Chapter 1196 - Commander Ling Xiao!
The Federation had suppressed their fury for more than 20 years. 20 years ago, they didn’t have enough evidence to prosecute Twilight. If they did, this war might have started a long time ago.
As for the Twilight Empire, it was obvious that the emperor and the members of the cabinet wouldn’t accept the proposal. They would definitely resist. Thus, the Federation’s proposal was actually forcing the Twilight Empire to go to war with them.
Only Caesar had the power to say something in the whole situation. However, Caesar just remained quiet. They watched silently as the tension between the two countries increased until the war was imminent.
It was an all out war so god-class mecha masters were able to participate in the war
If there weren’t any allies willing to help Twilight, no one was even willing to bet they could win.
Twelve god-class mecha masters of the Federation against the three great mecha lords of Twilight. The difference in strength of the top echelon of the two nations was too vast.
However, everyone was sure that Huaxia wouldn’t send all twelve god-class mecha masters out. As it might invite some unwanted attention from other enemy nations while their god-class mecha masters were out. Five god-class mecha masters were enough to win the war against Twilight.
However, war wasn’t a numbers game. There were many other factors that could affect the outcome of the war. For instance, the participation of other nations.
If that really happened, it would turn into an intergalactic war. All the nations of the human world would be dragged into it. The question of ‘would this happen’ was in everyone’s mind, and it all depended on a single nation’s decision? Everyone was waiting for Caesar’s decision. Caesar was the only country that could fight on-par against the Federation.
“Caesar is the only variable of the war. We must be on guard against them.” Yang Mingzhi frowned as he looked towards Caesar. Their planetary sector was connected.
The top brass of Lingtian Independent Army was quickly called into a meeting room for a meeting to analyse the current war situation since they might be drafted into the war at any moment.
“We have to watch over Kaluki, Oubang, and Grador too. Once Caesar moves, these alliance nations will move too.” Han Jijyun added on as he pointed to a few nations in the other sectors.
“Once Caesar’s alliance nations move, our alliance nations will move too.” Liu Furong frowned. “That means that a new intergalactic war will occur. The Federation will sink into a swamp of constant battles which would eventually brew resentment within the people of the Federation. This is not good for the image of the general.”
This war started because of General Ling Xiao. If they were able to end the war quickly and achieve victory, Ling Xiao’s reputation would reach a new height. If that really happened, the entire nation would support any future decision he made. However, once the war dragged on and the civilians had to suffer the losses of their loved ones, the general’s reputation would drop to the dregs. Someone just needed to lit the spark and General Ling Xiao would be condemned to hell.
The only way to prevent this was to end the war before Caesar makes their decision,” Li Lanfeng replied calmly.
Caesar probably remained quiet because they hadn’t reached a general consensus internally. They might also be planning something in secret. But, this wasn’t important. As long as the Federation acted quickly, Caesar wouldn’t have the opportunity to act.
“I wonder who will be the commander-in-chief for this war. How many god-class mecha masters will they send?” Qi Long asked. “Actually, if the Federation is decisive enough to send ten god-class mecha masters, we will be able to defeat Twilight within a few days.”
“Ten god-class mecha masters? That’s impossible,” Yang Mingzhi dismissed the idea.
“Why?” Qi Long was disappointed.
“In history, the Federation has always played safe. They will ensure the safety of the country first before sending any of their armies out,” Yang Mingzhi replied.
This was the Federation’s style for the past tens of thousands of years. This was also why the First Marshal was able to stay in power for so long. He would never allow its country to be at risk, which also caused the Federation to not have any amazing military achievements in huge wars. The way of playing safe had been imprinted into the souls of the citizens of Huaxia, even the First Marshal wouldn’t divert from this course.
“Five god-class mecha masters might be the limit. They might not even send any.” Yang Mingzhi sighed. Actually, he wished that the Federation would send more god-class mecha masters to defeat Twilight as quickly as possible.
“We have to rely on the commander-in-chief now. I hope he will conduct the war in an intelligent manner.” Qi Long sighed too.
“I know who will be the commander-in-chief.” Ling Lan suddenly opened her eyes.
“Huh? Who is it?” Qi Long asked in surprise. As expected, Boss managed to get wind of the matter of the top echelon before anyone else.
“It’s my father, Ling Xiao.” Her father told her yesterday night. Since the Federation used his name to start the war, he wanted to be the one in control of the war. He didn’t wish to be the scapegoat of someone else’s mistake.
“That’s good.” Everyone was excited. “Sending three or four god-class mecha masters might just be enough.”
Ling Xiao was the most powerful god-class mecha master. It seemed like the Federation really wanted to defeat Twilight. They were sending the best person they could.
“That means the 23rd division will be the principal force in the war. Which other divisions are participating?” Li Lanfeng asked.
The 23rd division was only formed a few years ago so unsurprisingly, it wasn’t as powerful as the other 22 divisions. If there were no divisions collaborating with them, this would be a difficult war to win.
“The 4th division, the 13th division, and the 7th division,” Ling Lan replied.
Li Shiyu and Li Yingjie were stunned. Li Lanfeng didn’t have any expressions on his face but he clenched his fist tightly.
Li Yingjie exclaimed, “Why the 4th division?”
Veteran soldiers like Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong knew the secrets of the 4th division. They looked at Li Shiyu and Li Yingjie with a serious expression.
“The 13th division belongs to my father. It seems that the military has a motive behind the deployment.” Qi Long felt that something was amiss.
“My father used to be in the 7th division. There are many people who follow my father there.” They weren’t the only ones shocked. When she and her father heard the deployment of the three divisions, they were worried too.
The military was being too obvious. They wanted to deplete Ling Xiao’s strength.
The general of the 13th division, Qi Yaoyang, was under the Third Marshal’s wing but it was undeniable that his son was in Ling Lan’s independent army. This favour of grooming his son was great enough for Qi Yaoyang to help Ling Xiao occasionally on simple matters. Deploying his division for this war might just be a warning for him.
The 4th division was in the same situation too. Two of the Li family successors were in Ling Lan’s independent army. The Li family also helped Ling Lan a lot so the military felt that the Li family was on Ling Xiao’s side.
As for the 7th division, half of the division entered the space tunnel with Ling Xiao and died. The other half that was left built a new 7th division from scratch. After more than 20 years, the 7th division progressed quickly and became a division as powerful as the main divisions of the three great marshals. Many new generals were unable to gain full control of the 7th division so the military headquarters was fearful of them.
After Ling Xiao came back, the military was afraid that he might gain control over the 7th division (Ling Xiao used to be the vice general of the 7th division). They were probably using this war to determine the stance of the 7th division.
Ling Lan looked at everyone’s serious face and said, “This isn’t a bad thing. With this arrangement, everyone will listen to my father’s command on the battlefield.”
Everyone’s expression softened. If you think about it another way, this was a good arrangement for Ling Xiao.
Firstly, the 7th division was as powerful as the first three divisions, so it was able to compensate for the weakness of the 23rd division.
The 13th division had the best mecha mecha master after the twelve god-class mecha masters, Qi Yaoyang. He was able to defeat any mecha mecha masters below god-class with ease. He was a powerful addition to Ling Xiao’s team. As for the 13th division, they weren’t too strong but they weren’t weak too. They were above average among the 23 divisions.
The 4th division was slightly weaker than the average division, but they had the support of the Li family so Ling Xiao wouldn’t have to worry about the logistics. Logistics was a critical factor on the battlefield. It might be even more crucial than fighting power.
From the looks of it, the military gave Ling Xiao a very good combination. If something were to happen to the Federation, Ling Xiao would still be able to handle the war himself.
“That’s the right way of looking at it.” No one wanted to be pessimistic. Hence, they put down their worry and started analysing where the war would start.
While everyone was discussing, Ling Lan wondered if she should have a chat with Ye Kui.
Everyone that was on their side were deployed by the military. Ling Lan liked to be safe. Hence, she had the urge to find new partnerships. Of course, she had many choices but there was a member of the Ye family just beside her. Plus, the Ye family already showed her their intent to work with her.
No!
After considering it carefully, Ling Lan rejected the idea. The heads of the Ye family were not people she wanted to work with. Plus, wasn’t she in a collaboration with the Li family? Wait... no, she wasn’t. It was just fate that the three potential successors from the Li family were in her team so the Li family had no choice but to help him.
Elite families were not easy to work with. If she wasn’t as powerful as them, they would want to devour her. Ling Lan gave a cold smile. She didn’t need this kind of partnership.
If her father wanted to collaborate with them, that was his business. Ling Lan knew that she was a little arrogant. Plus, with her father protecting her, she could afford to be stubborn with her choice of partners.
“Ling Xiao! What do you think of the order?” Qi Yaoyang came to look for Ling Xiao immediately after he received the notification.
“Seems like some people don’t like your son following my child,” Ling Xiao replied calmly. He knew this order a little earlier than Qi Yaoyang. Although he hoped that Qi Yaoyang was able to stay away from this power struggle, he was still implicated in the end.
The people under the wing of the Third Marshal were unhappy that Qi Long wanted to stay in Lingtian. Hence, they used this deployment to warn Qi Yaoyang.
“That stupid child doesn’t want to leave. What can I do?” Qi Yaoyang felt frustrated too. He wanted his son to be in the 13th division too.
“Forget it. We can’t force our ways on them. If we can’t let them live the life they want, we’re just too useless as fathers.” Ling Xiao didn’t mind. No matter how dangerous the situation was, he wouldn’t want his child to feel stress.
“That’s why I need to go to the battlefield with you now.” Qi Yaoyang shrugged. Qi Long always thought that Qi Yaoyang was a stern father who always hit him whenever he could but in actual fact, Qi Yaoyang loved Qi Long with all his heart. That was why he allowed Qi Long to follow the person he wanted and live the life he desired.
Qi Yaoyang wasn’t afraid of going to the battlefield. Before he became a general, he was always at the frontline, making him the most experienced mecha master among all the generals.
Qi Yaoyang was only worried that someone would scheme against Ling Xiao after he left. There was no one else by his side to help him.
Ling Xiao smiled when he heard Qi Yaoyang’s worry. Qi Yaoyang could feel the anger behind his smile. “I’ll admit that I fell into the scheme 20 years ago, but I’ll never repeat the same mistake ever again. Never.”
Finally, the Huaxia Federation released the order appointing Ling Xiao as the commander-in-chief. The war between the Federation and Twilight had officially begun.
“Fu*k! The Federation really started a war with us. Moreover, their commander-in-chief is Immortal Bird Ling Xiao.” The entire Twilight was in an uproar when they heard the news.
Yesterday, they still hoped that Huaxia was just verbally threatening them and wouldn’t really start a war. However, this order destroyed their hope. Huaxia really declared war on them.
“Caesar, find Caesar for help.” The citizens of Twilight were anxious. They placed their hope on Caesar. However, no replies came.
“Has Caesar abandoned us?” Some of the citizens who respected Caesar started crying.