A moment later, after saying a few final words, Zhang Weijun was the first to leave the celebration banquet.
Led by his guards, he walked toward the place where the ordinary soldiers were celebrating.
The bodyguard who had been standing beside him hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help but lower his voice and ask:
"Commander, didn't we win today?"
Zhang Weijun glanced at him, his gaze calm. "We won."
"If you won, then why did you do that... that..." The guard frowned, seemingly trying to find a suitable adjective.
Zhang Weijun said it for him, "Should we say things that are out of place with the atmosphere of victory?"
"Yes!" the guard nodded quickly. "Everyone was celebrating... I thought you would say something encouraging, like 'We won well today!'"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Weijun abruptly stopped in his tracks.
He stopped in his tracks, turning his head to look at Shen Heng's figure, still visible in the distance, circling the campfire.
The guard took two steps forward before realizing he had stopped, and quickly retreated.
He looked at Zhang Weijun, his voice suddenly lowering and becoming somewhat nervous as he said, "Uh, Chief of Staff, did I say something wrong?"
"No, you're right. Logically speaking, I should have said something to boost morale." Zhang Weijun's gaze remained fixed on the campfire.
"Well..." the guard said tentatively.
"You heard the casualty figures I just mentioned, didn't you?" Zhang Weijun turned his gaze back to the guard.
"Yes, 127 soldiers died in battle today, and nine members of the Supervision Bureau also sacrificed their lives." The guard nodded quickly, then looked at Zhang Weijun with some hesitation and said:
"Isn't that considered a small number? After all, we killed over seven thousand Calamity Beast, not counting those we killed in more distant places that we couldn't retrieve."
"It's very little; in a normal battle, it would be considered a great victory!" Zhang Weijun nodded slowly.
"Well..." The guard's gaze still held some doubt.
" Xiao Cui, how long have you been following me?" Zhang Weijun didn't answer directly, but asked instead.
"It's been three years, Chief of Staff!" the guard surnamed Cui replied.
"Three years," Zhang Weijun sighed deeply, then said, "Let me teach you one more today."
Upon hearing this, the guard nodded seriously.
Zhang Weijun said in a deep voice, "War is never a matter of simply winning the battle and then everything is fine; it's also about whether you can continue fighting."
"Can we... continue fighting?" the guard repeated, his eyes filled with doubt.
"Yes, that's right," Zhang Weijun nodded slightly and continued:
"Today, we did win, and we won by a large margin."
"But even if we win every war like we do today, we won't be able to fight many more."
"For..."
The guard frowned, and just as he opened his mouth to say something, Zhang Weijun interrupted him.
"Because there are so many Calamity Beast, even if we kill more than seven thousand Calamity Beast Calamity Beast today, another seven thousand or so may come in a few days."
"And then what will we do? Continue to resist?"
"Weapons, ammunition, and even well-trained soldiers are one thing, but what about the members of the Supervision Bureau?"
"This..." The guard opened his mouth, then subconsciously said, "Can't we have someone transferred from the headquarters of the Supervision Bureau?"
"Do you think Fourth Tier is as easy as cabbage? You can't just adjust it whenever you want?" Zhang Weijun said in a deep voice, then added:
"The headquarters of the Supervision Bureau has released a statement saying that it would take an ordinary person about 4-5 years to go from Zero Tier to Fourth Tier without any resources being invested in their cultivation."
"Of course, those with talent will be a little faster, but not by much."
"And in 4-5 years..."
"Hmph... By the time that happens, the base will probably be gone too."
"This..."
The guard opened his mouth, only to feel his heart sink.
If what the Chief of Staff said is true, let alone 4-5 years, the base might not even last six months!
After all, as the war progresses and inspectors sacrifice themselves, the number of Calamity Beast each inspector will face will likely increase with each passing day.
In this situation, the number of inspectors who sacrifice their lives will likely increase!
In fact, once a critical point is reached, it's quite possible that everyone will be sacrificed and the base will fall!
Thinking of this, he felt his heart sink completely.
He frowned, thinking, trying to see if there was any way, but he really couldn't think of a better way.
After all, what they lack is a resource that takes time to accumulate.
Even though the nationwide cultivation movement was already being promoted when the news about the Ruins Realm was announced, it's too late now.
After all, it hasn't even been two years since it was announced, and it will still take a long time for them to break through to the Fourth Tier and become an asset!
"Then... Chief of Staff, what should we do?" The guard looked at Zhang Weijun with concern.
Zhang Weijun did not reply, his eyes gazing intently at the horizon.
On the other side, by the campfire.
As Shen Heng listened to Han Ling's fragmented and detailed description of today's battle, he tore into a skewer of roasted Calamity Beast.
The meat appeared to be from specially selected Calamity Beast; it tasted excellent.
Juices overflowed, and the aroma of caramelized sauce filled the air.
"... So, that's roughly it." Han Ling finished her description after swallowing the Calamity Beast in her mouth.
Shen Heng nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the distant campfire.
Is there anyone worth paying attention to?
"Well..." Han Ling hesitated for a moment, then said:
"There are two of them. One seems to have Beast Transformation- like ability, and the other can attach flames to a longsword."
"Apply flames to a longsword?" Shen Heng turned to look at Han Ling in confusion. Why would flames need to be applied to a longsword?
"Hmm," Han Ling nodded slightly, "I've noticed that all his fire attacks are unleashed with a long sword; I haven't seen him release fire attacks independently, so I'm unsure if his ability is a standalone fire ability."
Shen Heng nodded slightly, then thoughtfully withdrew his gaze.
"By the way, Gu Lingxuan seems quite strong. After excluding the two I just mentioned, she belongs to the top tier." Han Ling's voice carried a slight hint of surprise.
Several times today, she initially thought the other party needed support, but in the end, she managed to handle things on her own.
Shen Heng wasn't too surprised to hear this.
"After all, before we and other city Supervision Bureau members went to help, she had been managing the Bone Porcelain Puppet all by herself for a long time."
"Moreover, when we arrived, she was the last one left fighting."
Han Ling nodded slightly in realization upon hearing this.
She tried to put herself in Gu Lingxuan's shoes and realized that she absolutely could not do it. Only when the distance was increased to a certain extent and there were obstacles in between could she possibly hold off or kill the Bone Porcelain Puppet by herself.
Shen Heng glanced at Han Ling, seemingly sensing her thoughts, and said:
"Different abilities, no need to compare."