Chapter Eighty-Eight: Victory and Interests

Some of the soldiers stationed near the supply camp rushed over with buckets and ladders, desperately attempting to fight the fire.

It was useless. The raging inferno instantly swept through several camps. Countless people poured out, overcome with terror at the sight of the flames. Cries of grief, pleas for help, guttural roars, the thunderous sound of collapsing structures, the crackle of explosions, and the howling wind—all these sounds wove together and twisted into a chaotic cacophony within the encampment.

In an instant, the sky was stained a dusty yellow. The violent flames danced recklessly, brandishing their claws as if intending to consume and seize everything in their path, turning the camp into a living hell.

The fire devoured the provisions, supplies, and those in the rear camp who could not escape in time. Of those further away, some fled toward the forward camp, some toward the nearby stream for water, but most scurried about aimlessly like headless flies.

Countless were trampled to death underfoot.

Zhou Yingxiong watched this scene, frozen in shock.

Many of the surrounding soldiers had initially looked to him, waiting for orders. But after a moment, receiving no command, they began to act on their own—which is to say, they fell into total disarray. Some abandoned their enemies to run toward the rear, hoping to save their families and children; others, sensing the disaster, tried to flee from the flanks. Only a very few continued to brandish their weapons, persisting in the fight.

From the ranks of the Han army, war drums began to sound.

The Han soldiers had been momentarily stunned as well, but upon hearing the order to advance, they quickly reacted and began to assault the Revolutionary Army’s shattered lines.

This time, they were eager and enthusiastic—faced with easy victory and military merit, considerations of ideology, support, and morale were all cast aside; they were forgotten entirely.

Zhou Yingxiong snapped back to reality and tried to reorganize his troops to resist. It was useless. The lines had collapsed, the soldiers were in chaos, and no one would listen to his commands—even those who wanted to could no longer hear them. He struggled with all his might, shouting, roaring, and swinging his long blade... but it was to no avail.

Just as a few of his guards tried to drag him away, a group of enemies stood before them.

The leader of the group, covered in blood and wearing a smile, was the very Contractor who had charged their lines multiple times, leading from the front.

***

"We won!"

Dart collapsed onto the ground, his energy spent and his supplies nearly exhausted. Seeing Red Lightning approaching him instead of chasing down the remnants of the enemy, he sighed with relief, grinned, and reached out a hand.

"We won!" Red Lightning reached out, pulled him up, and handed him a cigarette.

The two sat back-to-back, puffing away. Watching the flames still burning in the breached camp not far off, and listening to the cries, screams, cheers, and laughter from within, they both felt a sense of lightness and relief in their hearts.

"That was the hardest one yet, wasn't it?" Dart said.

"Yeah," Red Lightning replied. "We almost lost at Austerlitz, too. But this time, if we hadn't managed to break through, we would have been truly finished."

"A lot of people had their escape routes planned—especially this time, when we ran into someone who welcomed defectors with open arms. What about you?"

"I didn't," Red Lightning said, his voice low. "We've worked together for so long, come so far... even if... I choose to believe in her."

"Heh, are you saying that for Ling'er to hear? The monitoring probably hasn't ended yet."

"I don't need to. Like Soldier said, if I really wanted to abandon her, I could have left a long time ago. Flower Blossom's body is already beginning to decay; she can't sustain many more insects. If others don't know, don't you?" Red Lightning exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"She can win," Dart shook his head. "It’s simply incredible. Facing a situation like this, if the enemy had just occupied a small city and fortified their defense, they could have relied on their grain to stall until the scenario ended. If they had, we would have had no way out."

"She’s a newcomer, after all," Red Lightning said, looking at the yellow sky. "They must not understand the techniques and rules of the battlefield. If he had actually done what you said, we would have been forced to attack the main force of the Yellow Turbans, and if they had caught us in a pincer move..."

"Either way, we won. By the way, how high will the rewards be this time?"

"If it’s a deployment order, it should be around one hundred thousand. But since we used a 'forged imperial decree,' the rewards will be higher than usual..." Red Lightning was saying, eyes closed, when Dart interrupted him.

"You missed the most critical point," Dart’s tone turned somewhat grim. "The Revolutionary Army is out of food. After this, wiping them out won't take much effort, and the Universal Points will be just enough for her to use the 'Blood Rain' again..."

"I know," Red Lightning said softly.

"Confiscating our Universal Points, then using the Blood Rain to easily wipe out the enemy and claim 90% of the rewards. Hmph! And then, we'll be back to where we started—scavenging for crumbs, continuing to be her servants, playing along with her harem games..."

"Your phrasing is a bit excessive," Red Lightning cautioned.

"Not this time!" Dart insisted. "Before, there was no choice. The Blood Rain is powerful; it keeps everyone safe and minimizes losses during battle. A lot of the time, she won even without us doing much. But this time is different! The enemy has already lost its combat effectiveness! You know, we've encountered strong enemies in previous scenarios, but everyone barely mentioned defecting. Why did we want to defect this time?"

"The opponent is a rare Commander-type Contractor, the kind who likely wins often. And he offered high-reward missions."

"Exactly!" Dart’s voice grew excited. "Commanders are rare, and this is the first time any of us have seen someone who can lead such a massive force and actually win! He isn't greedy; he doesn't covet the minor gains from killing enemy Contractors, and he's willing to accept surrender. More importantly, he's capable of taking the benefits he could have kept for himself and sharing them with everyone through missions!"

"Just think! Someone new to the Space knows that benefits shouldn't be hogged, that they should be shared. What does she think she's doing? We work for her, and she needs to provide us with sufficient rewards, not treat us like servants!"

"Especially when she needs our support," Red Lightning said quietly, his eyes still closed. "I support this viewpoint, and I believe she will acknowledge it as well. At the victory celebration later, I will bring it up directly."

"I'll support it," Dart said. "Soldier, Black Demon, Ben Guang, Ling'er... everyone will support it."

"Yes. But remember to tell everyone not to say anything too extreme. She is our team leader, the one who has led us to countless victories. Striving for reasonable benefits is just, but if we go too far, if we demand too much, then it will be our fault."

"Understood," Dart took a drag of his cigarette. "She is the one who can lead us to victory, after all."