After some casual greetings, everyone settled down in the courtyard. Lynn Ning, without needing Ian Song's instructions, went straight to the kitchen to prepare food and drinks.
"Commander, what's your plan for this time?"
Jason Song asked eagerly.
Fiona Li, who knew Ian's plan, couldn't help but look smug. She even glanced at the others, hinting that they should ask her—she knew the answer.
Despite being a Martial Saint, Fiona Li was notorious for loving to show off and keep people guessing.
Ian Song said, "Ask Brother Li—he knows the whole plan."
"Nice one, Fiona! You obviously know the commander's plan but you're deliberately keeping everyone in the dark. Are you asking for a beating?" Marcus Meng, annoyed by her smug look, threw a punch at her chest.
Fiona Li quickly jumped up to dodge, shouting, "Don't hit me, I'll explain!"
"Hurry up, or I'll really hit you!" Marcus Meng grumbled.
"Yes, yes, I'll explain right now!"
Seeing this scene, the others couldn't help but smile. Fiona always tried to play mysterious, but she never managed to pull it off.
Ian Song's plan was simple and brutal.
He intended to take six Martial Saints and directly stir up trouble in Prince Darius Ironhorn's royal capital. This time, three Strongarm Bull Devil princes had joined forces, mobilizing over two million elite warriors. Although the rear wouldn't be completely empty, after the previous decapitation raids, the princes would surely bring plenty of experts to the front.
That meant top experts would be extremely scarce in the rear.
Ian's plan was to lead the six Martial Saints to raid the Strongarm Bull Devil princes' royal capitals and hit their lairs directly.
Suddenly, Ian asked, "Don't you all think it's a bit strange that the three princes have joined forces?"
"What's strange about it? Prince Darius Ironhorn took a huge loss last time, so now he wants to save face and convinced the other two princes to join in." Fiona Li said dismissively.
Ian shook his head. "I don't think it's that simple. The Strongarm Bull Devil princes are always fighting each other. The more losses Darius takes, the more the others benefit. Why would they help him?"
Fiona Li replied, "That's easy to understand. No matter how much they fight, they're still the same race—and they're brothers. Just like us humans: we fight among ourselves, but when it comes to the Devil Race, everyone unites against the enemy!"
Ian still felt something was off, because this time the Third Prince and the First Prince were both involved in the campaign.
The Third Prince's territory bordered the Ninth Prince's, and disputes were common. From what Ian knew, after his last raid killed six hundred thousand of the Ninth Prince's troops, the Third Prince took advantage of the chaos, invading and capturing several cities.
The Strongarm Bull Devils were born for battle—hot-blooded and impulsive. The Ninth Prince would never forget the Third Prince's opportunistic invasion.
The Third Prince would be even less likely to send troops to help the Ninth Prince.
Yet, somehow, they had joined forces.
Only Emperor Magnus Ironhorn could make them set aside old grudges and unite their armies.
"Could it be that this whole war is being pushed by Emperor Magnus Ironhorn?"
The thought made Ian even more uneasy. If Emperor Magnus Ironhorn was behind this, things were far more complicated than they seemed.
The Military Council had tens of millions of troops, which seemed huge, but they had to defend against both the Devil Race and the Demon Race.
The Devil Race itself had ten major lineages, and just the Strongarm Bull Devils alone weren't weaker than the Human Race. If the Devil races ever stopped fighting each other and united, the Human Race would've been wiped out ages ago.
Ian didn't say anything more, since Fiona Li and the others were brave but not exactly strategic thinkers.
Soon, Lynn Ning brought out the food and drinks she'd prepared.
Everyone started eating and drinking without any hesitation.
The mood quickly grew lively again.
Bang!
Just then, the courtyard gate was kicked open.
A young man in black profound armor strode in.
Seeing this, Fiona Li and the others frowned in annoyance, but once they got a good look at the young man's face, their expressions turned wary.
The newcomer swept his gaze around the room and fixed it on Ian Song.
"Are you Leon Huang?"
The young man asked in a cold, condescending tone.
This visitor was clearly here to cause trouble.
"Commander, that's William Nangong, commander of the Martial Soul Army. Be careful!" Fiona Li whispered.
The Martial Soul Army was the military's prized elite. William Nangong might only be a commander, but his rank rivaled that of Marshal Raymond Lei. Since arriving at the Blood River front, no one dared provoke him.
"William Nangong?" Ian Song repeated to himself, then looked up and asked, "What's your relationship with Vanessa Nangong?"
"She's my younger sister," William Nangong replied through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"What a coincidence—your sister died by my hand!" Ian Song said cheerfully. William Nangong was clearly here to pick a fight. Since Ian had already clashed with the military before, he wasn't about to be polite. Even if he played nice, would William really let him off?
William Nangong's killing intent intensified, but to Ian's surprise, he didn't attack. "Fine. I'll remember you!"
William gave Ian a long, hard look, then turned and strode out of the courtyard.
"Tsk, what a coward. I killed your sister, and you're not even going to avenge her?" Ian called after him.
"Killing you would be child's play!" William Nangong shot back. "But today isn't the right time. Just wait—one day I'll kill you and offer your head to my sister's spirit!"
"But I think today is the perfect time to kill you!" Ian suddenly stood up, eyes narrowed.
Fiona Li and the others were shocked at Ian's words.
"Commander, don't be impulsive. We can't afford to lose him—at least not in public. If you kill him now, you'll make enemies of the entire military!" Fiona Li cautioned through a voice transmission.
"Good!" William Nangong smiled approvingly. "You didn't disappoint me!"
"Get lost! Don't be an eyesore!" Ian waved impatiently. Fiona was right—now wasn't the time to kill William. Internal conflict would only benefit the Strongarm Bull Devils.
"Heh heh!"
William Nangong let out a weird laugh and strode out of the courtyard.
Once he'd gone, Fiona Li and the others breathed a sigh of relief. They'd been afraid the two would start fighting, and if they did, even though they supported Ian, they wouldn't dare help him. William's status was just too high—they didn't have Ian's guts to go head-to-head with the military.
"Don't be mad, Commander. Let's keep drinking and not let some people ruin the mood!" Fiona Li said with a grin.
"That's right, Commander. I'll toast you, and this time we're counting on you to lead us to glory!" Marcus Meng raised his cup.
By the time they finished eating and drinking, it was already evening.
Everyone had drunk quite a bit, so they all went off to rest.
Ian Song, however, wasn't in the mood to rest. He couldn't shake the feeling that the Strongarm Bull Devils' massive offensive hid a deeper conspiracy. So, he decided to personally scout the far side of the Blood River.