"Every one of you... is a pillar of the military!"
Lieutenant General Luo Zhenjiang's voice echoed through the austere conference hall, heavy as steel.
He surveyed the officers about to enter the Labyrinth Nest and carry out their mission. In the depths of their weathered eyes, complicated emotions surged, impossible to put into words.
If the war on the Western Front weren't so fierce, and they didn't need to keep pace with the Eastern Front and carry out the Governor's Mansion's "pincer encirclement" strategy,
Luo Zhenjiang would never have been willing to commit all of the Western Front's top forces to breaking through the Labyrinth Nest!
The lieutenant general took a deep breath. In the silent conference hall, even that small sound seemed unusually clear.
Then he slowly spoke. His words were more than an ironclad order; they carried the solemnity and trust of a veteran:
"Every one of you is the sharpest blade and the strongest shield on Eastern Xia's Western Front.
Many of you may one day have the chance to make your mark in a battle group and join Eastern Xia's Military Department...
But until the Labyrinth Nest is broken, Hengzhou remains in peril!
Until Mother of Ten Thousand Knowledge is eliminated, the Western Front will never advance!"
Lieutenant General Luo Zhenjiang suddenly raised his right hand, fingers pressed together like a blade, and brought it firmly and slowly to his temple.
He gave the standard salute as if it carried the weight of mountains.
"You are going not for personal accolades, nor for the glory of rank, but for the millions of people of Hengzhou!"
His voice rose abruptly, like metal striking stone, radiating the resolve of someone with no way back and a trust that allowed no refusal.
"I, Luo Zhenjiang, stand here on behalf