Zhou Tieyi was dazed. His breath suddenly became hot as he asked, his voice shivering, "Iron Commander, what are you doing?"
Although he was a seasoned Yuanying expert who had risen to the position of commander of the Union Army after two hundred years of fighting from the bottom-level soldier, seventy percent of his organs had been replaced with artificial limbs. He did not have much blood that truly belonged to him. More than half of his veins and nerves had been destroyed. The circulation of spiritual energy was not smooth. Also, he had been working in the General Staff for more than ten years!
How much weight did Zhou Hengdao have left?
"I'm tired. I've never been so tired before."
Zhou Hengdao sat back and stared at the parade of veterans in the capital city on the light beam. Touching the eight bloodstained military tags, he said, "You know, Ah Tie, I have never been good at schemes. Even after I became the Chief of the General Staff of the Union Army, my tactics are still straightforward. I would rather break than bend in a head-on clash!
"Faced with a demon beast, I will crush it with my army!
"Faced with an army of a hundred thousand demons and a million beasts, and there are only a couple of defeated soldiers behind me, I will still crush them with my army!
"That is Zhou Hengdao's tactic!
"However …
"In the past few months, so many schemes, so many concealments, betrayals, deceptions, and so many interconnected traps … I can't have regretted it more than ever!
"Ah Tie, to this moment, do you still believe that our ideology is correct?"
"Of course!"
Zhou Tieyi held his head high and declared resolutely, "It is neither possible nor necessary for human beings and demons to coexist in peace! Now that there is a rarely-seen opportunity to annihilate the demon race, why should we not seize it? Of course, we are right. We are doing it for the national interests of the Xing Yao Federation! "
"Exactly."
Looking at Major Jiang's body on the ground, which was still warm, Zhou Hengdao became more and more determined. "Just like you, to this moment, I still believe that we are right when I sort through the whole thing with the calmest and most rational mind! What we are doing will protect the national interests of the Federation as much as possible!
"Then, I have a question that I don't understand."
"Since we are right, true patriots, and Jiang Hailiu is an incompetent coward, and Li Yao is a traitor with ulterior motives, why …"
"But we are like rats in the gutter, hiding our heads and showing our tails. None of our plans are made public, and we have to rely on deception, concealment, and schemes to achieve our goals."
"Why is it that a guy like Li Yao, who is so naïve and bewitched by the demons, can appear in front of the public openly and openly and accept the cheers of everybody frankly?"
"What exactly went wrong? Is our Great Dao so shameful?"
The question was so profound that Zhou Tieyi, as a warrior, was rendered speechless for a moment. After a long hesitation, he managed to reply, "The public has been deceived by Li Yao and bewildered by the lies of the demons!
"But at the very least, Li Yao did not kill so many innocent people. Or rather, he did not kill any of them!"
Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao waved his hands, somewhat sorrowfully. "Forget it. The question is too complicated. Not just you, even I, who have been mired deeper and deeper in it, don't know what went wrong even now.
"I'm just thinking, if we hadn't played so many schemes since the very beginning and had declared our stance openly, would things have been different?
"Or rather, if I had hurried to Li Yao's place and had a final battle with him when he returned to the Tian Yuan Realm, wouldn't things have been better?"
"Iron Commander!"
Zhou Tieyi exclaimed excitedly. "What — what are you trying to do exactly?"
"As I said, the schemes over the past few months have made me feel awful. This is Lu Zui's path, not mine!"
Zhou Hengdao opened his right hand. Spiritual energy flowed out of his fleshly body and was transformed into scarlet fire of spiritual energy through the enhancement of the crystals deep inside his artificial limbs.
However, the fire seemed to have been mixed with a lot of impurities. It was bouncing up and down and squeaking, as if it would die out at any moment.
"Look. The fire is like my belief. If too many distracting thoughts intrude into it, it is about to collapse."
His face pale, Zhou Hengdao smiled. Suddenly, he clenched his fist hard and completely crushed the fire of spiritual energy!
For a moment, he seemed to have become a different person. His vibe was entirely different from a moment ago. A brand-new fire of spiritual energy, more dazzling, more scorching, and more determined, rushed out of his palm as if thousands of soldiers were stored inside it!
Zhou Hengdao grasped the spiritual fire in his palm. The fire snakes slithered to the ground like mercury and wrapped around him, enveloping him in the blinding light. He waved his hand hard and bellowed, "To hell with all these schemes and tricks! I am not a spy of the Secret Sword Bureau. I am an out-and-out member of the Union Army! Let me make a clean break with Li Yao and the whole thing in the way of a soldier!
"Prepare my 'Basaltic Fighting God Battlesuit'. Then, bring your men to control Major Jiang's subordinates and seal all the cannonballs of the Demon God!
"In an hour at most, I will execute Li Yao and return to Burning Prairie. Then, we will march to the Blood Demon Sector together and annihilate all the devils!"
"Iron Commander!"
Zhou Tieyi found it hard to breathe. Pondering for a long time, he said, "Two Yuanying soldiers have been killed by Li Yao. Ye Changkong and Diwu Jian are both the best experts in the Tian Yuan Realm!"
"You are trying to say that I am no match for him, aren't you?"
Zhou Hengdao said coldly. "Yes. I've been wounded countless times in my entire life. My capability in recent decades is not as good as it used to be. If I were to have a life-and-death battle with Ye Changkong and Diwu Jian, I might not be a match for them!
"But what is Li Yao like right now?
"Don't forget that, according to our intelligence, Li Yao's so-called 'ultimate level Jin Dan' cannot be higher than the middle level of the Yuanying Stage! It is exactly because of the enhancement of the 'super Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit' that he dominated the three Sectors!
"His battlesuit is made of the scraps of Skeleton Dragon, the ultimate deadly demon forty thousand years ago, the weapon system of the Dragon King Battlesuit, the top Crystal Suit of the Flying Star Sector, and the biochemical technology modification of the Blood Demon Sector!
"The battlesuit can increase his combat ability by at least 30%!
"In the battle against Diwu Jian, the battlesuit was already seriously damaged. Then, it was hit by the full-strength strike of the Three Stars Slant Moon Cannon! There is no time to repair it!
"Moreover …
"He rushed tens of thousands of kilometers, broke through three blockades, and blew up a crystal warship. How can he be unharmed?
"Li Yao must be running out of spiritual energy and heavily wounded right now. His Crystal Suit is on the brink of destruction!
"Didn't you say that evil will never prevail over righteousness? Didn't you believe that we have the path in our hands and that the will of the heavens is on our side? If that is the case, why would I be defeated by such a Li Yao? "
Zhou Hengdao's aura was like a tsunami that almost tore the captain of the guards into pieces. Zhou Tieyi breathed for a long time and gnashed his teeth. "Iron Commander, we will go with you!"
"Don't you understand, Ah Tie?"
Zhou Hengdao smiled bleakly. "This is the 'righteous competition of beliefs' between Li Yao and me! If our belief is right, I will certainly be able to execute him!
"On the other hand, if I don't even have the courage to face such a heavily wounded and exhausted Li Yao and have to ask for helpers to attack him together, what right do I have to insist that my belief is correct?
"Besides, the Flying Star Sector is not a bunch of idiots. How do you explain that a large batch of high-level officers have been summoned?
"Without the 'patriots', the remaining soldiers will not be able to control them at all. They will disperse as soon as they notice any anomaly!"
Zhou Tieyi meant to say something else, but Zhou Hengdao waved his hands and stopped him. "That's all for now. Speed is the most important thing in a war. Enough talking!
"Prepare the armor for me right now. Then, tell Luoxingzi that I'm going to set up a defense plan in the nearby legions while there is still time!
"After that, you will control Major Zhou's men in secret and seal all the cannonballs of the Demon God. If anything goes wrong, you can destroy them on the spot! Do you understand? "
"Iron Commander!"
"Captain Zhou, this is an order!"
"Understood!"
Four eyes that looked like molten iron collided in midair, raising soundless sparks. Zhou Hengdao smiled in relief. He took out a jade chip from his pocket and gave it to his nephew.
"If our belief is correct, I will certainly win the righteous competition of beliefs and execute Li Yao for good!
"Then, together with our hundred thousand brothers, we will trample the Blood Demon Sector to the ground!
"If I am executed by Li Yao …"
Zhou Tieyi burst into tears and bellowed, "Iron Commander, it is impossible!"
"If it is impossible, why are you crying? Do you have so little confidence in our belief?"
Zhou Hengdao said. "Listen up. If I am executed by Li Yao, you will … play it by ear! One principle is that you are not allowed to let your brothers attack each other, much less involve an innocent person! "
"Understood!"
Zhou Tieyi stood at attention and saluted so hard that his fingers almost dug into his temples.
"Also, find a way to deliver the jade chip to Director Lu through the secret channel."
Zhou Hengdao stuffed the jade chip into Zhou Tieyi's pocket, together with the eight bloodstained military tags. They were so heavy that the captain of the guards could barely hold them.
"Director Lu? He's already doomed! What's this? "
Zhou Tieyi was greatly confused.
Of course, the Patriots Partnership had some clandestine forces in the capital city of the Star Glory Federation. But to deliver a jade chip to the most heavily guarded prison in secret, a heavy price had to be paid, too.
What was it that was worth paying such a price?
"This is hope."
Zhou Hengdao looked at the south. There was no telling whether he was looking at Li Yao or someone else further south. "Perhaps, it is the last hope for the Patriots Partnership to rise again and stand at the peak of the new Federation openly!
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