“Our main combat force? What does that mean?” Zheng was holding the mage from team Devil in one hand as he asked the close by Xuan curiously. When Xuan had been telling him the arrangements for what came next, he had mentioned a ‘main combat force’, which had prompted Zheng to ask with some displeasure.
“It’s what you think it is.” Xuan made a gesture with his hand. “Many of team China are weak in terms of power. In the past, we oftentimes had to organise them together in order to be able to fight team battles and allow them to completely display their power. This isn’t a very big problem in normal movies, but in this final battle where we’re pitting ourselves against team Devil, I’m sorry, they’re just not that useful.”
“Continue.” Zheng’s mouth opened and closed, as he wanted to say something. However, he chose never to say it in the end, instead asking with a sigh.
“Thus, the secondary combat force’s task is to whittle away at team Devil’s secondary combat force as much as possible, as well as exterminate team Celestial. They can only participate in the main combat force’s battle after, or even the battle between you and your clone. This is a type of battle where they’re advancing from bottom to top. At the critical moment, they’ll have to make some sacrifices.” Xuan said indifferently.
Zheng sighed, silently shutting his eyes. He said after much time, “Then us five… er, in addition to Luo Yinglong, are team China’s main combat force?”
“No, team China’s main combat force only includes, you, me, Yingkong, Heng and Luo Yinglong. Cheng Xiao and Imhotep, your mission will be to drag in most of team Devil.”
“The maximum of a team is twenty people. For a majority of teams, their peak combatant will number one or two, while the next three to five will be the main combat force. The rest will be the secondary combat force or non-combat personnel. If team Devil really does send out a squad to join in besieging team Celestial, we’ll have to face five to eight people from Tteam Devil in addition to Yingkong’s disappearance. The main combat force I imagine we’ll face includes me, the clone Ming Yanwei, the Gando who has already returned, the clone Zhao Zhuikong who has a small probability of still being there, Hao Tian who has a fifty percent chance of existing there. Based on what we know, your clone isn’t there. In other words…”
Xuan paused there. He pushed up his spectacles, looking at the faintly visible villas in the distance. Beyond, was the Hive!
“In other words, we’re going to be using a frontal assault!”
“Zheng, I can tell you my plan now. Don’t worry about the other squad. I’ve already made the appropriate preparations. It’s just whether Honglu can manage to maximise all the advantages of the squad. Our goal is not the Hive. Perhaps we can obtain the information about the Seventh Underground Laboratory there, but that’ll place us in a terrain disadvantage. We’ll definitely be blockaded by team Devil if we try to leave there. I already said this before. You have but one target! Face your clone in a perfect state. He’s an enemy that surpasses your imagination. You must face him with your power complete. Whether victory or defeat, you have to tie him down in battle. Everything else will be the rest of us deciding victory or defeat!”
“We will reach team Devil in thirty seconds. I want you to rush forward and seize my clone. Ask him the location of the Seventh Underground Laboratory. Immediately leave the battle as soon as you obtain the information. What follows will be your battle alone.” Xuan said directly to Zheng as he watched the nearing villas.
Zheng was astounded as he looked at Xuan. He didn’t know that Xuan would make this sort of arrangements. After a long time, he asked dumbly, “How about you all? Why not I just directly kill your clone and the rest of team Devil’s main combat force if there’s such a good opportunity?”
“Absolutely not! I suspect you’ll have to activate Chaos, Genesis Splitter to kill my clone successfully. Your power will fall by thirty to forty percent. I don’t know how powerful my clone is, but if you waste too much energy, I won’t be able to control the following variables. Which is better? One-on-one between you and your clone? Or eliminating all of team Devil, but you facing your clone practically exhausted with the rest of team China? Honestly? I don’t think we can win in the second scenario.”
“Same.”
Xuan laughed coldly. “Past experience shapes our thinking. Although my clone and I share practically the same thought process, he’ll still choose the first choice as a member of team Devil. That’s because they won’t believe you can triumph over your clone alone. Thus, to avoid too many deaths and losses in team Devil, he’ll definitely choose to tell you your clone’s position as soon as you mightily intervene in the battle. Because, he and I don’t like variables…”
“That is the origin of the scheme for the king versus king and soldier against soldier scheme. Past experience shapes our thinking. Team Devil has absolute faith in your clone, just like we do in you. Show your true power, the power you truly possess after training in Lord of the Rings!”
“Understood.”
Not a sliver of doubt could be seen in Zheng’s eyes. All that remained was a calmness, as well as a mounting fighting spirit. Several Sky Sticks and a flying sword crossed the horizon, passing over those villas. There was a long and narrow street after...
“Right below.”
As Zheng and the rest crossed a warehouse, the mage in his hand spoke up. There was something metal on his neck upon closer inspection, which was obviously what Xuan had used to control Hao Tian once upon a time.
Zheng operated the Sky Stick to dive down. With a jerk of his hand, blood began to spurt out of the mage’s orifices and his heart came to a stop within two breaths of time. Zheng had already jumped off the Sky Stick in this time, and broke through the ceiling of the warehouse with a bang as he charged inside. The rest filed in behind him. As expected, six members of team Devil were sitting there, while Zheng’s hand was clasped around clone Xuan’s neck.
“Where’s my clone?” Zheng eyes were filled with calmness, but a trace of surprise appeared on his face. Although he was obviously holding clone Xuan, he could clearly sense a several millimetres gap between clone Xuan’s neck and his hand. He wasn't touching the man, and who knew what was blocking him? It felt like some sort of barrier.
The four other than clone Xuan and Zhang Xiaoxue were shocked. They hadn’t expected Zheng to appear so abruptly. He had grabbed clone Xuan before they could react. When the rest of team China appeared, they suddenly shot out in all directions. Some either broke through the wall, some charged out through the window. They all vanished within a second or two.
“Here at last?”
Clone Xuan had exactly the same motions and mannerisms as Xuan, as if they were exactly the same person. He even pushed up his spectacles as he said, “Xiaoxue, insert the location into his mind.”
Zhang Xiaoxue nodded her head cutely, stroking the paper in her hands. She then said, “Done.”
Zheng instantly felt information appear in his mind. It wasn't something obtained through a psyche force link. He was very familiar with psyche force after battling alongside Lan for so long. This information that appeared out of nowhere in his mind was nothing like the feeling of a psyche force link.
He gave a slight glance at Zhang Xiaoxue, before looking at the members of team China behind him. He stomped on the ground, directly leaping onto the Sky Stick that was at the warehouse’s ceiling. The members of team Devil that were far away from the warehouse could only look on… as he flew away from the main battlefield that was about to erupt!