"Yes!"

A muffled response came from the handset.

"Listen up, I've already told Xue Yu that for this operation, he's in charge as the overall commander—you all follow his orders!"

"Yes!"

"Hand the phone to Xue Yu!"

"Yes!"

"Dragon King!" A few seconds later, Chen Jiantao's voice came through the receiver.

Jiang Chen's face was somber as he spoke, "Xue Yu, An Long doesn't understand battlefield discipline, and neither do you, it seems? Who are you? You are a member of Dragon... you're a soldier, don't you know that internal strife before the enemy is a major military taboo? What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Dragon King, I was impulsive!" Chen Jiantao apologized guiltily.

Jiang Chen roared, "You'd better listen well. This operation might be a training exercise, but it's a real battlefield. You're the overall commander because I'm worried An Long and the rest might act recklessly. If you let our brothers' casualty rate reach five percent, you bring your head to me!"

"Yes, I will bring my head to you!"

Jiang Chen laughed angrily, "Cut the crap, what do you mean by 'you will bring your head to me'? Are you really wishing for our brothers to die?"

"No, no, I misspoke, I meant I'll definitely complete the mission!"

Chen Jiantao hurriedly explained, feeling guilty for his impulsiveness that nearly spoiled the plan, feeling he had let Jiang Chen down, and, without thinking, just blurted out agreement with what Jiang Chen said.

"Enough, be careful over there. Since Mage Liesi and his crew have already left, launch the attack three hours from now, at half past eleven at night.

Remember, if there are more than two Paladin Knights in the Dark Spider Mercenary Corps' base, call off the mission immediately and evacuate at once—that's an order!" Jiang Chen's voice was solemn, "The enemy can be dealt with later; our brothers must not die in vain!"

"Yes!"

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Chen turned to look at the others and was momentarily taken aback.

All of them were excited, their eyes filled with an indescribable sense of emotion as they looked at him.

Jiang Chen was unaware that his words had indeed shocked them.

Even without understanding the reason for Jiang Chen's anger, phrases like 'To make sure every brother survives, I'd rather plow the ground with my face!' and 'The world is vast, but our brothers' lives are of utmost importance!'... truly resonated with them.

How could they not be moved to have such a leader?

Yan Mo and Kuang Shi were somewhat more composed and, after a moment's hesitation, still asked, "Dragon King, what happened?"

Jiang Chen shook his head, "Nothing serious, just a minor verbal dispute. It was Xue Yu and An Long who got heated, it has nothing to do with the brothers from Burst Flame."

Yan Mo and Kuang Shi breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

But Scar and the others looked back at them unsatisfied, as they had gleaned something from Jiang Chen's conversation on the phone. However, now was not the time to dig deeper into it.

...

Meanwhile, in a dense forest to the east of the Dark Spider encampment, Chen Jiantao hung up the phone. He glanced at Mad Tiger and Mo Bao and raised his hand.

Rustle!

The members of Long Ya put away their guns one by one, glaring at Mo Bao before returning to their rest.

An Long also waved to the people of Long Yan, and everyone put away their guns.

Phew!

Mad Tiger let out a sigh of relief, turned his head, and glared at Mo Bao. Today's incident was almost beyond salvaging. He and Mo Bao had truly not expected Jiang Chen to hold such an important place in the hearts of An Long and Chen Jiantao; they couldn't even utter a word of criticism about Jiang Chen.

"An Long, did the Dragon King talk to you?" Chen Jiantao lifted his head to address An Long.

An Long nodded lightly, "The Dragon King said this operation is under your command."

The members of the Dragon Flame Mercenary Group were all stunned, giving An Long a surprised look before then casting slightly resentful glances toward Chen Jiantao.

Chen Jiantao chuckled lightly, "I know you're not convinced, wondering why a newcomer like me should command you. But I must tell you, if our two sides were to battle, I am confident that I could annihilate you all with a casualty rate of less than thirty percent."

An Long and the others were taken aback before staring at Chen Jiantao with disgruntled eyes.

Chen Jiantao glanced over An Long and the others, smiling faintly.

It was normal for them to feel unconvinced, and Chen Jiantao did not blame them for it.

"How about this, let's conduct a round of tactics exercises on the sand table!"

Chen Jiantao said with laughter as he cleared the ground and used a stick to sketch out the terrain. There was still plenty of time, it was perfect for a drill.

"This is all the terrain we passed from Changlan City to here. An Long, you and the other team leaders choose a place, and we'll do the exercise."

"Alright!"

An Long nodded, and Dark Thunder and the others all gathered, starting to strategize.

In the first game, An Long chose a valley, but Chen Jiantao used the valley walls to completely wipe them out with zero casualties!

In the second game, An Long chose a swamp, and Chen Jiantao trapped them all in the swamp, even simpler than in the valley.

In the third game, An Long outright chose their current location, but Chen Jiantao used kite-flying tactics to drag them into a scattered line and picked them off one by one.

After some contemplation for the fourth game, An Long chose the Dark Spider's base and finally scored a victory, causing Chen Jiantao to suffer casualties of twenty percent.

"Convinced," said An Long admiringly as he looked at Chen Jiantao, his face full of astonishment, "Brother, I know you're a soldier but are all the soldiers in the country this strong?"

Dark Thunder and others also looked at Chen Jiantao with admiration. Long Ya was solely planned by Chen Jiantao, without anyone else speaking up, yet here they had six team leaders plus An Long, seven people in total, who were outmaneuvered by one person four times.

Both Mad Tiger and Mo Bao, who were observing from the side, were also surprised by Chen Jiantao, thinking involuntarily that the Flame Dragon Kingdom was indeed a forbidden land for sect powers; it was terrifying to such an extent. Based on Chen Jiantao's just-concluded exercises, in the valley and swamp scenarios, if they put themselves in that position, even with the strength of Paladin Knights, they too might have been defeated there.

At that moment, they no longer dared to underestimate these martial artists who were not at the Heavenly Level!

"Of course, the soldiers in our country are very strong, but these tactics were all taught by the Dragon King. He trained us for three months, and during those three months, we were really put through the wringer. The four methods I've just used were all leftovers from the Dragon King!"

Chen Jiantao said with a bitter smile, recalling the days when Jiang Chen trained him, feeling both shivered and longing!

"The Dragon King is also a master of military strategy?" Mo Bao asked in surprise, "Isn't he just a wealthy boss? If he's so formidable, why doesn't he come and command?"

Chen Jiantao looked up expressionlessly at Mo Bao, "Mr. Mo Bao, do you think the danger is greater on our side or on the Dragon King's side?"

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