Meanwhile, in the general headquarters of Nagato Port.

Zhao Qingcang had fallen, and the command system had lost its core pillar.

The conference room was in utter chaos.

"Withdraw the troops! We must withdraw immediately!"

A general with stars on his shoulders slammed the table and roared with a red face and thick neck.

"According to the news just received, our three vanguard forces sent to Tokyo have all suffered devastating interception by the Sakura Country Military Department! The losses are heavy!"

"Right now, even the team closest to Tokyo has been blocked one hundred and twenty kilometers away! Those madmen of Sakura Country don't care about casualties, and we cannot advance!"

He looked around, his voice filled with despair.

"Everyone! We simply cannot afford this kind of war of attrition! If we keep fighting, our entire army will be wiped out!"

As soon as his voice fell, another hot-tempered general jumped up and cursed, pointing at his nose.

"What utter bullshit! Withdraw now? Wouldn't the Marshal die in vain then? Won't the tens of thousands of our brothers who sacrificed themselves on the beachhead have died in vain?"

"What else can we do?"

The general who spoke first retorted.

"Marshal Zhao is dead! Old Marshal Deng is also dead! Even Lord Gandalf is nowhere to be found!"

"Right now, our army doesn't even have a single SS-Rank Professional, you tell me how to fight?"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, spitting flying everywhere.

"If we wait for the Old Ancestor of the Kujo Family to resurrect, marching all the way to Tokyo is just sending ourselves to death! Rather than being completely wiped out, it's better to cut our losses now!"

"General Ma makes sense."

A faint sigh came from the corner.

"The Marshal's plan... has obviously failed, and we have already done our best."

The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy.

The pro-war faction gritted their teeth, but were powerless to retort.

The peace faction sighed, their faces dejected.

At this moment, General Ma's gaze turned to the silent old man in the main seat.

Chen Huaishu.

"Old General Chen, before Marshal Zhao left, he handed over the full command to you."

"He trusted you, and we trust you too."

"Say something, whether to fight or to withdraw, none of us will have any second words!"

Everyone's gaze focused on this white-haired Old General.

Chen Huaishu opened his cloudy eyes.

His aged and steady voice sounded in the conference room.

"Things have come to this, so I'll be honest with you."

"Marshal Zhao never expected our troops to fight all the way to Tokyo."

As soon as these words were said, the whole room was shocked.

Chen Huaishu ignored everyone's surprise and continued.

"After all, that is the imperial capital of Sakura Country, and its defense forces can be called an impregnable wall. Wanting to drive deep like this and strike directly at the dragon's lair is simply unrealistic."

"Therefore, Marshal Zhao's purpose was to attract the attention of most of Sakura Country's military forces and all strong individuals."

"To provide cover for our real killer move."

A real killer move?

Everyone looked at each other with faces full of doubt.

Chen Huaishu's voice suddenly raised a few notches.

"That's right! Marshal Zhao had long secretly dispatched a powerful special team to infiltrate Tokyo! Their goal is only one: to snatch the Divine Artifact 'Pendulum of Life' and prevent the resurrection of the Old Ancestor of the Kujo Family!"

The conference room exploded into an uproar.

"No wonder! No wonder Lord Gandalf didn't appear on the front battlefield!"

"So the Marshal had a backup plan long ago! He was directly sent to infiltrate Tokyo!"

However, General Ma poured another basin of cold water.

"Just relying on Lord Gandalf alone is not enough, right?"

"Tokyo is full of strong individuals, and there are no less than three SS-Rank Professionals on the surface! Not to mention that SSS-Class old monster about to resurrect!"

He shook his head, his tone full of doubt.

"Are there other strong individuals going along?"

Chen Huaishu shook his head solemnly.

"This is the highest secret of the Great Xia Military Department. Except for Marshal Zhao himself, no one knows the complete plan."

"I only learned a glimpse of the plan when Marshal Zhao summoned me alone before the expedition."

"Then what should we do now?" someone asked anxiously.

Chen Huaishu's gaze was sharp as he looked around the room, saying word by word.

"Before the news from Tokyo is transmitted, the cover work cannot stop!"

"The battle must still be fought!"

"We must use the fiercest offensive to tell those scum of Sakura Country that the military edge of Great Xia Nation is unstoppable! Buy precious time for our comrades in Tokyo!"

"Once the agents in Tokyo send back news, whether to leave or stay will naturally have an answer!"

Chen Huaishu's words had the weight of a dropped object, stabilizing the shaken morale.

But General Ma still wasn't optimistic.

"Cover? It's already meaningless."

He snorted coldly, his words icy.

"Even if the Marshal arranged a team to infiltrate Tokyo, so what? The fact that no news has come back until now is the best proof!"

"I estimate that our people in Tokyo have been completely wiped out!"

"Marshal Zhao's plan has completely failed!"

As soon as the voice fell.

"Report—!!!"

A communications officer rushed into the conference room with an excited expression.

He didn't have time to salute, and roared with all his might.

"Report to all generals! We have just made contact with the people in Tokyo!"

Boom!

The atmosphere of the entire conference room was ignited!

All the generals, including General Ma, all suddenly stood up from their chairs, their faces full of wild joy.

"Quick! Put it through!"

Chen Huaishu's voice even carried a tremble.

The communications officer handed over an encrypted communicator.

Chen Huaishu took the communicator, only to hear a crackling sound of current from the opposite side, and an intermittent male voice.

"...Can you hear me... This is... Intelligence Department of Great Xia Nation, Agent No. 0021... White Butterfly..."

Chen Huaishu spoke into the communicator: "I can hear you, I am Chen Huaishu. What is the situation in Tokyo now?"

"So it's General Chen, I've heard of your great name for a long time."

The voice on the other side became much clearer, but the tone was solemn.

"I have important intelligence that must be reported to Marshal Zhao in person! I request Marshal Zhao to answer in person!"

As soon as these words were said, the joy that had just risen in the conference room was extinguished.

Everyone looked at each other, their hearts sinking.

They still didn't know the news that Marshal Zhao had fallen.

Wei Liao, the Minister of Military Intelligence next to him, reacted extremely quickly. He grabbed the communicator and said in a deep voice.

"I am Wei Liao. Marshal Zhao has more important matters to handle and is not in the command room. White Butterfly, whatever situation you have, report directly to me!"

"Minister Wei?"

The voice on the other end of the communicator was stunned for a moment, not expecting her direct superior to answer.

She did not dare to hesitate further and reported:

"Minister Wei! Tokyo has fallen! We have already evacuated!"

"What about that Kujo Naruya?"

Wei Liao went straight to the point and asked the question that everyone present cared about most.

"Has he completed the sacrifice and completely resurrected?"

On the other end of the communicator, there was a silence of two seconds.

These two seconds, to everyone in the conference room, felt as long as a century.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

Finally, that voice sounded again, with strangeness and uncertainty.

"Currently, Kujo Naruya has not appeared in Tokyo."

"However, we learned from a reinforcement called by the Ever-changing Star Lord..."

"Kujo Naruya... has been killed by them?"

"What?"

"What did you say?"

The conference room exploded into an uproar.

The expressions of all the generals were extremely vivid.

Shock, astonishment, blankness, wild joy... Various emotions intertwined, causing their brains to crash.

Even the calm Chen Huaishu couldn't control his emotions. He supported himself on the table with both hands and stood up from his chair.

He stared at the communicator and asked with a trembling voice like a sleepwalker.

"You mean... the newly resurrected SSS-Class Professional Kujo Naruya..."

"Is dead?"