Can't Sleep

The adjutant quickly led the logistics soldiers forward to take inventory. A sharp dagger sliced open a woven rice bag, and plump grains of rice poured out. The grains were uniform, completely free of impurities, and carried a faint fragrance of rice.

They opened the pork packaging. The meat was firm and tender, with a rosy hue. It showed absolutely no signs of staleness from long-distance transport, looking as if it had just been brought from the slaughterhouse.

The logistics soldiers exchanged glances, all feeling a sense of disbelief.

This...

"Lord Count! The inventory is complete!"

The adjutant jogged over to Kaiaolen, his tone carrying unconcealed astonishment.

"The supplies are sufficient, and... the quality far exceeds our expectations! Especially the rice and meat; their freshness is incredibly high. They don't seem like products of the Aether Continent at all!"

Hearing this, Kaiaolen walked up to the pile of supplies to inspect them himself. He pinched a few grains of rice between his fingertips and felt the texture of the pork, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

He turned to look at Ye Chuan, only to see the latter looking completely nonchalant, evidently having known this all along.

"Good! Excellent quality!" Kaiaolen laughed heartily.

"With food like this, the soldiers' combat prowess will definitely increase by another notch!"

"Value for money, isn't it?" Ye Chuan said.

Kaiaolen patted Ye Chuan on the shoulder. "Thanks for your hard work, Xi Xi!"

Look, he's even thanking us.

...

Night gradually fell, and a bright moon hung in the night sky, shedding a cold, clear radiance.

Campfires lit up one after another in the camp. The orange-red firelight reflected on the soldiers' faces. Many sat around the fires, eating piping hot meals while conversing in low voices. The air was filled with the aroma of food and a faint scent of smoke.

It had been a long time since Miral had dispatched troops on such a large scale; many soldiers were even making the long trek to the royal capital for the first time.

Meanwhile, the sentries held their weapons, vigilantly watching the darkness surrounding the camp to ensure its safety.

Ye Chuan sat alone on a secluded hillside, gazing at the brightly lit camp below and feeling the night breeze of the Aether Continent.

It was just a pity that he didn't know teleportation magic, otherwise couldn't he just drop everyone straight into the royal capital?

War and all that.

Ye Chuan didn't really care about it; it was just that the process of war was very beneficial to him.

He could earn money and gain fame.

Ye Chuan had actually considered entering the royal capital alone to slaughter the monsters, but if those disguised monsters couldn't be uprooted completely, they would just keep spreading like a zombie virus.

Moreover, Ye Chuan couldn't guarantee that there wasn't some incredibly overpowered existence within the empire.

Directly occupying all the territories and promoting the Detection Skill was the best choice.

"Teacher, what are you thinking about?" beside him, Elara asked curiously.

"Nothing much. How does it feel to go to war for the first time?"

"I'm not sure yet," Elara said. The march today had been exhausting, but apart from that, she didn't feel anything special.

"Hehe," Ye Chuan chuckled. "Do you know that war is a dangerous thing?"

"I know! I will protect myself well when I go to the battlefield!" Elara said.

"No, you don't." Ye Chuan suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Danger doesn't just exist on the battlefield, you know."

Right at that moment, several obscure magical fluctuations suddenly came from the west side of the camp—

Immediately after, several pitch-black magical beams shot toward the camp's tents like venomous snakes.

"Boom! Boom!" Two loud explosions rang out. Two tents were instantly destroyed, erupting into roaring flames.

"Enemy attack! Mages are launching a sneak attack!"

The sentries' warning cries instantly pierced the night sky. The camp was immediately thrown into chaos as soldiers grabbed their weapons, rallied together, and looked toward the direction the magical attacks came from.

Kaiaolen walked out of the camp. Seeing those magical beams, he shouted loudly:

"Hold your ground! Do not panic!"

Then, he looked at his attendants nearby.

"Mages, go scout the enemy's position!"

"Scout the enemy's position!"

The accompanying military mages immediately released detection magic, but as soon as the mana spread out, it was blocked by an invisible barrier.

"Lord Count! There's a barrier!"

The military mages wore solemn expressions.

"The enemy has set up a special barrier. Not only does it hide their figures, but it also locks away their auras. My detection magic cannot penetrate it at all!"

Kaiaolen pondered. The ambushing mages were hiding in the dark and could even use a barrier to shield themselves from detection. If they weren't found as soon as possible, the camp could suffer another attack at any moment.

To think they were attacked so soon after leaving their territory; it seemed the royal capital had already caught wind of their movements.

This wasn't surprising. Kaiaolen had rallied the military forces of various major territories. With so many disguised monsters lurking about, it was completely impossible for the news not to leak!

"Dragon Eyes!" Kaiaolen's eyes lit up with a golden glow. From his perspective, everything around him seemed to slow down.

He looked in the direction of the magic, directly soaring into the air as dragon wings unfurled behind his back!

"You shadowy rats, get out here!"

With that said, Kaiaolen turned into a crimson meteor and crashed toward that spot. In an instant, the valley was pulverized, and flames rose up like a mushroom cloud!

"Oh, there's even a fireworks show." Seeing the little dragon-man blast that entire valley to pieces like a human bomb, Ye Chuan couldn't help but comment.

Could those mages still be alive?

Absolutely dead.

At this time, Torres and Irena also came to Ye Chuan's side.

"What were those guys thinking? Lord Kaiaolen is the bane of magic. Even Lord Xi Xi was chased and beaten by him," Torres said.

The next second, he met Ye Chuan's gaze and hurriedly corrected himself, "Lord Xi Xi, I didn't mean that you aren't strong."

"Since it's a logic that even Torres understands, then why did those mages do this?" Ye Chuan said.

"What do you mean?"

"Could it be that those mages did it intentionally to lure Lord Kaiaolen away?" Princess Irena paused for a moment, seemingly realizing something.

"Correct. Luring away the strongest, Kaiaolen, means their goal from the very beginning wasn't to attack the camp." Ye Chuan raised a finger.

"So—"

The next second, the air around Irena began to ripple. Three or four dark figures appeared out of thin air and grabbed directly toward Irena!

"Assassins?!"

Torres reacted immediately, grabbing his door-sized greatsword and blocking in front of Irena. "Protect Her Highness the Princess!"

Seeing the greatsword sweeping toward them, the dark figures brought out their daggers, scraping sparks against the blade. It seemed that because the blade was simply too massive, it managed to shield Irena the moment they clashed!

The dark figures appeared before everyone. Seeing this, the soldiers were just about to step forward when their legs gave out, and they collapsed to the ground one after another.

At this moment, a thick, toxic mist surged up, filling this area of the camp and completely obscuring their vision!

"It's a poisonous mist. Don't breathe it in." Torres covered his nose and mouth while keeping one hand firmly protective over the princess.

However, because Irena had given her purification necklace to Ye Chuan earlier, her face was now pale and greenish, and her body was swaying unsteadily.

"Your Highness, you can't fall asleep!"