28: Chapter 28 Allied Forces Assemble: A Bunch of Pigs to the Slaughter, Daring to Issue an Ultimatum?

Kokang, Laojie, the Bai Family compound.

This luxurious estate, which usually symbolized the highest power in Kokang, now felt like an active volcano about to erupt; the air was permeated with anxiety, fear, and the thick smell of cigars.

The explosion-proof door of the underground secret room was tightly closed, and the ventilation fan hummed, but it could not extract the desperate, decaying atmosphere inside the room.

Sitting at the long table were the most powerful people in Kokang.

Bai Suocheng, the former "King of Kokang," currently had a face ashen with rage, and the string of small-leaf sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, usually polished to a shine, was being squeezed until it creaked.

Sitting opposite him were Liu Guoxi of the Liu Family, Wei Chaoren of the Wei Family, and Yang Maoliang, who had just lost a regiment and looked like a defeated rooster.

"Bang!"

Yang Maoliang slammed his hand onto the table, making the teacups jump: "Stop pretending to be mute! Speak up! That little bastard surnamed Zhang has already put a knife to our throats! My soldiers were wiped out at Gunlong Gorge; do you want to follow in my footsteps?!"

His voice was hoarse, and his eyes were bloodshot; he clearly hadn't had a good night's sleep in days.

Liu Guoxi's face was gloomy as his fingers trembled while lighting a cigarette: "Old Yang, don't yell at us. Who could have imagined that kid was so bizarre? That was the fighting style of a professional army! Even fiercer than the government forces! I have confirmed reports that the 'Death God Legion' uses entirely brand-new Russian equipment, and even heavy machine guns we've never seen before!"

"Equipment? It's not just about the equipment!" Wei Chaoren wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling, "My men went to see the battlefield... it was too tragic. It wasn't a battle at all; it was a massacre! All the corpses had been shot between the eyebrows or torn apart by large-caliber bullets. The other side... the other side didn't seem to have lost many people at all."

As soon as these words were spoken, the secret room fell into a deathly silence.

Wiping out a reinforced regiment without losing many men. Are they even human?

"We can't wait any longer." Bai Suocheng finally spoke, his voice dry like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together, "We must unite. Bring out everything we have in reserve! The militia, the police battalions, the border defense battalions, and all those bodyguards and mercenaries—gather them all together!"

He scanned the crowd, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes: "Whether it's five thousand men or eight thousand, even if we have to use human waves, we must level that Dawn Base! As long as Zhang Cheng dies, his soldiers will be headless flies, and all that equipment and money will be ours!"

"But..." Ming Xuechang (representative of the Ming Family) hesitated, "What if we can't win?"

"Even if we can't win, we have to fight!" Bai Suocheng stood up abruptly, his face ferocious, "This is no longer about fighting for territory; it's a matter of life and death! If Zhang Cheng doesn't die, every single one of us sitting here will be dragged off for a public trial and execution! Do you want to become a joke in the eyes of those pigs?!"

This sentence struck everyone's weak spot. They knew best how many heinous things they had done over the years. Zhang Cheng's phrase "settling accounts for sins" was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

"Fine! Let's risk it all!" Liu Guoxi gritted his teeth, "I'll bring out two battalions! Besides, I have two 105mm howitzers that I haven't been willing to use; I'll bring those out too!"

"I'll bring out that death squad from before!"

"I'll contribute all my stockpiled ammunition!"

A pack of hungry wolves forced into a desperate situation finally bared their fangs and began to huddle together for warmth.

"Relying on ourselves alone isn't enough." Bai Suocheng sat down, his tone becoming sinister, "We need to find outside help. We need to muddy the waters."

"You mean... Naypyidaw?" Yang Maoliang frowned.

"Yes! Send people to Naypyidaw, bring gold and US dollars!" Bai Suocheng sneered, "Tell General Min Aung Hlaing that 'unidentified foreign armed forces' have invaded Kokang with the intention of splitting Myanmar! This is an invasion! Request support from the government army! Even if they don't send troops, as long as we label Zhang Cheng an 'invader,' he won't have a leg to stand on internationally, and the Dragon Country won't be able to protect him openly!"

This tactic of "borrowing a knife to kill" combined with "shifting the blame" was extremely vicious.

"Also," Bai Suocheng looked at a middle-aged man in a crisp suit wearing gold-rimmed glasses, "Chief of Staff Su, you are an educated man; you go to Dawn Base. Courtesy before force. Issue him an ultimatum!"

Su Mingda, the chief strategist under Yang Maoliang, could only bite the bullet and stand up: "Yes. Chairman Bai, how should this ultimatum be written?"

"Just say..." Bai Suocheng narrowed his eyes, as if he could already see the image of Zhang Cheng kneeling and begging for mercy, "Considering his youth and ignorance, as long as he hands over his army and his illegal gains, we can spare his life, and we can even give him the position of deputy county magistrate. If he doesn't know what's good for him... five thousand coalition troops will make him vanish into ashes!"

...

3:00 PM, Dawn Base.

The sunlight was a bit blinding; Zhang Cheng sat in the main seat of the conference room, fiddling with a fountain pen. Old K stood behind him like a black iron tower, exuding a chilling aura that warned people to stay away. Li Lanzhi sat next to him taking notes, but her palms were full of sweat.

Opposite him, Su Mingda, with two adjutants, sat upright; although he tried hard to display the dignity of a "Coalition Envoy," under Zhang Cheng's ambiguous gaze, his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

"...In summary," Su Mingda finished reading the so-called "ultimatum," forced himself to take a breath, and raised his voice, "Mr. Zhang Cheng, the Four Great Families and colleagues from all walks of life in Kokang are doing this for the sake of the big picture. An army of five thousand has already assembled, with heavy artillery and armored vehicles all ready. You are a smart man; you should know the consequences of an egg hitting a rock. As long as you sign the surrender, we can guarantee your personal safety."

After speaking, he pushed the document in front of Zhang Cheng, his eyes drifting, not daring to look directly into Zhang Cheng's eyes.

The conference room was terrifyingly quiet.

Zhang Cheng did not look at the document, not even lifting his eyelids. He just asked indifferently: "Finished?"

Su Mingda was stunned: "Ah? Finished... yes, finished."

"Then get lost." Zhang Cheng spat out the four words nonchalantly.

"What?!" Su Mingda thought he had misheard, stood up abruptly, his face flushing red, "Zhang Cheng! Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Do you think you're invincible just because you won one ambush? Five thousand men! That's five thousand men! One spit from each of them could drown you! You..."

"Bang!"

A loud noise.

Old K took a step forward; his heavy tactical boots stepped on the floor, seemingly making the whole room shake. A thick, bloody murderous aura instantly locked onto Su Mingda.

Su Mingda's remaining words were stuck in his throat, like a chicken with its neck being strangled; his complexion turned from red to white, then from white to green.

Zhang Cheng slowly stood up, supporting himself on the table with both hands, leaning forward; in those deep eyes, a chilling light that made people's hearts tremble flickered.

"Chief of Staff Su, go back and tell that old thing Bai Suocheng, and that bunch of trash Yang Maoliang."

Zhang Cheng's voice was not loud, but every word was like a knife, stabbing into Su Mingda's heart:

"Did you get one thing wrong?"

"It's not that you are giving me a chance."

"But rather, I... am considering whether to give you a chance to kneel down and beg for mercy."

"Five thousand men? Hmph." Zhang Cheng sneered, a look of disdain for ants, "A bunch of bandits holding fire pokers can't become an army just by gathering together. In my eyes, they are not a threat, but... merit. They are pigs and sheep delivered to my door for me to sacrifice to the flag."

"You... you..." Su Mingda was trembling with anger, pointing his finger at Zhang Cheng, "Arrogant! You will regret this! You will die a miserable death!"

"Old K." Zhang Cheng couldn't even be bothered to look at him again, sat back in his chair, and waved his hand, "See him out. By the way, tell them to wash their necks and wait. My 'Death God' is hungry."

Su Mingda was "escorted" out by two Death Soldiers like a chick being picked up.

After the miscellaneous people left, Li Lanzhi looked at Zhang Cheng worriedly: "Master, five thousand men... although we have good equipment, the numerical disparity is significant after all. And this time they are cornered beasts fighting, so they will definitely fight for their lives."

Zhang Cheng turned his head, looking at the huge combat map on the wall, his finger gently tapping on a valley with complex terrain.

"Fight for their lives? Are they even worthy?"

A cruel arc curled up on the corner of Zhang Cheng's mouth.

"Old K, pass the order down. The Death God Legion is on Level 1 combat readiness! The first and second echelons will set out secretly tonight to this place—Purgatory Valley!"

"I want to prepare a funeral that they will never forget for this bunch of things who don't know whether to live or die."

"Since they want to offer their heads for me to farm points, I will gladly accept."