Chapter 1071

"Can it even be brute-forced?"

Xu Jingming's eyes lit up, then he slightly furrowed his brows: "The key problem is solved, but opening the secret realm will draw the attention of the strongest ones—this is troublesome."

"Zhang Hengyang also considered this point—he thought of cooperating with Flame Divine Sovereign Lei Ding."

Hearing Ling Shuang pondered and said, "We could learn from his approach, but there are too many secret realms."

"Relying solely on our Void Divine Temple or the support of one or two strongest ones, it's hard to monopolize all these secret realms."

"That's true."

Xu Jingming nodded, "Sister Shuang, compile all the data related to the secret realms and send it to me—I'll go see Brother Zhou and Teacher Emers."

"With their support, even if other strongest ones get involved, we can still secure sufficient benefits."

"Alright, I'll send it to you once the data's ready."

Hearing Ling Shuang gave a slight nod, then ended the call.

"My strength is still insufficient—if I were strong enough to suppress other strongest ones, I wouldn't need to share the benefits of these secret realms."

"Then again, if I were that strong, I wouldn't even care what's inside these secret realms."

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming collected his thoughts and spoke to Eva: "Eva, list the information on the three ninth-rankers in Crimson Fortress."

"Three ninth-rankers: Jiang Liwei, Liang Hong, and Ji Shulan."

"They all possess S-class abilities; Jiang Liwei is ninth-rank upper, the other two are ninth-rank middle."

The little girl Eva replied, shaking her head.

Then, on the cabin's large screen, three figures appeared: two men and one woman.

"Jiang Liwei has been stationed at Crimson Fortress for decades—he's the supreme commander there."

"Liang Hong and Ji Shulan were assigned there only after the last UN meeting, when it entered Level Three alert status."

Eva sat floating in midair, her translucent little feet gently swinging, continuing: "According to rumors, Jiang Liwei has a very good relationship with Li Clan's patriarch, Li Chen."

"In the early days of Yuan Energy revival, they fought side by side through life and death."

"Given your S-class status and your ties to the Li Clan, be careful—he might give you trouble when you arrive."

"Give me trouble?"

Xu Jingming's eyebrows lifted sharply. "If he stays quiet and obedient, fine. But if he tries to stir up trouble, I won't mind dealing with him before even touching the beasts."

He was traveling to Crimson Fortress as Xia Meng's special envoy.

The title of special envoy carried more authority than Jiang Liwei's!

At critical moments, he could even take over Jiang Liwei's overall command.

"No wonder you're S-class—definitely commanding." Eva giggled, not worried at all.

With Xu Jingming's current strength, a ninth-rank upper S-class was truly nothing.

Crimson Fortress is located in Kaze City, on the border of Great Xia.

Besides the main fortress, there are nine subsidiary fortresses along the extended border.

Each subsidiary fortress is spaced twenty kilometers apart, each guarded by a battle group of ten thousand ability users and thirty thousand regular troops.

The main fortress, under the command of Supreme Commander Jiang Liwei, hosts the Crimson Legion—a force of fifty thousand ability users!

Combined, all battle teams and regular troops total five hundred thousand!

Beyond the border lies an endless expanse of desert and wasteland.

Due to constant beast invasions, the ground outside Crimson Fortress has been stained dark red with blood, radiating a terrifying aura of slaughter!

This is the origin of the name Crimson Fortress.

Crimson Fortress, War Council Chamber.

A massive, burly man in blood-red armor sat at the head, his right eye bearing claw marks.

He was Jiang Liwei, Supreme Commander of Crimson Fortress.

To his left and right sat a man and a woman: Liang Hong and Ji Shulan.

"I just received a message from the Chairman."

"Xu Jingming will join our Crimson Fortress battlefield as a special envoy. What are your thoughts?"

Jiang Liwei's voice rang out, solid as iron.

"We already know of three King-class Beast Emperors stationed outside Crimson Fortress."

"We don't know how many more might be lurking in the shadows."

"With Xu's combat power, his arrival should significantly ease our pressure."

Ji Shulan spoke first.

Her face was beautiful, her body curvaceous beneath a tight blue combat suit.

"I don't think so."

Liang Hong sneered. "Battlefield combat is nothing like fighting in the Beast Wastelands."

"I fear Xu Jingming won't help—he'll just slow us down."

"And—"

He shifted his gaze to Jiang Liwei. "Xu Jingming rose to fame young and acts arrogantly and recklessly."

"Who knows what chaos he'll cause here at Crimson Fortress? Should we give him a preemptive lesson?"

"Crush his arrogance?"

Ji Shulan's delicate brows furrowed at this.

Xu Jingming had indeed killed two ninth-rankers outright—his reputation among Great Xia's ninth-rank councilors was deeply negative.

But the circumstances were justified; he hadn't truly become arrogant or reckless.

Judging by Liang Hong's tone, he seemed to be deliberately targeting Xu Jingming.

In fact, her guess was right.

Unlike Ji Shulan, who was assigned to Crimson Fortress, Liang Hong had applied to come here voluntarily.

He got along well with Jiang Liwei and the Li family, so naturally he couldn't stand Xu Jingming.

"No need. Isn't Xu Jingming eager to go to the battlefield?"

Let him explore the Wailing Desert— the battlefield will wear down his arrogance."

Jiang Liwei's cold voice rang out.

Ji Shulan's expression instantly changed.

The Wailing Desert is a full fifty kilometers from Crimson Fortress, and it's the stronghold of ferocious beasts.

Lately, there have been frequent disturbances there; they suspect the ferocious beasts might be preparing some conspiracy.

But because the location is too deeply embedded, no one has ever been sent to explore it.

Yet no one expected Jiang Liwei would assign the newcomer Xu Jingming to go there!

"Xu Envoy is new here and unfamiliar with the terrain around Crimson Fortress— wouldn't it be better to send someone else?"

Ji Shulan couldn't help speaking up.

"What? Are you questioning the Commander's decision?"

Jiang Liwei stared at her without expression.

Ji Shulan instantly felt as if a great mountain had crushed down upon her, beads of cold sweat covering her pale forehead.

"I dare not." She spoke with difficulty, and only then did the crushing pressure vanish.

At that moment, Jiang Liwei suddenly looked up at the sky and said gravely, "Xu Jingming has arrived."

After him, Liang Hong and Ji Shulan also sensed the aircraft rapidly approaching from this direction.

"I'll go to greet the Envoy." Ji Shulan rose on her own accord, and soon left the conference room.

"Commander, won't Ji Shulan reveal our plans to Xu Jingming?" Liang Hong spoke up as a warning.

"It doesn't matter."

Jiang Liwei waved his hand, his gaze icy: "This is the front-line battlefield— military orders are as firm as mountains.

If he truly dares to defy my command, I'll immediately report him to the Councilor, and kick him out of our Crimson Fortress."

"Commander, your wisdom is unmatched!"

Liang Hong's eyes lit up, and he quickly flattered.