On the morning of the second day after the fire in Blackrock Town, Su Lin's team returned to the western city.
The city is called Balota, a fortress-level city on the outskirts of the empire. Since the team had previously contacted the NPCs in the city, they were not stopped and went straight in.
Shortly after they entered, imperial officials summoned the squad members to inquire about the news that Blackrock Town had been burned to the ground.
These NPCs are indeed well-informed. Not only did they know about the upheaval in Blackrock Town long ago, but they also hurriedly sent specialists to investigate a few hours ago. Now they are questioning the team, adopting a stern attitude of wanting to get to the bottom of things.
But Jia Zhengyi had anticipated this, and when questioned by the NPCs, he fully displayed his sadness and panic.
"My lord... this is insane! We've only just arrived in Blackrock Town... and we've already seen so many small meteorites falling from the sky!"
"That was definitely the power of forbidden magic! Its power was terrifying beyond measure! We didn't dare to enter the town at all; we could only watch from afar!"
"Our two companions with us... Oh! Poor William and Allen, they were so loyal to the lord, rushing into the fire to save people, but the second wave of meteors killed them!"
“I want to cry, sir... My two dearest friends died before my eyes! But I was too cowardly. We only dared to search the outskirts when it was slightly light, but we found no survivors.”
"But the flames were too fierce; we dared not venture deeper and could only hurry back to report..."
Jia Zhengyi spoke tearfully to the NPCs, but the NPCs were not so easily fooled and naturally doubted what Jia Zhengyi said.
However, they couldn't find any suspicious points.
No matter how strong Jia Zhengyi and his group were, it seemed impossible for them to easily wipe out an entire town, unless they were extremely powerful great mages, and the team members were all dressed as warriors.
As for that elf... although elves can use magic, she is clearly an archer. You can't say that an archer can draw a bow and shoot down an entire town, can you?
This is absurd!
Unable to find anything suspicious, the NPCs could only temporarily leave the squad in Balota City, following the established recruitment procedures, and also to supervise and keep an eye on them.
This stay lasted for several more days.
The sudden destruction of Blackrock Town attracted the attention of several surrounding NPC cities, which dispatched teams to search and investigate.
As survivors who are just "minions," they naturally have no right to know the results of the search by the higher-ups, but Xiao Linlin guessed that this was most likely a search that was destined to be fruitless.
The team's safety proved that the clues to the destruction of Blackrock Town had been lost.
During these few days, the team was not idle and continued to perform their respective duties.
In the new city, Jia Zhengyi fully utilizes his social skills, mingling among the new recruits, constantly spending money to make friends with scoundrels, and climbing the ranks step by step, trying to get in touch with more high-ranking NPC soldiers.
The NPCs didn't mind this; in fact, they thought Jia Zhengyi was quite sensible, since this was the case in most of the empire's various institutions and systems.
When everyone else has fallen, even the righteous and holy become a sin.
With the plundering of merchants' money paving the way and Xiao Linlin offering advice from the sidelines, Jia Zhengyi's path to making connections was very smooth.
As for Su Lin, when not in combat, he devoted himself entirely to studying the boxing manual.
This situation is quite in line with the NPCs' perception of the team. By hiding him, the true core figure, within the team, they can make people mistakenly believe that Jia Zhengyi is the leader of this adventure team.
Five days later, a new message was suddenly delivered by a high-ranking NPC in the army: a transfer order had arrived within the squad.
"By Baron Tennis's personal authorization, Miss Lyanna the Elf is appointed as the captain of the Empire's 562nd Mercenary Squad, leading all new recruits from the Blackrock Town region, with unlimited administrative and wartime authority..."
The new transfer order was presented to Su Lin, which surprised him somewhat.
"Leanna got promoted?!"
Su Lin didn't understand how Lyanna, who stayed in the house with him all day and didn't go out much, could suddenly be promoted to become the leader of hundreds of mercenary recruits.
"Of course, this is all thanks to me!"
Jia Zhengyi brought the transfer order and winked at Su Lin: "Boss, I haven't been out here just for eating, drinking and having fun these past few days. Those NPCs aren't bad either, at least they did their jobs for money."
"Look, we've bought an official position. Does that mean we have a military rank now?"
Jia Zhengyi eagerly sought credit, and Su Lin nodded in realization, praising him by name: "Jia Zhengyi, you did a great job."
But Xiao Linlin quickly contradicted him, saying, "It's not entirely because he bribed the NPCs; it's mainly due to the overall trend of the war and my sister's elf identity."
"I have gathered a lot of information about the overall situation and current state of the battlefield these past few days, and I have basically determined that this battle was started by an orc raid, and that the orcs, dwarves, and naga have formed an alliance to attack the human empire."
"Due to the hasty response, the human empire currently only has two allies: the elves and the goblins. However, the elves are not particularly enthusiastic about the war; their participation is mainly due to their dislike of the orcs and dwarves."
"In most battlefields, the human faction is at a 2v4 disadvantage, which is why the human empire has been trying to win over the elves, hoping that the powerful and magic-savvy elves will provide strong support for the war that has already put them at a disadvantage."
"The details of treatment are determined by the macro level. The elves currently enjoy a high level of privilege within the human empire... so, Sister Lyanna's status is quite advantageous."
Xiao Linlin shrugged her small shoulders as she explained, a happy smile on her face.
This feeling is like knowing that you hold a trump card in your hand, especially in a magical aristocratic society that loves to emphasize status and position, where high status is the most useful passport.
"There's another reason?"
Su Lin glanced at Lyanna. He had been so engrossed in self-study these past few days that he hadn't realized that besides her great strength, Lyanna's elven identity was a trump card in itself.
"Maybe."
Lyanna nodded slightly, her tone still indifferent: "I can understand the elves of this world. Actually, we don't like humans very much either... but compared to humans, the rudeness and barbarity of orcs are even more annoying."
"certainly."
Lyanna paused, then emphasized again, "This does not include the Holy Spirit, who is unique."
"Here she comes again. Who says elves can't flatter?"
Jia Zhengyi covered his forehead and sighed helplessly: "Linlin, I think there's a reason why the boss treats her differently. After all, sometimes we can't even flatter her properly."
"Nonsense!"
Xiao Linlin glared at Jia Zhengyi, and Su Lin also frowned slightly, before he could reprimand Jia Zhengyi for his impulsive nature.
Sudden.
A new notification appeared before Su Lin's eyes.
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