1546 The Armys Commanders (2/2)
When Saks turned around, he noticed that his commander had already moved from the center seat to the one beside it. The hunched old man with a hunchback did not have an imposing appearance compared to his commander, but he walked straight to the middle seat and sat there.
The old man realized something was not right as soon as he sat down. He looked at the man beside him and asked in a mocking voice, ”You really like this spot?”
”You've spent all your energy and time ruling over Cairo. It's about time you move to somewhere peaceful beyond the deathlight's reach, and buy yourself a pet dog or bird. It's more suitable for you to interact with little animals now, instead of the savage creatures that keep trying to destroy our city,” the mastermind replied ruthlessly.
”I remembered how sincere and open-hearted you used to be when you were just a major general, but ever since you were assigned a seat here, it feels as if your eyes have been clouded and your heart polluted. I'm quite curious, what was the thing that changed you!?” the old man replied calmly.
”Perhaps it's because of how incompetent someone is, or perhaps it's the choice of the people, or maybe growing old does take away a person's courage and motivation to fight,” the mastermind answered.
”I see. If Cairo is still standing after the battle, I won't be disgusted by the warm seat you left me with next time, but isn't the area you are in charge of now in a complete mess? I heard many people discussing how idiotic your strategy is when I went to the streets to get myself some milk tea. I have a disciple who unfortunately was assigned to your frontline troop. He promised me that he would come back in time to celebrate my birthday before the battle, but last night, I didn't get to receive his present, nor could I hear his pleasant laughter. I can only eat the slice of birthday cake that I purposely left for him myself, even though consuming too much sugar might make me die quicker. Now, can you leave your mask aside and tell me, did you already know that troop wouldn't be coming back before sending them out?” the old man asked.
”It was just an attempt, but he indeed gave me a surprise by dying to the mummies. Therefore, I had no choice but to let my subordinate replace him. The missions assigned to my men aren't any easier, but my men always live and accomplish their missions,” the mastermind replied smoothly.
”Yeah, now that you mention it, the demon creatures are always friendlier to your men,” the old man, named Haken, agreed.
”The undead will be attacking with the snake demons next time. You should place me in charge of the army so you can mourn for your disciple,” the other said.
”That's not something for us to decide. By the way, did you send out a patrolling squad yesterday? My men saw Saks's troop fighting against people with magic,” the old man countered.
”Commander-in-chief, my troop stumbled into a bunch of bandits that were trying to take advantage of the situation our city is in. They were unable to prove their identity to us when we approached them. They suddenly attacked us when we tried to bring them back, thus we had no choice but to arrest them,” Saks explained quickly.
”Oh, then I guess it's nothing worth mentioning,” the old man said calmly.
”Yes, it's nothing indeed,” Saks nodded.
”Did you read General Fenna's report?” the old man asked.
”I did, it's complete nonsense. I've rejected it, and scolded her for it, too,” the other scoffed.
”It's indeed quite ridiculous.”
”It's seriously a very stupid decision to promote the lieutenant general of a frontier fortress to a general in Cairo for the small contributions she has made,” the commander said.
”Well, she just didn't have any chance to display her talents.”
”She thought it would bring peace to Egypt, how amusing!” the commander sneered.
”Ethan, it's not wrong to believe in something like that,” Haken chided him.
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In the outskirts to the west of Cairo...
Mo Fan, Heidi, Mu Bai, Vani, and Apas were moving back and forth at the edge of the safe zone. Evening came soon, and the snake demons would be active again. The Curse of the Vengeful Eyes had returned. The low-level snake demons kept showing up out of nowhere around them.
”Damn it, the army has listed us as wanted! Every entrance is stationed with soldiers. If we try to go inside, we'll find ourselves surrounded in no time,” Mentor Vani exclaimed angrily.
They were prevented from entering the city, and the snake demons were closing on them too. They were currently in a pinch!
”This is absurd, we are clearly the victims, but we have somehow become bandits that attacked the army for no reason!” Heidi was infuriated. She never thought the army of a country could manipulate the truth to such an extent!
”I already knew this was going to happen. We have to figure out a way to sneak through the soldiers and enter the city. We have to tell Fenna what happened,” Mo Fan said.
”There are guards everywhere. There's a war going on now; I doubt there's any way we can sneak into the city,” Mu Bai shook his head.
”There's always an opening. Cairo is so big. There must be some areas with a weaker defense. We might be able to break through with our strength, but the army is indeed a lot stronger than we thought. It looks like that Gangma wasn't lying to us,” Mo Fan said.
”The city must be guarded by many troops, but they all have listed us as wanted in just a day or two. It looks like the guy whose tail we stepped on isn't just a general!” Mu Bai observed.