Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“I will only say two things.”
The low voice immediately attracted the gazes of everyone in the conference room with these six words.
Snake King: he had always been the spiritual leader of East Asia Military Region. Many times, his words alone could direct the final results of a meeting.
“If Qin Fen leaves the army, then it won’t matter to our army how others suppress him. But…” Du Hen took a sip of the subpar green tea in the conference room. “Before he leaves the army, he is a member of our army. If a general can’t even protect a soldier under him, who would be willing to follow you into war?”
Lee Myeong Jeong pursed his lips as a smile of disapproval appeared on his face. Qin Fen isn’t a recruit of our State of Korea, and so naturally, he doesn’t have any relationship with us. So why should we offend Song Wendong just because of an insignificant lieutenant colonel?’
The generals of the State of Korea sneered. Their thoughts were also in line with Lee Myeong Jeong. However, Snake King’s reputation was too great. He was one of the top-ranking figures in the entire federation army. Normally, he was more of a hidden leader of the East Asia Military Region. He was not like Yasumoto Takeshi, whom Lee Myeong Jeong could directly with cutting remarks face-to-face.
Du Hen, disregarding the dissatisfied look of Lee Myeong Jeong, tapped his fingers on the table lightly. “As for the problem of Qin Fen, my personal opinion is to cultivate him and give him a bright future.”
During previous military meetings, whenever Snake King stated his opinion, the conference room would always become extra loud. But today, the conference room became very quiet after Snake King made his statement.
Many people in the conference room were taken aback by this statement. Everyone was very clear about what this stance represented. This meant that they would be standing opposite to Qilin!
Lee Myeong Jeong smiled. His face was all smiling. If it wasn’t so quiet here, he would have laughed out loud heartily. He would have even looked up to the sky as he did so to express his happiness.
The East Asia Military region was a huge military region consisting of every state in East Asia. Every general, with their respective states, had a different sway in the military meeting. And the State of Korea had always been a weak military state and had always been actively trying to compete for more say in the military meeting.
However, as long as Snake King – Du Hen was present, the military of the State of Korea simply doesn’t have any decision-making power.
This time… The smile on Lee Myeong Jeong’s face became even bigger. Snake King, whose judgment had never been wrong, finally made a wrong call! He actually wanted to protect Qin fen against Song Wendong.
Snake King was very strong. Lee Myeong Jeong never doubted this. However, no matter how strong Snake King was, his prestige or strength was far from that of Qilin – Song Wendong.
Snake King, who has always been calm, has finally revealed a flaw just because of a young man! Lee Myeong Jeong was very happy. He discovered that many generals of other states were also very happy.
He knew that the thoughts of these people were in line with the State of Korea. They wanted to bring the Snake King down from the high pedestal of East Asia Military Region. And this was the perfect opportunity.
If we use Song Wendong to fight Snake King, then Du heng’s prestige in the East Asia Military Region will take a great hit! It is even possible that Du Hen will not be able to climb back up in the East Asia Military Region because of this. And as such, the upper echelons of the East Asia Military Region will face a reshuffle!
Spiritual leader of the East Asia Military Region? Lee Myeong Jeong smiled, once again. Maybe it was finally time for him to change his seat.
“Ke… ke…”
Lee Myeong Jeong coughed twice as he removed the smile on his face and looked serious again. Slowly, he got up and slightly bowed to Du Hen. Snake King was still the spiritual leader of the East Asia Military Region. No matter how he was going to launch a counterattack later, he couldn’t disparage the basic etiquettes.
“General, you are the person I respect the most. You have always been my model and target in my life. Pertaining to your stance, I have never doubted and hesitated to stand by your side. But today…” Lee Myeong Jeong showed an apologetic smile. “I can’t agree with you. No matter how promising Lieutenant Colonel Qin Fen’s future is, it can’t compare with Qilin. I am afraid you are wrong this time.”
“Yes, General. You may be really wrong this time.”
“How could the importance of Qilin compare with an insignificant lieutenant colonel.”
One after another, the conference room was drowned in everyone’s voice. Almost nobody wanted to miss this opportunity. Everyone wanted to weaken Snake King’s influence.
Zhao Huzi smiled coldly. He never expected that an insignificant Qin Fen would become the fuse of a secret battle between the upper echelons of the army once again. It was the first time in the world that an insignificant lieutenant colonel could suddenly affect the undercurrent among the upper echelons of the entire East Asia Military Zone. It was something that not even many generals could achieve.
Tap… tap… tap…
Snake King – Du Hen tapped the table in a very rhythmic manner with his index and middle finger of his right hand. This sound was barely audible, but it calmed the chaotic conference hall in an instant. The prestige Du Hen had accumulated over the years could not be dismissed in a short time.
“I only stated my personal opinion and position. I never asked everyone to agree.” Snake King coldly looked at this quiet scene. “In regards to Qin Fen, I restate my position. If anyone dares to make a move on Qin Fen again, then don’t blame me for being impolite.”
The expression of Cao Po, who was sitting beside Zhao Huzi, turned stiff. Du Hen was subtly speaking to him. It would be impossible for Snake King to know what Qin Fen had encountered today with his intelligence network.
“General…” Lee Myeong Jeong stood up once more. “I personally respect your opinion very much, but for the development of the East Asia Military Region…”
The meeting continued until lunchtime. Nevertheless, the meeting didn’t come to any decision. Snake King, on the other hand, didn’t utter another word after that brief statement.
Finally, the meeting was suspended. The generals wearing stars on their shoulders stepped out of the conference room in a single file, discussing the development of the matter in groups of threes and fives.
The moment Cao Bo stepped out of the conference room he practically ran straight to his office. Then, he picked up his phone and called home.
Cao Rong’s heartbreaking cries rang through the receiver the moment the call connected. Cao Bo immediately put the phone aside in disgust, looking at it coldly.
After a few minutes, Cao Rong discovered that Cao Bo had yet to speak a word of comfort to her. She stopped crying for a moment as she screamed tearfully, “Brother! Your nephew is dead! Do you know? He is dead! I know he wasn’t killed by terrorists. It was Qin Fen, it must be him! You have to avenge Liang Tao! My only son… is dead. Who will I depend on for the rest of my life?”
“Qin Fen!?” Cao Bo sneered. “Qin Fen and Liang Tao were nowhere close to each other, so why would Qin Fen run to your son and kill him?”
“Brother!” Cao Rong let out a shrill cry. “Liang Tao committed a small mistake, but he was only planning to teach a little lesson to that ignorant Qin Fen, who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth…”
“Little…” Looking at the phone in his hand, a frosty look that could even freeze a lump of burning coal blanketed Cao Bo’s face. “I am well aware that Liang Tao took fifty-some men and two AK47 to cripple Qin Fen for life, to the point where he would either be sitting in a wheelchair or lying in bed. He would not have been able to move so much as a finger. And you call this a little? Then what would be big?”
“Brother, what are you saying? He is your nephew, your own nephew!” Cao Rong tightened her hold on the phone fiercely; her screams did not stop at all. “Who the hell is that Qin Fen, he is nothing! We can kill him just because we can!”
“Shut up!” Cao Bo, unable to suppress in anger, finally lashed out. “Your treasured son has almost dragged the entire family into the abyss! And you’re not even reflecting who is in the wrong! Today, Snake King has already issued a statement, he will not show any mercy to whoever dares to use these kinds of means to deal with Qin Fen.”
“Snake King!?” Cao Rong was taken aback for a moment. But a stern look reappeared on her face a moment after. “So what? Of course he can talk like this. It wasn’t his son or grandson who has died! I don’t care who it is, I want Qin Fen dead, I will avenge my son!”
“Cao Bo…” Having entered Cao Rong’s room, Old Lady Diao took the phone and gently rotated the prayer beads in her right hand as she shouted in a cold voice, “Are you going senile with your age? If Qin Fen is dead, would getting angry bring any good to Snake King? At that time, as long as you give him a part of the family interest, I believe he should know whether the value of a deceased is greater or if the Cao Family is greater. You don’t need to worry about Liang Tao’s matter.”
Listening to the busy tone coming from the receiver, endless exhaustion took over Cao Bo’s face. Qin Fen may be an insignificant lieutenant colonel, but why can’t my family see it clearly? The people standing behind him are getting stronger and stronger! More importantly, it’s very unusual that the ninth on blood ranking was so easily beaten that day, and the person who had saved Qin Fen’s life had yet to be found.
Even now, with our military strength, we have not been able to find out who that martial artist was. He had helped Qin Fen that day and flown into the sky. Wasn’t that important?
Qin Fen! Behind this insignificant lieutenant colonel, there might be an unimaginable force supporting him! Otherwise, how would he dare offend Song Wendong?
Cao Bo, rubbing his forehead hard, slowly stood up from his leather seat and walked to the windowsill, looking at the scenery outside, trying to relax.
“That’s…”
Cao Bo was caught by surprise for a moment. Qin Fen, the central figure of the meeting’s discussion was standing beside Zhao Huzi on the street outside the building. Zhao Huzi, who had always been known for his temper, had never spoken a single word in today’s meeting!
“You thought this matter was confidential?” Zhao Huzi laughed at Qin Fen’s earnest manner. No matter how courageously Qin Fen pressed forward, when it came to Shengjing’s killing, he was still somewhat worried. “Today, Snake King stated that he will protect you. And he also said in the meeting that if anyone dares to do something like today’s ambush, he will absolutely help you counterattack with no mercy.”
“Snake King!? Du Hen!?”
Qin Fen was very surprised. He might not know the affairs of upper echelons, but if anyone threatened in such a straightforward manner, he would offend many people. We don’t have a good friendship. Why did Snake King speak out to help me? Why did he assume the posture of a lion to protect a youngster?
Zhao Huzi just smiled and didn’t explain that the military had not been able to find that mysterious expert who saved Qin Fen’s life, even after expending a lot of their resources. This was really extraordinary! Of course, that was not the main reason why Snake King helped him. Only Snake King himself could tell what was going on in his mind.
