Hu Hao said he wanted to use them to exchange for money. When Schliemann and Kesma heard this, they both mocked Hu Hao!
“Hehe, isn’t that right? If you didn’t love money, how would you dare to attack us? Right?” Hu Hao wasn’t angry; instead, he smiled and played along with their words.
“You wouldn’t dare use us to exchange for money. The Eastern Spirit Empire and our Allied forces are locked in a fight to the death. Your commander Hu Hao, and your Emperor, would not allow you to use us for money, unless you hid it from them. I think you lack the guts for that!” Schliemann smiled and said to Hu Hao.
Some of the nearby soldiers could also understand the Southern language. Hu Hao had previously made them crash-course it, and some already knew it. Hearing Schliemann’s words, they immediately translated for the brothers around them. The soldiers all laughed, and Hu Hao laughed along with them!
Schliemann and the other generals didn’t know what Hu Hao and his men were laughing at, and simply stared at Hu Hao.
“Are you saying I should just kill you, and that I can’t use you to exchange for money?” Hu Hao asked with a smile.
“Exactly. Your Emperor will use us to boost morale, and your General Hu Hao also needs our heads to boost morale, not to mention he needs to claim military merit from your Emperor. So, haha, don’t waste your effort!” Schliemann sat there, looking at Hu Hao.
“Smart! You are Schliemann, right?” Hu Hao noticed Schliemann’s armband and immediately asked.
“Correct. Commander of the Vaal Kingdom’s 31st Corps. You are very capable to have captured a corps commander like us. How about we make a deal?” Schliemann looked at Hu Hao.
“Let’s hear it!” Hu Hao smiled, nodding for him to continue.
“Let us go, and I’ll give you 100,000,000. Additionally, we will send you to our country. With this 100,000,000, you can live a very good life and won’t have to suffer the hardships of war anymore. I think you also know that your Empire will sooner or later be beaten to the ground by our Allied forces. You will either die in battle or be slaughtered by us. So, let us go, and we’ll give you what you want!” Schliemann looked at Hu Hao, laying out his terms.
“Hahaha!” Hu Hao burst into loud laughter. When the other brothers heard it, they laughed too.
“What… what are you laughing at?” Schliemann didn’t understand what was so funny and immediately asked.
“100,000,000, in exchange for me going to your country?” Hu Hao asked back with a laugh.
“100,000,000 is already a lot. Don’t be greedy!” Schliemann said, looking at Hu Hao.
“Eh, Schliemann, do you know? If Vostok knew, he’d probably offer 10,000,000,000. Do you believe that?” Hu Hao said as he stood up.
“Hmph, what are you?” Kesma snorted coldly. The sentence was short, and many soldiers understood it perfectly.
“Fuck your mother! What the fuck are you?! Our Hao-ge talking to you is a blessing you earned in your past life, and you ask what our Hao-ge is?!” A soldier furiously smashed his rifle butt directly onto Kesma’s shoulder, cursing angrily.
“Don’t beat him to death! He’s very valuable!” Hu Hao said with a laugh.
“Who are you? May I know your name? Since I’ve been captured by you, wanting to know your name isn’t too much to ask. Besides, we generals have been captured by you; telling your opponent your name is also a form of respect toward us!” Schliemann looked at Hu Hao.
“Haha, alright, well said. One must respect their opponent. Me, Hu Hao!” Hu Hao stood there, smiled, and looked at Schliemann.
“Hmph, bragging. If you’re Hu Hao, I’m your Emperor!” Another Lieutenant General didn’t believe it. Schliemann, however, kept his eyes fixed on Hu Hao.
“Are you really the Commander of the Eastern Spirit Empire’s First Army Group, Hu Hao? Impossible. As a Commander, with a battle currently underway, you actually charged to the front lines? Then what about your troops? According to my intelligence, your Empire doesn’t have many generals who know how to fight. Therefore, you are not Hu Hao!” Schliemann said, staring at Hu Hao.
Hu Hao pulled out his ID and opened it in front of Schliemann. “You might not recognize the words, but I think you recognize the 3 gold stars on it!”
“What?!” The Lieutenant General next to him saw the text on Hu Hao’s ID and looked at Hu Hao in disbelief. Schliemann turned to look at the Lieutenant General.
“He really is Hu Hao. And he is the First Army Group’s Full General Commander, Hu Hao!” The Lieutenant General told Schliemann, completely stunned.
“What? How is that possible?! A Full General, and you dared to lead over 100 men to assault my command center?! Are you crazy?!” Schliemann felt that all his previous common sense regarding military strategy had been completely upended.
“Hehe, still feel wronged?” Hu Hao put his ID away and looked at them with a smile.
“Tell me, why? Why would a Full General lead men to raid my command center? This is impossible, absolutely impossible. Furthermore, in tonight’s battle, your forces committed at least 3 corps to the fight. I don’t believe your troops could coordinate so perfectly without your command. The entire army mobilized incredibly fast, and the attacks were extremely fierce. I refuse to believe you are Hu Hao. Either your command center has another master strategist at the helm, or you are simply not Hu Hao!” Schliemann was going crazy. To be captured by the enemy’s supreme commander, who personally led over 100 men to raid his command center and grab him—it was unfathomable.
“What’s impossible about it? Do I even need to command to beat you guys?” Hu Hao sneered. Schliemann stared intently at Hu Hao, wanting to memorize this man’s face.
“Tell me, am I worth 10,000,000,000 to you guys?” Hu Hao continued.
“Worth it!” Schliemann forced out through his teeth.
“Haha, at least you know your worth!” Hu Hao laughed.
“What do you plan to do? If you really exchange us for money, aren’t you afraid I’ll lead troops back to kill you later?” Schliemann pressed.
“It’s fine. I’ll just capture you again when the time comes, and exchange you for money again!” Hu Hao shook his head.
Hearing this, Schliemann felt deeply insulted. This young man, who looked younger than his own son, actually claimed he would just capture him again! Yet Schliemann didn’t dare doubt the statement, much less question Hu Hao’s capabilities. After all, the number of generals who had died at Hu Hao’s hands was indeed staggering!
“Since you know I am Hu Hao, do you have anything to say? I’m talking about intelligence. If you really make me interrogate you, it will be very unpleasant. Inhumane, even!” Hu Hao stood there, looking at Schliemann.
“Inhumane?” Schliemann asked, puzzled.
“Mhm. I’m worried it will leave you with psychological trauma. Because, sigh, how should I put this? As you just said, the Eastern Spirit Empire and your Allied forces are locked in a fight to the death. It wouldn’t matter if I killed you in the interrogation room. However, when I interrogate people, I usually don’t kill them; I drive them insane. So, think it over yourselves. I will give you time. After I finish dealing with the troops in Tonglong City, I’ll come see you again. I hope you’ll have thought it through clearly by then!” Hu Hao nodded at them.
The generals stared at Hu Hao. They didn’t dare talk back anymore. They couldn’t win a fight, and they had been personally captured by Hu Hao himself. What right did they have to talk back to him now?
“Hu Hao, I still can’t figure it out. Who is commanding your troops?” Schliemann asked.
“Haha, did you forget that we contact our troops via satellite phones now? As long as I have a phone, I can command my troops!” Hu Hao smiled.
Schliemann nodded in understanding. Indeed, Hu Hao didn’t want the Allied forces to know about his big brother’s existence!
“Hu Hao, just give us a quick death. I know you won’t let us go. You might try to exchange us for money, but we definitely won’t survive this!” Schliemann said seriously, looking at Hu Hao.
“Smart! But no. I need to use you to exchange for money. So, how about this: let’s see if you can spit out any valuable intelligence. If you do, I might consider giving you a quick death!” Hu Hao stood there, looking at Schliemann.
Schliemann nodded. He knew that even a quick death had to be bought with intelligence! Although pathetic, this was reality!
“Alright, take them down. Don’t let them die!” Hu Hao ordered the squad members.
“Should we send them down now?” Zhao Yang asked, standing nearby.
“Mhm, send them to the command center. Blindfold them!” Hu Hao instructed Zhao Yang.
“Understood!” Zhao Yang nodded.
He immediately waved to the soldiers, who promptly escorted the prisoners away. The generals all hung their heads, no one wanting to say another word. The enemy Commander had personally made a move; what else was there to say?
After they left, Hu Hao burst into laughter.
“Hao-ge, why did you talk to them for so long?” Zhao Yang asked.
“I wanted to learn a few things. That Schliemann is smart, very smart. It’s a pity!” Hu Hao said, watching the prisoners’ retreating backs.
“Smart or not, he still has to die!” Zhao Yang chuckled from behind.
“Mhm. Let’s go, take a break. Also, tomorrow you need to summarize the experience of this operation. Why were we able to successfully raid them? You must know, in the future, this kind of tactic will be used frequently!” Hu Hao instructed Zhao Yang.
“Understood, Hao-ge. It was my lack of awareness this time; I didn’t think this would actually work!” Zhao Yang admitted.
“It’s fine, you’ll get used to it gradually!” Hu Hao nodded.
“By the way, Biao-ge called and told you to go back!” Zhao Yang reminded him.
“Go back my ass! I just came out!” Hu Hao declared smugly.