Chapter 257: Chapter 56: The City Lord of City of Light_5
Aldos stood up and said, "I have many affairs to attend to, so I’ll leave first. If you need me for anything, use this token and no one will stop you."
After the three bid farewell to Aldos, Kary had someone bring Ah Dai a set of magic robes, also in red, symbolizing the identity of a fire mage. But this set had a special design: the six-pointed star on the chest was traced with gold thread, and at each of its six points was embedded an ordinary red magic crystal. On the right shoulder, nine golden hexagonal stars were sewn, symbolizing the status of guild elders. Ah Dai felt a bit out of place in the elaborate magic robes, but he couldn’t resist Kary’s kindness and thus accepted them. Kary originally intended to let him choose some magic items from the guild’s collection, but Ah Dai declined them all. After all, he knew his magic level was not high, so those items would be of little use. The next morning, when Ah Dai’s group set off, Kary personally saw them to the West City Gate of the City of Light and gave Ah Dai a hundred amethyst coins for their journey. Ah Dai reluctantly accepted.
Yan Li had originally intended to buy a few horses, but after Yan Shi had studied the map, he found that the landscape leading into the Empire of Sunset City was complex and not suited for horses. Thus, they abandoned that idea. So the three continued their journey towards the Empire of Sunset City. Ah Dai’s greatest gain in the City of Light was not his title as guild elder or Aldos’ token, but the bone dragon he had tamed with the Dragon’s Blood. The bone dragon’s physical prowess even surpassed Ah Dai’s when he was not in his Lifeform Change. It would be a great help to him in the future.
Two days later, the three finally passed through the Province of Light and arrived at the border between the Empire of Huasheng and the Empire of Sunset City. Seeing the vast expanse of military encampments that stretched out before them, the three were taken aback. Yan Li exclaimed, "Why are there so many troops here? How are we supposed to get through?"
Yan Shi mused, "It seems that the relationship between the Empire of Huasheng and the Empire of Sunset City is tense! These should be the defensive forces of the Empire of Huasheng. Looking at them, I estimate they exceed a hundred thousand."
Yan Li looked at Ah Dai and said, "I see why Lord Aldos gave you that token. Without it, it would be almost impossible to get through these occupied areas."
Ah Dai pulled out the token and said, "Then let’s go. Didn’t Uncle Aldos say that this token would allow us to pass through the Huasheng Empire’s army at will?"
The three walked straight to the encampment. When they were a few hundred meters away, they were stopped by patrolling infantry. When Ah Dai showed them Aldos’ token, they recognized its origin, treated them with proper respect, and quickly led them into the encampment.
In the military structure of the Empire of Huasheng, every ten men make up a small squad, a hundred men a medium squad, a thousand men a large squad, and ten large squads of ten thousand men make up an army. Ten armies form a group army, which is commanded by the Group Army Commander. The hundred thousand men stationed here formed the only group army in the Province of Light. Their commander was naturally Aldos, the governor of the Province of Light. These troops, known as the Tiger Army of Light, were the loyal forces of Aldos and had made countless contributions to the Empire of Huasheng under the leadership of Tiger of Light Aldos. They were the most formidable force aside from the Holy Light Knights led by the commander, Feng Wen.
Aldos, preoccupied with the affairs of the Province of Light, could not personally command here. His stand-in was his primary general, Viscount Xiphil, the head of the First Army of Light. Xiphil was prudent, good at defense, and deeply loyal, earning Aldos’ trust. With him commanding the defensive troops, even if the Sunset Emperor launched a sudden attack, Aldos was confident that the enemy could not advance an inch. The soldier who stopped Ah Dai’s group recognized the token of Aldos and took them as envoys from the City of Light and reported directly to the command of the group army.
Xiphil was discussing matters with the other nine Army Commanders and some of the staff officers and generals of the group army when he heard that envoys from the City of Light had arrived. He quickly invited Ah Dai and his companions into the headquarters.
The command center was a massive, temporarily erected tent, spanning an area of more than a hundred square meters. As Ah Dai and his companions entered the tent and saw the brightly armored and imposing generals, they were a bit panic-stricken - all they had intended was to use the area as a shortcut; they hadn’t anticipated being received by the commanding officer of the locale.
Xiphil descended from his seat and gave the trio an appraising look. Ah Dai’s facial features were hidden behind his mage’s cloak, but the symbols on his shoulder were familiar to Xiphil. Startled, he said, "I apologize for not greeting you sooner, Elder. Does Governor Aldos have any orders?" He inwardly criticized the messenger for not clarifying the visitors’ status. The position of a Mage Guild elder was highly esteemed. He should have greeted them personally.
