Several hours later, at the central base of the Russian faction, Moscow.
In the castle where the highest authority of Russia resided, the small number of people standing at the sides of the large hall bowed their heads without daring to say a single word.
Although all the people present were extremely powerful Third Order soul evolvers, they all feared the wrath of the person who had his back to them at this moment.
In front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, Eduard Valentinovich silently watched the snow falling silently from the gray sky.
Today was a particularly cold day in Moscow, and although it was not snowing as badly as at other times, the base was on high alert. Any human being below level 15 could freeze to death in a matter of 5 minutes in the face of the monstrously low temperatures accompanied by strong winds blowing from the east, so all survivors at the base were ordered to stay indoors with the doors and windows tightly locked; even the small opening under the door was sealed.
Days like this were the worst for the northern country. The amount of coal and kerosene they consumed was simply colossal, and considering that Russia was not a country known for its many forests and trees the concerns of the high command were understandable.
Even then, however, the reason why all these soul evolvers were standing silently watching their Leader's back carefully was completely different and had nothing to do with the cold weather outside.
"So." Eduard Valentinovich finally broke the silence after a long, long time.
His voice sounded somewhat hoarse, but no one could see what kind of expression he was making at the moment.
"You're telling me that the assault on the retreating Chinese force with less than 5000 men failed miserably even when we sent 4 Third Order warriors, 300 Second Order, and 10,000 First Order?"
Silence. The hall continued in silence and no one dared to respond to Eduard's question.
Finally, a beautiful platinum blonde said with her head down using a characteristically and extremely sexy Russian accent: "Sir. Eduard, Bai Zemin clearly fooled us all. He definitely knew that we could see his moves and used this to his advantage."
Previously, taking the opportunity that the main army of the invading troops along with their Leader had gone deep into the mutant forest, the Russian faction immediately attacked the retreating side of the Transcendent faction. They had been waiting for that moment for almost a whole week so everything had been planned and just needed to be executed; simply and quickly.
Unfortunately, things didn't always go according to plan.
"That brat is only a little over 20 years old... he can't be as cunning as an old fox who never shows its tail." Another Third Order soul evolver, a stout, handsome man, growled with clenched fists, "There has to be someone at his side, an old war strategist backing him up."
Eduard Valentinovich and his confidants had planned to wipe out the enemy's retreating troops, recover the lost technology and information, and finally capture Bai Zemin's father alive. However, their plans failed due to the appearance of someone who should not be there.
The great Russian Leader slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After expelling the air from his lungs slowly, he whispered, "I really hate that shitty brat..."
The rest of them exchanged glances after hearing their Leader's whisper. In their hearts, they all felt a little strange and puzzled at the person's rather positive attitude towards them.
One needed to know that Eduard Valentinovich was not a particularly soft or gentle man, he would definitely sacrifice his children if any of them threatened their survival or well being in the least. Therefore, the Russian elites were really confused as to his soft and understanding temperament.
Actually, Khristina had just arrived in Moscow not long after using her teleportation skill. She had already briefed Eduard on the battle against the giant Mana Eater Tree, the unexpected appearance of the Saint of the Absolute, and the final one-attack clash between Bai Zemin and the Saint of the Absolute after the fall of the Mana Eater.
It was not until after realizing the extent of the Transcendent Leader's power that Eduard forced himself to appease much of his anger. Otherwise Khristina feared that several heads would be rolling on the ground right now.
Seeing that no one said anything, she stepped forward and used her baby voice to express her thoughts: "This boy, Bai Zemin, is very smart. It's not for nothing that he has such great achievements despite his young age, and it's not unfair for Xuanyuan Wentian to have lost his position... Who would have thought that cunning little boy would actually camouflage a stone golem to make it pass for that great mutant ant? Besides, in our database, there is no information regarding such a strange skill as the one that was used on the battlefield."
To begin with, the Russian troops sensed that something was not right when after attacking the enemy troops by surprise they saw no panic or disbelief in the eyes of the other side; all they saw was mockery and contempt in the enemy's face, almost as if they had been waiting for them for a long time.
Except for the very small advantage that the Russian troops managed to take at the beginning and which did not last more than 30 minutes, the soul evolvers of the Transcendent faction quickly turned the tables on them. In the end, had it not been for three Third Order soul evolvers joining forces to forcibly restrain Chen He, the fourth Third Order soul evolver would not have been able to lock Bai Delan using an Epic grade treasure called the Lightning Birdcage.
Just as the Russian troops were preparing to teleport Bai Delan to Moscow, a strange bright red portal appeared in the middle of the battlefield. The portal was massive, linking the skies and the earth causing the atmosphere to twist at the countless lightning bolts that made it up.
"We all thought Kong Jun was in the advance army led by Bai Zemin, but clearly we were deceived by the enemy." Khristina llyinishna paused before slowly continuing, "The information about those golems never reached us, which means that the enemy side kept it a secret all this time. I dare say that except for Bai Zemin's closest confidants, no one else knew of their existence."
Bai Zemin's troops had always been being monitored, so one could only imagine how great the shock and subsequent terror that the soul evolvers tasked with attacking the retreating enemy group felt when Kong Jun emerged from the giant portal. His presence was like that of a legendary Demon King, immediately turning the tables in favor of his side and crushing the enemy until blood flowed into the white snow.
After a long time of silence, Eduard Valentinovich slowly turned around, and with a composed expression on his face, he asked: "... Do any of you have at least the slightest idea about that teleportation skill? That mutant ant called Kong Jun left absolutely no trace of his previous position before appearing on the battlefield."
In fact, after Eduard calmed down after hearing from Khristina how terrifying the enemy was in reality, he felt a sense of bewilderment in his heart.
Wasn't Kong Jun supposed to be a soul evolver completely focused on physical strength? How on earth did he suddenly acquire an extremely advanced teleportation skill? Eduard Valentinovich really could not understand even though he had been racking his brain in thought for a while now.
Khristina's eyes glinted slightly, but after a moment's consideration, she decided not to speak her thoughts.
"Anyway." Eduard looked back to the snowy world outside and waved his hand without looking back, "Now that that Chinese brat's faction is partially rebuilding one of the bases we left behind, I think we can assume they plan to camp there so they won't be continuing to advance any time soon. I want one of you to send an ambassador to invite the other side to have a diplomatic discussion... Although this kid used to be no more than a villager, he should know that fighting to the death is not always the best thing to do when war involves such big things."
Although Eduard Valentinovich really wanted to attack now since Bai Zemin absolutely was at his lowest point, he didn't dare. The surprises the young leader of China had given him kept coming, and unfortunately for Eduard, none of them was to his liking.
"In that case, what about we send Irina?" Khristina suddenly proposed.
"Irina?" Eduard blinked dumbfounded before a glint of understanding shone in his blue eyes. His lips curved into a sneer as he nodded slowly, "From the looks of it, Bai Zemin loves and is quite considerate of little girls. Heh. Every brave hero has a weak side or two, as well as dirty secrets that the fewer who know the better."
Several minutes later, everyone left and only the Russian Leader was left standing in the middle of the large hall.
Approximately 20 minutes later and after ordering several maidens not to let anyone approach the hall, Eduard said to apparently no one in particular, "Come out."
At first, there was no reaction or movement of nature. But a few seconds later, an extremely beautiful and charming chuckle rang throughout the hall.
A small black crack appeared in the middle of the room, and from inside, a curvaceous woman dressed in battle clothes made of black leather came out taking graceful steps.
Eduard's expression was complicated as he looked at this woman who took his breath away. A simple movement from her like playing with her blonde hair or narrowing her blood-red eyes was enough to make his heart flutter even though he had tasted all kinds of beauties in his life.
"You seem to be more interested now, in the proposal I made to you earlier, young little boy." The beautiful woman, one of the Seventh Order Commanders belonging to the Army of Evolution, smiled coquettishly.
Eduard Valentinovich took a deep breath as he nodded still with some hesitation in his gaze.
"Miss Floriana, I would like to meet with your leader first... to discuss the terms of our agreement."
Floriana, a Seventh Order zombie, covered her mouth and her eyes curved prettily as she chuckled softly, "Silly boy, you are definitely interesting despite being a little Lower Existence... My Leader has other more important business to attend to at the moment so, I'm afraid your request can only be refused."
Eduard clenched his fists but said nothing. He could only swallow his anger temporarily because he knew that the woman in front of her and the faction behind her were so powerful that even his biggest headache, Bai Zemin, was but a fart in comparison.
After calming the frustration and anger he felt in his heart, he unclenched his fists and said weakly, "... I'd like to accept that offer you made me earlier... But I want a lower level, one that I don't have to sell my soul to the devil."
"Oh, you silly boy." Floriana waved her hand as she laughed in amusement. However, her blood-red eyes were not smiling as she calmly said, "We are no devil, we are zombies!"
Floriana waved her hand and in an instant, a cut appeared on her left palm. Eduard looked at the extremely fragrant golden blood flowing down her delicate hand and couldn't help but swallow silently, wanting anything more than to grab that little hand and lick it all over.
"If you want a lower level it's fine with me, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to kill that little monster..." Floriana watched with contempt as the great Russian Leader advanced with trembling steps and more and more straying eyes, "Well, but it should be enough to make him have a big headache or two."
Standing in a corner of the room, a beautiful naked figure with her skin and internal organs turned into beautiful crystals watched all this in shock.
The great Commander Floriana of the Army of Evolution, a powerful Seventh Order zombie, would never expect that a Lower Existence could evade her senses and be standing just over 50 meters away without her noticing!
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