Chapter 501

Unfortunately, his sincerity was met with another cold snort from Piao Renshuang, showing no mercy.

"Hah, what use is an apology? What I need now is a feasible solution, immediately, right now!"

"This..."

"This is practically urging death! General Zheng's complexion, which had just improved, instantly turned ugly."

Fortunately, President Li had prepared in advance and hurriedly stepped forward.

"Mr. Piao, I need to remind you: based on the enemy's direction of advance last night, the area they are heading to should be the south, and the south…… is Baekje's territory."

"Baekje!?"

Just thinking about this brother who is full of martial virtue, holding a mushroom, if it weren't for the White Eagle protecting him, he could make the whole of Silla glow with heat at any moment.

Even though Piao Renshuang, who holds the noble title of Silla Crown Prince, still spoke firmly, his voice inevitably softened.

"So, what then?"

President Li slowly shook his head, then stepped closer to him in the same motion, speaking softly.

"Think about it, these people came from our side and killed their way past; if they hadn't been stopped, that would be one thing, but if they were stopped……"

"Ah si ba, this absolutely cannot be!"

This really triggered Piao Renshuang into a fit of distress; his hand gripping the whip tightened instantly, and he spoke through clenched teeth.

"If such a thing really happened, our Silla would become an international laughingstock; then how could we speak in the Sticking Nations?"

Moreover, there is another layer of reason: previously, even if they accidentally messed up, it would provoke the General's hundred thousand heavenly troops to descend to the border.

Even if the worst situation occurred, the White Eagle wouldn't bother to intervene, directly taking his people and withdrawing; at worst, they could sell all their possessions and flee to become landlords under the White Eagle.

But now the Yangyue World is such a huge undertaking, with the livelihoods of millions of canal workers at stake; the Piao family still needs those over fifty million laborers to earn money for them.

——Can't leave, simply can't leave!

Therefore, Silla must now maintain a sustainable high posture; at the very least, in terms of momentum, we must suppress Baekje!

But……

Although Piao Renshuang is moody, no matter how you say it, he is still the heir of a great family.

As the eldest son of a conglomerate family, his IQ and EQ cannot possibly be as low as that of a mere playboy.

So although he previously beat people up until they flew, seeming like an evil big boss forcing his subordinates to risk their lives to complete high-difficulty tasks.

In fact, it's merely putting on the airs of a young master, wanting to suppress this bunch of increasingly insolent rotten soldiers.

He knows all too well what level his own army is at—just these few thousand people before him.

In order to make up the numbers, even women in their fifties were forcibly conscripted; can they have any combat capability?

Thus, for a time he also fell into the same silence as General Zheng, only able to press his lips together, not knowing what to do.

However, since President Li dares to bring up the very pot he shouldn't, he naturally already has a plan in mind.

Seeing that both of them had wilted, he quietly curled a triumphant smile, gave a light cough, and presented his own strategy.

"Mr. Piao, since we've already started using mercenaries, why not hire another batch?"

Piao Renshuang furrowed his brow.

"Weren't the first batch that got strangled just mercenaries? What use would there be in having more of this bunch of low‑combat, pitiful scattered players?"

But President Li merely pressed his hand down calmly.

"Don't rush, Mr. Piao; my point is, it's basically just buying lives with money, so why not spend a bit more to look for those larger civilian guilds? It might work wonders."

Piao Renshuang thought it over, but still shook his head.

"Ridiculous, where are there any large civilian guilds left nowadays?"

He, too, is a member of the "official" side, so he naturally understands its twists and turns.

"You surely don't not know this, right? Those capable players have mostly been recruited by the various national governments; even the old‑guilds Spear Blade, Starry Sky, and Hero have been disbanded and reorganized, let alone the others, we……"

"No! Mr. Piao, there are still exceptions!"

But President Li actually cut him off directly, speaking quickly.

"Do you still remember the player from the closed beta whose nickname was 'Khan'?"

As the game progresses, high‑quality, high‑level players will tend to gather toward the official forces, which is also to be expected.

After all, to sustainably shine and heat up in the game, a stable real‑world environment is essential; what environment could be more reassuring than receiving an iron rice bowl, living in a dormitory where three meals a day are cafeteria‑style self‑service?

Thus, many civilian players like the spearmen who made a name for themselves through personal skill chose to join the External Affairs Bureau, becoming official staff with a roster, and lived the happy days of earning money while sleeping.

Well, anyway, working anywhere is still work; it's better to pick a stable, respectable job and outwardly claim to have passed the exam to become a capital‑city civil servant, so that when meeting relatives during festivals one can still save face.

And players like Fan Taoju, who already had some family wealth, although they still retained a high degree of autonomy, likewise expanded cooperation with the authorities in various fields.

There's no helping it; with the sands shifting, the White Eagle and Silla have simply turned to conglomerate‑based rule—this is a great Cold‑War version where if you don't form cliques you'll be squeezed out, or else it's pleasant to sit in the shade of a big tree.

Of course, under this temptation, there are still a few players who maintain a high degree of independence.

For example, the Death God, a well‑known game‑mechanics researcher, has already achieved financial freedom just by selling his own guides, needing nothing else.

Another example: having once made a name for himself under the Starry Sky banner, he has now gone solo, his nickname being 'Khan' of the 'Let Feather Arrow Fly'.

"Is this the place?"

Where there is demand, there is a market; nowadays he has become the leader of a player mercenary group.

He often accepts commissions from various factions to do jobs that are dirty‑ish, but calling them clean would absolutely not be accurate.

As for his subordinates, they are naturally the specially bred magic wolf knights after learning wolf-training techniques from the strange werewolf Cloi.

As over three hundred fully equipped wolf riders clad in dark heavy armor slowly approached, a thick murderous aura instantly filled the entire training ground.

One is the prime minister, one is the crown prince; among the three, only General Zheng can lower himself before outsiders, so he hurriedly went to meet them.

「True to being the Whispering Arrow Mercenary Corps, you came faster than I imagined, ah, you know! 」

With changing times, after undergoing the half-year public test baptism, the current khan truly has acquired somewhat the bearing of a khan.

Wearing the helmet is still fine, but once taken off, every frown and smile carries an almost substantive killing intent; I don't know how many living beings he has hunted.

But when facing the patron, the diligent him still was willing to break out a kind smile that seemed as if he wanted to eat a child raw.

"Hehe, we just happened to be nearby, and your offer is also worth us rushing forward at full speed!"

Although General Zheng felt a chill down his back, he could only nod repeatedly.

"That's natural, that's natural!"

Since the divine weapons have already descended from heaven, the Silla people also didn't continue wasting time.

After pointing out the outposts that had largely disappeared on the map to the Khan, he let them go carry out the mission.

But even though the Wolf Cavalry's movement speed was extraordinarily fast, they immediately slipped into the dense forest surrounding the Silla main camp.

But the battlefield situation changes in an instant, and Axibao even more deeply understood the principle that speed is essential in war, hardly stopping during the march.

Thus, as the time was just approaching afternoon, the Wolf Folk vanguard army was already about to leave the official sphere of influence of Silla.

In such chaos, even the Khan could not immediately analyze their specific movement direction, so he could only adopt the same broad-net scheme as General Zheng, spreading out to follow behind, trying to bump into them.

But upon hearing this, Old Zheng was naturally shocked— I've already stepped into that pit once, why do you want to step into it again!

But according to the mercenary corps' rules, once a task begins, the employer cannot give orders; if any irreparable consequences occur, the mercenary corps will bear them itself.

So he could only swallow his words, leading his own soldiers out in the opposite direction from where the mercenaries had left, serving as reinforcement.

At least this can create a pincer formation; perhaps if we all form a larger net, we can flank the enemy!

But facts prove that whether a method is good or not depends not only on who proposed it, but also on who uses it.

Because even in bright daylight, the Silla army did not exhibit the ridiculous situation from last night, nor did any unlucky person fall into the mountain ravine from losing footing.

But after a search, aside from the Wolf Folk's uncleaned resting traces, they really couldn't find anything.

But the Wolf Riders on the eastern front, relying on the Demonic Wolves' keen sense of smell, had seized the tails of the Wolf Soldiers.

Although the two sides had not yet formally engaged, they had already begun a chase in the forest like dancing with shadows.

They dug traps for each other, they laid bait for each other.

He fled, he pursued, he could not fly even with wings.

But in the end, the Wolf Prince, with superior skill, lured the pursuing Wolf Riders into his own encirclement.

Without any inquiry, the enchanted volley of arrows flew from the thicket, all aimed at people's throats.

However, the Khan was also prepared; he immediately had the Wolf Riders deploy a group shield, blocking all the dark arrows.

After a clinking sound, they turned out to be completely unharmed!

This counts as each side completing a probe, discovering that neither could overcome the other, thus creating room for negotiation.

Thus, the Wolf Soldiers' side soon transmitted a voice.

"Despicable humans, you actually dare to use Demonic Wolves as livestock!"

The voice was hoarse and raspy, clearly not an ordinary person, either an elite or a big boss.

Thus, the Khan hiding behind a stone also raised his voice.

"Shameless Wolf Folk, you actually dare to set foot on the Pioneers' land!"

This is pure nonsense, just as humans don't care about the life or death of monkeys on Mount Emei, Wolf Folk don't care who sits on the Demonic Wolves' backs.

And the mercenaries are even more so; a few brothers just work for pay, where does any morality or justice come from that requires them to stretch their hands so far?

So……

So actually the two sides basically have no conflict at all; now even the basis for negotiation exists!

Thus Axibao spoke again.

"Your side has fewer people than ours; no matter what you want to do, weigh it!"

That statement is indeed factual, but the Khan could not possibly be scared off by it, and he replied.

"This is our turf; reinforcements could arrive at any time, think it over!"

A brief silence.

"Really no way to talk?"

"The employer has given an order here!"

Tsk……

As a steppe wolf, Axibao's intuition is very keen; if possible, he truly did not want to clash head-on with this group of Wolf Riders, so he uttered two words.

"Double!"

In return came a sentence that was entirely reasonable.

"My family's honor isn't that cheap!"

Mercenaries are also people, they also care about face, and anyone with a bit of sense knows that if they act recklessly and ruin the market, they themselves will surely be the ones hurt.

So even if they were originally thieving mercenaries from the Deep Forest, if any unit dared to repeatedly betray the employer, they would definitely be purged by the chief of the Feen Alliance personally, let alone now.

——But what if Axibao never intended to negotiate in the first place?

"Huh? Be careful!"

Although the Khan eventually noticed the enemy silently encircling them from the shadows, being one step behind meant being one step behind, and the Wolf Folk's second volley of arrows had already come pouring down.

The failure to raise the group shield in time caused several outer Wolf Riders to be hit, screaming like hedgehogs as they fell from the wolves' backs.

But this does not mean that the Khan, having lost the initiative, would lose because of this, since he neither retreated nor held his ground, but instead let out a loud shout.

"Brothers, charge!"

Having said that, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and upon releasing his finger, he shot and killed a Wolf Folk guard on the spot.

And the Khan's decision was by no means rash; on the contrary, it was the currently most correct decision.

Because they are now in a mountain forest, the Wolf Folk's warhorses struggle to advance, and even the Wolf Folk themselves, even if trained, absolutely cannot match the Demonic Wolves that naturally inhabit this place.

Therefore only by running could the Wolf Riders regain the initiative and advantage, and while following the Khan's muffled whistle forward, they would slash any Wolf Folk they encountered and charge toward the enemy chief's location.

"Good guts!"

If an ordinary person saw hundreds of high-level giant wolves leaping and charging toward them, even if they didn't get scared enough to piss themselves, they'd surely panic.

But Axi Bao's favorite pastime was to have his subordinates...... charge at him while mounted on horseback.

So he, long accustomed to such danger, had a gall bigger than a dragon's; he didn't dodge, but instead sank his waist, drew his breath, seemingly gathering power.

"Not good!"

The khan could tell at a glance that this wasn't being scared stupid, but the boss was readying an AoE big move, raising his hand and firing a whistling arrow.

The other wolf riders naturally followed suit; quick reflexes aside, each had terrifying aim, their arrows practically flying behind the whistling arrow's tail.

But this time Axi Bao won, having finished gathering power a step earlier; his throat surged, and he erupted in a piercing howl as sharp as a blade.

Consequently, the arrows about to land on him were shattered by the sound wave, from magic to arrow shafts, crushed into fragments.

Even the steel arrowheads weren't spared, collapsing like clay and being forcibly bent out of shape.