Chapter 59 – Outpost, Outpost Battle!

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

The group moved quickly. Lin Haifeng was a Level 3 Class Holder himself, and in less than ten minutes, they had crossed most of the Steel city and reached the castle gates.

Along the way, Wen Yu carefully studied the city's architecture.

Its style resembled that of an ancient European city. Rows of houses stood like iron coffins, completely deserted inside.

According to Lin Haifeng, the Treasure Land had only just opened, so the Military had yet to deploy troops here on a large scale.

However, once certain problems were resolved, this place would undoubtedly become an unusual city that served as both a military garrison and a research center.

When the group arrived at the castle, Lin Haifeng produced something resembling an identification badge.

The soldiers guarding the castle entrance immediately let them through when they saw it.

…

The castle's interior was enormous, with its spacious main structure divided into three floors.

Lin Haifeng explained, "The first and second floors are living quarters for the Special Operations Team stationed here. The third floor contains the conference rooms, combat command center, and several other administrative departments. There's also a basement level, which currently belongs to the Research Department."

After giving Wen Yu a brief overview, Lin Haifeng led him straight up to the third floor.

…

At the top of the stairs, Fang Wenhai and a middle-aged man dressed in white were already waiting for them, having received word of their arrival.

Lin Haifeng nodded to the two men and walked straight into the large conference room on the third floor.

Once everyone had taken their seats, Lin Haifeng began the introductions.

"This is Fang Wenhai. You've met him before. He is currently the commander in chief of all military operations within this Treasure Land, as well as the only Level 4 Class Holder here."

Fang Wenhai nodded to Wen Yu.

"And this is Zhao Xiang, vice president of the Academy of Sciences. He is currently responsible for researching this Treasure Land and handling certain specialized matters."

Lin Haifeng did not elaborate on what those specialized duties involved. They were probably classified, and Wen Yu had no interest in them anyway.

Lin Haifeng then gestured toward Wen Yu.

"This is Sequence 2, Wen Yu!"

"I called him here partly to deal with any large-scale war that might break out, as well as any members of the Demon Race at Level 4 or above."

"Ever since Xiao Hai learned about the enemy's forces, he's been complaining that we don't have enough powerful fighters. Well, this time I've brought you a real powerhouse to rely on."

At Lin Haifeng's teasing remark, Fang Wenhai frowned slightly.

"It still might not be enough…"

"Oh? Has something new happened?"

Fang Wenhai rose, pulled aside a nearby curtain, and motioned for his aide to turn on the projector.

He then looked at Lin Haifeng and Wen Yu before saying gravely, "Let me start by giving Wen Yu an overview of the situation here."

…

"This Treasure Land does not belong to any known category of Treasure Land."

As the projector came to life, a huge map appeared before Wen Yu.

"The entire Treasure Land is roughly circular. According to our troops' surveys, it covers a full one hundred thousand square kilometers."

Wen Yu did a quick calculation. One hundred thousand square kilometers was roughly a quarter the size of Heilongjiang Province.

For a Treasure Land, that was already an enormous area.

Seeing Wen Yu nod, Fang Wenhai continued.

"This is our current location."

Fang Wenhai pointed to a small green dot near the edge of the circular map.

The city itself was not large. By Wen Yu's estimate, it was only about a third the size of Chaihe Town. On a map covering one hundred thousand square kilometers, it was practically insignificant.

"And this is where our enemies are located."

Fang Wenhai pointed to a black dot directly opposite the small green one.

"According to our observations, there is another city there, roughly the same size as ours. The difference is that their city contains three Demon Realm Gates."

At the words "Demon Realm Gate," Wen Yu frowned. He now had a rough idea of what this Treasure Land was all about.

"The mission in this Treasure Land is defensive in nature. Our objective is to defend this city and keep it from falling into the hands of the Demonic Creatures. For every day we hold the city, the Treasure Land Guardian will provide us with large quantities of low-level Magic Crystal, mostly Level 1 and Level 2, with only a small amount of Level 3.

"Of course, that's only the Treasure Land Guardian's overall reward for the Military. On top of that, individuals can earn additional rewards based on the number of Demonic Creatures they kill here. Those rewards must be redeemed personally from the Treasure Land Guardian."

Lin Haifeng explained from beside him.

After hearing them out, Wen Yu nodded.

In other words, besides the Points and Magic Crystals gained from killing Demonic Creatures, there was another set of rewards provided by the Guardian.

Seeing that Wen Yu had taken in the information, Fang Wenhai continued.

"Three days ago, we discovered that Demonic Creatures had begun pouring out of the Demon Realm Gate. They vary in level, but during our last observation, we spotted three Level 4 Demonic Creatures. As for the lower-level ones, their numbers can only be described as overwhelming.

"They're currently stationed in the Demon City across from us. The Demon Race's scouts have already discovered our city, and we don't know when they'll launch their attack."

Wen Yu considered this for a moment before speaking slowly.

"So, from what you're saying, this place is essentially a special battlefield. We each have a castle, and the Human Race and Demon Race attack each other. Is that about right?"

Fang Wenhai shook his head slightly.

"Yes, but not quite. The Demon Race has far too many troops. We don't have the strength to launch an attack of our own.

"Let me give you a quick overview of the current balance of forces.

"According to yesterday's intelligence, we observed three Level 4 Demonic Creatures. There are roughly two thousand Level 3 Demonic Creatures, while the Level 1 and Level 2 Demonic Creatures are already too numerous to count.

"On our side, aside from some heavy weaponry, our current garrison consists of only the three hundred members of the Special Operations Team. We have one Level 4, while everyone else is Level 3.

"We also have the clone mecha legion dispatched by the Academy of Sciences."

"Clones?"

Wen Yu immediately raised an eyebrow at Zhao Xiang, who had remained silent beside them.

Zhao Xiang nodded but said nothing more.

Lin Haifeng was the one who explained.

"We're short on manpower, and cloning technology is already quite mature. So we've begun producing clones to perform essential defensive duties. Of course, they're considered artificial creations, and they're incapable of Promotion… The Academy of Sciences believes it may have something to do with the soul. Though, naturally, they don't understand what a soul actually is either…"

Wen Yu nodded in understanding.

Equipping clones with firearms or more advanced weapons would indeed make for a considerable fighting force.

As for claims that cloning violated human ethics, Wen Yu merely smiled and kept his thoughts to himself.

"That's the situation in broad terms. According to our military experts' estimates, the Demon Race will attack us within five to ten days.

"This is effectively the front line where the Human Race and Demon Race come into contact. You could call it an Outpost. We, however, prefer to call it the Outpost Battle.

"Because this will inevitably be the first large-scale war between humanity and the Demonic Creatures!"

…

After listening to Fang Wenhai's explanation, Wen Yu pondered for a long moment before slowly nodding.

"Then what do you need me to do?"

Lin Haifeng smiled and shook his head.

"Whatever you want."

"Good."

Seeing Lin Haifeng's expression, Wen Yu broke into a smile.

When Lin Haifeng said he could do whatever he wanted, he meant Wen Yu was free to act on his own.