These past few days have felt like a dream for Gao. Since returning safely to the camp near Jialai, he has often been lost in thought, pondering this war he has never experienced before.

Although Gao wasn't particularly quick-witted, he harbored a heroic ambition. Being in the army, he had little to do and enjoyed pondering military strategy. The art of war Yun Zhe displayed this time was something Gao had never heard of or seen before.

"I have never fought such a comfortable battle before. In the past ten days or so, except for the last few days when things were a bit messy, the whole process of fighting seemed no different from an outing." He wrote this in a letter to his father.

If he could return to the battlefield, he would undoubtedly prefer to follow a commander like Yun Zhe. This was his only thought upon returning to the border of Ars. The two hundred soldiers who returned with him shared similar sentiments.

They returned to Gyalay with a large number of refugees three days after the historic confrontation between Ars and Andrew.

They were greeted with flowers and applause, as well as countless incredulous glances.

Faced with such questions, they maintained a consistent story with Yun Zhe, not revealing the details of their retreat, but only stating the result.

"They carried out a successful ambush and escaped."

Faced with this answer, some questioned it, some criticized it, and some were even jealous. There were also those who tried to provoke them into revealing the truth. But whenever this happened, these people remembered what Yun Zhe had told them on the second night of their escape.

"Think about what you've been through these past ten days. If you told others, would people believe you? If they did, would you even get this kind of opportunity again?"

Therefore, it is naturally unspeakable.

Yun Zhe only rested for one night after returning home before seeking out Serena and requesting an emergency meeting. Serena was also curious about Yun Zhe's experiences over the past few days, and since the meeting was scheduled for today to discuss the next steps, she readily agreed.

However, the first request Yun Zhe made at the meeting made Serena frown.

Yun Zhe proposed that he take charge of the two hundred men he brought back, and also add more than thirty refugees to the army.

Nyrent was the first to disagree. His reasoning was simple: while Yun Zhe had rendered meritorious service, a force of nearly three hundred men was still relatively too large. He himself only commanded two squads of less than two hundred men each. Why should this Aruru man lead a larger force? Of course, these thoughts couldn't be voiced openly. He proposed granting Yun Zhe the title of knight based on his military achievements, allowing him to lead a hundred-man squad—a gesture that respected both Yun Zhe and established custom.

Andrew said that Nrent made a lot of sense, and that these 100 people would be treated the same as other troops, without any difference.

Seeing their hesitation and reluctance to grant him military command, Yun Zhe was momentarily speechless with anger. Just as he was about to list all the ways they had wronged him in this battle, he suddenly noticed the timid Luke. He immediately thought of the bet.

"I remember I had a bet with Luke, and I think I should have won," Yun Zhe said slowly with a malicious smile.

Andrew frowned slightly, thinking that as long as no one brought it up, the matter would be over.

“Perfect timing. I remember Luke was a captain of a hundred-man squad, so it’s perfect to hand him over to Yun Zhe,” Arthas interjected. In terms of the outcome, regardless of whether luck played a part, Yun Zhe’s victory was remarkably impressive. Although Arthas was usually rigid and inflexible, he was now showing a keen interest in talent and wanted to recruit a general like Yun Zhe to his side. Therefore, he became more flexible in his speech.

He glanced at Serena, hoping she would understand the meaning behind his words.

Serena understood this perfectly well. Although she had a brave and loyal baron standing behind her, her army was practically nonexistent. The army in Donic City wasn't nearly a thousand strong, as she had told Andrew, but less than five hundred. Some of them were wounded. While she was willing to trust the Pas family's loyalty, she was also the daughter of a business family and knew that the battlefield was like the marketplace; without sufficient leverage, there was no way to negotiate on equal footing.

Serena nodded, about to agree, when Yun Zhe spoke up.

“But I don’t want to do the raiding. I think Mr. Luke would be upset too, which is something I don’t want to see. So I think if Mr. Luke apologizes to me, I’ll let it go. However, I still stand by my demands, but I can make a small concession. On the premise that the number of people remains the same, I can give up the supply of armor and weapons, which we will handle ourselves. At the same time, we will continue to be responsible for the transportation and escort of supplies. What do you all think?”

Andrew tapped the table lightly. Yun Zhe's decision to abandon Luke's troops was, in effect, an olive branch extended to them. And not wanting armor and weapons was also a form of weakness. If they still disagreed, it would seem like they were being too aggressive. Thinking this, Andrew nodded in agreement.

When Newrent heard Yun Zhe mention the bet, he was worried that Luke might actually be stripped of his command. Hearing Arthas's words, his heart sank even further. But Yun Zhe's decision to back down delighted Newrent; he hadn't wanted Luke to lose command, and now that he hadn't, everything was negotiable.

Luke remained silent. He had some self-awareness, knowing he was nothing more than a fish on a chopping block. If Yun Zhe really took it to heart, he would definitely lose command. The fact that he hadn't lost it was only because the other party was magnanimous, and he couldn't be happy about it.

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