"Understood,"

The scout mecha sprung into action, and with that, any rustle of wind or grass along its path was avoided autonomously due to the operation of the C device, rapidly retracing the most secure shortcut back to the Blazing Flame Legion.

Finally, a good sleep was in store—thanks to Mengdie. Had it not been for her act of kindness, Feng Yi seriously doubted whether he could even climb aboard the mecha. The title "Life-Taking Envoy" sounded unmistakably like that of an assassin, yet this girl intrigued him quite a bit. Feng Yi quenched his thirst with a big gulp of water before dozing off to sleep...

The journey of more than 1,000 kilometers was quite distant, and even for a scout model, the tumultuous terrain was unforgiving to any dampening system. Feng Yi woke and slept intermittently—it was damned impossible to get any rest—and after several hours, he hopped out of the scout and decided to proceed on foot, keeping an eye on all the marked locations on the electronic map.

Feng Yi wasn't foolish enough to fully trust the old man, adhering to the principle of infallibility. On his return, he deliberately checked three Saudi military coordinates marked on the electronic map and found them exact to reality, with the scale and quantity of forces almost entirely matching the descriptions. Only then did he completely trust the markings on the electronic map.

According to the map, two mechanized infantry divisions were active not far from the Blazing Flame Legion, with a headcount already surpassing that of the current Blazing Flame Legion. Along with one Airborne Brigade on the periphery of the Devil's Forest, two special operations brigades, and one artillery division, the military strength was roughly that of an army group—such a confrontation would have been manageable in the past when the Blazing Flame Legion had the force of half an army group, but now, the numerical supremacy destined the Blazing Flame Legion to be unqualified for direct confrontation. Even if they could win, the cost would be considerable, something Feng Yi could not afford by any means.

The more Feng Yi thought about it, the bigger his headache grew. Not taking more than a few steps away from the mecha, he sat back inside to meditate... Life had simply become unbearable. Neither the timing nor the geographical advantages were on his side. Half of the three days had already passed, yet he had to leave swiftly before the Saudi rear troops reached the binary star system—how could he gather so many people in the remaining time? Was he to watch helplessly as the soldiers from the Airborne Brigade...

The most critical issue was that the Federation had made it clear they were done playing with the Saudis, as if they had foreseen the Saudi measurement and only deployed the Blazing Flame Legion to the binary star in response to the current situation. Yet now, the main force had already evacuated the Black Devil star cluster, leaving him, an old brother, to fight bitter battles alone, unaware of when the 2,000 latest-generation armored vehicles would arrive. Suddenly, another went mad—Feng Yi slammed his fist hard onto the scout's operating console, only stopping when a plethora of alarms echoed in the mecha cockpit. Afterward, he felt a bit sorry and checked the integrity.

The integrity self-check report indicated everything was normal: the main cannon, secondary cannon, C device, engine, joint system, propulsion system, observation scanning system, auxiliary system, and external armor. It turned out the alarm was a simple reminder not to break himself. With a gaze as blank as a child who had lost his candy, Feng Yi gently withdrew his hand and began to rapidly simulate various follow-up strategies in his mind.

Luckily, the enemy's forces were scattered and unable to concentrate effective combat power in a brief period, a precious factor for the Blazing Flame. The former situation was one where the enemy was unaware of our army's specific coordinates, and our army was equally ignorant of the enemy's precise location. Now, with this detailed electronic map, it was as if a Sky Eye was mastered; the enemy was exposed while we remained hidden.

Even so, faced with forces more than twice the size of the Blazing Flame Legion, he found it difficult to make decisions. It was a situation just one thread away from unraveling the entire garment. If the Blazing Flame Legion initiated a raid, the enemy intelligence would notify the entire Saudi army within a minute—for his main task was the rescue of prisoners of war, not battle. Thus, a quick and decisive operation was key.

Damn it, let's do it, Feng Yi had never quite done something like this, but he thought it was worth a try. Divide the forces and strike simultaneously. Although there would be casualties, by trying, the prisoners of war might have a chance at life. Without attempting, they had no opportunity. Although Feng Yi didn't consider himself a good person, he would never abandon his comrades. Growing up on Colonial Planet 103, his unyielding temperament made him the type who dared to take risks.

A sound military plan required detailed analysis, akin to piling up blocks. The military staff played a crucial role in this, breaking down the plan macroscopically and continually decomposing it through battle, reassembling the separated aspects into a coherent whole, creating an unbreakable collective. When this collective took shape and was not much different from the original scale, it indicated the success of the simulated strategy.

From the standpoint of strategic intent, the Blazing Flame Legion had to rescue every possible Federation soldier. A force with absolute combat power needed more than just military expertise—adequate logistical support was essential. If one refused to attempt a rescue, should ten, a hundred units also ignore it? Who would want to fight for such a cause? An old saying comes to mind: once the soldier's spirit is broken, the team cannot be led.

So, both emotionally and logically, he had to initiate the rescue. Feng Yi's plan, in fact, wasn't complicated at all. In military operations, speed is of the essence. His strategy was to spread the forces around the perimeter of the Devil's Jungle as quickly as possible—time is life, time is money. The longer they delayed, the more likely the enemy would discover their troops' whereabouts. Of course, that was also considering the opinions of everyone present.

In the Command Room, with over a hundred people, some were taking notes, others listened intently, but no one spoke up. Feng Yi was the backbone of the legion. If he had given an order, what opinions could others possibly have? Their trust in Feng Yi meant they would only adjust his grand strategy, not change it entirely.

After hearing Feng Yi's strategic intentions, the officers of the Airborne Brigade were immediately pumped up, clenching their fists in anticipation, hardly able to restrain themselves from spitting out, "Damn it, if it weren't for those imperial bastards' sneaky attacks, we could take ten of them."

"Brother, that's not right," the Powder Keg said. "Although I'm a rough man, I know a successful sneak attack is still a skill. You just haven't been following the right commander. When has our Blazing Flame Legion ever been ambushed?"

Head Wolf felt a bit embarrassed listening to this. The Blazing Flame Legion had always been the ones ambushing others. It was just that their last ambush hadn't gone well, and they ended up in a wipeout. It seemed this guy was implying he wanted to poach people.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?"

They didn't manage to get any input on the battle plan, and in just a few words, these men stirred the Command Room into disarray. Feng Yi signaled for quiet, "Warriors, show what you've got on the battlefield tomorrow. Tonight, everyone should eat their fill." That evening, he used his personal authority to misappropriate public funds for a feast for all the soldiers, which won him unanimous adoration and affirmation. The brothers of the Airborne Brigade, after a couple bottles of liquor, happily agreed to join the big family of the Blazing Flame Legion. Of course, ordinary soldiers weren't allowed to drink alcohol before a battle, but this group who had just escaped death on the battlefield was an exception.

Brilliant, truly brilliant. The Powder Keg realized that his persuasion was no match for the legion commander's single sentence when it came to recruiting.

Feng Yi was at a loss for words as he contemplated the sky above. He hadn't thought that far. Maintaining high morale was especially important for a group, particularly during a period of war chaos. With a battle imminent, how could he let a bunch of soldiers go into combat hungry?

That evening, dinner was served at 14:30, and by 20:00, the entire army was lights-out, except for 100 sentries left to conduct basic patrols. The next day, before dawn, the fully prepared troops were already swiftly approaching their destinations. They moved like spirits of the night, stealthily gliding through the dense jungle without a sound.

John led the assault, charging with his strike brigade and 1,000 elite troops towards the enemy's mechanized infantry division as the main vanguard.

Apophis was in charge of the remaining 2,000 elite troops carrying out a lightning-fast sneak attack on the enemy's special ops brigade.

The rest of the division-sized combat unit was jointly led by Head Wolf and the Powder Keg with their target being the artillery brigade.

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