Chapter 82

Outside the outer walls of the Wild Wolf Castle, at the base of the tallest spire, there was a meeting room. This meeting room was the temporary office of the committee responsible for overseeing the current trial. Because the castle still had a garrison, every three days, the Black Flame City military would send a message via a messenger hawk, issuing an official bulletin from the Black Flame City military to keep the garrison informed of significant events in Black Flame City. After the Wild Wolf Castle became a trial ground for Black Flame City students, the recipients of these bulletins included the members of the temporary oversight committee and the students participating in the trial.

Today, after receiving a letter brought by a messenger hawk from Black Flame City, the duty teacher's expression changed dramatically upon reading its contents. He immediately gathered all the teachers and the trial supervisors from various schools and read the official bulletin from the Black Flame City military in the meeting room...

Originally, everyone was in a relaxed mood, but after hearing the bulletin, their moods became heavy. The air in the meeting room seemed to freeze, and even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard...

Two days ago, when the first rain of June fell on the Wild Wolf Castle, a major event occurred in Black Flame City. On that day, the Black Flame City military deployed a large force to suddenly surround the headquarters of the New Moon Trading Group on Mingguang Street. They then conducted a forced search of the New Moon Trading Group's headquarters under the pretext of searching for military fugitives. The New Moon Trading Group's guards put up a desperate resistance, but they were crushed by the well-prepared Black Flame City military. During the subsequent search of the New Moon Trading Group's headquarters, no military fugitives were found, but even more shocking evidence was discovered. Under the irrefutable evidence and the interrogation of the controlled New Moon Trading Group's Black Flame City branch manager, a massive conspiracy surfaced: the New Moon Trading Group had colluded with the Red Scarves bandits to create an opportunity for an inside-out attack, allowing the Red Scarves to massacre the several major families of the Coal and Steel Federation, which controlled the entire Black Flame City. They aimed to create a climate of terror in Black Flame City, install their puppet in power, and ultimately have Black Flame City issue a declaration to secede from the Andaman Alliance and join the Norman Empire.

The Black Flame City authorities had already reported this incident to the Andaman Alliance the previous night, causing a shock throughout the Andaman Alliance. The Andaman Alliance, upon receiving the report, immediately issued a strong protest to the Norman Empire's Foreign Ministry, demanding a reasonable explanation for the incident from the Norman Empire. By early this morning, the Norman Empire remained silent, while Black Flame City had begun to seize the properties and organizations of Norman Empire merchants within the city and halted all business dealings with the Norman Empire...

The tension brought by the Red Scarves escalated further, and the Black Flame City military officially entered a state of first-level combat readiness today...

In the meeting room of the Wild Wolf Castle, an eerie and heavy silence prevailed. The mention of the Norman Empire made everyone feel as if they were suffocating. For both Black Flame City and the Andaman Alliance, the Norman Empire was a true behemoth. The disparity in strength could be seen from a single set of data: the Black Flame City military numbered between 50,000 and 60,000, the entire Andaman Alliance's military numbered around 400,000, while the Northern Frontier Corps of the Norman Empire, which bordered the Andaman Alliance, had a standing army of over 3 million. If a real war broke out, the Northern Frontier Corps of the Norman Empire alone could flatten the entire Andaman Alliance. The reason the Andaman Alliance had been at peace with the Norman Empire for years was not due to the Andaman Alliance's strength, but because the conflict and constraints between the Sun God Empire, which also bordered the Andaman Alliance, and the Norman Empire prevented the Norman Empire from acting rashly. Both the Norman Empire and the Sun God Empire were like madmen, and when two madmen faced each other across the Andaman Alliance, neither would make the first move. This situation had lasted for decades, allowing Black Flame City to develop for decades. Now, one of these madmen had lost patience...

"Do we need to inform the students about this?" After a long silence at the round pine table in the meeting room, a teacher finally spoke.

"I don't think it's necessary. When they leave here, they will naturally find out what they need to know. Let these young ones enjoy this rare period of happiness in their lives..." All eyes in the meeting room turned to the teacher who spoke, a refined-looking man who smiled indifferently. "Everyone, after decades of peace between Black Flame City and the Andaman Alliance, why did the Norman Empire choose to act now? And just a few weeks ago, the strategic materials of all the countries in the Blackson Human Corridor began to gradually increase in price. What does this mean? Is a small city like Black Flame City and the Andaman Alliance worth such a large-scale mobilization by all the countries in the Blackson Human Corridor?"

Captain Collin frowned. There was something in the teacher's words, but as someone not known for his intelligence and analytical skills, he found it difficult to grasp the underlying meaning. "Jerome, do you mean a major war is about to break out..."

"I mean nothing..." Jerome looked around and sighed lightly. "We are all small people and cannot decide major matters. However, I remember that it has been 170 years since the end of the Second Centennial Holy War between humans and demons..."

Holy War!

These two unexpected words were like a blast of -50 degree Celsius cold wind that suddenly blew into the meeting room. Even Captain Collin's face turned pale upon hearing them...

...

Zhang Tie did not have a happy morning today. Not only was he unhappy, but he was also extremely depressed. Anyone who had to dig 300 kilograms of ore like a groundhog in the morning, load it into a mining basket, and carry it 1.5 kilometers to the delivery point would not be happy. The iron content in the ore was between 50% and 60%, making the basket quite heavy. A fully loaded basket could hold nearly 200 kilograms of iron ore, but none of the students participating in the trial had the strength to carry 200 kilograms and walk 1.5 kilometers. Even 100 kilograms was difficult. Those who could carry 50 kilograms of ore and still have the energy to dig more after walking 1.5 kilometers were considered to have good physical strength. Digging ore was not difficult; one could dig several tons in a day. However, carrying the ore to the delivery point was the real test of physical strength.

Zhang Tie worked hard all morning. With the physical strength of a first-tier combat soldier, he barely managed to carry a 70-kilogram basket twice, completing two-thirds of his task for the day. He felt exhausted and his legs were weak. After delivering the third basket and receiving two boxes of dry rations, he sat down under a pine tree and could not get up.

After this experience, Zhang Tie vowed that no matter the weather, he would come to dig ore every day and meet the minimum quota. Trying to make up for three days' worth of work in one day was too much and too exhausting.

Like the outside, the mine originally had small iron tracks for ore carts, but some unscrupulous person had removed them. The tracks' imprints were still visible in the tunnel, but all the miners had to walk the nearly one-kilometer-long tunnel on foot, significantly reducing mining efficiency.

As usual, after just one morning of work, some of the students who had come to experience something new were already thinking of giving up. Many did not want to experience the second trip carrying ore.

Sitting against the tree, drinking water, and eating dry rations, Zhang Tie squinted his eyes and observed the two happy squirrels on the tree above him. These squirrels seemed to have noticed the unexpected visitors in the Wild Wolf Valley who were competing for their winter food. They were busy transporting acorns to their tree holes, working even harder than Zhang Tie. Watching the squirrels, Zhang Tie felt a bit embarrassed. He was one of those competing for the squirrels' winter food, and his level of diligence was far inferior to theirs...

...

On the first day after the rain stopped, all the trial students resumed their work like machines. For most, this trial seemed far from enjoyable. About ten kilometers from where Zhang Tie was, in a cave, when Zhang Tie was eating dry rations under a tree, Gris and the people around him were doing something even less enjoyable...

The cave was now covered in blood. After Gris killed the mother wolves who were nursing a litter of wolf pups, he also brutally killed the pups, who were no bigger than newborn puppies. There were over twenty pups in total, all of which Gris cruelly killed. After stomping the head of a pup that tried to bite his heel, the howls of the wolf pack finally ceased.

As soon as the howls stopped, Shalon and Zuhair rushed in, carefully avoiding the wolf blood on the ground. At this moment, Shalon and Zuhair, like Gris, had their skin turned dark green, as if they had been coated with some strange liquid.

"Let's go quickly. If the wolf pack returns and finds us, it will be too late..." Shalon said.

"Gris, your shoes are stained with wolf blood. You can't keep them, or the wolves will find you. Everyone, quickly leave and wash off the bitter yam roots and blood wolf flower juice that mask our scent. We can't let anyone discover that we did this..." Seeing Gris stomp a pup, Zuhair quickly called out. He frantically took out a waterproof oilcloth bag from his pocket, opened it, and used two fingers to pick out a small piece of rag-like material and dropped it on the ground.

Gris looked at the blood on the soles of his shoes, cursed, and then quickly left the lifeless wolf den with Shalon and Zuhair.

"Is your task done?" Gris asked Zuhair as they left.

"Rest assured, I have already placed the remaining pieces of the rag along the way. The returning wild wolves will follow the scent trail and find Zhang Tie on his way back to his treehouse. These wolves are very vengeful and cunning..." Zuhair smiled sinisterly. "A regular combat worker being torn to pieces by a pack of wild wolves has nothing to do with us!"

"Ha ha ha..." Gris and his lackeys burst into laughter...

Two hours later, the wolf pack returned from hunting, and the cave was filled with the low, mournful howls of the male wolves...

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