Xuanwu issued his ultimatum, and he no longer wished to waste words with him here, leaving it to Sun Zhonghan to decide.
A minute seemed insufficient for anything, but to them now, this minute felt like a death knell.
Xuanwu had given them only these two choices.
Sun Zhonghan took a deep breath, a flicker of surprise appearing in his eyes. He truly didn't believe he would dare to charge the checkpoint!
If he were to charge the checkpoint, it would break the rules, and breaking the rules was the most troublesome thing. For them, everything had to be within the rules. Not everyone was Ye Longlin, nor could everyone disregard rules like Ye Longlin did.
That he didn't care about rules was due to his immense power.
What about others?
Certainly, in terms of strength, Ye Longlin wasn't among the absolute peak of the country, but he was among the top tier. However, individual strength and team strength were different.
His ability to lead troops into battle was the strength they valued.
Sun Zhonghan quickly sent a message to prevent him from actually charging the checkpoint. The members of the Dragon Pavilion were all similar in temperament, and Xuanwu was even younger, so he couldn't quite gauge Xuanwu's temper.
Xuanwu looked at his tactical watch. The one-minute countdown had only a few seconds left.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
The minute was up!
"Since Vice Principal Sun has not yet made a decision, I will make it for you!"
"Take him down!"
Xuanwu raised his hand, his palm slamming down.
Two soldiers from the Divine Dragon Brigade stepped forward and placed their sabers at Sun Zhonghan's neck!
Xuanwu walked up to him, gently patting his face with one hand, exhaling through his nose, "Vice Principal Sun really doesn't know how to read the situation."
At this moment, the armed forces within the academy quickly gathered, standing before them, weapons loaded and aimed at Xuanwu and the Divine Dragon Brigade.
"Lower your sabers! Release Vice Principal Sun!" the leading squadron commander warned sternly.
Sun Zhonghan sneered, "The Military Academy has its own regulations. With special approval from the military, our Military Academy is allowed to possess its own armed forces!"
To his surprise, Xuanwu didn't care at all, letting out a scoff, "What good does it do to have your own armed forces? Do they dare to open fire?"
Xuanwu, without the slightest hesitation, slapped Sun Zhonghan across the face and sneered, "If you don't want your Vice Principal to die, get out of the way! Take me to your jungle warfare training grounds!"
Truth be told, no matter what, Sun Zhonghan was the Vice Principal of the Military Academy, and if he were to die here, they would bear responsibility.
The leading squadron commander looked at Sun Zhonghan.
Sun Zhonghan, now a prisoner and having just been slapped, clearly understood their intentions.
It seemed they wouldn't rest until Tang Long was seen. He could only say helplessly, "Take them there!"
The news of Xuanwu's arrival at the Military Academy spread throughout the entire military, also sparking a silent confrontation between the two factions.
Tang Long's faction immediately contacted the Military Disciplinary Inspection Group, asking them to take Xuanwu away from the Military Academy. Meanwhile, within the military headquarters, Lin Langsheng and Qin Hanlie exchanged glances.
"Old Lin, will you go?"
Lin Langsheng nodded, "Alright, I'll go. But I want to know your stance?"
Since Ye Longlin's disappearance, their conversations had become infrequent, mainly because they suddenly didn't know what to say to each other.
"You know."
Since Qin Hanlie said this, he understood. After nodding, he headed directly towards the Military Academy.
This could be considered the first formal confrontation between the people behind Ye Longlin and Tang Long. Let's see who would come out on top.
Cars began to depart from various parts of the capital, all their destinations being the Military Academy.
And at this moment within the Military Academy, the atmosphere was one of profound silence.
In the vast training grounds, two formations stood facing each other.
One formation was heavily armed.
The other held sabers in their hands, ready to defend themselves.
A palpable killing intent filled the air.
The combat strength of the Military Academy's contingent was certainly no match for the Dragon Pavilion soldiers, who were, after all, battle-hardened veterans.
Xuanwu sat regally in a grand chair, his saber planted beside the armrest. Sun Zhonghan was still held by two Dragon Pavilion soldiers, with sabers pressed against their necks!
"Dragon Pavilion personnel, receive this order: you have half an hour to find Tang Long!"
"Yes!"
All the Dragon Pavilion soldiers quickly entered the forest a kilometer away.
Xuanwu sat there, waiting.
"Thump thump thump—"
Figures rapidly approached from behind, led by an elder with white hair.
The Dean of the Military Academy, and also a highly respected Marshal.
"Teacher!"
As Zhang Ling approached, Xuanwu put away his casual demeanor and stood up to salute.
Zhang Ling had also been Ye Longlin's teacher. After Ye Longlin founded the Dragon Pavilion, he had also asked Marshal Zhang to personally train a batch of soldiers. Among this batch of soldiers, only the Four Great Vajras were still alive; all others had perished overseas.
"Let him go. With so many people here, grant me a little face."
Zhang Ling chuckled helplessly. He understood the personalities of these few people.
Some matters were more important to them than their own lives.
Wasn't today's incident precisely about this?
With a wave of his hand from Xuanwu, the Dragon Pavilion soldiers finally released Sun Zhonghan.
"Tang Long's performance is indeed commendable. Although it doesn't match the achievements Ye Longlin left behind, he has managed to follow in Ye Longlin's footsteps. If given time to grow, he might truly become a general comparable to Ye Longlin," Zhang Ling said with deep meaning. This was also the truth, otherwise, Tang Long wouldn't have become a figure that the people of that faction brought to the forefront.
Xuanwu shook his head, "This man is too arrogant. If he were to gain power, it might be a disaster."
"The Hall of Glory hasn't even announced the death of the Boss, yet he has unilaterally declared it. Who does he think he is, this Tang Long? Anyone can say theoretical words, but the reality is entirely different. Does he really think the battlefield is that easy? Does he think war is child's play?"
"Teacher, you should understand my meaning. I am the only one left in the Dragon Pavilion. No matter what, I will not allow anyone to publicly humiliate the Boss. The Boss can ignore him, but I cannot!"
Zhang Ling chuckled, waving his hand to interrupt him before he could say more. Some things were better kept in one's heart; there was no need to voice them.
Xuanwu fell silent for a moment, his gaze fixed intently on Zhang Ling, "Teacher, I want to know, which side are you on?"
Zhang Ling smiled and said, "At my age, can't I just sit?"
Saying this, he sat on the ground without any regard for his status.
Xuanwu understood immediately and quickly helped him up, his tone softening, "Teacher, the ground is cold. Please sit on a chair. You are of an advanced age, and if you catch a cold, I would never forgive myself."
Zhang Ling deliberately put on a stern face, "Then why did you bring so many people here? Aren't you afraid of scaring me?"