Chapter 421: Chapter 421. Showing the Battle Puppets
They walked past the courtyard toward the keep opposite the entrance gate. They looked around the place as they walked. They saw battle puppets stationed above the battlent.
"You found all those battle puppets?" Ji Zhi asked.
"How many are they? Thirty?" An Guan asked.
"I place forty active ones in this fort," Amon said.
These battle puppets were installed with power sources made by Shi Hei, Hu Hua, and Diao Xin from the Zillium Amon stole from the Royal Academy. The Zillium he had was enough to make power sources for one hundred battle puppets. Shi Hei and the others were still working hard to produce the power sources. What they had produced was enough to power sixty battle puppets. Forty were here at this fort, and the other twenty he gave to Lin Li to help her with his plantation.
Amon stopped them after arriving at the keep. Two other battle puppets were guarding the keep’s entrance. "From here, only authorized people may enter," he said.
"Authorized people?" An Guan asked.
"Yes," Amon answered without explaining. He pointed at Huang San, Lao Zen, Ha Gild, Ji Zhi, An Guan, and Yong Baili. "Only the six of you may enter with . The rest please wait outside. You can go check out the other buildings."
The group looked at each other before shrugging and walking away except for the six. After the others left, Amon told the two guard puppets, "Register these six. They are main occupants."
Entering the keep, they saw the interior had been renovated. It was filled with blacksmith, engraving, and talisman equipnt. Shi Hei, Hu Hua, and Diao Xin were inside with several other workers. They were still setting up the equipnt.
"What are you trying to do here?" Lao Zen asked.
It was Ji Zhi who roughly understood after seeing the room’s layout. "Are you trying to turn this place into a workshop for puppet-making?"
"Yes," Amon answered. "Among us, you are the most expert in the field. I hope you can lead this workshop."
"I don’t mind, but I don’t see how this can help us fight the rebels. Puppet making is a long and expensive endeavor."
"That’s what I told him yesterday," Huang San said.
"This workshop is not what I want to show you," Amon said. "Follow ."
The six again looked at each other before following Amon.
"This fort is among the oldest fortresses that still stand," Amon spoke as they walked. "It was built during the early years of Echos kingdom, and by an enemy of the Huang Clan."
"You are very good with history. I can see why you are close with Li Shi," An Guan said.
Amon paused when the na was ntioned.
"By the way, anyone had any idea where she was?" An Guan asked. "I haven’t seen or heard from her since that fateful day."
The others shook their heads.
"Many people are missing since that disaster," Lao Zen said. "I’m sorry to point this out, but if she hasn’t shown up by now, I’m afraid she has been lost to the spirit beasts that attacked those days."
"We didn’t hear about him for five years, but he popped up all right," Ha Gild pointed at Amon.
"Yes, maybe we should keep our hopes up," Yong Baili said.
"We can’t waste ti on hope and speculation," Amon uttered. "We must focus on our current crisis."
"Whoa, kiddo. I think a little hope is good," Ha Gild disagreed.
Amon didn’t try to argue. Instead, he resud his story, "Anyway, those who built this fort were a weaker clan. So, aside from building this fort to defend against their enemies, they also built an underground chamber."
They arrived at stairs that went underground.
"What is the underground chamber for?" Lao Zen asked.
"The underground chamber has a tunnel that runs for around six miles and is linked to a natural-looking cave South of here."
"I see... With this tunnel, the rebels won’t know our moves even if they have people watching this fort," An Guan said.
"What if they know about the existence of this tunnel?" Yong Baili said.
"Unlikely," Amon said. "Only the most dedicated historian knows about this fact. There is almost no record ntioning this tunnel. This fort has fallen out of use for a long ti. Its importance has long since been overlooked."
"How did you find out about this fort’s secret then?" Yong Baili asked.
"After reuniting with the prince, I have been searching among the records of abandoned fortresses. I plan to use one of them as a base. It was then that I learned of this fort. The records didn’t ntion the underground tunnel, but the historical record ntioned a defending force in this fort escaped a fully enclosed siege. Curious about it, I ca to check out this fort. That’s how I learned about its tunnel."
"You said this tunnel connects to a cave, didn’t you? Can’t soone stumble upon the cave and learn it leads to this fort? The locals who live nearby might know about it."
"There is no settlent nearby this fort. Also, where this tunnel ets the cave, there is an illusionary enchantnt that makes the opening look like a wall of natural stones. The words of power at this fort might not work anymore, but that illusive enchantnt still."
"I see...," Lao Zen uttered. "I understand now why you chose this fort. I guess this..."
He stopped speaking because of the sight that greeted him when they arrived at the basent. There were rows and rows of battle puppets.
"This..."
"This will be our secret card for dealing with the rebels," Amon said.
"Are they all operational?" Ji Zhi asked.
"No, they lack power sources," Amon answered.
"Ah... That’s why you ask
for Zillium," Huang San ca to a realization. "However, even with my access to the Zillium I ntioned yesterday, it won’t be enough for these many battle puppets... How many are here, exactly?"
"For now, ten thousand," Amon answered.
"Ten thousand?" Ji Zhi gasped.
"For now? Are you telling us you can produce more?" Lao Zen asked.
That was indeed the case. Amon raided thirty thousand battle puppets from Shi Zi’s mansion. The ones he showed them were only one-third.
"Let’s say it is so," Amon answered Lao Zen. He then told Huang San and Ji Zhi, "See to the process to get us a steady supply of Zillium and start working to speed up the production of power sources."
"Okay," Huang San said. "But like I said, what I can get from the kingdom will not be enough, at least not in four years."
"That’s why we will visit the Xei Clan," Amon said.
"Ah... I see. Now, I get it," Huang San said.
"Okay, I hope everyone now has an idea about what we are aiming for," Amon said. "We will engage the rebels when the ti is right. As to when it is, I will let you know. Your objective for now is to build our forces, both the secret forces down here and the public one up there. Ji Zhi will oversee these secret forces, while the rest of you focus on nurturing the regint they send to us. Considering you all used to be instructors, this should not be difficult. I will also transfer so people from my organization in the capital to here."
Amon turned to Huang San, "You should also broadcast a public statent to recruit cultivators to join our forces."
"Hm, you are right," Huang San said. "Since many already know we are targeting the rebels, might as well make it public officially."
"Yes. There should be many with a grudge against the rebels because of Qishurg City’s disaster," An Guan agreed.
"There are still refugees inside the ruins of Qishurg City," Amon inford. "Send a party to broadcast there. I believe there should be many willing to join us for a chance of revenge."
"All right! Send them our way," Lao Zen said. "So long as they are not too terrible, we will whip them up to be decent fighters."
*
They spent the next days figuring out chains of command. Huang San made Amon the commander of their force. Lao Zen and Xin Wuming were the deputy commanders. They would be in charge when Amon was not at the fort.
As for the incoming regint of three thousand, they would be split into three battalions numbered one thousand each. An Guan, Ha Gild, and Yong Baili would be responsible for each battalion. Considering the three’s cultivation levels, few would disagree with their appointnts.
Amon had Gao Lan pick mbers of the Demon Gang to go to the fort. Most ex-students in the Vicious Faction volunteered to join, and so were most of the bandits Amon recruited from the wilderness in the past. Lu Fei stayed in the capital to assist Gao Lan and San Guo. Qiang Dan and Bu Zheng joined the forces.
In Bu Zheng’s case, he was safer with the soldiers in the fort. He was, after all, still a fugitive in Golden Stone City.
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