Chapter 503

In the internet age, anything spreads quickly.

Although only a short day had passed, the news that a well-trained group of werewolf soldiers had appeared in the southern wilderness had already spread on the Player Forum.

Upon learning they were roaming freely in Silla territory and had even taken eighteen outposts, the hype was cranked up another notch.

But up to this point, the players were just watching for fun; compared to this, the events in the Hui Guang Kingdom were obviously more interesting.

After all, if Silla can't handle it, they can't; nobody expected… we just wait for the big shots to step in and suppress it!

Then came the news that the Mingjing Mercenary Corps, in a head‑on clash with the werewolf troops, was wiped out, losing both weapons and mounts in a crushing defeat.

【Holy shit, even the khan can be beaten down?】

【Is this really a reconnaissance squad? I feel like a regular army just marched in.】

【Haha, Silla is so weak; this once again proves our Tianzhu's strength— the Adhesive Nation should have given us a seat long ago!】

With the flashy calling card of mechanized werewolf cavalry, the Mingjing name still carries weight; saying we're invincible under the authorities isn't an exaggeration.

Who would have thought that just as the werewolf threat theory was slowly rising among players, some panicked ones would see some extremely ridiculous photos.

【Huh?】

【Oh damn, there's this kind of werewolf? I'm making a meme right away.】

【Dude, just a second ago we were hyping the werewolf threat, and the next second they're on their knees?】

While the players laughed at Axibao's sorry state, the battlefield where the mercenaries had just been fighting was already littered with bodies.

The effect of the new poison gas grenades wasn't supposed to be that exaggerated, but a fortunate easterly wind blew the smell completely across this hillside.

Being essentially canine, werewolves have an especially keen sense of smell; a flood of irritating gas into their respiratory tracts is basically a ton of critical damage.

Axibao, who had borne the brunt of the damage, even had his eyes turn red; struggling to rise amid tears and vomit, he moved while cursing.

"I puke~ damn puke~ you puke~ mom puke~"

As a result, this time he couldn't stand; despite exerting all his strength, he collapsed, splashing vomit everywhere.

The other werewolves need not be mentioned; on this wind‑stinking hillside they remained miserable until evening, when they finally helped each other leave.

With empty stomachs and throats burning painfully, they still feel their legs weak now; they certainly can't walk any further.

Axibao recalled the route they'd taken, then simply found a clear stream for everyone to rest and recuperate.

As they washed, a werewolf who had barely regained composure but whose legs were still wobbling approached.

"Your Highness, we… what should we do now?"

"Pu—!"

Axibao had long lost his earlier cheer; after so long, his stomach was empty, yet he still instinctively gagged.

——So disgusting!

"We're not leaving!"

So after a brief respite, he pointed north with a trembling hand.

"Isn't there a large human settlement over there? We're not leaving! We're going there! I want to slaughter the city to vent my rage!"

Say it, do it—our werewolf prince's specialty is overwhelming decisiveness.

After getting his brothers cleaned up and eating a bit of dry rations to settle their stomachs, he waved his banner and led hundreds of guards onto the road to the Silla capital.

Meanwhile, on the other side…

Silla's humiliating defeat has become the hottest topic in the gaming world these past two days; let's see what Crown Prince Piao Renshuang has to say. The forthright Young Master Piao spoke bluntly:

"Seiba, Seiba, Seiba, Seiba… oh, Axi ba!"

Piao Renshuang was truly furious this time; he summoned all officers of lieutenant rank and above, then gave them two resounding slaps in a row before stopping.

Even after hitting them he wasn't satisfied; he strode over, red‑handed, a few steps to President Li's face.

"You! Idiot, what do you have to say?"

How could President Li know that these werewolves would actually be this strong when they fought, to the point that even the lavishly hired Mingjing mercenaries could be broken by them?

He could only lower his head in apology and give a deep bow.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Piao—this is my fault!"

"What good is an apology?"

Piao Renshuang let out a furious roar at his own helplessness, then…

Then he slumped over, turned, and sat on a nearby bench, slowly covering his face with his hands.

After repeated setbacks, he truly wants to cry; he's clearly worked so hard, so why are his subordinates so useless!

I haven't even taken much money either—after several months I've only gotten a few tens to hundreds of billions; does that even count as money?

I'm still kind to this bunch of incompetent subordinates; even though they've failed utterly, I fully support their actions.

Usually, aside from recruiting a bit less talent, purchasing a bit less materiel, providing a bit less funding, and driving away that taekwondo practitioner…

I… I at least gave you three dishes and a soup!

Even if the portions were small, the quality poor, the grease scarce, and we're daily mocked by netizens worldwide—especially Huaxia—as pig feed, and just the other day they even deducted a thousand Silla won from our snack money…

But that's still food!

You have no reason to fail!

Axi ba, so this is all your fault! Your fault!

While the crown prince was sulking, the officers who had been slapped into pig‑heads stood in a strange atmosphere, looking at each other, and finally all turned their gaze to General Zheng.

Old Zheng actually comes from a rare impoverished background in the Silla army; he's struggled in this big dye vat for years, serving as an ox and horse for countless seniors, playing the grandson, and even…

Thus, having endured so much hardship, weathering scorching summers and freezing winters, he finally climbed to a high position—not to keep taking slaps from others! He wants to live the outrageous life of those double‑door men in the comics!

Thus, after receiving the emotions of his comrades—even if they might have previously been tripping each other up—he took a deep breath and looked toward President Li, who stood nearby.

【Deep feeling. jpg】

Old Li: …

His expression went from panic to confusion, then hesitation, and finally he calmly nodded, as if everything was understood without words.

But when he turned around and walked toward Piao Renshuang, who was sitting on the bench, President Li's previously calm face suddenly surged with unprecedented turmoil.

It's done.

It's done!

It's done!!

Ah, my great undertaking finally sees the light of day!!!

Ancient wisdom, wherever it is, President… no, in Silla it should be called the Chancellor.

As the civil‑official leader, the Chancellor dares to flirt with the heavily armed General, which every emperor, even future emperors, should be wary of.

For this, even killing, lingchi, flaying, or exterminating ten families would not be excessive!

Unfortunately, Piao Renshuang was too heart‑broken; he saw nothing, only wallowing in self‑pity, lamenting how this world is unfair to him, the crown prince.

It wasn't until President Li came over that he lifted his head, speaking like a child.

"Get out of here, you failed strategist, you still have the nerve to come over!"

Hehe, that means the defense is completely broken!

So President Li lowered his voice.

"Mr Piao, actually I have another way to help you, simida!"

The sentence sounded all too familiar, so familiar that Piao Renshuang's blood pressure spiked the moment he heard it.

"Damn it, you still dare to say that!"

Unfortunately, during this time President Li had gained unprecedented confidence, so he brazenly interrupted Piao Renshuang.

"Mr Piao, arguing is meaningless; what we should do now is quickly devise a way to solve the problem."

"Solve it—what shall we use to solve it?"

Doing so naturally further inflames Piao Renshuang's anger, causing him to raise his voice again.

"Our men can't catch them; even if we catch them we can't defeat them, and they're about to enter Baekje territory, so what meaning does our struggle have?"

"No, it is meaningful!"

President Li's words rang powerfully; his fundamentals seemed solid.

"Mr Piao, when a crisis arrives, reacting and not reacting are always two different matters."

"Now the whole world is watching us; if we remain indifferent, that would be a complete loss of face!"

"But if we can be a bit braver and at least adopt a stance of resistance, we can preserve at least a fragment of face!"

"And this face—whether we have it or not… that's even more of a different matter."

Don't understand?

That's exactly right if you don't understand!

"If you can understand this nonsense meant to fool a fool, wouldn't you become a fool yourself?"

Nevertheless, Piao Renshuang seemed to understand, even nodding dazedly.

"Um, so, what do you think we should do now?"

President Li slowly curved his mouth, his words becoming gentler, like a teacher guiding step by step.

"Mr Piao, the reason we're being trampled by those damned werewolves is that we only used light weapons."

"But in fact, Silla, as a major power, also possesses its own heavy weapons, doesn't it?"

That is indeed true; after all, regardless of seniority, for various reasons Silla is also a key military partner supported by White Eagle.

So even if they assemble parts purchased elsewhere, they can still produce many 'original' products for international arms sales.

Heh, don't look down on them; just this already surpasses many so‑called old‑power nations.

Note: It does not refer to any specific member of the Europa Alliance.

So even without mentioning anything else, the tank development project initiated by White Eagle—Silla, as an 'ally', also took part in it.

Now that the first‑generation product finally exists, as a participant who kept funding, they naturally get one or two units to show off.

These land kings, though spanning eras, have repeatedly proven in special military operations that their prized swords remain sharp.

But fighting in the southern barbarian plains—a completely undeveloped, complex forest—indeed proves unwieldy.

Consequently, those two tanks, after delivery, have sat in the headquarters warehouse gathering dust, occasionally photographed for the public's amusement.

—"Awo, everyone don't envy others' demon‑god guardians and giant lizards; we have tanks!"

But now that things stand as they do, we have to bring these things out for a spin.

Even if it's just flexing at our own doorstep, firing into the air, we at least have to show our elbows.

"Give the order, Mr Piao!"

"No!"

But Piao Renshuang refused President Li's request and suddenly grabbed his hand under the shocked gaze.

"President, this order should be issued by you, actually."

This completely left President Li dumbfounded; he stared at Piao Renshuang's eyes as if meeting the notoriously capricious youth for the first time.

Could it be that he also wanted…

Recalling that seemingly kind yet actually ruthless old man's face, President Li nodded forcefully.

"Alright, I understand!"

With ruler and minister united, half an hour later the clearing was packed with fully armed soldiers.

The Silla garrison's heavy weapons certainly weren't limited to two tanks; in fact they also had ten infantry fighting vehicles, fifteen field guns, thirty heavy machine guns, and some rocket launchers.

They also weeded out all the conscripts who would only drag their feet in critical moments, leaving a refined force of three thousand soldiers who had at least basic training.

The result was immediate; from a distance it even looked like a genuine strong army.

Especially after General Zheng announced that he would raise the per‑meal per‑person food allowance from 4333 Silla won to enough to cover meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, and carbs, the whole army erupted.

"Ah, does this mean we can finally eat stone‑pot bibimbap to our heart's content!"

"Great, I now want a big serving of grilled pork belly!"

"I'm going to share this good news with my father right now; I finally managed to make some headway in the army!"

"Thank you, General Zheng!"

"Thank you, President Li!"

"Thank you, Mr. Piao!"

For a moment, everyone was thanking everything, and no one stubbornly insisted that only hungry soldiers made good soldiers; morale simply skyrocketed.

"Very good!"

Mr. Piao signaled General Zheng slightly, and General Zheng quietly glanced at President Li, seeing him also nod.

"All troops, hear the order—move out!"

Tanks led the way, transport vehicles escorted, and the three‑thousand‑strong army thus carried their guns and dragged their artillery, setting off in a mighty procession.

Then, the Silla Army set out from its headquarters heading south, looking for a place to show off its strength.

The Wolf troops marched north from the south, aiming to wipe out the Silla headquarters and avenge their previous shame.

When both sides, feeling good about themselves and coming for revenge, advanced openly without hiding their military might, what naturally followed was ……

"Huh?"

Wolf Prince Axibao twitched his nose and suddenly stopped in his tracks.