Chapter 658: Section 445: The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is seeking its own death
Golden Level fighter, Lin, was precisely the strong support specially invited by the Axe Gang Leader for revenge purposes.
The Axe Gang Leader expressed confidence in this battle, while Lin remained expressionless, “It was only in the last hit that Long Fu managed to kill Teng Donglang, I think there’s something fishy about it.”
“I also watched the Magic Image of the Cold Wind Valley ambush battle. His performance has clearly improved compared to his duel at Snowbird Port, but if that’s all there is to it, the members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps are indeed doomed.”
Like the Axe Gang Leader, Lin had also retired from the military, having experienced numerous battles and possessing vast practical experience.
His predictions were built on a solid foundation of experience.
As for the Magic Image of the Cold Wind Valley ambush battle, naturally, it was provided by the Axe Gang Leader.
This is a good habit of the regular army, which always records battlefield scenes to facilitate later reviews, summarizing lessons and gathering intelligence. Even if he should die, he would still be able to deliver precious information into the hands of his comrades, aiding their subsequent battles.
Axe Gang Leader then recalled the battle in Cold Wind Valley and sighed, “Long Fu is really something special; although he is just Silver Level, his actual combat strength is almost like that of a Golden Level. It’s a pity, if Jia Bing had also accepted my invitation with his Ice Phantom assistance, our chances of winning would be 1000%!”
Lin looked surprised, “You invited that guy too?”
Axe Gang Leader, “Unfortunately, once he heard that I had invited you, he declined. He said he had important alchemy experiments to conduct and couldn’t leave the Alchemy Workshop for more than six hours.”
Lin smiled slightly, “That’s definitely in character for him.”
“But still, you’re always the same—chasing excessively high win rates!”
Axe Gang Leader immediately showed discontent, “How can that be considered a fault?”
“The nature of warfare is inherently dangerous; any battle comes with risks. And in any battle, unexpected things can happen.”
“There are so many factors that can influence the outcome of a battle. A severe change in just one aspect can alter the results.”
“Seeking a high probability of victory is being responsible for oneself, it ensures success, and striving for it can never be excessive. Shouldn’t any outstanding commander use all his capacity to improve his side’s chances as much as possible?”
Lin shook his head slightly, voicing a different opinion, “That sounds reasonable, but it’s actually not. Resources are always limited, which is why businessmen talk about cost-effectiveness. As a commander, the military resources one can mobilize are also limited. Hence, taking risks is worthwhile. Oftentimes, we can only rely on limited military resources and have to take those risks. Over-pursuing win rates usually assumes that one side already has a significant advantage—just like now! But such scenarios are rare in most real battles.”
After a pause, Lin continued, “Our opponents are not strong, the highest among them are only two Silver Levels, and although one is rather unique, he is still not Golden Level.”
“Having two Golden Levels on our side already gives us a huge advantage; it’s unnecessary to invite a third.”
“We have not yet been exposed and still hold the element of surprise.”
“Long Fu might be able to trouble any one of us, but the Silver Level Fire Mage Yao Ma has mediocre combat power. Either you or I, if fighting at full strength, she wouldn’t last three minutes.”
“With her gone, the two of us encircling Long Fu would mean defeat is impossible.”
Lin analyzed everything confidently, his tone even and his expression serene, demonstrating a strong sense of confidence.
Axe Gang Leader shook his head slightly, disagreeing with Lin’s approach to military leadership, yet he nodded without rebutting Lin’s subsequent statements as they indeed offered a rational prediction of the battle, aligning with his own deductions.
Just then, Fu Zhao hurriedly burst in.
“It’s bad! Father, Lord Lin, the members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps suddenly left Blood Relations City through the Teleportation Array.”
Fu Zhao brought bad news.
“What?!” Lin instantly frowned.
Axe Gang Leader stood up and fixed a severe gaze on his son, demanding, “How could this happen? Didn’t I order you to plant people at the Teleportation Array to prevent this kind of situation?”
Fu Zhao bowed his head, “Yes, that’s right. I did plant people there. But the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were very cunning, secretly hiring people to queue up, and in a short time, they used a large sum of money to bribe a few others to cut in line. It was very difficult for our people to prevent this.”
All major cities in the Ice Spear Kingdom have Teleportation Arrays.
The cost of teleportation is high, and it’s very busy. Without solid connections, one must wait in line.
In Snowbird Port, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had a good relationship with the City Lord and could cut in line and teleport at any time, but in Blood Relations City, they didn’t enjoy such privileges.
Axe Gang Leader secretly plotted to annihilate Zong Ge and Zi Di’s group, sparing no expense and sincerely inviting Lin and Jia Bing for assistance. Although only one agreed, he patiently waited for Lin’s secret convergence.
But at this crucial moment, the group from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had slipped away through the Teleportation Array!
Axe Gang Leader frowned deeply, fearing exactly this scenario, and yet it had still occurred.
Lin sighed, “It seems there are capable individuals among that group. To secretly hire hands to queue early and then suddenly buy off the remaining few to complete a group teleportation seems simple, but executing it requires strong effectiveness. Any slight mishap could leak the secret and lead to failure.”
“This is a bit troublesome now.”
Lin’s expression had also become grave.
He himself was the head of a gang in Ice Spear City, and this time he had secretly set out to meet with the leader of the Axe Gang.
The reason for the covert operation was, on one hand, to maintain the advantage of a surprise attack and prevent the leakage of information that might alert the enemy. On the other hand, it was because he was at the Golden Level.
Reaching this tier meant that a Transcendent’s personal strength could rival that of a small army, easily threatening the safety of a town. Therefore, they were always under long-term surveillance and scrutiny by various parties.
Any rash action taken by someone at the Golden Level would trigger vigilance and attention from all sides.
It was like a sharp dagger, usually in its proper place as if sheathed. Suddenly, the dagger leaves the sheath, and wherever it is placed, it draws close attention from others.
Hence, Lin had to be cautious about the subsequent impact of every move he made.
Especially since he was in charge of a gang, as the head and the strongest combatant, his sudden departure had a significant negative impact on his gang.
Under such circumstances, concealing his identity and covering his movements was the best way to minimize negative impact.
This also meant one thing—Lin couldn’t openly use the town’s Teleportation Array.
The reason was simple; such large-scale teleportation arrays were under the strictest supervision. The cost of teleportation increased with the Energy Level of the object being teleported.
Thus, even if Lin restrained his energy and disguised himself as a low-level Transcendent, once teleported, simply by observing the energy consumed by the Teleportation Array, his true Energy Level would be immediately recognizable.
Further investigation would easily reveal his identity since he was already at the Golden Level.
The same principle applied to the leader of the Axe Gang.
That was why the Axe Gang leader had conspired for so long and waited for Lin’s secret convergence—Lin had come on his own.
Zong Ge and Zi Di could teleport away, but Lin and the Axe Gang leader couldn’t use this channel.
This was certainly not because they were confined to one place.
But it would cause a huge stir and widespread attention.
If they teleported and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were ambushed and killed afterwards, then everyone would know that it was their doing!
If the Axe Gang leader was willing to expose his identity to strike Zong Ge and Zi Di fatally, he would have done so long ago, instead of painstakingly waiting for Lin’s convergence.
“So, you’re saying they’ve already discovered us? Was the previous cooperation agreement with our Axe Gang just their delaying tactic?” Fu Zhao said, his expression grim.
The Axe Gang leader slowly shook his head, “That should not be the case. Our first cooperation yesterday was already successful, and the first batch of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ trade caravan was successfully escorted by us into Bloodkin City.”
“They were truly cooperating with us.”
“It was only the battle at Cold Wind Valley that made them cautious, and since they couldn’t find out our real identities, they used this little trick.”
“If they suspected it was me, they wouldn’t just leave directly but would use their connections to deal with us.”
“You know, the acting City Lord of Bloodkin City has had numerous conflicts with our gang. Even without using our enemies, Long Fu has deep connections with the City Lord of Snowbird Port and the Lijian family. They would definitely use them to strike at us.”
“But now, they just suddenly teleported away. It’s probably just to act suddenly to shake off any possible lurking enemies.”
The Axe Gang leader’s analysis was also approved by Lin.
The latter said, “In that case, we can only wait for another opportunity. We need to know their next itinerary to arrange a new ambush location.”
The Axe Gang leader gritted his teeth, although reluctantly, he could only nod, “We’ve already planted people at the Teleportation Array. Haven’t they investigated their destination yet?”
Fu Zhao quickly replied, “Father, at the time of receiving this information, I had already ordered people to investigate. I believe it won’t be long before…”
He paused suddenly.
Because a subordinate came to report new intelligence.
Receiving the update, Fu Zhao immediately showed a clear look of joy, “Good news! They left two people behind in the store; everyone else teleported to Snow Rabbit City.”
“Our people played a role, creating a teleportation mishap, leaving Long Fu and others quite a distance outside Snow Rabbit City!”
The Axe Gang leader was momentarily stunned, then he suddenly clapped his hands and laughed loudly, “Jia Bing is there, with three Golden Levels gathered, our probability of success is 1000%. The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is looking for their own demise this time!”