Chapter 77: A Bold Daylight Robbery

At this moment, although the sky was still clear and bright, Zhang Desen noticed a dark cloud drifting in from the distance, which instantly cast a shadow over his mood. Bad weather could affect a space launch, potentially even forcing a postponement. No matter how advanced Zhang Desen’s spaceship was, it was still subject to the whims of the weather.

But before Zhang Desen could focus further on the looming weather problem, Wu Jieming, a retainer of the Liu family, arrived in haste to report, “Young master, something terrible has happened. The branch manager of our Liu Family Dalishang Trading House, Manager Zhou Jintang, has been beaten.”

Startled, Zhang Desen asked immediately, “What happened? Who did this?”

Wu Jieming began recounting the events. That very morning, hordes of refugees had poured into Dali City from Tengchong and other places, spreading rumors of a monstrous army advancing from those same directions, plunging the city into chaos. Upon hearing of the disastrous defeat at the front lines, Emperor Zhong Yongcheng of Nandian had immediately ordered a full-scale defense of the city. Soon after, reports confirmed that the invading monster army numbered over one million—just the vanguard—and could reach Dali City by nightfall.

In a panic, Emperor Zhong Yongcheng ordered the Crown Prince, Zhong Yuande, to arrange for the evacuation of Dali and prepare to relocate the capital. The second prince, Zhong Yuanxing, was tasked with gathering large quantities of supplies to support the war effort. But Zhong Yuanxing seized the opportunity for personal gain. Under the pretext of collecting resources, he and his troops began looting the city’s wealthy families, killing any who dared resist.

Manager Zhou Jintang, having just finished some business and on his way back to the Liu Family’s Dali branch, was accosted by Zhong Yuanxing. Zhou had assumed that identifying himself as the branch manager would secure safe passage, but not only did the prince refuse to let him go, he also demanded all his valuables. When Zhou protested, he was severely beaten and robbed by Zhong’s men. Zhou’s attendants suffered the same fate, only to be rescued by other Liu family retainers passing by. Zhong Yuanxing even threatened to come to the Liu Family Trading House himself, vowing to kill anyone who resisted.

Zhang Desen and the others found this nearly unbelievable. The Liu Family Trading House was an economic powerhouse in Nandian, especially regarding grain imports—85% of which passed through their hands, a figure even higher in times of crisis. With the enemy at the gates, the emperor should be making every effort to maintain good relations with the Liu family to secure necessary supplies. How could Zhong Yuanxing act so rashly, no matter how muddle-headed he might be?

Zhang Desen had no time to ponder further. He immediately ordered preparations for defense, anticipating the second prince’s arrival at any moment. He also inquired about the characteristics of the monsters in question. At this, a sudden realization struck him: he had overlooked a force he’d encountered when first entering Earth’s atmosphere in this universe—primal terranids.

He murmured, “I always thought those primitive terranids wouldn’t threaten us as quickly as the ultra-ancient ones did. I never expected them to arrive so soon…”

Zhao Chengming, standing nearby, asked, “Desen, what’s going on?”

Li Longfang, who had already decided to accompany Zhang Desen on his journey into space, also inquired. Zhang Desen thought back, recalling the scene as he described it.

When Zhang Desen had just entered the troposphere of this universe’s Earth, he saw two armies confronting each other on the ground. To his astonishment, one was composed of terranids—a species that should have perished with the dromaeosaurs during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 65 million years ago in his own universe. Yet here, in this multiverse, terranids had evolved alongside humans and coexisted, an utterly incredible notion.

Observing the scene, Zhang Desen deduced that this world was set in ancient times, for both humans and terranids. He hovered his ship in the air, using its auxiliary sensors to observe despite the distance. Thanks to the ship’s sound suppression technology, he made no noise as he watched.

On the ground, the two armies faced each other in tense silence, fully aware of the impending clash. The sky was overcast and windless; the stillness was almost suffocating.

The human army’s vanguard comprised spearmen with shields, backed by archers, with cavalry on both wings and a massive reserve at the rear. The terranid army was similar, except their cavalry was concentrated on the left, while the right was made up of shield-bearing swordsmen.

So focused were both sides on the enemy before them that no one noticed the ship in the sky.

Finally, the horns sounded on both sides. Archers drew their bows and loosed the first volley of arrows. With the fall of the arrow rain, casualties appeared on both sides. Then, the armies surged forward, quickly becoming locked in brutal melee.

Surprisingly, within forty minutes, the terranid cavalry on the left flank had smashed through the human right wing, exposing it and plunging their cavalry into the human army’s center. Chaos ensued, and the battle swiftly turned one-sided.

Desperate to reverse the tide, the human commander threw in the reserves. The terranid commander, seeing this, responded in kind. But the humans could never fill the gap on their right, remaining on the defensive. After an hour, their army began to collapse, forced into retreat.

Witnessing this, Zhang Desen decided to intervene—naturally, he would side with the humans. Firing up the ship’s onboard cannons, he dove toward the densest part of the terranid ranks and unleashed a furious barrage.

Caught off guard by the sudden onslaught, the terranid army suffered heavy losses. Just as Zhang Desen prepared to press the attack and strike the terranid camp, his ship’s radar detected three unidentified flying objects rapidly approaching. Surprised, and though he wished to continue helping the humans, he was forced to withdraw, heading northeast at full speed.

After recounting the incident, Zhang Desen sighed, “Those three UFOs that chased me were the very ultra-ancient terranids we just fought. I remember their insignia clearly. But I never imagined the primitive terranids would reach us so quickly—what a miscalculation.”

Zhao Chengming responded, “Desen, it’s nothing. If need be, we’ll deal with them all in the future. For now, let’s focus on the immediate crisis.”

Before Zhang Desen could reply, another retainer rushed in to report:

“Report! The second prince of Nandian has surrounded the gates of the Trading House with his troops. He says that if we don’t hand over valuables and allow them to requisition our goods, he’ll raze the Liu Family Trading House to the ground!”

Furious, Zhao Chengming exclaimed, “This is outrageous! Does that wretched second prince really think our Liu Family Trading House is so weak that we can be bullied at will? Robbing us under our own roof?”

Zhang Desen patted Zhao Chengming’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Chengming. We have enough people and resources to deal with them. Here’s what you’ll do: use the communicator we brought down from my ship to contact Xidu. Yuting should be aboard the ship I left there. Explain the situation to her, then organize our available people to seize control of the Liu Family docks and prepare for evacuation.”

Zhao Chengming replied at once, “Yes, sir!”

Turning to Zhou Yongli, Zhang Desen ordered, “Comrade Yongli, mobilize five hundred musketeers and stand by for further instructions.”

Zhou Yongli replied, “Yes, sir!”

Then to Wu Jieming, Zhang Desen said, “Go to the main gate and maintain order.”

Wu Jieming answered, “At once!”

Finally, Zhang Desen addressed Li Longfang, “Brother Longfang, organize five hundred of the Zhang family’s retainers and await orders.”

Li Longfang responded, “Yes, sir!”

Each set off immediately to carry out his commands.

Meanwhile, outside the Trading House gates, the second prince Zhong Yuanxing stood with more than two thousand Nandian soldiers before the Liu Family’s Dali branch. Already irate after waiting some time, he found the gates still firmly shut.