Chapter 559: Chapter 559. Mental Regulator
"When will they enter the secret passage?" Huang San asked.
"Depends on how long it takes the formation sages to create a hole within the wall enchantment that lies around Cinder Ash Town," Lao Zen answered. "The entrance to the secret passage was quite far from the town, so the enemy won’t see us entering. The problem is that the advanced wall enchantment also extends into ground to prevent enemies from digging a passage from underground. Since the enemy didn’t know about the existing passage, our Formation Sages can work without being worried about getting found out. Even so, Princess Huang Er estimates it might take them two to three days to create a hole in the wall enchantment."
"Well, looks like we have a good chance in retaking Cinder Ash Town," Ha Gild said with optimism.
"How many soldiers are stationed inside the border fort overlooking Farghous?" Amon drew their attention back to the border troops.
"The record showed that ten thousand soldiers were stationed there," Lao Zen answered.
"What about at the border with Khode?" Amon asked.
"Seven thousand," Lao Zen replied.
"Not many...," Amon muttered.
"Well, it was peace time," Lao Zen said. "There was rarely an incident with those two countries. Maintaining troops consumes heavy expenditures. Furthermore, we had problems with rebels not that long ago, so a large portion of our troops are stationed inside our settlements to provide security."
When Amon visited Huang Zhan’s fort, he estimated fifty thousand troops were there. However, he couldn’t use Huang Zhan’s army as a reference. Echos experienced regular raids from Kazhan’s tribes. Hence, it made sense to have more troops there. Furthermore, Huang Zhan was like Amon, a warmonger. He never stopped growing his army. That’s how he accumulated such a large force.
"How large is the force General Jiang Tong and Princess Huang Er bring?" Amon asked.
"Each of them leads fifty thousand soldiers," Lao Zen answered. "We thought these numbers should have them complete their missions quickly. It turns out it is not the case."
"Is there any reason why you are so interested in knowing those numbers?" Hua Rong asked.
"I just like to get all the details, so I know what we are dealing with," Amon said. He handed Lao Zen a message talisman. "When Princess Huang Er learned the enemy’s number inside Cinder Ash Town, please send me a message."
Hua Rong was tempted to ask why again, but decided not to bother.
"As for Bright Rock City, I will find out myself," Amon said.
"When will you depart for Bright Rock City?" Huang San asked Amon.
"My army will depart early morning tomorrow. As for me, I will leave for that city tonight," Amon answered. "Before that, I had one more request. I hope Your Highness can grant it, for it will increase my chance of success."
"What do you need?" Huang San asked.
"One of the members of Echos’ Royal Assassins," Amon answered. "One who has tamed a Yao Bird."
*
Amon mentioned he would not be going alone. He would bring a few of his trusted followers, so Ha Gild offered him to use one of the Great Eagles in the kingdom’s stable. After becoming a senior minister, Ha Gild was appointed as the master overseer of the royal stable. Many of the tamed beasts inside used to be from the Royal Academy.
Amon used the great eagle to fly to Fort Fresh Maw. The journey lasted only two hours thanks to the transport beast. Flying beside him was a large black bird. It was the Yao Bird. On top of the Yao Bird was a woman in black attire. She was a member of the Royal Assassin. Her name was Gao Xingzi.
Amon introduced Gao Xingzi after his arrival. He also quickly left instructions for everyone. The army was ready to depart, so it didn’t take long. Still, they needed to make a final preparation and rest before departing, so they would leave early the next morning as scheduled.
Amon called all his important personnel to have a final meeting. They were Xin Wuming, Wu Di, Xu Bao, Yong Baili, Qiang Dan, Xia Yan, Yong Huan, and Yong Ling. The first four were supposed to be the commanders of his four regiments, while the latter four were their aides.
Aside from Gao Xingzi, Amon decided to bring Xin Wuming, Qiang Dan, Wu Di, and Yong Huan with him. The rest were to march with the army. They were told to divide the army into two. One led by Yong Baili would march at their fastest speed toward Bright Rock City. The remaining half, led by Xu Bao, would march at normal speed with their supplies.
After the meeting, Amon dismissed everyone except Xin Wuming. He called Zhong Yuan and had a closed discussion among the three of them.
"Do you know what contraption this is?" Amon asked. He passed a paper to Zhong Yuan. On the paper was a sketch Amon made based on the reports from Lao Zen. It depicted the helmet-backpack contraption used on the controlled citizens of Bright Rock City.
"This... This is the Mental Regulator. How do you know of this device?" Zhong Yuan asked.
"So, you know about it? These devices are used by the Khode Army currently occupying Bright Rock City," Amon answered. "Tell me everything about this device."
"Honestly, there is not much I can tell. I know about this device because the report about its development once passed my desk."
"Passed your desk? Are you used to being a bigshot in Khode’s government?" Xin Wuming asked.
Zhong Yuan shrugged. He had no interest in sharing his past with anyone. "When I left Khode, the Mental Regulator was very much still in the development process. I can’t believe they truly completed it. Wait... You said devices? The invading Khode Army has more than one Mental Regulator?"
"They have at least a hundred thousand of it," Amon answered.
"That’s impossible!" Zhong Yuan exclaimed. "I might only see the report, but even then, I know building one required high expertise and incredibly rare materials. Even building one is a luxury. It is impossible to build so many!"
"The fact remains so," Amon stated.
"Tell me everything about the Mental Regulators used by Khode Army," Zhong Yuan requested. The impossibility of the situation had piqued his interest.
Amon described what he read from Lao Zen’s reports, which came from Liu Xun’s account about what they witnessed during the battle.
"Hm... That’s strange," Zhong Yuan uttered.
"Which part?" Xin Wuming asked.
"The reports mentioned that the victims were fitted with devices that explode when they die?"
"They did. Although the reason is not because they died, since some didn’t explode after death. We suspect the explosion is triggered remotely," Amon replied.
"Automatic or remote, that is not the point. What I found strange is the backpack." Zhong Yuan said while pointing at Amon’s sketch. "During the development, the backpack is used to house the engine of the device. It was huge then. The backpack was almost the size of an adult human, which made it impractical."
"Mm... Tell me more about this Mental Regulator," Amon demanded.
"Where to begin... Well, the device is used to control the minds of others," Zhong Yuan said. "The research on the device had begun way beyond my time. Maybe even before I was born. Anyway, before I fled Khode, there was a rumor that the device had worked on a test subject. However, the device has many limitations."
Amon was interested in Zhong Yuan’s choice of word, fled, but he stuck to the discussion at hand, "What limitations?"
"First, as I mentioned, it consumes rare materials and is very complex to build. Hence, even building one will take a long time. Second, the size restrictions, which I have also mentioned. The backpack used to be bigger. The third one is the target. The device can only influence the minds of non-cultivators or cultivators of the Human Realm. It can’t affect the minds of Martial Realm cultivators."
"I see, that’s why the reports mentioned none of the ones equipped with Mental Regulators could fly," Xin Wuming remarked.
"I also understand why you found it strange when I mentioned the device explodes after its host dies," Amon said.
Zhong Yuan nodded. "If the reports are true, it means they fitted an explosive device to the backpacks. The engine for Mental Regulator already takes up a lot of space. Even if they found a way to reduce the size, I found it unlikely they could reduce it that much to be able to add an explosive device. This is all too baffling."
Amon pondered Zhong Yuan’s input.
"Any other things you found strange from this Mental-bomb Regulator?" Amon asked. He shifted the paper with his sketch toward Zhong Yuan, gesturing for him to take another look.
Zhong Yuan was amused by Amon altering the device’s name based on its additional function. He was smiling slightly as he took another look at the sketch. His smile disappeared when he noticed another thing that was not present in the old Mental Regulator.
He pointed at the sketch and said, "I don’t remember it possessing this long stick."