Becoming a wet nurse is not the end of the story.

"Yukine is fine, just a little exhausted, and is resting now."

One sentence finally put the commander at ease: "Why are you making that face all the time? Don't you know it's scary?"

Looking at this carefree captain, Andrek couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. Who was the captain here anyway?

"Liuli, don't you want to know what just happened?"

Volume 5: The Winged People and the Dwarves: Chapter 8: A Visit

"You mean, Lin Xueyin is actually a very powerful priest."

After hearing Yu Liuli's incredulous expression after her explanation, Andrek nodded heavily again and continued.

“That’s right, that girl is indeed a very powerful priest. I think you should understand how important that is to us, Fire Phoenix.”

Uh, Yu Liuli was a little taken aback. Of course, she knew how important a powerful priest was to her. Not to mention anything else, the influence of the mercenary group alone was already incomparable.

It's like heaven and earth. The presence of a priest increases the survival rate of the entire mercenary group. Who would choose to die if they could complete the mission alive?

"Liuli, I think our Fire Phoenix has reached a bottleneck in its development. If we can absorb her, then our development will truly take off."

"Yes, I understand. I'll talk to her properly. That girl is quite easy to talk to."

However, thinking about her previous distrust of her, which ultimately led to this result, Yu Liuli's tone became somewhat guilty. Especially when she thought that her daughter had also been injured as a result, she felt that the hope of getting her to truly participate in the Fire Phoenix was even slimmer.

"Commander, how is Yukine...?"

Just as Yu Liuli was about to go in to visit Xueyin, she heard Olihirs rushing over from behind. The bloodstains on her body had not been cleaned off, and the strong smell of blood could still be smelled from her.

"Orichils, you're here too?" Aren't this girl and Yukine supposed to be at odds? Why is she concerned about Yukine?

"Well, I heard that Yukine was injured, so I wanted to come and see her and apologize to her. I was initially suspicious of her and even said some offensive things to her. I hope she can forgive me."

After a brief silence, he gazed intently at the shy girl before him, a comforting smile curving his lips, and gently patted her shoulder.

"Let's go see that little girl, she's a great hero to us."

The mercenaries who survived the ordeal, though some were injured, were able to avoid death without anyone dying, and they really had to thank the priestess who had joined them along the way.

Especially those healing spells, which could actually help him recover after the violent explosions, were simply a divine skill.

When I first heard that there was a priest who could resurrect others, I felt that he was someone I could never hope to reach. This person, who could injure others to heal himself, seemed to be comparable to that priest.

After learning what had happened, many mercenaries looked at the tent in the middle with admiration and gratitude, and prayed for the girl inside, hoping she would be safe and well.

Upon entering Yukine's tent, one sees a girl with a pale face; although she has some color in her skin, it still evokes a sense of heartache.

"Hey? Sister Liuli, Orichalcos, what brings you here?"

Upon seeing the person enter, Lin Xueyin tried to get up, but was firmly held down by a female soldier beside her, preventing her from moving.

"Captain, I've been ordered to stay here and take care of Miss Yukine's rest, so..."

"No need to say anything, Xueyin, just rest well. I just came to see you." He gave the soldier a look of approval and even encouragement before sitting down next to Lin Xueyin.

"You never know how to take care of yourself. Don't try to be so reckless next time. You should know that you scared us half to death."

Seeing Yu Liuli's slightly angry expression, which exuded a mature and sophisticated aura, Lin Xueyin unconsciously blushed, and her already pale face gained a faint blush.

Her frail and delicate appearance evoked a sudden urge in those around her to protect her.

“I understand, but I am a pastor, and my duty is to protect the team and prevent them from suffering losses. I still have to do that.”

He glared at the clueless girl, but couldn't continue speaking. Instead, Olihirs stepped forward.

"Yukine, I'm sorry."

"Huh? Sorry? What's going on?" Lin Xueyin looked at the group of people in front of her with a blank expression. Why was this guy apologizing to her when he had nothing better to do?

With a blush on his face, Orichalcos bowed slightly to Lin Xueyin in apology, speaking as she frantically tried to stop him but was stopped by Yu Liuli.

“I have always been suspicious of your background, and when you mentioned danger, I also questioned your motives. These are my faults, and I hope you can forgive me.”

"Uh, this." Seeing Orichalcos still bent over, Lin Xueyin said with a wry smile.

“Please lift your head, Orichalcos.”

As she obediently raised her head, somewhat bewildered, Lin Xueyin continued.

"You did all this for everyone's sake. If it were me, I might have done something even more outrageous than you. So please don't blame yourself. On the contrary, I should thank you. At least when I landed, you didn't choose to kill me directly, did you?"

"That..."

He opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Indeed, Lin Xueyin was right. Once you discover something that poses a threat to you, even if it's just a suspected threat, the simplest and safest way is to kill it. This is the most basic jungle theory.

Therefore, there was nothing wrong with what Lin Xueyin said, but the way she said it at this moment gave it a strong sense of mockery, making people wonder about her true thoughts.

"Xueyin, are you still angry?" He gently tapped her little head, causing her to let out a soft moan.

"Um, Sister Liuli, you know that's really going too far. She's the one who came to apologize, not the one I forced her to come. She's the one who's being stubborn, so why blame me?"

If even this sentence is not understood, then Orichalcos has truly lived for a hundred years in vain. He looked at the coquettish girl with a wry smile, but a hint of comfort appeared on his face.

"Girl, I have something to tell you."

"Stop, Sister Liuli, I know what you want to say to me, but I can only apologize."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Lin Xueyin had already presciently interrupted all the subsequent recruitment remarks.

"Sister Liuli, don't you care why I suddenly appeared in mid-air? My appearance will involve a lot of things. If it weren't for repaying a favor, I would have left immediately. So please don't make things difficult for me."

Looking at the girl who spoke to her so resolutely, Yu Liuli could only sigh, regretting that they had met too late and could not fight the enemy chief together.

Volume 5: The Feathered Race and the Dwarves: Chapter 9: The Dwarves

After a night of fierce fighting, the Fire Phoenix group encountered no further attacks and quickly arrived at the dwarf settlement in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. This area was still quite a distance from the Sunset Pass they had previously visited, but traces of the beastmen could still be seen in the distance.

Perhaps it was because dwarves settled here that the orcs dared not launch surprise attacks on the human empire from here. Of course, they could only launch surprise attacks, as the Hundred Thousand Mountains were not so easy to cross.

As they slowly entered the dwarf settlement, the group relaxed a little. At least now the dwarves were an alliance with the humans, and as long as they didn't do anything reckless, they wouldn't be attacked by the dwarves.

Yu Liuli whispered to the girl riding alongside her, hoping she could relax a little. She had been tense all along, but now she could finally relax.

However, as soon as she finished speaking, they heard the sound of an arrow whistling through the air. Lin Xueyin raised her hand and a shield appeared in her hand, creating a shield that shone with holy golden light on everyone.

"Enemy attack... Enemy attack..."

In an instant, the Fire Phoenix group was fully prepared for defense. At this moment, thousands of dwarf warriors appeared before them in the mountains.

"I am Yu Liuli, the leader of the Fire Phoenix Mercenary Group. I have come here with gifts from the Empire. I hope you can give us a reasonable explanation."

"A reasonable explanation? Hmph, you humans go back on your word and attack us dwarves. Why should we need to explain ourselves to you? It's you cunning humans who should be explaining yourselves."

What? We humans attacked the dwarves? That's impossible! If we were attacking the dwarves, why would we send these gifts, which represent friendship between the two races?

Yu Liuli couldn't quite understand what the dwarf was saying, but she had no choice but to speak up in this situation.

"Although we don't know exactly what happened, our mercenary group did bring you gifts and supplies from the human race. If you don't believe us, you can come and check."

The dwarf, clearly the leader, nodded to the elite warriors beside him, signaling them to go and check.

Surrounded by thousands of elite warriors, the group, though dissatisfied, suppressed their anger. Seeing several dwarf warriors conducting a thorough search, even using special spells for large-scale inspections, made them feel even more insulted.

"Damn it, what do you want?" Lin Xueyin roared angrily at the dwarf leader, but only received a temporary silence in return.

"General, there is nothing unusual. In addition, we also saw some supplies that belong to the royal family. I think they were a gift from the imperial family."

"Well, since it's a gift from the Empire, do you have any relevant documents? Let me see them."

When Yu Liuli heard that the dwarf general's tone had softened somewhat, she knew that there might have been some misunderstanding. Recalling the mercenary undead she had encountered before, she seemed to realize something and stopped the surrounding mercenaries from making a fuss.

"This is His Majesty's document; we hope it can clear up any misunderstandings between us."

After glancing quietly at the woman seated high on her horse, the dwarf took the document and returned to his general's side. A moment later, a long laugh rang out from the dwarf's general.

"We apologize, but our Black Iron Clan is currently under attack by some strange humans, so we are being quite cautious. Since you are our friend, please come with us."

"Sure enough, these dwarves were also attacked by the undead, which is why they thought that the humans had sent mercenaries to attack them and intend to break the alliance. But who is it that wants to do this?"

As they ventured deeper, they soon arrived at a massive fortification built against the mountainside. The ring-shaped fortifications transformed the entire mountain into a powerful and easily defensible military stronghold.

"This is our Dark Iron tribe's fortress—Flameforge, what do you think?"

Looking at this massive fortress built along the entire mountain range, Lin Xueyin was temporarily speechless, her surprise mixed with a hint of awe. She had seen too many movies in the past, but in front of this real fortification, perhaps only the Great Wall of China could compare with it.

"Alright, let's go in now, but..."

Without needing to finish her sentence, Yu Liuli already understood the other party's concerns. "Don't worry, once we're inside, we just need a safe place to set up camp. Afterwards, we'll send a representative to communicate with you."

Seeing that the other party understood, a satisfied laugh came from the helmet of the general who was leading the way. "Good, thank you for your assistance. Rest assured, we, the Dark Iron Dwarves, will not treat our friends unfairly. We will sell you a batch of weapons. If you have any better raw materials, we can help you forge even more powerful weapons or armor for free."

Thinking of weapons, Lin Xueyin couldn't help but recall the silver spear she had hidden in her pack, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curled up slightly.

While Andreik arranged for the mercenary group to be stationed outside, Yu Liuli, along with Olihirs and Lin Xueyin, followed the general deeper into the area.

Along the way, Lin Xueyin saw soldiers armed to the teeth and all kinds of weapons, including some arquebuses.

All sorts of firearms, as well as some equipment that she thought was impossible, were already in her sight.

"Oh my god, that's a helicopter, isn't it? It's a helicopter."

Finally, after seeing a weapon that drove her completely mad, Lin Xueyin felt her worldview crumble instantly—it was a helicopter.

The propellers on them were clearly sharp blades that could be used to cut enemies to shreds. And it wasn't just helicopters; the cannons, muskets, and even some steam-emitting locomotives all gave Lin Xueyin a strong sense of advanced technology.

"Little girl, do you like this weapon?" Seeing Lin Xueyin's excited shouting, the dwarf general did not show any impatience. Instead, he smiled and said to her.

"When you come back, I'll have someone take you up for a tour. Anyway, I'll be going out on patrol soon, so it'll be a good opportunity for you to have some fun. This is my way of apologizing for our previous offense."

"Uh, no need, no need, it's fine as long as it's not too much trouble for you."

After a slight pause, the dwarf general burst into hearty laughter, "It won't be too much trouble, just a small favor."

Volume 5: The Winged Ones and the Dwarves: Chapter 10 The High King of the Dwarves

Following the dwarf general slowly up the mountainside, passing one military fortification after another, Lin Xueyin suddenly felt as if she were walking on the Maginot Line.

Especially when this general was leading her around and proudly proclaiming that this was an impregnable fortress, Lin Xueyin felt more and more that this place was really no different from the Maginot Line.

The proud and arrogant French people thought they could sit behind this strong and solid defense and watch all their allies perish, still believing themselves to be invincible and without any problems.

However, overnight, the situation changed drastically, the outcome was reversed, and people were ultimately reduced to a nation in ruins, becoming a laughing stock in history, and forever remembered by people.