Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 365: Chapter 365: Opportunity

As soon as military affairs broke out, the entire southern border of the Jingjiu Dynasty instantly became tense.

First, all personnel at Zhuo Huo Pass were ordered to prepare for battle, with every position operating on wartime rotation and everyone sleeping in their clothes. No one could enter or leave the pass without Zuo Yuliang’s personal command token—any violator, no matter who, would be shot on sight.

Next, Beach Stone behind Zhuo Huo Pass entered full lockdown, and all auxiliary soldiers engaged in both farming and military service at the various garrisons were recalled and assembled.

Finally, the garrison at Hai Xia began rotating troops in batches to station at Beach Stone’s military garrisons and fortifications, completely activating the once dormant Beach Stone area into a meat-grinding mill spanning hundreds of miles.

As the vanguard Deputy General, Wu Kai was dispatched to garrison at Beach Stone at the very first moment, commanding two thousand soldiers to assist the local garrison in defending the Teleportation Array.

This assignment was hardly enviable. Though guarding the Teleportation Array was a key strategic duty, in reality it meant being stuck in the rear, cut off from the battlefield. They were even disqualified from being rotated to the front lines.

In other words, Wu Kai was being punished yet again.

This wasn’t the first time. Ever since Wu Kai nearly beat to death the spoiled son of an Assistant General from Hai Xia, his situation in the Southern Border Army had gone from bad to worse. Wherever things were utterly thankless, he was sent there. If there was a task too troublesome with no merits to gain, it was assigned to him. They even pulled all one thousand of his original auxiliary soldiers, just to keep him in check.

Now, finally, something was happening on the front lines—the entire Southern Border Army was eager for battle, all clamoring for a chance at honor and slaughtering the enemy. Who would want to be stuck in the rear watching over some Teleportation Array?

Wu Kai considered himself a fierce commander, and dared to say that among all the Deputy Generals in the Southern Border Army, none could surpass him in battlefield command ability.

But so what if you’re a fierce commander? So what if you’re the best Deputy General? Military orders aren’t up for negotiation—if they say you guard the Teleportation Array, you guard it. Show any sign of slack, and they’d have the perfect excuse to beat you to death.

Still, this time, Wu Kai felt things had played out in a strangely fortunate way. The assignment to guard the Teleportation Array just happened to make it easier for him to complete the task Shen Hao had given him.

Because this was a Military Level Teleportation Array stationed in a strategic frontline location, it was divided into two sections—one was a small array, generally used for personnel comings and goings or communications; the other, usually dormant, was a large Teleportation Array capable of transferring over a thousand people at a time.

The resident garrison consisted of a mixed battalion assigned to keep watch. Now that there was a military emergency, half the soldiers from this battalion had been pulled to fill key fortifications at the front. The remaining half, together with Wu Kai’s force exiled here to gather dust, were reorganized to rebuild the Teleportation Array’s defensive lines.

The focus was, of course, the Teleportation Array itself—yet the core would remain under guard by the original local garrison, while Wu Kai’s troops were tasked with securing the array’s outer perimeter.

The encampment was also previously the housing of the local garrison. Now, with more people, there weren’t enough actual buildings, so Wu Kai had his own men pitch tents outside for temporary lodging.

"Lord Wu, this way is your residence."

Wu Kai, of course, had no need to stay in a tent—a Captain from the local garrison personally led him to the quarters reserved for him.

Glancing around, Wu Kai saw that these quarters were of the barracks row type, room after room lined up tightly together, all looking more or less the same.

"Are people living in those over there as well?" Wu Kai’s curiosity was piqued by some doors that had Array Locks hanging from them, so he asked.

"Oh, those aren’t for living—they’re the Records Room and the storage."

"Locks alone for such an important place? Don’t they need guards as well?"

Though they were supposed to assist with defense, with half the local garrison gone, the highest-ranking officer left was this Captain, and compared to Wu Kai he was far outranked. The Captain could only stammer, "We’re short-handed."

"Short-handed? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ll assign twenty personal guards over—such a critical place can’t go unguarded."

The Captain inwardly scoffed. The Teleportation Array’s Records Room—how important could it be? Just nitpicking. Out loud, though, he said, "My lord is wise." Not his problem anyway.

It seemed just a minor episode. After settling in, Wu Kai dispersed his two battalions, diligently following the Teleportation Array’s vicinity map to construct three layers of defensive rings. Even the local Captain had to admit Wu Kai’s skill in troop deployment—when it came to tactics, Wu Kai indeed knew his stuff.

"Captain Chen, the core of the array is still under the charge of your remaining half battalion, correct?" Wu Kai said with a smiling squint, seeking the Captain’s opinion.

"Of course, no problem at all!"

"Good. With the Barbarian Race stirring at the front and the outbreak of fighting a matter of utmost urgency, this Teleportation Array at Beach Stone will be absolutely critical if we must denounce the Barbarians with force. I hope Captain Chen and I can coordinate seamlessly and ensure not a single error during this period."

"You may rest assured, Lord Wu."

Because the two had no real authority over one another, Wu Kai kept his tone gentle throughout.

After some straightforward division of duties, night fell. Wu Kai made his rounds and returned to camp. Where in the day the Records Room had only a single Array Lock, there were now guards stationed; Wu Kai’s personal guards were in charge.

"Your subordinate greets you, my lord!"

The personal guard on duty saw Wu Kai approaching and quickly saluted.

"Any unusual occurrences?"

"Reporting to my lord, all is normal."

"Anyone from the local garrison stop by?"

"No. These nearby rooms have already been assigned to our brothers, so we can keep watch over the Records Room at all times."

"Good. Open up—I want to have a look inside."

"Yes, my lord."

The method for unlocking the Array Lock had, of course, been handed to the guards. Since Wu Kai demanded entry, there was no reason to bar his way. And the guards outside were all his own confidants—no need to worry about leaks.

"Stand guard outside. Don’t let anyone disturb me." After speaking, Wu Kai shot his guard a look; the latter nodded immediately in understanding.

Entering the Records Room was Wu Kai’s first step—he needed to find what he was looking for as quickly as possible.

An incense stick’s time later, Wu Kai emerged from the Records Room, nodded at his guard, and turned to return to his quarters. No one knew that he now had a record book for Teleportation Array entries and exits from last November to the end of December tucked inside his robe.

Back in his quarters, Wu Kai began flipping through the records carefully. He soon found the entry he wanted by chronological order: Jing Old Calendar, 27th year, December 2nd, three men from the Ministry of War exited via the array, waist tokens registered as ’Magic Artifact Department’—names Ma Mountain, Xu Qian, Zhang De.

Additionally, on December 11th, 27th year of Jing Old Calendar, the three were recorded returning to the Imperial City.

A smile crept across Wu Kai’s face. "Found you at last!"

Turning another page, he spotted the signature of the record keeper at the page’s bottom: Liu Qi.