Chapter 227: Chapter 203: In... Big Trouble

’So she’s a foodie cat!’ Fang Tangtang quickly came up with a plan. Then, she led Gao Xiaomeng and started sneaking toward the Eastern District Fortress.

「7:00 PM.」

Fang Tangtang finally made it back successfully with Gao Xiaomeng.

They’d had a couple of minor incidents along the way and even encountered a few "stragglers," but Gao Xiaomeng and Fang Tangtang teamed up to deal with them all.

"What a good cat!" Fang Tangtang was now more convinced than ever that Gao Xiaomeng was great. At the very least, Gao Xiaomeng was incredibly fast and could basically overwhelm any enemy they encountered.

With Gao Xiaomeng around, she could easily create distance and attack from long range.

’So satisfying!’

"Gao Xiaomeng, we’ve reached the Eastern District Fortress. I’ll take you to get something good to eat right now!" Fang Tangtang took out her ID card and submitted it for verification by the fortress guards.

"Meow." Gao Xiaomeng was equally delighted.

Just then, a familiar figure walked over. He was tall and imposing, but most importantly, he had a shiny, bald head.

"Huh? Bald Shark... oh, no, I mean, Uncle Gui!"

"Tangtang, what are you doing here?" Gui Zian had returned to the Eastern District Fortress during the day and was currently resting there.

"I... hehe, I was just passing by. By the way, is Gao Neng back yet?" Fang Tangtang certainly wasn’t about to admit that she had secretly gone to the battlefield.

"Gao Neng?" Gui Zian’s brow furrowed. Looking at Fang Tangtang’s deceptively calm face, a bad feeling suddenly washed over him.

’It can’t be that...’

’These two rascals secretly ran off to the battlefield, didn’t they?’

"You went to the battlefield?!" Gui Zian’s tone sharpened dramatically.

"No... How could I? I just came from... from the military academy. Yeah, I heard you were all coming back, so Gao Neng and I came over to see," Fang Tangtang argued weakly.

"Hmph, your excuses are useless. You’re wearing a combat suit, and it’s got bloodstains on it. You think you can fool me? Spit it out... Where did you and Gao Neng really go?" Gui Zian’s eyes narrowed.

As someone who had spent his life on the battlefield, the scent of blood on Fang Tangtang and her combat suit screamed that she was lying.

"Uhh..." Fang Tangtang was speechless. Then, her eyes darted around and she suddenly shouted, "Wow, Grandpa Shen, you’re here too?"

"Grandpa Shen? You mean Vice Commander Shen?" Gui Zian subconsciously turned his head.

But there was nothing behind him.

A question mark flashed over Gui Zian’s head. He quickly realized what had happened and, with a single leap, caught Fang Tangtang, who had already fled ten meters away.

"Where do you think you’re going?! Tangtang, if you don’t explain this clearly, I’m sending you back to your grandfather!" Gui Zian’s expression truly darkened.

Too many things had happened on the Eastern District Battlefield.

If Fang Tangtang and Gao Neng had really gone to the battlefield, it was an incredibly dangerous situation. He had to find out the truth immediately.

"Okay, okay... Uncle Gui, let go. I’ll tell you, alright? I’ll tell you!" Fang Tangtang finally relented, knowing she couldn’t escape.

"Start talking."

"It’s nothing much, really. It was just three days ago... Before you all went to the battlefield, Gao Neng and I went too... Oh, right! We also discovered something huge happening with the other races. The Dark Night Elf Clan’s Seventh Princess is holding a public marriage proposal, and more than twenty other clans came to ask for her hand. Can you believe it?"

"What?! You said the Dark Night Elf Clan is holding a marriage proposal?"

"Yeah, Gao Neng and I saw it with our own eyes. There were more than twenty proposal delegations, all Princes from other races... Did you guys not run into them?"

"Quick, come with me to the fortress command center!"

"I’m not going! I still have to eat, and I have to wait for Gao Neng to come back!"

"Gao Neng isn’t back yet? Wasn’t he with you?"

"No... Uh, we got separated. He’d just captured the Seventh Princess, and thousands of elite fighters from the other races were chasing us. They were all Tier Five and Tier Six, some even higher... It scared me to death! So, we split up. He was in charge of luring away the pursuers..."

"Are you two trying to get yourselves killed?!" Hearing this, Gui Zian finally exploded with anger. "You two actually dared to capture the Dark Night Elf Clan’s Seventh Princess?!"

"We didn’t mean to capture her... It’s just, we were coming out of the Dark Night Elf City, and that Ancient Elf Tree was so powerful. I almost died at her hands..."

"The Ancient Elf Tree?! What Ancient Elf Tree?"

"The one inside the Dark Night Elf City! We snuck underground and ran right into it. We even drank a ton of the Spring of Life! Uncle Gui, do you know what my strength is now? I’m at the Tier Three Late Stage, and I’m just a hair’s breadth away from breaking through to Tier Four. I’ll definitely break through within ten days, max!"

"Snuck underneath the Dark Night Elf City... drank the Spring of Life? And reached the Tier Three Late Stage... Tangtang, you... you’ve really... caused a huge disaster this time! Come with me to the command center, now!"

"Uncle Gui, I don’t want to go... Ah, Uncle Gui, let me go! If Grandpa finds out, he’ll kill me for sure! Uncle Gui, please don’t..." Fang Tangtang struggled.

But no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t break free from Gui Zian’s powerful hands.

As for Gao Xiaomeng...

...she just watched Fang Tangtang and Gui Zian as if they were a pair of idiots. Not only did she not make a move, but she also gave a lazy stretch and burrowed into Fang Tangtang’s clothes.

...

Before long, Fang Tangtang was brought to the command center of the Eastern District Fortress.

Chen Yichuan happened to be inside.

It wasn’t just Chen Yichuan; the Generals stationed at the Eastern District Fortress were all gathered there at this moment. Seated at the head was an old man.

He was around sixty or seventy years old.

His hair was salt-and-pepper, but his complexion was quite ruddy.

He wore a black military uniform, and on his shoulders were three gleaming gold stars, signifying his rank as an admiral.

He was none other than the current Patriarch of the Shen Family, the Alliance’s Vice Commander of the Eastern District, and Shen Ning’Er’s grandfather...

Shen Changsheng!

"Vice Commander Shen, Vice Commander Chen, Vice Director Gui says he has something important to report!"

"Something important? Let him in." Shen Changsheng didn’t speak, but Chen Yichuan spoke up softly. He knew Gui Zian’s temperament.

If it weren’t truly something important, he would never barge into the command center and interrupt a meeting.

"Vice Commander Shen, Vice Commander Chen, Division Commander Li..." As soon as Gui Zian entered the command center, he gave a standard military salute and began to greet them one by one.

"Alright, Vice Director Gui, let’s skip the pleasantries. Just tell us what’s going on."

"I think I might know what’s been happening with the other races." Gui Zian’s expression was solemn. He then yanked Fang Tangtang out from behind him. "Fang Tangtang and Gao Neng entered the battlefield without permission, and in doing so, they learned a critical piece of intel: the Dark Night Elf Clan is holding a public marriage proposal!"

"A public marriage proposal?! Give us the details!"

"Alright. I don’t know the specifics, but the general situation is this..." Gui Zian nodded, then relayed all the information and intelligence he had gotten from Fang Tangtang.

Meanwhile, Fang Tangtang’s fearless, devil-may-care expression had transformed into that of a startled little bird, her face alternating between flushed red and pale white.

’It seems like this time...’

’I’ve really gotten into trouble, haven’t I?’

’But what kind of trouble is it, exactly?’

Fang Tangtang blinked, unable to quite figure it out.

In the command center, after listening to Gui Zian’s report, the expressions of the Generals, including Shen Changsheng and Chen Yichuan, all grew extremely complicated.

"Fang Tangtang, is what you said true? Did you and Gao Neng really sneak into the underground of the Dark Night Elf City? And you encountered the Ancient Elf Tree? Moreover, you kidnapped the Seventh Princess?" This time, Shen Changsheng didn’t wait for Chen Yichuan to ask, but posed the questions himself.

"Um... Grandpa Shen, Gao Neng and I just happened to end up there. We really didn’t plan on going, it’s just... the surface was too dangerous, so we chose to travel underground. Also, we were actually trying to deliver a warning! At Wild Battle Mountain, we happened to run into the proposal delegations of the other race’s Princes. We knew something might be about to happen, but we didn’t run into the main army, so we just... we just..."

"What happened after you and Gao Neng kidnapped the Seventh Princess?" Shen Changsheng didn’t interrogate her like Gui Zian had, but continued to ask calmly.

"The proposal delegations were just arriving, and we guessed it might be a conspiracy. That’s right, a conspiracy! The Elf Race was probably using the marriage proposal to lure the other Princes over, and then use the Seventh Princess to get those Princes and their delegations to attack our troops!"

"Hmm... what do you all think?" Shen Changsheng looked around at the others.

"If things are as Fang Tangtang says, it’s a real possibility. To think... we were nearly tricked by the Dark Night Elf Clan and the Celestial Race working together!" Chen Yichuan nodded.

"Yes, Fang Tangtang and Gao Neng have performed a great service!"

"If it weren’t for those two, we likely would have been in real danger... Twenty proposal delegations—if they had truly attacked, it would have been very difficult for us to handle!"

"The worst part would have been a sneak attack from the Celestial Race from behind. If that had happened, we might not have made it back!"

The other Generals nodded in agreement.

"This whole affair is truly a miracle... A pity it’s a miracle that can’t be replicated. Otherwise, it might have solved our problem of being cut off from intelligence on the other races!" one General said suddenly after a long moment of contemplation.

"Indeed." The other Generals quickly thought of this problem as well.

Going through the underground...

...to sneak into another race’s Royal City.

It sounds very easy, but in practice, it’s extremely difficult. This is because there’s a prerequisite: one’s strength cannot exceed Tier Three.

Once someone reaches Tier Four, the energy from their magnetic core can be projected externally, creating fluctuations in the air. This makes their aura very difficult to hide.

This was also why the ten infiltration teams dispatched by the Military Department this time were all composed of Tier Three members. After all, the stronger one was, the more powerful their aura.

As for how Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang were able to infiltrate the Royal City...

The biggest reason was that both of them were at the Tier Two Late Stage at the time. An aura like that was as weak as it could possibly be and was generally very difficult to detect.

Of course, there was another reason: Gao Neng could manifest energy.

Below Tier Three...

...being able to manifest energy, and what’s more, to manifest an Earth Dragon that could burrow underground—Gao Neng was likely the only one in the entire Alliance who could do it.

How could that be replicated?

"Fang Tangtang, I have one last question. After you and Gao Neng took the Seventh Princess, he was responsible for luring away the pursuers, correct? Do you know which direction he led them?" Shen Changsheng fell silent for a moment before finally asking the question.

"I know. He ran toward the forest. I thought he was going to lead the pursuers to the second line of defense. Did he not lead them there?"

"To the second line of defense? Are you sure he didn’t go to the Celestial Race Royal City?" Upon hearing this, Shen Changsheng’s expression changed slightly.

"The Celestial Race Royal City?! Why would he go to the Celestial Race Royal City? His brain isn’t broken. Going there would be suicide, wouldn’t it? I’m positive he absolutely did not go to the Celestial Race Royal City!" Fang Tangtang replied immediately.

"He didn’t go to the Celestial Race Royal City..." Shen Changsheng’s eyes narrowed.

Chen Yichuan and the other Generals’ faces also darkened. If Gao Neng had really gone toward the second line of defense, then he was most likely in grave danger.

"Why would you guys think Gao Neng went to the Celestial Race Royal City?" Fang Tangtang asked, confused.

"It’s nothing. Tangtang, you are dismissed." Shen Changsheng waved his hand.

"Grandpa Shen, what on earth happened? Gao Neng couldn’t have... died, could he?!" Looking at the expressions on the Generals’ faces, Fang Tangtang suddenly thought of a question she had been ignoring all along.