627 Lex’s departure Part 2 (1/2)
”Myself?” Noticing the look of reluctance on Saleen's face, Lex said, ”The moment war starts, countless of victims will flow into Bitter Water County. Since I don't have sufficient rations there, I will be have some difficulty. At the moment, I don't wish to conquer Loulan's land. I am going to seize the intersection between Titan Duchy and Qin, which is located southeast of Loulan.”
”It will… be difficult to coordinate logistical support there.”
”I am going to occupy it totally, the level of production of grain is very high over there. I am planning to rescue the victims of war in my own capacity and it will be impossible for me to take care of so many civilians just by relying on the barren lands in the county.”
At that point in time Saleen understood that Lex was going to lead an elite swordsman's camp to war. Holy Rock City had requested for Lex to stabilize the border situation at Phoenix, Qin, Loulan, and Laiyin. This task was a little onerous, but Lex still agreed to it because it was a request from her brother.
There was no need to station so many troops at that place though. This just served to restrain the enemy. Eventually, Lex would only leave behind one camp of manpower, any additional manpower needed could be topped up using mercenaries.
Lex really could not leave too much manpower for Saleen, the places she was going to were the intersections between several nations. They were extremely difficult to conquer. Without sufficient elite troops Lex would be a lame duck.
”Bring one of my camps back, I need to train soldiers.” Without waiting for Lex to reject him Saleen professed his own reason. His soldiers endured the same level of training intensity as Lex's swordsman's camp, but many of them had never seen blood or fought on a battlefield before. In this aspect, Saleen's army was inferior to Lex's swordsman's camp. There was a huge difference.
”Okay, but I will command them like my own army. If there are any casualties don't blame me.”
”Of course, I also want to let Su follow you, he will be the commander of this camp.”
”Can you bear to let Su leave?”
”I cannot teach him the art of war, he has to train with you.” Saleen had steeled his heart by handing his Silver Grand Swordmaster to Lex. By doing so, his city would have one less key helper.
”Okay. I cannot guarantee the safety of your ten-thousand men, but I will make sure Su comes back in one piece. He will at least learn the capability to lead three camps worth of troops.” Lex's brows arched up as she spoke to Saleen with utmost confidence.
”That is your promise.”
”Of course, if you want to train soldiers, then you need to have a plan. Besides Su, give me another dozen people who are at least at the standard of an intermediate grade swordmaster. They cannot be older than thirty years old. These people can live a long life on the battlefield, it will be worthwhile grooming them.”
Saleen agreed, but he still felt forlorn, ”Lex is leaving and she will be away for more than a year.”
”I will hand Narnia over to you, treat her nicely.” Lex suddenly said and Saleen agreed to it. At this point in time the winged skeleton's voice appeared in his mind, ”Master, Nailisi has obtained something interesting, come over and take a look.”
Saleen then came to his senses, ”It is useless behaving in this manner. Even though Lex is leaving she will come back sooner or later, it is more important to settle the official matters.” Quickly bidding farewell to Lex, Saleen made a beeline for the harbor.
Currently, the ice on the harbor was very thin, people could no longer stand on it. The pan's turtle alchemical boat was berthed at the underground boat shed. When Saleen entered the underground boat shed, he noticed that Nailisi and the winged skeleton were together looking nervous.
”What is it you've found?” Saleen was a little curious. In the past Nailisi and the winged skeleton had discovered quite a number of sunken ships, they also found a huge number of good items. Objects which did not get eroded despite being underwater for so many centuries were basically high level materials. It was their first time calling Saleen over instead of taking such an item for themselves though.
The winged skeleton and Nailisi were Saleen's contract creatures. Saleen was not afraid that they would plot against him.
”Take it out now!” The winged skeleton urged Nailisi.
Nailisi took out a Dimension Stone from her bangle, then took out the thing she wanted to show Saleen from the Dimension Stone.
The underground boat shed was humongous. The pan's turtle alchemical boat floated in the water, while the space on the shore was dimly lit. Several crates were placed on the ground, Nailisi had hauled up all these items from the ocean. The thing Nailisi wanted to give Saleen was placed atop a wooden crate.
When this thing was taken out the whole boat shed lit up. Gentle golden light filled every corner of this boat shed. Placed atop the crate was a mechanical item with a height of one yard.
The whole thing was perfect. It appeared slender and had six corners. The microscopic lines on its surface were concise and no gears nor levers were seen. Its exterior was sealed with only a few magic interfaces. Its golden brilliance was not emitted by magic, it was naturally given off by the material of this machine.
”A metal crystal!” Saleen blurted, the surface of this machine was a whole piece of metal crystal that was gold in color. This was the essence of fine gold. Even an entire mine of fine gold might not be able to produce so many metal crystals.
Saleen fully unleashed the power of the Elemental Eye to observe this mechanical item in detail.