Familiar with the faint scent of gunpowder on the battlefield, Tang Mo breathed in the fresh air and basked in the bright sunshine.
He had returned, bringing with him over two hundred soldiers and the ashes of those who had died in the invasion of the southern part of Suthers Kingdom, back to the place from where he had set off.
Everything here had changed dramatically, to the point that even Tang Mo himself had trouble recognizing the place.
When he saw that the walls of his factory had been extended along the road for a kilometer, such that one would have to take a long detour to enter the factory grounds without going through the main gate, he knew that the old men left to watch over the place hadn't been slacking off.
"Seeing you is truly delightful, my master," Li'ao extended his arm and greeted Tang Mo with an enthusiastic hug as he returned home.
"Thank you!" Tang Mo hugged him, then embraced Roger, who had been standing there smiling silently, "I'm back, Uncle Roger."