With that statement, the City Lord's Mansion fell silent.
Everyone standing here possessed some ambition, all wanting the Marshal's Tiger Tally for themselves. Not long ago, a conflict had nearly erupted in this hall over the very same item.
Protected!
Protected by what right?
The Chief subtly glanced at General Chen. Though harboring suspicion, he didn't react much. They all belonged to the same faction, naturally supporting and respecting General Chen's actions.
The specific reasons could be discussed later.
The Lion Man Chief, however, thought differently.
"General Chen, I'm not sure if I heard correctly, but did you just say you've guaranteed the Tiger Tally holder?" the Lion Man Chief narrowed his eyes and asked softly, a faint sneer accompanying his expression. "What, do you also want to compete for the Tiger Tally? Just you, an outsider?"
"What, you disagree?"
Compared to the subtle maneuvering of others, General Chen's approach was much more direct.
"If you disagree, then just bottle it up. I said protected, so they're protected. Anyone who dares to touch them, I'll personally lead my troops to annihilate them. I know that in your eyes, I'm just a brute. But you should also know that I always stand by my word. If I say I'll destroy you, I will. If you don't believe me, try me!"
General Chen was not a native of Batu's territory; he was an outsider.
He had managed to carve out a domain in a kingdom dominated by orcs, with his subordinates being utterly loyal to him. This was due to his character.
Decisive, resolute, straightforward!
Threats?
Probing?
To him, these were non-existent. If he said he would do something, he would never back down. He would openly tell others, "I'm going to fight you, be prepared to get beaten."
There were no intricate schemes, just a direct frontal assault with genuine force.
In short, he was tough!
Earlier, when mocked by the Lion Man Chief on the flying carpet, he hadn't bothered to retaliate. That was him showing respect to the Chief and deeming it unnecessary to clash with the Lion Man.
Now, he refused to back down, and no one could make him retreat.
"Don't hold it in, just fart it out!"
Seeing the Lion Man Chief remaining silent for a long time, General Chen raised his eyebrows and sneered.
"Do you want to fight? Give me a straight answer. If you agree, we'll declare war right now. I won't bully you here in the City Lord's Mansion. We'll each return to our territories and gather our troops, how about it?"
Faced with General Chen's relentless pressure, the Lion Man Chief remained silent for a long time.
He couldn't be sure!
Within the entire Batu Free Federation, while he held the second seat, it didn't necessarily mean his strength ranked second in the entire Federation.
In this Federation, there were individuals whose capabilities he couldn't fully gauge.
General Chen was one of them.
Regardless of how dismissive and contemptuous he usually was towards General Chen, his impressive combat record since entering the Batu Free Federation was evident to all.
Countless battles, large and small, yet he had never been defeated.
In many of these campaigns, even if the Lion Man Chief had personally participated, he wouldn't have had absolute confidence in achieving a decisive victory. Yet, General Chen had always returned victorious without any surprises.
Furthermore, General Chen had never truly revealed his full strength.
To declare war at this moment...
The Lion Man Chief lacked the confidence of absolute victory.
"Good heavens, you're so indecisive!" Seeing the Lion Man Chief still silent, General Chen frowned impatiently. "Speak up! I came to your orc territory because I value your straightforwardness. How is it that you can't even get a word out? Do you want to fight or not? Give me an answer."
"General Chen..."
Suddenly, the Snake Woman, with her swaying hips and alluring face, spoke with a charming smile.
"What are you doing? We're all colleagues in the Federation. The Tatu Kingdom hasn't declared war yet, so why should we have internal conflict? Brother Lion Man hasn't spoken, which means he doesn't want our Federation to fall apart. Don't be so aggressive. If we really fight, it won't be good for anyone. Our Chief wouldn't want to see this situation either."
"What, are you his mouthpiece?"
Looking at the Snake Woman posturing in front of him, General Chen craned his neck and grunted.
"And what are you? Why are you everywhere? Do you also want to join the fight? If you want to join, I'll count you in. It's not impossible for me to fight both of you. How about it, do you accept the challenge?"
The Snake Woman's face turned green and then white. Looking at the unyielding General Chen, she harbored deep resentment.
And yet—
She didn't dare to accept.
In the Federation, although her Serpent Tribe's territory wasn't weak, overall, it was still a significant distance behind the Lion Man. If even the Lion Man Chief dared not accept the challenge, how could she possibly agree?
Her speaking up just now was because she felt the Lion Man Chief was in an awkward position and wanted to ease the atmosphere.
Who would have thought this stubborn blockhead would be so resolute!
In the front hall, no one had expected that General Chen's declaration of war would make the entire hall's atmosphere so oppressive.
It also revealed crucial information.
In the Batu Free Federation, a seat didn't necessarily represent status. The Lion Man Chief, who seemingly held the second seat, might not be able to defeat General Chen, who had no seat.
For a moment, many chiefs' minds began to stir.
"Old Chen, that's enough!" Not wanting the atmosphere to remain so tense, the beautiful woman standing behind General Chen came forward and tugged his arm. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not doing anything, just discussing."
General Chen shrugged. "I've already guaranteed the Tiger Tally holder. Anyone who disagrees can declare war on me. Just now, the second and third seats seemed very interested in the Tiger Tally, clearly unwilling to accept my words and not seek trouble for that person. Since that's the case, it's better to just have a fight."
"General Chen, if a fight truly breaks out, it will benefit no one," the Lion Man Chief said angrily.
"Do I need you to tell me that?"
General Chen grinned widely, laughing heartily.
"If we can avoid war, who would want to fight? The problem is that our conflict has reached a point where it must be resolved."
Seeing that General Chen was truly intractable, the Lion Man Chief no longer wanted to waste more words with him.
"Chief, you're just going to watch?" the Lion Man Chief said, looking sideways.
"Thinking of calling the Chief now." Before the Chief could respond, General Chen chuckled. "Just now on the flying carpet, weren't you all vying to be the boss? Now that you've encountered a problem, you want the Chief to step in. How shameless can you be?"
"Chen Feng!"
"Your grandfather is here."
General Chen indifferently responded with a sneer.
"If you want to fight, fight. Stop blabbering. Of course, you can choose not to fight and sneakily make some small moves. But rest assured, if I discover it, I'll directly lead my troops to beat you. I'm putting my words out there; believe them if you will."
"You wait."
The Lion Man Chief raised his hand and pointed fiercely at Chen Feng twice, then let out an indignant snort and turned to leave the front hall. Several chiefs from his faction hesitated for a long time. They had come to buy equipment from the merchants. If they left now, how would they get their equipment?
After much deliberation, several chiefs still departed with him.
From beginning to end, Chen Feng silently watched the retreating back of the Lion Man Chief, a sneer on his face.
"I thought you were capable of something, turns out you're just a nobody!"