"The Northern Defense Army?"
Hearing Jin's words, Azrael froze in place.
He had never imagined that he would encounter such a difficult situation just because he had come here to reap the benefits.
The Cardian Master Association and the Northern Defense Army were two separate entities; he couldn't just transfer there on a whim.
Jin slowly wiped the blood from his right hand and said expressionlessly, "This is an order."
"Or..."
"Do you want to disobey my will?"
Seeing the old man's gaze grow increasingly dangerous, Azrael forced himself to suppress the fear that welled up in him and said in a deep voice, "Yes, I understand, President."
"I will do everything I can to transfer to the Northern Defense Army."
He hadn't forgotten his current role. In Jin's eyes, his contract had never expired!
If he hesitated even a little, he would have a hard time returning alive today.
Hearing Azrael's answer, Jin continued to gaze at him coldly, carefully observing the young man's expression.
After a moment, the hook-nosed elder suddenly broke into a genial smile. "Well done this time, Lewis."
"What reward do you want?"
Hearing this, Azrael breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he'd gotten away with it this time.
Cold sweat already covered his back, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Moody old lunatic!"
Despite his thoughts, he dared not betray the slightest displeasure. He simply replied respectfully, "President, it's up to you."
Apparently pleased with Azrael's attitude, Jin walked over to him, extended his still-unwiped right hand, and patted him on the shoulder, leaving a trail of blood. "You've just broken through to Emerald, so I'll give you a set of Emerald materials."
The elder paused, considering that the young man before him might not have yet conceived the story for his next Emerald card. He continued, "Tell Memphis directly what you need, and he'll send it to you when the time comes."
"Yes, thank you, President."
Having successfully secured a reward, Azrael's previously sour mood lifted slightly.
But ultimately, transferring to the Northern Defense Army still presented some difficulties. Furthermore, it seemed odd that one of his disciples, Master Lucian, would work under Master Tempest.
Except just as he was pondering this, Jin spoke again, "Once you arrive at the Northern Defense Army, you'll have only one mission."
"That is to do everything you can to obtain information about the Demon Army's experiment."
"Remember, do everything you can, even if it means being exposed."
Hearing this, Azrael's heart sank. When he had previously assumed his position in Donglai, Jin had instructed him to sacrifice the entire Donglai Crimson Oath Society to conceal his own identity.
But this time, he didn't care whether Azrael would be exposed or not, only seeking detailed information about Li Gang's experiment. This clearly showed how much Jin valued the experiment. So much so that he was willing to sacrifice him, a key figure he had worked so hard to cultivate.
But Azrael certainly wouldn't show any sign of abnormality at this moment. He nodded obediently, "Yes, President."
"Then I'll be leaving first."
"Yeah."
Seeing the young man disappear into the room, Jin's eyes flickered. "Hmm, those Onefold Doctrine losers actually managed to come up with something."
"Unfortunately, it's still a little far from what I expected."
"We still have to move forward with the plan."
Meanwhile, Azrael, having returned home, finally relaxed his frayed nerves.
He didn't really care about doing his best to obtain information. After all, he wasn't truly controlled, and Jin couldn't tell if he was doing his best. He wouldn't be able to tell if he was just fooling the old man.
He could even modify the experiment a little, having Jin impersonate Ouyang Feng, tricked by Huang Rong.
But how to infiltrate the Northern Defense Army was a headache.
It wasn't that he had no way, but rather that he had a way to do it.
Azrael hadn't forgotten that his eldest brother and second sister were in the Northern Defense Army.
While he wasn't as familiar with these two as he was with Alice, there should still be room for maneuver in this situation. Surely the Northern Defense Army wouldn't reject such a genius like him?
The transfer to the Northern Defense Army was solved, but Azrael now faced a more thorny issue: how to explain his situation to Master Lucian.
Anxious, he sent a message to his teacher, but received no reply for a long time.
"Is the situation in Antarctica so dire?"
Azrael felt a mixture of joy and sorrow.
Joyful because Master Lucian hadn't replied, he could act first and ask for permission later.
Worryingly, it had been so long since he'd last sent a greeting, and still no response. Even a fool could tell something was seriously wrong in Antarctica.
"I hope everything is well, Teacher."
After mentally wishing his teacher well, Azrael sent a message politely declining Vladimir's offer.
The reason was simple:
For the benefit of the country, even life and death!
Rather than being a firefighter in Qilu, Azrael was ready to go straight to the Northern Defense Army and shine!
Vladimir was completely stunned when she received this message, but the woman soon felt both amused and embarrassed.
After immediately confirming Azrael's intention to leave via phone, she looked at the hung-up call and muttered to herself, "If I had known, I wouldn't have said anything."
"Ah."
After rejecting Vladimir's repeated invitations, Azrael immediately sent a message to the "Loving Family" group.
[Azrael: @Jacob @Armani, Senior Brother and Second Sister, I'm ready to contribute to the Northern Defense Army. Do you have any suggestions?]
[Azrael: If not, I'll start from the ranks.]
[Azrael: Oh, by the way, I'm Emerald Rank.]
[Alice: ?]
In the blink of an eye, the lonely old Alice typed a question mark in the group chat, clearly bored.
But soon, the group chat was flooded with question marks.
[Jacob: ?]
[Armani: ?]
[Oliver: ?]
[Oliver: Junior Brother, are you still human? I remember you becoming a Lore Cardian less than two years ago, right? Lioren hasn't even been as fast as you. It's ridiculous.]
Azrael watched Third Senior Brother's usual rambling speech on his phone, and couldn't help but grumble, "I wonder how Senior Brother Corey's subordinates can handle this."
Before he could reply, Oliver had already spotted his blind spot.
[Oliver: Wait, Junior Brother, have you told Master that you're going to the Northern Defense Army?!]
[Azrael: Master hasn't replied.]
[Jacob: Master can't reply yet, but Junior Brother, are you sure? The Northern Defense Army isn't a good place.]
Seeing Senior Brother's words, Azrael understood. Clearly, Jacob, as Senior Brother, had some knowledge of Master Lucian's situation.
[Azrael: Well, President Vladimir of the Qilu Cardian Master Association told me if the Northern Defense Army is planning to withdraw its defenses recently. So I thought I'd go and help.]
[Azrael: As for Master, I think he'll understand my decision.]
[Azrael: And it's not like I'm not planning on returning to the coastal areas.]
[Oliver: That's good! I thought you were going to take over Master Tempest's mantle.]
[Jacob: I understand. I'll tell the higher-ups. I'll let you know when I have any news.]
[Azrael: Thank you, Senior Brother.]
[Jacob: You'd better not thank me. I'm afraid of being beaten to death by the teacher.]
Seeing Jacob's joke, Azrael laughed.
How could these disciples not know what kind of person their teacher is?
Master Lucian treated every disciple as a complete and independent individual.
Just like Alice, as a diamond-level Lore Cardian, she was working as a class teacher at Pixar University. It was really a waste of her talent.
And considering that she was already a diamond-level Lore Cardian at her age, her talent was definitely extraordinary. Others thought she was just wasting her time.
But Master Lucian still didn't say anything.
Just when Azrael was about to put away his phone, a sudden vibration made him stop.
Looking closely, it was a private message.
[Alice: Liar.]
Seeing this message, Azrael couldn't help but be stunned.
How could his own senior sister make him look like a scumbag who cheated money and sex.
But he immediately figured out why.
[Azrael: I'll find time to come back and see you, senior sister. You're making me feel guilty.]
[Alice: You're such a liar.]
Azrael froze. It was true he hadn't been back to Pixar recently, but God forbid he was so overwhelmed by the Onefold Doctrine in Donglai that he hadn't had time to visit his family.
He quickly typed on his phone.
[Azrael: This time it's for real. I'll be struck by lightning if you lie to me.]
He figured he was just going to the Northern Defense Army to gather some intelligence. It wouldn't be like Donglai, where everything would require his attention.
After all, the Northern Defense Army wasn't like Donglai, where there were only a few big cats and small cats. They had plenty of diamond-level Lore Cardians, not to mention Master Tempest, a master Lore Cardian.
[Alice: Forget it, may my junior brother live a hundred years.]
Alice was so serious! I cried my eyes out. Azrael's guilt grew stronger.
He could understand why Alice had only come to him. Before he arrived, the lonely old Alice was the youngest of Master Lucian's disciples.
It's likely that his senior sister, like himself, had barely had any contact with the other three seniors. Therefore, as the youngest, he became the person they knew best, aside from the teacher.
[Azrael: Things in Donglai are almost done. I should have some time before I go to the Northern Army. I'll go back to Pixar and stay there for a while.]
[Alice: Yeah.]
Putting his phone away, Azrael sighed silently, feeling the heavy responsibility of maintaining the positive atmosphere of the sect.
He then began to consider what materials to redeem with the rewards from Jin.
Currently, he only had one Emerald-level material. He had already thought of a use for the [State-Defining·Crimson Dragon] dropped by Li Gang: to upgrade Lily to Emerald.
However, there was a key problem. Lily had the chain card [Silver Arm].
The chain effect stated that investing [Holy Sword·Excalibur] in Lily's promotion would enhance her, which clearly required the crafting of [Holy Sword·Excalibur]. Therefore, the materials rewarded by the Crimson Oath Society were not suitable for redeeming the materials needed to upgrade Lily.
Of course, they were also not suitable for upgrading [Silver Arm].
After all, even if [Silver Arm] were upgraded to [Holy Sword Excalibur], Azrael currently lacked a suitable card to use it.
As for exchanging materials for cards needed to craft the Crimson Oaths' identity, he'd be foolish to do so.
Clearly, after joining the Northern Defense Army, he wouldn't need the Crimson Oaths' identity for a while.
"Never mind, no rush."
With a sigh, Azrael decided to leave it for later.
It was noon, on the outskirts of Pixar.
Azrael looked at the tall, beautiful woman standing before him, only half a head shorter than him, and whispered, "Senior Sister, I'm leaving now."
"I'll come back to see you when I have time," he said, feeling a little guilty.
After all, he seemed to have said the same thing the last time he took up his post in Donglai.
Alice nodded slightly. "Be careful."
Azrael waved his hand, then, led by the Shadowkhans, disappeared into the shadows, leaving Alice standing quietly. After a long moment, she turned and entered the manor behind her.
Meanwhile, while rushing to Gaza Town, Azrael felt that the Ghost Mask's current speed was no longer sufficient.
However, lacking the necessary materials, he had no immediate plans to replace it.
Back to his destination, Gaza Town.
Before the Lore Cardians appeared, the Empire of Aetherlight had been reeling from the onslaught of foreign invaders. Gaza Town, originally intended to contain the Nine Border Guards, had instead become a crucial border defense station.
Even after the near-extinction of the foreign invaders responsible for this situation, the territory they had previously occupied remained unrecovered. This was because those lands had become even more terrifying than the foreign invaders: demons.
This time, Azrael was headed to Gaza Town to take up his new post, a position he'd previously been informed of by his senior brother, Jacob. He was to serve as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Defense Army stationed in Gaza Town.
According to imperial rank, this was a third-rank position.
"That's quite a high rank, isn't it? If I remember correctly, Master Tempest should be the Left Commander-in-Chief."
It's worth noting that, thanks to the Lore Cardians, while the Northern Defense Army still uses the same military titles from the Empire of Aetherlight, their numbers and functions have completely changed.
Just like the original Deputy Commanders, there were only four Deputy Commanders in the entire Military District.
But in the Northern Defense Army, as long as one is Emerald-level, they are at least a Deputy Commander, and the number is increasing rapidly.
And with the increase in number, it is naturally impossible for everyone to lead troops, and not everyone has the talent to command troops.
Just like Azrael has never been exposed to military books, he may be good at commanding Pokémon battles, but large-scale group operations are not difficult for him.
However, although he has no soldiers under his command, in fact, there is no difference between the Deputy Commanders and the others.
After all, this is an extraordinary world, and the right answer is to have great power within oneself.
What's wrong with not having soldiers? An Emerald-level Lore Cardian can form an army by himself.
Just as he was daydreaming, the sky gradually darkened.
"I should have set off earlier."
As Azrael muttered to himself, a magnificent, fortified city suddenly came into view.
"Whoosh!"
Just as he drew closer, a shrill whistle echoed, and Ulquiorra instantly appeared before Azrael.
"Buzz!"
Then, a shout echoed from the city wall, "This is a strategically important border area. All who enter must stop!"
Glancing at the trembling arrow in Ulquiorra's hand, Azrael took a deep breath.
"Deputy Commander of the Northern Defense Army, Azrael, come and take your position!"