Elder Father was silent for a moment. Then, he said slowly, “Maybe… what you say is the truth.”

The atmosphere around the warm campfire turned gloomy, but Ling Lan didn't seem to notice. When she opened her mouth again, she went on to an entirely different topic. “I don't think that Lord Qian purposely maintains this situation because he's afraid of the Federation.”

Elder Father gathered his composure and replied, “We're not the only ones in the Lawless Lands.”

“Caesar.” Ling Lan gave a knowing look.

“Yes. The amount of effort Caesar put in to conquer and control the Lawless Lands is not any lesser than ours,” Elder Father said with a m.u.f.fled voice. Most of the comrades that came together with him had died in the hands of Caesar. The two nations had too many altercations in the dark, no one knew what they had to pay for this 'peace'. They just maintained a fake state of peace on the surface. When they met in the Lawless Lands, the two parties tore off their friendly facade and attacked each other like rabid animals, all they wanted to show to the other party was to see who was stronger and who had better tactics.

“From the looks of it now, our side seemed to have control of the situation,” Ling Lan said calmly. Since Lord Qian and Lord Kun were both from the Federation, it was obvious who made the call among the 13 Lords.

Elder Father gave a bitter smile and shook his head when he heard this.

Ling Lan raised her eyebrows.

Elder Father said, “How can Caesar allow themselves to suffer such a loss? No one knows when they will act.”

“But Lord Qian is already in the G.o.d-realm. Is he not enough to control them?” Ling Lan was in deep thought.

“How sure are you that there are no G.o.d-realm masters among the people sent by Caesar?” Elder Father asked Ling Lan.

“What's Lord Qian's intention?” Ling Lan didn't seem to have heard what Elder Father had said and asked him back this question.

“How would I know? I haven't seen him in a long time, so long that I almost forgot I knew him.” After that, Elder Father downed some more liquor down his throat. His expression was a little indifferent. He was not even drinking for the taste anymore, he was drinking to wash away the painful memories surfacing in his mind.

“In the Lawless Lands, you should be the one that understands him the most.” Ling Lan raised her head. Her gaze was intense and sharp, so sharp that Elder Father couldn't deny her words.

Elder Father took another gulp of liquor to calm his turbulent emotions. The man in front of him was very young but his gaze and the aura on his body could even suppress him. Mind you, he was someone who wasn't even afraid of Lord Qian.

Elder Father arranged his words in his mind and said slowly, “He has always been a confident person. Maybe he already knows what to do.”

Ling Lan frowned slightly.

“Is there a problem?” Elder Father asked curiously when he noticed this.

“Maybe we have been used,” Ling Lan said in a composed manner.

Elder Father was astounded. Then, he immediately got enlightened. “Lord Qian?”

Ling Lan didn't reply or deny it.

“He…” Elder Father sighed. “He has always been good at scheming.”

“If he didn't betray the Federation, I don't mind being someone else's chess piece,” Ling Lan answered nonchalantly.

Elder Father's eyes brightened up a little when he heard this. He couldn't control himself and said, “Good, good, good… With people like you in the Federation, it's worth it even if we died here.”

“Don't say the word 'die' so easily. Staying alive is more useful than being dead.” Ling Lan stood up.

Elder Father smiled sadly. “If we can live, who would want to die? But, with my current strength, there's not much use of being alive either…”

“That might not be true…” Ling Lan smiled at him mysteriously.

Elder Father shook his head. “I know my own body. You don't have to console me.”

Ling Lan didn't say much more. She just saluted to Elder Father and disappeared on the spot the next second.

Elder Father sat beside the oddly cold campfire and drank a few more mouthfuls of liquor silently. Unknowingly, he had finished the entire bottle of liquor.

“Seriously, shouldn't he ask more about Lord Qian…” Elder Father said helplessly. He threw the empty alcohol bottle into the campfire as he gave a low sigh.

The next day, when Elder Father got up, he realized that the surroundings were very quiet.

“Why is it so quiet?” Elder Father asked in a puzzled tone when Doctor Ju came to inspect his body.

“They left.” Doctor Ju seemed to be on low spirits.

“Who?” Elder Father was stunned.

“Regiment commander Zhao and their leader?” Doctor Ju replied in an uncertain tone.

“They left so quickly?” Elder Father frowned. “They had many injured men, right? Why don't they stay here to let them recuperate first?”

“They seemed to be in a hurry. Regiment commander Zhao and his men left in a rush. They only had the time to tell me that they were leaving and asked me to inform you. They hoped that you wouldn't blame them for being disrespectful.”

“I understand. They're not the only mecha clan that partic.i.p.ated in this battle. There might be other people waiting for their reinforcements. Time waits for no man.” Elder Father expressed that he wouldn't blame them.

“Lord, Lord Gen and his confidants had left the 7th Preserve District. We can't find their location now.” All the lords received this intel almost at the same time.

“What a pity… they actually escaped,” Lord Holy said with some regret.

“The Mecha Scavenger Alliance actually let them off? I thought that there would be a good show to watch. How boring.” Lord Demon laid on the couch in her bedroom and appeared to be very bored.

“Lord Gen is still quite smart.” Lord Zhen smiled.

“Don't disappoint me, brat…” Lord Kun furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at the direction of the battlefield.

“How far can you go?” Lord Qian looked at the 3-dimension map in front of him with a smile on his face. “This game is getting more and more interesting.”