Chapter 498: Mountain City Subdued, Massive Gains

Chapter 498: Chapter 23: Mountain City Subdued, Massive Gains

The figures turned and left, one after another, to arrange the subsequent matters.

Amidst the RUSTLING footsteps, several Superpower Commanders also withdrew. The command room soon quieted down.

Only then did Lu Chao retract his gaze to look at the only other figure left in the room. As the leader of the Red Flame Army, Chen Junhao had been here from the very beginning. He sat on one side of the long command table, his black general’s coat unbuttoned. His fractured left arm, already bandaged, was supported by a splint and sling, while his right fingers held a cigarette, puffing out clouds of smoke.

“Deploying troops and dispatching generals, all in perfect order,” Chen Junhao said calmly. From last night until now, the two of them had not truly sat down to talk. He exhaled a puff of smoke and looked up at Lu Chao. “These people from the Rhombus Ring City Circle seem to have done a lot of preparation. Their war supplies are quite comprehensive.

“It seems you had a plan from the very beginning and never considered genuinely negotiating.”

Lu Chao walked to the opposite side of the long table and sat down. Ghost Element leapt from his shoulder and elegantly lay on the edge of the table.

“This is the inevitable trend.” He did not deny it, calmly meeting Brother Hao’s gaze. “Mountain City will inevitably become a part of the Alliance Country in the end. It’s not because of you or me, but because the Alliance Country will not tolerate this place being taken over by the Rebels.”

Chen Junhao fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

The death of Lu Weilong was exactly because of this. The man had failed to see this point clearly. Even if the person in front of him had not taken action, other Alliance Country commissioners would have assassinated him anyway.

“What about the Red Flame Army?” he asked, taking another drag of his cigarette. The smoke rose, then dissipated.

Lu Chao did not answer immediately. He recalled their agreement during their late-night talk. Aside from personally killing Lu Weilong, this was the only other condition: the settlement of the Red Flame Army. The Red Flame Army was not a motley crew like the Red River Army. The troops Brother Hao had trained still followed certain rules and maintained fundamental bottom lines. This was also one of the reasons he had agreed to cooperate in the first place.

“I can guarantee that all your conditions will be met,” Lu Chao said earnestly. “The Red Flame Army will become a part of the Alliance Country’s military. From now on, they can be stationed here long-term and report directly to the City Defense Department.

“Your men will also receive proper Alliance Country identities, and not a single cent of their rightful benefits will be missing.”

This was the benefit of taking the initiative to surrender and cooperate, and it was the maximum extent of what he could promise Brother Hao.

Hearing this, Chen Junhao paused. He stared at Lu Chao for a few seconds, as if confirming the weight of those words. Finally, he nodded and stubbed out his cigarette on the table.

“I believe you.”

With that brief answer, the atmosphere quietly eased. The two casually chatted for a bit. During this time, Chen Junhao quietly stood up, lit another cigarette, and walked to the window. His gaze passed through the glass, landing on the distant streets that were being cleared.

“You’re from the special investigation team, so you must be very familiar with the affairs of the Superpower Bureau,” he said sincerely, a look of reminiscence and concern appearing in his eyes. “I wonder if I could ask you to help me look into someone.”

Hearing this, a guess arose in Lu Chao’s mind.

“Who?”

“Lu Chao.”

Deep in the northwest wilderness.

At the Rebel Base.

The lighting in the cold metal corridors was dim, with only the emergency lights still on. The heavy alloy doors slowly opened, revealing fully armed Rebel squads moving in and out, along with quite a few experts and scholars in white coats bustling about.

“You can’t reach him?”

Frowning, Tan Shanzhong, dressed in a dark Rebel uniform, stood before the command console. Even though he was considered an elderly man among Martial Artists, with grayish-white hair, his complexion remained ruddy, showing few signs of aging.

“Y-yes, sir.” Cold sweat seeped from the forehead of the intelligence officer in charge of communications. His voice trembled, “Lord Suohui’s communicator has lost its signal since last night. We’ve tried all frequencies, but there is no response.”

Tan Shanzhong’s face darkened. He certainly knew what this meant. Suohui was the former director of this base; although his strength was inferior to his own, he was still an expert at the Transcendence Level. With his communicator on him at all times, how could there be absolute silence?

“Are there any anomalies over at Fortress Mountain City?”

“Yes… someone saw a large-scale firefight occurring there from a distance,” the intelligence officer said with his head bowed, not daring to meet his gaze.

“Trash.” Tan Shanzhong cursed in a low voice, unsure if he was cursing Suohui or those warlords in Fortress Mountain City.

The situation was obvious: their attempt to recruit them had failed, and the Alliance Country had taken over this wilderness fortress.

The atmosphere in the command room grew increasingly oppressive, lasting for a prolonged moment.

“Inform headquarters that there has been a change in the northwest region,” Tan Shanzhong said coldly, waving his hand in annoyance.

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. They nodded in acknowledgment and began preparing for the follow-up matters.

Amidst the RUSTLING movements, a young man from the Tan family walked in briskly. He leaned in and whispered a few words into Tan Shanzhong’s ear.

“Are you sure?” Tan Shanzhong’s expression shifted, revealing both murderous intent and fury.

“I’m sure,” the young man from the Tan family said, his voice trembling. “Tan Yu and the others are indeed dead. Some remains were found over at Nanyun Mountain. Based on the intelligence sent back, it was very likely… the work of the Superpower Bureau.”

BUZZ!!

The atmosphere in the room suddenly froze into a cold, deathly silence. The numerous Law Enforcement Officers and command elites, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, all shuddered, not daring to breathe loudly.

“The Superpower Bureau.” Tan Shanzhong’s face was as dark as deep water as he spat out the words through gritted teeth.

Even though they had already left Red Maple, these people still wanted to exterminate the Tan family. At this thought, his eyes turned freezing cold, brimming with murderous intent.

That missing brat surnamed Lu, Ji Lixian who had intervened in Red Maple, and Su Tianyang from the Red Maple City Lord’s Mansion who had stabbed him in the back…

Once he broke through to the Non-human Level, he would make every single one of them pay!

Fortress Mountain City.

The afternoon sun shone through the window, casting a warm patch of light into the room.

CLICK.

The door closed as Lu Chao returned to his room.

“Brother Hao…” His eyes flickered with emotion.

Brother Hao asking about his whereabouts clearly showed that he was worried about his safety. Although anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the Superpower Bureau was protecting him, it didn’t change the fact that he had kept his identity hidden and refused to show his face.

He thought, “Wait a little longer.”

The emotions in his eyes gradually faded; in the end, he still hadn’t told Brother Hao his true identity.

The Transcendence Level. He needed to break through to the Transcendence Level to resolve those matters without any pressure. Only then could he reveal himself again, unafraid of any retaliation.

With this in mind, Lu Chao walked over to the corner of the room. A wooden table sat there, bearing quite a few items. His gaze lingered on the recording device from Penelope. Being able to smoothly take down Fortress Mountain City this time was partly due to cooperating with Brother Hao from the inside out, but also largely thanks to this piece of intelligence.

“Moray Country…”

The previous conversation flashed through Lu Chao’s mind.

According to Penelope, she and Raccoon Cat had originally planned to find Xiao Chen to inquire about the past affairs of Moray Country. This former leader of the White Bone Army had been an agent at a secret Moray Country base during his youth. Later, when the Cataclysm of the Old Era struck and Moray Country fell, he inherited the base’s munitions armory. Step by step, he became a major warlord in the northwest wilderness. After Penelope and Raccoon Cat quietly infiltrated the area, they accidentally recorded a conversation between Xiao Chen and Suohui, which allowed Lu Chao to confirm all his speculations.

MEOW~~

While he was lost in thought, Ghost Element jumped down from his shoulder, landing on the table with elegant steps. Its ruby-like beast eyes stared intently at the rest of the items—these were things from Lu Weilong’s private vault.

There were several Beast King Bone Cores. Although some of their nutritional essence had been lost, they were sufficient to serve as the main ingredients for Basic Nutritional Potions. In addition, there was a box of basic-quality energy ores and three basic-quality Superpower Spirit Plants. They were in excellent condition and contained rich energy.

And aside from these, there was a Fighting Weapon.

It was the Cade Alloy inner armor stripped from his opponent’s body, which was even sturdier than manganese steel alloy.

“It wasn’t a wasted effort after all,” Lu Chao muttered softly to himself, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

These items were enough for him to produce quite a bit more Life Essence, allowing his Life Energy to increase by another margin. His Potential Progress might also skyrocket significantly.

By then…

“The Transcendence Level…”

“It’s getting closer.”