Chapter 577: Distance II (2/2)

They no longer had the look of naivety or impulsiveness. They were steadier and more trusting of each other, working together in a tightly knit team. While their individual combat skills were not as good as the mech pilots Ye Chong once led, they still qualified as real combatants.

The stronghold was expanded once again. It now looked completely different from before. Thick metal armor covered the outer walls. The buildings looked modern, including a tall pulsed signal relay station. Mechanical work stations were built in neat lines. The stronghold was interspersed with training grounds here and there …

Su City looked like a small, backwards village in comparison. The students were proud of their new home. The shooters that Ye Chong abducted hated him at first, but slowly eventually warmed up to the power that lied within this mysterious stronghold.

Only the strongest could be at the top of the food chain. This was the rule wherever one went, including Western Frost and Northern Lands. Those who were accepted to serve the strong would see their service as an honor. Learning was highly encouraged in the stronghold. The students interacted with each other frequently and openly. It was hard to find another place like this outside. Shooters usually kept their knowledge of parapsychic control to themselves. They would only ever discuss it with their students or people they were very close to. Here in the stronghold, the shooters could look up many theories on parapsychic control. Sha Ya told them that it was the work of their commander. Besides, Sha Ya herself had shared her own ideas generously with them. Thus, the shooters quickly fell in love with the place.

The fact was, open communication was very helpful in improving the skills of a shooter.

The only complaint the shooters had was the physical training. They could not understand it – why would shooters need to train their bodies? Every time someone raised the issue, Ye Chong felt like bringing them to Mei Wu, a Level 9 shooter even more powerful than Xuan Ning. However, considering their current circumstances, he would have to put the thought on hold. Fortunately, here in the stronghold, no one dared to disobey him. Even Sha Ya would diligently commit herself to physical training. She had seen Mei Wu's incredible skills, and so felt more driven to train herself.

Mechs were not suitable for these shooters. Ye Chong prepared Combat Spiders for them instead. These Spiders were smaller than the original model, and more flexible in motion. It was meant for a solo pilot, and fitted powerful weapons, a shooting system and a holographic scanning system to aid them. This greatly improved their capacity as combatants.

Never waste combat resources – that was Ye Chong's principle.

…

A thousand mechs fell in formation in front of Ye Chong. This was now a mature army with structured leadership. Through actual combat experience, the current thousand-strong mech army was formed. The other students watched jealously at their peers. Those students were personally chosen by their commander. They knew that this was a very important mission. Their commander would be leading them personally. It had been a long time since their commander took the helm. The fact that their commander had finally stepped up told them how important the mission was.

Besides the one thousand mechs, Ye Chong also had 10 Combat Spiders with him, led by Sha Ya. The rest were Transport Spiders, carrying goods. There was a massive troop of 800 Transport Spiders in total. The stronghold had enough resources to overwhelm their warehouse. They must find a way to exchange extra resources for other necessary goods.

Ye Chong decided to stock everything in the warehouse into the Transport Spiders.

The massive troop formation moved out towards the spatial window that led to Northern Lands.

Due to the combat exercises they were having all this while, nearly all the wild animals around the stronghold were wiped out. Where once there were animals popping out frequently, now it was simply quiet.

However, the students were already used to it. Two months ago, they had started to venture further away to hunt those delicious wild beasts.

The wild creatures of Darkniss were smart, and avoided the massive troop formation from far away. Those that survived their encounters with mechs panicked even more. They quickly moved further into Darkniss.

After seven days of flight, the troop reached the spatial window to Northern Lands. They had already set up surveillance devices nearby. They would be able to see anyone who tried to enter Darkniss from here.

With seven shooters from Northern Lands leading the way, the troops maneuvered its way safely through the dangers along the way.

After 14 days of flight and on foot, they finally reached one of the cities near Darkniss, called Ganming City. Ganming City was famed for producing a kind of high quality wooden material known as Gan wood.

”The trading volume is too big. We need to discuss with the merchants first. I don't think there's anyone around who can take all we have,” Jin Weidong said, looking worried. He was the strongest of the seven shooters from Northern Lands, the one with the highest reputation. He was also only second in strength to Sha Ya amongst all the shooters under Ye Chong.

Ye Chong's troops did not enter the city. They hid in the mountains nearby instead. There were too many of them, and would certainly raise a few eyebrows if they showed themselves. Besides, no one here had seen mechs before.

Ye Chong did not need to remind his students to set up their positions according to the terrain. This time, they were not facing vicious beasts, but more dangerous opponents – humans.

Three hours later, Ye Chong's students had the mountain under control. They set up a temporary signal station that covered a radius of 2500 kilometres around them.

Jin Weidong's advice was sound. Only tradesmen with large businesses can handle their request. Besides, the materials they wanted in exchange can only be obtained from such tradesmen.

There were not many large scale businesses in Ganming City. They would have to venture to further cities to find suitable merchants.

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