After hearing Ian Song's report, Raymond Lei couldn't hide his joy at all. In just a few days, Ian had led the Assassin Camp to wipe out nearly sixty ten-thousand-man camps of the Strongarm Bull Devils.
"Haha, Little Huang, you did a fantastic job this time! Tell me, what reward do you want? As long as I can make it happen, I won't refuse!" Raymond was so happy that he even swore out loud.
Upon hearing this, Ian's heart stirred and he said, "I want the Commander to promise me one condition, but the details aren't set yet."
"Alright, I promise!" Raymond agreed without hesitation.
Ian was slightly stunned; he had expected Raymond to push back, but didn't expect him to agree so readily. He bowed to Raymond, "Thank you, Commander."
Raymond Lei stepped forward and patted Ian on the shoulder, speaking with deep meaning: "Kid, I know you have big ambitions. Today, I'm giving you my word—so long as you never betray the Human Race, I'll always stand by your side."
At that moment, a warm current surged through Ian's heart. He stared blankly at Raymond Lei, "Commander, I...!"
Raymond Lei waved his hand, "Alright, no need to say anything more. Come on, let's go to my place—I'll have my wife cook up a big meal to reward you properly."
"Thank you, Commander. Then I'll gladly accept!" Ian replied quickly.
Soon after, Ian followed Raymond Lei to his home.
But as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Ian couldn't help but pause—he saw a black-clad woman standing shoulder to shoulder with Madam Lei.
"Husband, you're back," Madam Lei said with a gentle smile, then turned to Ian, "Little Huang, you came too."
"Greetings, Madam Lei."
Ian hastily saluted, secretly guessing at the relationship between Snow Yue and Madam Lei.
"No need to be so formal," Madam Lei said with a gentle wave, then pointed at Snow Yue, "Little Huang, let me introduce you—this is Snow Yue, my niece-disciple."
"Miss Snow, we meet again," Ian said with a smile, cupping his fists toward her.
"You two know each other?"
Raymond Lei and Madam Lei were both a bit surprised.
"We've met once before," Ian explained, without mentioning that he had saved Snow Yue—he noticed she seemed nervous when Raymond asked.
Hearing that Ian hadn't revealed the details of their meeting, Snow Yue visibly relaxed and gave him a grateful look. "Snow Yue greets Young Master Huang."
"No need to be so polite!"
An hour later, Ian left the Commander's Headquarters.
Late at night, Raymond Lei and Madam Lei leaned together on their bed, looking extremely close.
"Wife, what do you think of that kid?" Raymond Lei asked, hinting at something.
"Which kid are you referring to, husband?" Madam Lei replied with a gentle laugh, her eyes flashing with a hint of mischief.
"With your intelligence, do I really need to remind you?" Raymond Lei hugged his wife tighter and sighed, "That kid's martial skills and smarts are both top-notch. He's only been on the battlefield a short time, but his achievements already surpass mine as Commander. His future is limitless."
"And what do you mean by that, husband?"
Raymond Lei said excitedly, "I mean to introduce Snow Yue to him. If she follows him, she definitely won't lose out."
Madam Lei sighed softly, "It's not that I don't want to find a good match for Snow Yue, but her standards are so high—none of the younger generation have ever caught her eye."
"That's because she hasn't met Little Huang yet," Raymond Lei said. "I've already spoken with Principal Xuanyuan—soon, that kid will enter the Martial Soul Hall. If he can win the recognition of a Martial Soul, his achievements will be beyond imagination."
"Then let's wait until he gets a Martial Soul and see!"
Raymond Lei gave his wife a look. "Once he gains the recognition of a Martial Soul, he'll be famous across the world. By then, plenty of women will compete for him. What I mean is, let Snow Yue strike first—if she wins him over before he enters the Martial Soul Hall, she'll have the advantage!"
"What if he fails?"
Raymond Lei replied seriously, "Even if he fails, his future is still limitless. Snow Yue marrying him will never be a loss!"
Madam Lei finally agreed, "Alright then, I'll talk to Snow Yue about it tomorrow. But it still depends on her own wishes—after all, it has to be mutual."
Strongarm Bull Devils—Prince Darius Ironhorn's royal capital.
On the throne, Prince Darius Ironhorn sat with a stone-cold expression. The war hadn't even started, and he'd already lost nearly sixty ten-thousand-man camps. How was he supposed to fight this war?
"Everyone, share your thoughts. What should we do next?"
Prince Darius Ironhorn swept his gaze over the assembled war generals below, trying hard to sound calm. But no matter how much he suppressed it, they all felt his anger, so none dared speak rashly for fear of setting him off.
"What, none of you have anything to say?"
Seeing that none of them spoke up, Prince Darius Ironhorn's anger suddenly flared, his eyes glinting coldly.
Faced with the prince's fury, the crowd became even more afraid to speak.
Bang!
Prince Darius slammed his palm on the table, producing a muffled thud. "You bunch of fools! Tam, speak up—what do you think of the current situation?"
"R-... Reporting to the Ninth Prince!" stammered Tam, the bull-headed Devil general. "Your subordinate... your subordinate will do whatever you command."
"Useless! Don't you have a brain?" Prince Darius roared angrily. For a moment, the entire hall fell silent, as if frozen in fear.
"Your subordinate... your subordinate is foolish. Please punish me, Ninth Prince!"
Seeing Tam's cowardly display, Prince Darius grew even more furious. He grabbed a wine cup from the table and hurled it, smashing it against Tam's bull head. Yet Tam stood motionless, not even daring to dodge.
"And you?"
Prince Darius ignored Tam and turned his gaze to the others.
Tam secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Another Devil general mustered his courage and said, "Ninth Prince, I think we should teach the Humans a lesson. Why not retaliate and send assassins to kill them?"
Hearing this suggestion, Prince Darius snapped, "You idiot! There are eighteen Martial Saints in Blood River City. How many Martial Saints do you expect me to send to assassinate them?"
"Uh... uh...!"
For a moment, the general was at a loss for words.
After scolding him, Prince Darius seemed to be in a better mood. He pointed to another general, "What do you think we should do?"
"Send the army to attack them!"
Prince Darius sneered, "Send the army? My troops haven't even marched out and I've already lost sixty ten-thousand-man camps. Now I have at most five hundred thousand soldiers, while Blood River City has a million Human troops. Do you think five hundred thousand soldiers can defeat them?"
Hearing this, the remaining generals began to sense Prince Darius's thinking. One general boldly stepped forward, "Ninth Prince, I believe the Humans are truly despicable, using schemes and ambushes against our army."
"In my opinion, this is definitely a conspiracy. I suspect they're trying to provoke you into leading the army to attack them. If you do, you'll surely fall into their trap, so please think carefully and don't fall for the Humans' plot!"
Prince Darius nodded in agreement, his expression softening. "At least you used your brain—you're thinking along the same lines as I am. That's enough for today!"
The general who guessed Prince Darius's intentions breathed a huge sigh of relief and quickly said, "Ninth Prince, your wisdom is unmatched!"
Seeing this, the other generals also shouted, "Ninth Prince is wise!"