Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and Gnawa arrived at Phocas's mansion nearly ten minutes ahead of schedule, and hundreds of people had already gathered in the open area here.

They either gathered around gray-green military vehicles or lined up in columns, standing upright.

Jiang Baimian found the guard guarding the iron gate and asked him to report to General Phocas that the team of relic hunters invited by the Zhao family had arrived.

Three to five minutes later, a man and a woman walked out of the front door of the house and walked along the road in the middle of the lawn.

They are not short in stature, the man is over 1.8 meters tall, and the woman is over 1.7 meters tall. They are all of Red River race, wearing gray military uniforms with major epaulettes.

"The general mentioned you." The man nodded slightly.

He has short brown-red hair, eyes of the same color, his arm muscles hold up his clothes, and his temperament is cold and unsmiling.

He immediately looked at Gnawa wearing a cloak:

"Who is this?"

"A member of our team, a secret weapon." Jiang Baimian smiled.

She put stress on the last few words.

The male major glanced at the three of them:

"You mean you don't want to lift the cloak for us to inspect?"

"You can come over and take a look, but don't let him take off his cloak. There are many people here, and there might be spies from the 'anti-intellectual sect'." Jiang Baimian had already thought of a workaround.

"Yes, he would be embarrassed to take off his clothes in public." Shang Jianyao thoughtfully helped Gnawa consider the issue of dignity.

The male major winked at the female companion next to him, signaling her to be prepared for any surprises, and then he took two steps forward and approached Gnawa.

This distance and the height contrast between the two minimized the blocking effect of the cloak.

The brown-red-haired male major immediately showed a look of realization.

He turned around and regained his previous coldness:

"You don't have to let him come, we are prepared.

"If you take him with you, you must stay away from the general's vehicle later."

"No problem." Jiang Baimian responded with a smile.

The male major glanced at her and Shang Jianyao, nodded slightly and said:

"For your height, you are still too thin and lack enough muscles."

The topic changed a bit suddenly, and Jiang Baimian couldn't react for a moment, as if there was another Shang Jianyao standing opposite.

The male major added to her:

"If you had muscles like mine, I wouldn't be able to help but pursue you."

As he spoke, he bent his elbows and bulged his muscles.

This is so exaggerated that it almost bursts the clothes.

No need... Jiang Baimian replied silently.

At this time, Shang Jianyao laughed and said:

"Excessive pursuit of muscles often leads to overweight and failure."

The male major glanced at him:

"During the mission, I won't argue with you. After that, we can have a one-on-one fight. You can choose between fighting or arm wrestling."

Shang Jianyao smiled, pointed at Jiang Baimian and said:

"You arm-wrestle with me? You can't even beat her!

"Let's talk about it later after you win her."

It's as if you can beat my left hand... Jiang Baimian is so full that it's hard to say it out loud.

The muscular man opposite had obviously fallen into Shang Jianyao's trap.

"Okay." The male major controlled his impulse.

He turned around and passed through the iron gate, heading towards the main entrance of the house, ready to report to General Phocas.

The female major who came with him fell a few steps behind and smiled:

"Leave him alone, he's so obsessed with muscles that he almost changed his sexual orientation."

"He is better than I thought." Shang Jianyao praised sincerely.

Seeing the friendly attitude of the female major, Jiang Baimian asked:

"What do you call me?"

The female major's hair was dark yellow and neatly parted in the middle, with the length just above her ears.

Her facial features are pretty good, but like most Honghe people, her skin is rough and her pores are large.

In addition, her face shape is not so soft, it is very hard and masculine.

She shook her right hand and said with a smile:

"My name is Cassirer and his is Ducasse."

After saying that, Cassirer followed Ducas and entered the general's residence.

At nine o'clock sharp, a gray armored vehicle drove out. Phocas, wearing his straight general uniform, waved to the soldiers through the car window.

He saw the Jeep, Jiang Baimian, and Shang Jianyao parked in the distance. He nodded gently and motioned for them to follow.

The convoy went all the way south and left the Jinmaisui District.

There were three to four hundred soldiers waiting outside the city.

Some of them drive tanks, some carry drones, some ride motorcycles, some carry iron-black combat robots, and some drive armored vehicles, all of them are fully armed.

This was also the army under the command of Phocas, and the two parts together amounted to almost five hundred people.

This was a huge effort to deal with the cultists hiding in several manors.

Similar to a company, the establishment that can directly command and mobilize is an action group, numbering four to five hundred people... Phocas should have applied for permission from the consul and commander-in-chief Beuris, otherwise it would be unreasonable for such an army to operate independently in the suburbs. A very serious mistake... Jiang Baimian watched from a distance through the windshield, trying to use the "Pangaea creature" model to apply the situation of "Prime City".

In the "Primary City" establishment, this is a city defense battalion, and the commander is often a major.

The team advanced neatly and orderly towards the manor where Zhao Yixue and Meng Gang were, and it didn't take long to reach their destination.

Under the command of Phocas, four-fifths of the people and several combat robots dispersed and surrounded the place. Two majors, Ducasse and Cassirer, led the remaining soldiers and combat robots, and Shang Jianyao and Jiang Bai Mian and Gnawa together took out the warrant and forced their way into the manor.

After looking at the sparrow's small but complete environment, Jiang Baimian looked back at the armored command vehicle next to a small forest.

This time, Phocas was not reckless and did not take the lead in searching the manor, but waited in the distance.

"He is qualified enough to become the target of the 'Anti-Intellectual Cult'. There is a high probability that this trap is designed for him... If he does not enter the manor, how will the trap be launched? The purpose of the manor is to lure the strongest guardian around him There is a time lag before the power leaves? Phocas shouldn't have thought of this and will make corresponding arrangements, and he himself is very likely to be a strong man..." Following Ducas, Cassirer and others, Jiang Baimian thought subconsciously.

When the servants and slaves in the manor saw the regular army invading, they all shrank in fear. No one dared to stop them, and the team reached the main house easily.

"Have you found any targets?" Ducas turned his head and asked Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian.

Shang Jianyao shook his head.

The next second, several stewards walked to the door of the main room and waited respectfully for the chief to speak.

Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up, he rushed to Zhao Shouren's side, and asked with a smile:

"Where are Meng Gang, Shen Kui, and Zhao Yixue?"

Zhao Shouren breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they were brothers, and replied with Qiqing:

"They went into the basement after breakfast and didn't know what they were doing. Hey, they've been acting weird lately!"

"Basement..." Ducas repeated and ordered Zhao Shouren, "Lead the way."

The entrance to the basement was on the first floor of the main house. Jiang Baimian and others soon saw the brown wooden door under a section of stairs.

Ducas raised his hand and lowered it, signaling everyone to stop, and then ordered the surrounding soldiers:

"Blow open the door.

“Use flashbangs.

"Launch sleep bombs."

He had absolutely no intention of breaking into the basement and fighting anyone head-on.

His mind is not all about muscles... Jiang Baimian sighed silently.

Many soldiers immediately entered the corresponding positions.

Boom!

A shell flew out of the shoulder-fired rocket launcher, blowing the wooden door into pieces, shaking the house several times, and the glass shattered.

Immediately afterwards, flash bombs were thrown into the basement one after another. The sudden burst of white light caused most of those who looked directly to lose their vision for a short time.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao had already quietly put on their sunglasses. Those without sunglasses chose to turn their backs and close their eyes.

After the flash bomb, shells capable of releasing sleeping gas were blasted into their destination one after another.

Without waiting too long, Ducasse and Cassirer put on gas masks and led soldiers in the same uniform into the basement.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao also took the corresponding equipment from the soldiers next to them, and followed closely to help identify them.

As for Gnava, the sleeping gas had no effect on him.

The basement of this manor is not too big and is similar to a normal living room. As soon as Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian passed through the broken door, they saw the scene inside.

A circle of people had fallen on the gray-white stone floor. They seemed to form a circle. Everyone was wearing black robes and white masks with no facial features. They looked a bit evil.

Ducas walked to a man in black robes, squatted down, took off the iconic mask of "anti-intellectual religion", raised his head and asked Shang Jianyao:

"Is it the target?"

"Shen Kui." Shang Jianyao reported the name of the unconscious man.

So smooth? The power of formalized warfare? Jiang Baimian frowned slightly suspiciously.

Ducas unmasked those people one by one, and Shang Jianyao identified their identities one by one.

But in the end, they discovered that two people were missing:

Meng Gang, who has the ability to "hypnotize", and Zhao Yixue, the second son of the Zhao family!