...Half an hour later, while Ten Thousand Armies’ five-star War General, Zephan, was leading a thousand soldiers to make a roundabout and outflank the west wing of Hamed’s base, the Schulz family’s servants had already prepared several sumptuous banquet tables.Cadfan kindly invited Porter and his subordinates to sit down at the banquet tables. After that, he held Porter’s hand and asked him to sit down beside him. He did not forget to continue building onto his relations with Porter as he sighed and said, “Porter, if your father knows of all of your achievements today, he will certainly be extremely relieved as he would have no regrets left in this world...”Porter thought of his late father, and he naturally felt very emotional at this time as he said seriously, “In addition to avenging my parents, the reason why I came back this time is also because I hope that I would be able to tell them all about my experiences over the years in front of their graves so that I can comfort the
Porter’s words made Cadfan feel deeply shocked in the depths of his heart.If Cadfan had been thinking of taking advantage of Porter earlier, at this time, he was truly filled with admiration for Porter now.It was indeed admirable beyond measure for a young man, who was not even thirty years old yet, to be able to develop to this scale in that kind of world where there was constant intensive fighting on the battlefield. So, Cadfan took the initiative to lift his wine glass as he spoke from the bottom of his heart, “Porter, I have never admired anyone in my whole life. Curtis Wade from the Wade family was the first person that I’ve ever admired, and you are the second. Here, let me give you a toast!”When Porter heard the words ‘Curtis Wade’, he had a slightly cold expression on his face as he looked at Cadfan and asked seriously, “Grandpa Schulz, was Curtis Wade really as powerful as legend has it?”Cadfan nodded and said sincerely, “Although I have a deep grievance with the Wad
Cadfan shook his head. “I’m not too sure either. There have been divergent views and different opinions on this matter all these years, but no one has any conclusive evidence. Slowly, this matter has already passed for too long, and no one has continued pursuing the truth behind the matter anymore.”Porter sneered and said, “It seems as though being able to work out splendid plans and devise strategies that will assure victories from a thousand miles away is far from enough! If you want to gain a foothold in this world, you have to have an active mind and the ability to fight! If Curtis Wade could have had ten percent or even just one percent of Ten Thousand Armies’ power back then, he would not have been murdered at such a young age!”Cadfan was slightly startled. After that, he quickly came back to his senses, and he hurriedly smiled and said, “Porter, you’re right! These days, there is no point in just having a good brain. You would have to master both the pen and the sword!”As
While the young people in Oskia were still playing with drones that cost thousands of dollars as they filmed blindly in the wilderness outdoors, Hamed’s subordinates were already using these kinds of inconspicuous things to achieve complete airborne monitoring of their local battlefield. The advantage of being completely suspended in the air was that the drones could remain stationary in the sky while observing the target closely, unlike the Global Hawk from the United States which would need to constantly fly around in circles around its target.On the other hand, Hamed had already long made his own tactical arrangements while being in awe of Charlie’s abilities to plan and devise strategies. Through the image transmission signal uploaded from the sky, Hamed analyzed that there should be no more than one thousand and two hundred people from the other party.Moreover, they were currently circling around toward the west wing, and there was an eighty percent probability that the op
The first and best plan was for Zephan and his men to secretly sneak up to the entrance of Hamed’s permanent fortification so that they could suddenly rush in and catch them by surprise. That way, they could destroy and kill Hamed and his men inside the fortifications that they had built themselves. This was also the goal that most offensive and attacking parties would be most eager to achieve in all offensive battles. This was because this was the only way to get their objective done with the greatest ease and the least number of casualties. The second-best plan was to use the RPG rockets to accurately strike the permanent fortification with precision after reaching the vicinity of the permanent fortification. This method was similar to the process of blowing up the bunkers and artillery in anti-Japanese films.As for the third and worst plan, it would be for them to storm in and launch a forcible attack at all costs.However, the third plan was rarely ever successful.This was
Ten minutes later, the artillery that was attacking Hamed’s frontal position stopped on time.Three thousand soldiers on the frontal battlefield carried hundreds of RPG rockets as they charged toward Hamed’s position once again. This group of people had already been beaten once just now, and they knew that the enemy had very fierce firepower. So, all of them were very nervous as they launched the second attack out of fear that they would be killed if they made any mistakes.However, since they had already received a military command, even though they were all afraid, they could only bite the bullet and charge forward with their heads held high.Very soon, they once again entered Hamed’s fortifications’ firing range. Hamed naturally showed no mercy toward these kinds of people who were courting their own death all the way to his doorstep. So, he immediately ordered his soldiers to fire and kill as many enemies as possible. The second round of fire was immediately exchanged betw
In order to snipe Zephan’s troops, three hundred of Hamed’s soldiers immediately closed off the entrance of these firing points from the inside after entering more than thirty of these firing points. This way, each firing point would then become an independent bunker, and the soldiers inside would have no way to retreat either.Although there were many drawbacks to this method, there was also an advantage to it. The advantage was that the soldiers inside would coexist with the bunker as they had cut off their only way of retreat, and they would have to be determined to fight to the very end. So, their will to fight would be very high. Each firing point could be configured with five to ten men depending on the size of the area and the angle of the design.The configuration of the firepower inside was light and heavy machine guns, as well as RPG rocket launchers.In addition, it was also equipped with adequate ammunition reserves as well as enough food and drinking water to last t
As Zephan led the thousand soldiers from Ten Thousand Armies to charge forward and rush toward the slope on the west wing, he had already fallen completely into Hamed’s encirclement on the west wing.Just as Zephan was still worrying about missing the opportunity to win the battle and was leading his men to charge forward quickly, he did not notice that there were already multiple stone gaps that had suddenly turned into flat black holes.Immediately after that, the machine guns started firing instantly!The sudden gunshots were extremely loud! Zephan could only hear gunshots all around his ears. Before he even had time to react, he then heard the miserable wailing sounds around him accompanied by the sound of soldiers falling to the ground after getting hit by the bullets!One thousand men were completely targeted by the muzzles of more than two hundred light and heavy machine guns as well as dozens of RPG rocket launchers.After that, there was a heavy and not in the least mis
Zachary couldn't help pointing at the screen and snapping, "Fucking loser! The more you feel pressed, the less you should be nervous! What are you thinking?! You're falling right under that bastard's trap!"Jacob was frustrated too, growling through his teeth, "Shit! I didn't think that bastard was a sly old fox. Fucking hell!"He then sighed, shaking his head. "Forget it, Zachary—I'm going home to pack my shit, and I'll depart for Dubai first thing tomorrow. Just handle that bronze sculpture for me and wire the money over."As he was about to get off, Zachary sighed in exasperation and apologetically said, "Sorry, Mr. Wilson… but it's fine! Even if this plan screwed up, just let me cook up another plan to destroy Raymond Cole!"Jacob ignored him as he strode out of the car, but that was when Raymond spoke audibly from Zachary's phone, "You can calm down. I'm not accusing you of lying to me. I just think that it's not Renaissance… Rather, it's medieval.""E-Early medieval…?" Billy
In Treasure Measure, Raymond unwrapped the red cloth around the bronze sculpture in front of Billy and the camera.There was a brief flash of surprise on his face, and it was soon gone.Still, he picked up the bronze sculpture, fiddling with it as he asked, "Do you know where it's from?""Yeah," Billy nodded. "A Renaissance-era sculpture. I think the base makes it obvious."Raymond looked up at him and asked in curiosity, "Are you sure about that?"Billy, presuming that Raymond had already noticed a catch, quickly said, "Well, the old man had an expert check it, and the expert said it was immediately obvious! To be honest, I want to sell it because the old man just passed away—gotta sell this baby before my brother goes for a garage sale."He had certainly added more details to the script, and Raymond nodded as he said nonchalantly, "But it doesn't look Renaissance to me. Sculptures from that era—be it the craftsmanship or the unique attributes? It's quite different from this one
In the antique trade, items that raised eyebrows would only be shown in the evenings—when various shops were about to close.That was certainly the case in Antique Street, as most items arriving in the evening were either freshly excavated, stolen, or forgery used to dupe unsuspecting victims.Even if Raymond had started his career abroad, he had learned every last unspoken rule during his earlier stint in Aurous Hill.Seeing the wariness on Billy's face and the way he was holding something in his arms, Raymond knew right away that what he carried wasn't legal.Still, the antique trade was no different here than it was abroad.Tomb raiding, forgery, or adding some touch-ups that increased the value of an item—everyone across the globe pretty much played the same tricks, and Raymond had his fair share of experience.Still, he did not let his wariness show, instead grinning, "Yes, of course. Come on in—let's talk inside!"And with that, he quickly led Billy inside.Meanwhile, bot
"Five hundred grand?"Mick chuckled. "Well, the sculpture looks Renaissance, and the craftsmanship as well as the material are all ideal. It would sell for up to two million in an auction, while established antique traders like us could offer up to a million. So, why the lowball?"Bill sighed. "I won't lie—it belonged to my old man, who just croaked this afternoon. But you see, he left a will stating that every antique in the house would be given to my brother… Since he's playing favorites, I thought I had to get something for myself.""That's why I quietly sneaked this baby out without anyone else knowing and am trying to sell it quickly to change my own circumstances. You don't have to tell me how many millions it's worth—I'm not that greedy. Give me five hundred grand, and it's yours."Mick shrugged as he shot back, "If it's as you say and your old man intended for your brother to have it, the fact that you sneaked it out here makes this theft. Do you think I'd buy stolen proper
It was half past six, and the skies were darkening when a figure hurried into Antique Street, heading straight toward the center—to Vintage Deluxe.Mick Crane, the manager, was holding the fort with some of his employees, and there were some guests window shopping there as well. As Mick asked the employees to assist the guests, he waited anxiously for Billy—Zachary's henchman.Nonetheless, a certain figure rushed inside within minutes, asking eagerly as he entered, "Is the manager in? Do you still buy antiques?""Yes, and yes!" Mick exclaimed as he approached Billy enthusiastically, asking, "May I ask what you're planning to sell?"Billy looked around before sneakily holding up a parcel wrapped in red cloth, carefully lifting a corner to reveal an edge so that Mick could see.Then, he promptly lowered the cloth again, whispering, "This is the good stuff. I'm just not sure if you have the money to buy it."Mick grinned. "What are you saying? If it's something Vintage Deluxe coul
Jacob chuckled. "Can't tell you right now. But I will once it's done.""Well, have you decided when we're going to Dubai?" Elaine quickly pressed.Jacob said, "I'd have to wait until tonight to see if this deal works, but we're leaving first thing tomorrow. I'll get the tickets first, and we will be staying at the Burj Al-Arab that I told you about. People are always saying how amazing it is on the internet every day, seeing how luxurious the seven-star hotel is, but I'll be the judge of that."Elaine was overjoyed to hear that. "That's amazing! And I was just thinking we can't go sooner! Go about your business, then. I'll pack our luggage right away."Jacob chuckled smugly. "Don't pack so much, though. Just stick to the necessities, since we can get the rest over there!""Alright!" Elaine exclaimed, beside herself in excitement. "Alright, you hurry up and get your thing done over there. I'll start packing now!"After hanging up, Elaine called Charlie, who was in Champs Elys Reso
As Zachary agreed to do a favor for Vintage Deluxe's Mick Crane in passing, he and Jacob agreed to meet up at 7pm at the car park by Antique Street.He first took Jacob back to the Calligraphy and Painting Association and called Billy, one of his boys whom he thought was smarter than the rest, giving him the gist of the plan and telling him to familiarize himself with the script.Then, he took the sculpture back to Heaven Springs and met up with Billy in office, telling Billy what to do in finer detail and making sure he committed everything to memory.Zachary's strength as a judge of character certainly proved itself—Billy had never done anything like this before, but he took to the plan like fish to water. He committed the script to memory soon enough, and he was flawless.Once he made sure that Billy was fine, Zachary called Mick.As soon as Mick answered, he immediately asked, "Hello, Mr. Evans. How is that thing we talked about going?"Zachary chuckled. All the arrangements
Zachary continued, "Why do you think casinos are always making a profit? It's exactly because no matter how unassuming a guest is the first time, they would be allowed to win a couple of hands, making a little profit.""And suddenly, they would think that they are the chosen one, destined to win against all odds and always come out triumphant! Once such radical, blind confidence hits them, every last bit of his money would be lost to the casino!""At that point, you can get anything from them—their house, their wife, their children… hell, they'd be willing to die if you'd just let them gamble again!"Turning toward Jacob with a grin, Zachary then asked, "So, with all the points I made and that sculpture you're holding… Do you still think Raymond wouldn't fall for it?"Jacob laughed out loud. "Oh, talk about a plan within a plan! No one would ever see it coming! Raymond Cole is so screwed!"Zachary smiled and nodded. "That's why there's no reason to rush—I'll arrange a man to get r
As soon as they drove out of the village, Jacob asked Zachary eagerly, "So, when do you think we should make our move? I can't wait!"Zachary didn't hesitate, "Let's do it today. It's better than waiting! I'll get someone reliable to bring this to Treasure Measure and get him interested. I'm sure that since he has just returned to Antique Street, he'll need a hot deal to generate hype and make himself known. That's why I'm sure he'll take this sculpture."Jacob nodded repeatedly as he chuckled. "I think so too. Today is definitely best since I'll be going to Dubai soon and probably leaving once I'm done with this. Once you get this settled by the end of today, I'll get tickets for the flight tomorrow!"Zachary grinned. "Don't worry, chief. We will definitely get it settled today…"He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "Still, you should be a little patient. We should do this in the evening—at the second just before Raymond Cole closes shop.""But why?" Jacob asked in curi