Chapter 264: Suspicion

The Noble Allied Forces were numerous and mixed, and Baron Keruien could not possibly bring out his castle to accommodate this group.

Combining the needs of resisting the enemy, he found a relatively flat area near the border of Jushi Territory in the south for the allied forces to set up camp.

After the meeting ended, Luoning rode his Tayunjv and left Jushi Castle with Ruidar and the others, arriving at the camp.

"My Lord, according to your requirements, the commander's tent is set up at the very back, and I have arranged for people to guard this hillside further behind."

Qiaofuli led Luoning to the outside of the "Central Army Tent" and introduced the surrounding layout.

This former savage tribe leader was very satisfied with his current situation and work.

He knew that among all of Luoning's followers, Ruidar, Maiken, and Aierlong were definitely in the first tier, unshakable;

and he was also clear that as long as he did his best to do his own job, he would be able to enter the second tier among the other followers.

Nowadays, Wubei Territory was booming, and the Lord's status was becoming increasingly noble, which gave Qiaofuli greater motivation.

He had thought about building a career when he was still a leader of a savage tribe, and now was the best opportunity.

Luoning glanced at the tent; the supplies Jialier had arranged were indeed quite good. The scale of this tent was much larger than his own, like a small room.

The large tent backed onto the hillside, which was guarded by Infantry, and no one else would approach this place.

To outsiders, Luoning seemed a bit too cautious, but he did this mainly to facilitate Kaierluosi's landing.

"Everyone, come in."

Luoning called in all twelve Transcendental, including Ruidar, and held a small meeting belonging to Wubei Territory.

The meeting clarified the goal of this operation—to take Chishan Town and win the first iron ore resource for Wubei Territory.

Besides this, Luoning also emphasized that this war was a good learning opportunity.

The twelve Knights following the battle this time might all become captains, Regiment Commanders, Governors, etc., in the future, and Luoning needed them to watch and learn more.

Reconnaissance, defense, logistics, and even how to handle camp hygiene and what problems might be encountered—no matter how big or small, they needed to pay careful attention.

Luoning handed the specific affairs and personnel over to Ruidar to arrange and distribute, and he left the large tent after announcing that there would be a discussion meeting after the war ended, at which time everyone would need to express their gains and insights.

"It's a good thing the Lord didn't make us write an essay on our insights."

Dawei breathed a sigh of relief. He had learned some characters from Ailin, but that was not enough to support him in writing an essay on his insights, and his handwriting was uniquely ugly.

Not just Dawei, but Tangmu, Babulin, Tuomashi, and even Qiaofuli were in a bit of a bind.

Ruidar laughed: "Usually, getting you to write a few words when you have time is harder than getting you to swing a sword a thousand times. Don't let it be that when the Lord really wants you to write something, you can't."

After leaving the large tent, Luoning went up the hillside behind it alone and summoned Kaierluosi.

Chishan Town had already been blockaded by the Bolante Bandit Group; during wartime, no one could think of entering from the direction of Jushi Territory.

Luoning had originally wanted to ask Keruien for a map of Chishan Town, but the other party informed him that they did not have such a thing, while promising to draw one within a day.

This speed was fast, but one shouldn't expect too much regarding the detail and accuracy of the map.

"I don't know if this Keruien really doesn't have a map, or if he has one but is deliberately not giving it to me."

It is hard to imagine that someone responsible for guarding the border would not even have a map produced; this could completely be considered an act of dereliction of duty.

Moreover, from the other party's face, Luoning did not see the slightest annoyance or self-reproach that should have been shown over the Fifth Knight Order and the death of Sir Haen.

"I don't know why the position of commander of the Fifth Knight Order was given to a person like Keruien in the first place."

Luoning could not quite figure it out.

But fortunately, observing the terrain is not limited to maps; with Kaierluosi here, these were not problems.

Following his summons, Kaierluosi, who was already in the nearby wilderness, soon landed on the mountaintop.

Luoning climbed onto the dragon's back and rushed into the air.

"Be careful to maintain the effect of the Curved Light Refraction Magic, and don't go too fast."

Luoning exhorted: "Try to avoid crowds; Chishan Town has Knights of the same rank as you."

"Don't worry, Master. As long as I maintain an altitude of thirty or fifty meters, they won't be able to discover me!"

Kaierluosi used the Curved Light Refraction Magic very skillfully, and its coordination with speed was even more effortless; it was indeed somewhat difficult to discover.

Luoning glanced at the other party's level progress, currently at (16/12500), which had increased a little, but not much.

Let alone waiting for a dragon to reach adulthood, even waiting for it to level up by itself was very difficult.

Sitting on the dragon's back, Luoning soon arrived above Chishan Town, and without needing to expend any effort, he saw the Chishan Iron Mine, which looked like a grotto, at a glance.

At this moment, hundreds or thousands of Miners were working hard to mine.

Calling them Miners was still a bit of an embellishment; in reality, they were just a group of enslaved people, and those overseers waved the whips in their hands, hitting whoever they didn't like.

At the edge of the mine, Luoning saw the corpses of Miners piled together; there were at least fifty, if not a hundred.

"In order to obtain enough iron ore, this group of people has probably dragged all the residents of the small town here."

Kaierluosi continued to fly south, and Luoning saw carriages traveling on the road, pulling the mined iron ore toward Kaxier Town in the south.

From this, it could also be seen that one of the purposes of the Bolante Bandit Group occupying Chishan Town was probably this mine.

It was just that when he saw the terrain connecting Chishan Town to Kaxier Town, he was stunned.

This was a road a hundred meters long and no more than a dozen meters wide, sandwiched between two valleys; seen from high altitude, it looked like a sword had split a mountain, extremely perilous.

Along, narrow passage and steep mountain peaks—the enemy could not possibly pass through here easily.

Moreover, Luoning also noticed that many stones were piled up on the peaks of the mountains on both sides of the passage; these were clearly rolling stones used for defense.

"Occupying such a strategic location, how were Haen's five Knight Squads defeated?"

Luoning was very puzzled.

"Keruien said that Haen drank alcohol that night and was negligent in his defense, which allowed the other party to take advantage of the situation, but this is also too coincidental."

"And, even if they were drinking, it's impossible for everyone to have been drinking. As long as one Knight Squad was guarding here, they could have held out for quite some time."

He suddenly grasped some kind of information and frowned.

"This Keruien... is there a problem?"

All along, he had not suspected Keruien, only subconsciously thinking that the reason the other party was eager to attack was out of a desire to make amends for his faults.

As for arranging for Jushi Territory to be responsible for logistics, this was not as Keruien suspected, but rather that Luoning truly felt it was more appropriate to leave this matter for them to handle.

"Moreover, in the face of the possibility of war breaking out at any time, would Haen really be that stupid?"

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will quickly take root and sprout.

After this thought emerged, it became impossible to stop.

If this Keruien really had some problem...

At this thought, Luoning could not help but feel a chill down his back. (End of chapter)