Chapter Thirty-two: I came to look for you but you weren't there
"It's not impossible! It's not how it could happen! But - it's the fact!"
While everyone in the audience was shocked, Xia Tian's face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water was dripping from his eyes.
"Didn't you notice that there were too many abnormalities in our war? Starting from the few planes that flew inexplicably at the very beginning -"
"I suspect that Long Er came from those planes! I don't know why he dared to do this, but with his genius, even we were deceived by him without knowing it. He used a little trick to... Can we not fool a West China pilot? We are afraid that we have fallen into the misunderstanding of the barbarian non-sky high-level commanders who dare not fly, and we are unable to extricate ourselves!"
"The series of anomalies that followed can only be perfectly explained if he is here!"
…
"I even suspect that it is very possible that from the beginning of their invasion to the present, the ultimate goal of his strategy is not to go west and then east at all, but to deliberately target us!" "First attack us when we are most on guard. To the west, he used the pressure from the west to bleed us at the same time! Then, when we had already fallen into their mindset of first west and then east strategy, and when we were least prepared, he turned around and struck a perfect finish!"
"He spent a long time slowly drawing troops from the west, slowly moving them here, hiding them deep in the extreme north where we rarely go to reconnaissance, and pretending to be a food transfer station."
"Then, he used an unknown deception method to make the West China pilot willingly fly him over without any danger to him. He may even have made the pilot think that he was one of his own - he was from West China anyway. They look very similar to the barbarian hybrids! And this method just gives us the ability to deceive the whole world!"
"Then, he held back in the early stages of the seven battles and watched the barbarians fail - even that failure might have been part of his plan! He had to lure the Imperial Army away from the Daling River defense line to achieve perfection. victory, and he has always been a perfect winner!"
…
"So, the most elite and last army was lost. The empire collapsed! And the most important and powerful empire was lost, and mankind will inevitably collapse and perish!"
"What a perfect strategy! What a vicious scheme!"
Xia Tian gritted his teeth and said.
However, following his words, the faces of everyone in the tent suddenly and simultaneously became extremely pale!
"Why...the more I listen, the more I feel that the chief of staff's analysis makes sense..."
A staff officer said with great difficulty.
"Could it be that the person opposite us is really Long Er? That Long Er who is like a god in his military skills?"
Another pale voice said in shock.
The whole room was silent. It seemed that everyone was shocked by their analysis and began to feel panic. A few people had miserable expressions on their faces.
…
Xia Tian's expression gradually calmed down again, or he forced himself to calm down.
He looked at the panicked staff and suddenly spoke again.
"It's just that what he didn't expect was that although his plan was perfect, there were several variables!"
"First, he didn't expect that we would suddenly have His Highness! This was the first variable in his perfect plan - without His Highness, we might have collapsed in the conspiracy he launched earlier! Not to mention Fight the seventh battle!"
"Second, he adjusted his plan to bring the war situation back to his track. And began to prepare for the final blow. But the second variable appeared - what he never expected was that we Chinese people have never Everyone only believed in their own hands! We launched the seventh Battle of Dalinghe, which was closer to a decisive battle, and gave the barbarians a head-on blow!"
…
"So, the drastically changing battlefield situation forced Long Er to reveal his first flaw - he had to take action during the barbarian retreat and command the wolf cavalry to block the front of our heavy armored group! This certainly gave us a great victory
He became a small victory, but he finally began to be exposed from the deep darkness. It aroused our suspicion!"
"After that, he probably never expected that our imperial goddess was so eager to miss him, but she sent three scouts to the hinterland of the Far North - three scouts who almost searched the depths of the Far North. So.
, but their hidden troops were discovered by the three scouts with great luck, and they came back to report, which attracted our attention!"
"Yes! No matter how perfect the plan is, it has its variables after all! No matter how talented Long Er is, he is still a human being and not a god. He cannot predict all the variables - and this is exactly what we can use now, our only
vitality!"
Xia Tian said categorically, and the crowd gradually calmed down following his analysis.
…
"Then what should we do?" Although Yang Qi's face was full of worry, he kept nodding his head. He looked at Xia Tian with approval, but there was also a trace of relief on his face, and he asked in a low voice.
"We must retreat! Now, I finally understand why the barbarian navy wants to stay away from the Extreme North Port to block our fleet going north. They must leave themselves an unobstructed coastline - so that their ambush can pass through the sea and flank us directly.
The coastline behind!”
"And we are now following their example. Let the heavy-armed group that has been on standby go eastward and block the way for their ambush. The large force... retreats secretly and quickly!"
"At the same time, the offensive on the front line must be strengthened. We must make the barbarians think that we have discovered nothing at all. When the large troops have distanced themselves, we will allow them to quickly evacuate through the carrier vehicles we left for them."
…
"In this way, we can withdraw our troops in the most complete manner without being pursued by the barbarians - their mobility in the far north snowfield cannot be compared to us who have various magic-carrying equipment. As long as our main force and their extreme
The main forces on each front in the Northern Fortress have opened up a certain distance, so it will be extremely difficult for them to catch up with us!"
"Now, it's our turn to deceive them. The staff, immediately make detailed plans for attack, retreat, and deception - we don't have much time. If we retreat a second earlier, we may be able to save more."
The lives of ten thousand warriors!”
Xia Tian glanced at the officers present and said in a low voice.
Everyone nodded, but a staff officer suddenly remembered something, raised his head and asked doubtfully: "Sir, the troops can indeed be withdrawn, but to strengthen the offensive on the front line, His Highness must be present. Otherwise, without the halo, the barbarians will easily detect it.
Our movements—when will His Highness withdraw?"
Xia Tian's calm expression suddenly changed, and his face trembled.
…
"I will discuss this with Your Highness. You go and do your own business first."
After being silent for a long time, he waved to the staff.
After the staff retreated, Xia Tian turned to Yang Qi, who had been thinking quietly about something.
"Sir..." he said with a wry smile.
"I understand what you want to say, and I will do as you say."
Yang Qi sighed quietly and remained silent.
…
After a long time, he looked at Xia Tian again.
"She has gone through countless dangers for us. She has lost almost everything she can lose - even for everyone, we can't ask for more from her, we can only... depend on her own wishes."
"But if Your Highness is willing to stay on the front line to assist in the feint attack, then let her stay. After all...if she wasn't there, the barbarians might have a very short time to react with the cunning and cunning Long Er.
And the empire...cannot suffer any more losses. Even if we have to withdraw completely this time, we still don’t know whether the Daling River defense line can hold it against the once again strengthened barbarians and Long Er.”
Yang Qi sighed again: "But as long as you deceive well enough and act fast enough; as long as the barbarians don't react in time, the army and your highness can still evacuate safely. We will stay to guard the rear of the army and lead them
Let's go with her."
He said in a low voice.
"But on the opposite side is Long Er... We must pretend to be very similar - even if there is a small problem anywhere, he may notice our retreat, which will trigger... The first person to bear the brunt must be...
…”
Xia Tian said with great worry, his eyes were filled with unbearable meaning.
Yang Qi also fell silent immediately.
"I know. Go and ask her."
He finally said this.
…
"So, Xie Ning... he is really gone?"
Deep in the military camp, the girl who seemed to have been shining with black brilliance forever since the war started was looking at Su Ping, and she asked slowly and expressionlessly.
"It's very likely... our last traces found that they were on the Dingbei formation, and Dingbei has already... plus there is no news of any Dingbei survivors so far... all signs have completely confirmed that Dingbei has
The northern formation has disappeared on the vast sea...so it can be basically concluded..."
Su Ping was sad but hesitated to speak. Then he looked at the girl, his eyes full of pity.
"Sister Su..." he called in a low voice.
"Oh... I understand. It's okay. You go back." The girl said in a low voice, still expressionless.
Her cold voice seemed to have remained unchanged forever, and it also seemed like a mountain spring that had lost its final temperature... She fell with a tinkling sound, carrying a sadness and tragedy of being shattered into pieces.
…
"Su sister..." Su Ping's eyes were full of unbearability, and he called out again in a low voice.
"You have to think about your little nephew and niece, and be strong..." he said hesitantly.
"I know, you go." The girl still said numbly.
Su Ping stared at the girl's face that had never changed. He sighed quietly and went out.
What he didn't know was that the moment he turned around, the frosty girl's face was gradually filled with tears.
She shakily took out a photo from her pocket. In the photo, the heroic young general was looking at her, smiling softly.
"I came to find you...but you're not here..."
She murmured lowly and caressed him tremblingly. Tears spread on the girl's soft and cold face, like water that had been suppressed for many years and finally burst.
…
"Young Madam..." Caiyun, who had been standing silently behind the girl, looked at the girl who was crying silently. A trace of intense regret flashed in her eyes, and she called softly.
The girl ignored her and walked straight into the basement.
Tears fell in clusters from her face. When they fell to the ground, they had condensed into cold teardrops in the rising two-color halo, making a tinkling sound on the ground.
Then, the door was closed behind the girl, and a cold, as if murmur that had lost all life, came out inaudibly as the girl closed the door.
"I'm here to find you...why...you're not here..." (To be continued...)