609 A Sliver Of Hope

"Yeah, that's what you are good for, kissing boss's a*s! Haha!" Duo Lun jested with a wry smile.

"Buzz off! Didn't you know that bragging is also a skill? Am I right, boss?" Tan Bu's confidence knew no bounds. 

"Great, thank you! Made on Earth too! Haha! Take whatever you want and burn the rest!" Wang Tong said.

A group of scraggly figures emerged out from the human soldiers. 

"Wait, hero! Can you please take us with you?"

Yin Tianzong furrowed his brows. He noticed that these were the human slaves that the dark ones kept in the city. Years of confinement had taken the luster out of their eyes; however, their otherwise blank faces were ridden with surprises.

"Lun Duo, give some of our rations to them."

"Head north, that's where general Zambrotta is. You will all die if you follow us."

The humans were victims of Zergs' unthinkable tortures, and the will of resistance in them had long since died out. Lun Duo had left them enough ration to reach Zambrotta and a few maglevs. They knew that his group was the famous human devil and his deadly retinue, so none of them dared to ignore their suggestions.

Since the Zergs were distracted by Wang Tong, this group of refugees had a chance of getting to safety. The death of Xie Su had also increased their odds of survival.

After the human soldiers had pillaged the city of its food, they razed it to the ground and stormed toward the central area of the Zerg land.

Kashan was taken down, with the head of the northern warden on a pike. The news quickly spread like wildfire and reached the human side.

Every city was steeped in joy and celebration. This was a miracle!

What Battle Wolf had achieved before they took on the mountain journey was incredible, and now, this was an unbelievable act out of a high tale. Kashan was the largest Zerg city, and it was destroyed with a snap of Wang Tong's finger. More relevant to the home front, Wang Tong had killed Xie Su, which meant the defending soldiers could start a full-on offensive attack at the northern front. 

This was an opportunity of a lifetime, so the human resistance acted on it quickly. The attack was a success, and had alleviated a lot of pressure from the battlefield.

The Zergs were caught off guard. Even Zambrotta and turned his force around and joined the rest of the human resistance forces at the north to attack the Zergs from both sides.

Soldiers stationed at other parts of the frontlines doubled up their defense, making sure that the Zergs would not break while they waited for the perfect moment to lash out. 

Just as Wang Tong had calculated, the death of Xie Su brought total chaos to the northern section of the battlefield, since the art of commanding troops could not be easily mastered by any dark one. 

Overall, Xie Su had been a competent commander, but the same could not be said about the blood kin that got assigned as the new warden. He was an extremely powerful dark in a one on one combat, but a laughably impotent general. 

Due to bad management and outright horrible decision, the Zergs had suffered two catastrophic defeats in a row. Zambrotta and the main forces were able to join forces as they had planned successfully.

The development had connected the head and the tail of the defensive line, making it much stronger than ever. 

It had been a while since the humans had achieved any meaningful victory over the Zergs. The success in the north had boosted the resistance's morale significantly.

But, despite their triumphant advances, the human soldiers didn't brag about it. Instead, their lunchtime conversation mostly involved another group of soldiers in the heartland of the Zergs' territory. 

The leader's name is Wang Tong, and he was the heir of the legendary Blade warrior.

At the onset of Battle Wolf's success, everything believed that luck was the main factor contributing to their cause, and Michaux and Oddin could have done it better. However, that was far from what had happened afterward.

When surprise attack was getting old, and everyone thought Wang Tong's operation would come to a halt, he proved in the battle of Kashan that he didn't need the element of surprise from the outset.

The psychological effect of Wang Tong's success on the human soldiers was palpable: they no longer feared the dark ones, and some even felt that the Zergs were much inferior to the human in many ways.

Even in their wildest imagination, no one saw Wang Tong attacking Kashan. It was irrational if not outright suicidal. The anecdotal evidence collected from a group of human refugees seemed to suggest that Wang Tong and his retinue were not humans to begin with. They were devils and demons, just like the Zergs had purported. They could kill the dark ones just like squashing a bug. There had been no battle; it was a massacre. The mounts of these demon riders were also straight out of hell. 

The exaggerated stories got further distorted from mouth to mouth until it was commonly believed that Wang Tong and his units were flaming ghostly retinues that wielded sickles as their weapons. This group of hellborn soldiers was charging directly to the heart of Zerg land.

The heartland contained great secrets, as well as the Zergs' most important war facilities. It was also where Moye's castle stood. The devil was going after Moye, and everyone wished that he could succeed and deal with the plague of Zergs once and for all.

However, it was easier said than done. The Divine Master had tried it when he was at level twenty-six, yet, he could only gravely injure Moye at the cost of his life. With the dark ones' incredible healing speed, the humans wagered that the dark lord should have already fully recovered. 

"I am sorry my lady, but I can't stand it! Everyone is talking about Wang Tong this, Wang Tog that. It is as if the Hall of War Drum just sat around and did nothing!" Shaunger complained after a trip back from the downtown. She was still very mad at Wang Tong for rejecting Brenda. 

Brenda cracked a smile, "You silly. If not for him, we would never have achieved such victory. He is a hero. Don't you like a hero?"

"Hehe, of course, I do. But, he is not a hero…He is an idiot!"

"Don't' talk about him like that Shuanger."

"Hehe…Why are you still on his side, my lady? Do you think he will change his mind?" Shuanger asked. 

Brenda shook her head in resignation. Shuanger's words had hit the mark. Not only did she adore Wang Tong, but she also worshiped him like a god of valor. Brenda had a very sensitive soul, that was easily affected by Wang Tong's heroic and gallant demeanor. 

…

Meanwhile, the confederation's fleet had already reached Mars' outer space. The fleet had fought a few skirmishes on their way, but each time, Samantha relied on her keen judgment and saved the day.

"Looks like the situation on Mars is getting better. We need to establish communication with Wang Tong as soon as possible." Samantha said during a meeting.

"I will go!" Karl sprung out of his chair immediately. However, he was greeted by disapproving head shakes. 

"What? Why can't I go?" Karl piped up.

"Your talent is needed here on the ship." Samantha cracked an understanding smile.

"Let me do it; I knew this place pretty well," Sysco announced. Everyone nodded in approval; not only was Sysco a competent fighter, but he also knew Wang Tong very well.

"Very well. You will be on your own when you get down there, so be careful." 

"Roger that! I will find Wang Tong, I promise."

The rest of the meeting was about the proposed plan of waging an assault on the Zergs around Mars' moon: Ceret. Their goal was to contain the Zergs fleet capability. 

After much deliberation, the fleet officers reached a final plan of attack, and the meeting got over. 

After everyone had left the meeting room, Samantha made a cup of tea for herself. She stared at the misty water as she was absorbed in reflection.

The responsibility on her shoulders was immense, and sometimes, she even doubted herself. But most of the times, she was convinced that her decision was right. Ma Xiaoru was much better for Wang Tong than she would ever be. However, it bothered her that she still could not forget about Wang Tong after so many years. She dreamed of coming to Mars, to be close to Wang Tong again. During their travel in the space, Samantha had heard about what Wang Tong had done for the people of Mars, and that news filled her heart with a newfound confidence.

As memories came back to her, Samantha's face was flushed red. The intimate night that they had spent together seemed like ancient history now. Many people in her fleet chased after her, but she had rejected every single one of them, as if she was not interested in men at all.