Return Countdown 66:00:00.
6:00 AM.
The outpost base was in a state of disarray. The airstrip was cracked with countless fissures, like a dried-up riverbed.
Those Airships that hadn’t yet taken off were stuck crookedly in the crevices, with the nobles and soldiers hiding inside, not daring to move.
As dawn broke, bird carcasses and the corpses of large wild boars shot down by the outpost base were visible everywhere on the ground.
It was a disaster, truly terrible.
Once the nobles were certain there was no danger, they climbed out of the Airships one by one, silently observing their surroundings.
A sense of relief washed over everyone. They were still alive!
But how did the outpost base manage to hold out?
Just yesterday afternoon, Marquis Barton began to mobilize the Airships and adjust the helipad numbers, causing widespread resentnt.
After all, everyone was perfectly fine on the helipads; why the constant changes? It was a needless tornt.
It took about seven hours to complete the adjustnts.
But during yesterday morning’s attack, if the A-Class Airships hadn’t taken off in ti, and if the combat-ready Airships had been destroyed one by one, the base would have fallen.
The places attacked by the Giant Dynasty beco barren wastelands, and everyone would have perished.
If the outpost base was still the old No. 9 outpost base, everyone would have been reduced to dust in the annals of history.
How close a call!
Seeing the outpost base soldiers anesthetizing, capturing, and imprisoning the six injured giants, the nobles erupted in cheers.
They had survived!
At that mont, news ca from outside: The No. 6 advance base had fallen. The Giant Dynasty vanguard army, Kacha. Yun, led hundreds of giants to storm the base, destroying 90% of the Airships, killing everyone inside, and capturing the outpost base’s chief officer, Marquis Sis, and his family! Everyone looked at each other in astonishnt. There’s no happiness without comparison.
They had also been ambushed by the Giant Dynasty, but while the neighboring outpost base had fallen, they were still standing here, relieved.
This is what happiness ans!
Without Marquis Barton, they would likely have faced the sa fate.
Everyone would have died!
Furthermore, they initially thought that with the outpost base reduced to this state, Marquis Barton’s recently earned rit for anti-corruption would likely vanish.
But now, without comparison there is no hurt. While the neighboring base couldn’t hold out, Marquis Barton had, and had also captured six giants, a montous achievent.
The nobles looked at each other. They gathered together and whispered: Marquis Barton was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Everyone thought he was a fool of a marquis, but it turned out he was so capable. I told you, the Fifth Princess, so capable, couldn't possibly like a pretty boy. She must have discovered Marquis Barton’s abilities long ago before deciding to marry him!
Right, the Fifth Princess, who controls the violent organizations, couldn’t possibly choose a pretty boy. We just didn’t discover Marquis Barton’s prowess sooner!
Soone whispered: Marquis Barton’s future is limitless. We should all curry favor with him now, before he rises to prominence, or we’ll miss the boat.
After capturing the giants, the outpost base soldiers imdiately rushed to Marquis Barton’s office.
Barton had just logged off from the Virtual Realm and was looking at Qing Chen: It was amazing last night; White Light leveled up! They even went to that water mage’s dungeon to fish for experience. Who thought of that thod? Leveling up was incredibly fast!
Qing Chen smiled: Congratulations on your level-up, Marquis.
The curtains in the office were drawn; Barton didn’t even see what was happening outside.
Soone knocked on the door: Marquis!
Co in, what is it? Marquis Barton sat on the sofa, impatient.
The soldier outside said excitedly: Marquis, you are truly amazing! The nobles outside all want to invite you to say a few words!
Marquis Barton was puzzled. I just went from F to E in the Virtual Realm overnight. That’s impressive, but it doesn’t justify going out to speak to everyone.
That's not how you flatter soone!
Besides, I’ve deleted my account and created a new one; no one knows what my na is in the Virtual Realm now. Who leaked the news?
Marquis Barton said casually: Get out, don't bother unless it's important.
The soldier stood at attention, Even at this mont, Lord Barton remained so calm and humble.
He silently left the office and went to gossip with the others.
Marquis Barton looked at Qing Chen and smiled: “You’ll get used to it. Once you reach a certain level, everyone will want to flatter you.”
Qing Chen didn’t speak; he silently opened the curtains.
Marquis Barton continued: “Leveling up last night was quite enjoyable. Those family mbers…”
When he saw the devastation outside, he almost fainted.
His face turned pale.
“What… what happened?” Marquis Barton exclaid in shock.
Qing Chen explained: “Last night, the Giant Dynasty raided here. Fortunately, Marquis Barton, you temporarily changed the positions of the Airships yesterday afternoon, giving the A-Class Airships ti to take off. Fortunately, you also had the tal Storms overhauled in advance, preventing the base from being overwheld by the flocks of birds. Half of the tal Storm’s magazines on the city walls were originally empty. Without the prior repairs, the wild boars and birds alone would have been enough to wipe us out.”
He explained the situation in detail, including every phone call and order Marquis Barton had made, to avoid any errors in future reports.
Qing Chen asked: “Marquis Barton, what did you do before marrying into the wealthy family and marrying the Fifth Princess?”
“I was an 18th-tier actor,” Marquis Barton replied.
Qing Chen thought, no wonder he played the detective so well during the interrogation, and his lines were so smooth.
So that’s it.
This face does qualify him to be an actor.
He said seriously: “Marquis, the No. 6 outpost base has completely fallen, so you’ve achieved a stunning feat. You secured the first victory in the kingdom’s expedition. You must rember every detail to avoid any problems. The Fifth Princess will help you promote this. Marquis level 4 and 5 are not dreams.”
A Marquis of level 3 can manage powerful departnts like the Food and Drug Administration, the Comrce Departnt, and the Education Departnt. A Marquis of level 5 is eligible to manage the Royal Capital Garrison Troops, the Treasury Departnt, and the Legislative Departnt, truly entering the core of power in the Roosevelt Kingdom.
For external nobles, this is the peak of their careers. If Marquis Barton achieves further feats, he may rise to Marquis level 6, but his duties won't change. Only the number of private soldiers he can command, the slaves he can buy, and his salary will continue to increase.
Therefore, Marquis level 5 is crucial.
Marquis Barton quickly nodded: “I’ll rember. Steward, I truly owe you this ti. Without you, I might have died last night, and lost my well-deserved rit. I can give you so rit this ti. I’ll claim that it was my idea to redeploy the Airships, and you were the one who executed it. This alone is enough to promote you to Citizen level 1.”
Qing Chen smiled: “Thank you, Marquis. I will continue to work hard. But my rit is unimportant. As long as you beco better and better, I will naturally follow suit.”
Marquis Barton looked at Qing Chen, feeling like he’d struck gold. With soone like this assisting him, he didn’t need to do anything to earn credit. He just needed to lie down and reap the rewards. Why didn’t he et this talent earlier!
In fact, Qing Chen suddenly felt that being Marquis Barton’s steward was incredibly convenient.
In last night’s battle, if he’d been even slightly more ruthless, Kuangfeng and the others would have been completely annihilated. If he’d acted even a little later, Roosevelt Kingdom would have lost an outpost base.
Now, he has great power. He can make anyone gain or lose, with a single word or thought.
If Marquis Barton’s position were even higher, after a war, Qing Chen could cause Roosevelt Kingdom and Giant Dynasty to suffer heavy losses with just his words.
What’s more, no one could bla him, and they might even thank him.
Yes, this is quite interesting.
“Marquis, we’ve captured six giants. They’re imprisoned in the base’s dungeon. Do you want to take a look?” Qing Chen asked.
“Ah, I dare not go. They’re so fierce,” Marquis Barton said fearfully.
Qing Chen thought for a mont: “Then I’ll go check on them. Storm Duke will arrive here in two hours. You must prepare well and don’t give him a chance to impeach you.”
“Yes, yes. I’ve finally had my mont of glory,” Marquis Barton said, “That old man claid that the first victory of this expedition would be his. How about this? I snatched it from him! Hahahahahaha”
Qing Chen discovered that the marquis has one advantage: Regardless of whether the rit is his or not, as long as it is attributed to him, he can accept it calmly and get into character.
This is good news for Qing Chen.
At that mont, Marquis Barton’s phone rang. It was the Fifth Princess.
Qing Chen said: I’ll step aside.
No need. You’re a great contributor; no need to step aside! Marquis Barton answered the phone: Hello, wife. Yes, yes, I’m fine, I’m doing great. Don’t worry, half of the Airships at outpost No. 9 are repairable, and most of the damaged ones are civilian-grade, so the losses aren’t that significant.
The Fifth Princess said on the phone: Let your steward answer the phone.
Marquis Barton innocently handed the phone to Qing Chen: Go on, your sister-in-law wants you to answer the phone.
Qing Chen answered: Hello, Princess.
Just call Cacia. A clear and pleasant voice ca from the phone: Thanks to you this ti. I will rember your contribution. Thank you.
You’re welco. It’s my duty. Actually, I didn’t do much. I just checked so work according to the outpost base operating procedures, Qing Chen said.
In this battle, Qing Chen didn’t stand out. He just did so things that should have been done but others hadn’t noticed.
If others investigated closely, they would see that he’s just very ticulous, which is not particularly surprising.
It all depends on the comparison with his colleagues.
Qing Chen carefully controlled the situation to avoid displaying excessive talent, which would raise suspicions.
If he had really annihilated the Giant Dynasty’s vanguard force last night, the investigation into him would likely have started sooner.
The Fifth Princess was silent for a few seconds: I’ve seen your and Barton’s future, and I’m a little puzzled. I’ll arrive at outpost No. 9 in two days. I hope to find so answers from you. Then, the Fifth Princess hung up the phone.
Qing Chen was startled. The Fifth Princess is indeed an A-Class or higher Fate Weaver, no wonder she has subordinates like the fire team.
Moreover, she did indeed see the future in him, but Qing Chen wasn’t sure what exactly she had seen.
Wait a mont. Logically speaking, she shouldn’t have seen a very clear future, or what she saw wasn’t enough to make her hostile.
If she saw him as the king of Roosevelt, standing atop the mountains of corpses and seas of blood of Roosevelt Kingdom, she should not tell him about it but instead mobilize her army to surround and annihilate him.
What if he runs away?
Therefore, the future she saw was not threatening enough to Qing Chen; it must be explainable.
For soone like Qing Chen, even a small detail could be used for logical reasoning.
But he was still curious about what the Princess had actually seen.
In the dungeon, the outpost base soldiers were constantly rinsing the giants with high-pressure water jets.
The giants huddled in large cages, cowering in corners. Their green and black ink had been washed away, revealing their original skin color.
Qing Chen slowly walked into the dungeon and frowned at the soldiers: Who allowed you to abuse these giants? They’re still injured. If you kill them, who will be responsible?
The soldiers bowed their heads: Greetings, Steward.
These two days, although Qing Chen hadn’t appeared in public, everyone had received the news that the previous stewards had been executed by the current steward; this is Marquis Barton’s real confidante and direct descendant.
Now, Marquis Barton’s reputation is skyrocketing, and Qing Chen’s position has also risen with the tide.
Qing Chen said: Leave, I’ll observe these giants.
The soldiers said cautiously: Steward, please don’t approach the cage. These giants all have racial talents; we don’t know if they still have ways to harm people.
Yes, I know.
At that mont, a giant in the cage said: Dudu!
Who’s this human? He seems to be of high status.
Gege!
I can understand human language. He’s the steward of this outpost base!
Qing Chen’s expression beca strange because he could understand what the giants were saying!
Originally, he thought he could only understand Dingdong and Gudong, because he is, after all, a detainee of Forbidden Zone 002. As residents of Forbidden Zone 002, it’s normal for him to understand what they are saying.
But he didn’t expect that he could also understand what the West Continent giants were saying.
Wait, he recalled that one ti he went to Forbidden Zone 002, Dingdong gave him and Yang Yang a red fruit each. At that ti, the fruit didn’t have any effect after eating it; he thought it was just delicious.
But now, thinking back, it might have been that fruit that taught him how to understand the giants’ thoughts from their language.
It’s important to know that there are not many giants who can speak human language; Dingdong couldn’t, and only a few giants in the Giant Dynasty have learned.
Giants speak, and humans can’t understand at all.
Then, a giant said: Dudu!
This person must be very important. Pupu, lure him to the edge of the cage. We will find a way to seize him and break out!
Having said that, the giant on the far side cried out in pain, clutching the wound on his stomach, as if the wound had reopened.
Qing Chen smiled.
This is perhaps the importance of mastering another language.
The giants discussed loudly in his presence, never imagining that he could understand them. Pupu rolled around for a long ti, but Qing Chen didn’t co to observe him.
Qing Chen mused to himself: I wonder if soone will co to rescue these giants. I must remind Marquis Barton to set a trap.
When the giants heard this, they imdiately panicked.
Dudu!
No, this person is going to set a trap for Kuangfeng. Kuangfeng is loyal; he will definitely try to save us, and then he will be ambushed by the human trap!
Gege! What should we do?
Qing Chen muttered: Let’s catch a few more giants to play with.
Then he left.
Leaving the giants in their cages making strange noises, discussing intensely.
In fact, Qing Chen was thinking about how to get these giants out. He didn’t want to give Roosevelt Kingdom the chance to set traps for the Giant Dynasty using these six giants.
After all, Qing Chen’s main enemy is Roosevelt Kingdom, not the Giant Dynasty.
But how should he start?
Qing Chen pondered for a mont, then suddenly thought of soone: The person who intercepted the outpost base’s communication last night.
They cooperated with the giants’ invasion, so they should be willing to rescue the giants.
He needs to find this person and create an opportunity for him, an opportunity that he can’t refuse.
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