At the airport, two planes, each about the size of a large basketball court, had large propellers at the front humming in rotation, parked side by side in the wind that stirred rows of dust-proof netting.
A black-suited officer standing near these slightly odd-looking planes spotted two figures with small leather bags approaching from the airport entrance, accompanied by a person from a special department leading them there.
“Good day, sirs. “
“Hello. “
After they approached, Iska reached out and shook hands with the officer who was waiting by the plane.
Then the two glanced at the two double-seat, three-propeller aircraft behind the man, which were unusually robust in appearance, bearing a resemblance to bombers.
Their outer shells were covered in scale-like structures that bulged slightly like armor, reminiscent of a certain uneven texture that could be found on things like summer mats. The edges of these dark, scale-like protrusions revealed a faint reddish glow from within, giving them an eerie, otherworldly beauty.
“Are these the Disaster and the Prayer? “
Against the wind that tousled their clothes noisily, two upright figures stood on the airfield, looking up with reverence at the two aircraft before them, which bore an ancient and profound presence.
The officer in black, squinting an eye to take a look at the aircraft, then hummed in acknowledgment and said:
“Yes, these are our two most prized treasures. If you are transported by them, they will get you to the target area within an hour at most. “
Ang Pailisi transferred the leather case he was holding in his right hand to the other, shaded his eyes with his hand, glancing up, “Indeed, that would be quite swift. “
Iska’s gaze fell upon the aircraft outside, moving to the pilot seated within. “Don’t tell us yet, let us see… we need to decide which is which. ” He then raised his hand and pointed, “I will choose that one. Do you agree with this choice? “
This question was directed toward Colonel Pailisi standing by his side.
“No problem, I’ll leave it to fate then, ” Ang Pailisi said, then turned his head to look at the officer in the black uniform and spoke in a “simple language ” agreed upon beforehand, consisting of only a few words:
“Send the Radiance towards Target One. “
With that, he began walking towards the boarding ladder connected to the rear seat of the aircraft in front of him.
The officer in the black uniform picked up a small microphone and spoke to the pilot of the Science Demon bomber on the other end in this language that only a few could understand.
……
Beneath the Marlenlint Fort.
“I’ve heard this organization is elusive and mysterious, unseen by anyone for countless eras. Many have sought trouble with it, but all have failed. “
“Indeed, ” Yang Zicang, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, listened to Major General Shawn’s account in an ancient castle’s brick and stone room, as the major general told him what he knew about the wooden staff and the golden path.
Yet even so, it amounted to nothing more than the knowledge that it existed.
Even information as fragmentary as this had only been heard of by a handful of high-ranking officials in this country; beyond that, Shawn had elicited no further insights from his inquiries.
However, it was certain that, due to the prestige of the anchoring organization, the country’s higher-ups still placed considerable importance on the information related to the “wooden staff. “
But the major general himself couldn’t quite grasp what exactly had happened in between to link the organization’s actions with the bearer of the staff.
Yang Zicang pondered inwardly the intelligence he had gathered today concerning the “wooden staff. “
Tonight has truly been a precious harvest of intelligence.
That mysterious and unfathomable organization — I’ve encountered it before, yet I’ve completely forgotten. Judging by this, even if they fail in rewriting, those who encounter them would struggle to connect it with the Track of Fate that alters one’s life trajectory.
So tonight, everyone being able to remember clearly the information about the usage of the wooden staff should be a major failure for that organization.
But, in a case as major as this, I am still in great danger. It’s hard to rule out the possibility of that organization reappearing to try and erase the leak of this intelligence to the greatest extent possible.
His gaze fell upon the small boy statue made of copper, which had been placed in a cloth bag beside him, its surface showing verdigris and some flaking layers.
Just a moment ago, while these locals were off guard, Yang Zicang had tried touching the calling card lightly to get a sense of it, and—as expected—it was indeed impossible to enter the Sub-Ether Space.
He turned to this Chief Major General beside him and said, “Thank you for telling me all this, Major General Shawn. Mm… It sounds like a plane is approaching. That might be my friends. “
“Oh? ” Shawn appeared a bit surprised—he hadn’t received any notification yet. But a soldier quickly ran into this room beneath the ancient castle.
“General, Minister Ma Shuo and his team from Tarkov have arrived. “
The General huffed a hearty laugh. “Well, well, ” he chuckled as he patted Yang Zicang on the shoulder affectionately, “So our President has truly high intuition, huh? That you would even know in advance about new arrivals. Truly worthy of being one of the peak accomplish in the ranks of the Fogfolk. “
“Ah, nothing too special. I was just picking up the sounds of a quiet aircraft engine. “
The major looked at the leaves and dust swirling past the arched gateway outside. “To be able to hear an airplane engine in such a gale… that’s a level only achieved by some of our top warriors. Chairman Yang, you really are too modest. “
Sean turned back to the reporting soldier and said, “Let’s go. We’ll go together to welcome these gentlemen from Talco. “
“Let’s go, ” Yang Zicang said, picking up the cloth bag containing his belongings and following along.
As the two of them stepped out of the building, the wind suddenly picked up, catching a distant tarpaulin and sending it flapping into the sky.
“Oh dear, this weather… I hope the airships will be okay. “
Yang Zicang, who had fallen a step behind, felt a jolt in his heart and a thought raced through his mind. In that extra set of memories, at this very moment, he had already departed for the Rolling Sea, searching for a lost signal station. As for the weather turning from a cloudy day in Talco into a gale-force wind—he had never even considered that problem.
Not to mention the airship signal transmission channels that had already been controlled by that so-called “Full Moon Angel, ” claiming it was to help maintain signal stability.
He carefully recalled all news related to Talco’s two airships after his return to land. Though the whole world was in an uproar of rage and chaos, he indeed hadn’t heard any news about problems with the airships.
The tarpaulin was swept by the wind and came to rest on an arrow slit atop the ancient castle.
After shaking twice, the arrow stack, which was already at least four hundred years old, let out a faint creak, and then, along with the “thud ” of the canvas being blown diagonally into the distance, it fell heavily with the crumbling bricks.
Yang Zicang, who heard the commotion from the canvas, just looked up when he suddenly sensed the falling boulder through his Silent Night.
“Watch out! “
A thin, winding line quickly shot out, altering the boulder’s trajectory. With a booming sound, it tilted and crashed onto the open ground beside him, giving the young Major a start.
The three of them all simultaneously looked at the shattered slabs. A nearby square scattering a flock of goats got startled and stirred in chaos for a moment amid the commotion.
“Ah, lucky no one was hit, ” the Major said with a lingering sense of fear as he glanced up. “If it had fallen on us, it would have been dangerous. “
Yang Zicang also turned his head to look at the brick wall outside the ancient castle.
The soldier grinned, “This minor accident wouldn’t have caused any ill effects even if it had hit our President. “
The young man, hearing those words drift past his ears, lowered his brow slightly and took a moment to sense carefully. Was this a contingency left behind by the one known as the Mirror Angel of Radiance, caught as per the chattering of the Army soldiers, or was it some interference aimed specifically at him, triggered by the wind blowing at that canvas just now?
He lifted the cloth bag in his hand and glanced at it; it wouldn’ t matter if it hit him, but breaking this thing would be a huge loss.
Suddenly, he heard among the wind some fine, slight, unusual sounds.
Cackle, crack…
The sound of constant cracking came. Yang Zicang thought for a moment, then a tingling numbness swept across his skin!
He turned around to face the sheep and the group of warriors outside the flock standing guard with feet apart. “Everyone nearby, evacuate quickly! “
Some well-built soldier army warriors turned to look. The young man, whose face was sharp as if carved, shouted loudly: “This castle is going to collapse! “
“What, this…! “
The major general heard the sound and was shocked, looking up at the small, fragmented stones falling from the cracks in the high place.
“Soldier Army! ” The major general also shouted hastily, “Whoever can help, hurry! Go all out to rescue the goats! “
“Baa, baa~! “
Several figures from outside quickly sprinted and rushed in.
At that moment, the messenger soldier, whose mind seemed a bit blank beside the major general, swept an uncertain glance at these goats nearby. They had not been driven away because the hostage-taker with the machine gun was dead.
These small creatures were still gathered near the castle!
In that instant, as the major general shouted, the messenger soldier felt a chill that seeped through him from the inside out.
“Get away!” he shouted, turning toward a half-grown goat that had charged past him a few steps. He waved his hands as if frantic, yelling, “Run! Run!“
“Baa~~“
The flock spread into a crescent-shaped arc. Once the soldier ran past, they turned and came back.
A few silhouettes were like soap droplets spreading across oil, causing the flock to scatter with panicked bleats.
Clatter—from the tall, ancient castle visible even in the outskirts, fine shards of stone crumbled and fell.
At that moment, the soldiers from the Land Army among the goats felt as though they were powerless despite having all their strength—like fists with nowhere to strike. They reached out and grabbed a goat by the leg or wrapped a stranglehold around its neck, and these fragile creatures could only bleat to a halt, too small to resist. Yet there were still so many goats. These utterly ignored the soldiers as they held on, jostling and even bumping into other goats beside them.
A soldier’s body emitted a thick, ethereal aura. He swung his fist burning within flames, driving the goats away.
“I’ll go find Wade!“
A figure rushed toward the outskirts—heading urgently to fetch the goatherd who had been out far away, selecting goats for the far-range herding.
Bang!
Running, he heard the sound of collapse from behind—the warrior, his face etched with the weathered marks of long training, turned to look. The tall, round, tower-like brick structure embedded high on the side of the castle plummeted with a thunderous crash as the rock beneath it gave way.
“Damn it! ” The man stared in panic when he suddenly noticed the flock of goats below, as if struck by some unseen terror, bleating loudly all at once and quickly bolting outward.
The goats leaped and sprinted at tremendous speed; within two or three seconds of the building’s collapse, they cleared the area and had already fled twenty or thirty meters away.
Then, as if an explosion had gone off in that zone, every goat scattered across the front of the ancient castle seemed to be whipped by an invisible force, jostling and stampeding outward in a single, frantic tide.
The goats in the rear surged into gaps ahead. Some, overwhelmed by terror, vaulted onto the backs of others, then slipped and tumbled to the ground. Others charged sideways like mad things, only to be blocked by the bodies of goats streaming in from the flanks.
The herd surged outward like a wave of water.
“This is—! ” The Demon-Blood Warrior, sprinting down the road, felt a wave of palpable fear and dread grip him the next second. His Stellar Yuan surged into life on its own, instantly tracing the source of this feeling of utter disorientation—a hollow isolation as if abandoned by the entire world.
The approximate location of the figure sensed by the Stellar Yuan had already appeared beneath the crumbling circular tower of rock.
Rumble!
Large amounts of rocks collapsed. Some were too massive, and Yang Zicang felt that his own commands could not make their altered trajectory agile enough; they could only crash down close beside him.
“Evacuate quickly! ” The commander in the nearby alley, seeing the situation, did not hesitate to issue the order. “All soldiers retreat, but clear a path for the goats! “
Seeing this tide of leaping goats surging out from the depths of the square, these warriors immediately cleared a path for them.
The chaotic, stacking flock of goats, pushed and shoved, crashed forward to the front of the warriors. Some goats leaping on the backs of others immediately rushed into the winding alleys amidst the spreading sense of panic, madly following the roads outwards.
Following behind came a torrent-like crowd of these goats with mottled colors.
Some figures among the flock, due to a moment of misalignment, were knocked into spinning head over tail, unsure which direction they should run.
The ground began to tremble.
The warriors, pressed tightly against the walls at the alley entrance, waiting for the goats to stampede past, looked up. They saw the breathtaking historical monument collapsing and falling downwards amid a series of heart-wrenching crackling sounds.
Suddenly, a Soldier Army warrior who had absorbed demonic blood sensed something strange in the aura.
This battle-hardened warrior didn’t hesitate for a moment—he shot towards Chairman Yang’s position on the castle’s flank like a bolt of lightning. “Get away from here, Chairman! “
Among the floating dust, Yang Zicang suddenly sensed a strange aura emerging, one that made the air itself feel slightly thicker.
Amidst the vast clouds of dust kicked up by the collapsing stone and brick, a hazy, energetic silhouette slowly floated up from the ground, rising with the swirling dirt.
It was like a thin film naturally stirred up by the wind displacing the dust.
By the time the Soldier Army warrior’s voice reached Yang Zicang’s ears, it had already become buzzing and distorted with a rapid, almost inaudible slur.
Whoosh… whoosh… A mighty wind blew a sweeping cloud of dirt, twisting and scattering it outward.
Then, with a sudden burst! The scattered dust particles rapidly coalesced, writhing and spinning, into an energy scimitar. It swung towards Yang Zicang with a silent, killing intent.
Behind his wind-blown, fluttering coat, a flicker of rare solemnity and deep-seated hatred shone in the young man’s eyes.
“It’s you! “
As the blade of energy slashed towards him at high speed, Yang Zicang flickered in place, a blur faster than the eye could see, and vanished with a sharpshishsound.
Boom! The scimitar swept through empty air as the strike’s force carved into the ground beside him. The entire pile of fallen rock and debris erupted in a massive explosion.
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