance images were being projected. A young Spirit Mage dressed in a black military uniform was sweating profusely as he adjusted the angle, desperately trying to filter and enhance the hopeless image, so that this unsalvageable mess of pixels would become clearer. However, the young Spirit Mage’s efforts were clearly failing. “What happened? Where is this?” Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer, who was specifically in charge of intelligence work, asked in a solemn voice. The Spirit Mage immediately replied: “It’s Transia, Kadman City, Lieutenant Colonel. The Spirit Tide there weakened to an observable level an hour ago. Following the general’s orders, we conducted a remote reconnaissance. But you see...” He pointed to the blurred reconnaissance spell image in front of them. However, it looked like a pile of pixels accumulated together, causing the lieutenant colonel, whose Spirit talent was not particularly outstanding, to frown deeply. Obviously, he could not understand what the Spirit Mage wanted him to see. But the lieutenant colonel had been working in intelligence for more than just a day or two. Even without seeing the specific image, he could sense the Spirit Mage’s meaning. His expression changed, and he asked: “Has there been a problem in Kadman City? Did the Astral Realm Tear not achieve the intended effect?” “No, the Astral Realm Tear was absolutely successful! That city is beyond saving. It will become floating rubble in the Astral Realm within a week at most. But Lieutenant Colonel, the problem is that we have discovered a strange group of people gathered at the edge of Kadman City.” The military Spirit Mage gave up trying to restore this million-post-credits pixelated mess and, using his professional knowledge, pointed to a few black dots on the image and reported: “Here, here, and here! Although the severe interference from the Astral Realm Spirit energy prevents us from obtaining an accurate image, I can assure you, based on my expertise, that there are at least 400 individuals’ movement trajectories here.” “400 people?” Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said: “Is it possible they are survivors from the Astral Realm Tear? Kadman City had a total of 150,000 Blood Servants. Even if the entire city was destroyed, it’s possible for a few hundred people to survive, right?” “That’s possible, but their movement patterns are off!” The young black-robed Spirit Mage shook his head stubbornly: “If they were civilians, their projections in Spirit detection should show scattered and disorderly escapes. However, as you can see, these people are moving together! It seems they have even established a camp in the safe area outside the Astral Realm Spirit influence range. Lieutenant Colonel, please allow me to speak bluntly. This is definitely someone organizing them. Even worse, it could be remnants of the Blood Vulture Clan! Believe me, in your current situation, this is important for you. Secondly, Frayzer is from the Carpe family, the most steadfast royalists. They and their allies hold seventeen seats in the Grand Council, and they currently have factories in every province of the kingdom, continuously supplying resources for the pioneer army corps. If things take the worst possible turn, the friendship and protection from the Carpe family would be enough to save you poor souls caught up in this from being completely wiped out. Do you understand? To be honest, Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer is there to add some gilding. The promising young talent I’ve taken notice of needs a nice military achievement as a wedding gift from me, while you... After the war ends, you have lost your usefulness to the country, and I can no longer protect you. You need a new pillar to safely live as free people in the kingdom. The reputation of the old faith’s remnants is not good. Even if you don’t care, think about your hunters.” When no one else was around, the old knight was no longer so cold. He sighed and said softly to General Loren: “But we are loyal, you know, Loren! You witnessed the whole absurdity ten years ago. You know we have been loyal from beginning to end. I don’t care about myself, but these kids should not have to suffer all this!” “I know, I believe you, but others don’t see it that way,” The half-dwarf general shook his head: “The old faith’s betrayal was already settled ten years ago, Finoch. You must accept this fact. Listen to me, do a good job on this mission! The wise majesty will see it, and he will give you loyal ones a chance. I firmly believe this. Be sure to protect Frayzer! This young man is very talented, unlike those stubbornly sickening Silan nobles.” Outside the office, Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer saw the black-robed Spirit Mage covering his face and crying. He took out a handkerchief and handed it to him, consoling him helplessly: “Don’t cry, Lord Heru. The general may be strict, but he also praised your acuity.” “But the general said I was unprofessional, and that my reconnaissance spell was worse than his thousand-one-hundred-year-old grandfather’s eyesight. I definitely won’t be able to graduate smoothly now, wah wah wah.” The young Spirit Mage cried sadly, saying in despair: “I’m the hope of the whole village. This is so embarrassing. Lieutenant Colonel, you’re a good person, but you don’t need to console me. My life is beyond saving now. I’m going to find my fellow villagers and drink heavily. Alas, I hope my little aunt doesn’t make fun of me.” —— “Captain! The Battalion Commander has just summoned all the veteran captains! It seems there’s an urgent mission!” In the camp outside the pioneer fortress, Scout Captain Natalie, who had just completed her restorative training, was eating a cold midnight snack when her bunkmate, the scout Amber, hurriedly limped over to her. Amber, who had suffered an eye injury during the previous interrogation, wore a black eye patch and looked serious as she leaned over and said in a low voice to her captain: “I’ve heard some comrades passing messages privately. The Battalion Commander may be selecting elites to complete another mission.” “Hm? Where to?” Natalie put down her spoon and brushed her hair back, revealing scars on her cheek and eyes. But to be honest, these scars did not ruin the overall look of her face – rather, they made her look more formidable. The gray-haired huntress, as players called her, asked in a muffled voice. Amber hesitated for a moment, then said softly: “I have a young fellow villager who is a reconnaissance Spirit Mage with the pioneer army corps. He was in a bad mood after being rebuked by General Loren for being unprofessional, and when he was drunkenly rambling, I overheard some details. The mission should be to return to Transia! Specifically to Kadman City. It seems General Loren wants to confirm the defeat of the Blood Vulture Clan, but we... The Battalion Commander didn’t summon us.” “We must participate!” Natalie immediately clenched her fists. The events in Morland Village and Smuggler’s Woods ignited a fire within her. She said solemnly: “We must personally resolve the grudges with those vampires! I’ll go find the Battalion Commander. You find Norman and Porter. We must join this operation! That Murphy... For the sake of old Joe’s spirit entering the sacred hall of Avalon, I must capture that culprit!”