The entire battle had concluded, and after the conflagration, the soldiers of Huaxia toiled through the night.
In the command center, Lin Zhan’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot as he surveyed the casualty report. The generals and commanders of the seasoned Hundred Battles Army, like startled quails, huddled near the wall, their necks retracted, utterly silent.
"Can any of you explain to me, with such a massive advantage, with 8,000 Diamond-tier experts acting as vanguards and over 300,000 Platinum-tier warriors leading the charge, and yet you..."
"I feel the same. Young Master's aura now is so much like the old Marshal's. Especially these past two times, I've had the illusion that if the mission wasn't completed well, he'd definitely come over and give me, his uncle, a good smack."
"Alas," the five then sighed and shook their heads, heading towards their own troops.
After Lin Zhan left, the command center erupted into chaos. The generals of the Hundred Battles Army surrounded Jiang Zheng, complaining bitterly:
"Young Master Sun, what is this all about? Even if the old Marshal were here, with such a great victory, these casualties would be negligible."
Jiang Zheng looked at an old general speaking, a comrade who had fought alongside Jiang Zhongtian. He replied with no pleasantries,
"Grandpa Zhang, General Zhang, you say it so lightly. The casualties of 20,000 brothers are negligible in your mouth. I recall you have three sons and seven grandsons? Why must they be kept in logistics? I think it would be better to transfer them directly to the main fighting force."
"Furthermore, our Hundred Battles Army doesn't have a suicide squad yet. I think your three uncles should be the commanders and vice-commanders of the suicide squad. Your three uncles are all Diamond-tier experts. Huaxia has spent considerable resources cultivating them over the years, and it's time they repaid it."
"Young Master Sun, you can't do this! I, Old Zhang, have fought for humanity my entire life. You can't leave me with no one to perform the final rites for me!"
Upon hearing Jiang Zheng's words, Old General Zhang knew what he meant, but in the army, words were bonds. He could only shed his pride and appeal to sentiment.
Jiang Zheng was infuriated by this elder who abused his seniority. He looked at the Zhen Lei and Xun Feng legions; those old fellows weren't holding them back. All their generals led the charge themselves.
"So Grandpa Zhang knows someone needs to perform the final rites for him. But today, another 12,000 were left on the battlefield because of you. To satisfy the vanity of you imbeciles, these 12,000 brothers died. Who will care for their parents in their old age?"
"Do you think I didn't see you? Lin Zhan's commander's three direct subordinate units acted as vanguards to break through the lines. You scoundrels, to snatch credit, actually made the Hundred Battles Army go head-to-head with the Borg clan's Golden Legion."
"With our retreat routes cut off, the Golden Legion would have fought us to the death, and they had ample time. The best solution would have been for elite units like the Thunder Warriors, the Great Saber Squad, and the Encirclement Corps to slowly nibble away at the Borg Golden Legion's space, thus minimizing our casualties."
"But how did you fight? Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Wang, Grandpa Gongsun, the three of you are seasoned generals. Such mistakes shouldn't be made under your command."
"Young Master Sun, this matter..."
*Crack!* Seeing the generals of the Hundred Battles Army still trying to plead, Jiang Zheng picked up a teacup from the table and smashed it fiercely.
"Do you still have the nerve to continue speaking? The bombing was done by the Zhen Lei Legion. The Borg clan's assault teams were killed by the Great Shang Ancestral Court Guard. The Golden Legion's defenses were breached by the Great Saber Squad and the Thunder Warriors. We, the Hundred Battles Army, just followed behind and killed the enemy."
"What face do you have to claim this credit as ours? Is it because we have more people that we can be shameless and distort the truth? I, damn it, can't afford to lose that kind of face!"
"Lin Zhan's father, father-in-law, three grandfathers, and one great-grandfather all charged into the front lines. It can be said that all the males of the Lin family went to the battlefield. What, do you think you are nobler than the Lin family?"
Jiang Zheng's tirade left the generals below speechless. Despite Jiang Zheng's young age, this was wartime, and as a superior officer, Jiang Zheng had the authority to behead anyone who disobeyed military orders at any time.
Jiang Zheng then said to a nearby staff officer:
"Issue an order. Due to General Zhang, General Wang, and General Gongsun, three old generals, being of advanced age and sustaining severe injuries in this campaign, it is specially approved that these three generals retain their military status and return home to enjoy their retirement. All military stipends will be issued according to a one-star lieutenant general."
Jiang Zheng, seeing that he had laid sufficient groundwork, knew it was time to make an example. He directly demoted the three oldest generals back home. However, he did not withhold anything they were due, as these three old generals had fought for humanity for decades.