Chapter 1542 – Defeating Nie Liang, Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Pointing to the World (Part 80)
Bai Ning sighed, “One person takes on an entire army; isn’t that a nightmare?”
In this battle, they initially suffered considerable losses, but the subsequent losses were minimal. The enemy, in contrast, enjoyed the upper hand at first but ended up begging for mercy from their own army. No matter how Fan Chen tried to suppress the wavering morale with brute force, Nie’s troops still crumbled like a house of cards.
To everyone’s surprise, it was their own Lord who turned the tide, smashing the overconfident enemy down with sheer violence.
Initially, the enemy outnumbered them, but their Lord led the soldiers to equalize the numbers on both sides.
Such tactics truly amazed the world!
Qin Gong mumbled, “Ordinary people would have their arms rendered useless after swinging a sword all night. Yet here’s our Lord, still as spirited as ever.”
Bai Ning echoed, “Definitely inhuman!”
At that moment, the two even doubted whether their Lord was a divine being come down from the heavens to toy with mere mortals.
Little did they know, their exalted Lord was currently being schooled by the Old Commander, who was enjoying a nice little nap.
Jiang Pengji was feeling quite gloomy; while the Old Commander could savor his snooze, she had been fighting and killing all night long.
Having no credit to show for it was one thing, but couldn’t the Old Commander at least give her a break and show a little leniency?
Your Dad: You really have issues with your mindset.
As the saying goes, the higher the rank, the heavier the burden. The Old Commander wasn’t just Jiang Pengji’s former superior; he had also supported and guided her. Despite feeling frustrated, Jiang Pengji could only obediently listen while suppressing yawns.
Your Dad: Do you really think that eliminating the Heavenly Brain completes the mission entrusted by the Federation? You think you can just retire with glory?
Jiang Pengji felt a bit of a headache coming on as she replied, “What exactly does the Old Commander mean? My mindset seems pretty normal, right?”
She genuinely didn’t see what her problem was, but maybe the Old Commander had spotted something. She listened attentively.
Your Dad: You’ve long suspected there were problems; why did you still fall into the enemy’s ambush?
Jiang Pengji smirked, “Didn’t the Old Commander say that acting like a pig to eat the tiger would lead to being assimilated? I’ll remember not to make that mistake next time.”
After she said this, there was a long silence from the Old Commander, who eventually sent a lengthy response.
Your Dad: That’s part of it, but isn’t another part your impatience for results?
Jiang Pengji frowned slightly. Impatience for results? Did she look that eager?
“Old Commander, that’s not right! When have I ever been in a rush for results? If I were, I’d have been pestering you for mech warships or other firearms to sweep the world easily. Besides, I don’t even have the means to do so. How can you say I’m ‘impatient for results’?” Jiang Pengji felt this accusation was quite unwarranted.
Your Dad: You say you don’t have it? Aren’t you eager to siege cities and conquer territories, eager to resolve the current situation, eager to return to the Federation? Your mindset has changed; it’s nowhere near as serious as before. To put it bluntly, you’ve lost even a basic respect for life. You’ve known something was off, you knew the spiritual domain could help you sense the enemy and avoid harm, yet you never thought about that. Rather than simply forgetting this ability, it seems your subconscious didn’t even plan to use it.
Jiang Pengji’s frown deepened. To outsiders, she just looked like she was repeatedly wiping blood off her divine sword.
“Old Commander, just say what you mean directly. Why beat around the bush?”
Your Dad: Do you still value the lives of the soldiers under your command?
She was a genetic warrior, educated from a young age to sacrifice everything for the greater good, including her own life.
Jiang Pengji could give up her own life; what was there that she couldn’t part with?
Sacrificing the lives of her soldiers to achieve her goals was perfectly normal.
Yet Jiang Pengji replied, “Of course, they are important.”
Your Dad: Are you really unaware that the enemy set an ambush, or… did you knowingly fall into their trap?
Jiang Pengji’s lips curled into a cold smile, “What’s the difference?”
Your Dad: Regardless of whether it’s an ambush or not, you would have taken the bait; therefore… you certainly didn’t need to use the spiritual domain to scout the enemy. Your reluctance to know the truth was just to avoid alarming the snake by stirring the grass. You used yourself and the soldiers under you as bait to draw the enemy in. Aren’t you afraid of capsizing in the process? In your plan, how many people did you intend to sacrifice to achieve this?
Jiang Pengji blinked and laughed, “I don’t understand what the Old Commander is implying.”
Your Dad: You want to annihilate the Nie forces, don’t you?
Jiang Pengji replied, “I’ve had enough of staying here; wouldn’t it be better to resolve the Nie Clan situation sooner rather than later?”
Your Dad: So you admit it at last.
Jiang Pengji remained noncommittal.
This scheme was not just a setup by Wei Ying; she was also playing along with it.
If Wei Ying’s retreat was genuine, then great, sending troops could ambush the Nie’s camp, which would count as a victory.
If Wei Ying’s retreat was a trap, then what kind of trap? Jiang Pengji put herself in Wei Ying’s shoes, roughly deducing the enemy’s plan—most likely setting a trap to take down the ambushing troops or even planning an ambush at Zhanjiang Pass—
If they aimed for Zhanjiang Pass, Wei Ying’s side would undoubtedly spare no effort and send all troops.
Jiang Pengji weighed these two options, her frown never easing.
In the end, she decided to play along, whether the enemy was for real or just pretending; she would know soon enough.
Not using the spiritual domain to scout…
This point, just as the Old Commander mentioned, was either that she didn’t think of it, or she wasn’t planning to use it at all.
Regardless of whether it was the enemy’s scheme or not, it all fell within her calculations.
This plan, aside from a few individuals, Qin Gong and Bai Ning were both unaware of.
A secret remains a secret largely because fewer people know about it; the fewer the insiders, the less the exposed flaw.
She could guarantee the lives of the two but couldn’t assure the safety of the other soldiers.
The Old Commander was likely angry and scolding her mainly because of this.
Jiang Pengji had put the unaware soldiers on the road to death in pursuit of her goals.
“Old Commander, I’ve never been a good person. The principles of a genetic warrior are to use any means necessary to achieve one’s goals; necessary sacrifices are inevitable.” Jiang Pengji stated coolly, “Overall, with the Nie Clan’s current destruction, the overall losses of our army would be smaller.”
Letting the Nie Clan scuttle about, fighting now and then, would accumulate excessive losses.
It was better to consolidate forces and set a deadly trap for them, directly striking hard to severely weaken them.
Even if—
This plan would sacrifice some innocent soldiers.
Your Dad: If they were Federation soldiers, would you also sacrifice them without hesitation?
Jiang Pengji replied, “To exchange the smallest losses for the greatest benefits, why wouldn’t I do so?”
