126: Chapter 126 Zelda... No, Han Xin is Heaven

If you can recruit ten men, you can be a decurion; if you can bring in a hundred, you can be a centurion.

General Han Xin is the true ancient pioneer of Pinxixi!

He didn't need any so-called governance. Historically, General Han Xin was able to reorganize on the spot in 'Chu', a place where he shared deep-seated hatred, and directly raise an elite army that even the Han army couldn't defeat.

It was the same in 'Qi'. The main forces had been taken away by Emperor Liu Bang, leaving him to lead a group of Farmers armed with rakes and manure forks into Qi. Yet, he still managed to capture over sixty cities in a row and build an army of over 300,000 men.

Just tell me, if this isn't spawning soldiers out of thin air, what is?

The power of Heroic Spirits originates from historical anecdotes, and these anecdotes don't have to be limited to a specific event... A Heroic Spirit's own common-sense-defying abilities are, in themselves, the most powerful anecdote!

In the Old Era, General Han Xin could ignore so-called governance in the real world and spawn soldiers out of nothing.

Now in the Game of National Destiny, he could naturally bypass governance and spawn soldiers out of thin air!

Therefore, the effect of Chen Aoyun's chess piece skill, [Void Troop Spawning], was simple, brute-force, and perfectly aligned with the rules:

Ignore the governance level of the grid and produce troops!

This spawning of troops wasn't a summoning like 'Sowing Beans to Harvest Soldiers,' but rather soldiers produced by the grids under the rules!

With thirteen thousand grids occupied by the Dragon Country, once every single grid could produce soldiers regardless of its governance level...

The Dragon Country's troop count skyrocketed, instantly surging from 400,000 to 1.3 million!

Silence.

The minds of spectators all over the world went completely blank.

Then, a wave of uproar erupted like a mountain torrent and a tsunami!

He was faking it!

At this moment, the Strategists of the Ottoman and France finally realized that Chen Aoyun's previous lack of troops was all a fucking act!

He could clearly have used this skill to spawn troops directly, but he deliberately feigned weakness so that the Ottoman and France would wear each other down first!

Those spectators who had previously said it was a pipe dream for the Dragon Country to reap the benefits as a third party were also slapped hard in the face. Like the clam and the snipe clashing while the fisherman reaps the spoils, the Dragon Country had pulled it off, even if it wasn't as perfect as expected.

Counting the troops they had previously split off to surround and suppress the Dragon Country's soldiers, the Ottoman and France currently had 1 million and 850,000 troops left, respectively.

Individually, the Dragon Country's troop count already surpassed both France and the Ottoman, but if combined, the Dragon Country was still slightly outmatched.

Adar glanced at France's Strategist, Vildo, and proposed,

"Let's join forces!

Let's team up to take out the Dragon Country first, and then we can settle things between us."

The Dragon Country already held the numerical advantage among the three sides; it would be hard to deal with them without joining forces.

Of course, they could have chosen to team up with the Dragon Country instead, but out of deep wariness toward the Dragon Country and Chen Aoyun, neither of them even considered that option.

By teaming up with each other, once the Dragon Country was eliminated, the two of them would be evenly matched, and both would have the confidence and possibility of defeating the other.

But if they teamed up with the Dragon Country, the final outcome would only be facing the Dragon Country alone.

Neither of them wanted to face the Dragon Country or Chen Aoyun alone, so teaming up to crush the Dragon Country first became their only option.

Thus, an interesting scene unfolded after Adar and Vildo reached an agreement:

The two armies, which had just been fighting to a standstill, beat their gongs and retreated simultaneously. Then, as if they were one big happy family, they charged toward the grid where the Dragon Country was located.

Chen Aoyun tried to sow discord between them, but despite offering a mountain of promises, neither Adar nor Vildo was moved. In the end, he could only sigh and brace for the onslaught.

Before the new army arrived, Chen Aoyun didn't sit idle either.

After 'Void Troop Spawning', the Dragon Country had 1.3 million troops, while the enemy forces previously surrounding him numbered only 960,000.

Chen Aoyun struck first at these 960,000 troops, delivering a lethal blow!

His 1.3 million-strong army charged forward. Relying on their numerical advantage, Chen Aoyun reduced the 960,000 enemy troops to 660,000 with a 1 to 1.5 casualty ratio, losing 150,000 of his own troops in the process.

When the reinforcements from the Ottoman and France arrived, the exact troop numbers for the three sides were as follows:

Dragon Country: 1.15 million.

Ottoman: 880,000.

France: 730,000.

The true decisive battle had begun!

Dragon Country's 1.15 million vs. the Allied Coalition's 1.61 million.

An army of ten thousand stretches beyond the horizon; an army of a hundred thousand blankets the earth and sky; an army of a million stands like mountains and peaks, vast as the oceans and deep as the abyss!

The brutal slaughter covered the entire map, with thousands of soldiers falling every single second.

The Allied Coalition was taking casualties, but the Dragon Country was losing men even faster!

"It seems the Dragon Country is still going to fall short at the last moment," commentator York's voice carried deep regret. "If the Dragon Country's show of weakness had been a bit more flawless, and they hadn't been exposed until the Ottoman and France had fought more brutally, they might have actually won this Game of National Destiny. What a pity..."

Even after spawning soldiers out of thin air, their troop count was still no match for the combined forces of the Ottoman and French Allied Coalition.

However, in the face of this seemingly hopeless numerical disparity, Chen Aoyun did not panic in the slightest.

Because he also knew about that hidden rule!

[Hidden Rule A: When the total number of casualties in a battle exceeds one million, the battle enters Heroic Spirit Command Mode.

Heroic Spirit Command Mode: The control of the battle will no longer be in the hands of the Strategist and the Roleplayer, but will instead be commanded by a single placed Heroic Spirit.

The Heroic Spirit's attributes cannot be overlaid, and their skills are unusable; the battle is guided purely by this Heroic Spirit's command ability!]

Having switched to a different map, the Heroic Spirits in charge of command, [Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent], had disappeared.

At this moment, the death toll on this map was also about to exceed one million.

The 'Heroic Spirit Command Mode' mentioned in [Rule A] was once again forcefully triggered!

The Heroic Spirits commanding for the Ottoman and France remained unchanged: [Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent].

And the Huaxia Heroic Spirit that Chen Aoyun brought out was also an old acquaintance—[General Han Xin]!

[General Han Xin] was an already-condensed Heroic Spirit, so he could take the field to command army operations without consuming Construction Power.

Of course, Chen Aoyun hadn't brought out [General Han Xin] because of a lack of Construction Power, but rather because in this kind of large-scale army showdown—where a Heroic Spirit's physical martial prowess and skills were ignored, and only command ability mattered—there was simply no one among all of Huaxia's Heroic Spirits more suited than [General Han Xin]!

After 'Heroic Spirit Command Mode' was activated, Adar was still gloating,

"Not to mention that our Allied Coalition currently has the numerical advantage, but for the commanding Heroic Spirits, I've brought out [Suleiman the Magnificent], and our French brother has brought out [Napoleon]!

Both [Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent] are the absolute best commanders in their respective civilizations. Joining forces now to deal with your Dragon Country's single [General Han Xin] is absolutely more than enough!

Let's see how you can possibly win!"

Adar was quite amusing; whoever he allied with became his brother.

"[Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent] are the absolute best?" Chen Aoyun gave a faint grunt of amusement. "Then [General Han Xin] is the 'Heavens'!"

"Have you never heard of [Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent], or what?

To dismiss them so completely.

Are you really that dismissive of them?"

Adar was so angry he laughed.

With nothing left to do after 'Heroic Spirit Command Mode' was activated, Adar's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said to Chen Aoyun,

"If your Dragon Country can still pull off a counter-kill under these circumstances, I will truly respect you!

Once this Game of National Destiny is over, I'll give you a sub-T1 Foundation Item for free!"

Chen Aoyun saw right through his little scheme but didn't call him out, merely nodding silently.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, command over the three nations' armies fell into the hands of their respective Heroic Spirits.

At this moment:

The army under the Huaxia Heroic Spirit [General Han Xin] numbered 420,000;

The army under the French Heroic Spirit [Napoleon] numbered 580,000;

The army led by the Ottoman Heroic Spirit [Suleiman] numbered 530,000;

It was no longer a mindless, chaotic brawl; once the Heroic Spirits took control of the armies, a completely new atmosphere emerged on all sides.

Sophisticated tactical formations and deployments began to appear on the battlefield.

Their formidable 'command power' allowed [Napoleon] and [Suleiman the Magnificent] to demonstrate godlike micromanagement, with orders precisely delivered down to every single centuria!

Luring the enemy, setting ambushes, flanking, and penetrating... their tactics were endless and exquisitely executed!

However, to everyone's utter shock, the Dragon Country's army, despite being at an absolute numerical disadvantage, seemed to possess the power of "precognition" under [General Han Xin]'s command!

Every single movement of the French-Ottoman Allied Coalition, no matter how stealthy, was anticipated in advance by [General Han Xin], who executed perfect countermeasures!

"How is this possible?!"

At this moment, the Strategists of all nations and spectators worldwide were staring intently at this great battle.

They witnessed the exquisite command abilities of [Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent]. Whether it was formation adjustments, advancing, retreating, or luring the enemy deep, the commands of [Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent] were flawless, leaving almost no room for criticism.

Yet, the Dragon Country's Heroic Spirit, [General Han Xin], seemed to have an all-seeing eye!

Before any movement of the French-Ottoman Allied Coalition even began, [General Han Xin] was already reacting to it in advance!

The decoy units turned into juicy meat delivered straight into his jaws.

The elite forces waiting in ambush were counter-surrounded and swallowed whole.

The Dragon Country's losses were negligible, while the Allied Coalition's troop numbers plummeted like an avalanche!

No one understood how the Dragon Country was actually pulling this off.

Was it a Heroic Spirit's exclusive skill?

Didn't the rules say that all exclusive skills were disabled in 'Heroic Spirit Command Mode'?

As The Scales of victory rapidly tipped toward the Dragon Country, Chen Aoyun timely provided the answer,

"There is no secret; it is simply that [General Han Xin] himself is unreasonably powerful!

A being like [General Han Xin]—only one has ever emerged in the entire five thousand years of Huaxia's history!

You want to compare command power?

The title of 'military genius' wasn't given to him for nothing!

In Huaxia's history, how many generals have managed to achieve the status of an immortal or a sage?

[Sun Wu] wrote *The Art of War* and founded the School of Military Strategy, which is why he is called the Military Sage;

Even someone as strong as [Wu Qi] only earned the title of a Minor Sage;

Not to mention the likes of [Bai Qi], who only got the nickname 'The Human Butcher'.

Although [Great Tang Military God Li Jing] has the title of Military God, he is only called the 'Military God of the Great Tang'.

Every single general of later generations has heard of the Battle of Jingxing, but who dared to replicate it? And of those who did, who succeeded?

It can be said that throughout the ages, when it comes to commanding, General Han Xin stands completely alone!

Not a single soul whose command power exceeds [General Han Xin]'s can be found in the entire Huaxia Civilization, so the [Heroic Spirits] of other civilizations are simply incomparable!"

When his surge of national pride swelled up, Chen Aoyun always found it a bit hard to suppress.

"If 'Void Troop Spawning' is one of the monstrous innate abilities that [General Han Xin] possesses...

Then 'anticipating the enemy's moves' is just his 'basic operation'!

Meaning [General Han Xin] can know all of the enemy's strategic intentions in advance and deploy targeted counter-strategies!

Take the Battle of Jingxing again—[General Han Xin] could even guess what the enemy had discussed in their military council!

And he could precisely predict the exact moment they would march out of their city!

Compared to [General Han Xin], other generals might be strong and fierce, but if you reconstruct their battles, you can more or less figure out the secret to their victory.

But with General Han Xin's command, you simply cannot explain it unless you say the guy was hacking, cheating, or was a literal immortal!"

Once a Heroic Spirit appeared and demonstrated their abilities, Chen Aoyun could speak freely about the corresponding details without being mysteriously 'muted' anymore.

Chen Aoyun had a blast speaking his mind, but the rest of the world was left utterly dumbfounded.

If Chen Aoyun wasn't lying, and [General Han Xin] really could 'anticipate the enemy's moves' in actual history, then in the Game of National Destiny, this ability would only be amplified infinitely!

Was that why the exquisite commands of [Napoleon Bonaparte] and [Suleiman the Magnificent] seemed so utterly trivial in front of [General Han Xin]?

Adar didn't believe it, and neither did Vildo.

It wasn't a skill, but an innate ability.

Innate abilities were just like a [Heroic Spirit] knowing how to walk or fight; there was simply no way to start judging them.

Previously, the two of them couldn't find a breakthrough, but since Chen Aoyun had actually exposed it himself, they couldn't wait to activate [Divine Judgment].

Past instances of [Divine Judgment] had always judged a Heroic Spirit's exclusive skills; this was the first time they were judging a Heroic Spirit's innate ability.

Yet, the result of the Judgment left them completely speechless:

Chen Aoyun's seemingly exaggerated descriptions were actually true in every single word!

There wasn't even the slightest bit of exaggeration!

Chen Aoyun's evaluation of [General Han Xin]'s ability received nearly 100% validation from 'The Scales'!

Speechless. They were completely and utterly speechless!

Since there was actually such a figure among Huaxia's [Heroic Spirits], this battle was practically over before it finished. They were bound to lose.

Of course, some spectators felt something was off and asked,

"Didn't they say that in this Game of National Destiny, 'soldiers hold the highest authority'?

The Dragon Country and the Allied Coalition have such a massive gap in troop count, yet they can still win. Doesn't that contradict this point?"

Seeing someone ask such a stupid question, some know-it-all spectators immediately explained,

"Contradict my ass!

A Heroic Spirit's command is, in essence, bringing out the combat power of the soldiers.

Think about it, does that make perfect sense or what?!"

Once the questioning spectator figured it out, the battlefield also drew to a close.

At the cost of only fifty thousand troops, the Dragon Country completely annihilated the combined forces of France and the Ottoman!

However, France and the Ottoman were not immediately eliminated. Looking closely, it turned out that both of them still had a single chess piece representing 'one hundred troops'.

Aside from France and the Ottoman each having a 'one hundred troops' chess piece, those countries that had previously taken sides also possessed chess pieces with similar troop counts.

Seeing this, Chen Aoyun's eyes lit up instantly. Without another word, the remaining 370,000 troops of the Dragon Country immediately dispersed into smaller units, dividing and surrounding these foreign chess pieces.

Among the chess pieces were, shockingly, Sakura Country and the USA, who had reaped benefits in the scenario world!

Having surrounded these chess pieces with their pitifully small troop counts, Chen Aoyun started an auction on the Star Chessboard:

"You picked the wrong side, so your rankings are now entirely in my hands!

I took a look, and out of the thirty countries participating in the Game of National Destiny, there are still fourteen countries whose chess pieces haven't been eliminated from the board.

The tiers are divided into thirds, so squeezing into the top ten counts as Tier 1. Only Tier 1 can resurrect their deceased [Roleplayers].

You can start bidding now. Whoever offers the highest stakes gets a higher ranking, and whoever bids low might not even squeeze into the top ten!"

This wasn't really a threat; the Game of National Destiny was generally played this way.

The only difference from the past was that the nation hosting this ranking auction was being run by a citizen of the Dragon Country, which had long been labeled a weak country.

"A trash nation like the Dragon Country thinks it's worthy of threatening us?

I advise you to know your place. Skip the auction and let the elimination order be decided by national strength. Otherwise, if you offend my Sakura Country..."

Before Sakura Country's Strategist, Saku Kenichi, could even finish his words on the Star Chessboard, Chen Aoyun immediately mobilized his chess pieces and devoured Sakura Country's chess piece.

"Deciding the elimination order by national strength?

That's a great suggestion. Don't suggest it ever again!"

Seeing that Chen Aoyun wouldn't even give face to Sakura Country, and now understanding his temperament, no other country dared to utter threats. Since the Game of National Destiny was originally played this way, everyone began to place their bids to determine their rankings.

At this moment, Adar approached,

"Brother..."