Chapter 440.2: Ready To Fire

It was the best time to bomb the River Valley Province when the Heart of Steel had been deployed elsewhere... But that didn’t mean the mission was without risk.

The southern part of the River Valley Province still housed an old survivor force called Boulder Town, rumored to be part of the New Alliance. It was equipped with various Post-War Reconstruction Committee relics, and its combat effectiveness was a question mark. It was hard to say whether it would pose a threat to the Hurricane Bomber.

They only had one bomb. To ensure nothing went wrong, they planned to wait for darkness to fall and carry out the bombing under the cover of night.

Nuclear strikes and tactical bombings were different. With such a powerful nuke, they didn’t need to be too precise about their coordinates or visual observation of the ground. All they had to do was to fly to the approximate location, press the switch, and push the throttle all the way.

Hearing that the mission was scheduled for the evening, McClennan was pleased. He roared with laughter. "Then I'll wait for your good news!"

Thinking of those bugs that would soon be incinerated by the nuclear blast, his mood couldn't help but brighten.

Too bad... He couldn't see their trembling faces before doomsday.

...

On the other side.

In Petra Fortress, before the heavily guarded prison door.

Accompanied by several guards, a muscular man covered in dirt passed through the tall stone door and was released.

"Remember to watch your mouth, you won't be so lucky next time." Giving the burly man a warning glare, the bearded captain of the guard waved his hand, leading his subordinates back into the prison.

The heavy door closed with a thud.

Once the footsteps faded, the man spat a glob of saliva on the ground, cursing as he turned around. And just as he turned, he saw two people and a bear standing not far from the corner.

An awkward look appeared on his face.

After hesitating slightly, he rubbed the back of his head and picked up the courage to go over and greet his employers. "Sorry boss, I messed up..."

"It's okay."

Glancing at his dirt-covered appearance, Sisi raised an eyebrow and looked toward the prison behind him. "Did they beat you up?"

The man sighed in embarrassment, "It... happened before I was thrown in..."

Sisi's expression fell slightly.

Too bad those bruises weren't caused during detention, or they could've conned some compensation from the lord. But no matter, the contented live long.

Nodding in understanding, Sisi continued, "Got any plans for the future?"

The man gave a bitter smile. "I'm thinking of trying my luck down south in Silvermoon City... I probably can't stay here anymore."

After he was sent in, a few brothers from the mercenary group quickly sold him out as the main culprit, so he definitely couldn't stay.

Truth be told, they weren't really brothers. They were just together to make money and scrape by, and the mercenary group only had six or seven people. When times were tough, they stuck together. When it was time to disperse, they left.

Sisi nodded. She wasn’t surprised at all. "If you have nowhere to go, work with Buma. The Order of the White Bear needs security...

Um

, if you're interested, go there and be the head of security."

Actually, the Petra Fortress Lord intended to allocate an area for the Order of the White Bear to help them more conveniently carry out their charitable acts of rescuing refugees. Honestly, a lot of it was due to misunderstandings... Like how she actually intended to make a killing of the Lion Coins after the matter with the Army was settled...

Unfortunately... Or fortunately, there were no takebacks.

"They came here under divine guidance to rescue those poor people..."

Hearing her suggestion to work for them, the man was stunned, looking incredulously at the young lady in front of him, his emotion causing his voice to break. "... You still want me?"

Seeing the man step forward, Sisi disdainfully stepped back while glaring at him. "Don't say such strange things, or I might change my mind!”

"No, no, I didn't mean any disrespect!" The job opportunity almost slipped away because of his slip of the tongue. He quickly followed up while stammering, "I just... I just don't quite understand, I clearly messed up the task you assigned me...”

"Everyone has a first time. You’ll be able to do better next time.” Sisi interrupted him, looking at the grateful man and continued, "Of course, you've used up one chance, if you mess up again next time...”

"Then kill me! No, no need for you to do it, I'll bury myself in front of you!" The mercenary yelled loyally, his tone sincere and respectful. "You might not remember my name, I'm Jodi! I am honored to continue serving you."

Whether that loyal expression was genuine or just a facade, Sisi nodded in satisfaction.

The regional reputation of the Order of the White Bear would probably reach its peak after the war, and in fact, they had already gained the trust of the local lord.

However, they couldn't stay forever to manage those immovable assets. They had agreed to travel to even more distant places.

Therefore, the best option was to find a reliable local to help manage things.

Buma was a good choice. He was honest, capable, devoutly religious, and owed them his life. But even so, she was still unwilling to test human nature. To leave everything in one person's hands was a fool’s journey. Money and guns were better managed by two different people.

Later, she would hire an NPC from the Dawn City Merchants' Guild to take care of the accounts, making it easier for her to keep up with the situation.

Since the game claimed to be 100 percent real, she naturally had to do her utmost to ensure nothing went wrong.

Hearing the name, Tail suddenly spoke up, "Oh! Jodi! Have you considered changing your name?"

Jodi replied immediately. "Please give me a name!"

She seemed to be just waiting for it. Tail's eyes sparkled as she raised a thumb. "From now on, you'll be called Jojo!"

Jodi looked puzzled, but nodded. "Okay, miss... From now on, I'll be called Jojo."

Sisi couldn’t help but shoot Tail a peculiar expression. "Tail... Your naming skills are on par with the administrator's."

Tail stared at Sisi in shock. "Eh?! Am I that good at giving people names?"

Sisi immediately raised her hand, "Oh! You are super good!"

Roshan couldn't help but urge, "Anyway, the job's done, let's head back. It's too pitiful to leave Sesame Paste there alone.”

Whether the lord and those nobles completely understood Sisi's bluff or not, at least the old man in the white robe had been scammed.

It was said he even planned to write to the capital, to tell the revered high priest and His Majesty the King about how the Silvermoon Goddess has sent down a miracle to protect her children! What could be more exciting than that?

For the followers of the Silvermoon Sect, it was indeed an exciting event, but for them, not necessarily so. She always had an ominous premonition that the trouble was still to come.

At the same time, Count Losjin, who had been dispatched to the Lost Valley, was carried back by Lord Sien's personal guard captain.

Shot in the leg and back, lying on a stretcher, he was barely alive, his face paler than ever due to excessive blood loss.

Back in the court.

The assembled nobles were silent, even the usually loudest among them was struck dumb by the dire sight.

Sitting on a stone chair, Lord Sien enjoyed watching the expressions on these cowards' faces, his lips curling into a cold smile.

This is what cowards deserve.

Losjin’s lips trembled, squeezing out a voice filled with fear and anger. "The Army... They have no intention of talking to us! Those barbarians! No, they are beasts! You can't communicate with them using the language of civilized people!"

Rising from the stone chair and walking down the steps, Sien glanced at Losjin lying on the stretcher and said lightly, "You should thank that lady for giving you a chance to come back alive."

If he had been riding a horse, he wouldn't have had a chance to escape.

With humiliation written all over his face, Losjin turned to look at the woman standing in the corner of the crowd, squeezing out the words through clenched teeth. "Thank... "

Sisi shrugged, remaining silent, her expression unchanged.

She was just not too keen on wasting time on such an insignificant NPC, whose life or death clearly wouldn't affect the upcoming game plot.

But if he had ridden a horse, it would have taken a lot of time. By the time Petra Fortress discovered his body, it would probably be two or three days later.

"What did you see there?" Sien turned to his personal guard captain and asked.

The reason he had sent him to accompany Count Losjin out of the city was less about monitoring that fool's performance and more about scouting the situation in the Lost Valley.

Long before Losjin left the city, he had already ordered the fortress's troops to get ready.

The guard captain saluted and gave his report. "A garrison of about a 10,000-man battalion is stationed there. The construction on the north side of the camp has been temporarily halted. Whatever they are building is probably completed. Before I left, I noticed a plane coming from the northwest."

"A plane?" Sien frowned. The crowd around him immediately buzzed with anxiety.

Faces filled with fear and anger, even those who had believed in the prophecy were now showing surprised expressions.

"They're building a runway there?"

"Those people are indeed planning to attack Petra Fortress!"

"Has the Lion Kingdom fallen?"

"By the Spirit of the Desert... Those greedy barbarians are indeed insatiable!"

"We shouldn't have waited so long! We should have acted earlier!"

Listening to the indignant conversations around him, the members of the Order of the White Bear also showed surprised expressions. Tail tugged at Roshan beside her and whispered, "Did the official site say they were building an airfield?" She had been busy posting and hadn't paid much attention to those posts.

Roshan had been seriously lurking around the forums, but after recalling for a while, she shook her fuzzy head. "Well... No, I don't think so."

Tail was shocked. "GIAO! Did they... Did they already find the treasure?"

Roshan couldn't help but laugh, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

With a serious look on her face, Tail gestured with her hands. "Think about it, the armor of the Sky God... It must be huge, right?! Such a big thing, they can't transport it by truck, right? Maybe they built the airfield just to move the treasure."

Listening to this random analysis, Roshan's face gradually showed look of realization. Her expression became serious. "... That might actually be possible!"

Standing nearby, Sesame Paste couldn't help but laugh, "I think if it really was the armor of the Sky God, not even a train could drag it away...”

As someone who hadn’t been paying attention to their nonsense, Sisi frowned.

Although she hadn't seen any discussion about that airfield on the forum, she always felt that the situation wasn’t so simple. Oasis No.9 hadn't fallen yet.

Moreover, the administrator had also brought the Heart of Steel and the Storm Corps to reinforce the Lion Kingdom recently. Even if the Army and the Falcon Kingdom were superior, they were unlikely to engage in a two-front war.

Gradually, a look of realization dawned in her eyes. She seemed to have thought of something. "That 'scepter'... Maybe they really found it."

Pairs of eyes turned toward her.

Sisi looked at Lord Sien and said solemnly, "The scepter that fell from the sky sealed the Evil God and also destroyed the oasis. The evil ritual is probably in its final step. We don't have time to hesitate, you must make a decision now!"

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Sien's face showed a kind smile. "It seems we've come to the same conclusion."

Then, he looked at everyone in his court and his smile vanished. His expression became solemn and serious. "I have heard the call from the sands, a mighty will is summoning us. Our kingdom is facing the gravest challenge in history. Whether our enemies are the Army or ancient demons, Petra will be our kingdom's strongest shield!"

With that, he drew the military saber from his waist, looked at his personal guard captain, and the other officers who also looked solemn. "Gather your subordinates. Prepare for battle!"