In that moment, she finally understood why the name sounded so familiar. She finally understood why she'd been so curious about the man in black.
On the back of the star was a line of words, written with a special paint that glowed with a faint golden light.
"Eastern Alliance, Planet An Lun's highest military official, Lan Qing." It was a simple line, but it sent the normally cold and distant An Liu into a daze.
She knew what kind of place An Lun was. When the name Lan Qing came to mind, she finally remembered who he was.
Planet An Lun was located on the border of the Eastern Alliance. It was the closest planet to the Northern Alliance, and it was home to all sorts of power gems.
It was an important location for resources, as well as a military.
On this planet, there were only mining machines and armies.
It was here that a legend was born. A legend named Lan Qing.
No one knew what his background was. When he first arrived on An Lun, he was nothing more than a foot soldier, an ordinary mecha pilot.
But it was he who, armed with the standard mecha of the Eastern Alliance, forged his own path to becoming a legend.
The Northern Alliance used the excuse of purging pirates to send an elite mecha squad to infiltrate An Lun and wreak havoc.
At the time, Lan Qing had only been in the military for three days.
The North's mecha pilots were all special-ranked and above. There were five hundred advanced mecha pilots, thirty Emperor-ranked, and two Sovereign-ranked.
Their goal was simple. Destroy the largest power gem mine on An Lun.
Before this mecha squad was dispatched, the Northern Alliance had been fighting a group of pirates in outer space, drawing the attention of the Eastern Alliance.
Five hundred advanced mecha pilots used the latest stealth technology to launch a sneak attack. They arrived at their destination in the shortest time possible.
By this time, there were only a hundred mecha pilots stationed at the mine. Lan Qing was among them.
The battle began. In just one round of attacks, the Eastern Alliance mecha operators had lost more than half of their mecha operators.
The mining area was about to fall.
However, at this time, the Northern Alliance's mecha operators began to notice that their own mecha operators were mysteriously disappearing.
Only then did they realize that the Eastern Alliance still had one mecha left behind.
He seemed to have stayed behind to bring up the rear.
Lan Qing's words from that time had been passed down to this day, "You guys retreat first, I'll bring up the rear." These simple and plain words announced the rise of a God of War.
One against five hundred standard mechas was an impossible mission.
What's more, the enemy's goal was only destruction.
But Lan Qing had created a miracle, an unimaginable miracle.
First of all, he used his powerful control over his mecha to launch a surprise attack on the enemy mechas on the perimeter.
The defense system of the mining area was continuously activated and used by him. It worked together with his personal combat power to maximize its effectiveness.
The losses of the Northern Alliance's mecha corps continued to increase. By the time they broke through the defense system of the mining area, there were only around 300 advanced mechas left. Most of the remaining 100 were killed by Lan Qing's control system.
Just as the Northern Alliance's mecha corps was about to destroy the mining area in anger, Lan Qing made a bold attempt. At that time, the mining area produced a type of energy storage gem. This type of gem was a necessity for all mechas during that time.
Lan Qing took out a portion of the energy storage gem from the mining area and arranged it in a special way. Then, when the Northern Alliance's mecha corps was about to attack, he self-destructed the mining area.
This huge explosion destroyed almost half of the mining area. At the same time, it swallowed more than 100 mechas from the Northern Alliance.
At the time, the Northern Alliance's mecha corps had suffered heavy losses, but they still believed the mining area had self-destructed.
What they didn't know, however, was that Lan Qing had only destroyed a portion of the mining area that had already been mined. The rest of the mining area had been preserved by the remnants of the explosion.
The Northern Alliance's mecha corps quickly began to retreat.
Lan Qing, who had accomplished his mission and done a great service, was not satisfied.
Like a ghost, he followed the Northern Alliance's mecha corps from behind. With his powerful mecha control, he destroyed one enemy mecha after another.
He came and went like a ghost, his cunning and resourceful.
No one knew why he was so familiar with the geography of An Lun after only three days on the planet.
He used everything he could to his advantage.
When the Northern Alliance's mecha corps was reduced to only 50 mechas, their morale crumbled.
They were filled with fear and disbelief at this ghostly attack. All they wanted was to run.
But just then, the exhausted Lan Qing sent out a signal.
The fifty or so Northern mechas that had spread out were wiped out.
The mechas that had retreated from the mining area were the ones that had destroyed them.
Even two of the Northern Alliance's Sovereign-class pilots were surrounded and killed by reinforcements.
Lan Qing had made a name for himself in the war, but he'd shared his achievements with his comrades who'd fought in the war.
Even to his comrades, he was a madman. A madman who single-handedly fought against 500 enemies.
But a successful madman was a hero.
Clearly, Lan Qing was one of them.
In the ensuing conflict with the Northern Alliance, he gradually revealed his exceptional military talent. It wasn't long before the Eastern Alliance discovered that this young man wasn't just strong in combat. He was also a military genius that far surpassed his peers.
The few local battles that he had commanded had all ended in complete victory.
That year, Lan Qing was twenty.
For the next ten years, he remained on An Lun, at the Eastern Alliance's frontlines. Relying on his intellect and strength, he fought over two hundred battles without a single loss. He accumulated enough merit to become the youngest major general in the history of the Eastern Alliance.
He also became the commander of the military on An Lun.
Ever since he took command of the military, the Northern Alliance had never been able to gain an advantage.
The original commander of An Lun's military had been a lieutenant general!
His rank wasn't the highest, but even within the military, even the Eastern Alliance's academies, they called him the An Lun Supersoldier. The Northern Alliance, on the other hand, called him the Phantom General.
It was fair to say that the Eastern Alliance was the weakest of the three Major Leagues, but it was still able to maintain its status as one of the other two Major Leagues. An Lun was crucial.
On the black market's bounty list, Lan Qing was always in the top ten.
It was clear just how important he was to the Eastern Alliance.
And at that very moment, a God of the Imperial Army was standing right in front of him.
No matter how high Skyfire Avenue's status was, when faced with this young man who'd guarded the Eastern Alliance for ten years, An Liu couldn't maintain her icy expression.
Taking a deep breath, An Liu forced herself to calm down. She looked at Lan Qing. "I need to verify your identity." She'd even begun to use honorifics.
"Alright." Lan Qing's answer was as simple as it ever was.
An Liu's mind was in a whirl. The Jeweler's older brother?
And he'd come to Skyfire Avenue to look for him?
The first thing that came to mind was secrecy.
She couldn't let anyone else know that Lan Qing was here.
Lan Qing watched the flickering eyes of the young woman in front of him. His face remained impassive as he waited. Only when he glanced at the Zeus Jewelry Shop would a flicker of emotion appear in the depths of his eyes.
"Wait here for a moment," An Liu said.
"I'll be right back." She disappeared into the darkness.
Lan Qing walked slowly to the door of the Zeus Jewelry Shop. He lifted his hand and placed it on the lightning bolt symbol on the door. After a moment, he slowly lowered his hand.
Sure enough, An Liu returned very quickly. Along with her was another person.
"You shouldn't be here." A dignified voice called out.
Lan Qing's body shook when he heard the voice. He turned to look at the speaker.
The Wine Master looked at him solemnly. His eyes were filled with reproach.
"And you are?" Lan Qing asked.
"I'm the vice-chairman of the Skyfire Avenue Council. You can call me the Wine Master," the Wine Master replied.
"Hello, Wine Master.
I'm here to see Lan Jue. "
"He's your brother?" The Wine Master asked curiously.
"Mm." Lan Qing nodded.
The Wine Master's eyes narrowed. "Follow me." As he spoke, he made his way to the elevator.
The Wine Master walked in front, with Lan Qing right behind him. An Liu brought up the rear.
Watching Lan Qing from behind, An Liu felt her heart flutter. She couldn't remember how many years it had been since she'd felt this way.
But now, at this very moment, it had appeared.
His back was as straight as ever, without any deliberate effort, but he gave off the feeling that he could support anything.
So this was Lan Qing, that person.
An Liu vaguely remembered that Lan Qing was a powerful Adept. In the world of Adepts, he was known as Prometheus, the God of Wisdom!
Along with three other Adepts named after Greek mythology, they were known as the Four Divine Monarchs. They were all highly likely to become Paragons in the future.
As they rode up the elevator, the Wine Master seemed to have forgotten the rules of Skyfire Avenue. When Lan Qing reappeared on the surface, he found himself in the middle of Skyfire Avenue's Gothic Winery.
"Sit." The Wine Master pointed to a chair at a quaint table.
"Francisco Ink Dragon?" Lan Qing's calm eyes lit up as he stared at the table in front of him.
The Wine Master smiled. "I didn't expect you to know anything other than war, Prometheus."
— —
Lan Qing is here, are you guys excited?
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