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Axe was calmly looking at the Spatial Rift. Compared to before, he was now more familiar with the world. Arriving at the Ark Continent made him understand a lot of things.

He was very clear about how much the Family had invested in the Ark Continent. If the family couldn’t recoup the cost, then the O’Neal family would greatly suffer.

What makes this situation funny was the fact that the O’Neal family’s greatest desire at this point was to see their enemies. Ever since they arrived at the Ark Continent, they had never seen a single person. Even if it was an enemy, they badly needed to see one.

Since the discovery of this spatial rift, the O’Neal family finally managed to calm down. At this moment George went to the side of Axe and said, “Junior Patriarch, we have tried attacking the other side several times. However, their counterattacks were very fierce. But at this time, we have a general observation of their troop positions.”

Axe turned his head to George and nodded, “Alright, good work. If we succeed, then the Clan will remember your great contribution.”

A glint flashed in George’s eyes, he quickly gave a salute and said, “I thank Junior Patriarch Axe!”

Axe nodded and said, “We’ve just arrived, so we’ll rest for two days before attacking. In those two days, draw me a map of the area. It’ll be useful for our operation.”

George nodded, “Young Patriarch, the map has been prepared. I will send it to you in a while.”

A glint of praise appeared on Axe’s eyes. He patted George’s shoulder and said, “Good job, George. You handle things very well.”

Upon hearing Axe’s praise, George’s body couldn’t help but feel light. He quickly replied, “Thank you, Junior Patriarch. I’m just doing things I’m meant to do.”

Axe nodded, “Alright, I’ll be waiting for the map. Go back and rest well.”

George nodded, “Then I’ll ask to be excused, Junior Patriarch. I’ll immediately have the map delivered.” Axe nodded before he turned to look at the War Tanks. n.o.body knew what kind of thoughts were running in his mind.

Axe had been inside a War Tank for several days. They were hurrying along without stopping so he was very tired. Magic armor pilots weren’t strong themselves, so they get exhausted more easily.

But although he was very tired, he still wouldn’t dare to fall asleep. There were too many things running along Axe’s mind. His head has been processing them nonstop, there was no time for sleep.

In the end, Axe’s thoughts drifted to Zhao Hai. After thinking about how they met, Axe couldn’t help but feel stupid. Everytime Axe thought of Zhao Hai, he would always feel anger.

At that time, he thought that Zhao Hai was the fool. But as it turned out, it was Axe who had been played. Axe had an inkling that Zhao Hai was on the other side of this spatial rift, this feeling was very strong. Because of this, Axe heavily lobbied to be allowed to come here, even if his father didn’t agree.

While Axe was deep in thought, the War Tank suddenly stopped. The war tank driver turned to Axe and said, “Junior Patriarch, we’re here. You should go to your room and take a rest.”

Axe slowly opened his eyes and looked all around. Then he nodded and said, “You go rest as well.” Then he opened the door and left.

Just after Axe entered his room, his servant’s voice was suddenly heard outside. “Young Master, Mister George is seeking an audience. He said that he had brought the troop deployment of the spatial rift.”

Axe nodded, “Let him in.” Before long, George entered Axe’s room. In his hand was a map of the spatial rift’s defensive line.

Axe waved his hand to the servant and said, “Go prepare some food and drinks with me. George, stay here. Let’s eat while discussing the map.”

Although George was happy, he didn’t let it show outside. He just nodded and sat on the table as he unfolded the map.

It was a very detailed map. Terrains and landmarks were properly labelled. One could see George’s attentiveness from the map.

After looking at the map, Axe gave a favorable nod and said, “Very good. This map is very well made. Are you certain that this is the location of all the enemies?”

George shook his head and said, “I’ll be honest to the Junior Patriarch. I cannot guarantee that this complete. The enemy is very strong. Moreover, we discovered that the other party was very prepared to fight with the magic armors. I’m afraid of being entangled by them, so we didn’t dare to go too far for scouting. However, the general situation depicted here shouldn’t be wrong.”

Axe nodded, “It’s fine. There’s no need to worry about it. Right, how is their attacking power?”

George complied, he pointed at the map and said, “Junior Patriarch, the enemies on the other side of the spatial rift uses an inferior version of our energy cannons. It seems like they’re quite big and heavy, they aren’t easily movable. The attacking strength seems to be average, but there was a lot of them. At the same time, they also have a kind of explosive javelin. The explosion the javelins produce is stronger than the energy cannons. And the most difficult to deal with were the operators of these energy cannons and javelins. They were all used by the undead, and those undead are very strong.”

Axe frowned, “I didn’t expect the other party to use undead as cannoneers. Perhaps the undead are related with the Dark Mist? From what you can see, how many troops would we need in order to break through the enemy line?”

George thought about it and said, “I probably need 1000 energy cannons, 200 war tanks, and 1000 magic armors. If we have those numbers, maybe we can control the casualties to about 100.”

Axe moved his eyebrows and said, “Oh, you’re that confident?”

George nodded, “Although they’re defense is quite strong, I can see that they still fall short compared to the magic armors. More importantly, although the spatial rift wasn’t small, it wasn’t big either. We can’t send a lot of people at a time, but this also meant that the other party wouldn’t be able send a lot of troops to defend. So 1000 magic armors should be enough. We could use energy cannons as covering fire while the magic armors and the war tanks slowly push forward with their s.h.i.+elds. We should be able to take control of the area in a short period of time. We can also establish our own defensive line in case the enemy sends reinforcements.”

Axe nodded, “Good. Go back and write a detailed plan for me. I will let the Generals see your plan and if it is feasible, we’ll have you lead the operation. After all, compared to any of us, you are the most familiar with the situation.”

Although George was a well-mannered person, he still couldn’t help but conceal the glee on his face upon hearing Axe. He quickly gave a salute and said, “George thanks the Junior Patriarch for the promotion!”

Axe patted George’s shoulder and said, “I promoted you because I can see that you’re competent. Alright, go and prepare. Remember to call me Young Lord from now on.”

George became even happier. One shouldn’t underestimate this name change. The address ‘Junior Patriarch’ can be used by everyone to address Axe. However, only a few people could call him by the name of Young Lord. Only those with good relations with the O’neal family, the older generations, and trusted subordinates were able to call Axe this name. Being able to address Axe this way was a sign of status. For George, this was an extremely good news.

George happily replied, “Yes, Young Lord, I will go prepare right away.” After he said that, he turned and left. Although he had already left Axe’s room, George was still very motivated. His family wasn’t powerful, so everything he achieved up to this day was due to his hard work. George was very familiar of the O’Neal family, judging by the fact that he had climbed his way up from being the lowest ranked soldier. He knew that for people like him with no background, he would need to rely on powerful people. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to go far in life.

Axe giving his favor was akin to George getting a powerful backer. What better backer was there other than the Junior Patriarch, the future leader of the O’Neal family? With the Junior Patriarch at his back, reaching his dream of being an official wouldn’t be that far off.

After looking at George’s departing back, Axe couldn’t’ help but smile faintly. After having a deep understanding about the family’s matters, Axe knew how important it was to train competent subordinates.

Yes, the family already had loyal and devoted elder officials. But because their qualifications were established long ago, it wasn’t certain that they would be by the Junior Patriarch’s side. With the pressure of these elder official, people like George would find it hard to go high up the ladder. So as long as Axe provided people like George with support, then they would be loyal and devoted to him. They would become Axe’s personal strength, something that belonged to his own.

These were matters that his father had taught him. Since his father was aware that Axe was coming here, he sent several young and capable men with no backgrounds along. These people had been pressured by old officials. Their statuses weren’t able to bring them to the rank of general. Because of this, Axe would find it easier to command them. At the same time, they would also do their best to curry favor with the Junior Patriarch.

Axe was very grateful for this procedure that his father had laid out. He knew that his father was already paving the road for him in order to smoothly transition into the position of Patriarch.

After thinking about this, Axe couldn’t help but lightly sigh. He turned and left to rest in his bedroom, the meal that the servant sent was left uneaten.

The next morning, just after Axe finished having his breakfast, a servant’s voice was heard, “Young Master, Captain George is asking for an audience.”

Axe nodded and said, “Let him in.” The servant complied as George walked in not long after.

Although George’s eyes were blood red, his facial expression shows that he was extremely motivated. After seeing Axe, George immediately bowed and said, “Young Lord, I’ve finished the battle plan. Please take a look at it.”

Axe looked at George and frowned, “George, have you been busy since yesterday evening? Didn’t I tell you to take a rest?”

After seeing Axe frown, George couldn’t help but stare and quickly replied, “Yes, I ask the Young Lord for forgiveness. I’m afraid of causing the Young Lord’s mission to make mistakes. So I worked overnight to finish the battle plan.”

Axe looked at George and sighed, “George, don’t do this in the future. The battle plan isn’t an immediately need. You need to take care of your body. The only thing you truly own is your body. You can contribute more in the future. When the time comes, I don’t want your body to be unwell if I need you.”

As soon as he heard this, George’s expression loosened. Then he gave a sharp bow and said, “Yes, Young Lord. This George thanks the Young Lord for the concern.”

Axe nodded and said, “Leave the plan behind. You go back and rest well. Come to me after. Go.” George nodded before he placed the plan on the table. Then he gave Axe a salute and left.

When George left, Axe took the battle plan and gave it a glance. After a while, a smile couldn’t help but appear on Axe’s face.

George’s battle plan was very good. It was very detailed and had considered a lot of aspects. The combat process was divided into several parts. The first part was the attack. The main goal was to break through the spatial rift’s defensive line.

The second part was seizing the defensive line. Upon doing so, they would be able make a counter-attack on the enemy.

The third part was exploiting their victory. After defending their ground, they would immediately send the energy cannons and war tanks in to attack the other party through the fog. This way, they would be able to see what lies behind.

It can be said that the plan was beautifully made. The first step was very clear and George even calculated how much people they would need. It included the estimated time it would take, their route of action, and reactions to certain levels of progress. If the enemy strongly resisted, then the battle plan would describe how to deal with it. All these things were carefully considered. Axe was very satisfied with the report.

Axe only gave George a small opportunity, but who would’ve thought that George would bring in such a huge surprise. Although this was only a battle plan, one could see a lot of things from it. With how well it was made, it showed the calibre of George’s skill. For Axe, this was very important.

Finding a thousand soldiers was easy, but looking for a good talent was very difficult. Those with talent are extremely crucial to any military. At this point, George became more valuable in Axe’s eyes.