Chapter Nine: We Choose to Believe in Jiang Ling!

Every eerie creature that Ji Ling struck down, regardless of its strength, size, species, or any other attribute, would invariably dissolve into energy. This energy not only replenished his Chaos Space but also elevated his Divine Covenant rank.

Ji Ling stood up, gazed at the scarred earth before him, and said in a low voice, "General Lin, let us first bury our fallen brothers."

General Lin followed his gaze. Due to that sudden beastly roar, the soldiers had been caught off guard, resulting in nearly half of their ranks being lost. These soldiers were all his brothers. War had always been cruel, and the battlefield was no place for grief. If they did not wish to endure such sorrow any longer, they had to drive back all these eerie creatures. That was the only fundamental solution.

A group of soldiers immediately set to work, laying their brothers to rest.

Half an hour later, the surviving soldiers stood in formation, led by General Lin, observing a moment of silence before the rows of tombstones. At the same time, the comments section of the live stream began to scroll rapidly.

"Heroes, rest in peace!"
"We salute you!"
"The people will remember you!"
"It is your heroic sacrifice that has bought us peace and tranquility! Salutations!"

After the brief yet solemn farewell ceremony, the soldiers collected the divine statues left behind after the black fog had receded.

"Report to General Lin! A total of twenty-seven divine statues have been recovered!"
"Awaiting your orders!"

General Lin nodded slightly and looked toward a middle-aged man beside him. This was another general; unlike General Lin, the rank insignia on his shoulders had one fewer star—he was a Lieutenant General.

"Old Xu, in your opinion, how should we handle these statues?"

General Xu’s eyes swept over the twenty-seven statues one by one before he finally sighed. "The lives of one hundred thousand brothers were traded for these twenty-some lumps of stone! The sacrifice of our brothers must have value! These statues must contribute to our Dragon Nation! I propose we select a group of men to return along the path we carved through the black fog and deliver these statues back to safety."

General Lin nodded slightly. "I agree with your assessment."

He then looked toward the gathered soldiers, but it was clear that none of them wished to accept this task.

"General! I do not want to be a deserter!"
"Exactly! We must continue to advance! Kill the enemy! Dispel the black fog! Restore peace to the border!"

General Lin sighed with deep emotion, then immediately spoke with a stern expression. "Listen to me, all of you! Escorting these statues back is not being a deserter! Your mission is just as important and just as glorious as those of the soldiers who remain here to fight! Even if we secured ten thousand statues here, if we all died, not a single one would make it out! It would all be in vain! Listen: those who escort these statues back to safety must visit the families of those of us who did not make it out of the black fog! Take care of their families! The families of the brothers who stay behind are your own families! Do you hear me?"

The soldiers kept their heads bowed in silence; one could even faintly hear a few low sobs.

"Who the hell is crying?!" General Xu’s tiger-like eyes widened. "Hold it back! Soldiers bleed and sweat, they do not shed tears! If you have guts, go pluck the heads off those damned eerie creatures! Only cowards and weaklings shed tears!"

Even as he spoke, General Xu’s voice cracked noticeably by the end. Everyone understood: those who chose to escort the statues back were choosing to abandon their comrades, their brothers, leaving them behind to wait for death. Two hundred thousand troops had already been insufficient. If another group left, the fate of those remaining was clear. They were not only facing a final farewell to their brothers-in-arms, but also the inner torment they would have to endure for every day to come. Those who survived would have a far harder time than those who died. No one wanted this.

"Hurry! Those who will take on the escort mission, step forward voluntarily!" General Lin urged, holding back his own grief.

Yet, not a single soldier stepped forward. If they were asked to die in their brothers' stead, they would have scrambled to be the first in line. But to leave, to abandon their brothers to die while they lived on in shame? No one was willing.

General Lin turned away, gritting his teeth, struggling to force his tears back. Just then, a voice rang out.

"Report!"

It was Ji Ling. General Lin looked at him with a softened gaze. Ji Ling had summoned the Yinglong statue; it was only natural for him to take on the escort mission. He had a bright future ahead of him and should not die here with them.

"Good! There is the first one! Are there any others—" General Lin waved at Ji Ling, then looked toward the crowd, hoping that with one, there would be a second and a third.

The live stream comments were in an uproar.

"Ha! I thought he was a real man earlier! He wasn't a deserter then, but now he's choosing to be one!"
"So many soldiers, and none are willing to abandon their comrades to save their own skins! Only he has the gall to step forward!"
"Bah! He's just smearing General Ji's reputation! Smearing our Dragon Nation!"
"A man like this doesn't deserve to be a soldier!"
"He doesn't even deserve to live! Go die!"

"Report! I am not volunteering to escort the statues!" Ji Ling interrupted.

General Lin frowned, looking at him. Beside him, General Xu also furrowed his brow, his eyes filled with contemplation.

"Then what are you doing?" General Lin asked.

Ji Ling took a deep breath. "I believe your proposal is flawed. I think that instead of sending these statues away, we should have our soldiers form covenants with them right here!"

"Nonsense!" General Xu roared, glaring at Ji Ling. "Can you guarantee that every one of these statues belongs to our Dragon Nation? If we form a covenant with a statue that isn't ours, it will only drain our national destiny!"

"Report to General Xu! I can guarantee it!" Ji Ling stood straight, his eyes full of confidence and certainty. "I have observed these statues. I cannot speak for any we might find later, but at the very least, all twenty-seven we have collected so far are deities of our Dragon Nation!"

"Are you certain?" General Lin narrowed his eyes, staring at Ji Ling. "Jiang Ling, this is not a joke. If there is a deity that does not belong to our nation, our national destiny will be devoured by others. Furthermore, if you identify even one incorrectly, an innocent soldier will lose their life!"