The Card Apprentice

“Yang….. Yangshan Fei….” The artisan stammered, staring blankly at the man with the green scar. He suddenly returned to his senses, ” The old artisan is here!”

Yangshan Fei grinned: “Am I old?”

“Not at all!” The artisan was busy shaking his head.

“Haha, I am just messing with you,” Yangshan Fei flew back to the masked man.

“Su. You see, there are a lot of clever people here!” Yang Shanfei smiled.

The man called Su silently continued to fly at high speed with the rest of the group. The card artisan carefully peeped at Su, secretly guessing his identity.

The team looked serious as this trip was dangerous. The chances of survival were slim. The card artisans of Desert Camp was ruthless and rarely accepted surrender. While their main army was recovering, hundreds of small hunting teams had already begun to clear off the remaining artisans in the area. They were all killed even before they managed to surrender.

After flying for about half an hour, the team finally came to a halt.

Ahead, a snow valley loomed.

* * *

Snow Edge Valley.

The seventy-sixth squadron of Desert Camp was recovering.

Chai Jun, the captain of the 76th squadron, looked around him with satisfaction and smiled, “Not bad, the intelligence corp’s terrain detection is very accurate. Keep your spirits up. Our mission is to guard this valley for five hours. When the main army arrives, we shall attack Qianhu City.

His vice-captain also laughed and said, “With such a terrain, five hours is nothing, we can easily guard here for ten more days. Besides, there are still the hunting teams around, so don’t worry boss!”

Chai Jun agreed with him but still cautioned again “Don’t be careless and let go of a mouse or two. You must take the boss’s military law seriously.”

The vice-captain trembled and nodded repeatedly. Su Heiming only commanded the Desert Camp for a short period, but he used cruel measures, making all the men fear him. He completed the internal cleaning and restructuring of the Desert Camp within a short period, and the Desert Camp now is very different from its previous generation.

“What do you think, instructor? “Chai Jun respectfully asked another man who had been silent.

Instructors were unique to the Desert Camp. Su Heiming is the whole Chief Military Instructor of the camp. However, Desert Camp instructors are different from the captain; they do not directly interfere in team affairs but have great power.

“Very well,” The man said simply with a cold expression, then stopped talking. His whole body exuded a chill, and the artisans around him involuntarily kept their distance. The most striking point was that his wrist did not have a meter. Behind him stood dozens of strong men who looked like they came from the same mold as him, their wrists similarly unmarked.

Each artisan held fast to a vantage point, and there were artisans patrolling in the sky.

Qianhu City.

There was silence as the forces gathered. The faces of the leaders remained calm, but there was an involuntary look of alarm in their eyes.

“Everyone!” Jia Yingxia knew that she needed to stand up at that time; she slowly scanned the leaders, “We all know the situation well. Artisans outside the city were all slaughtered by the Desert Camp!”

The expressions of the people below turned grimmer as Jia Yingxia’s words broke their last remaining hope.

“Why should we be afraid? As long as we can keep guard for a few days, the back-up artisans will arrive, then we can attack together. I don’t believe Su Heiming can go back alive!” shouted a leader.

This sentence seemed to clear the haze from their minds. The atmosphere became more lively. Jia Yingxia looked at the leader approvingly.

“Su Heiming looks down on us! Well, if we can hold the fort this time, we’ll see how he ends up!”

“Qianhu City is an old city. Our defense system is perfect. The city is well equipped, and will not be easily breached!”

The chatter of the crowd was to mock Su Heiming, and also encourage themselves.

“Everyone!” Jia Yingxia’s voice rose again, and the other leaders’ voices immediately vanished, and everybody’s gazes again focused on her. Jia Yingxia was very satisfied with this effect. She paused a little, and said slowly, “Good news! Due to the Desert Camp’s crazy behavior, the military decided to directly intervene. The sixth and eleventh troops are heading our way as fast as they can! We only need to hold out a little longer, and the Desert Camp will be completely destroyed!”

As soon as this was said, everyone was rejuvenated, their expressions showing their joy.

Even Cang Lan was moved: “President Jia, is this true?”

If what Jia Yingxia said was true, this would be the first time the military has intervened in a civil war. This would have a profound effect on the alliance, though it was feared that after this, the military would officially enter this era of chaos.

“Army Chief Lord Zhi Tingman and Army Chief Lord Jiang Zhenyen have just declared their intent and just now, the five troops closest to us have all moved out, heading for Qianhu City!” Jia Yingxia smiled.

Every leader’s face was filled with joy. As long as the military intervened, it would only be a matter of time before the Desert Camp was destroyed.

“Will the eighth and tenth troops react?” Someone hesitated. Lu Ning, the commander of the eighth army corps, and Qiu Rong, the commander of the tenth army corps, are from the Desert Camp. If the sixth and eleventh are involved, the eighth and tenth are also likely to be involved.

“Haha, you are worrying too much. The eighth and the tenth army corps are stationed in the north area, far away from us. It would be too late by the time they arrive.”

The crowd was appeased.

Jia Yingxia smiled but said strictly, “Everyone, we should work together in the face of this sudden attack by the formidable Desert Camp. The Qianhu City guardian force is insufficient. I hope you can coordinate your defense with the card artisans of Moon Frost Island!”

“Principal Jia’s words are reasonable, we can’t stand behind while your card artisans are fighting!”

“Yes! Hand over the command of all the guards to the principal!”

These leaders were sensible men. They knew that at this point they had no room to bargain with Moon Frost Island, so they might as well be generous.

Jia Yingxia smiled at each leader as a show of respect.

* * *

At the snow forest outside of Snow Edge Valley, Chen Mu and his people were carefully lurking in ambush. Card artisans flew past from time to time. This hunting team’s combat power was strong. While individually their combat power was insignificant, their cooperation was incredible, and they were ruthless, leaving no survivors. Seeing this, the card artisans in the forest were appalled.

“Xiaobo and the rest are heading in this direction. It will take about an hour and a half to get here. Rest for half an hour, then get ready to attack.” Bogner murmured. “Our position right now is here, while the main force of the Desert Camp is there.”

Bogner pointed to the three-dimensional map fantasy card and continued, “The Snow Edge Valley is a little further forward. That is to say, we need to resolve the battle very quickly and cross the Snow Edge Valley. The situation will worsen if we catch the base camp’s attention.”

“Also, based on the patrolling rhythm of the hunting squad, there’s a five-minute gap in between patrols, which is our best chance to attack,” Bogner behaved with the grace of a general which filled everyone’s heart with confidence.

Qiu Shanyu hesitated, then said, “According to our sources, Su Heiming and Mohadi Domain have been friends for a long time, and they have a unique technology which could quickly develop cardless sects. I suspect they probably have these people in their team.”

In the corner, Wei-ah who had remained silent, suddenly said, “I will deal with them together with Blockhead and Bu Mo.”

Everyone was surprised, but no one objected. It would be better to leave cardless sects to cardless sects.

“Well, then the rest of the plan need not change. Snow Worm Card Artisan Team will lead, with the rest as support. Go full force! We have to open this passage in the shortest time with the greatest firepower.” Bogner said to Jiang Liang, “Organize the rest of the card artisans. I heard that Yangshan Fei is also within; get him to be your co-commander. Their cooperation is not good, but each of them individually is stronger than our card artisans.”

“Yes!” Jiang Liang accepted the order.

Chen Mu was impressed by Bogner’s methodical delivery of orders. In the face of danger, he remained calm and naturally assumed his responsibilities without avoidance or retreat, and maintained a clear head, showing his progress.

Jiang Liang walked to the front of the card artisan team and asked, “Excuse me, which one of you is Yangshan Fei?”

The people who had been chattering were abruptly silent. The people in the know naturally would remain silent, whereas the people who did not know the situation were shocked, as Yangshan Fei was famous. Even Moon Frost Island was defeated by his hand.

Yangshan Fei stood up and shouted, “I am! What do you want?”

Jiang Liang saluted, “Hello Mr. Yang. I am Jiang Liang, the deputy director of Snow Worm Card Artisan Group.”

Yang Shanfei looked suspiciously at Jiang Liang. The strong military temperament in Jiang Liang shocked him, “Mr. Jiang, are you from the army?”

“I was in the army for a few years.” Jiang Liang replied succinctly.

Everybody abruptly looked awestruck, thinking it was no wonder the Snow Worm Card Artisan Group was so powerful: they even recruited people from the military. Yang Shanfei praised him, “No wonder your bearing was different. Come, please sit.”

Jiang Liang sat on the snowy ground beside Yang Shanfei with his usual expression. Yangshan Fei’s eyes were full of appreciation. “How can I help you, Deputy Jiang?”

“General Bogner ordered me to familiarise myself with everyone so that this would reflect on the battle later.” Jiang Liang continued, “Bogner also hoped Mr. Yang will help me so that during the chaos later would not ruin our advantage.”

Yangshan Fei looked at Su, and seeing him nod, said, “No problem! They still have to respect me!” He thought about it and shook his head, “No, I have to tell them not to ruin it.” Then he got up and walked to the other card artisans.

Jiang Liang’s attention fell on Su. He bowed to Su and asked, “What may I call you?”

“Su.”