176: Chapter 176 You are Lin Mo?

The morning at Ironwall City did not come gently.

Before the sky was fully bright, the searchlights on the city walls had already begun to sweep slowly, their glaring white beams raking across the battlements and illuminating the distant ruins in a cold, stark white.

Lin Mo had just broken open the second steamed bun delivered by the mess hall and hadn't yet managed to put it in his mouth when a messenger from the council hall came panting and knocked on the door of the officers' quarters.

"Captain Lin! General Han requests everyone to go to the council hall immediately. It's an emergency military situation!"

Ji Wuchen was folding the oilcloth he used to wipe his sword. Hearing this, he looked up. "They won't even let us finish breakfast?"

"Military situations don't wait for anyone." The messenger looked apologetic, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at the stew on the table. He couldn't help but mutter quietly, "How is the food in your room better than the City Lord's?"

Lin Mo stood up and shoved the half-bun in his hand into the messenger's hand. "Eat while we walk. What's the situation?"

The messenger was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed. "General Han said he wants you to see the intelligence yourself."

When Lin Mo reached the door, he paused, looked back at the bowl of stew on the table that they hadn't eaten much of, and said to the messenger, "We haven't eaten a bite. Don't let it go to waste; help us finish it."

The messenger's expression looked as if he had just won a military medal.

Everyone had already arrived in the council hall.

The seating today was much more casual than yesterday. Gu Yunting was holding a bowl of congee and drinking it; when he saw Lin Mo walk in, he almost choked.

It wasn't because he was afraid of Lin Mo, but because he was afraid of Ji Wuchen.

It was said that because he had bragged on the city wall, saying, "I can fight three Temple Knights by myself," and Ji Wuchen had heard him. Now, half of Ironwall City had heard of the boast Gu Yunting made yesterday.

"Drink slowly," Lu Chenzhou said from the side, gloating. "No one is going to snatch it from you."

"You were snatching it from me last night," Gu Yunting accused.

"That's because you didn't protect it well. On the frontier, if you can't even protect your own food, how can you protect the city?"

"Can you stop elevating everything to the level of city defense?"

Yan Yue stood beside the topographical map with his arms crossed, watching the young people bicker, his mouth twitching involuntarily.

He really wanted to maintain the dignity of the City Lord, but in front of this group of young people, the City Lord's dignity didn't work.

"Let's talk business." Han Xiao walked to the table, leaning on his metal staff, and cleared his throat.

Spread out before him was a piece of intelligence paper that had just been decoded; the edges of the paper still held the slight warmth of the communicator.

"Early this morning, the reconnaissance team intercepted an encrypted communication from the West Federation's Azure Flame Legion. It has been confirmed that the West Federation's vanguard troops withdrew overnight and have now completely exited the territory of the Great Xia."

As these words fell, everyone in the council hall let out a long sigh of relief.

"They finally withdrew." Gu Yunting set his congee bowl on the table. "We'll have to make the mess hall add a dish when we get back."

"The mess hall's pig was already eaten by you yesterday," Lu Chenzhou replied.

"It wasn't just me who ate it! Lin Mo ate it too! Ji Wuchen ate it too!"

"I didn't eat it," Ji Wuchen said expressionlessly. "I ate pickled radishes."

Gu Yunting choked. The only person at the table who could eat more than him actually wouldn't back him up.

Han Xiao's gaze swept over everyone, his voice deepening.

"Don't be happy too soon. Although the West Federation's main force has withdrawn, according to the latest intelligence, at least two Temple Knights have led an elite squad to infiltrate the border, taking advantage of the gap during the handover of the defense lines. They have already sneaked into our hinterland."

The council hall fell silent.

Lei Wanjun put down his congee bowl. Lu Chenzhou also turned solemn.

Only Lin Mo had no extra expression; he raised his eyes calmly and asked, "How many people?"

"Currently, two are confirmed, but there may be more elites accompanying them. The specific number and composition are not yet clear."

"Then we'll investigate. Isn't it convenient that we've been assigned to the scout squads!" Lin Mo stood up and said directly.

Yan Yue took over, his voice low. "They are hiding in the shadows. The outposts and guerrilla belts we previously set up were cleared out during the retreat. These people are operating right under our noses, and we have almost no grasp of their location."

Han Xiao stood up, leaning on his staff, and his gaze swept over everyone present. "So, from today on, all scout squads in Ironwall City will be reorganized. Each team must include two combatants of Tier 5 or higher. There is only one mission: find those Temple Knights hiding in the shadows and root them out for me."

After saying this, his gaze fell on Lin Mo.

"Good, then let's stop wasting time. Reorganize your teams; Shen Yi will be responsible for intelligence coordination. For the others, Lin Mo, you handle the arrangements!"

Lin Mo glanced at the map and did not decline.

He drew a few lines on the defense map and assigned them to each team. Finally, he looked up and added, "Assign a veteran scout to each team. We aren't familiar with this wasteland, but others are."

"Fine, just coordinate the specific arrangements with Old Han!" Yan Yue said calmly.

...

The organization of the scout squads was completed within an hour.

Han Xiao divided the wasteland around Ironwall City into four sectors, with each squad responsible for one.

Yan Yue's original words were, "Turn the wasteland over for me; don't leave even the ground untouched."

Thus, the generals present witnessed a strange sight: Spirit Mechanics with oil-stained hands and one-armed veterans squatting at the city gate, marking out abandoned trenches and collapsed buildings where people might be hiding on the map with Han Xiao. Those places had previously been their frontline outposts; they could draw them even with their eyes closed.

The mechanic Feng Ping pointed to a mark on the map and said, "I remember the underground hangar of this outpost; it collapsed halfway three years ago. If the Temple Knights want to hide armor, the space there is just enough for two units."

Old Zhou added from the side, "There's also a well nearby; the water is bitter, but it's drinkable." Lu Chenzhou listened from the side, dumbfounded. "How do you know everything?"

"Because we built it," Feng Ping said.

"It was bombed later," Old Zhou added.

"Then we rebuilt it."

"Then it was bombed again."

The two of them discussed it, one sentence after another.

When assigning tasks, after Gu Yunting received the sector for the second squad, he studied the map for a while and proposed using ten signal flares, but Han Xiao only approved two.

Gu Yunting was about to bargain, but Han Xiao raised his eyelids. "Why would you need to carry so many? Besides, yesterday you made that crystal cannon on the city wall smoke; the repair costs will be deducted from your military merits, and you still want ten?"

"I didn't make the cannon smoke! It was that kid Lu Chenzhou—"

"I'm in the next team over." Lu Chenzhou poked half his head in from the door, looking innocent. "General Han, don't listen to his nonsense."

"Your two's problems are Lin Mo's business; let him decide who pays later." Yan Yue rarely interjected.

Lin Mo looked up at Gu Yunting, and Gu Yunting immediately shut his mouth.

It wasn't because he was afraid, but because he knew Lin Mo's method of punishment was never scolding; it was sparring with you during training, using one hand, and beating you until you doubted your life.

Han Xiao ignored them and lowered his head to continue marking the map.

But when he lowered his head, a very faint arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The reorganization plan was quickly finalized.

Lin Mo and Shen Yi were assigned to the first scout squad, responsible for the northwest sector; also in the team were Old Zhou and the mechanic Feng Ping.

Ji Wuchen and Gu Yunting were assigned to the third scout squad, responsible for the southeast sector; also in the team were two Ironwall City veterans, one was the platoon leader of the city defense reconnaissance platoon, and the other was a veteran who had just rotated off the city wall.

Before leaving the city, Han Xiao specifically called the captain of the third squad aside and said that those two young people could fight better than him, and to consult with them first when encountering issues.

The captain was a veteran in his early forties; he was stunned for a second upon hearing this, then nodded. "As long as they can fight better than me, that's fine. I'm most afraid of leading rookies."

"They aren't rookies. The number of people they killed on the city wall the day before yesterday is more than you've killed in your entire life," Han Xiao added.

The captain was silent for a moment. "General, are you comforting me or bringing me down?"

"Both."

Lu Chenzhou and Ye Huangyi were assigned to the second squad. Encrypted communication channels were established between the squads, and Shen Yi unified the frequency bands before leaving the city.

During tuning, a shrill screech suddenly came from Gu Yunting's channel, and everyone covered their ears.

"Gu Yunting, keep your communicator away from the energy block," Shen Yi said.

"I put it in my pocket!"

"What else is in your pocket?"

"Uh... a compressed biscuit?"

There was silence in the channel for two seconds.

Then Ji Wuchen's voice rang out coldly. "Biscuit crumbs are blocking the communicator's heat vent. Don't put food and equipment together next time."

"How do you know biscuit crumbs will block the heat vent?"

"Because I made the same mistake in Lingwu City," Ji Wuchen said with a frank tone.

After the group list was announced, each team began preparations for departure.

Gu Yunting stood at the city gate, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

The sword was in its scabbard, but his fingers would lightly tap the end of the hilt every few seconds. That was his habit when nervous—not because of fear, but to be ready to draw the sword at any moment.

"Stop tapping," Ji Wuchen walked over. "The sword won't run away."

Gu Yunting's hand stopped for a moment, then continued tapping. He tapped three times before realizing and put his hand down. After a while, he started tapping again.

Ji Wuchen didn't scold him this time. She just took out the three pieces of compressed meat jerky that Lei Wanjun had shoved into her pocket and broke off a piece to hand to him.

"Eat this; it'll keep your hands busy."

Gu Yunting took the jerky, looked at it, and put it in his mouth. The way he chewed looked as if he were wrestling with the jerky; it was too hard, its hardness comparable to a city wall brick.

Ji Wuchen walked up to Lin Mo; their conversation was very brief, almost half swallowed by the wind.

"Southeast sector, that's ours. You take care of yourself."

Lin Mo glanced at her. "If you can't win, run."

The corners of Ji Wuchen's mouth curved slightly.

"Who are you looking down on?"

Lin Mo shrugged, glanced at Gu Yunting in the distance, and explained, "No, I'm just worried you'll be dragged down by that guy!"

Gu Yunting heard this, and his fingers tapping the sword hilt paused. After a few seconds, a sentence drifted back from the distance: "I'm still standing right here. Can you keep it down?"

"Let's go."

Lin Mo turned and walked in the northwest direction. Shen Yi followed behind him, holding the map. When she passed by Ji Wuchen, she paused and handed over a copy of the intelligence documents.

Ji Wuchen took it, scanned it, and nodded.

The two veterans of the third squad witnessed the whole process from the side. Once Ji Wuchen and Gu Yunting had walked a few steps away, one of them muttered, "You say, between these two young people, who actually listens to whom?"

The other thought for a moment. "Do you even need to ask? Look at who talks less."

The veteran suddenly realized. "That makes sense."

...

Two hours later.

The morning light on the wasteland had faded from the softness it had when it first rose, becoming glaring. The scorched earth was sun-bleached white, and the wreckage of mechs destroyed in the distance twisted and deformed in the heat waves, like some kind of ominous omen.

The third scout squad discovered the entrance to a hiding spot in the abandoned trench area of the southeast sector.

At the end of a bombed-out trench, someone had laid out a small patch of fluorescent markings using the energy residue from power armor.

It was hard to see during the day, but before leaving the city, Feng Ping had stuffed a sensor specifically for Spirit Mechanics into every team. When scanned, those markings shone like a lighthouse.

Gu Yunting was stunned.

"They exposed themselves on purpose? That's a bit arrogant!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of metal boot soles crushing sand and gravel rang out from deep within the trench.

Two sets of seventh-generation power armor walked out from the shadows.

It was exactly Aiken and Monroe, two official members of the Holy Temple Knights.

The paint jobs of the two mechs were exactly the same as on the holographic sand table, without any camouflage, not hiding or covering anything. They just stood straight ahead, as if waiting for the prey to walk into range by itself.

"Just you few? I thought we'd catch a big fish!" Monroe's gaze swept back and forth over Ji Wuchen and Gu Yunting, his tone carrying a hint of disappointment.

Gu Yunting's hand was already pressed on the sword hilt, but this time he didn't tap it.

Ji Wuchen's expression was even more indifferent, indifferent to the point of looking like she was seeing two walls that needed to be bypassed.

"Leave two alive!" Aiken said coldly, the dark gold rune pendants on his power gauntlets already beginning to glow slightly.

Both of their plasma thrusters ignited simultaneously, and two blue lights exploded in the shadows of the abandoned trench, like two cold fireworks lit at the same time.

Gu Yunting's sword was drawn a step earlier, heading straight for the seam of Monroe's left knee armor; that was the gap in the energy shield on the inner side of the knee joint of the seventh-generation modified power armor.

The tip of the sword grazed the armor seam, scraping out a spark. After Monroe dodged sideways, the contempt in his eyes diminished slightly.

"A bit interesting."

Ji Wuchen didn't give him a chance to continue speaking; spirit fire exploded in her palm, splitting into three fire blades, sealing Monroe's retreat in a triangular formation.

At the same time, Gu Yunting's second sword was already three inches in front of Monroe. The coordination between the two had no connection of gestures or commands, as if they were pulled by the same nerve.

But the reaction of Aiken on the side was even faster.

He cut in from the flank, the rune pendant on his left arm suddenly lighting up, dark gold light clinging to his power gauntlet. He punched the side of Gu Yunting's sword blade; the impact force traveled along the sword, causing Gu Yunting's tiger's mouth to shake violently, and the sword almost flew out of his hand.

"Yunting!" Ji Wuchen sidestepped to block in front of him.

Aiken did not pursue; he looked down at the fine scratch on his gauntlet made by the sword edge, then looked at Ji Wuchen with a shocked expression.

"A Tier 5 early stage can actually erupt with Tier 5 peak strength?! Not bad!!"

"There aren't many Tier 5 peaks as young as you in your Great Xia, right? He's called Yunting, so you must be Lin Mo?"

Ji Wuchen wiped the corner of her mouth and grinned.

"Guess!"