Charlie snorted before he said indifferently, “So, that’s the case.”As he spoke of this, he then asked Yaron curiously, “By the way, there is a problem that I cannot seem to understand no matter how much I think about it. Can I ask you for some advice?”Yaron grunted, “Go ahead!”Charlie laughed and said, “Since your Ten Thousand Armies is so strong, then why were you guys defeated by a group of illiterate men one battle after the other while suffering huge losses at the same time? If I remember correctly, you should have lost more than two thousand and five hundred men, and one of them was also some kind of five-star War General, right?”“You…” When Yaron heard these words, he was instantly very angry and furious, and he reprimanded Charlie sternly, “You guys only relied on using insidious and cunning means to win twice. Ten Thousand Armies will definitely settle this score with you with added interest sooner or later!”Charlie laughed and said, “In that case, we really welcome
In truth, Charlie’s real purpose for this trip was not to meet the government supreme commander at all.The person that he really wanted to meet was Zayne Carter, who was the supreme commander of Ten Thousand Armies in Syria and was also known as the Green-Eyed Wolf King.He wanted to bring Sheldon Schulz back to Oskia under the heavy siege of more than thirty thousand men. So, Charlie’s only option would be to capture the ringleader first in order to bring his followers down. Moreover, it just so happened that Charlie could also take advantage of this opportunity to personally witness and feel Ten Thousand Armies’ actual combat effectiveness. At the same time, he could also see what kind of level their Four War Kings actually possessed. As for Yaron, Charlie could tell that he was a martial artist who had opened two of his meridians, and he was almost at the level of a two-star martial artist. So, Charlie deduced that Ten Thousand Armies’ middle and higher-level should mostly
So, Yaron brought Charlie with him to board the helicopter that had already been prepared long ago before they headed to the opponent’s frontline command. After flying for about ten minutes, the helicopter slowly landed in front of a prefabricated modular house. These prefabricated modular houses were all the residences of the middle and higher-level officers from the government and Ten Thousand Armies. The condition of these prefabricated modular houses was indeed much better as compared to the tents. Besides that, regardless of whether it was a tent or a prefabricated modular house, they were all covered with camouflage clothes, and since it was all dense camouflage, it would be very difficult to distinguish the exact location that the officers were based at from the sky.After getting off the helicopter, Yaron brought Charlie with him all the way to Ten Thousand Armies’ frontline conference room. As he walked, he then asked Charlie, “Brother, I still do not know your name and
Zayne and the government supreme commander were sitting in a rigid and uptight manner inside the conference room at this moment. Zayne was pondering as to how he should subtly and cleverly interfere with Hamed’s intention to have a peace negotiation with the government later. When he suddenly heard Yaron’s words, he was a little startled, and he subconsciously asked, “What did you just say the name of the negotiator was?”Yaron replied awkwardly, “Master Wade…”After saying that, Yaron quickly moved aside and spoke to Charlie, who was behind him, “Master Wade, please come in.”Charlie nodded, and he placed his hands behind his back as he walked into the conference room in a leisurely manner.As soon as he entered, he saw Zayne, who was sitting at the conference table. After taking a look at Zayne, Charlie realized that Zayne possessed extraordinary strength indeed. He looked like he was about thirty years old, but he had actually opened up six out of the eight extraordinary merid
Zayne snorted and asked rhetorically in an unpleasant tone, “So, it seems as though you are really very awesome, huh?”Charlie nodded, and he pried his fingers open as he said, “Look, the tactical planning of using permanent fortifications and reverse slope fortifications with defensive tunnels inside, guiding them to abandon their base in the valley and asking them to hide in the tunnels inside the fortifications on the mountain, coupled with the strategic tactic of strengthening the fortifications, storing up on strategic reserves and laten enthronization. All of these were my ideas. With the guidance and essence of these tactics, even if it was just a bunch of hillbillies, they would be able to display combat potential that is beyond ordinary people’s imagination. This is what I have tailor-made for Hamed. Judging by the first two major victories, I think that I am indeed quite awesome.”As he spoke, Charlie paused slightly before he smiled and said again, “At the very least, I a
Charlie started laughing instead when he saw that Zayne was already angry at this point. After that, he said emotionally, “Sigh. I suddenly recall someone asking me a similar question more than a year ago. At that time, she asked me whether I came to celebrate her birthday or whether I came to borrow money. In truth, when you said those words just now, the expression on your face was just like the expression on her face back then.”Zayne reprimanded him coldly, “You must be really pretty f*cked up to actually want to borrow money at someone’s birthday banquet!”Charlie sighed emotionally and said, “That’s right. It’s really pretty f*cked up, but it was my last resort, and there was nothing else that I could do. Who would be willing to borrow money on that kind of occasion? However, at that time, a life-saving benefactor of mine was seriously ill and needed the money urgently. So, I could only go all-out and shamelessly give it a try.”The expression on Zayne’s face eased a little, a
The government supreme commander, who was aside, was already stunned. He was personally an advocate of the peace negotiation, and when he heard Charlie’s words, he was even more convinced of his own views. So, he subconsciously blurted out, “Master Wade… If we withdraw our troops, can your army leave the opposition force and join the government instead? If you can do that, we can just write off everything in the past. We will also give Hamed full autonomy, and we will even allow him to remain neutral in our battle against the other opposition forces. I wonder if Commander Hamed would be interested?”The government personally felt very pessimistic about attacking Hamed.Therefore, they would prefer to be able to take Hamed in.This was because they acknowledged and recognized Hamed’s warfare capability very much. It would definitely be the best of both worlds if Hamed would be willing to join the government. When Zayne heard these words, he immediately said angrily, “What do you
Charlie’s words made the government supreme commander feel shocked to the point of horror!Before this, he had never once thought about what Charlie was saying, but now, he suddenly felt that Charlie’s words seemed to make sense.Meanwhile, Charlie stared at him intently as he said seriously, “To you, Ten Thousand Armies is just like the gauze that is used to dress your wounds!”“When your wounds keep bleeding, it will be the time when you would especially need the gauze to help you stop the bleeding and heal your wounds.”“But once your wounds are healed, you would not leave the bloody gauze on, and you would also be thinking of removing the gauze!”“As for the gauze itself, if it wants to remain on your body, the gauze will have to make sure that your wounds would never heal and just continue to bleed forever!”“If the gauze wants to occupy a larger area on your body, it will have to find a way to cut and cause more wounds on your body! They will not stop until your bodies are
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