The residence was located within the Zhenbeiguan city, outside the military camp.
Since Qin Zhaoqiong brought with her a thousand elite Imperial Guards, the Xuanwu Army did not send any additional troops to guard the area.
The night was deep, and Liu Yan was surrounded by an ethereal aura that completely enveloped Qin Zhaoqiong's figure, as if she were wearing an invisible cloak.
The two blended into the night, silently moving through the rooftops and alleyways of the town.
Inside Zhenbeiguan, there were numerous sentries, both visible and hidden, and the lights flickered in the cold wind.
The "momentum" of the flowing flames perfectly concealed its form, leaving no trace on the ground and moving silently, carefully avoiding the patrolling soldiers and all detectives.
Fortunately, the war has not yet fully broken out. The Shuofeng Dynasty and Daqian have only clashed a few times in a probing manner, and there are still several small cities outside Zhenbei Pass as a buffer.
Otherwise, if a large army were to invade, the city would be as impregnable as an iron barrel, with extremely strict defenses.
Even if Liu Yan had already reached the Divine Martial Realm at that time, it would have been wishful thinking for him to be able to travel with someone so swiftly.
Liu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief after successfully leaving Zhenbeiguan for about a mile.
Without holding back, he suddenly increased Qin Zhaoqiong's speed to its maximum.
The wind whistled past my ears, and the scenery on both sides turned into blurry afterimages as it flew backward at lightning speed!
If Qin Zhaoqiong hadn't advanced to the fourth rank and hadn't had a stable foundation, her physical body might not have been able to withstand such speed.
After traveling for about half an hour, the two arrived at the entrance to a secluded valley.
Liu Yan stopped outside the warning line at the edge of the dense forest, revealing his figure.
The moon is dim tonight, with only the faint glow of the stars casting a soft light.
Before me lay a dense, primeval forest, with ancient trees reaching for the sky and gnarled branches intertwined.
Qin Zhaoqiong took out a token that was neither gold nor jade, with an unusual and ancient design, from her bosom, and held it high in her hand.
As soon as you step into the edge of the dense forest, the light is instantly swallowed up by the layers of branches and leaves, and you are suddenly plunged into deeper darkness.
In that instant of light and shadow shifting, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.
Clad in heavy, dark armor, the armor plates thick and imposing, gleaming with a cold, restrained luster under the faint starlight, as if absorbing all the light around them.
The armor's joints are ingeniously designed, balancing protection and flexibility, while the breastplate is polished to a mirror-like shine, reflecting a distorted shadow.
He was like an ancient mountain, his hands supporting a sheathless giant sword, the tip of which was deeply embedded in the humus beneath his feet.
The sword was simple and unadorned, with a broad, jet-black blade, yet it exuded a chilling sense of heaviness and sharpness.
The most terrifying thing is that, before stepping into this jungle, even with Liu Yan's senses, he had not noticed the existence of such a person at all!
He seemed to have emerged from the boundless darkness and silence, becoming one with this ancient forest.
"Halt!"
A deep, resonant voice came from beneath the heavy armor.
Qin Zhaoqiong stepped forward and held the token in her hand horizontally in front of the other party.
The heavily armored figure's gaze lingered on the token for a moment, then he nodded almost imperceptibly.
He didn't say anything, but slowly stepped aside to make way.
The heavy armor emitted a deep, clanging sound as it moved, which was particularly clear in the silent forest.
Qin Zhaoqiong put away the token and silently led Liu Yan into the depths of the jungle.
The usual relaxed or playful expression on Liu Yan's face had completely disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and gravity.
His eyes were sharp as a hawk's, scanning his surroundings warily.
After walking through the dense forest for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a lake surrounded by mountains suddenly appeared before us.
However, the scene before them made Qin Zhaoqiong and Liu Yan gasp for breath.
On the flat ground beside the lake, there was a dark mass of thousands of cavalrymen clad in heavy black armor!
They were like a forest of steel, with both men and horses covered in cold, heavy armor.
The warhorse was tall and strong, wearing a menacing metal mask that only revealed its cold eye sockets, and a sturdy bit in its mouth to prevent it from neighing.
The entire force was completely silent, without a single spark. All the men and women were like frozen statues, utterly still.
The suffocating silence was more oppressive than any noise.
Only the mountain breeze occasionally swept through the leaves, producing an extremely faint, sobbing "clanging" sound.
Ordinary people, just by facing this steel forest, could have their minds and spirits destroyed in an instant.
Qin Zhaoqiong slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, trying to calm the surging blood and qi in her chest.
The two stopped, and the lead heavily armored knight dismounted. His heavy armor clanged as he moved, and his steps were as steady as a mountain as he walked straight toward Qin Zhaoqiong.
As they approached, they clasped their hands in a salute, the heavy armor bracers striking each other with a dull thud.
Qin Zhaoqiong took out the imperial edict from her sleeve, along with half of a bronze tally engraved with a ferocious tiger's head.
The lead heavy cavalryman took the imperial edict and scanned it with his senses.
After confirming that the tiger tally was correct, he put it away along with the imperial edict.
"Your humble servant Li Yuanxiao, obey my command!"
Qin Zhaoqiong discovered the illegally mined iron ore during her disaster relief mission. The initial estimate was 36,000 catties of pig iron per year, and it had been illegally mined for seven or eight years.
Zhao Hengjiang later confirmed that the actual number would be even higher.
In terms of military equipment, this would amount to at least 30,000 to 40,000 infantrymen.
If converted to heavy cavalry armor, the number exceeds three thousand sets.
To date, the whereabouts of the massive amount of pig iron has not been found.
Those who can do this are extremely rare.
The most terrifying possibility is that the pig iron was sent to the enemy country.
The Shuofeng Dynasty was short of both salt and iron, and while skilled in cavalry, it rarely possessed heavy armor, and was known for its light cavalry that moved swiftly like the wind.
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