Chapter 617: Section 404: The Transmission of Intelligence
Shuang Tu left Lan Zao’s sickroom and came before the leader of the Human Race.
The two exchanged a silent glance for a moment.
Having been in contact with Lan Zao, Shuang Tu had come to deeply understand the heavy responsibility resting on the shoulders of the Human Race leader.
He sighed and consoled the leader, “Think on the bright side, your identity has not yet been exposed.”
“This sailor chief from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is very proactive and can be ruthless with themselves. Although he…is indeed a bit simple-minded, when you think about it, this can be more conveniently exploited, can’t it?”
“You make a good point,” the leader of the Human Race responded listlessly, “at the moment, I can only comfort myself with that thought.”
“Continue to recuperate; I’ll go and report our situation up the chain,” said Shuang Tu as he took his leave.
The injury sustained by the Human Race leader was still quite severe. If not for Ice Eagle’s timely intervention, he might have died from excessive blood loss.
Now in Shuang Tu’s clinic, he received proper treatment, but bandages still wrapped around his abdomen in layers.
Druid healing often takes effect slowly. Compared to that, the clergy’s Healing Skill is much more brutal and simple, almost instantly healing the wounded within seconds.
However, this isn’t to say that Divine Healing is far superior to the Druid healing methods.
Each has its pros and cons.
Divine Healing draws on the life potential of the wounded; the more often it’s used, the more drastically it reduces the lifespan of the wounded.
In contrast, although Druid healing is slow to take effect, it is gentle and does not harm the lifespan of the wounded.
Of course, Druids aren’t without methods for quick healing, but compared to Divine Healing, they lack competitiveness.
For this reason, Healers on the battlefield prefer clergy.
Commanders are also happier with Divine Healing.
Because it works quickly, it can heal the wounded in a short time, allowing them to rejoin the battle and maintain the military’s fighting strength.
Despite the damage to life potential, without rapid healing, soldiers who are wounded and fall would likely be finished off by the enemy, losing their lives completely.
When comparing the two harms, it’s better to sacrifice some future lifespan to ensure survival on the battlefield.
Shuang Tu chose this method of treatment after careful consideration.
He needed to buy more time for both the Human Race leader and Lan Zao.
During their healing period, the Human Race leader and especially Lan Zao had more opportunity to adjust themselves and adapt to their new identities.
Shuang Tu quickly relayed the situation here up the chain.
After strict encryption, the message first reached an intermediary alchemy device.
These alchemy devices responsible for relaying information are generally placed on uninhabited deserted islands, some even hidden at fixed points under the sea.
After all, there’s still some distance between Flower Skirt Island and Snowbird Port.
After several relays, Snowbird Port quickly received this intelligence.
After being promptly decrypted by experts, the true content of the intelligence was restored.
Soon after, the intelligence report was swiftly delivered to the desk of the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port was dealing with administrative affairs.
Upon seeing this urgent intelligence, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
“Oh, interesting.”
“I didn’t expect that poor sap to actually have survived. A passive move turned out to be effective.”
The City Lord of Snowbird Port had a rather pessimistic view of the mission to spy on Anqiu.
Because many attempts had ended in failure before this.
This time, seeing an opportunity in Teng Donglang’s death, he deliberately let the leader of the Saber Gang go, creating this opportunity, but he didn’t hold much hope.
Despite such sentiments, the City Lord of Snowbird Port would still make every possible effort.
So when he discovered the existence of Lan Zao, he set his sights on the latter.
After that, he successfully entered into a secret contract with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, hoping Lan Zao could help with the mission.
Additionally, he wanted to use this step to deepen his clandestine ties with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. He was more interested in the arms dealer behind Long Fu.
Holding the intelligence report, the City Lord of Snowbird Port fell into contemplation, “Long Fu has left Snowbird Port. According to the timing, their current distance from me should have exceeded the maximum communication range; I can’t directly send this intelligence to them now.”
After some thought, the City Lord of Snowbird Port called upon a subordinate and ordered him to deliver the intelligence to a branch of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Before long, Sanda received the intelligence.
This goblin was the core of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ branch and the real decision-maker.
Meanwhile, on the surface, the co-leaders of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ branch established in Snowbird Port were Menshi and Chi Lai.
Zong Ge and Zi Di had discussed that, in the absence of the Dragon-man youth, they decided to modify the previous action plan. They would lead a team to the Ice Sculpture Royal Capital, leaving Menshi, Chi Lai, and others behind in Snowbird Port.
In addition to them, there were also Sanda, Mu Ban, Big guy, and others.
Menshi and Chi Lai mainly handled routine mercenary tasks and training.
The main targets of the training were the Fast Blade Army and the Backwater Army.
Both teams had also stayed at Snowbird Port.
The reason for not taking them was simple: the combat power of these two teams was too limited to provide much help to Zi Di and Zong Ge. If they really encountered any trouble, they would only serve as cannon fodder and ultimately be sacrificed in vain.
Chi Lai and Menshi were both trustworthy.
Chi Lai had signed a contract with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, which ensured his loyalty. Moreover, Chi Lai’s past and personality were also trustworthy.
Menshi needed no introduction.
He had joined the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps with the intention of repaying a debt. The Dwarf had a strong sense of responsibility. Originally, he joined the auction on Twin Eyes Island to save his fellow clansmen and ran around for his people during the great chaos.
At the same time, Menshi had a strong sense of dedication.
He had once used his body to block the power of a bomb for the sake of the mercenaries. When the Saber Gang was fleeing, he tried to stop the Swamp Oil Aggregate despite the slim chance of survival.
Of course, the survivors were still the real core. The trust bestowed on Chi Lai and Menshi was far from enough to let them access core secrets like Mysterious Monster Island.
Therefore, Sanda had to be left behind.
With the Dragon-man youth, Zong Ge, Zi Di, Cang Xu, and Lan Zao all away, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ fleet needed a true insider to keep watch.
On one hand, many secret affairs had to be withheld from Chi Lai and Menshi; they couldn’t be allowed access.
On the other hand, if an accident occurred, only a true insider could make the most rational decisions that truly aligned with the interests of the survivors.
However, Sanda’s personal combat capability was still weak.
He was only at the Black Iron Level.
But there was no helping it, the current situation only allowed for him to take on such an important position.
“Lan Zao is not dead? I believe the squad leader will be very happy to hear this news,” Sanda sighed to himself after receiving the intelligence, “just not sure when the squad leader can come back.”
Sanda was naturally an informed party. He knew that the Dragon-man youth had disappeared in pursuit of Lan Zao, and he knew that Zong Ge was posing as the Dragon-man youth heading for the Royal Capital.
Sanda immediately set to work and sent the intelligence out.
However, being outsiders, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ communication capabilities were far inferior to those of the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
Generally, for long-distance information transmission, an alchemy device like the Magic Text Flying Communication Station was used.
But such devices consume a lot of power, have high maintenance costs, and easily lose information or even get intercepted along the way.
They couldn’t guarantee confidentiality.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port used a better performing communication device, which was more secretive, but the investment was huge.
Even with the current financial strength of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, it was difficult to afford the installation costs.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps didn’t plan to do so either; it was a waste of resources and too time-consuming.
And they didn’t have trained communication demon beasts, so Sanda thought, since the City Lord of Snowbird Port had sent the intelligence over, and since it wasn’t urgent, there was no need to use the City Lord of Snowbird Port’s communication routes to contact Zong Ge or Zi Di.
Thus, Sanda opted for a more grounded approach to communication. He directly dispatched his subordinates, gave them the encrypted intelligence, and instructed them to use the Teleportation Array to travel to the next town.
Important towns within the Ice Sculpture Kingdom all had Teleportation Arrays.
Using the Teleportation Arrays, one could quickly reach their destination.
However, the transporting distance was limited; it couldn’t be done in a single leap and required at least 5 transfers.
Moreover, the teleportation costs were expensive. The higher the level and quantity of goods transported, the more costly it was.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would have liked to “space hop” from city to city through the Teleportation Arrays and then reach the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, but the financial burden was too heavy.
There was an even more important reason.
That was the issue of teleportation slots.
The capacity of Teleportation Arrays was limited, with every town having a multitude of matters and numerous people or objects urgently needing to use the arrays; they had no choice but to queue.
If the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps wanted to use the Teleportation Arrays, not only would they incur a substantial expense, but they would also need to wait in line. In Snowbird Port, they could use the City Lord’s influence to jump the queue, but that wouldn’t apply in other towns.
All things considered, the efficiency of using the Teleportation Arrays turned out to be less than simply traveling on foot.
“During the time Lord Zong Ge set off, if their route hasn’t changed, then their first stop should be Kinsfolk Town.”
Sanda made a calculation and surmised that Zong Ge and the others probably had not yet reached Kinsfolk Town.
He gave precise orders for the Messenger to teleport to Kinsfolk Town to wait in advance for Zong Ge and Zi Di’s party.
Cold Wind Valley.
Zi Di, Zong Ge, and their party pressed on.
This valley wasn’t large and, while not exactly a thoroughfare, it saw quite a few merchant caravans pass through each year.
So, there were no high-level magic beasts in the valley, and the low-level ones certainly were no match for Zong Ge and Zi Di. Wiser low-level magic beasts fled early upon seeing the group. The more foolish ones had already become Zong Ge and the others’ game or alchemy materials.
Xu Ma came to report, “Squad leader, after the narrow path ahead, we’ll be out of Cold Wind Valley. It’s very safe ahead, not even a single low-level magic beast.”
As a Thief, he was assigned to the Royal Capital team to scout along the way.
However, Zi Di relay signal to Zong Ge, “There are ambushers on both sides of the narrow path!”