anwhile, at the Nagato Port headquarters.
With Zhao Qingcang's death, the command structure lost its backbone.
The eting room was in complete chaos.
"Withdraw! We must withdraw imdiately!"
A general with a star on his shoulder slamd his fist on the table and roared, his face red and neck bulging.
"We just received news that our three vanguard forces dispatched to Tokyo have all suffered devastating losses at the hands of the Sakura Army!"
"The team closest to Tokyo is now blocked 120 kiloters away! Those lunatics from Japan are reckless and can't afford to lose anyone, we can't advance!"
He looked around, his voice filled with despair.
"Gentlen! We simply cannot afford such a war of attrition! If we continue, our entire army will be wiped out!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another hot-tempered general jumped up, pointed at his nose, and cursed.
"Bullshit! Withdraw the troops now? Wouldn't that an the marshal died for nothing? Wouldn't the tens of thousands of brothers who sacrificed their lives on the beachhead have died for nothing?"
What else can we do?
The first general to speak retorted.
"Marshal Zhao is dead! Marshal Deng is dead too! Even Lord Gandalf can't be found!"
"We don't even have a single SS-level professional in our army right now, so tell how we're supposed to fight?"
He beca more and more excited as he spoke, spittle flying everywhere.
"If we wait for the ancestor of the Kujo family to be resurrected, even if we march to Tokyo, we'll just be throwing our lives away! Rather than be wiped out, we should cut our losses now!"
"General Ma is right."
A faint sigh ca from the corner.
"The Marshal's plan... has clearly failed, and we have done our best."
The atmosphere inside the eting room was heavy.
The pro-war faction gritted their teeth, but were powerless to refute it.
The peacemakers sighed and looked dejected.
At this mont, General Ma's gaze fell upon the silent old man in the main seat.
Chen Huaishuo.
"General Chen, Marshal Zhao entrusted you with full command before he left."
"He believes in you, and we believe in you too."
"Just say the word: whether to fight or retreat, none of us will have a word to it!"
All eyes were focused on the gray-haired old general.
Chen Huaishuo opened his cloudy eyes.
His aged yet steady voice rang out in the conference room.
"Now that things have co to this, I'll tell you the truth."
"Marshal Zhao never imagined that our team could reach Tokyo."
These words shocked everyone present.
Ignoring «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the astonishnt of the crowd, Chen Huaishuo continued speaking.
"After all, that's the capital of Japan, and its defenses are practically impregnable. It's simply unrealistic to think that we can just drive straight in and strike at the heart of the enemy."
"Therefore, Marshal Zhao's goal is to attract the attention of most of the military force and all the powerful figures in the Sakura Kingdom."
"To provide cover for our real killer move."
The real killer move?
The group looked at each other, their faces full of confusion.
Chen Huaishuo's voice suddenly rose a few decibels.
"That's right! Marshal Zhao has already secretly dispatched a powerful special team to infiltrate Tokyo! Their only goal is to seize the divine artifact 'Life Pendulum' and prevent the resurrection of the Kujo family patriarch!"
The eting room erupted in chaos.
"No wonder! No wonder Lord Gandalf didn't appear on the front lines!"
"It turns out the Marshal had a backup plan all along! He was directly sent to infiltrate Tokyo!"
However, General Ma poured cold water on the idea once again.
"Surely Lord Gandalf alone isn't enough?"
"Tokyo is teeming with powerful individuals, with at least three SS-rank professionals on the surface! Not to ntion that SSS-rank old monster who is about to be resurrected!"
He shook his head, his tone full of doubt.
"Are there any other powerful individuals who went along?"
Chen Huaishuo shook his head solemnly.
"This is a top secret of the Great Xia military. Apart from Marshal Zhao himself, no one knows the complete plan."
"I only learned bits and pieces of the plan when Marshal Zhao summoned alone before the expedition."
"What should we do now?" soone asked anxiously.
Chen Huaishuo's gaze was sharp as he surveyed the entire room, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"The cover operation cannot stop until news gets that we are taking cover in Tokyo!"
"The war must still be fought!"
"We must launch the fiercest offensive to show those bastards in Japan that the might of our Great Xia is unstoppable! We must buy precious ti for our comrades in Tokyo!"
"Once the agents in Tokyo send word, the decision of whether to stay or leave will be made!"
Chen Huaishuo's words were powerful and resounding, stabilizing the wavering morale of the troops.
General Ma still didn't think it was a good idea.
"Cover? It's pointless now."
He snorted coldly, his words icy.
"Even if the Marshal arranged for a team to infiltrate Tokyo, so what? The fact that no news has co back yet is the best proof of that!"
"I reckon our entire force in Tokyo has been wiped out!"
"Marshal Zhao's plan has completely failed!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
"Report--!!!"
An excited ssenger rushed into the conference room.
He didn't have ti to salute, and roared with all his might.
"Reporting to the generals! We have just made contact with the people of Tokyo!"
boom!
The atmosphere in the entire conference room was ignited!
All the generals, including General Ma, jumped up from their chairs with a start, their faces filled with ecstasy.
"Quick! Take it!"
Chen Huaishuo's voice trembled.
The ssenger handed over an encrypted communicator.
Chen Huaishuo took the communicator and heard a crackling sound of electricity and a broken male voice from the other end.
"...Can you hear ...? This is...the Intelligence Departnt of the Great Xia Kingdom, Agent 0021...White Butterfly..."
Chen Huaishuo spoke into the communicator: "I can hear you, this is Chen Huaishuo. What's the situation in Tokyo right now?"
"So it's General Chen. I've long admired your na."
The voice on the other end was much clearer, but its tone was serious.
"I have crucial intelligence that I must report to Marshal Zhao personally! I request that Marshal Zhao answer the call personally!"
These words extinguished the joy that had just risen in the eting room.
The group exchanged bewildered glances, their hearts sinking.
They were unaware that Marshal Zhao had already perished.
The military intelligence chief, Wei Liao, reacted quickly, taking the communicator and speaking in a deep voice.
"This is Wei Liao. Marshal Zhao has more important matters to attend to and is not in the command center. White Butterfly, report directly to if you have any issues!"
"Minister Wei?"
The person on the other end of the communicator paused for a mont, not expecting it to be their boss answering.
He dared not hesitate any longer and reported.
"Minister Wei! Tokyo has fallen! We have already evacuated!"
"What about Kujo Naruya?"
Wei Liao went straight to the point, asking the question that everyone present was most concerned about.
"Has he completed the sacrifice and been fully resurrected?"
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the communicator.
Those two seconds felt like an eternity to everyone in the conference room.
Everyone's heart was in their throat.
Finally, the voice rang out again, tinged with strangeness and uncertainty.
"Currently, Kujo Naruya has not appeared in Tokyo."
"But we learned from one of the reinforcents summoned by the God of Change..."
"Kujou Naruya... has he already been killed by them?"
"What?"
"What did you say?"
The eting room erupted in chaos.
The expressions on the faces of all the generals were absolutely priceless.
Shock, astonishnt, bewildernt, ecstasy... a mix of emotions overwheld them, causing their brains to shut down.
Even the usually composed Chen Huaishuo couldn't control his emotions, and he stood up from his chair, supporting himself on the table with both hands.
He stared at the communicator and asked in a trembling, dreamlike voice.
"You an... the newly resurrected SSS-rank professional, Kujou Naruya..."
"Dead?"
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