Chapter 30: with translation of chapter title

The staff were quite courteous, saying, "Actually, there's nothing much—we're just curious which overseas oil field this sample came from. Of course, if it involves trade secrets and is inconvenient to disclose, that's fine too."

Ning Jinli went along with it, saying, "Oh, indeed it's not convenient."

The other party didn't ask any further.

After hanging up, Su Yi beside her looked anxious and said, "Xiao Li, what's wrong?"

Ning Jinli grinned and took her rough hand, saying, "It's a long story, but it's good news. When you're discharged, I'll tell you all about it slowly. In short, you don't need to worry about money—just enjoy your blessings from now on."

At that moment, a logistics call came in.

It was the drone she had ordered arriving; since the shipping warehouse was inside Xinghan City, delivery was swift.

She bade farewell to Su Yi and hurried back to the factory.

Today was another especially busy day, yet she didn't feel tired at all.

Moreover, Lin Xian Village was constantly in crisis.

No one knew when the enemy forces would launch another attack.

We must seize the time and help Xiao Qidi prepare as much as possible.

Ning Jinli returned to the factory and signed for a hundred top-spec civilian drones, each priced at forty thousand, costing her four million.

She carried one through the spacetime portal, intending to give the soldiers a demonstration first.

It was already late.

In the camp, the soldiers lit fires with pine-resin water for illumination, and everywhere was bright.

Ning Jinli had just arrived at the camp when a slender, tall commander came forward from afar, his face full of delight, saying, "Fairy! I never imagined the stirrups you gave would be so useful!"

He was Li Yao, skilled in horse archery, and the very person Ning Jinli had previously tasked with testing the stirrups.

Ning Jinli smiled and said, "Exactly, I told you it would be useful, but you didn't believe me."

Li Yao scratched his head sheepishly.

Ning Jinli asked, "And how is His Majesty?"

"Reporting to the Fairy, His Majesty is training the elite troops he selected; Fairy, please follow me."

"Really? Then I must take a look!"

Li Yao led her to a wide open space behind the tents.

Over two thousand soldiers on horseback were seen, divided into several camps, personally commanded by Xiao Qidi for combat drills.

These soldiers wore labor-protection clothing and shoes, with bulletproof suits over them, looking somewhat odd in style, yet each appeared mighty and imposing.

Li Yao's eyes shone with excitement, and he couldn't help introducing the scene to Ning Jinli.

"Fairy, look—His Majesty selected twenty-five hundred from all the soldiers, all outfitted with the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Armor you bestowed."

"Since the armor is bluish-black, His Majesty named these elite troops—the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Cavalry!"

"His Majesty divided them into five battalions of five hundred each—two spear battalions, two saber battalions, and one archer battalion, all fighting on horseback!"

"Without the stirrups you gave, Fairy, none of us could have imagined being so steady on horseback; this way, weapon use isn't hindered, and we can harness the steed's speed and strength! It will surely strike terror into the enemy!"

In the distance, Xiao Qidi caught sight of Ning Jinli approaching and had the other commanders continue drilling the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army.

"Miss Ning," he said, clasping his hands in salute.

Ning Jinli patted the large box she held, saying, "I've brought you a great treasure, you know—the drone I told you about."

Xiao Qidi's eyes were full of anticipation.

When Ning Jinli opened the **box and showed him the drone, he wore an incredulous expression, saying, "This thing looks truly bizarre, and it has no wings—can it really fly?"

"Watch closely!" Ning Jinli picked up the screen-equipped remote controller and began to operate it.

Whoosh—

The drone's four rotors spun up instantly.

Then with a hum, it shot up from the ground into the night sky!

Xiao Qidi and Li Yao looked up, their pupils trembling.

It really flew!

It was so fast that in the blink of an eye it vanished from sight!

"Fairy, is it... is it a living creature? Where did it fly to? Will it come back?" Li Yao asked.

Ning Jinli stifled a laugh and explained, "It's not a living thing; it's controlled by the remote in my hand, can capture images via its onboard high-definition camera, and transmit the feed back to the controller's screen in real time. You can think of it as: whatever its eyes see, we see too."

Xiao Qidi lowered his gaze to the screen and saw clear ground scenes flashing by rapidly.

As a mosquito-like buzz approached from high above, he could view the entire camp from above on the screen.

"Ah!" Li Yao exclaimed, "Even though it's pitch dark, we can see so clearly—its eyes are amazing!"

"Of course, I specially bought the top-spec version, which has night vision."

"Impressive, truly impressive!"

Ning Jinli asked about the size of Lin Xian Village and found it entirely within this drone's coverage range.

"Little brother, want to see what the enemy forces are up to right now?" she asked, blinking her eyes.

Xiao Qidi nodded eagerly, "Of course I do!"

"All right!" Ning Jinli piloted the drone at full speed toward the outside of Lin Xian Village.

Less than an hour.

Thanks to this drone, Ning Jinli let Xiao Qidi clearly see the situation of the Yu Guo enemy forces outside the village.

About twenty-five thousand troops, scattered in large and small encampments, were stationed outside the main walls on the east and west sides of Lin Xian Village.

Additionally, about ten thousand troops were garrisoned at Xi Tun Guan, twenty li away.

Xiao Qidi felt utterly shocked—if he sent Scouts to reconnoiter, they'd risk their lives, might not gather intel, and could even alert the enemy.

But now, with the drone, he needs only half an hour to see for himself, obtain such clear information, while the enemy remains completely unaware!

Miss Ning, could you please demonstrate again? I'll have all the commanders come take a look.

No problem!

Afterward, Xiao Qidi and several commanders gathered around Ning Jinli, watching closely how she operated it.

After another look, Xiao Qidi's mouth curled slightly. "We can basically confirm that Ba Yong's 50,000-strong force is now down to 35,000. It turns out he lost 15,000 in the cavern, and those were all elite troops."

Several commanders' eyes trembled; they immediately dropped to one knee, clasped their fists in salute, and spoke excitedly and admiringly:

"Jinli Fairy, this time you not only helped Lin Xian Village draw out groundwater, but also wiped out 15,000 enemy elite troops in the process! You're amazing!"

Ning Jinli herself hadn't expected that a single blast would kill so many enemies.

She felt a bit embarrassed, "Just an accident, hehe, please get up."

The commanders were even more shocked; a casual mishap by the Fairy could annihilate that many enemy elites.

If the Fairy got serious, wouldn't she... be able to wipe out an enemy nation with a wave of her hand?!

If the Fairy is willing to continue assisting His Majesty, Daxuan might even be able to unify the world!

Xiao Qidi, standing nearby, seemed to be pondering something as well, his dark eyes holding a deep meaning.

The commanders rose to their feet, and Duan Wu immediately said, "Your Majesty, this might be a good opportunity for us to counterattack Ba Yong!"

Xiao Qidi asked, "What do you think we should do to counterattack?"

Duan Wu's expression was firm, a cold glint in his eyes: "If we deploy the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army, we should be able to handle 10,000 enemy troops! While Ba Yong's reinforcements haven't arrived yet, we could launch a surprise strike and perhaps retake Xi Tun Guan."

As for battle strategy, Ning Jinli couldn't interject; she just stood silently at the side, vaguely sensing that Duan Wu's mood was off.

Xiao Qidi asked the other commanders, "What do you think?"

Two individuals immediately voiced their support for General Duan.

"Your Majesty," Li Yao frowned and said, "I believe the forces are still vastly unequal; even if we deploy the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army, the danger remains high. Any loss to the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army would be a huge blow we cannot afford now. Therefore, we should not attack."

His statement gained the agreement of two other commanders.

Six commanders split three-to-three into two factions, each side having valid points.

It all depended on how Xiao Qidi would decide.

Coming up with ideas isn't hard; the hard part is making the decision.

"Come take a look, this… what is this…?" Ning Jinli suddenly spoke, her voice trembling, "I just had the drone hover by the gate tower of Xi Tun Guan, and I discovered…"

Several people gathered close, staring intently at the screen on the remote controller.

Ning Jinli mustered her courage and set the drone's camera to maximum zoom.

The next second, Xiao Qidi and the six commanders' faces drastically changed!