Over the next two days, a strong wind suddenly began to blow. Sandstorms raged from day to night, forcing everyone at the company to temporarily stay indoors and wait for the extreme weather to subside.
Inside the box-like room, Cui Mao's neck was wrapped with a bandage that held up his right arm.
His daily routine was different from ordinary people's; he actually followed the old tradition of rising with the sun and resting at sunset.
Zhou Yi asked him, "Do all Tianjin Knights do this?"
"Mr. Zhou. I belong to the external defense group of the third squad, so I operate during the day. I usually visit the outskirts of the city to observe the latest movements of the Guangna Species and provide early warnings to the city to avoid sudden disasters. In addition, I also receive orders to conduct danger assessments… However, based on the situation, the daily routine can be adjusted at any time."
Zhou Yi seized the opportunity to touch on the crucial part, "Mao Valley Town is not under the jurisdiction of Sand Port. If you are employed by Sand Port, why come here?"
"I received a message from an informant that there were unidentified individuals lurking in Mao Valley Town, bringing with them many strange creatures, and possibly using the town as a target for human-alchemy experiments. Such a public accident once happened in Sand Port, causing many casualties, so I rushed here as soon as I received the message."
As he spoke, Cui Mao's brow furrowed, "It seems to have been Ji Zhang's people deliberately releasing false information, with the goal of getting me to come here to probe your realities. They are very wary of you and want to drag the third squad into the mud to hold you back…"
Zhou Yi thought to himself that these people must be truly desperate.
It seemed they had reached some kind of crucial juncture.
But Cui Mao only knew so much, and he realized he had been tricked only when he engaged with Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi steered the conversation back to the topic that interested him, the enhancers.
"Do Tianjin Knights and Dead Sea Knights operate in different areas, or do they intersect?"
Upon discussing his own profession, Cui Mao became quite talkative.
"Mr. Zhou, the Knight Orders now each have their own directions of operation, and after at least 300 years of development, the differences between the Knight Orders are much greater than they appear."
"Take us, the Tianjin Knights, for example; our headquarters is Jin City, which is the Tianjin Knights' own territory and governed area. But externally, the Tianjin Knights also accept mercenary missions, focusing on town defense and maintaining order… Our group has always had an excellent reputation and cooperates with many cities."
Listening to his description, Zhou Yi gained a general understanding of the Tianjin Knights.
They were like professional soldiers and police, capable of being hired to protect cities and also to maintain the social order within cities. For a city, both groups were indispensable.
"But some Knight Orders are different."
Cui Mao said with a smile, "Take the Bounty Knights; their group's name is self-explanatory. They specialize in undertaking various bounty missions, including eradicating raiders, expelling large Pillage Groups, and hunting dangerous creatures. Essentially, they are bounty mercenaries."
"The Track Knights, they build and maintain many tracks, and these rails allow for high-speed travel between cities. The railways and the railway carriages are their specialized fields. Their main business is cargo transportation and escorting."
Zhou Yi listened in surprise.
Control the railways?
In this inconvenient Wasteland Era, the Track Knights' profits must be quite substantial.
"There are also the Mechanical Knights, who are adept at creating, repairing, and maintaining a variety of devices and fortifications, and they have a huge team of Alchemists and craftsmen. For instance, when it comes to constructing watchtowers and fortresses for some cities, as well as drainage, irrigation, and sanitation projects, they are called in to plan and build. Besides, they also produce and sell various equipment."
Cui Mao took off the flintlock pistol from his waist, gripped the barrel, and handed the handle to Zhou Yi, "This is the 'Knight Firearm' made by the Mechanical Knights."
Zhou Yi held the handle, inspecting it from both sides.
It was almost identical to the pistol captured from Yang Si, with a "Y" mark on it, but this one had the number 8029, and the wooden handle was very smooth.
"Ordinary craftsmen's workshops could also craft and forge firearms, and even the appearance may look no different. However, the core technology of the Knight Firearm lies within the unseen parts, as it can fire specialized bullets."
Cui Mao pointed to the muzzle, "There's a special structure inside, apart from being able to shoot regular lead bullets with gunpowder, it can also fire enhanced bullets that can achieve armor-piercing, paralysis, stun, poison, and other effects."
"Some very rare bullets even come with inherent skills that can instantly create a massive destructive force. But the more powerful the bullet, the more it requires a high-end firearm capable of withstanding the explosive force."
"Is this an anti-counterfeit number?" Zhou Yi pointed to the letter Y and asked him.
"Yes. It is mainly used for tracking the trajectory of the Knight Firearm. Mechanical Knights manufacture these weapons and sell them only to enhancer groups, basically never retail. Each gun, every box of bullets, is recorded with the buyer's information, to prevent misuse and to reduce pressure and risk on the Mechanical Knights themselves."
So that's how the trapped dream bombs that can summon Shadow Monsters work.
Next, Cui Mao spoke of the Dead Sea Knights.
"The Dead Sea Knights operate in another direction. They haunt the surface of the Dead Sea, cooperate with some powerful Guangna Species, and control a large number of maritime vehicles. They use the Dead Sea as their main area of activity. They dive into and salvage some relics from beneath the Dead Sea, selling a portion of the strange artifacts they find, including Dead Sea Documents and Dead Sea Aged Brew."
"Their strength is formidable, and they can quickly reach numerous cities by ship, making everyone reluctant to offend them."
Zhou Yi thought to himself that it was indeed true.
The Dead Sea Knights commanded sea dominion.
No wonder the Tianjin Knights had to investigate cautiously with Ji Zhang backed by them.
"Besides, there's one other Knight Order that can't go unmentioned."
Cui Mao added, "The Taishan Knight Order." Read full story at NoveI~Fire.net
"Unlike other Knight Orders, they can commune with the dead, enter and exit the netherworld, travel through time, and it's said they can even briefly wander the age of gods, and even resurrect the dead. The Taishan Knights are also the most mysterious and unpredictable Knight Order..."
Zhou Yi was genuinely surprised this time.
He could understand those other Knight Orders.
But why was the style of this Taishan Knight Order completely different?
Entering and exiting the netherworld?
Resurrecting the dead?
Wandering the age of gods?
Traveling through the timeline?
Zhou Yi became extremely curious about this Knight Order.
If he had a chance, he must find a way to contact the Taishan Knights.
If it's just a marketing group playing tricks, then so be it.
But if it's real, he might find some clues to the destruction of previous human civilizations.
Various thoughts flashed through Zhou Yi's mind.
Just as he was about to ask more about the Taishan Knight Order, Red Kestrel's voice echoed in his mind again.
"Tie Ma has been attacked outside the Mushroom Forest, with more than 30 enemies, including 4 enhancers."
It had been hard enough to get an agricultural expert for farming, and now they were being attacked by these troublesome locals.
The local gangs were really too impolite!
At his command, a large number of samurai crabs emerged from the Dead Sea in formation, wielding various weapons, and headed powerfully to the front lines for support.