The Avalon Of Five Elements

"Is this the Pagoda Cannon Alliance? Is Ai Hui here?"

A chilly voice woke Ke Ning up. Drowsy and sleepy, he looked up to see a tall and strong figure in front of him. Standing beside this figure was a tall and thin lady whose eyes also seemed cold. She wore her hair in a high bun with throwing knives inserted into it.

Feeling the pressure from the two people in front of him, Ke Ning swallowed nervously and stood up, "I’m Ke Ning, the manager of the Pagoda Cannon Alliance. May I know who you are?"

He actually felt uncomfortable, as he always associated the word "manager" with something bad.

But what could he do?

When Ai Hui suddenly left everything related to the Pagoda Cannon Alliance to him with an appreciative look, but without any explanation, Ke Ning was dumbfounded and couldn’t believe his ears. When he came to his senses, Ai Hui had already disappeared.

Who was the one who had promised righteously to found the Pagoda Cannon Alliance?

Ke Ning felt a bit regretful. He had not expected for Ai Hui to be so irresponsible. It was ironic that he had had some illusions toward the Pagoda Cannon Alliance.

The idea of leaving had occurred to him more than once, but he couldn’t speak it out when facing the hundreds of people who followed him.

Having struggled for two days, he made up his mind. The worst result was death anyway, which was no different from his choice at the very beginning. After he figured this out, he felt like a totally different man who was full of vigor. More surprisingly, although Ai Hui didn’t show up, the spectacular Fish Bone was absolutely convincing.

The elementalists, who had been hesitating and struggling, now flocked to join them.

The Pagoda Cannon Alliance was expanding rapidly, making Ke Ning terribly busy. It was not easy for him to find some time to take a nap.

"Tong Gui."

"Yu Jin."

The man and the lady answered coldly.

Ke Ning was shocked and totally sobered up. The names of the two reputable division leaders from Newlight City struck his ears like a clap of thunder. Although he knew that Newlight City had expressed its full support for the Pagoda Cannon Alliance, it was beyond his expectation that they sent two of their strongest combat divisions here.

In terms of status and position, Ke Ning was far inferior to them. This made him nervous, but excited at the same time.

As long as Sir Tong Gui and Lady Yu Jin were here, the strength of the Pagoda Cannon Alliance would be far greater than other ordinary combat divisions.

He replied at once, "Please have a seat. Are you looking for Sir Ai Hui? He is surveying the terrain at the moment. I’ll call him back now."

Tong Gui said in a rough voice, "We should pay him a visit. Manager Ke, would you please lead the way?"

"Manager Ke" sounded harsh, but Ke Ning was also surprised by the respect the division leaders showed toward Ai Hui. After all, in Ke Ning’s mind, Ai Hui was already regarded as unreliable.

He immediately said, "No problem. This way please."

.....

Ai Hui stood at the side of the Great Rift and watched the howling metal wind. It was like a transparent wind wall with a metallic luster, obscuring the scene on the other side.

This reminded Ai Hui of the Suspending Golden Pagoda outside of Central Pine City.

He was lost in thought.

Everyone was busy preparing for the big battle ahead.

Ai Hui was the only one who looked unoccupied. Having thrown all duties related to the Pagoda Cannon Alliance to Ke Ning, all he did everyday was idly top and go along one side of the canyon, as if enjoying the scenery.

No one knew what he was thinking.

Surveying the terrain was only an excuse Ke Ning found for Ai Hui. Assessing the terrain was completely unnecessary. The metal wind had isolated the two sides, and the other Windy Pearl Bridges had all been destroyed.

Ke Ning led Tong Gui and Yu Jin to Ai Hui.

Tong Gui saluted and said, "Long time no see, Sir Ai Hui."

Yu Jin saluted too, but didn’t say anything.

Their feelings were complicated. Years ago, they looked at Ai Hui like their junior, but now they needed to address him respectfully as a Sir. On the other hand, however complicated they felt, they were not envious or unconvinced. It was a common rule that strength was the most important. The achievements Ai Hui had accomplished over the years were enough to win their respect.

As for Ai Hui, some appreciated him, some criticized him, but no one would ignore him.

Ai Hui nodded, "It must have been a tough journey. Is Mayor An all right?"

Tong Gui replied reverently, "Yes, everything is fine with the Mayor. He misses you very much, my Sir. Before we left, he asked us to obey your commands. No matter what the task is, and whether it is dangerous or not, Tong Gui and Yu Jin will do the best and never flinch."

Ai Hui smiled. "Thank you for your support."

Tong Gui said, "You are welcome. This is what we should do."

Ai Hui nodded. "I happen to have a task that may require your help."

Tong Gui said, "At your request."

Ai Hui said, "I want to establish the Pagoda Cannon Alliance, which will be our next goal. Currently, I’m fully occupied, so everything is being done by Manager Ke. I now want to ask a favor from you guys to help him build up the framework of the alliance."

Tong Gui and Yu Jin looked at each other in surprise.

Before they arrived, they both thought that Ai Hui would keep a vigilant watch over them and even marginalize them. They never expected that Ai Hui would entrust them with such an important task at the very beginning.

It was natural that they had these doubts in mind since they had interacted with Ai Hui years ago and were fully aware of his cunning.

Ai Hui could see their doubts, but he simply ignored this and asked, "Any problems?"

Tong Gui couldn’t figure out if Ai Hui was genuine, but for the moment he had to reply, "We will spare no efforts, but what is our strategy for the Pagoda Cannon Alliance?"

Ai Hui touched his jaw and said, "Our time is too limited, so I cannot ask too much. You can organize them and drill with the pagoda cannons. The Spear of Heavy Cloud has forged a new type of pagoda cannon called the Beehive Heavy Cannon, and Old He will find craftsmen too. Your task is to familiarize everyone with the new cannons. I won’t ask for a high standard. It will be fine as long as they can use it proficiently and shoot the shells out."

Hearing what he said, Ke Ning couldn’t help but interject, "But we don’t have a single Beehive Heavy Cannon yet."

Ai Hui smiled, "We will soon."

Ke Ning was suspicious of what Ai Hui said. He knew Ai Hui even better than Tong Gui and Yu Jin, and he didn’t trust Ai Hui at all.

Ai Hui didn’t explain further.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin looked at each other again. They were also full of doubts. Knowing how to use the pagoda cannon was just the basic requirement. If that was enough, then what fighting capacity would the Pagoda Cannon Alliance have?

Yet, it seemed that Ai Hui had other implications. Besides, they knew that Ai Hui was definitely not a fool.

Tong Gui said solemnly, "We won’t dishonor your commission."

.....

At the camp of the Spear of Heavy Cloud.

Sang Zhijun was reporting to Shi Xueman, "These days, the goods and materials we are seizing is shrinking sharply. The day before yesterday, we had five combat divisions that passed through, but today there was only one."

Shi Xueman was writing rapidly at the desk. Hearing Sang Zhijun’s words, she looked up and asked, "Why?"

Sang Zhijun smiled bitterly. "Because we are too notorious now, even worse than bandits. In their words, we are the worst villains. Many combat divisions are not willing to withdraw through here. They would rather go the long way around and retreat along the rift than pass through our defensive line. We are really infamous now."

Shi Xueman suddenly asked, "You mean they are withdrawing along the rift to get avoid us?"

Sang Zhijun said, "Yes, our scouts found that many combat divisions are marching toward either end of the rift. Although it will be a long march, at least they won’t lose their assets and possessions."

She was worried about their bad reputation. It had to be extremely terrible, else they wouldn’t be willing to spend several extra months on their way back.

Shi Xueman couldn’t help laughing.

Sang Zhijun marveled, "Gosh! Xueman, why are you still laughing?"

The education she had received since she was young required her to stick to the regulations of combat divisions and not commit the slightest offense against people. What she was doing now was totally different. Not only she, but many others in the Spear of Heavy Cloud had the same feeling.

No one wanted to turn from a hero into a villain.

They would not hesitate to execute Ai Hui’s command, but they felt uncomfortable.

Shi Xueman murmured to herself, "This guy was so cunning to think up of this solution."

Sang Zhijun was confused. "Xueman, what are you talking about?"

Shi Xueman came to her senses and said, "You see, the problem has been solved."

Sang Zhijun was still in confusion. "What problem?"

Shi Xueman explained patiently, "We were worried that our enemy would attack our defenses with the defeated troops as their shield. Now, no such troops are coming toward us. Isn’t this problem solved?"

Sang Zhijun paused for a while and said, "Yes, it seems so. Then the problem has indeed been solved in this way. So this is the real purpose of that guy? Then we have misunderstood him."

Shi Xueman said coldly, "You didn’t. He wanted to make a profit down the road. This guy’s heart is black."

Sang Zhijun coughed lightly and said jokingly, "Yes, his heart is black, but someone just happens to like black-hearted guys..."

Shi Xueman’s face immediately flushed. She pretended to be angry and said, "How dare you be so rude? You definitely need a spanking."

Sang Zhijun was not afraid of her at all. She blinked mischievously, "You two only hugged? Didn’t do anything else? What a pity! Miss Division Head, you cannot lose the good reputation of the Spear of Heavy Cloud. If he is too shy, force him to! If he refuses to obey, beat him! Ah..."

Sang Zhiruo covered her head and crept away to avoid Shi Xueman’s fist.

Now, Shi Xueman was in the tent alone. Her face was red, looking shy and cute.

After a while, the flush gradually faded away as Shi Xueman calmed down and became as cold as she usually was.

Hmmm, Sang Zhijun was right. She was the creditor. Why should she feel guilty? Even if they started a fight, she was not afraid of Ai Hui anyway.

She went out of the camp and walked toward the camp of the Sword of Lightning Division.

On her way, she happened to come across Ai Hui. Both of them became a little embarrassed to see each other.

Soon, however, Shi Xueman returned to normal and said, "Let’s go into the camp."

Sang Zhijun, who took Jiang Wei along to peep at the two, gasped with surprised and couldn’t believe her eyes.

They were so direct...

Ai Hui paused for a while and asked, "Why?"

Shi Xueman said, "Last time we did not finished."

Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun were totally dumbstruck. They couldn’t help remembering the scene last time when Shi Xueman held Ai Hui in her arms and walked toward the bed. What they had not finished...

Ai Hui realized that Shi Xueman was talking about healing her injury.

He nodded. "Then let’s do it thoroughly!"

Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun looked at each other.

Do it thoroughly...