For Shen, although what the General had said about relationships was mostly engaging, it paled in importance against the tidbit about the Abyss. Shen had no idea where the Abyss was located in whichever universe Samir was, but he was confident he could find out.

Whether he could get there without getting killed for desertion was another matter altogether, and he heavily suspected the answer was no. Maybe the General had a spare scale somewhere and could sell it to Shen? Or perhaps Shen might be able to buy one elsewhere? He also wasn't sure whether the unique teleportation would activate for him, but one could hope.

Other than that, the most interesting part was how the dragon supposedly wasn't the Immortal Emperor's sworn brother anymore. Long Hei, the Second Seat of the Immortal Empire, had been close with their ultimate ruler, but Shen hadn't known it had been that close. Yet, something had happened. It explained why the dragon wasn't keen on interacting with Imperia's cultivators.

As for the main topic, romance... Shen cared little about it.

He would join SpecOps in less than five months if he survived the Void Tide. That was a death sentence. If he managed to escape, he would never be able to return to the Alliance. There was no way he could develop a romantic relationship with anyone.

Then again, Long Hei knew what awaited Shen. Why spend so much time talking about marriage? Did the General know something Shen didn't about how a deserter might return to the Alliance? Or had that exposition on culture been a distraction so the cthulhu wouldn't overthink why Long Hei had talked about the Abyss?

Shen found the latter to be more likely, yet Long Hei also insisted Shen couldn't understand why a wife was important. There should be more to it than just misdirection.

Talking to Xia Liling might, in fact, be a good investment for the very distant future, as improbable as Shen felt it was to get anywhere.

"I see, General," Shen replied. "I'll accept Lieutenant Xia Liling in my Brigade. Thank you for your care. Do you have any suggestion on which post to place her at?"

The enormous dragon smiled slightly again. "As a matter of fact, I do. The system recorded you preparing your high-elven friend for your eventual absence, and you're supposed to punish him after the deployment ends. Is that correct?"

Instead of answering, Shen frowned. Something weird had happened. Or rather, something weird had not happened.

He asked, "General, why didn't I feel anything happen between us when I accepted your suggestion? Are we not bound by Karma?"

He was overstepping by changing the subject. Unless Long Hei decided it was relevant for Shen's current mission, it was a minor offense and, in an Exemplary Brigade, enough for him to get a few lashings.

Fortunately, although the dragon's smile disappeared, he didn't point fingers at Shen. "I didn't want you to know, but I suppose you're now dealing with Imperia, and it would make your life easier not to look over your shoulder at every moment. I visited you once after the Alliance arrived. I used the Grand Senator's Realization Seed inside you to teleport to you and save you from the unfortunate matter with... She named herself Valentina?" He paused. "By your reaction, the Drow Maiden revealed it to you despite me telling her not to. And you just sealed her fate by letting me know."

Shen froze. The last sentence had been delivered so calmly that he doubted his ears at first. But the meaning was obvious: Liya would be killed for telling Shen the truth.

He opened his mouth to beg for Liya's life, but the dragon beat him to it.

"It's not me you have to convince, First Lieutenant. If I saw through you, so did the good little hunting dog beside me. And hunting dogs have owners, don't they? Owners who won't be happy when notified that their prey received assistance figuring out the identity they chose to hide. I can do that. New B-ranks can't."

Shen kept his mouth wide open.

Then, his jaw dropped lower.

Did he understand it right?

Was Valentina related to the damn Primordials?!

Shen usually thought of the Primordials as he did S-ranks, untouchable, ethereal beings. However, they should be at least a little stronger by how they could simply sweep over the Alliance in a Purge whenever they wanted. If Valentina was related to them or, Heavens forbid, a Primordial herself, he would have his work cut out for him to get revenge on her.

When Liya said they shouldn't investigate the girl—because Long Hei had recommended so—that's not what Shen had had in mind at all.

Shen turned to the cthulhu. The almost human-sized octopus was looking impassively at Shen. He opened his mouth to beg for Liya's life, but before he could, it shook his head.

Long Hei explained, "He can't talk to you. And I might have been a little hasty. Did Liya develop a Realization before telling you, correct?"

"Yes, General."

"Then, as far as I know, she is safe. I might be wrong, but you'd have to ask the Primordial Bridge to be sure, and they talk almost exclusively to their members. Nevertheless, I don't recommend you go around joining them. SpecOps would be very displeased, and they already have a... story with the Bridge."

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Shen sighed in relief, knowing Liya was safe.

As for the Bridge... He had considered they might be a ticket out of SpecOps, but he hadn't been sure. Now he knew.

Whether he would like to join an organization that was on Valentina's side, however, was another matter altogether. He would rather brave the unknowns in the Abyss if he had a choice.

Talking to Long Hei was very enlightening. The A-rank knew a lot and wasn't afraid of revealing it. Unless everything was a lie, he was genuinely helping Shen as he had claimed.

He continued, "As I was saying, I removed the Seed from you when I saved you. Everyone else from Imperia has it and is karmically affected by anyone else's actions, regardless of whether such people have Seeds on them. However, we who don't have it aren't affected in any way besides feeling it touch us when near someone under the Grand Senator's Realization area of influence. I won't say more on the matter. One's Realizations aren't to be discussed openly like this."

Shen nodded. "Thank you, General. For helping me back then. And for answering my question."

"How about you answer mine, now? Are you preparing your friend for your departure?"

"That is correct, General."

"Then I have a suggestion. Staff Lieutenant Luthdel Elafir is marked to receive punishment for his mistakes after the Exemplary Brigade's mission ends. I can give you the right to punish him mid-deployment with a demotion to Second Lieutenant. Make him take over Vinamour's Battalion and take Lieutenant Xia Liling as a direct assistant."

Shen considered the idea and found it excellent. Partial punishment now would allow Luthdel to receive a milder punishment later. It would also let Shen see how the elf would lead units after their last talk. Moreover, it would give Shen the opportunity to get to know Xia Liling better without issues.

It would be like slaying three phoenixes with one ice arrow. Or rather, four. Long Hei had more to say about it.

The dragon continued, "It'll be better for him than you might think. I understand his mother was... Struggling in the past few centuries. That partially caused most of the internal troubles you saw in Samir. Her Winter was harsh on the high elves. Your friend will benefit greatly from being surrounded by people with relatively high moral standards, as opposed to what I imagine his upbringing to have been and the mess he saw in Samir. I did a great job with the Seventh if I say so myself. Vinamour was an unfortunate incident."

Long Hei had just said he wouldn't talk about the Immortal Emperor's Realization. Now, he was discussing the Queen's. Either he had just used it as an excuse before, or he knew Shen was aware of how the Queen's Realization changed her from time to time.

Shen's best guess was that the two A-ranks had discussed it or the Queen had done something to him.

"Did the Queen plant a Seed on me, General?" he asked.

The dragon chuckled. Space broke again. He fixed it again.

"That's not how it works, but no. Realizations affect Reality in such a way..." He trailed off. "You're not ready for this conversation." He sighed. "We've talked long enough. I have urgent matters to attend to. My last recommendation is that you stop antagonizing the B-ranks who'll soon rule Samir in all but name. My attention will be elsewhere, and unless you cease making enemies, your life might depend on just how much they suspect me of being too far to save you in time. Not that I would; we're done. But they don't know that.

"For all of the military rules, no front line can stay clear of intrigue when overwhelmed by people of the same place—least of all during battle, and many of those are coming. They might use the chaos to kill you as soon as the system's coverage falters or flee after they do they did. Stay Sharp."

The hint at the end couldn't be more obvious. Shen could even somehow tell Long Hei had said "Sharp" with a capital "S." He wondered if it was related to his dragon genes.

In the end, unlike Shen's previous assumption, the conversation's main topic had not been his romantic life but ways to escape his fate. He could join the Primordial Bridge or wait for the Void Tide to fully arrive and try to slip through the gaps that would appear during battle. And by how Long Hei said Sharp, escaping during the chaos included cutting his way out of Samir.

That said, Shen was confident that Long Hei did want him to get to know Xia LIling. The dragon was cunning enough to reveal whatever he wanted in multiple ways. He had no reason to waste time explaining Imperia's culture or why people married unless the information itself was also something he wanted to share with Shen.

Shen had never seen someone lay so many layers of meaning on a few informational sentences as the dragon had done.

Shen cupped his fists and bowed. "I will remember that, General. Thank you for your time."

Space twisted, and Shen found himself back above Samir-7's mobile fortress. His sense of time went all over the place for a moment. Then, he understood less than a second had passed in there.

That had been long enough for Imperia to notice his absence. The thunderous voice just before he was taken by a Realization would also ensure everyone knew what had happened: the General had summoned Shen for a talk. Even that show had served a purpose: making it look like Shen was favored.

Shen decided he trusted Long Hei somewhat. The dragon had clearly gone to great lengths to assist him. However, the General had also been clear that this was his last favor to Shen.

So, Shen had just learned that a lot of people wanted a piece of him, and his unexpected closest A-rank ally no longer cared about protecting him from the shadows.

Wasn't that just great?

"I'll accept Imperia's suggestion," Shen told Sun Weisheng as if nothing had happened. "Xia Liling will be field promoted to Staff Lieutenant and serve directly under me. Staff Lieutenant Luthdel Elafir will be demoted in advance to Second Lieutenant. Not a field demotion but an official demotion under the General's orders. Luthdel will take over Second Lieutenant Marakoo's Battalion. Thus, Lieutenant Marakoo's field promotion is reverted."

Shen was about to rudely dismiss Sun Weisheng but took heed of Long Hei's warning.

That didn't bother him as much as it might have in another situation. After all, he had wanted to stop talking to Imperia's representative because they might be a risk, and he wanted some extra time to react if he noticed anything wrong and report them if anything happened. Now, it was riskier not to listen to what they had to say. No one would come if he reported anything. The B-ranks would get to him no matter what.

So, he asked, "Is there any other urgent matter you want to discuss, Captain?"

He made sure not to sound too pleasant. These people would likely smell blood like sharks if he showed any openings.

However, there was no faking that his change of heart about Xia Liling had come from Long Hei. He might as well make it look like the dragon wanted to accommodate them but not too much—and that Shen had a leash. That might help them feel closer to the General and complain to him about Shen before disposing of Shen.

That part Shen did hate. His True Self shook slightly as he acted against his principles and beliefs. The only reason he could even go forth with it was because Long Hei did hold his Shen. The A-rank General was above Shen, after all.

But that was it. If Sun Weisheng sensed a weakness and tried to take advantage of it, Shen would have to find how long he could last against a B-rank.

He didn't have great hopes, but it was better than denying himself.