Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 326 Looking North to the White Deer, Ten Generations Struggling, "Exquisite Observation" of Prosperous Flowers

Upon hearing the name "White Deer Restoration Society," Chen Mo was momentarily dazed.

He seemed to have heard this name before.

The lord put down his teacup, his fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly on the wooden armrest, lost in deep thought.

I have some impression.

Yes, it's his own family's bound spirit. Factory Director Li Zelin seems to have mentioned this term more than once.

Chen Mo's memory became clear. That's right, the "White Deer Restoration Society" was established by the Aurelio family, and Li Zelin himself once served as the organization's supreme leader.

Later, Li Zelin was forced out of Bailu Plain by the bloody decree that "anyone who sees Li will die." Most of the organization's members followed him south and established Razor Fortress. Of course, some members were scattered for various reasons and remained in their homeland.

However, to everyone's surprise, this organization actually survived on the White Deer Plain.

It has been over two hundred years since Li Zelin left Bailu Plain! In over two hundred years, according to the mainstream lifespan and reproductive age of the Bailu Plain people, approximately ten generations have passed.

Under what circumstances would generations of people relentlessly fight under the banner of "restoration" in a region completely under the rule of orcs?

The primary reason must be the brutal rule of the orcs.

This is just like how the elder lion of the Two Lions United Kingdom once ruthlessly exploited the younger lion, triggering a seven-hundred-year struggle for independence.

The Eastern Xia Dynasty in history also had a period of separation in the Yan-Yun region for four hundred years. That land was ruled by dozens of different ethnic groups, suffering humiliation, before finally returning to civilization.

Feeling this historical turmoil that transcends time and space, Chen Mo developed a certain fondness for this "White Deer Restoration Society," which he had never met before.

Sometimes, in some places, even if they can't do anything, just being able to persevere is a huge contribution.

Standing beside him, Chief Executive of Helan immediately saw through the lord's thoughts and began to examine himself.

"Chairman, I failed to handle this matter well!"

"The Han Hai Territory has gained some fame, and many people come and go from the north and south. If they all report to the council hall, our councilors will be unable to do their jobs!"

"Therefore, according to HanHai's work guidelines, a rapid reception and processing procedure is implemented for visitors!"

"It was my oversight to neglect the resistance forces on Bailu Plain!"

Chen Mo waved his hand, interrupting his self-criticism: "This is none of your business!"

In the past, when the Vast Ocean Territory was obscure and barren, even if they spent a lot of money to hire people from all over the place, no one would pay them any attention. Apart from the slaves they bought, they had no one else available.

It was precisely because of this special reason that the centaur race was highly valued after their arrival, and was relied upon by the lord as an ally, occupying most of the command positions in the Han Hai Field Army. Lin Zhong, a talent who would only be considered second-rate elsewhere, also quickly gained a chance to rise to a higher position after arriving in Han Hai.

The reason is simply that the territory is developing too fast, and the lord has no one to rely on.

However, over the years, the Vast Ocean Territory has gradually gained some fame, especially after it raised the banner of fighting against the orcs and achieved several real victories. The news eventually spread slowly, attracting all sorts of people from all over the country. After defeating Green Pine, it became unstoppable!
On the road leading to Han Hai Ling, people streamed in and out.

These figures, traversing the vast desert, speaking in various accents and harboring diverse thoughts, arrived in this legendary and magical land, pursuing their own glory, dreams, wealth, or a place to settle down.

Among them were young men from noble families, wearing jade headbands, riding thin, bony horses from the long journey, arriving weary from the Qiyue Dynasty.

Dewdrops clung to the edges of their helmets, and dust clung to their cloaks. They gripped gleaming noble rapiers at their waists and shouted in slightly childish voices to the guards, "I am a third-class lord of the Chiron family, a silver-armored knight. I request an audience with Lord of the Vast Sea, and I am willing to serve you, to slaughter all the orcs in the world, and to restore the glory of humanity!"

An elderly man, draped in a faded magic robe and leaning on a staff, walked with faltering steps, his face etched with deep wrinkles from the ravages of time. Upon arrival, he presented a yellowed name card of a certain mercenary group, claiming to be a former mercenary of Cloud Mist Territory. Now, their homeland had been seized by the Green Pine Kingdom, and they refused to serve under the enemy. Hearing that the young princess of Cloud Mist was here, they had traveled a thousand miles to join them.

There was an old official holding books carefully wrapped and sealed in oilcloth, with an old official seal hanging on his wrist. He claimed to have the talent to govern the country and the ability to manage the world. He spoke with such resounding words as "only a wise ruler can employ him" and "I am willing to offer ten strategies to pacify the beasts". His eyes were filled with a mixture of frustration at not being recognized for his talents and expectations for a bright future.

Of course, there were also those bards with loud voices and melodious tones, who composed one catchy epic after another, praising the lord as the greatest hero of the time.

In addition, there were ragged refugees carrying dirty bundles, offering their family heirlooms to the lord; and there were heavily made-up dancers who claimed to know earth-shattering information and that listening to it could give them insight into the affairs of the world.
There were alchemists or enchanters wielding jars and pots, boasting that their inventions were unparalleled in the world; and there were also cunning brokers who claimed they could mediate between everyone from the Seven-Eyed God himself to lords of all nations.

As long as you can pay the price, no matter how big the problem is, it's no problem!

These people surged into the vast sea like a tide, creating a bizarre and dazzling scene outside the gates of this new city.

Undoubtedly, among these people who came to speculate, the proportion of scammers was at least 70%, which once put a huge workload on the administrative departments of Han Hai Ling!

In a world without big data, without information networks, and even with information almost completely isolated between countries, analyzing the authenticity of these scammers is no less difficult than fighting a small-scale war.

What's more troublesome is that some scammers are themselves victims, or they've been lying for so long that they've fooled themselves and actually believe in themselves, so much so that even micro-expression analyzers can't tell the difference.

Faced with this complex situation, Chen Mo made a decisive move and specially invited a high-ranking official from Dongxia to develop a rapid reception process for handling government affairs in the territory.

The reception given to the "Bailu Restoration Association" this time was not only completely compliant with procedures, but the level of support was also clearly beyond what was expected.

After all, according to the somewhat weak account of the "White Deer Restoration Society" envoy, no matter how much they exaggerate their "heroism" and "persistence," they cannot change the fact that they are just a group of pitiful refugees hiding in the northern mountains and wetlands, lacking food and clothing, poorly equipped, and few in number, who can only rely on their familiarity with the terrain to carry out some limited harassment.

Not to mention that much of what they said is not entirely credible, even if the people of Hanhai Territory completely believed what they said, they would not place their hopes of taking over Bailu Plain on them.

In this situation, the officials in charge of receiving the guest, after a quick assessment, were able to specially approve a "huge sum" of dozens of gold coins from the "special affairs funds" as a grant. This was already the highest level of treatment that could be given because of the name "White Deer".

The epic quest "Reclaim the White Deer Plains," which Lord Chen Mo openly displayed in the most prominent position in the Mercenary Guild Hall and kept pinned to the top with the highest authority, was simply too dazzling. The core veterans of the territory were more or less aware of the special feelings the lord held for the northern territories deep in his heart.

The perceptive Heran could tell from his lord's expression that Chen Mo was still not entirely satisfied with the level of support, so he decisively took on the responsibility.

Chen Mo pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Did they leave any way to contact us?"

Helan carried the reception records with him and carefully examined them.

“We do have a way to contact them, but it’s very difficult to get in touch! We need to send out special signals at fixed times for several consecutive days in a secluded hunting lodge in the middle of Qishan in the Bailu Plain, near the Black Wind Pass. They will have hidden observation posts that pass by the area intermittently, and they will only send someone to meet us after confirming that it is absolutely safe.”

"It's clear that their situation isn't ideal, so we have to be careful!"

Chen Mo expressed his understanding: "Let's try to get in touch. I'd like to give them more support. It's not easy for them to have persisted in Bailu Plain for so long!"

"Yes, Chairman, I'll arrange it right away!" It was because of this conversation that when the new messengers of the "White Deer Restoration Society," the snake Aiden and the old cat Daryl, traveled over mountains and rivers to return to the Vast Ocean, they were immediately given a grand welcome.

Daryl, who prides himself on being a knowledgeable and experienced old cat, has been trembling slightly almost non-stop ever since he entered the territory of the Vast Ocean Territory.

For Aiden, who had spent his entire life wandering in the valleys of the White Deer Plains and at most glimpsing the orc village from afar, seeing a city like the Vast Sea Territory was certainly astonishing. However, because he didn't understand the difference between "cities," Aiden couldn't truly grasp the strength and value of this territory.

This is like a simple-minded boy who has never left the countryside entering the skyscrapers and neon lights of Shanghai for the first time. Overwhelmed by the sights, he will subconsciously think, "Oh, so this is what the legendary 'city' looks like!"
Only those old-timers who have seen small towns, big cities, and many different settlements know that such megacities are among the most prominent in human history.

This is the feeling that Daryl, the old cat, has of the current Han Hai Ling.

A hundred kilometers away from the vast ocean, they were stopped by a checkpoint of the ocean territory and subjected to the first round of questioning.

Out of his usual caution, Old Cat Daryl did not take the established trade route, but instead deviated several kilometers, cautiously advancing in a direction parallel to the trade route. Whenever he spotted human activity, he immediately lay in ambush. As a result, he was directly stopped on the sand dunes by the Han Hai Sentinels who arrived riding on giant sand beetles.

How many eyes and ears are deployed around the city to catch you even from hundreds of kilometers away?

From that moment on, the old cat sensed that something was wrong.

After confirming their identities, the guards at the checkpoint shouted a few words in an unintelligible language at a dark iron box in their hands. Then, the two northern humans were escorted by the guards to a designated location and boarded a desert "bus worm".

Indeed, now the giant sand beetle carrying a simple wagon can reach the caravan supply station to the north, connect to the Guli Desert mine to the south, reach the bay port to the east, and reach the desert oasis to the west. There are now as many as seven bus routes.

That afternoon, twenty kilometers north of the city, Old Cat Darryl and Snake Aiden, guided by a human captain, visited the "Elite Observation Cluster" of the Vast Ocean!
I didn't see it when Aiden came last time. The main reason is that the current design of this thing is too ferocious and could easily scare children coming and going. So it was placed in a special exhibition area some distance away from the main road.

Typically, only visitors of special status, or those whom the lord deems necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the "style" of the Vast Ocean Territory, are specially directed to visit.

The sentinel who greeted Daryl and his companions was fluent in the dialect of the Old White Deer people. He was very talkative and it was said that his ancestors had been refugees who had fled from the White Deer Plains several generations ago.

Having heard that Daryl and Aiden were compatriots from the orc-controlled area in the north, he chattered non-stop the whole way, enthusiastically introducing the various aspects of the Vast Sea, his words filled with pride.

"You absolutely must go and see this place!"

"When the Han Hai Territory was first established, several thousand sand bandits came. After the lord wiped them all out, he built the first 'Jingguan'!"

"What does 'exquisite observation' mean? It's a human head tower!"

The sentry, spittle flying, recounted, "This name was personally chosen by our lord, he's so cultured! Our lord is a great summoner of the undead, with several Eternal Night Tomb Masters and Ferrymen of the Underworld under his command. He has the complete control over the corpses of these enemies!"

"Observe closely, observe closely! That is gathering the essence of heaven and earth to refine the souls of the dead! Observe for the living, observe for the dead!"

"What the living see is the power of the enemy being eternally suppressed; what the dead see is the will of the living to protect their territory!"

"Where there is keen insight, no evil can penetrate!"

Well, this latest definition of the term, which has been compiled by some bards and has almost become a consensus in the territory, is something that even Chen Mo himself doesn't know.

But it doesn’t matter.

The sand beetle, with its strong, powerful limbs, climbed the last tall sand dune and leaped with all its might—

A spectacular scene, so breathtaking it sent chills down their spines and made their hair stand on end, suddenly and starkly entered Daryl and Aiden's field of vision.

The densely packed trapezoidal 'Jingguan' towers stretch from the storage yard at our feet all the way into the distance, occupying the entire wide valley.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands of "Jingguan" towers resemble some kind of megalithic circle from an ancient and barbaric era, or a white bone forest that grows from the earth itself, full of death and violent beauty.

These "refined towers" are highly uniform in form, presenting a standard square pyramid structure that is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. The towers have distinct outlines, and they are arranged one after another in an exceptionally neat manner, with a sense of military order. They stretch from the ground to the horizon, blending into the undulating skyline of the sand dunes.

As the "bus bug" slowly approached, Daryl and Aiden gradually saw more details.

These "precision stacks" are not very tall, only about three meters high. This height was carefully calculated, mainly to make it convenient to stack people's heads without the need for additional tools.

Outdoor construction should, of course, be adapted to local conditions and simplified.

On the compacted surfaces of these "exquisite artifacts," made of a mixture of mud and adhesive, heads are clearly and unobstructedly arranged. Some have eroded into skulls, while others, having dried quickly, still retain a layer of skin on their surface, displaying a dark brown or black sheen.

The winds and sands of time have left deep and shallow marks on these heads, and the broken fangs seem to still be stained with dark red blood. Pairs of dark, empty eye sockets silently gaze at every creature that ventures into this place.

The "Jingguan" formation had designated lanes, divided into "large loops" and "small loops." Due to time constraints, the sentries led them through the small loop. As the insect-carts drew closer, the passengers inside could clearly discern the bizarre expressions frozen in the final moments of life on those heads.

Pain, distortion, fear, bewilderment, anger, roaring, and an eerie calm that was almost liberating...

What's most chilling is that at the top of the "Jingguan" in Hanhailing, there is a kind of vine that Daryl can't name.

It was late autumn, and most plants had already withered, but these strange vines were still lush and verdant, even blooming with tiny, rice-grain-sized white and dark red flowers.

These vibrant colors, clinging to the menacing Tower of Death, infuse this frozen scene of death with a strange vitality.

Old Cat Daryl felt Aiden's body trembling uncontrollably beside him.

Having struggled for so many years in the life-or-death struggle of the White Deer Plain, how could they have never seen such bloody deaths? But today's scene clearly tells these people that there are some things they have never seen before.

Daryl pressed hard against his abdomen, feeling his stomach churning violently, a surge of acid rushing to his throat, which he then forced back down.

Old Cat has killed quite a few orcs in his life, but the number he has killed, plus all the dead he has seen, probably doesn't even compare to the number embedded in this small "Jingguan" tower.

And such a magnificent tower stretches to the horizon.

At this moment, he completely believed those absurd rumors. Judging from the proportions of the heads embedded in these "exquisite artifacts," the Vast Ocean Territory had definitely wiped out hundreds of thousands of human enemy troops on more than one occasion and in an organized manner, and had also slaughtered at least tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of orcs!
The psychological impact of such a direct, industrialized, and large-scale display of death is beyond the reach of any verbal description.

The guiding sentry was very satisfied with the impressive display. He led the insect vehicle through the small loop in the "Jingguan" group. At the end, the young soldier straightened his chest, his face beaming with pride. He used his off-key but loud voice to hum the song that was widely circulated in the Hanhai Army.

"Friends have arrived! We've got some good wine!"

"If that jackal comes, it will be met with—knives and guns!!!"

(End of this chapter)