"I will your majesty. May I know the person I am about to escort and the place to which I need to do it?". Jiao Sheng looked at him and said "The details regarding the trip will be given to you in a personal briefing by the head minister. You will accompany him to the private meeting room after this." Long Tao nodded in agreement. The meeting seems to be a secret of the Jiao royalty. Long Tao didn't want to get involved in an apolitical fight, but it seemed that fate had other plans for him. "I heard you got a direct promotion to vice-general from your position of vice-captain of Black-buck squad. I congratulate you."
The meeting hall-
Long Tao was currently seated along with the head minister. They were waiting for the arrival of Jiao Sheng. He arrived after some long hours. Long Tao rose from his seat, but the King indicated otherwise. "I didn't expect for us to meet so soon. You are really the most talented person in the Jiao country. Just 5 months back you had just entered the Qi master, but you stand at level 8 of QI master realm now. Even more of a surprise is the fact that you could already defeat a Qi general of level three. Lin Bao was his name right." Long Tao gave his approval to the statement by a silent indication.
"I am happy for you and hope you will continue to serve the country like this. The mission this time is going to be a dangerous one. Hence, we requested the help of the soldier form the best fraction of our country. As I said before it is going to an escort mission. But the stake here is extremely high." The King pressured on the part of the stake. "The person you are going to escort is my eldest daughter and one of the court's core advisors, Jiao Mingue.". Long Tao was surprised, but he wanted to know about the other part.
"As per the where, you will be going to the Chu country's royal capital, for a talk of peace between our nations. The situation will be explained by the head minister." The head minister rose up and drew out a map of the Jiao and chu country's border. "The travel will be through the north-eastern outpost towards the secured path between the Jiao and Chu country that is used by the merchants. You will be accompanied by a set of royal guards and some exceptional students from the royal academy. Your work is quite simple. Protecting the princess at all costs." You need to escort her to the Chu capital and return with her. The talk would be handled by her.
"The reason for this visit is to bury the rising violence at the border of both countries. The Chu country is getting much more aggressive with the passing time. Especially after someone's activity of assassinating the top officials of the Chu country in bulk." The minister looked at Long Tao with a serious glance. Jiao Sheng wanted to see the change of expression of Long Tao. He was surprised to see no change in expression. "I suppose you know why you were chosen for this mission. There is also the incident of one of their crucial mines being seized and looted of all its content. The group which did it is still anonymous."
Long Tao understood which mine they were talking about. He still remembered the blood general. He was still not confident of facing that monster. There was also the Slytherin present in the vicinity. The path was naturally through its territory. "You need to take care of the situation throughout. We suspect conspiracy trying to claim the princess's life and incite war among the two countries. We would want to avoid it at any cost. I hope you understand the gravity of the matter. You are also to beg pardon for your doings if asked to by the royal Chu clan.". Long Tao understood the gravity of the situation, but he was not scared of the Chu country's royal clan. He only needed to take care of his mission.
"The details of the route, the member accompanying you and the time of departure will be provided to you at your dwelling." Long Tao made some inquiries with the minister and Jiao Sheng regarding the procedures to be followed. ��You will be leaving after 10 days. You are welcome to stay in the royal palace. All the members of this travel will be meeting you after 6 days. 4 days for planning the travel and various crucial points in travel. Please read the plan for discussion. We hope no compromise of your abilities in this mission." Long Tao assured them that he will give his best for this mission.
"How are your father and mother Long Tao?" Jiao Sheng asked to confirm his doubts. Long Tao gave a smile, which gave Jiao Sheng an ominous feeling" I don't remember having parents. It's better if we concentrate on the work before us, don't you agree prime minister." The minister was sweating profusely now. He couldn't dare to go against Jiao Sheng, but Long Tao was giving out a murderous aura. "I apologize for my loose behavior. I hope you will enjoy the stay in the capital. I invite you to tonight's party that is set for your welcome. Hope you will honor me with your presence." Jiao Sheng was a clever ruler. He knew when to step down.
Dwelling-
Long Tao was back carrying the map of the region. Soon the black-buck squad was present in there. Long Tao discussed the necessities of the mission. He discussed the route they were going to take in this mission and the asset who was being protected. Although it was confidential information, Long Tao wanted the people on this mission to understand the gravity of the situation. The route was properly marked and the terrain analysis was done. The possible crucial points were found after a brief analysis. The next objective was to do a survey of these areas and find possible hiding areas.
Long Tao pointed at the ten new recruits." You will leave at the moment. You will use the same method we used to reach this place. I want you to survey the points marked by me. You need to reach this area within the next 4 days. You will have 6 days to report the whole report to me. The crucial points are simple. You will find every bit of information regarding that area, the bandits, structure of villages, terrain, and geological placements, hiding areas, dangers, beats concentration, even the nearby forces present or sighted in that area. I want you to wait for our arrival at Tamar, which will be the first rest spot for the convoy."
The new recruits bowed to Long Tao and left for the mission. They took the resources provided to them by the Black-buck squad. It was a large inventory bought by the newly acquired wealth of the squad. He next set of mission allotted were to the members of the black-buck squad to gather information about the royal capital and the situation of the country. Long Tao wanted to analyze the whole situation keeping all the facts in mind." Be prepared for the party tonight. I will say this, you are my underlings and members of Black-buck squad. Have your pride in that. I am your backer."
Nighttime, party -
Long Tao was dressed according to the nobles' fashion he had learned during his time in the clan. He was waiting for the members to arrive one after the other. Soon the squad members arrived one after another. The attire was passable. The last to arrive was of course SU Menqi. She was looking gorgeous tonight. Long Tao was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect such finesse from Su Menqi. It confirmed his speculation that she was from the nobility. "May I have the honor to accompany miss to the venue." Long Tao bowed in a gentle manner with his hands stretched in front of Su Menqi. She gave out a smile and held on to the hand.
They entered the venue. They were welcomed by the members of the royal clans and the ministers themselves. A vice-general from the most powerful fraction of the country was a big deal. They wanted to make a good impression. The head minister soon arrived and introduced himself to the rest of the squad. The party was approaching its peak when Jiao Sheng made his appearance" I thank all of you to be present on this occasion. As many of you might know this is to welcome the newly appointed vice-general of the north-eastern military, titled Dragon, Sir Long Tao. As many of you may remember he was the winner of the royal gathering some time ago. "The nobles applaud on this and raised their glasses in respect.
A figure approached Long Tao. The beauty and graciousness of the figure promoted her to another level, separated from the rest of the crowd." May I have the luck to get a dance with vice-general Long Tao." Long Tao looked at her intently. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Jiao Mingue, the eldest princess of Jiao."
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