Chapter 1841: Tough Stance
Zhao Hai could see that the group sent by the Heavenly Demons were specifically formed to deal with the Freedom Alliance Army.
Zhao Hai could understand this approach of the Heavenly Demon Army. He beat them the day before. Naturally, the Heavenly Demons couldn’t accept it. The Heavenly Demon Army needs to maintain its morale. There were millions of troops in the army, if the army suffered a loss against a small team of mostly spirit refining cultivators, then the morale of the Heavenly Demon Army would drop.
And if Zhao Hai’s army kept standing, they would continue to affect the morale of the army. This wasn’t good for the Heavenly Demon Army. Therefore, in order to deal with Zhao Hai’s army, they formed a special team. Zhao Hai’s army needed to be dealt with in the shortest possible time. The Freedom Alliance Army needs to be wiped out.
Despite knowing the thoughts of the Heavenly Demons, Zhao Hai’s expression didn’t change watching his army die in battle. He just looked on with a cold gaze.
The Freedom Alliance’s army was quickly being grinded down. Hua Wushang also wasn’t planning on offering any help. It was as if he wanted the Freedom Alliance Army to be annihilated.
The fight went on for more than four hours. From the original 150 thousand, the Freedom Alliance only had about 30 thousand troops left. As an army, they were practically disabled.
At this time, Zhao Hai made his move. This time, he didn’t use the Thousand-hand Guanyin. Instead, he used the Heavenly Demon Seven Killing Blades. The lethality of the seven killing blades is very high. The Heavenly Demons had to take out a portion of their troops to deal with him.
At this time, Hua Wushang also felt that a crucial moment had arrived. He knew that if Zhao Hai perished in this place, the Black Tiger Gang would definitely go all out against the valley. Therefore, he quickly sent a group to rescue the Freedom Alliance Army.
Time pa.s.sed and another two hours went by. The Freedom Alliance was now reduced to 20 thousand. However, they were finally able to drive back the Heavenly Demon Army. The Freedom Alliance Army were finally able to return to the rear and rest.
Zhao Hai retreated as well. His face was calm. n.o.body could see an expression on his face. Wan Zong followed behind him, and his face was full of anger.
Zhao Hai could understand Wan Zong’s mood. Although it hasn’t been long since this army was formed, it was still an army of the Freedom Alliance. Despite how weak it was, Wan Zong still had a sense of belonging towards the army.
Wan Zong was also aware that the Hundred Flowers Alliance was fully capable of helping them, but they didn’t. They just looked on as the people of the army died. It would be strange if Wan Zong wasn’t angry.
Zhao Hai looked at Wan Zong and said, “Don’t be angry. Our goal has been achieved. We’ll be returning to the sect tomorrow.” After he said that, he flew forward. Soon, he was greeted by Hua Wushang and Li Xunhua.
The two cupped their fists towards Zhao Hai. Then Hua Wushang said, “Junior Brother Zhao, we were late to notice the situation. I’m sorry for being late in sending you support.”
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “No, you’re too polite. However, the Freedom Alliance Army is now crippled. Everyone’s morale is very low. Staying here any longer would just affect the base’s morale. I think it’s time for us to return. Senior Brother Hua, Senior Brother Li, what do you think?”
Hua Wushang and Li Xunhua looked at Zhao Hai’s expression and were convinced that he was angry. The two didn’t say anything. Instead, Hua Wushang agreed, “Of course. Be careful when you return. Do you need to take a rest first before you return?”
Zhao Hai shook his head, “There’s no need. There’s a lot of matters still left unsolved back in the Freedom Alliance. The earlier I head back, the sooner I can deal with them.”
Hua Wushang and Li Xunhua understood what Zhao Hai was saying. The first army wasn’t doing very well recently. Zhao Hai wanted to return as soon as possible to save it. So the two nodded. Then Zhao Hai cupped his fist towards them before leaving.
Looking at Zhao Hai’s back, Hua Wushang sighed and said, “We have offended Zhao Hai this time. It seems like we need to deal with him once we have an opportunity. Otherwise, he would be the one dealing with us.”
Li Xunhua nodded, “I have informed the sect about this matter. The sect agrees with our ideas. Moreover, the sect will send people to deal with Zhao Hai. There’s no need to worry.”
Hua Wushang nodded and said, “Let’s use the seductress wine. Zhao Hai’s commanding ability is too strong. This would affect our future plans.”
Li Xunhua nodded, “Rest a.s.sured, it’s been taken care of.”
The next morning, Zhao Hai brought the Freedom Alliance back. The initial 150 thousand troops was now reduced to 20 thousand. Most of the survivors have depressed expressions on their faces. Some of them even held hostility towards the Hundred Flowers Alliance.
In fact, it wasn’t only the people of the Freedom Alliance. There were people in the Hundred Flowers Alliance that had negative opinions on Hua Wushang’s performance the day before. However, none of them dared to say it out loud.
Zhao Hai has yet to contact the people who were dissatisfied with the Hundred Flowers Alliance. He didn’t have the time to see them. Moreover, he couldn’t just visit people in the open. Therefore, Zhao Hai decided to return to the sect first before making plans.
When Zhao Hai and the others returned to the Black Tiger Gang, Zhang Feng and the other sect representatives were waiting for them. Although Zhao Hai didn’t leave for a long time, he actually lost 130 thousand people in that period. However, they managed to kill 200 thousand Heavenly Demons. On paper, the reinforcement army won.
Moreover, the people from the other sects understood that the reason Zhao Hai and the others only came back was because the Hundred Flowers Alliance failed to provide help. This also irritated the sects.
After Zhang Feng settled the troops, he invited Zhao Hai and the representatives of the sects to the meeting hall. Although most of them were aware of the battle results, they still wanted to hear the details from Zhao Hai’s mouth.
Once everyone had sat down. Zhao Hai told everyone a revised version of the battle. After he’s done, Zhao Hai coldly snorted and said, “If we didn’t help the Hundred Flowers Valley, we wouldn’t have suffered huge casualties. I can clearly see that they’re afraid of the Heavenly Demons. They would just shrink to their sh.e.l.ls and accept the beating. Although their defenses are good, they didn’t make any efforts to counter-attack. Sooner or later, their defenses will be breached. I don’t think we should expect much of them in the future.”
Zhang Feng calmly listened to Zhao Hai’s words. But upon hearing Zhao Hai, his expression changed. Then he looked at the representatives and said, “Everyone, I know that some of your are in contact with other alliances. But I advise you to take Little Hai’s words to heart. Those big sects don’t care about our lives at all. Whether it be the Hundred Flowers Valley or the Myriad Demons Realm, they just want to preserve their strength. They don’t care about our losses. You should know that those sects still have cards to play. And they can afford to lose troops. On the other hand, every loss we suffer will shake our foundations. I hope you consider this when you think about the matters of the Freedom Alliance.”
Zhang Feng also discovered that there were some sects that weren’t content with the Freedom Alliance. Some of them were in contact with the Hundred Flowers Alliance and the Myriad Demons Alliance. This was a dangerous signal. It’s possible that these sects were divulging information about the Freedom Alliance. Therefore, Zhang Feng took this opportunity to address the issue.
None of the sect representatives made a response. They just sat there with calm faces. Zhang Feng looked at everyone, then he coldly snorted and said, “Perhaps you’re thinking that the Hundred Flowers Valley and the Myriad Demons Sect are only aiming at the Freedom Alliance. And as long as you leave, you won’t be attacked. But let me tell you, your thinking is wrong. You can go back and inquire. Ask who lost the most people in the Hundred Flowers Alliance. Every time the Hundred Flowers Alliance fought against the Heavenly Demons, the one who lost the most were the small sects. The reason the Hundred Flowers Alliance wanted Zhao Hai to return was because Zhao Hai is capable of fighting back and was ruining their plan. The Hundred Flowers Valley wants to use the Heavenly Demons to weaken the other sects. They want to achieve domination of the Northern Divergent Province. Do you really think that you would have a better life if you join the Hundred Flowers Alliance?”
The expressions of some sect representatives couldn’t help but change. They didn’t know whether Zhang Feng was telling the truth or not, but if Zhang Feng dared to say it here, then it must be true. If that’s the case, then it’s definitely not a good idea to join the Hundred Flowers Alliance.
Looking at the expressions of these people, Zhang Feng smiled faintly and said, “Everyone, I’m not afraid to tell you, I already know who is in contact with the other alliances. Although you’re free to leave the Freedom Alliance, you’ll become our enemy if you cause the alliance to be disadvantaged. I’m not polite when dealing with enemies.”
“Little Hai will return to the first army to take command. But at the same time, he will head a special operation team. This team will be composed of elites drawn from various sects. They will be members of the first army and fight with the army. But when necessary, they will act to deal with the internal enemies of the alliance. If anyone dares to betray the alliance, you will be treated as an enemy. So please think about your decisions carefully.” After he said that, Zhang Feng stood up and left.
n.o.body expected Zhang Feng’s touch stance. He was warning everyone to not act unreasonably. Otherwise, they would be dealt with.
During the formation of the Freedom Alliance, a rule was set where everyone can join and leave whenever they want. Zhang Feng’s words just now were a blatant derailment of this rule. This caused some representatives to have an ugly expression.
However, there were also some sects who didn’t react. They knew that they needed this method at this time. Otherwise, the Freedom Alliance would be divided up by other powers. Those who weren’t affected by Zhang Feng’s words looked at the other representatives before standing up and leaving. They needed to tell their sects about the news so that they could prepare early.
Zhao Hai and Zhang Feng went to the study. Upon arriving, Zhang Feng withdrew his angry look. Then he looked at Zhao Hai and said, “How is it? Is it enough to shake those people?”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “It shouldn’t be a problem. If they still haven’t opened their eyes, then we’ll clean them up. The establishment of this special team will enhance the strength of the Black Tiger Gang. Moreover, you raised the matter at the right time. Not a lot of them should object to this decision.”
Zhang Feng nodded, then he said, “Return to the first army as soon as possible. The morale of the first army is very low. Although they haven’t eaten heavy losses, a lot of people were dissatisfied with the situation. You need to show yourself to increase their morale.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “You can rest a.s.sured. Leave this to me. Also, I noticed some people in the Hundred Flowers Alliance who didn’t like their current position. Plenty of them were disciples of extinguished sects. I want to try getting in touch with them. If possible, we can bring them over. What do you think?”
Zhang Feng thought about it before he nodded, “Alright, I’ll leave that to you. As long as they don’t show any disloyal thoughts, the Black Tiger Gang will welcome them.”
Zhao Hai nodded and then said, “First Brother, I’ll be going back to the first army. Battles in the Hundred Flowers Valley are very boring. I’ll go to the first army and brawl with the Heavenly Demons.”
Zhang Feng nodded, “Alright, you can go. Make those Heavenly Demons aware that they cannot easily move against the Freedom Alliance.” Zhao Hai smiled faintly. Then he cupped his fist before leaving.
Zhao Hai didn’t bother visiting other areas of the base as he went directly towards the transmission formation plaza. After a flash of white light, he returned to the base of the first army.
The atmosphere of the first army was terrible. After Zhao Hai left, it seems like the first army has lost its soul. The fighting strength of the army quickly plummeted. Now they could only receive a beating from the Heavenly Demons.
Zhao Hai quickly noticed this upon arriving at the base. He couldn’t help but frown. However, he didn’t say anything. He walked out of the transmission formation and then went to his residence.
The cultivator on the transmission formation initially had a blank look on his face. But upon seeing Zhao Hai, his eyes lit up. With an excited voice, he exclaimed, “Commander, you’re back!”