As Song Heguo took out his communicator to contact the top brass, Zhao Wei, who was suppressing Han Lang, also noticed his intention.
As a member of the Xia Kingdom's cultivators, he had some understanding of the nation's ultimate ancient artifact, the Red Flag.
He knew that he alone was no match for the Red Flag.
Once that vibrant banner unfurled, it would turn him into a puddle of blood mist within a single breath.
This would be true even with his Nascent Soul stage cultivation.
Therefore, without any hesitation, he pointed his finger and commanded his clones.
"Don't let him contact the country and call for the Red Flag. Kill them all immediately!"
The six clones moved in response.
Liu Xiaoxiao and Dan Nan also understood the importance of summoning the Red Flag at this moment, so they both gave orders without hesitation.
"Block them at all costs! You must buy the Commander as much time as possible!"
Instantly, the remaining dozens of elite troops, led by Dan Nan, Liu Xiaoxiao, and others, charged forward fearlessly, intercepting Zhao Wei's six clones.
Soon, screams echoed again, and warriors fell one after another.
Yet, even so, the remaining soldiers did not hesitate, charging forward one after another towards the six clones.
With everyone's concerted efforts, Song Heguo finally managed to connect the call to the top brass.
However, before he could speak, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly appeared before him.
Song Heguo was startled and, upon closer inspection, saw it was the enraged Zhao Wei himself.
Behind him followed Han Lang, looking anxious.
Seeing this, Song Heguo immediately understood.
Liu Xiaoxiao and the others were facing Zhao Wei's clones. Although the clones were only at the late Nascent Soul stage, with the bloody battles of so many soldiers, they could at best only temporarily hold them back.
But Han Lang was facing Zhao Wei's main body.
The main body's strength had reached the late Soul Transformation stage.
For Han Lang, who had no support, not being directly defeated by Zhao Wei was already the limit of his efforts. How could he possibly hold him back completely?
However, even though Song Heguo understood, it was already too late.
Zhao Wei's fist was lunging at him with full force. At such close range, he had no time to dodge, so he instinctively crossed his arms to block the attack that was like a collapsing mountain and a surging sea.
A deafening "boom" resounded.
Energy exploded between Song Heguo's arms, and the aftermath spread.
Song Heguo was sent flying violently. The combat energy wave instantly crushed the communicator in his hand. The Minister of National Defense, who had answered the call, heard nothing but a sharp, piercing sonic boom before the communication was completely cut off.
The Minister of National Defense immediately became tense.
Based on his years of experience, he could almost be certain that Song Heguo was in battle.
He just couldn't imagine the intensity of this battle.
After a moment of thought, he immediately issued an order.
"Locate Commander Song's position immediately and find out exactly what he encountered. We haven't heard any urgent reports from the border recently, and I'm worried he encountered something within the country!"
Upon hearing the order, his subordinate immediately went to arrange for people to investigate.
Meanwhile, on this side, after Song Heguo was sent flying with a punch, Han Lang also caught up. The twelve golden needles were unhesitatingly thrust towards Zhao Wei's back.
Zhao Wei had just attacked Song Heguo and had no chance to counter. Therefore, he stomped his feet, and his body ascended rapidly to evade Han Lang's attack.
Han Lang certainly wouldn't miss such an opportunity. He glanced at Song Heguo, who was unharmed, and immediately pursued Zhao Wei.
Song Heguo stabilized himself, angrily discarded the communicator wreckage, and cursed irritably.
"Damn it! At least let me say a word!"
After complaining, he no longer hesitated and flew up to support Liu Xiaoxiao.
The battle on this side was fierce.
Three of Zhao Wei's clones had been eliminated, but all the elite troops were almost depleted.
The losses from this wave of combat were truly shocking.
Song Heguo felt a pang of sympathy and quickly ordered.
"Stop fighting. Don't make any more futile sacrifices. The remaining soldiers, go rescue the wounded and find a way to retreat. It's too dangerous here."
After Song Heguo finished speaking, the soldiers did not hesitate.
Such combat was indeed beyond their capabilities.
The entire mountainside was now littered with wounded and fallen soldiers.
Even if there was no time to collect the bodies of the fallen heroes, the treatment of the injured needed to be considered.
So the elites descended to the ground one after another, tidied up carefully, and rescued all the wounded.
Even so, out of hundreds who came, less than half returned.
And more than half of them were wounded.
Seeing these soldiers retreat, Song Heguo, for some reason, felt a sense of relief.
The battle before them remained fierce, and they had no certainty of victory.
However, even in defeat, preserving some strength was still good.
Then, his gaze became firm again. Looking at the three clones before him, he resolutely said to Liu Xiaoxiao and the others.
"Dan Nan, Xiaoxiao, you two attack with me, each responsible for one. Tang Qin, Tang Geng, Ma Long, Huang Yuhua, you will provide auxiliary attacks. You must completely resolve these clones in the shortest possible time. Han Lang needs help too!"
Hearing that Han Lang's situation was urgent, everyone immediately stopped hesitating.
Dan Nan and Liu Xiaoxiao directly charged towards the clones, each taking one and engaging in battle.
Ma Long and the other three also did not hesitate, flying up and attacking the clones during the gaps when they were being held back.
Among them, Liu Xiaoxiao's strength was the weakest of the three.
Therefore, Huang Yuhua and Tang Geng assisted him together.
Song Heguo, being the strongest, along with Ma Long, who possessed immortal artifact gauntlets, slightly suppressed the heavily depleted clone.
After about the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep, Ma Long and Song Heguo began to see results.
Although Ma Long was often careless in his thinking, his combat skills were more than sufficient compared to Tang Geng and the others.
Therefore, he quickly assisted Song Heguo in eliminating the clone they were facing.
After finishing this, Ma Long unhesitatingly handed Song Heguo a Spirit Recovery Pill.
Song Heguo was stunned for a moment, but without hesitation, he swallowed it directly.
Then, he looked at Ma Long with shock.
"What kind of recovery pill is this? The effect is so potent?"
Unexpectedly, Ma Long ignored him completely and flew directly to Dan Nan's battlefield, leaving a message.
"Commander! Don't worry about such things at this moment. Hurry up and help Deputy Commander Dan and Political Commissar Liu finish their fights. We still need to help the young master!"
Song Heguo smiled helplessly and, following closely behind Ma Long, rushed to Dan Nan's battlefield.