Ian Song's brows furrowed—this really was a huge problem. If the Hosts in Westpeak's camp knew that Westpeak was about to negotiate peace, would they just decide that no one should complete the mission and run away?
If that happens—
—then no one will complete the mission.
As for assassinations—
Not very likely. They're hidden inside the army, deliberately concealing themselves, so it's very hard to find them.
Just then—
Marshal Tony Chun sent someone to summon Ian, Ethan Ye, and the others for a strategy council. If their guess was right, it had to be about peace negotiations.
Sure enough, things went just as they expected.
Marshal Tony Chun opened with, "Marshal Shawn Xian sent an envoy, planning to negotiate peace with us. What do you all think?"
Although Prosperia Kingdom now holds an absolute advantage—
If the fighting continues, it's very hard to wipe out Westpeak's entire army, and Prosperia will have to pay a heavy price as well.
Most importantly, there are countless countries on the Primordial Chaos Continent. If Prosperia and Westpeak both lose too much in this war, other kingdoms might start coveting them. That's why Tony Chun leans toward peace.
Once peace is made, Prosperia will have absolute dominance over that territory. As for monopolizing its resources, neither Prosperia nor Westpeak ever really planned on that.
The whole point of the war was to seize leadership over that region.
Ian and Ethan Ye both stayed silent, letting the others voice their opinions.
To their disappointment, every thousand-man commander and general who spoke up favored peace, saying the war was pointless if it dragged on.
"Ian, what do you think?"
Marshal Tony Chun asked Ian directly.
Over the past two days, Ian had performed so brilliantly that even the marshal remembered him.
"If the marshal gives me two hundred thousand troops to form a grand army formation, I can wipe out all of Westpeak's forces!"
Ian suddenly stood up, his voice full of ambition.
Marshal Tony Chun was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Ian to say something like that, but he was a little tempted by the idea.
But one general stood up and said, "Marshal, you mustn't! If we wipe out all of Westpeak's army, we'll become mortal enemies. They could rally millions of troops at any time. For the sake of just a few hundred thousand, making Westpeak our sworn enemy does Prosperia more harm than good!"
Another general stood up too. "That's right, Marshal. Destroying Westpeak's army isn't worth it. Besides, the Qin Kingdom to the north is wildly ambitious and expanding fast. With Westpeak as our buffer, we can sleep easy. If we anger Westpeak and they team up with Qin, it'll be a disaster for Prosperia—maybe even total destruction!"
Hearing these two generals, Ian couldn't help but sigh softly.
Marshal Tony Chun, who had been a little tempted, completely gave up on the idea after hearing their analysis.
Half a刻 later—
Ian and Ethan Ye left the command tent together, both wearing gloomy expressions.
Peace negotiations were now a foregone conclusion.
So, how could they possibly kill the enemy camp's Hosts?
If nothing else worked, they'd just have to risk sneaking into the enemy camp.
When Ian returned to his tent, he found someone sitting inside. It was Gavin Jiang.
"You finally showed yourself!"
Ian replied calmly, not at all surprised. Right now, they were basically on the same boat.
"Believe it or not, I'm not the one who tried to sabotage you!"
Gavin Jiang said, his tone full of meaning.
"Does that even matter?"
Ian looked at him calmly.
Gavin smiled. "You're right, it doesn't matter. Let's talk about how to deal with those Hosts instead!"
"I've got no solution. Why don't you share yours?"
Ian shrugged.
"Looks like I overestimated you."
Gavin Jiang said with a sneer.
"Heh."
Ian just smiled noncommittally.
Gavin continued, "There are three people in the enemy camp under my control. I can have them carry out assassinations to startle the grass and scare the snake. The rest will panic and flee the camp, and we can intercept them outside!"
"How do you plan to arrange it?"
Ian asked.
"We'll split into four groups and intercept them separately!"
Gavin Jiang replied.
"Alright!" Ian nodded. "When do you want to act?"
"No time to waste—tonight! Otherwise, once word of the peace talks gets out, those Hosts will just hole up in the camp and refuse to run!" Gavin said darkly.
"Alright, I'll summon everyone now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian used Divine Sense to summon Mona Meng, Xavier Cheng, Ethan Ye, and the other Hosts to meet in his tent.
Soon, everyone arrived.
The moment they saw Gavin Jiang, both Xavier Cheng and Mona Meng flashed a look of hatred—but they were rational and didn't lash out.
After explaining Gavin's plan, nobody objected.
Next came the team assignments.
Ian, Mona Meng, and another Host formed one group; Xavier Cheng led three Hosts in another; Ethan Ye led three in the third; Gavin Jiang took the last two.
Once the teams were set, they all left camp together, each heading to a different direction to set up their ambush.
Less than a刻 after everyone finished setting up their ambushes—
Ian noticed a small commotion in the Westpeak Kingdom camp.
Though the enemy camp was protected by all sorts of Divine Sense-blocking wards, it was no obstacle for him.
It was the three Hosts controlled by Gavin Jiang who had started the attack.
Caught off guard, two Hosts were killed instantly and one was badly injured, fleeing toward the camp's edge. The remaining seven Hosts hesitated, then scattered and fled as well.
Of the seven who escaped, two headed in Ian's direction.
Two more ran toward Ethan Ye.
The last two fled toward Gavin Jiang and Xavier Cheng.
Ian had already set up a formation in his hiding place, completely concealing their presence. As soon as anyone entered the area, they'd be trapped inside.
"Remember, once they're caught in the formation, go all out. I'll handle one—you two take the other!" Ian reminded Mona Meng and the other Host.