Chapter Eighty-Seven: Ceasefire

  A troop of over 200,000 men and horses marched in the Ga Mountain Range. At the forefront were two warhorses side by side, with a young man wearing a white long gown, his face bearing a warm smile that made people feel close to him at first sight. Beside the young man was a middle-aged man in his forties.

  "Young master, why do you want to stop the war?" Huang Tao's face showed a puzzled expression. Clearly, they were at an advantage in the current battle, and the 200,000-strong army in the rear was also preparing to set out. He hadn't expected that after his young master's ordinary battle with Ping Fan yesterday, he would actually order a retreat.

  Leng Xiao Yao's face revealed a hint of a smile as he said, "Huang Da Ge, I think this question isn't just puzzling you alone. Are Feng Da Ge and the others also having doubts?"

  Huang Tao saw his young master and with one sentence revealed his inner thoughts, nodding slightly.

  "Haha!" Leng Xiao Yao laughed coldly: "Huang Da Ge, although we can take advantage of the terrain of Lu Ping Yuan to suppress the French army's cavalry, have you ever thought that in this battle, our losses also reached over a million? Although compared to the French army's loss of nearly three million, we won by a lot. But have you thought about it? If this war continues, what will be the outcome?"

  "We'll annihilate the Law Team, but our side will also suffer losses of over half." Huang Tao's face revealed a confident expression, as for the fighting strength of the Heavenly Army Team, he was still very confident in his own team's fighting strength.

  Leng Xiao Yao nodded slightly and said, "That's right, but Brother Huang, have you ever thought that if the two legions fight to the end, do you think the other two legions in the Alashan Mountains will let go of such a good opportunity?"

  Huang Tao heard his young master's words and was taken aback for a moment, then a look of sudden realization appeared on his face as he said: "Right! Young Master is indeed wise!"

  Leng Xiao Yao smiled and waved his hand, saying: "Huang Da Ge, this is not a question of my wisdom. Since ancient times, the mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole waits behind - who doesn't know this principle? Moreover, if we don't take care of ourselves, heaven will destroy us, and once we really destroy the Fa Tang, won't the forces behind him seek revenge?"

  "Behind?" Huang Tao heard his young master's words, and his eyes lit up as he hastily asked: "Young Master, do you know what powerful force is backing this Fa Tang?"

  Leng Xiao Yao's face wore a smile as he said, "Huang Da Ge, you didn't already know, did you?"

  "Did you know all along?" Huang Tao slightly furrowed his brow, pondering for a moment. The next instant, a look of shock appeared on Huang Tao's face as he said: "Young Master, could it really be true?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "No wonder." Huang Tao's face showed a look of relief and said: "I've always thought that the Law Enforcement Team was manipulated by them from behind, otherwise how could they be the fastest to recover among the four major legions after each battle, and their equipment is also the best. It turns out that they have been supporting them from behind, now it all makes sense."

  "By the way, Huang Ge, I've been meaning to ask you something. Where does the Tianjun Army's military funding come from?" Cold Xiao Yao first eliminated the possibility that his grandfather had provided it, what a joke! Although the Cold family was a wealthy household in the Tianlong Kingdom, their wealth wasn't enough to provide for the military expenses of over 500,000 soldiers. So he wanted to know how the Tianjun Army had managed to develop in the Gaoshan Mountains for decades.

  "Army expenses." Huang Tao's face revealed a wry smile as he said, "Young Master, to be honest with you, I didn't want to deceive you. When I first brought my troops to the Gua Mountain Range, we still adhered to the General's teachings and were determined not to become bandits. Unfortunately, righteousness can't fill our bellies! After three months of being here, out of the 10,000 veteran soldiers I brought with me, over a thousand starved to death, and more than 3,000 died at the hands of magical beasts. In the end, I had no choice but to become a bandit as well. As for our current income, it mainly comes from the gambling dens in nearby cities, the tribute fees paid by large merchant caravans every month, and the daily dispatch of large numbers of troops into the deep mountains to hunt magical beasts."

  Leng Xiao Yao heard Huang Tao say this, and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the unassuming man in front of him. It was all because of that one sentence his grandfather had said back then - they were willing to give up their wealth and glory, and instead bring their lifetime of military achievements to this chaotic region, becoming outlaws. This kind of person, not just in this realm, but even in his previous life, was a rare find among millions.

  Huang Tao finished speaking and sighed. Seeing Leng Xiao Yao gazing at him, he smiled slightly and said: "I've made a fool of myself in front of the young master."

  "Didn't Brother Huang have some other sidelines?"

  "Haha!" Huang Tao sighed: "Young master, I've always wanted to do some other sideline, but we people have been crawling out of the military since childhood. We can talk about going on stage and killing enemies, but when it comes to doing business, we are not good at it."

  "What about the business of that casino?" Leng Xiangyao remembered that when he first arrived in Shanhai City, his first visit to the Tianjun Guild's liaison point was also in a casino.

  Huang Tao heard his young master mention the casino business and a hint of a relieved smile appeared on his face: "To be honest with you, Young Master, currently the largest source of military funding for the Tianjun Corps is actually from the casinos. However, there's also more competition now, as the other three corps have also opened up their own casinos in the vicinity of Shanhai City, and business isn't as good as it was in previous years."

  Leng Xiao Yao heard Huang Tao say this, and he began to ponder. At this moment, what he was thinking about in his mind wasn't anything else, but rather what kind of business on the Maya continent could make money quickly.

  "Huang Dagei, what thing makes money come quickly?" Leng Xiao Yao pondered for dozens of breaths before suddenly opening his mouth to ask.

  "Does money come quickly?" Huang Tao's face also showed a hint of stunned expression, probably being caught off guard by Leng Xiao Yao's sudden question.

  Leng Xiao saw Huang Tao's expression and thought he didn't understand what he meant, so he explained again: "Brother Huang, what I mean is, what things are relatively valuable here?"

  Huang Tao only understood what his young master meant after hearing these words, and a faint smile appeared on his face: "If you say that there are many valuable things here, such as the crystal of magical beasts, or to mention higher-grade weapons, or perhaps spoils of war."

  "Making money through battle?" Leng Xiao Yao couldn't help but ask when she heard Huang Tao mention that there was a way to make quick money through battling.

  Huang Tao saw the puzzled look on his young master's face and smiled, explaining: "Hehe! Young Master, you don't know that in the Maya continent, it has always been the strong who are respected. It's a world where big fish eat small fish and small fish eat tiny shrimp. If an ordinary army is really struggling with military expenses, they can find some slightly weaker small armies to plunder and get some money."

  "Alas! War is always cruel." Leng Xiao Yao let out a sigh of emotion.

  "If possible, who would want war!"

  "That's also true." A cold smile appeared on Leng Xiao's face. If everyone could live and work in peace, who would be willing to start a war? But is it possible? Just like the Chinese proverb says, where there are people, there is war. This is an unchanging truth that has lasted for thousands of years. As long as there are humans, there will always be desires that can never be satisfied.

  Huang Tao let out a long sigh and said: "Our army is just short of military funds, otherwise we can defeat the French troops with ease!"

  Leng Xiao was silent, but Huang Tao's words were not exaggerated. Although the soldiers of the law enforcement team were well-trained and fully equipped, they couldn't compare to Huang Tao and his men who had crawled out from the piles of dead bodies on the battlefield. It's a fact that there is a huge difference between soldiers who have never been on the battlefield and those who have.

  "Huang, speed up the march, I have a few good ideas that might help the Tianjun Division get more military funds." A resolute look appeared on Leng Xiao's face, as if he had made some kind of decision.

  Thank you to Super Era Guanghua, Virtual Dream Country, seilpwared and (_another male) for their rewards, evaluation votes and update votes. This book has been updated for one month and eleven days since its upload, and it's finally going to be put on shelves at 1am on September 1st. I just want to say that without everyone's support, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today. Finally, I sincerely ask the big brothers who support me to spare some of your monthly votes for me on September 1st, thank you!