345: Chapter 337: Establishing an Armored Army Group; Spaceship Nearing Completion

To reach the Silent Forest as quickly as possible, Zhang Mu did not fly using his physical body. Instead, he drove the old car for three days and arrived at the City of Gur.

After resting for a moment above the city, Zhang Mu squinted and looked into the distance. The Silent Forest seemed no different from how it was half a year ago.

The green mountains rose and fell, stretching for ten thousand miles like an ancient giant beast quietly prostrate on the earth, enjoying the sunlight spilling across its back.

"It really is... a bit more transparent."

Palina had been worried that she couldn't intimidate Professionals, so most of the subordinates she recruited were ordinary people.

Although they could detect the abnormalities in the Silent Forest, their perception wasn't very clear.

Zhang Mu, being at the Magister level, was different. The changes in the forest were as clear to him as a stone being thrown into a calm Lake.

In his eyes, the current Silent Forest was like the corpse of a monster about to refresh in an online game, gradually becoming illusory.

"Tsk tsk, as expected of a God, they've got some tricks."

Soldiers will block and water will be dammed; since the minor matter of the Silent Forest was already a reality, Zhang Mu felt that being annoyed was redundant. It was better to think about how to deal with the upcoming attack from the Kingdom.

The Kingdom was no ordinary opponent, and they held intelligence regarding magic-conducting weapons. Zhang Mu planned to have the First Army garrison Gur just to be safe.

After mulling it over, he started the old car and flew toward the forest, intending to observe it up close to estimate the specific time of its disappearance and gauge when the Kingdom might arrive.

The old car flew over grasslands and rivers, reaching the edge of the forest.

Zhang Mu put the car away, landed on the ground, and entered the dim Silent Forest, wandering around.

Soon, he discovered some issues.

The surrounding magic power had thinned slightly, and objects were losing their sense of reality. Only the magical beasts passing by showed no change at all.

"What's the meaning of this?" Zhang Mu's gaze followed a Trainee-level magical beast that scurried into the bushes. "The forest is being taken back, but the magical beasts are being left here?

That's going to be a problem."

The Silent Forest was not like the concept of a 'level map' in a game, where a level 80 map only has monsters around that level.

It was a complete ecological chain. The magical beasts within ranged from the lowest Apprentice Level to the Saint-level, and even those with Gods Blessing.

If the forest disappeared, would they still stay quietly in place?

It would be more normal for them to run wild all over The World, wouldn't it?

Where would they go? The Kingdom or Lake?

If a beast with Gods Blessing ran into Lake's territory...

Zhang Mu frowned and threw an Ice Cone, piercing a gray rabbit magical beast that was sniffing around on the ground ahead.

Using the Shadow Technique to approach, he pinched the scruff of its neck and lifted it up to examine it.

"No mistake, there's no change."

Tossing the corpse aside, Zhang Mu continued deeper, occasionally killing a magical beast to observe the corpse; the results were all consistent.

Stopping his pace, he scratched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "Why?

Is it intentional, or can living creatures not be taken back?"

If it were the latter, it was both good and bad for Zhang Mu.

The downside had already been explained: once the Silent Forest disappeared, the magical beasts living within would suddenly lose their home. They certainly wouldn't stay put but would migrate elsewhere in search of a new place to settle.

Magical beasts with intelligence were a tiny minority, and it didn't depend on their level.

Even high-level magical beasts mostly behaved like wild animals acting on instinct; the only difference was that their power was much stronger.

Therefore, the idea of Lake negotiating with high-level magical beasts to designate a specific area for them to live in to avoid conflict was out of the question.

If the two sides encountered each other, there would only be battle.

The good news, then, was that the gods didn't seem to be omnipotent either.

Zhang Mu couldn't determine which possibility it was for now, so he kept it in the back of his mind, to be pondered later when he had more clues.

"That's about enough, time to go ba—"

"Hello, Mr. City Lord.

Or rather, should I call you Mr. Zhang Mu?"

Zhang Mu turned his head toward the source of the voice and saw Brando slowly walking out from behind a tree.

Him? The supreme commander of the Kingdom's legion that had fought the First Army in the Silent Forest?

Why would he appear here?

Leading a legion to ambush Lake? It wasn't the migration period for magical beasts; a legion couldn't possibly cross the Silent Forest.

And...

Zhang Mu spread out his magic to sense the area. There were no hidden troops; it was just him alone.

Seeing Zhang Mu slightly close his eyes, Brando smiled. "It's just me.

Speaking of which, you truly are a person full of mysteries. Judging by the level of magic you release, you should only be a Magister, yet as a fellow Magister, I can't sense your magic power at all.

Have you studied some special magic?"

"Take a guess." He didn't seem to have any intention of attacking, so Zhang Mu wasn't in a hurry to summon a Fallen Spirit and engaged in some banter with him.

"Haha." Brando didn't know what he was thinking, his topic had no clear goal, and his thoughts were quite erratic as he spoke of Zhang Mu's identity. "I've heard the rumors about you.

They're quite exciting... and I admire your courage to make an enemy of the Church."

"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

Zhang Mu couldn't be bothered to waste words with him. Furthermore, fighting was meaningless; their strengths were roughly equal. If one wanted to leave, the other couldn't stop them. He prepared to return to the Royal Capital.

"Wait," Brando called out to him. "Don't you want to know how much longer the Silent Forest has before it disappears?"

Zhang Mu, who was halfway through turning around, looked back. "You know?"

"A little bit."

"Speak."

Zhang Mu didn't expect him to tell the truth; the two sides were mortal enemies.

As for why he asked despite knowing this, he wanted to see what kind of tricks Brando was playing.

Brando put his hands behind his back. "Half a year."

"You think I'll believe that?"

The day the Silent Forest disappeared would be the day the Kingdom attacked. Would he tell his Kingdom's secret military intelligence to him?

"It's the truth." Brando's expression was solemn.

"I'll tentatively assume you're telling the truth then." Zhang Mu became interested and was no longer in a hurry to leave. Facing him, he asked, "Why reveal this to me?

Are you planning to commit treason?"

"Brando's loyalty will always belong to the Kingdom."

"Go tell that to your king when you get back."

Brando smiled and brought the topic back on track. "In any case, the Silent Forest will no longer exist in half a year. Hatred will no longer be the primary concern for the Kingdom and Lake.

Mr. Zhang Mu, you are very strong, your talent is terrifying, and besides your strength, you are also skilled in warfare.

But... can these things handle dozens of Saint-level magical creatures?"

Zhang Mu raised an eyebrow. "The Silent Forest has that many Saint-level magical creatures?"

Magical creatures were different from magical beasts. Magical creatures possessed heritage from their ancestors, and their strength was usually superior to magical beasts of the same level.

"Most of them appear in the forest near the Kingdom's side. It's normal that you don't know."

"If they're close to your side, why should I be worried?"

"Can Mr. Zhang Mu guarantee that just because they are closer to us, they will definitely enter the Kingdom and not go to Lake?

Even if the majority enter our territory, the rest will still come to Lake."

That was indeed the case.

Zhang Mu admitted he had a point, but he didn't back down verbally. "Still, more will go to your side."

"As long as more than five Saint-level magical creatures enter a territory, comparing who has more or less loses its meaning. It's just a difference of whether the destruction comes sooner or later."

Either the Kingdom or Lake could only manage to barely tie with five Saint-level magical creatures. Beyond that number, there really was no point in obsessing over who had more or less; either way, it was a dead end.

Brando paused for a moment and then continued, "I know a bit about the situation in Lake's Royal Capital last year. To be able to turn the tables in an almost hopeless situation,

I believe you are rational enough."

Zhang Mu understood the intent behind these words.

The two countries had a grudge, one that had accumulated for over a thousand years, but the importance of all that couldn't compare to the survival of the Kingdoms.

Brando believed he could recognize this and make a rational judgment, rather than just thinking about personal satisfaction and ignoring the big picture.

Zhang Mu narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the intelligence the King had received—the Kingdom hadn't revealed his magic-conducting weapons to the allied forces. "You want to join forces?

With a Kingdom branded as a heretic by the God, and a person branded as a heretic?

Even if you're bold enough, can the two countries joining forces withstand those Saint-level magical creatures?"

"It's not that simple. Well... when the time comes, you'll know."

Zhang Mu's face darkened. Stop acting like a damn man of mystery, or I'll hack you to death, believe it or not.

Just as he was about to act, Brando turned and walked into the darkness deep in the woods. "We will meet again soon."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Mu let his hands rest naturally at his sides and stood in place, letting Brando's back disappear into the trees.

Strange, everything was strange.

Zhang Mu's gaze remained on the direction he had left, feeling that this accidental encounter was filled with an air of strangeness everywhere.

It wasn't that Brando had deliberately staged the encounter. Zhang Mu's arrival at the Silent Forest was purely a coincidence. If Palina hadn't accidentally discovered the changes in the forest, he probably wouldn't have arrived until the forest disappeared and the magical beasts swarmed out, causing a disaster.

Therefore, it was impossible for him to have predicted that Zhang Mu would arrive at the Silent Forest today.

As for the reason Brando was here, it was likely also because of the forest's transformation.

After all, this matter didn't just affect Lake; the Kingdom couldn't escape it either.

"But..." Zhang Mu turned and walked out of the forest, muttering to himself, "Even if we join forces, we can't beat that many Saint-level magical creatures. What's the point of joining forces?

Or is he simply trying to lull me into a false sense of security?

Forget it, I'll stick to the original plan."

He decided to ignore today's encounter and proceed according to his own vision, deploying part of the First Army to garrison Gur. As for what would happen next, he would decide based on the situation.

After finishing his observation here, Zhang Mu returned to the Royal Capital, said hello to Avril, and summoned a Portal to return to Blue Star.

As soon as he landed, he immediately rushed to America to find Neo and first collected the twenty-plus large-yield nuclear bombs that had been prepared.

Later, hearing that America's spaceship project had already begun and was just waiting for materials to arrive, Zhang Mu was delighted. It saved him the time of making up an excuse.

Zhang Mu asked him to prepare some main battle tanks, along with matching shells and gasoline as exchange items. He would come to collect them in a few days and bring the materials at the same time.

Because of the experience of China and Ying Country building spaceships, Zhang Mu no longer needed to prepare multiple materials for Neo to choose from like in the initial trades. He returned to "The World," specifically picked out what could be used for the spaceship, and arrived in America again five days later.

Neo acted very quickly. Moreover, the military-industrial enterprises in America were very keen on selling weapons. In five days, they had already prepared a considerable number of tanks and supplies.

Zhang Mu estimated the total price of these items plus the nuclear bombs based on the ratio used in the trade with China, and then collected everything into his inventory.

Then, under the stunned gazes of Neo and the accompanying personnel, he pulled out an equivalent amount of materials from his inventory, dropped them on the ground, activated the Shadow Technique, and left.

He was very busy and had no time for idle chatter with Neo.

After all, with things like tanks, it wasn't as if everything was fine once you had them; training the operators was also a significant undertaking.

Taking the tanks through the Portal to the Saul Continent, Zhang Mu found the busy Domit and instructed him to immediately assemble a group of First Army elites and head to the uninhabited mountains a hundred kilometers away from the Royal Capital.

Once everyone had arrived, Zhang Mu took out some of the tanks for training. He didn't rush back to Blue Star, personally training the first batch of tank crews.

Only when this batch of tank crews successfully graduated could Zhang Mu take his hands off the project.

The First Army Soldiers were very curious about the iron lumps parked in front of them. After receiving permission, they crowded around, touching the tracks and knocking on the hull armor. Some climbed in front of the gun barrels, pressing their eyes against the muzzles to look inside.

Zhang Mu waited until they had seen enough and their curiosity was satisfied before issuing the order to fall in.

Standing before the Soldiers lined up in a neat square formation, Zhang Mu first introduced the basic concept of a tank and mentioned its power.

Once the Soldiers understood what this thing was for, he began explaining how to operate it.

The process was not very smooth.

Before today, they had never encountered modern transportation, so naturally, they had no idea what things like 'gears, accelerators, and brakes' even were.

Zhang Mu could only teach from the most basic posture, and once everyone understood, he would continue to the next step.

This explanation lasted for three whole days. During those three days, the Soldiers even ate their meals on the spot.

After making the operating procedures clear, Zhang Mu distributed the instruction manuals he had compiled and printed, giving the Soldiers a week to memorize them. At the same time, they had to find time to train in driving the tanks on simulation equipment.

A week later, the Soldiers gathered in the clearing for an exam.

The content was divided into two parts: a written test and a practical operation.

The written test questions were personally drafted by Zhang Mu, all taken from the instruction manual. The practical operation was much simpler: get in the tank, drive a lap, and fire a shot.

The exam lasted for a total of three hours.

After grading the papers and combining them with the practical scores, Zhang Mu selected the three people with the highest scores to form a complete tank crew squad.

For the next few days, he drilled the three of them incessantly until they had mastered the tank.

From then on, things became easier, as Zhang Mu didn't have to do everything himself.

These three people immediately became instructors, responsible for training the remaining Soldiers to become excellent tank crews.

Half a month later, Zhang Mu summoned his inventory and checked the gasoline consumption, estimating how many supplies the existing tanks would need for one day of combat.

"Fighting a war is burning money; that saying is absolutely right."

Zhang Mu was startled by the calculated figure. He made a comment and returned to Blue Star, using materials to exchange with the three countries for a batch of supplies sufficient to support the tank units in combat for over three months.

Furthermore, he planned to exchange for another three months' worth in a few days.

Once Lake went to war with the allied forces, he would have to coordinate the overall situation and wouldn't have the time to run back and forth between Blue Star and the Saul Continent. Naturally, he had to prepare the consumables needed for the war in advance.

A few days later, he finished exchanging the second batch of gasoline and shells and prepared to send them to the Saul Continent.

However, as soon as he entered "The World," he heard the Director outside shouting for him.

He thought about dealing with him before going to the Saul Continent, but after coming out and asking, Zhang Mu found that he couldn't leave for the time being.

Over a month ago, Zhang Mu had given the Director a sense of urgency, and the effect was surprisingly good.

The Director was so worried he couldn't sleep, so he urged the employees day and night, offering generous bonuses to motivate them and optimizing the construction process.

After more than a month of such desperate effort, the spaceship lived up to expectations and was completed.