Roadmap to the Boundless Sky

The Linacrox Union’s campsite was around ten kilometres away from the Union’s camp in the undeveloped area.

It was protected by alert Giant Warriors covered in thick bioarmor and various obstacles, like barbed wire.

The campsite itself had a different spirit, though. Quite a number of people were lazing around inside. Some had gathered together to talk and laugh, some kept to themselves, and some were sleeping in their tents.

Many of the martial artists present were hired help, so they found each other an eyesore. If they were forced to stay together, things could escalate horribly, so the person-in-charge allowed them to do whatever they wanted when they weren’t fighting.

Aside from these people, dozens of well-built men were busy hammering down stakes in marked places. Others were transporting cut, smoothed out logs back into the camp. It seemed like they were building something.

As the old trees collapsed, shrill cries came from the wood, and liquid as red as blood gushed out of the cuts. The bark of the tree jumped down, and the leaves started running around.

This would have caused anyone else’s skin to crawl, but these people were completely unfazed. Over the past few days, they had grown used to the sight. People wearing protective masks and gear stepped forward to spray chemicals on the trees, and everything melted away.

Major General Ingram Seville was the commander of the camp. He sat by the side and coldly watched the working people. A thin, small man with round glasses came over with a blueprint.

He wiped off the sweat on his head with a handkerchief, then said respectfully, “Sir, things are progressing smoothly. We can start drawing the ritual array today.”

“How long will you need?” Ingram asked.

“Three days,” the man answered.

“You’ve only got two days. The activation set-up must be completed within two days,” Ingram ordered.

“B-But we didn’t bring enough materials and have to collect them from the area. This will slow us down,” the thin man stammered.

Ingram trained his eyes on him. Without any emotion in his gray eyes, he said, “I’ll make sure you get whatever you need. All you need to focus on is getting the ritual array ready.”

The thin man shuddered, bowed, and left with his head lowered while clutching the blueprint tightly.

Ingram turned back to the partially completed setup, and the scenery outside was reflected in his eyes.

While the Linacrox Union’s combat prowess was pretty decent, they couldn’t compare to the Union. Their greatest weakness was the lack of reinforcements. They didn’t have enough manpower, so they would have to go back via the Union’s transport system.

This meant depending on the Union, which put them into a highly disadvantageous position in the fight for the artifact. Even though their leaders had agreed upon the distribution of benefits, the members of the Linacrox Union did not like anyone else being in control of their lives, so they had their own plans.

Since they couldn’t take the legitimate route, they had to take an alternate path. It was something they often did, anyway.

When they went to war against their southern neighbor, Tquire, they hadn’t been able to send enough soldiers there, so they thought outside the box and sent their combatants into the merged space of the closest Central City. From there, they planned to go to Nano Central City, the place where the war was waging, and provide support.

It had been an optimistic idea. Even though the merged spaces were all connected together, they were far apart. Each Central City controlled only a tiny region, and it was incredibly difficult to traverse through the undeveloped areas.

In the end, the plan failed. More than ninety percent of their combatants died, and only two people reached Nano Central City.

Even so, these two people were able to change the war situation somewhat, and their spokesperson in Nano Central City did not lose all ground.

The failed plan became a reference. Sometimes, going forward with an insane plan didn’t automatically mean failure. It was only when they decided not to do anything that they would truly not get anything. Because of that, they intended to launch an even bolder plan this time.

The telegraph clerk removed his earphones and quickly interpreted the telegram he got before heading to Ingram, saluting him, and handing it over. “The Union sent word. They’ve fought against Xu Chan again, but due to external interference, they weren’t able to get rid of him. They’re thinking about organizing a third pursuit and told us that there might be unidentified groups joining the fight for the artifact.”

Ingram’s eyes flickered faintly. “Tell them that if they need our help, we can group up and join the hunt.”

***

Xu Chan called the three squad leaders to him when they were at the borders of the local hub in the undeveloped area. “How are the communications with the people inside?”

The unit had tried to trade with the people in the hub. Since this was their first contact, both sides were cautious, so Xu Chan hadn’t stepped forward. He didn’t want them to be wary of him. If that had happened, the trade might fail.

Captain Hai seemed like a crude, boorish man, but he was actually very attentive. “I can’t say. I told them that we’re looking for something and want a guide, which made them really enthusiastic. I think that they’re eager to help us not because they want to trade with us, but because they have other plans.”

Captain Lu, Xu Chan’s teammate during the fight against Wu Qi, asked, “Are you saying that they’re also after the artifact?”

Captain Hai didn’t jump to conclusions and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Captain Hu, the third squad captain, pondered over this. “These people live here. If they wanted the artifact, shouldn’t they have already found it? Why wait for us to do it?”

“That’s not necessarily the case. The moment an artifact shows up, all the creatures in the merged space rush toward it. Some of them are truly powerful, so these people may not be able to take them down,” Captain Lu pointed out.

“How strong are these people?” Xu Chan asked after nodding in agreement.

“They aren’t weak. I believe them when they say that most of them escaped from the imperial army,” Captain Lu answered.

He often fought against the imperial army, so he was quite familiar with their strength.

“There are only around fifty people in the hub, so I think that it’s just a secret trading spot. It might be related to the anti-imperialists, which would explain why they’re hiding here.”

If the Great Shun Republic had its own resistance group, it only made sense that the former royal family also had anti-imperialists. Most of them were locals. After all, after the former royal family came to the merged space, they started persecuting and enslaving the locals, which led to the anti-imperialists appearing nonstop.

“The strongest among them is about as strong as I am. They’re not a threat to us.”

Xu Chan looked toward Captain Hai for his opinion. “Captain Lu is right. That is, if we don’t take into consideration the possibility that they have reinforcements.”

“We need to be on guard. You’re all experienced squad captains, so I’m sure that I don’t need to say much else,” Xu Chan said.

As he watched the trio, his expression turned stern. “Things were pretty dangerous yesterday. The enemies were strong, and I suspect that they’ve already amassed enough power to wipe us out, but it doesn’t mean that we’ve lost our chance.

“From now on, we have to split into two groups.

“The three of you will lead the rest to continue searching for the artifact. Remember to stay safe. If you find it, immediately retreat to the campsite. Then, do whatever it takes to bring the artifact back.”

“Understood,” the three squad captains promised grimly.

“I’ll stay back and attract their attention to buy some time for you,” Xu Chan declared.

“Lao Xu!” Captain Lu cried out anxiously.

Xu Chan motioned for him to settle down. “I know that this is dangerous, but the ones I encountered yesterday were already trouble. All of them had spirit sense, so you can’t really help me. Honestly, it’ll be easier for me to fight at full strength and hide without you around.”

The three squad captains felt resigned upon hearing this. Even though they could use Heartborn Forces and were pretty powerful Third Limit martial artists, they had a hard time fending against spirit sense, which only those at the peak of the Third Limit possessed.

“The merged space is huge. As long as you don’t leave any tracks, it won’t be so easy for them to find you. I’ll ambush and stall them instead of fighting them head-on. The longer I keep them occupied, the longer you’ll stay safe,” Xu Chan explained.

“We’ll do as you said. This is indeed the best plan for now,” Captain Hai said calmly.

Xu Chan took out something resembling a pendant from his pocket and threw it to Captain Hai. “I’ll leave this to you.”

Captain Hai caught it and put it carefully into the pocket of his protective gear. The pendant was an artifact. It would resonate when it was near another artifact or fresh tracks of it.

This was their best tool for finding the artifact.

However, the pendant’s effect wasn’t rare, so the Union and the Linacrox Union were likely to have something similar.

Their sole advantage had been that they had arrived in the undeveloped area ahead of the other two groups. Since the Union and Linacrox Union had already caught up, they had to speed up.

Xu Chan stood up. “Let’s start. I’ll leave this to you.”

Then, he saluted them.

The three squad captains stood up as well and saluted him gravely.

The instructions were all given out, so they started getting ready to split up. In just a short ten minutes, they were done and left the place with the locals who promised to be their guides.

Xu Chan took out a pelt from some creature he had been given after the first trade. It was a map with safe passages and hiding places marked clearly with brightly colored lines.

It contained all the traversable paths nearby, along with the traps the locals had set.

Even if Xu Chan’s goal was to provide cover for his team, he wasn’t going to fight the Union and Linacrox Union head-on. Instead, he was going to use his experience to hold them back. With the map, the explosives his team left behind, and some special items he brought with him, he could keep them busy for some time.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!