One week after the Battle of Heimu Pass.
Huang Zheng was lying on the bed in the temporary hospital in Suero, staring out the window in a daze. This house in the inner city was originally the residence of a viscount, but it was now requisitioned by the government to house many wounded soldiers.
Because of the shortage of rooms, Huang Zheng shared a ward with three other people. His injuries were the lightest among the three patients. One of his fellow patients had his legs broken by fighting spirit and had to have his entire thigh amputated. Another was hit in the head by mental magic and was still in a coma for a week. Xiao Mu sneaked into his consciousness twice, but failed to pull him back. It seemed that he was in great danger.
Huang Zheng heard a tap-tap-tap sound and turned around to see his fellow patient Song Pingtao practicing walking in the room with a new crutch. Humans are actually very strong in many cases. When the boy knew he was going to lose a leg, he cried secretly all night, but now he has the courage to challenge his body.
Seeing Huang Zheng looking over, Song Pingtao said, "Huang Zheng, you said this is a magical world. I can always find a way to get my legs back, right?"
"Is it exactly the same as the original one?" Huang Zheng asked.
"What do you mean by the original one?" Song Pingtao asked puzzledly.
Huang Zheng said, "I have thought about this problem these past two days. How can I repair a part of my limbs?" Huang Zheng crossed his hands behind his head and said, "It can't be done with healing magic alone. What I can think of is to use golem technology to build you a metal leg, or ask the elves to get the sap of the world tree, just like Xiao Chen did for Luo Ling. Also, you can consider becoming my spirit servant and completely give up this body, so that when I help you project your body, you will have a healthy body."
"Are you kidding me about my legs? You're asking me to give up my body?"
"No, I haven't been in the mood to joke these days." Huang Zheng's face was very calm, "I'm just imagining various possibilities. The golem's legs, our technology is definitely not yet at the point where we can control them freely. The World Tree... Hehe, Xiao Chen got this gift after saving the entire elf and dark elf race, so in the final analysis, becoming a spirit servant is the quickest way to have a healthy body. You have to know that this time, a total of more than 40 people chose to become spirit servants for us mages."
"Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything. I still have one leg and one pair of hands, and I'd rather live well and truly in this world."
"A wise choice." Huang Zheng said, "I only showed you the possibility."
There was a knock on the door, and then someone opened it from outside. Song Pingtao looked at the door and was surprised to find that it was Wang Jiyuan.
"Commander!"
"How is Xiao Song recovering?"
"Very good! I have recovered well! Commander. You must give me a chance to fight the Imperials and avenge my fallen brothers."
"Don't worry. We won't let the imperial people go for nothing. I have something to talk to Xiao Huang about. Would it be convenient for you to go out for a walk?" Wang Jiyuan said, "I'll ask the guard to help you?"
"No need. I can do it myself." Song Pingtao walked out of the room with the help of crutches.
Wang Jiyuan walked to Huang Zheng's bedside and asked, "You sent someone to tell me that you have something important to report to me? We have been busy these past two days. We have to guard against the Imperials coming to attack Suero and the surrounding towns. We have been working on the city defense. We only have time to come now. Tell me."
Huang Zheng said: "I have something to report, but I must state in advance that this is just a guess."
"Go ahead. I will make my own judgment." Wang Jiyuan said.
"I wonder if you or the committee have any investigation results on the breach of Heimu Pass?" Huang Zheng asked first.
Wang Jiyuan said: "The scene was very chaotic that day. There is no unified explanation for how the incident happened, but one thing is certain, someone opened the door from the inside. The one who opened the door should be an infiltrated troop of the Empire, but we are not sure how they got in and how they got to the door without being discovered."
Huang Zheng nodded and took out a piece of paper from the side. On it was a map of Heimuguan. There were many symbols on the map, and dense annotations were written on it, including time and personnel. He said, "What follows is exactly what I want to talk about. You see, the sentry posts and patrols at Heimuguan were arranged by Shi Hao and I after consulting with Olgas. I have been studying this map over and over again in the past two days, and I found that no matter how the enemy sneaks into Heimuguan, as long as magic is involved, magic fluctuations will be detected, unless they find these blind spots."
Huang Zheng drew three circles on the map to indicate areas that detection magic might not cover.
"But these places cannot be discovered by outsiders, not even by Olgas's men. Because the defenses inside the pass that Shi Hao and I rearranged are completely different from those when Olgas was managing Blackwood Pass. Moreover, most of his men are in the recruit camp and certain sentry posts, and they don't have the opportunity to run around in Blackwood Pass. The only people who can find these nodes in Blackwood Pass can be our own people."
"You are suspecting that there is a traitor in the Guard!" Wang Jiyuan said.
Huang Zheng did not answer this question directly: "There are several clues. First, ordinary soldiers do not have the opportunity to explore these places. In those days, the situation in Heimuguan was tense and the internal management was very strict. Second, these three places are blind spots, so there are patrols around them. If ordinary soldiers appear in such places, they will definitely be carefully questioned by the patrols. But now there is no patrol warning in advance, which means that this person's level is enough to make the patrols relax their vigilance."
Wang Jiyuan asked, "Maybe it was a sudden attack by the enemy, and the patrol team didn't have time to react?"
"Our requirement for the patrol team is to remain highly vigilant and give the first warning if they find anything unusual. Each patrol team also has warriors who are quick to react and can use fighting spirit. If... there is no familiar person to distract their attention, I can hardly imagine that they can't even report the news." Huang Zheng said.
Wang Jiyuan pondered for a while and said, "There are not many people in the area you framed. It seems that you have a clear target?"
"No, there is no direct evidence yet." Huang Zheng said, "But my number one suspect is Zhang Hong at the moment."
"Him?" Wang Jiyuan asked, "I thought you would first suspect the local converted guard officers. Zhang Hong played a very important role in this retreat, and many people were able to evacuate safely thanks to his organization. If you spread this suspicion, it will stir up a hornet's nest."
"I understand. Besides, I can't provide any evidence right now. This matter still needs further investigation. It's best for us not to alert the enemy first."
"I heard that Montenegro will send an investigation team to investigate the incident at Heimu Pass and the relevant responsible persons."
"Do you want me to cooperate with them?" Huang Zheng asked.
Wang Jiyuan smiled and said, "No, I hope you can do it alone. Isn't it just right if someone can cover for you?" (To be continued)