The sun shone down upon the earth, and the sound of artillery fire erupted once more.
Compared to yesterday's charge, today's assault seemed weak and pathetic. The landing crafts were few and far between.
Most crucially, apart from the pilots, there were no other personnel in each landing craft.
All signs suggested that the Tamu Mercenary Group had exhausted all their forces yesterday.
However, everyone understood that this was merely one of the Tamu Mercenary Group's tactics, aimed at depleting the Lightning Mercenary Group's firepower.
Even though Lei Hadun had seen through this, he still had to go all out.
The reason was simple: no one knew if the pilots of the landing crafts were ordinary drivers or elite fighters from the Tamu Mercenary Group.
If they were allowed to reach the shore, no one could guarantee that rivers of blood wouldn't flow, or that the overall defense system wouldn't be compromised.
Under the fierce bombardment, the Lightning Mercenary Group's artillery fire was extinguished early on. In the end, they could not withstand the Tamu Mercenary Group's landing.
But this was not the end. Within the forests of the various islands, continuous gunfire erupted in the next moment...
At this moment, Lei Hadun had returned to the command tent.
Entering the forest warfare mode, even observing from the helicopter, he could not discern the specific situation. It was better to return to the command tent and await news.
However, like everyone else, he was extremely nervous.
He was worried about the survival of the Lightning Mercenary Group, while others were concerned about their own lives.
After all, if the Tamu Mercenary Group attacked and saw representatives of various factions seated in the command tent, they would surely not let them off the hook.
Ye Cangtian had already taken in the expressions of everyone present.
He didn't offer any comfort, merely smoking his cigarette from time to time, closing his eyes to rest, and waiting for the outcome.
This behavior, however, was extremely irritating to two people present.
The first was Charlie. After being reprimanded by Ye Cangtian, and then Lei Hadun failing to seek justice for him, seeing Ye Cangtian now made his eyes turn green with anger.
He also harbored deep resentment towards Lei Hadun.
The other was Zhuo De.
Faced with a powerful enemy, Ye Cangtian appeared so leisurely, while they were on the verge of death from tension. Did this not make them seem cowardly and incompetent?
For this reason, he looked down on Ye Cangtian even more and began to curse him inwardly.
Damn it, acting all tough, perhaps you're more afraid of death than anyone else...
Thus, time passed unnoticed. The gunfire from various islands grew fainter and fainter, finally falling into silence.
Not long after, hurried footsteps could be heard approaching.
At this moment, everyone's hearts were in their throats, their gazes converging on the entrance of the command tent.
If the first to rush in were members of the Lightning Mercenary Group, it would signify their victory, and everything would be resolved.
But if not, the outcome would be reversed, and they themselves might face slaughter.
"Report! A great victory, a great victory!"
"We have won!"
"We have annihilated all Tamu Mercenary Group warriors on the island..."
The next moment, a mercenary covered in blood rushed into the tent, speaking excitedly.
In an instant, everyone felt a great sense of relief, and their faces were instantly filled with the joy of victory.
On the other side, Lei Hadun quickly stepped forward, grabbed the mercenary's shoulder, and asked, "Casualties, report the casualty ratio!"
"According to incomplete statistics, the Lightning Mercenary Group suffered over fifty percent casualties in this battle. Various squads are still conducting clean-up and statistics. Specific figures will be reported later..."
Hearing his subordinate's report, Lei Hadun sank onto a stool, his expression extremely complex, a mixture of pain and excitement.
The pain stemmed from the fact that after the battle, with over half their forces lost, the Lightning Mercenary Group's strength had plummeted, and it would take a long time to recover.
The excitement was that they had fought with their lives on the line, completely annihilating the enemy, and yet only suffering over fifty percent casualties.
In his eyes, this was already a remarkably proud achievement.
Meanwhile, Ye Cangtian, upon hearing about the casualties, furrowed his brow slightly.
The Tamu Mercenary Group was indeed a formidable force!
Even with his near-perfect manipulation, they had still managed to inflict over fifty percent casualties on the Lightning Mercenary Group, which even surprised him.
With that thought, his gaze swept across the crowd, and he asked, "Everyone, the results are out now. Do any of you have anything to say?"
Regarding the alliance, Ye Cangtian intended to strike while the iron was hot, to avoid unforeseen complications.
"I am willing to participate in the alliance!"
"I am also willing..."
As Ye Cangtian's voice fell, everyone responded without hesitation, stating their willingness.
Although they had not yet received news from the leader of the Tamu Mercenary Group, in their opinion, even if their leader was still alive, he would not dare to launch further attacks.
It could be said that at this point, the Lightning Mercenary Group had already secured victory.
Furthermore, the Lightning Mercenary Group's victory against a stronger foe had thoroughly shattered the invincible myth of the Tamu Mercenary Group, thus they were willing to take a gamble.
"Very good."
A satisfied smile spread across Ye Cangtian's face. He then glanced at Lei Hadun and said, "Don't just stand there, prepare to sign the alliance agreement..."
...
Upon the vast sea.
Over a dozen warships lay side by side, but only one warship still had someone breathing.
The remaining warships were like ghost ships, their cabins empty, unmanned.
On the only warship still breathing, over a dozen people stood on the deck, facing the Hell Gate Archipelago with expressions of grief and indignation.
From the continuous information received during the earlier battle, they learned that all the mercenaries had fallen into an ambush.
And then there was nothing more...
Several hours had passed since the fighting stopped, and there was no doubt that the warriors of the Tamu Mercenary Group had perished within the archipelago.
"Warriors, most of our comrades have fallen on the Hell Gate Archipelago. Shall we retreat like cowards, or fight to the death?"
Kill! Kill! Kill!
When Chandler's voice rang out, a thunderous roar of killing intent erupted from the deck without hesitation.
Humiliation and anger were no longer enough to describe their feelings.
At this moment, their hearts were filled only with the desire to kill, to do whatever it took to slaughter the entire Hell Gate Archipelago.
"Very good, you have made me very proud. You are truly warriors of the Tamu Mercenary Group!"
A hint of satisfaction flickered in Chandler's eyes. He scanned the dozen or so people on deck, paused for a moment, and continued to speak.
"Brothers, the group has suffered heavy losses, but this does not mean we have no hope of victory!"
In Chandler's view, the Lightning Mercenary Group's strength had already weakened before the battle, and they had lost many elites during the Chinese mission.
And this time, the full charge of the Tamu Mercenary Group would bring even heavier blows to them.
Therefore, attacking at this moment was their best opportunity.
Firstly, having defeated the Tamu Mercenary Group for two consecutive days, the Tamu Mercenary Group had suffered heavy losses. The Lightning Mercenary Group, on their side, must have become arrogant.
They might even believe that they had achieved ultimate victory in the war and thus had lowered their guard.
Secondly, although the Tamu Mercenary Group had only a dozen or so people left, they were all absolute elites within the mercenary group, with exceptional individual combat capabilities.
As long as they could infiltrate the headquarters of the Lightning Mercenary Group, they would be like lions entering a sheep pen, able to slaughter at will!
Finally, the Tamu Mercenary Group was small in number.
However, they were extremely mobile and had strong infiltration capabilities. Under the cover of night, passing through the enemy's defense zone would not be difficult.
Considering these three points, Chandler believed that executing a decapitation mission should not be overly difficult.
Moreover, he had to inflict a heavy blow on the Lightning Mercenary Group. Otherwise, if they were to leave in such disgrace and return to headquarters, they would not escape severe punishment.
Listening to Chandler's words, everyone became filled with passion.
They had thought that this night raid would be their last stand, and they had no confidence at all.
But Chandler's speech not only instilled in them the confidence of victory but also gave them a sense of being able to retreat unscathed.
Seeing their morale bolstered, Chandler said no more. He poured a bowl of wine for each of them and said, "Brothers, if we return, we'll feast like kings! Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
A deafening roar echoed, and everyone drank the wine together, then fiercely smashed their bowls.
Immediately after, figures leaped into the sea.