Chapter 138: All Characters as Mere Tools

Soon, the number of people in the room grew.

All the battalion commanders of the Third Defense Line sector, including two Deputy Commanders at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, had arrived.

To Xu Zhe’s surprise, the commander of the Fifty-First Battalion, whom he had brought from the rear camp, had also brought Qin Wurong, a company commander, along with her. The others, however, showed no surprise at all.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on Xu Zhe, clearly in deep shock. Why had this Prodigy Xu suddenly appeared at the Third Defense Line?

Yet, upon second thought, recalling the transformation technique Xu Zhe excelled at, it was not hard to guess the true identity of that "Avatar of Martial God Chu." Everyone’s expression instantly turned peculiar.

Good grief, he actually impersonated General Chu and came straight to the Third Defense Line?

Wasn't he a bit too bold?

How was Martial God Chu going to handle this situation?

Had she called everyone here to convict Xu Zhe? Or would she shield him?

Many exchanged glances, communicating through eye contact or transmitting secret messages to discuss the matter.

Some guessed at Chu Xiaotong's intention in summoning them, while others were astonished that Xu Zhe had stepped into the Nascent Soul stage so quickly.

...

"What are you staring at Qin Wurong for?" At that moment, Chu Xiaotong’s voice suddenly rang in Xu Zhe’s mind via spiritual transmission.

"I was just wondering why she’s the only company commander here," Xu Zhe replied via transmission.

"She is about to take over the Fifty-First Battalion. She has great potential."

Chu Xiaotong offered a brief explanation.

Xu Zhe nodded. Ah, it was a transition of power, the veterans mentoring the new.

"General Chu, everyone is here."

At this point, Lan Zhen stepped forward and said expressionlessly.

Xu Zhe noticed the man standing beside him—also possessing the cultivation base of the early Tribulation Transcendence stage, middle-aged in appearance, and looking rather robust and domineering. This was clearly the other deputy commander.

"Good, then let's begin. I invited you all here today mainly to inform you that the battlefield for the upcoming war with the Monster Clan will be set at the Third Defense Line. In this battle, we have a method to turn defeat into victory..."

Chu Xiaotong began outlining the battle plan to everyone, arranging the deployment of various battalions for the engagement.

The numerous battalion commanders and the two deputy commanders present all listened with furrowed brows. Some wore looks of utter bewilderment, while others seemed hesitant to speak.

They all knew that Martial God Chu and Xu Zhe indeed shared a very close relationship.

However, these were highly confidential matters! Xu Zhe, after all, was not a member of the Vermilion Bird Army; he was an outsider. How could she discuss military secrets in front of an outsider?

Furthermore, a method to turn defeat into victory against the Monster Clan this time?

The strange and unpredictable methods of the Monster Clan were endless, and they hadn't even figured those out yet. How could a method to turn defeat into victory suddenly appear out of nowhere?

Everyone felt deeply perplexed in their hearts.

Yet, after finishing her announcement, Chu Xiaotong did not elaborate on how they would turn defeat into victory. Instead, she cast her gaze toward Xu Zhe beside her.

"You should all know Prodigy Xu, right?"

With a faint smile, she continued, "Prodigy Xu was brought here by me in secret. The key to turning defeat into victory in our upcoming battle with the Monster Clan lies precisely with Prodigy Xu."

"What?"

Everyone was instantly shocked.

The key to turning defeat into victory was Prodigy Xu?

How could that be possible?

No matter how powerful his combat strength might be, he was ultimately just at the Nascent Soul stage. How could he possibly dictate the crucial turning point of such a massive battlefield?

"General Chu, can you tell us how Prodigy Xu will help us turn defeat into victory?"

A female voice suddenly rang out. It was none other than Qin Wurong.

At this moment, her expression was blank, and her cold gaze swept across Xu Zhe, clearly still harboring a hint of anger.

Evidently, she had also figured out that the earlier "avatar of General Chu" was entirely impersonated by Xu Zhe.

The crucial point was that this fellow had used such a convincing disguise to trick their Fifty-First Battalion into coming here as well.

One could easily imagine that this incident would soon spread throughout the Vermilion Bird Army, and the Fifty-First Battalion would undoubtedly be mocked by the other battalions, becoming a laughingstock.

This made Qin Wurong feel extremely displeased.

Yet, displeasure aside, that wasn't the main reason she chose to speak up.

She simply found it hard to believe that a Nascent Soul stage prodigy could dictate the success or failure of a major war, and she feared that Chu Xiaotong was blindly trusting Xu Zhe, only to be deceived and drag the entire Vermilion Bird Army down with him.

"This is a military secret. Telling you in advance is useless. When the battle begins, you will naturally understand," Chu Xiaotong replied calmly, her tone carrying an unquestionable, domineering weight.

"General Chu..." Qin Wurong said anxiously.

Many battalion commanders present also looked as though they had more to say.

"I said, when the battle arrives, you will naturally know," Chu Xiaotong interrupted, her voice brooking no argument.

This time, her tone was even firmer as her gaze swept over every single person in the room.

"Yes." Qin Wurong bit her lower lip and lowered her head.

Yet the atmosphere in the room remained noticeably heavy.

Chu Xiaotong was unwilling to reveal that the crux of victory for this battle lay in the intermediate battle formations.

This was the conclusion she and Xu Zhe had discussed and reached. She suspected there was a traitor within the Vermilion Bird Army—this had nothing to do with the Monster Clan's alienation tactics, but was a suspicion she had held for a long time, though she had never been able to root the person out.

Now, with the war imminent, concealing the matter of the intermediate battle formations would allow them to catch the Monster Clan off guard when the time came.

Otherwise, if the traitor leaked the news and the Monster Clan learned that the Vermilion Bird Army also possessed intermediate battle formations, they would certainly make preparations, unnecessarily increasing the difficulty for the Vermilion Bird Army to secure victory.

However, viewed from the perspective of everyone else, if Chu Xiaotong refused to explain how they would turn defeat into victory, they wouldn't press the matter further; maintaining tactical secrecy was standard practice.

The problem, though, was that Chu Xiaotong claimed the method to turn defeat into victory originated from Xu Zhe, and that made them deeply anxious.

Carried to victory by a Nascent Soul stage cultivator?

No matter how one looked at it, that sounded utterly unreliable.

"Everyone, you don't need to be this worried. It doesn't matter if you don't trust me. While I cannot guarantee the recovery of the territory from the first two defense lines, holding this Third Defense Line will not be difficult," Xu Zhe stepped forward, smiling as he addressed the crowd.

"Not difficult? Heh, you haven't even set foot on a battlefield before, what gives you the confidence to utter such words?" Lan Zhen directly sneered and questioned him.

This also represented the inner thoughts of many present.

They had fought on the battlefield for so many years and could usually suppress the Monster Clan. Yet this time, they had suffered a disastrous defeat; under those bizarre methods of the Monster Clan, millions of soldiers from the Vermilion Bird Army had been lost, resulting in heavy casualties that made them all extremely cautious.

The more cautious they were, the less they could afford to treat things as a joke, and the harder it was to trust Xu Zhe.

"To be honest, it doesn't really matter whether you believe me or not," Xu Zhe thought for a moment and said earnestly.

"Heh, is this Prodigy Xu's way of saying he has nothing left to argue?" Lan Zhen sneered again and shook his head.

"Prodigy Xu, think carefully. If none of us trust you, how do you expect us to turn defeat into victory when the time comes?" Qin Wurong said in a deep voice.

"Because I thought about it—even if I didn't come, this battle would still be unavoidable for you, right?"

Xu Zhe blinked and smiled. "So, you can just pretend I never came and fight as you usually do. You fight your battle, I'll do my thing, and when the time comes, you'll naturally know how we won."

At these words, everyone was instantly left speechless.

They only just realized that what Xu Zhe meant was that he didn't require any coordination from them at all.

They also suddenly noticed that Chu Xiaotong's troop deployment earlier seemed no different from usual, arranged entirely according to the strength and advantages of each battalion, without changing a single thing because of Xu Zhe.

Thinking about it this way, what Xu Zhe said didn't seem wrong at all.

Even if he didn't show up, this battle couldn't be avoided. When the Monster Clan arrived, they had to fight regardless.

Yet why did it still feel somewhat bizarre?

"You mean you can defeat the Monster Clan without needing our cooperation at all?" Qin Wurong widened her eyes, staring at Xu Zhe in astonishment.

"I can't put it entirely that way. You guys still have to go into battle; otherwise, just by myself, I can't deal with the Monster Clan for the time being," Xu Zhe replied, still looking completely earnest.

Qin Wurong was instantly struck dumb.

The others also fell silent.

Very well, they had understood that statement loud and clear.

This Prodigy Xu only needed their main army to go out and fight as usual. As for what he intended to do in the background, it had nothing to do with them.

In any case, according to his words, everyone would just mind their own business.

To put it less pleasantly, the Vermilion Bird Army was essentially going to be a bunch of cannon fodder and tools for this round.

Once everyone figured this out, their expressions turned exceedingly peculiar.

Only Chu Xiaotong stood to the side, observing the scene with a smile that was not quite a smile.

She noted that what Xu Zhe had just said was that if it were just him alone, he couldn't deal with the Monster Clan *for the time being*.

For the time being?

Was that "for the time being" meant to be taken seriously?

"Do you all understand now?"

At this moment, Xu Zhe looked at the crowd, a smile blooming on his face as he continued, "So, I am merely informing you that I can help you beat back the Monster Clan and hold the Third Defense Line. As for whether you believe it or not... well, even if you don't believe it, what can you do about it, right, Deputy Commander Lan?"

...