Victory or Defeat (Part 2)

Metalicana, his face darkening, turned his gaze to the cave exit. After confirming the identity of the boastful man, he said irritably, "Tch! I wasn't wrong. You're no good at fighting, and you're no good at escaping. To Brother Sordil, aren't you just a burden?"

"Metalicana, you... you... you get the hell out here, and I'll beat the crap out of you!"

"Hmph! You tell me to go out, and I go out; you tell me to fight, and I fight? Where would that leave my dignity?"

"Pah! A coward is a coward, don't make so many excuses!"

"You're the coward! Come on in if you dare, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Seeing Igneel storming into the cave, Sordil quickly stopped him.

"Brother Igneel, please don't be impulsive! There's Teleportation Array inside this cave. If you destroy it, we won't be able to complete our mission!"

Upon hearing the word "mission," Igneel stopped in his tracks. However, his anger did not dissipate despite considering the bigger picture. He pointed at Metalicana and said, "Brother Sordil, I can forgo entering the cave to duel him, but he must apologize to me for his words and actions just now!"

Before Sordil could offer any advice, Metalicana spoke up first, saying, "Brother Sordil, I can apologize for what I said earlier, but Igneel must also apologize for what he just said!"

Faced with Metalicana's demands, Igneel immediately wanted to unleash a torrent of abuse. However, when he saw Sordil nodding frantically at him, he changed his mind and reluctantly said, "Fine, I accept your terms!"

After the two sides reached an agreement, Metalicana emerged from the cave, bowed deeply to Igneel, and apologized. Seeing the sincerity of the other party, Igneel copied the gesture, but this time Igneel did it three times. As a result, everyone present suddenly felt as if they were saying goodbye to Metalicana's remains.

Before Metalicana could launch a second round of propaganda, Sordil immediately shifted the topic to the issue of seizing military rations.

"Based on our actions just now and the enemy's reaction, we can now determine that the enemy has anticipated our attack on the military rations and has made meticulous arrangements. Now we need to discuss how we should proceed to seize the rations from the enemy's encirclement!"

"Brother Sordil, you saw it just now, that dark mass, there were at least a thousand dragons. How could a few of us possibly seize military rations?"

"You brat, Igneel is right. Judging from what just happened, it's really unlikely that we can snatch the food from them!"

"Yes, Sordil!"

"Hmph! Those bastards from the Western Continent are truly despicable. They actually sent so many people to transport supplies. Aren't they afraid we'll take this opportunity to attack their camp?"

After Yesveta finished speaking, Sordil rushed up and gave him a big hug, then excitedly said, "Brother Yesveta, you're so smart!"

Yesveta, like everyone else, stared blankly at Sordil, completely bewildered, not understanding what was so clever about him. Seeing everyone staring at him with wide, inquisitive eyes, Sordil explained, "Just like what Brother Yesveta just said, the enemy is focusing all their forces on transporting supplies, so their camps must be poorly defended. We can take advantage of this to launch an attack."

"If they redeploy their troops back to defend the camp, the defensive strength of the grain transport team will inevitably be reduced. At that time, we will intercept the grain. If they refuse to redeploy their troops, then we will take this excellent opportunity to drive them out of Ishgar. In that case, even if they bring the grain back, it will be meaningless."

Before anyone could agree with his plan after Sordil finished speaking, Yelibell immediately questioned, "Brother Sordil, if they recall their troops when we attack the camp, and then send their troops to the supply convoy when we attack it, wouldn't we have wasted our time?"

Sordil smiled at Yelibell and then explained, "Sister Yelibell, your idea is good, but it's impossible! Because we can use the Teleportation Array to quickly travel between Ishgar and the Western Continent, but the enemy has no way to send their army back and forth between the two in a short time."

Hearing Sordil's explanation, everyone smiled knowingly. However, Yelibell, who was stuck on her own point, did not stop asking questions even though her statement had been refuted.

"What if the enemy only recalls half of their troops to defend the camps, leaving the other half to guard the supply convoys?"

"Then we will gather our troops and launch a full-scale attack on the grain transport team, depleting their manpower and destroying their supplies as much as possible, leaving them with neither men nor food!"

"What if the enemy recalls its troops to their camp, but instead sends dragons from the Western Continent to escort military supplies?"

"If that's the case, then we can only rely on the abilities of the few of us to destroy as much of the supplies they're transporting as possible!"

Shortly after Sordil and his men left, Goodpes and his companion arrived at the battlefield. Seeing the corpses floating on the sea and their wounded men, the Southern Route Army representative Talib, rebuked them. "Montedoss, what did Kelsu and the others say before you left? Why didn't you send a signal the moment the attack occurred?"

"Talib, don't talk nonsense. We sent out a distress signal the moment we were attacked. It was because you were too slow that the enemy got away!"

"I'm talking nonsense? If you had given the signal in time, I don't believe the enemy could have turned you into what you are now in such a short time!"

Seeing the two men on the verge of exchanging blows, Feldroka hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Chief Talib, Chief Montedoss did not lie to you. We did indeed send out a signal the moment we were attacked, but the enemy was too strong, and we were powerless to resist, which is why things have turned out this way."

At this moment, the Northern Route Army representative, Glaide, also stepped forward to mediate. "Chief Talib, since Chief Feldroka has said so, it means that Chief Montedoss is not lying. I think we should stop here! Chief Montedoss, Chief Talib is only doing this for the mission. Please don't hold a grudge against him. After all, we still have to carry out the mission together!"

With the two peacemakers' skillful mediation, Montedoss and Talib finally shook hands and made peace, uniting against a common enemy.

After resolving the internal Contradiction, Glaide suddenly realized that an important person seemed to be missing, so he immediately asked, "Chief Montedoss, why are there only two of you left? Where is Chief Zakro?"

Before Montedoss could speak after hearing Glaide's question, Foldroca, standing to the side, said Feldroka, "Chief Zakro, he... he... he has already sacrificed himself!"

"Hiss!"

Although they had already guessed that Zakro was probably in grave danger, Glaide and Talib still gasped in shock when they learned that he had actually died in battle.

"Bang!"

"Pfft! I'm still alive! Who said I'm dead!"

Hearing the shouts, everyone looked down and saw a huge head covered with all kinds of seaweed.

"Chief Zakro, you're not dead yet?"

"Nonsense! If I were dead, who would you be talking to right now?"

"But I clearly saw you get shot in the chest by the enemy and fall into the sea?"

"I was indeed hit by that color-changing guy, but I shifted my body slightly before his attack hit me, so my heart wasn't injured, and that's why I survived."

"Oh, I see!"

"Hey, can you four pull me up first before we discuss anything else? My wound is still bleeding, I could die at any moment!"

Hearing Zakro's roar, Glaide and the others remembered what had happened, so they rushed forward and pulled Zakro out of the sea, then helped him treat his wounds.