It was still night, and Eisendale was running through the wilderness.
She was extremely fast, covering a distance of dozens of meters with each step. She was like an eagle flying at low altitude.
She had learned to be smart this time. She had parked the scout ship in the depths of the desert. Because the desert terrain of Thousand Sails Star was mostly inhabited by humans, and the swamps were occupied by World Devourer monsters, both sides rarely ventured deep.
For the same reason, the starships of the Federation could not fly to the rear of the swamp, as this would be seen as an invasion signal by the Devourer Sector. After all, this was a military operation, and they had to have a firm foothold. Therefore, Eisendale abandoned the ship and flew for hundreds of kilometers, so that the pursuers behind her would not be able to find Ding Meng's specific coordinates.
The river in front of the village soon appeared in sight. Ding Meng and Gu Zi were indeed together.
Seeing Eisendale, Yizi quickly ran up and smiled sweetly. "Sister, you're back!"
"How did you know I was coming back?" Eisendale asked.
Yizi smiled and said, "Big Brother Ding Meng said that you will be back very soon."
Eisendale then noticed that Gu Zi was putting a lot of food and sundries into his anti-gravity backpack. "What are you doing?"
Ding Meng was wiping a javelin. "Preparing to leave!"
Eisendale asked curiously, "You changed your mind?
Preparing to leave? "
Ding Meng said lazily, "If you think we're leaving this planet, you're wrong. We can't run away now. If I'm not wrong, the military's patrol fleet and Starbow's troops are coming here."
Eisendale felt guilty. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
Ding Meng raised her head and stared at her. "But you came back. You must have hijacked the reconnaissance ship."
Eisendale also looked at him. "Don't worry. I promise you'll be able to return to the Federation safe and sound."
Ding Meng turned his head and shouted, "Yizi, come over and thank your sister. She came back because she was worried about you."
Yizi ran up happily and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, sister. I know you won't leave us alone."
Gu Zi picked up his backpack. "We're all family. Sister will definitely take care of us."
Looking at the two siblings, Eisendale felt warmth in her heart. Of course, it was more because of Ding Meng's understanding of her.
"Let's go!" Ding Meng waved his hand.
"Where are we going now?" Eisendale asked curiously.
Ding Meng said, "To a safe place, of course."
Gu Zi volunteered and rushed forward. "I know the place. I'll lead the way!"
The four of them quickly disappeared into the depths of the night. About three hours after they left, numerous dots of light appeared in the night sky. The vanguard fleet had already entered the atmosphere of Thousand Sails Planet.
This is a fleet led by two Dragon Slaying Warrior planet destroyers. The dense light spots are all drones of different colors and functions. Like a sky full of fireworks, they covered the desert of Thousand Sails Star. Their main purpose is to detect, scan, and analyze the situation.
Of course, not only the Planet Destroyers could see the images, but also the mothership far away in the northern sky. Lu Ting and a group of officers were also observing the screens.
The first thing they locked onto was the location where Eisendale had killed the Demon General. The drones had completely locked onto the location and were analyzing the debris on the ground. The data on the screen was constantly being refreshed.
Mu Chen explained, "According to the data analysis, there was indeed a Demon General there, but judging from the debris, the Demon General is completely dead. There are slight fluctuations of heat, ice, biochemistry, and mutation in the air."
Lu Ting stared at the screen. "As far as I know, Miss Eisendale isn't a thermodynamic Origin Ability user."
In other words, the residual heat energy there must have been left behind by Ding Meng. From this, it could be inferred that Eisendale had indeed been with Ding Meng before, and the two might even have fought side by side. It seemed that Eisendale had suddenly hijacked the starship and returned to Thousand Sails Planet to find Ding Meng.
Mu Chen murmured, "The eldest daughter of the Rainbow family is with a felon of the Federation. This isn't a good thing."
Lu Ting glanced at him. "Don't be so nosy. Focus your energy on business!"
Mu Chen lowered his head and didn't dare to say more. Fortunately, a staff member in the reconnaissance area spoke up. "Officer Lu, Mr. Yu Anjie from the Sheng Hao Group's delegation has requested to open the teleportation coordinates. Please give us your instructions."
"Oh?"
Lu Ting was a little surprised. "They came so quickly. Teleport the delegation's starship to the connecting port. Everyone, stay alert and prepare to welcome Sheng Hao's distinguished guests."
Mu Chen was also quite surprised. It would take a starship a few months to fly from Saint Splendor to the northern sky at normal speed. It seemed that Sheng Hao's delegation had teleported here. Did this Ding Meng make Sheng Hao Group so anxious?
Not long after, the alloy door of the command hall opened automatically. Two rows of soldiers surrounded a group of people slowly walked in.
Sheng Hao's delegation had a total of six people. Yu Anjie, who was wearing a suit and leather shoes, walked at the front. He looked very energetic. Beside him was the president of the Blue Moon branch, Lan Bing. Lan Bing was also wearing a woman's suit. She looked very capable and beautiful. Just the two of them alone attracted the attention of most of the staff present.
One was a rich young master with a prominent status, while the other was a goddess on the list. It was truly a sight to behold.
However, Lu Ting and Mu Chen's eyes fell on the group behind Yu Anjie. At the very back of the group, there was a stooped old man. He was really too old. Almost all of his hair had fallen out. He was wearing a very retro black Tang suit. The material didn't look like much, and he limped as he walked. It seemed like he couldn't keep up with the young people in front of him.
But in reality, Yu Anjie's steps were very slow, as if he was worried about the old man's pace.
There were two men and one woman beside the old man. They looked very young, and they all stood respectfully by the old man's side.
The staff present might not be able to see any clues, but Lu Ting and Mu Chen's eyes were as sharp as snow. Everything else aside, just by looking at the color around the old man's eyes, one could tell that the old man's strength was unfathomable. It was the kind of realm that made people look up to him.
Yu Anjie quickly stepped forward and bowed his head slightly. "Chief Commander Lu, the situation is urgent. This little one hastily requested to board the ship. It's really against the rules. I hope you can understand."
He lowered his posture as soon as he came up, so Lu Ting naturally didn't care. Sheng Hao Group's influence was there. Yu Tianlin's young master had personally boarded the ship. Those military rules basically couldn't restrain him.
Although Lu Ting's impression of Xing Hong was very bad, she didn't have a good impression of Sheng Hao either. However, the proper etiquette couldn't be neglected. She smiled and replied, "Young Master Yu's words are too serious. Please take a seat in the rest area."
Yu Anjie definitely wouldn't go to the rest area. He turned around and waited for the old man to come up. Although he was the young master of Sheng Hao, the real protagonist of this delegation wasn't him.
The old man slowly walked over. Lu Ting immediately bowed her head respectfully. "Senior Yu, it's been many years. Are you well?"
Old Yu looked at her with a smile. "Little Ting Ting, I haven't seen you for almost a hundred years, right?
The last time I saw you, you seemed to be a music star. I remember that you were still a young lady at that time. In the blink of an eye, you're the commander of the Northern Horizon. "
Lu Ting sweetly said, "It's all thanks to you. If it weren't for you fighting bravely on the front lines, where would we be today?"
This Old Yu was Yu Tianlin's uncle, Yu Wenshu. When he was young, he joined the military and participated in the Devouring World War. He had always been fighting on the front lines. His battle records were brilliant and his achievements were outstanding. A hundred years ago, he was already a beginner level Battle-Saint. At the end of the war, Yu Wenshu was seriously injured and poisoned, so he was sent back to the Federation.
The military's original intention was to give him the honor of a soldier and then properly treat him. However, Sheng Hao Group insisted on taking this highly respected uncle back to recuperate. This recuperation lasted for a century and he almost never walked in the public eye.
The outside world said that Yu Wenshu didn't want to be restricted by the military and wholeheartedly devoted himself to cultivation. After all, Sheng Hao Group was a big company. How could they not have any cultivation resources?
Some people also said that Senior Yu missed his wife, so he wanted to spend more time with his family.
But no matter what the theory was, one thing couldn't be denied. Yu Wenshu was a highly respected person. He was a senior who truly served his country and shed his blood. More importantly, from a beginner level Battle-Saint a hundred years ago until today, no one knew the depth of this old man's current strength.
Yu Anjie lowered his head again. "Chief Commander Lu, actually, we came here in a hurry to ask you to be merciful."
People at their level basically exchanged information, so there was no need to beat around the bush. Lu Ting thought for a while and said, "Commander Haodong did give us instructions in this regard. He asked us to arrest Ding Meng, but he didn't explicitly ask us to use force to arrest him. To be honest, with such a master in your group, ordinary people would find it hard to resist. If you really want to use force, no matter what the result is, it won't be a good thing for the Holy Grail Federation."
Her view was relatively objective, but at the same time, she also expressed another meaning: Ding Meng represented Sheng Hao Group. If Sheng Hao Group and the military really fought, then there would be no winner. The Star Rainbow Group would be the one who would benefit. If the real master didn't come, then why should they start the war first?
Yu Wenshu nodded approvingly. "That's right. The big picture is more important. A small secretary of a branch of my Shenghao Group has been labeled a federal felon for no reason without any concrete evidence. This is unfair. I came out this time because I was entrusted by Tianlin. I must return justice to my Shenghao Group."
Lu Ting felt strange. If you wanted to prove Ding Meng's innocence, you shouldn't have come to me. You should have gone to the Star Rainbow Group, the higher-ups of the Federation, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of National Intelligence, or the Congress. There might be more to it.
Lu Ting changed her words. "Elder Yu, Young Master Yu, Chief Lan, to be honest, our advance fleet has arrived at Thousand Sails Star. Unfortunately, the reconnaissance system didn't find Ding Meng and Miss Eisen. Please take a look."
Following her gesture, everyone looked at the screens on the main control console. They could clearly see the images of the desert on Thousand Sails Star. No matter if it was the towns, villages, mountains, or wilderness, they were all empty.
Yu Anjie turned to look at Lan Bing. "Did Ding Meng leave Thousand Sails Star?"