Half an hour later, all the guards in the mine, including those responsible for guarding the plane, had gathered in the widest square in the tunnel, not a single one missing.

"Report to the general, there are 12,139 members of the Skybreaker Mountain mining corps present, all 12,139 attendees accounted for!" A young officer in his thirties reported loudly to Zhang Rong, not even glancing at Chu Mo who stood next to Zhang Rong.

"Good!" responded Zhang Rong aloud, then addressing the crowd below, "The envoy here next to me has been sent by the Emperor and Marshal Fang, and bears a great responsibility. From this moment on, the control over our mining corps will be handed over to Envoy Chu. You must obey all of Envoy Chu's commands. Understood?"

The over twelve thousand men below were momentarily stunned. They were a disciplined military elite, but this sudden news still shocked them. They didn't even understand why.

Many of them looked unfavorably at Chu Mo, seeing him as someone who had come to usurp their power.

Chu Mo didn't disguise himself; he looked much too young. His body was somewhat thin, his face naive, he looked like just a teenager. Although he appeared steady, expecting such a teenager to command their corps of over ten thousand... And not just any corps, an elite corps, seemed ludicrous.

For the first time, the corps, which was used to following orders without question, experienced an issue with the chain of command. While no one whispered to each other or made a commotion, by remaining silent, all of them resisted this sudden and puzzling order.

Zhang Rong became somewhat angry, overhearing, "Did no one hear me?"

Chu Mo raised his hand to stop Zhang Rong from speaking further and stepped forward to address the crowd.

Many people, with their faces and bodies covered in dust, looked dirty. A few even still held mining tools in their hands.

They were evidently gathered hastily, not even having time to put their tools down.

Seeing Chu Mo halt General Zhang's words with a wave of his hand, the elite soldiers became somewhat restless.

Although there weren't any overt protests, their glares towards Chu Mo turned even harsher.

"I know what you are thinking," came Chu Mo's deep voice. "I am not here to usurp power."

Chu Mo's words seemed to slightly calm the soldiers, but their gaze remained suspicious.

"News of this place's existence... has leaked," Chu Mo looked at the crowd. "Great Qi, which is preparing for war with Great Xia, has a million soldiers ready to pass through this tunnel. I'm here to deal with them! I carry the Imperial edict, and Marshal Fang's order, I don't have time to explain much to you all! I only want to tell you one thing."

Chu Mo paused, allowing the soldiers to digest what he had just said.

Then, he spoke loudly, "I am like all of you... a subject of Great Xia! I'm not any high-ranking noble, let alone a member of the royal family. I'm here, not to glitter in the glory...not to seize power! I'm here to defend our home! To protect our homeland!"

"I don't know how you see me in your hearts. Young, naive, without any military experience...none of this matters. What's important is, you just need to tell me one thing, do you want the Iron Cavalry of Great Qi to travel through this tunnel that you excavated with your very lives, to march straight into our homeland, to destroy Great Xia?" Chu Mo yelled loudly, "Tell me, would you want that?"

"No!" came a resounding roar, as if from the depths of the souls of the over ten thousand soldiers.

This roar naturally carried some dissatisfaction towards this unexpected newcomer.

They've been mining here with great hardship, all for the purpose of making their beautiful homeland stronger, better.

Now, a stranger came to tell them that the secret here was exposed, that enemies planned to pass through here, through the tunnel they had excavated with their lives, to destroy their homeland...

How could who in their right mind agree to this? No one would!

"I know that there are countless questions in your hearts, and you're uncertain about the future. You fear what's about to happen," Chu Mo spoke gravely. "I don't have time to explain everything clearly to you. However, I guarantee that as long as you promise to cooperate with my instructions. Then... we will not only be able to annihilate the million-strong army of Great Qi but also allow you all to return home safely! As for the future..."

Chu Mo looked at the sturdy soldiers below, saying: "With such workmanship in our trajectories, do you need to worry about the future?"

At this point, Jiang Rong walked up to Chu Mo's side and spoke loudly, "We are soldiers! What is a soldier's mission?"

"To protect our homeland!" Over twelve thousand people echoed together, their voices shaking the heavens.

"Then, what is the most basic quality of a soldier?" Zhang Rong asked again.

"To obey orders!"

"Good. Then from now on, I'm going to put the command token that represents the Mining Corps into the hands of Envoy Chu...." Zhang Rong announced, producing a palm-sized, silver badge.

Chu Mo glanced at the token and his mouth twitched, because the token was actually carved from a piece of premium primordial stone!

It really had a characteristic of the Corps!

Chu Mo thought to himself.

Zhang Rong was about to hand over the token to Chu Mo when a deep voice suddenly interrupted him: "General Zhang, please wait."

With that deep voice, the young officer who had just gathered the soldiers leaped onto the stage.

Zhang Rong's eyebrows furrowed and he asked, "He Xu, what do you mean by this?"

"General, I have no ulterior motives, I just want to ask the envoy a few questions," said He Xu, the young officer, bowing his fists to Chu Mo. "I am He Xu, Deputy General of this Mining Corps. I dare to ask the Envoy: How do you plan to annihilate the million-strong Qi army? Do you have a battle plan? Moreover...are you familiar with the terrain of this tunnel? Do you understand it? Our over ten thousand men, against a million-strong army, I fear we won't even stir a small wave before being wiped out. So, Envoy, what do you plan to use to wipe out the enemy's million-strong army? Your words?"

"How Xu!" Zhang Rong was somewhat angry. He Xu always thought highly of himself. Although he was not of high origin, these men working diligently in the Primordial Stone veins naturally did not lack primordial stones. Therefore, their realm advancements over the past ten years were very fast!

These soldiers seemed to be miners, but they were also the top elites secretly nurtured by Great Xia!

Once these men appear, they will directly become an invincible legion! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

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