Edited by Aelryinth

The face of the man on the Lesser Dragon immediately darkened upon hearing those words. He subconsciously unleashed his aura to apply pressure to Zhang Xiaohou.

He was finally willing to inspect Zhang Xiaohou closely. It felt like he was going to interrogate him; he looked far from friendly!

"Huh? I didn't expect to stumble into a major general here..." the man blurted out in surprise when he finally noticed Zhang Xiaohou's rank.

"Are you going to talk properly now?" Zhang Xiaohou did not go easy on the man, either!

He had never seen anyone that dared to throw orders around without revealing his identity first, especially after trespassing into someone else's command without permission!

"I am Li Dexin from the Violet Imperial Battalion. The people behind me are my comrades. We have received an urgent mission from a general at the main headquarters. He has asked us to save a member of his family who is trapped in the Qinling Mountains quickly," the man riding the Lesser Dragon grudgingly replied.

"The Violet Imperial Battalion!" the officer standing beside Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in shock.

The Violet Imperial Battalion was the most reputable platoon in the Central Plain. Every Battlemage dreamed of being selected by the Violet Imperial Battalion so they could join the special platoon.

The Violet Imperial Battalion was similar to a special ops team. They normally handled operations that ordinary Battlemages would struggle to complete. It was a great surprise that the people of the Violet Imperial Battalion had come to the outpost.

Every soldier had heard of the Violet Imperial Battalion. The soldiers at the entrance immediately saluted to pay their respects.

Zhang Xiaohou did not salute, nor did he need to. He stared at the Violet Imperial Mage called Li Dexin and said, "That's an order for you. What do I have anything to do with it?"

"What do you mean? The Violet Imperial Battalion is in the middle of an important operation! The other platoons are obliged to provide us with their full support! You are only the chief commander of a little military outpost! There's nothing wrong with asking you for assistance!" Li Dexin harrumphed coldly. He was quite displeased by Zhang Xiaohou's attitude.

"Our ranks are the same, so I will decide if I'm helping or not! I have other things to worry about. If you're going to Qinling Mountains, you will find the path that will lead you to the mountains to the north of the town," Zhang Xiaohou informed him coolly.

"Major General, they are from the Violet Imperial Battalion. It won't do us any harm if we can help them with the operation. Should we consider?..." General Gao behind him whispered.

Since Zhang Xiaohou was currently in the town, General Gao had no choice but to listen to him!

As a matter of fact, Li Dexin was quite surprised, too. A brigadier general was normally the highest officer stationed at a military outpost, so he would have no problem ordering the soldiers around. He did not expect to stumble into a major general!

However, Li Dexin did not treat Zhang Xiaohou seriously. How was a mere major general in the mountains comparable to a major general of the Violet Imperial Battalion? A town in a mountain and a true city both had their own mayors, but were they even the same!?

Zhang Xiaohou did not hesitate to talk back. He was utterly displeased by the man's arrogance!

The military was strict about discipline. It was important to identify yourself when entering other people's territory. Some military bases did not even allow soldiers of other platoons to enter them. This outpost might not be a secret base, but the man was obliged to prove his identity before entering it!

Not only did these Battlemages of the Violet Imperial Battalion fail to do so, they did not even bother asking for his permission before requisitioning his men to assist them in their operation, when he was their chief commander!?

You're taking my men without telling me first!?

What did they think the Qinling Mountains were!? Going there without choosing the right time and season was suicide! Even if they had informed him first, he still might not agree to help!

The Violet Imperial Battalion might be a special existence, but Zhang Xiaohou had no plans to submit to them!

An advising officer behind the enormous Lesser Dragon stepped forward. He actually saluted Zhang Xiaohou before he spoke, "There's only one major general at the Qinling Mountains. I believe you must be General Zhang Xiaohou, who was promoted recently?"

Zhang Xiaohou saluted in return without saying a word.

"Sir, we've heard of the strange wind in the Qinling Mountains. Those who are unfamiliar with the terrain of the Qinling Mountains might die a horrible death to the wind. Our mission is very urgent, so it's our fault for not informing you earlier. I do hope that you can provide us with assistance. The Violet Imperial Battalion will be in your debt!" The short advising officer had greatly lowered his stance.

"That's more like it! Things would be a lot simpler if you behaved like that at first," Zhao Manyan snapped back.

"What do you mean by that? And who do you think you are!?" Li Dexin glared at Zhao Manyan.

"I've already promised my friends that I would bring them to the Qinling Mountains. If you want to go, you can ask General Gao's men to assist you." Zhang Xiaohou did not go overboard. He had no intention of complicating matters further.

"Well, if General Zhang is going to the Qinling Mountains, why don't you come with us? From what I know, if anyone could be said to be familiar with the mountains, it has to be you! Our mission is to save members of the Great Commander's family. Lives are at stake here, so I do hope General Zhang will assist us!" the advising officer asked sincerely.

Zhang Xiaohou did not agree right away. He looked at Mo Fan.

"Where are you heading to? Which part of the mountains?" Mo Fan asked the advising officer.

"Around here." The advising officer was well-prepared, and immediately took out a detailed map.

"Houzi, are they going the same way as us?" Mo Fan asked him.

"More or less," Zhang Xiaohou replied.

"Let's go together, then. It doesn't matter if they are coming with us. They might come in handy," Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not mind the Violet Imperial Battalion tagging along. These Violet Imperial Battlemages were pretty strong, especially the guy on the Lesser Dragon.

It was clearly going to be a dangerous trip. It would be safer to have more people with them!

"Brother Fan, we can just ignore them," Zhang Xiaohou told him, clearly not enthusiastic about the idea.

"It's fine, it's more fun when there are more people around," Mo Fan assured him.

"Yeah, did you see the female officer standing at the back there? Oh my, she's hot!" Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan's eyes were capable of locating the women in a crowd in the shortest time possible. They would swiftly filter out the ordinary-looking ones and lock onto the beauties!