Roadmap to the Boundless Sky

Book 4, Chapter 110: Detour

After Advisor Pei finished speaking, he stood by the side quietly and didn’t make any suggestions. He was only supposed to provide the necessary information. Chen Chuan would decide himself what he should do.

Chen Chuan stared at the map for a good long while before asking, “Do you have any information regarding the camp?”

Advisor Pei shook his head. “Our soldiers have tried scouting it a few times, but they were intercepted from a distance, and we lost a number of our men. But they haven’t given up and are still trying even today. If we get any information later, I’ll tell you immediately.”

Chen Chuan nodded. “I’ve gotten the gist of the situation. Let’s go back.”

“Okay. Let me show you something,” Advisor Pei said.

After they came out, Advisor Pei cast a glance at the area beyond the corridor. “Nights in the merged space are difficult to get through, and the former royal family used this to launch ambushes on us. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been in such a defensive position.”

Chen Chuan looked outward. When they went into the room, the sun had still been up, but almost in the blink of an eye, the outside was shrouded in darkness.

Surviving in the wilderness in the merged space when it was dark outside was something Chen Chuan would have to do. Fortunately, after inheriting part of Chen Bitong’s memories, he was fully prepared for it.

Advisor Pei brought Chen Chuan out of the main building. Under a spotlight, they crossed a clearing and arrived at the airship mooring point behind the fort. Two small airships were parked there. “These are the Gray Herons. They will send a group of soldiers to the fort as support at 5 a.m. tomorrow. If you want to go there, you can board one of these two airships.”

“I’ll leave with them,” Chen Chuan said decisively.

“Alright. Since the unexplored area is huge, we’ve notified the soldiers to prepare a horse for you. Please come with me,” Advisor Pei said.

Chen Chuan followed him to the side and took a turn toward a stable. There were several huge, mighty horses here, but it was clear that they had sprayed chemicals, since there was no smell.

Advisor Pei went to a black horse and took its reins before patting its neck. “These are all dragon-nose horses we’ve raised and trained ourselves. Even though we don’t have any of the unique breeding methods from the former royal family, ours are gentle in nature and have great stamina.

“The best thing about them is that since they’re horses bred in the merged space, they’re the same as the creatures here. They can survive in the wilderness at night, so you can bring one with you at ease.”

Chen Chuan took a look. All of the horses were more than two meters tall and were very muscular. Just as Advisor Pei said, they were good. He nodded.

Advisor Pei pointed at a few other horses. “Since you’re bringing your luggage with you, we’ve prepared two packhorses for you. They’ll be enough to carry all that you’ve brought, though they’ll be a tad slower.”

Chen Chuan could tell that the two packhorses had great stamina, so even if they were a bit slower, that was fine. They were really just a mode of transportation for him. If he started running, not even dragon-nose horses could catch up to him.

“You took everything into consideration. Thank you,” he said.

Advisor Pei, though, dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “It’s just a small matter. The frontliners are risking their necks here, so I just hope that these things can help you.”

“They will,” Chen Chuan answered seriously and went forward to pat the dragon-nose horse. It ducked its head demurely and stayed still.

“I’ll have the horses transported to the airship. The Gray Herons will depart at 5 a.m. tomorrow, so you should go to bed early.” Advisor Pei saluted Chen Chuan before heading to the mooring point.

Chen Chuan did not stay outside for long. Once he befriended the horses, he went to his temporary room in the fort.

He took a shower, made himself a warm drink, and sat down before tapping on his Realm Pass and retrieving a map.

The map was from Chen Bitong. There were some red dots, green dots, and occasional gray dots around and inside the unexplored area. Most of them were the locals’ hubs. The red dots showed hostile ones, while the green dots showed ones where contact was possible. As for the gray dots, their attitudes were unclear, and whether they would be friendly or not depended on the situation.

There were also some winding paths on the map. They were small, traversible paths Chen Bitong had discovered himself.

Of course, the paths were “traversible” only for people at Chen Bitong’s level. The wilderness in the merged space was full of unfathomable dangers and unidentified creatures. No one could promise whether regular Third Limit martial artists could pass through it safely.

Chen Chuan shifted his gaze to the Union and Linacrox Union’s campsite. On Chen Bitong’s map, that place was a large local hub. The two organizations should have killed or chased away all the locals to occupy the place.

He was sure that they hadn’t just set up one camp, either. After all, even the military had set up tons of sentry towers, trenches, and fortifications around their forts.

Chen Chuan could already imagine fortifications and mini forts around the campsite. If he headed there down the road, he might have to fight his way through all of it. Even if he could do it, by the time he reached the campsite, the Union and the Linacrox Union would be ready for him.

So, he decided to take an alternate route. He would take a small trail that would lead him to a side of the campsite, where the defenses were thin, and ambush them. As long as he got rid of the place, the unit from the Union and Linacrox Union sent would lose its supply and escape route. Then, it would become relatively easy to get rid of them.

With this plan in mind, Chen Chuan decided to stop mulling over his thoughts. He finished his drink, got up, went to the training room next door, and sat down to regulate his breathing.

After resting for the entire night, 4:30 a.m. arrived.

Chen Chuan took a shower and grabbed the Frost King Saber before calling out to Dawncall and leaving with his luggage bag.

Advisor Pei was already waiting in front of the mooring point. Once Chen Chuan walked over, he shook his hand.

“The three horses are at the bottom-most level of the airship. If you don’t intend to go to our fort and want to disembark midway, just tell the pilot. He’ll let you down. I wish you success.”

“Thank you,” Chen Chuan said.

Advisor Pei let go, took a step back, and saluted him.

Chen Chuan saluted him back before turning away and going up the stairs. Once he was inside, he looked around and saw two twelve-man squads with implants in them. They were headed to the camp to provide support along with two more twelve-man squads on the other airship.

This time, Chen Chuan came out in his casual clothes, not his lead investigator uniform, so when the soldiers saw him, they didn’t react. He chose a quiet corner to sit down and propped the Frost King Saber against the wall.

After a while, the two airships rose from the fort. The propellers spun, and they headed into the distance.

Chen Chuan sat alone with his eyes closed while meditating to regulate his breathing. Dawncall stayed obediently next to him.

One of the people from the squad observed Chen Chuan for a bit before nudging his squadmate, who was dozing off, with his foot. When he felt the touch, he looked over in puzzlement, and the squad member pointed at Chen Chuan before whispering, “He’s a martial artist, right?”

“Duh.” His squadmate cast a glance at the Frost King Saber. “No regular person could swing such a long saber.”

“I heard that the fighting at the frontlines is really intense. The imperial army sent out quite a number of warriors. Isn’t sending him alone as reinforcement too little?”

“That’s not for us to worry about. Just use every second you have to rest. Once we’re there, we won’t have time for that anymore,” his squadmate said.

The cabin fell silent again.

A few hours later, Chen Chuan opened his eyes and tapped on his Realm Pass. The map was showing their current location by tracking and analyzing the terrain around them, and the trail he was planning to take wasn’t far away.

He sent a message to the pilot with some coordinates.

After a while, two logisticians came over by shoving open the cabin door at the back. A huge gust of wind instantly gushed in, and the humid chill shocked everyone awake.

What was going on?

Chen Chuan stood up with the Frost King Saber and patted Dawncall’s head. Dawncall flapped its wings and flew out while Chen Chuan grabbed the luggage bag and went to the fenceless platform at the back.

The airship started slowing down and going lower. Chen Chuan pushed the luggage bag off the airship before jumping down.

The soldiers were shocked. They were about two hundred meters above ground, and Chen Chuan just jumped off like that? Was he actually for real?

Chen Chuan stared at the ground beneath him as the wind howled in his ears. His red scarf danced violently behind him, but his face remained calm.

He had intended to just crash into the ground, but when he was about to land, the dancing red scarf sent him a wave of power, and he became lighter. When his feet landed on the ground, he did not suffer much of an impact.

He cast a glance at the fluttering scarf and said, “Thank you, Hongfu.”

Then, he looked toward Dawncall and found that his Bird Reptile had already located the luggage bag he pushed off. When he looked around, he found that there was nothing strange around him. The place was relatively safe, so he went to the luggage bag, grabbed the backstrap, and hoisted it up from the dirt.

Then, he turned around and made a sign at the airship. It lowered itself some more, then the lower hatch opened. The three horses stood on a suspended platform that was slowly being lowered.

When the platform touched the ground, Chen Chuan went over and released the safety ropes around the horses and led them off the platform. He then made a sign to the airship, and the hatch closed. The airship then rose back into the sky.

Chen Chuan turned around and took out everything from his luggage bag to put it on the packhorses.

After he was done, he got on the black dragon-nose horse and cast a glance at the rapid river and dense forest in the distance. A chirp came from the sky. Dawncall had flown over ahead of him.

Chen Chuan looked away, gave the reins a shake, and the dragon-nose horse started galloping.