Vol 23 Chapter 14-4: Split up! Battle!(IV) (1/2)

“Our main combat force? What does that mean?” Zheng was holding the mage from team Devil in one hand as he asked the close by Xuan curiously. When Xuan had been telling him the arrangements for what came next, he had mentioned a ‘main combat force’, which had prompted Zheng to ask with some displeasure.

“It’s what you think it is.” Xuan made a gesture with his hand. “Many of team China are weak in terms of power. In the past, we oftentimes had to organise them together in order to be able to fight team battles and allow them to completely display their power. This isn’t a very big problem in normal movies, but in this final battle where we’re pitting ourselves against team Devil, I’m sorry, they’re just not that useful.”

“Continue.” Zheng’s mouth opened and closed, as he wanted to say something. However, he chose never to say it in the end, instead asking with a sigh.

“Thus, the secondary combat force’s task is to whittle away at team Devil’s secondary combat force as much as possible, as well as exterminate team Celestial. They can only participate in the main combat force’s battle after, or even the battle between you and your clone. This is a type of battle where they’re advancing from bottom to top. At the critical moment, they’ll have to make some sacrifices.” Xuan said indifferently.

Zheng sighed, silently shutting his eyes. He said after much time, “Then us five… er, in addition to Luo Yinglong, are team China’s main combat force?”

“No, team China’s main combat force only includes, you, me, Yingkong, Heng and Luo Yinglong. Cheng Xiao and Imhotep, your mission will be to drag in most of team Devil.”

“The maximum of a team is twenty people. For a majority of teams, their peak combatant will number one or two, while the next three to five will be the main combat force. The rest will be the secondary combat force or non-combat personnel. If team Devil really does send out a squad to join in besieging team Celestial, we’ll have to face five to eight people from Tteam Devil in addition to Yingkong’s disappearance. The main combat force I imagine we’ll face includes me, the clone Ming Yanwei, the Gando who has already returned, the clone Zhao Zhuikong who has a small probability of still being there, Hao Tian who has a fifty percent chance of existing there. Based on what we know, your clone isn’t there. In other words…”

Xuan paused there. He pushed up his spectacles, looking at the faintly visible villas in the distance. Beyond, was the Hive!

“In other words, we’re going to be using a frontal assault!”

“Zheng, I can tell you my plan now. Don’t worry about the other squad. I’ve already made the appropriate preparations. It’s just whether Honglu can manage to maximise all the advantages of the squad. Our goal is not the Hive. Perhaps we can obtain the information about the Seventh Underground Laboratory there, but that’ll place us in a terrain disadvantage. We’ll definitely be blockaded by team Devil if we try to leave there. I already said this before. You have but one target! Face your clone in a perfect state. He’s an enemy that surpasses your imagination. You must face him with your power complete. Whether victory or defeat, you have to tie him down in battle. Everything else will be the rest of us deciding victory or defeat!”

“We will reach team Devil in thirty seconds. I want you to rush forward and seize my clone. Ask him the location of the Seventh Underground Laboratory. Immediately leave the battle as soon as you obtain the information. What follows will be your battle alone.” Xuan said directly to Zheng as he watched the nearing villas.

Zheng was astounded as he looked at Xuan. He didn’t know that Xuan would make this sort of arrangements. After a long time, he asked dumbly, “How about you all? Why not I just directly kill your clone and the rest of team Devil’s main combat force if there’s such a good opportunity?”

“Absolutely not! I suspect you’ll have to activate Chaos, Genesis Splitter to kill my clone successfully. Your power will fall by thirty to forty percent. I don’t know how powerful my clone is, but if you waste too much energy, I won’t be able to control the following variables. Which is better? One-on-one between you and your clone? Or eliminating all of team Devil, but you facing your clone practically exhausted with the rest of team China? Honestly? I don’t think we can win in the second scenario.”

“Same.”