Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

The 23 generals heard the announcement, but no one spoke. It was just silent.

The Third Marshal knocked the pipe in his hand and smiled coldly. "Since you all dared to vote against the military's decision and force the three of us to appear on behalf of the military, say something then."

Ling Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly. 'Is that sentence directed at me?'

The First Marshal narrowed his eyes. 'This old fogey never forgets to suppress my men, even at a time like this.'

The Second Marshal felt that the silence must be broken so he said, "The generals have voted against the military because they are worried about their men. We can understand your concerns. However, just like what Marshal Yang said, since we decided to have a conference, please speak your mind. If not, this conference will just be a waste of time."

The First Marshal and Third Marshal exchanged glances with each other. The Song family had people on Planet Haijiao so this old b.a.s.t.a.r.d's att.i.tude was exceptionally good today.

"The military promised that they would be able to get a hold of the situation in Planet Haijiao within a week. However, we didn't receive any news of that yet…" The General of the 7th division suddenly said, "With this, how can I not suspect the intentions of the military?"

The Third Marshal replied, "We have already sent the nearest fleet over to Planet Haijiao. However, you all should know that the Hailiyan army attacked them furiously, completely stopping them from reaching Planet Haijiao. This is why we were unable to follow up with our original plan."

"We can't keep getting stopped by Haliya. One week has already pa.s.sed since they first attacked, and we still don't know anything about the situation on Planet Haijiao. Our soldiers there are currently fighting for their lives, hoping and waiting for us to help them. So, we will like to request for the military to send in more reinforcements to clear the path towards Planet Haijiao," the General of the 4th division said righteously.

Ling Xiao looked at the General of the 4th division. He might have received an order from the Li family to do that. Ling Xiao knew Li s.h.i.+yu and Li Yingjie were two of the top three candidates for the succession of the Li family. The Li family, of course, couldn't let these two outstanding successors be killed.

"We have decided to send in a hundred fleets…" The First Marshal informed the generals about the decision of the military.

No general had any qualms about this decision. A hundred fleet was enough to take over a small planet.

At this moment, the General of the 5th division opened his mouth, "If we sent the fleets to Planet Haijiao, they will need at least half a month to reach there. If the Hailiyan army sent people to stop them, they will take even longer. Do you think that our soldiers would be able to withstand the attacks from Hailiya for a month without any reinforcements?"

His words revealed a problem no one wanted to face. They were agitated because none of them were confident that their mecha clans would be able to survive for one month without any reinforcements or supplies. Everyone turned quiet again.

The Third Marshal sighed. He said, " I've received the latest piece of intel from the intelligence bureau just now. We were going to hold the conference soon so I didn't inform you all. Now, you all can take a look at it." The Third Marshal asked his a.s.sistant to pa.s.s the intel to the generals.

The First Marshal and the Second Marshal's faces turned dark when they heard this. They knew about this piece of intel. The First Marshal couldn't help but look at Ling Xiao. He hoped that Ling Xiao was able to withstand this impact.

All the generals started looking through the information on their communicators. Their expressions turned serious. Ling Xiao was serious too. He didn't show any other expressions. The First Marshal felt consoled. 'My general is a strong-willed person. He will not let his personal affairs affect the big picture.'

The reporters started talking among themselves when they saw this scene. They were guessing what this piece of intel was about.

"Is this reliable?" The General of the 6th division let out a long sigh. He could already feel the bitter taste in his mouth. If this was true, the reinforcements they sent would be useless.

"In order to send this piece of news to us, our spy in the higher ranks of Hailiya lost his life." The Third Marshal seemed to be grieving, proving that the intel was true.

"Hailiya used one week to destroy almost all of our bases, leaving only a few scattered bases still resisting…" The General of the 15th division slammed the table furiously. "This is all because of Hailiya. How can they violate the Human United Agreement and send out imperial operators…"

"I didn't expect them to violate the rules and activate the G.o.d-Killers!" The General of the 7th division was furious.

The G.o.d-Killers was like the Flying Dragon Special Forces of the Huaxia Federation. All the mecha operators inside were monsters. They were at least an imperial operator. This could explain why the bases of the Federation were destroyed by Haliya within a week.

"The moment our reinforcements reach there, Hailiya might have already claim Planet Haijiao. By then, we will be at a disadvantage. We might be considered invaders and suffer the attacks from the Hailiyan army. The Intergalactic United Nations will also stand on Hailiya's side and condemn us." The Third Marshal voiced out his major concern. This was something that was most likely going to happen too.

The war on Planet Haijiao was a controversial war. The Federation and Hailiya occupied half of the planet each so no one was able to determine who Planet Haijiao belonged to. Thus, the Intergalactic United Nations couldn't interfere with this war. However, once Hailiya stuck their flag on the part of the planet previously ruled by the Federation, the planet would then belong to them. Based on the Human United Agreement, the Federation must admit that Planet Haijiao belonged to Hailiya. The fleets that the Federation sent to reinforce their soldiers would be regarded as invaders. With that, Hailiya had the right to send imperial operators or even G.o.d-cla.s.s operators to attack them.

Imperial operators and G.o.d-cla.s.s operators were forbidden to fight in wars that were controversial. Once a country confirmed that they were being invaded, this rule would not hold.

"Because of this possibility, I don't agree to send the hundred battles.h.i.+ps to reinforce Planet Haijiao. The lives of the 280 million soldiers are our responsibility but we are also responsible for the other lives of millions of soldiers on the s.h.i.+ps. I can't watch them die like this," the Third Marshal said seriously.

The generals turned silent. They couldn't bear to give up the 280 million soldiers on Planet Haijiao but if what the Third Marshal said was true… they were also unable to bear the lives of 500 million soldiers. The Second Marshal, who always refuted the Third Marshal's decision, didn't have the courage to open his mouth now.

The First Marshal didn't say anything. All the three marshals knew that Ling Xiao's son was on Planet Haijiao. They also knew that the forgettable grandson of the Second Marshal and Qi Yaoyang's youngest son was there too. However, in the face of such a situation, they were unable to sacrifice millions of soldiers to save their family members.

The Third Marshal looked at Qi Yaoyang. He wanted to see what Qi Yaoyang's att.i.tude was. The fact that Qi Yaoyang's youngest son broke ties with his father in order to join Ling Xiao's division was a thorn in his heart. If he didn't have enough strong officers under him, he wouldn't have let Qi Yaoyang become the General of the 13th division, but no matter what, Qi Yaoyang was his men. He was better than the people under the Second Marshal.

Qi Yaoyang's expression changed a little. However, he still gritted his teeth in the end and didn't reject the Third Marshal's suggestion. The Third Marshal was satisfied with his performance. 'This person knew his position well. He knew what to do and what not to do.'

"I suggest that we give up sending reinforcements and hand this matter over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will condemn Haliya…" The Third Marshal finally said his suggestion.

Abandoning the 280 million soldiers and then using their sacrifice to gain the moral high ground for the Federation to gain benefits politically. All the generals turned silent again. This seemed like a heartless decision but it was the best decision.

"How can they do this…" The reporters exclaimed.

"Are we going to abandon the 280 million people on Planet Haijiao?"

"If we don't forsake them, what are we going to do? Risk the lives of 500 million more soldiers? The Third Marshal had explained everything. All the big bases on Planet Haijiao had already fallen. Not many people are left alive. After some time, Hailiya will probably announce that they had gained control of planet Haijiao."

"But everything is not confirmed yet. If we abandon them now…" Ladies were more caring than men. They weren't able to forsake lives for the greater good even if those people had no hopes of surviving.

'General Ling Xiao, you won't agree, right?' Wen Qilian clenched her fist. She stared at the calm and stern handsome face. Just like the other ladies, Wen Qilian was unable to accept Third Marshal's suggestion. She couldn't help but place her hopes on Ling Xiao. She hoped that their military idol would hear their cries and speak up for the poor 280 million soldiers on Planet Haijiao.

At this moment, the Third Marshal asked the Second Marshal, "Marshal Song, what do you think?"

The Second Marshal glared at the Third Marshal. He held his hands tightly as he replied, "I agree."

Song Yiqing was just a useless grandson. It was alright for him to die on planet Haijiao. He would gain the reputation of sacrificing for his country and the Song family would benefit from this good name. This honor would help him when he fought for the position of the First Marshal next time. The Second Marshal weighed the options in his heart and decided to give up Song Yiqing.

The Third Marshal looked at the First Marshal. The First Marshal glanced at the Ling Xiao. He said slowly, "This matter…"

Suddenly, Ling Xiao slammed his hands on the table and a deafening sound was heard.

"This suggestion is absurd!" Ling Xiao's anger finally exploded.