Chapter 545 - 328: The Black Fierce Ape Threat (2)

"It’s a snowballing process. Whoever accumulates enough believers and elevates their Divine Format first will gain an overwhelming advantage and swallow up the latecomers."

"Conversely, anyone who gets off to a slow start or gets tied down by something..."

"...like getting bogged down in a protracted war with a local hegemon, will be left far behind by the others and end up as fodder for someone else’s snowball."

"So, we can’t fight—at least, not a messy, drawn-out war we aren’t sure of winning."

"Our time is more precious than any other resource."

His words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in everyone’s minds.

They had only been thinking about how to fight Profound Prison, completely overlooking the competition from their own kind.

A flash of understanding lit up Ye Jinghong’s eyes. "You mean, negotiate with Profound Prison?"

"Correct."

Han Feng nodded. "We need to make it understand that the integration of Dragon Abyss with the outside world is an irreversible trend."

"This land will be carved up sooner or later. Instead of fighting us, this Advanced Team, to the death, it would be better to cooperate and divide the spoils."

"For example, it could tacitly allow us to absorb the unaligned, wandering tribes."

"In return, we would acknowledge its hegemony in this region and could even join forces with it to fight off other competitors in the future."

The idea was bold, even a little fantastical.

But upon careful consideration, it was the only viable path to survival in their current predicament.

"Negotiations require a position of equal strength."

Ye Jinghong cut straight to the heart of the matter. "In Profound Prison’s own territory, what leverage do we have to make it sit down and talk with us?"

"That’s the main point I was getting to," Han Feng said, sharing his theory.

"Profound Prison is suspicious by nature. It will never act personally."

"It will definitely send its number one enforcer, the Black Rock Tribe, to size us up first."

"Only by beating its dog into submission will its master have to take us seriously. At that point, a ’win-win cooperation’ has a high chance of success."

"Of course, if we can’t even defeat its vassal tribe, then this is all just empty talk, and our only option is to pack up and run."

Han Feng looked around at everyone and said, word by word,

"So, everyone, this battle is crucial."

"This battle will determine whether we can establish a foothold here or be driven out with our tails between our legs."

Inside the command tent, there was no longer a trace of hesitation or uncertainty.

A raging will to fight ignited in everyone’s eyes.

Run?

That word wasn’t in the Vanguard Corps’ dictionary!

Ye Jinghong slowly stood up, his dark gold Heavy Armor letting out a soft clatter.

"Relay my orders! The entire army is to enter first-level combat readiness! The engineer battalion is to accelerate the construction of defensive fortifications! Gather and guard all prisoners!"

"Gu Jian, you will lead the Red Armor Guard and take command aboard the Celestial Whale. Be ready to activate the Red Tide Burial Array at a moment’s notice!"

"Yes, sir!" the crowd roared in affirmation.

Just then, the tent flap was violently thrown open. A Ghost Squad Pilot responsible for radar surveillance stumbled and scrambled inside, his face filled with terror.

"Reporting, Major General! The... the east!"

"Twenty kilometers out, we’ve detected a large-scale cluster of high-energy lifeforms approaching at high speed!"

"Their numbers... preliminary estimates put them at over three thousand!"

"Based on their movement patterns and energy signatures, it’s over a 90% match for the... Black Fierce Apes that Wang Rui’s squad encountered!"

The pilot’s panicked voice was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly freezing the fighting spirit that had just surged within the command tent.

The Black Rock Tribe!

The terrifying legion that commanded the Gravity Law, the one capable of making even Ghost Fighters lose control and crash, had arrived so quickly!

"We’re in trouble." Gu Jian’s expression turned ugly. As Ye Jinghong’s adjutant, he knew his corps’ strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.

"General, the Black Fierce Apes’ Gravity Domain is too much of a counter to our Military Array System."

"If we engage them hastily, our losses will likely be beyond imagination."

The other Red Armor Guards also had grim expressions.

They were the elites of the Vanguard Corps, fearless in the face of death, but they were not stupid.

In the face of such a hard counter, courage alone wasn’t enough.

Ye Jinghong raised a hand, silencing the discussion.

There was no panic on his face. Instead, he was exceptionally calm, his sharp eyes gleaming with a calculating light.

"What’s there to panic about?"

He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but it instantly quieted the tent.

"Why did we come to Dragon Abyss?"

Ye Jinghong scanned the crowd. "We came to seek a breakthrough. To survive the coming ten-year calamity. To become stronger."

"We didn’t come here to throw our lives away fighting them."

He stood up and paced a few steps.

"The Black Viper Tribe’s territory is our spoil of war, but it’s not our lifeline."

"If we can win, we defend it. If we can’t, we leave."

"We have the ’Celestial Whale’ transport ship and floating airships. Our mobility far surpasses these natives."

"If we can’t hold this swamp, we’ll just find another place and start over. Dragon Abyss is huge; there will always be a place for us to make our stand."

"The Dao of the Military School that we cultivate is all about assessing the situation."

"Fight when you can win, run when you can’t. Employing guerrilla tactics and leading the enemy by the nose is the best strategy."

Ye Jinghong’s words instantly eased the oppressive atmosphere in the tent.

’That’s right. We’re Foreigners. Our greatest advantage is that we have no roots, nothing tying us down.’

’If we can’t beat them, can we really not outrun them?’

"My Dao of the ’Military God’ is founded on you, on these five thousand-plus brothers."

"As long as you are all here, my, Ye Jinghong’s, legion remains."

"To risk our entire foundation for a newly conquered piece of territory—that would be the greatest folly."

Ye Jinghong’s gaze finally landed on Han Feng.