Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1387 Sunset in the Northern Road

In the central city of Anbuk Province, the municipal council has strengthened its control over the central city and the surrounding outlying cities.

They also sent several third-limit fighters to various peripheral cities to prevent any changes from occurring in those cities.

The situation in Anbei Road is different from that in Shannan, Longyou, and Hedong. In Shannan, the Pure Faction had a certain advantage, and Bai Gu's loss of power led to it being the first to be captured.

Longyou Road is the territory of the implantation faction. Its inclusion in the skyline represents an alliance between the implantation faction and the purist faction. The conservatives are dissatisfied with this result, but they know they cannot stop it.

However, the situation in Hadong Province was somewhat alarming to them.

After returning from the delegation, Gui Zihan immediately sought a high-ranking position. As a fighter who had made meritorious contributions, there was no way the higher-ups would block him.

After securing the position, he quickly contacted the Ministry of Defense and the Wu Yi Academy, successfully suppressing another fighter in the Municipal Council and forcibly pushing forward the plan to add Ha Dong Road to the skyline.

The Hadong City Council did not completely give up at the time. The fighter guarding the fusion area was from the elite faction. The council took advantage of the gap when the old imperial family dared not attack during the negotiations with the old imperial family to have this person return to the central city and join forces with the fighter from the city council to fight against Gui Zihan.

However, they did not expect that in just one year, Gui Zihan's strength had increased significantly after returning from the Linax Federation. At that time, he only had to stand in front of the two people, and they took the initiative to back down. This made it possible for Hedong Road to join Skyline without any obstacles.

Of the four cities surrounding Zhongjing, three have joined the skyline, leaving Anbei Province to fend for itself alone. Even if it manages to hold on, it won't last long, a fact they themselves are well aware of.

We can wait as long as it takes; maybe we can weather the massive impact and then things will turn around.

They can control the interior of the central city, but they are powerless to do anything about the exterior.

The fighter currently stationed at the border of Anbuk-do is named Shan Yuchuan. He comes from a military family, studied and graduated from Wuyi Academy, and then trained and grew up within the military.

Because of his background and the fact that he is a native of Anbuk-do, he enjoys extremely high prestige within the garrison.

The municipal council was extremely afraid that he would cause trouble in the military, so under the pretext that the country was negotiating with the old imperial family, it sent a large number of military inspectors to the army, even going so far as to investigate the army's logistics.

They even went to great lengths to transfer a fighter from the central city to the army, ostensibly to assist in defense, but in reality to keep an eye on him to prevent him from doing anything detrimental to them during this period.

However, all this "security" is still based on the Great Shun Dynasty. Even if they have some exchanges of interests with the former imperial family, it is impossible for them to maintain strict control over them.

After several hours of flight, the airship carrying Chen Chuan landed on an anchorage tower on the outskirts of Anbei Province's central city.

Once there, the two men who were supposed to meet him started sending telegrams outwards, and after a while, a reply telegram came from the other side.

After looking at it, one of them looked up and said, "Mr. Chen, everything is normal at the moment."

The old imperial army will launch an attack on our garrison after 6 p.m., at which point the garrison will call for reinforcements.

All passages into the Fusion Zone, both inside and outside the central city, will be opened. Anyone with our pass, even fighters not from the central city of Anbei Province, can choose to enter. We will enter the Fusion Zone at that time.

Chen Chuan checked the time; it was 4:30 PM. The time was almost up, so he just had to wait.

At this moment, a waiter pushed a food cart over and placed it in front of Chen Chuan. After lifting the lid, a plate of ingredients from Jiaorong, emitting a rich aroma, was revealed.

One of the support members said respectfully, "Mr. Chen, this was specially prepared for you by our superiors."

Chen Chuan glanced at it, nodded, and said, "Please thank them for their hospitality on my behalf."

Like any clone, he could also accumulate nutrients through eating. However, this purple aura clone of his could not only do so, but also draw down more power from the highest heavens for his own use, which was different from ordinary clones.

The two men saluted him and left, leaving the cabin to him.

Once outside, the two suddenly saw a patrol airship approaching them in the distance, sending a message requesting that they board the airship for inspection.

Logically, they should have proper serial numbers and licenses, as well as the stipulated time limits for transportation, so there should be no need for inspection. However, the other party also produced a temporary authorization and their attitude was unusually tough.

The two liaisons exchanged a glance. They had considered this situation beforehand and had contingency plans, so they calmly replied to the other side and cooperated by slowing down.

Inside the cabin, Chen Chuan poured himself a glass of dew and sipped it slowly. He paid no attention to the situation outside, believing that the two of them were capable of handling it.

Sure enough, the inspectors left after about ten minutes, and the airship resumed its normal speed.

At 5:50, the airship stopped at an anchorage outside the city and sent out an application to enter the central city. However, this was just a formality; they would not actually enter the city. Once news of the start of the war spread and the Mergeland passage was fully opened, they would transfer to the Mergeland from there.

The sky had darkened, the sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving only a faint crimson glow on the horizon. The lights on the anchor tower and inside the airship had been safely turned on.

Chen Chuan went to the porthole and saw that a row of anchor towers on the ground were filled with airships waiting to enter the city. A row of glittering lights stretched outwards across the plain, a truly magnificent sight.

Time ticked by, and as the last rays of light faded from the sky, the night wind outside gradually picked up.

The watch finally struck six o'clock. There seemed to be no movement around, but after a while, the telephones throughout the airship and the internal communication platform began to ring.

He tapped the lower realm token, and a voice came from the other end, carrying a hint of suppressed excitement: "Mr. Chen, we have received news that at 5:47, the old imperial family launched an attack on our garrison in the Jiaorong region."

Intelligence indicated that Wan Ke, the former Imperial General of Chariots and Cavalry, had inspected the front lines several days prior, raising suspicions of his involvement in the attack. Therefore, a distress signal was sent to the outer central city, and access was opened to those seeking aid.

Chen Chuanxin said, "Finally, they've arrived."

Having a military application from troops stationed in Anbu Province and not having one are two different things. Once an application is submitted, his entry is completely legal and compliant.

This application may soon be blocked by the central city, and the channel may be closed as well, but during this period they will not face any obstacles in entering.

He said to the other end of the boundary, "Tell them we have received a distress signal and are heading to their aid."

"Yes!"

The airship detached from the anchor tower almost immediately and turned toward the fusion area outside the city of Anbei Dao Central City.

The guards near the anchor tower were caught off guard. They had just received orders from their superiors to keep all the airships waiting there in place and not to leave.

Upon seeing the airship depart from the anchor tower, they immediately issued a warning and raised their guns, demanding that it return to its original position.

However, the airship ignored their warnings and told them to proceed to support the front lines, and that any obstruction would be treated as hostile targets and attacked.

The management of the anchor tower was also powerless to do anything about it. The other party had a valid reason, and they dared not actually fire their guns. They could only report the information to their superiors.

The airship arrived at the entrance to the fusion passage in just five minutes.

Chen Chuan got off here, and a team of armed personnel stationed there saluted him, accompanied him through the testing area, and successfully boarded the train waiting there to the place of fusion.

After the whistle sounded and the train started moving, the armed men maintained a salute and watched the train depart.

Chen Chuan sat in his seat, feeling the vibrations from the speeding train and the scenery rushing past outside.

The garrison accurately grasped the timing of the enemy's attack, and the outward distress signals and channels from the border area were opened in a very timely manner. It seems that the coordination and cooperation among all parties were handled very well this time.

As the train gradually approached the other end of the merging area, a faint tremor could be felt in the underground area, and a muffled sound came from afar, while some dust fell from above.

A few minutes later, the train finally emerged from the long tunnel, and the sounds outside suddenly became clearer, with the faint rumble of artillery fire coming from afar.

The sky was already dark, but a faint light emanated from around the train, the result of pre-installed security devices on board.

Chen Chuan nodded slightly. Under normal circumstances, once it gets dark, the garrison of Da Shun will retreat entirely into the fortress and will no longer have normal offensive and reconnaissance capabilities.

Therefore, it is "natural" that our side will not take the initiative to attack. So, it is not an exaggeration to overestimate the scale of the enemy's attack. It is a very reasonable strategy.

Inside the central fortress of the Anbei Provincial Garrison, Shan Yuchuan, dressed in military uniform, stood on the fortress platform, looking solemnly at the flashing artillery fire in the distance.

Standing beside him was Nan Shuguang, a martial arts expert from the Central City. He said in a deep voice, "General Shan, although the attack by the old imperial family seems to be on a large scale, it lacks any strategy and is likely just a private action by some generals."

The nation is currently negotiating with the former imperial family; we must exercise restraint and forbearance, and refrain from any unauthorized retaliation.

Shan Yuchuan solemnly said, "Mr. Nan, all I know is that this is the territory of the Great Shun Dynasty. If the enemy invades, I have no reason not to fight back. Moreover, I remember that the country has not yet recognized the old dynasty as an equal state, so your reasoning is invalid."

Nan Shuguang looked at him and said seriously, "General Shan, you should understand why I came here. I will not let you go to the front line."

He strongly suspected that this was a staged event by the garrison itself, and that he should stop the other side from going to the front line no matter what. As long as the fighters did not participate in the battle, no matter how fierce the fighting was between the troops at the front, there was no need to worry about the situation escalating.

Shan Yuchuan turned to him, gripped the hilt of the command sword beside him with his right hand, and stared intently at Nan Shuguang with piercing eyes, "You can't stop me."

"Then General Shan can give it a try."

Nan Shuguang said in a deep voice, while taking two steps back.

At this moment, two beams of light suddenly rushed from afar, flying rapidly toward the side of the old imperial army.

Nan Shuguang was startled, "That is..." But in the instant he was distracted, Shan Yuchuan had already rushed up!
……

……

(End of this chapter)