Chapter 148: 088 Strategy: Drive Away Wolves and Chase Tigers [Fourth Watch] _2

“Damn!”

Major Ace immediately shut his mouth; he couldn’t believe he had just uttered such a crude remark unbecoming of a noble.

But this shadow.

Yang, Yang Ming!

It was his deputy captain, Yang Ming!

It wasn’t!

With a whoosh, the video in front of Major Ace suddenly disappeared. A series of codes appeared on the projection screen, and the headset was filled with the clamor of his colleagues.

“Who deleted the video? I was watching it a second time, learning new tactical moves!”

“It triggered the confidentiality protocol… oh, it might be someone from the secret unit.”

“This is amazing, that person was wearing our combat uniform, and it’s really damn scary! That must be a robot! A human nervous system couldn’t react that fast!”

“Bullshit! Our usual training is damn dogshit!”

Major Ace turned the headset volume down, and the world indeed quieted down.

Confidentiality protocol?

The middle-aged noble contemplated, wondering if he had ever offended Yang Ming or if he had spoken too loudly during their interactions.

“Sir, we’re nearing the target building,” the deputy captain reminded him from the side.

Major Ace glanced back, seeing over a hundred soldiers ready with hoverboards, their eyes almost spitting fire, burning with a desire to fight.

“Attack.”

Major Ace said weakly, “Or rather, go clean up the mess.”

“Yes, Sir!”

These soldiers of the Wind Empire shouted with rage, almost overwhelming Major Ace’s eardrums.

Four landing crafts hovered above the building, with side doors opening simultaneously, and soldiers poured out on gliders, performing a tactical descent toward the target shopping center, prioritizing the elimination of strong enemies by the windows.

The sky looked as if it housed four double-helix structures, appearing as enchanting as a genetic sequence from a distance.

…

Click, click click.

The crisp sound of the trigger returning made Yang Ming realize he had emptied the energy magazine.

The Federation soldier he subdued with one hand was now wide-eyed, opening his mouth as if to plead, but Yang Ming already discarded the handgun, picked up a rifle, and quickly pulled the trigger, leaving the soldier to lie with his comrades.

“Boss, resistance remains at thirty percent, the Guard Corps has already stormed in,” Lyu’s voice continuously conveyed.

Yang Ming scanned the surroundings quickly and headed for the fire escape.

“What’s the Guard Corps’ odds?”

“Currently, the New Federation soldiers are demoralized, communications are down, and the defense system has been shattered by you. The Guard Corps has the advantage of external firepower, and the rebels are still in the assembly phase, with their command system hacked by me, making it unlikely for them to organize an effective counterattack… failure is highly unlikely,” Lyu softly said. “Lyu’s advice is, we’ve achieved our results, we can withdraw.”

“Did you obtain their confidential data?”

“Got it, but it’s currently undecipherable,” Lyu explained, “and the data here should only pertain to portions about the Wind Empire.”

Yang Ming stood in the dim fire escape, hesitated for a few seconds, restrained the growing impulse within him, and decided to proceed as planned.

“Lyu, prepare for transmission and mark unmanned routes for me.”

“Okay, boss.”

Yang Ming clutched the rifle and began moving quickly again, following the green arrows that appeared before him.

Two minutes later, Yang Ming reached a window with shattered glass.

Outside was a quiet city; if those explosion sounds were blocked out, it seemed as peaceful here as anywhere else.

A beam of light pierced through the clouds and rapidly vanished.

The Feinan, maintaining optical stealth, turned and slid into the tranquil space, already initiating a jump before leaving the sub-gravity area of the Fifth Administrative Star, abruptly appearing in the vicinity of Ilando Star’s airspace.

No one noticed that the ‘secret unit’ had left the battlefield at the climax of combat.

Nor did anyone notice a faint light beam accompanied by dawn arriving at the rooftop of a hospital on the outskirts of Ilando City.

Yang Ming jumped out of the light beam.

He had changed into a patient’s gown, bound himself like a mummy with bandages, and quickly lay on the stretcher pushed by two medical auxiliary robots as he entered the emergency elevator.

“Lyu, well done,” Yang Ming mumbled in the elevator.

Beside him, the medical robot softly grumbled, “Though it might seem out of place, I still must remind you, boss, to prioritize your own safety, otherwise no amount of assessments will hold any significance.”

“Mm-hmm, have you contacted Edwan?”

“He’s on his way… boss, do we still need to adjust subsequent response strategies?”

“Proceed as we planned,” Yang Ming smiled, “We must all respect the ‘plan’.”

Lyu emitted a faint noise.

“You just said ‘tch,’ didn’t you?” Yang Ming scolded, “Are you showing disdain for your boss?”

“Boss, progress on Kolev’s side is fairly smooth.”

“You changed the topic way too bluntly.”

“The elevator is about to open, boss,” the medical robot quickly resumed its normal working state, “the Second Prince’s convoy is speeding, he seems quite concerned about you. Pity he doesn’t meet your criteria for a suitable partner.”

Yang Ming had nothing left to say.

He was pushed by the robot into the busy corridor, headed toward the nearest negative pressure ward.

…

In the swiftly moving convoy, Edwan looked at the just-received frontline combat report, filled with shock, and his well-defined features quickly contorted.

Technical term: the mask of agony.

[A single soldier resolved nearly all the enemy resistance before our two battalions arrived, obliterating a three-hundred-men regiment of elite Federation troops, and mysteriously disappeared after intense urban warfare.]

He did it alone?

This report was only visible to Fremont and him, to be later submitted to the Emperor by him.

Edwan, however, had a strong intuition—he must not let his father learn of Yang Ming’s combat capabilities as a lone soldier.

Ding, ding ding!

The ‘tablet’ in Edwan’s hand popped up with two messages.

[Yang Ming: Your Highness, please give me the combat report for some polishing.]

[Yang Ming: Please order General Fremont to reject captives and burn the shopping center with incendiary bombs; otherwise, a huge political burden will arise.]

Edwan’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

The economic loss from burning down the shopping center, possibly from several billion to over ten billion New Federation Coins, wasn’t really a troublesome matter.

Rejecting captives… in other words, leaving no survivors for the New Federation’s special operations forces and agent teams.

Without much hesitation, Edwan took a few seconds to dial General Fremont’s encrypted communication.

After he conveyed various details, the hovercar’s backseat fell into complete silence.

Edwan gazed out the window somewhat dazedly, with a brief mental blankness.

It was his first time determining the life or death of hundreds with a single command; although he understood, this was already a war between two countries, facing which there should be no mercy, but he remained somewhat unaccustomed.

Ding ding!

[Yang Ming: Your Highness, remember to bring some tokens of sympathy. I’ve polished the combat report and provided some subsequent political maneuvering advice.]

Edwan pursed his lips and clicked on the words ‘advice with annotation,’ a kit jumped out, unveiling lines of text.

Strategic Plan: Leading the Wolves to Suppress the Tiger.

Firstly, through private royal connections, contact Sherman Empire nobles (Princess Dana hails from a Sherman noble family, she has such connections), and under the banner of the Sherman noble’s remote command, share the credit for eliminating domestic espionage teams with the other side.

Secondly, prepare dense television programs citing the crimes of New Federation agents, focusing on economic theft, and avoiding terms like overturning our national regime, allowing the populace to feel the loss of benefits tangibly. (The public holds some opinions on the current regime, rectify this by aligning royal interests with theirs, protecting local natural resources, and pursuing sustainable development in the future.)

Thirdly, announce an economic stimulus plan promptly, allowing the populace to receive minor benefits in the shortest time, establishing the New Federation’s agent teams’ unjust nature.

Fourthly, purchase a few trending search topics within the Sherman Empire.

…

Edwan shut off the projection screen before him and leaned against the seat for a long time.

At this moment, he seemed to see the flaming shopping centers on the Fifth Administrative Star and the monstrous surge the enraged New Federation was about to unleash.

The soldiers’ combat had ended.

But the political war had just begun.

Winning this battle would bring a turning point for the Wind Empire, creating an opportunity for substantial independence.

Losing would be like stepping on the gas at the cliff’s edge, accelerating on the expressway of becoming a ‘blood-bank puppet nation.’

“You, this fellow, are you whipping me forward?” Edwan murmured.

A subordinate in the front passenger seat puzzledly asked, “Your Highness, were you giving me an order?”

“Get off up ahead and… buy a good flower basket and fruit basket.”

“Understood, My Prince,” the loyal subordinate replied, producing a bubble sound that drew the Prince’s attention.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com