Densely packed Hell Apostle Mechs filled the skyline, with armored vehicles forming a battle array that rose and fell like mountain ranges. The layers upon layers of war machines stacked from top to bottom, forming towering cliffs of machinery, and each part of this cliff was intently gazing at the elderly man below, standing with a golden cane and dressed in a gray suit. Compared to these accumulated war machines, the elderly man’s figure seemed as insignificant as a speck of dust. Yet, it was this dust-like body that made the grand mechanical cliffs tremble. They clustered together, facing the elderly man in their strongest posture, but dared not advance within ten meters of him. It was as if an invisible blade had sliced the world into barriers, standing before these war machines. Standing in the far corner of the entire troop, the first officer stationed here stared blankly at everything. In his mind, he had imagined countless scenarios of the Mercenary Corps facing Lin En. He had also fantasized numerous times about the true strength of the impeccably dressed elderly man, but had never envisioned the current situation. This was his first time seeing the Captain muster such a large array, and it might also be the first time since the founding of Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps that they had reacted so intensely. He was well aware of the kind of army he belonged to. They had vast numbers, the most advanced weapons, and elite warriors bathed in blood. They were different from those pampered soldiers wrapped in advanced technology from Evis Spatial System; most of them were brave enough to brawl with exotic beasts in the wilderness, fighting against Wanderers far outnumbering them. On the trade routes of Kopes Mining, no thief or wanderer dared touch their beards, and even fierce exotic beasts would flee at the sound of their whistles. They were one of the sharpest swords in the wilderness. Now, the top two Mercenary Corps of Kopes Mining had joined together, reacting so drastically just for one elderly man, even if he was a powerful Transcendent, it felt somewhat absurd and ridiculous. They were never short on experience dealing with strong Transcendents and exotic beasts; many who dared to underestimate them ended up as dust in the wilderness soil. However, beyond feeling it was absurd and ridiculous, the officer’s gaze involuntarily drifted towards the elderly man. Watching the fluttering gray-white hair in the wind, observing the lean and erect body, watching the resolute face unchanged by the sight of such a massive army. He knew that the scene before him would be etched into his memory, etched into his soul. Whether the actions of the Mercenary Corps were impulsively ridiculous, the elderly man’s spirit was constantly being displayed; he deserved such a ’reception’. In front of this elderly man, all the so-called heroic figures he had seen in the past paled in comparison. "True heroes should be ," He couldn’t help but mutter softly to himself. The cold wind scattered his words, blowing across the faces of every tense, silent soldier around him. Some glanced at the whispering officer, while others remained silent. No one responded to this seemingly trivial sentiment, yet it seemed that silence itself was a response. The voice of the young officer echoed in He Ao’s hidden earpiece, "Your current position is very dangerous, we request to move further, behind you, so that in case of any emergencies, we can cover you for a safe retreat." He Ao gazes at the dense war machinery in front of him, his tone calm and steady, "Proceed as planned, stay alert." The young officer couldn’t help but speak up. "Hahaha, what wind has blown our Mayor Lin En over here?" Just then, a loud laugh emitted from the deepest part of the overlapping war machinery interrupted the young officer’s words. Immediately after, the overlapping war machinery split to the sides like parted mountains, creating a narrow fissure-like path in the middle. A ground fortress moved out from this narrow fissure, but there were no people visible on the fortress. He Ao, seemingly unsurprised, just calmly gazed at the ground fortress before him. A device on the fortress lit up, and soon after, a holographic projection of a bearded man was projected onto the ground, walking up to He Ao as if the tense war machinery surrounding them didn’t exist, laughing heartily, "Sorry, Mayor Lin En, I’m currently tied up and couldn’t come to meet you personally, so I had to send my projection instead. "But, I’ve long admired the great name of Mayor Lin En and have always wanted to visit personally, but lacked the ways and feared that you might be too busy to meet me." He Ao looked at the projection of the bearded man in front of him, his expression calm, "Kopes Mining’s Mercenary Corps is conducting exercises near Yilan City, I ought to come and see. There are several commercial routes nearby, and if the transportation lines keeping Yilan’s ordinary citizens alive face issues, many people will go hungry." "What you’re saying, Yilan City is the fourth largest city in the Federation. If Yilan City’s people are struggling, then the entire Federation would be suffering." The bearded man laughed heartily. "Who can be sure about that?" He Ao raised his head, smiling at him. "Hahaha, I’ve heard that Mr. Lin En cares about people’s livelihoods, it indeed seems so upon meeting," The bearded man found himself unable to continue on He Ao’s topic, laughed awkwardly, and then his projection appeared beside He Ao, changing the subject, "Mayor Lin En need not worry about the convoy’s issue, our Kopes Mercenary Corps is always keen on doing good deeds," He glanced at the towering war machinery around, raising his hand, "You see, so many Mecha fighters and armored vehicles, after our exercises, the exotic beasts in the vicinity will be cleared, making future commercial routes even more smooth and unobstructed." "If you could also protect our convoys that would be great," He Ao smiled at him, continuing his thought, "Especially since Yilan’s convoys also need to hire mercenaries, why not hire yours? Kopes Mercenary Corps can conduct exercises and earn a little extra money, why not?" Hearing this, the bearded man smiled awkwardly, "Hahaha, Mayor Lin En is joking, our mercenary group belongs to Kopes Mining, usually does not take external jobs, but," He paused, seeming to recall something, looked at He Ao, his eyes slightly narrowed, pointing to the fissure-like path behind him, smiling, "But specifically, it’s not impossible to discuss, after all, the consortium’s main focus is earning money, but it’s definitely not good to talk about it outside, Mayor Lin En, why not come inside the camp, we can discuss in detail?" "Mr. Lin En, please don’t follow him inside, it’s too dangerous there, he even doesn’t dare to meet you in person." The young officer’s anxious voice sounded in He Ao’s ear. He Ao raised his head, glancing at the ’fissure-like path’ in front of him. This path seemed to lead directly to the deepest part of the entire mercenary camp, the mountainous war machinery stood on both sides of this gap, under the overcast sky, looking oppressive and deep. "I heard that an airship just crashed nearby?" He Ao looked up at the bearded man’s projection and asked with a smile. The bearded man sighed, unsure whether he was sighing because He Ao had diverted the topic instead of directly accepting his invitation, or because of the airship, "This airship was unfortunate. My subordinates reported that it seemed to encounter an exotic beast swarm during its fall and disintegrated in the process. By the time they arrived, they found no survivors, and those carrion-eating exotic beasts were devouring the remains of the victims. I am very sorry." He Ao paused slightly and looked at the bearded man. "My soldiers are still trying their best to conduct a search and rescue," The bearded man sighed again, "but the outcome is unlikely to be good. You know, in this type of air disaster, once the airship disintegrates in the air, it’s very difficult for anyone to survive." He Ao also sighed, looking at the bearded man, "May I take a look at the airship wreckage you’ve collected?" "At the moment my subordinates have only found some fragments, and I’ve instructed them to do their best to find the black box," As he spoke, he glanced at a narrow crevice behind him, and said slowly, "Those fragments are now in my command center. I’m dealing with this matter right now. If you’d like to see, I can take you there." At this point, he paused, "Of course, if Mayor Lin En only wants a message and is not concerned with the air crash itself..." Before he could finish his words, a calm voice rang out from behind him. He turned around, and ’Lin En’, who had just been in front of him, was now standing on the fortress land behind him, amidst the dense war machinery. Ah? He agreed just like that? In the projection, the bearded man blankly watched the elderly man standing on the war fortress, seeming a bit bewildered. Then he forcibly swallowed back the latter part of his sentence that he had used to provoke, with his figure flickering for a moment, appearing on the control panel screen in front of He Ao. The projection equipment couldn’t project directly onto the land fortress. In this screen, the confusion and shock on the bearded man’s face took a while to fade. Then, he looked at Lin En through the screen, paused for a moment, and in that instant, he seemed to suddenly realize that he hadn’t clearly seen ’Lin En’s movement. The move from the ground to the fortress land was almost instantaneous. However, after a brief pause, he quickly adjusted his expression and looked at He Ao with a smile, "It seems Mayor Lin En is not only exceptionally wise, but his personal strength is also extraordinary." "Mr. Lin En, if you decide to go, you’ll need some guards, and we are willing to defend your safety with our lives." At this time, a young officer’s voice resounded in He Ao’s ear. Meanwhile, the bearded man’s voice also sounded simultaneously, "However, doesn’t Mayor Lin En bring any guards at all?" His gaze drifted slightly as if looking through other screens at the distant City Defense Army Mechs and the fighter aircraft, alongside the massive transport aircraft. "Actually, my strength is only slightly better than that of a normal Transcendent, not as formidable as you imagine," He Ao shook his head slightly, looking down at the Land Fortress Control console in front of him; the land fortress in front of him seemed to be in operational mode, not requiring identity verification to lock the control, which meant he could directly control the land fortress through the console. Evidently, the bearded man only said so; he had not prepared for He Ao actually taking control of the land fortress. Thus, He Ao raised his hand to cut off the remote control of the land fortress, switching to manual operation, and continued, "As for guards, I would indeed prefer to bring them, but clearly, they can exert their power better keeping guard outside rather than entering with me." The young officer in the earphones fell silent, clearly understanding the underlying message from He Ao. The bearded man on the screen gazed at the Elderly man in front of him with a profound look; although He Ao had cut off his remote control of the land fortress, the communication signal was not severed. At this moment, he no longer had time to concern himself with He Ao seizing control of his land fortress, as he found he completely couldn’t comprehend the thoughts of ’Mayor Lin En’. The Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps had approached the city two days ago; although they hadn’t formally attacked, it was clear that with the Elderly man’s wisdom, he wouldn’t genuinely consider the Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps as ’allies’ and willingly dive deep. However, although there seemed to be some fluctuation in his thoughts, the bearded man’s words did not cease; he looked at He Ao, took a slight breath, and smiled, "They say Mayor Lin En possesses an extraordinary presence, now I have truly witnessed it." "Actually, I do not have such a formidable presence," He Ao smiled and shook his head, "I merely do my best in all things." His hand was on the control stick of the land fortress, manipulating this heavy war machinery to turn around, slowly moving forward along the narrow and deep fissure of the road. Meanwhile, He Ao raised his head, looking at the fully armed army and Mechs on both sides. They were all gazing at He Ao, and as he moved, they turned their cannons, but they did not fire. Mayor Lin En is really being modest," In the screen of the land fortress, the bearded man seemed to notice He Ao’s actions, and asked slowly, "What does Mayor Lin En think of my Mercenary Corps? Do you have any suggestions?" "Clearly, this is a highly elite Mercenary Corps, and as for training suggestions, I’m afraid I couldn’t provide any; however, I do have one suggestion regarding decisions." He Ao withdrew his gaze, spoke slowly. A hint of puzzlement flashed across the smiling face of the bearded man. He Ao raised his gaze, looking forward, his voice slow and lingering, "Abandon what you now call maneuvers, let your soldiers enter Yilan City, and take refuge." Hearing this suggestion, the smile on the bearded man’s face paused, then in a hoarse voice, he said slowly, "This suggestion is intriguing, but I think, in this vast wilderness, which is our home ground, nothing in this world could make my Mercenary Corps choose to surrender and take refuge." He then raised his head, looking out of the screen at He Ao, and said meaningfully, "No matter what kind of enemy comes, we have the confidence to make them stay here forever." "I look forward to your performance." He Ao glanced at the confidently smiling face on the screen, and responded with a smile. He set the land fortress to autopilot mode, supporting himself with one hand on his cane and lifting his other hand slightly towards the void. The cold, silent wind brushed past his fingertips, in this dim air, intricate and chaotic lines seemed to have already appeared. The dense war machinery turned their cannons, continuously tracking the Elderly man’s body, and, with a rumbling noise, the land fortress like a mechanical warhorse, carried the slender, upright Elderly man, stepping into the darkest depths of layered shadows.