Chapter 336

Chapter 336: Chapter 335: Hei Mian’s nickname had now spread throughout the entire troop, first coined by Ye Tianchen and called "Hei Wa".

It had to be said that Hei Mian did indeed have a very dark complexion, but previously in the unit, especially those who reached the rank of Heavenly Gang War General, everyone was extremely serious and not prone to joking around. Nobody had the time to mess about as they were all incredibly busy. It was only someone like Ye Tianchen who had the leisure to engage in such frivolous acts.

After Ye Tianchen shouted out Hei Mian’s nickname "Hei Wa," many actually found it quite fitting and easy to say, so the nickname completely replaced Hei Mian’s own name, since Hei Mian was indeed quite dark-skinned.

The main reason Hei Mian now saw Ye Tianchen with such disfavor, wishing he could beat the guy to death, lay right here.

"This guy Hei Wa has no idea that I’m doing this for his own good. Look how famous he’s become now!" Ye Tianchen said with a sly chuckle.

Cang Lang and Han Jie both gave Ye Tianchen a speechless look. This guy had enraged Hei Mian to no end and still acted as if he had done Hei Mian a great favor. If Hei Mian heard this, he would definitely not be able to restrain himself from striking out.

When they reached the office of the highest-ranking officer, Cang Lang stood outside and respectfully knocked on the door, entered first after getting a response, followed by Han Jie in second place and Ye Tianchen in third. The three of them entered together.

Clap clap, both Cang Lang and Han Jie respectfully saluted the officer and then stood aside. The officer was very busy—it wasn’t possible to deal with their matter the moment they walked in; they had to wait.

"Come on in, make yourselves at home, we’re all family here. Just act as if you’re in your own house; relax, relax!" Ye Tianchen said with a smirk, already pouring himself a glass of water as if nothing was happening, leaving Cang Lang and Han Jie sweating bullets and wondering if this kid was brainless or just nonsensical.

However, Ye Tianchen didn’t care about all that. He had already gotten himself a cup of water and was sitting comfortably on a sofa, enjoying himself. Cang Lang and Han Jie, being soldiers, adhered to strict discipline. Even though they had been instructed by the officer to be at ease, they didn’t dare to be as unrestrained as Ye Tianchen.

Over an hour later, Ye Tianchen had already fallen asleep on the sofa, snoring away, while Cang Lang and Han Jie stood with black lines on their foreheads, thinking this guy really left them speechless. During the over an hour of waiting, Ye Tianchen had a great nap, while Cang Lang and Han Jie were stiffly standing at attention the whole time.

Thud thud thud!

Knocking was heard again outside the large office. After someone responded, a person in a professional black suit, with a folder in hand, walked respectfully toward the officer’s desk, placed the documents down, and then promptly left to avoid disturbing the officer’s train of thought.

At this moment, the officer put down his pen, picked up the folder from the desk to look through it, and smilingly said, "You two, relax a bit, take a leaf out of this kid’s book and don’t be so tense. You’ve just returned from a mission. Han Jie, are you okay?"

"No, nothing’s wrong, thank you for your concern, sir!" Han Jie said, somewhat flustered.

As one might imagine, the powerful aura and unspoken sternness of a nation’s supreme officer could easily intimidate and unsettle anyone; it was the air of a ruler. Faced with the friendly concern of the officer, Han Jie was indeed shocked. She had met with the officer before, always related to missions, and this time was no different. She felt touched and surprised in her heart.

The officer nodded and glanced at the folder in his hands before speaking, "This time’s incident has resulted in a tragic loss of special forces at the Black Mist Border. Japan did not deploy their military forces but sent experts from Ancient Martial Sects. The reasoning for this is twofold. First, the experts from Ancient Martial Sects are far more capable than some special forces, and second, even if caught and held to account, they would not admit to it because it has nothing to do with their government!"

Cang Lang, Han Jie, and Ye Tianchen all nodded in agreement. Indeed, Japan’s operation this time was very meticulous and secretive, and they had considered everything thoroughly. Not only were they looking to eliminate the special forces at the Black Mist Border, but they also wanted to understand the defensive deployments. There might be a significant operation planned, even possibly an invasion.

Many people assume that without large-scale wars, aggression does not exist. In fact, aggression is ubiquitous, differing only in magnitude. Larger acts of aggression often start from smaller incidents. This time, the masters of the Hokuto Iaido Ryu from Japan murdered almost all the special forces at the Black Mist Border. This incident is already extremely serious. Had Ye Tianchen and Cang Lang not gone there to carry out a powerful counter-attack, who knows what greater troubles might have ensued.

Between nations, the unending covert and overt conflicts will never cease, nor can they. Especially the struggles behind the scenes — if you lose, you will be ridiculed and looked down upon by other nations. Behind your back, they already possess a lot of your intelligence. With step by step control like this, great chaos is bound to ensue.

Japan’s action this time was excessively meticulous, definitely well-planned, otherwise they wouldn’t dispatch masters like the Hokuto Iaido Ryu. After the first attack where they abducted Han Jie among others, they launched another tempting strike, leading even Li Wang and his men to their deaths. Clearly, their actions were very purposeful and targeted, aiming to make China suffer in silence without a way to openly respond.

What can be said about such an incident? Should China announce to the entire world that Japan sent killers to murder all the special forces at the border and that China cannot find any evidence? This would likely not only be a source of ridicule by other nations, but also provoke covert opposition from them, which would be truly disastrous.

Therefore, the only way for China to retaliate is to handle overt matters openly, and covert matters silently. Only by doing so can we effectively deter our adversaries.

"So, Chief, what should we do next? Should we strike back forcefully?" Cang Lang asked, clenching his fists tightly.

"A counter-attack is inevitable, but we must plan carefully. Other nations are also paying attention to this incident. We can only afford to succeed, not to fail," the Chief said, frowning deeply.

It was evident that the Chief and his colleagues were angry about this incident. Japan’s covert aggression, the murder of all the special forces at the Black Mist Border, was intolerable. If left unchecked, ordinary Chinese citizens would soon suffer, which was absolutely impermissible. The Chinese nation had endured hardships and had finally become strong. We could not allow our path to national rejuvenation to be cut short here.

"The people of Hokuto Iaido Ryu are very strong, with many masters among them. They are not easy to deal with. If we want peace for many years, we must eradicate Hokuto Iaido Ryu!" Ye Tianchen said indifferently from the side.

Hearing Ye Tianchen’s words, the Chief nodded. He too was aware of this problem. The strongest sect in Japan was Hokuto Iaido Ryu, an Ancient Martial Sect comparable to Shaolin and Wudang in China. As a national leader, he naturally had much broader knowledge than ordinary people and was aware of Superpower Users and Ancient Martial Sect masters. These were forces that not only exceeded but also could be considered to dominate certain elements, and were extremely difficult to handle once they entered the fray.

"Tianchen is right. If we want to stop Japan’s covert aggression, then we need to find a way to eliminate Hokuto Iaido Ryu!" Cang Lang interjected.

"Hokuto Iaido Ryu has many masters, and according to our intelligence, the Sword Emperor is someone few can contend with. Currently, I can’t think of a suitable candidate!" the Chief shook his head and said.

Indeed, it is important for everyone to be self-aware when taking action. It is good to be confident, but blind arrogance will only lead to ultimate failure.

The Sect Leader of Hokuto Iaido Ryu, Sword Emperor, represents an unimaginable presence. No one knows the true extent of his strength. With the Divine List ranking the top ten in the world, and the Sword Emperor in the top three, it isn’t that there are two people stronger than him above; rather it is that among the top three masters of the Divine List, nobody knows who is stronger or weaker. The battles among characters of such high rank are almost unknown to the world. It can also be said that the top ten of the Divine List are the ten most formidable people on Earth, ten almost abnormally powerful masters.

"With our current strength, rooting out Hokuto Iaido Ryu is almost impossible. Sato, merely one of the top ten elders of Hokuto Iaido Ryu, is not weaker than any of us. I can hardly imagine how strong the Sword Emperor must be, and if he takes action, whether we have any chance of resisting," Ye Tianchen also said seriously.

The Chief pondered for a moment, then looked at the files and spoke,

"I’ve been waiting for this — it’s firsthand news from the Black Mist Border. After you successfully thwarted the people of Hokuto Iaido Ryu, three black-clad assassins appeared immediately. It seems that Hokuto Iaido Ryu was greatly shaken by this complete defeat, and they will surely seek revenge. What we need is this opportunity. As long as Hokuto Iaido Ryu dares to send masters, we must ensure that they come but never return."(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)