Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 1609: Chapter 65: The First Voice Upon Setting Foot in Feiyang

The No. 72 Airport Pier on this day was like the starry sky above everyone’s heads, a galaxy of brilliance. Each star was shining, yet no one could see with the naked eye how close or far these stars were from them, not knowing their positions or their connections with each other, nor understanding where they would head in the infinite movements and changes of the universe.

Francis was assassinated, Hastings was gravely ill, and at this moment, Feiyang was a chess game that even a supercomputer couldn’t calculate.

Fatty stood next to Hastings, dressed sharply, with a faint smile on his face, his eyes determined and sharp. The vulgar Fatty with a flushed face and a reckless demeanor in the bar twenty minutes ago had disappeared. Now he was a soldier beside Hastings, meeting everyone’s scrutinizing gaze, occasionally with a hint of arrogance at the corner of his mouth.

Fatty never liked playing chess. That kind of sly and convoluted intrigue was too difficult for him. He preferred carrying out simulations, calculating how he needed to act to cleanly defeat his opponents, liking to simplify complex matters, hitting the nail on the head and then decisively resolving them. Since he didn’t want to rack his brain over this chess game, the best way was to flip the whole chessboard!

Facing the gaze of several iron-faced soldiers, Fatty didn’t hide his disdain.

In Hastings’ provided information, these Feiyang Generals who had an aura practically cast from the same mold as Leefer, Fatty was already very familiar with them without having met.

They were the most radical group in the Feiyang Republic Army, the most loyal followers of Leefer. They were aggressive, arrogant, indifferent. They didn’t trust anyone, only believed in their battleships and Mecha, and the group of war madmen they belonged to.

This country had been arrogant for too long.

The identity of the world’s first superpower had given the Feiyang citizens too much glory and power. Their fleets spread throughout the universe, their officials could dictate to every other nation. They always believed that they were the true rulers of this world and that the entire Fei Alliance should be under their leadership.

The populace was like this, and the upper echelons were no different. Whether government officials or military leaders, few were willing to let go of Feiyang’s dominant position as a major power. Even among Hastings’ followers, many held similar values. Leefer’s viewpoint of considering only the Fei Alliance’s interests, resolving everything with war, was very popular.

Their adherence and worship of Hastings was because this old fellow thirty years ago was even tougher and more radical than Leefer. Feiyang’s warships spread throughout the universe, each barrel showcasing force and seizing interests.

When Hastings decided to have Feiyang enter this war early, many Feiyang leaders didn’t understand.

They questioned whether the present Hastings was still the Military God who led them to conquer the universe?

They only considered Feiyang Republic’s interests, only believed in their army, arrogant, conceited, cold-blooded, seeing others as insignificant. Be it Leray Federation or Chuckna Republic, they regarded others’ efforts and sacrifices as rightful.

Their consistent philosophy was to only respect worthy opponents. To only fear those stronger than themselves.

If one wants to lead them, they must prove themselves stronger. The most direct way to make them bow their prideful heads is to wield a heavy club and smash them until they’re bloodied!

Soon they’ll yield to reasoning, yield to force!

Snapping them out of their ally’s strength is far better than them burying the entire Fei Alliance.

Thinking of running wild in this arrogant country, seeking vengeance or glory, knowing Hastings was backing him, Fatty was so excited he had to clench his thighs to hold back his urges.

From Fiscella to Carolina to Sammon to Leefer, Barbara... among the Feiyang bunch, few made a good impression on him. Adding Bernadotte’s injury, if he didn’t seize this opportunity to make a significant move in Feiyang, Fatty himself felt he’d be letting himself down.

His eyes kept darting over the hardcore of the Leefer Legion. Which one would be a good start?

”Are you Tian Xingjian, used to be a Mechanic Soldier?” A Vice Admiral sized up Fatty, his lips curled in a mocking smile.

He didn’t use ”sir,” nor add the usual formal title after calling his name, nor give a standard greeting followed by his typical arrogant and militaristic rudeness.

Fatty scrutinized him carefully. This guy was named Sebastian Jensen, thirty-two years old, the division commander of the 107 Ace Armored Division under Leefer. In Feiyang, where Generals were as common as hairs, he wasn’t extraordinarily talented or meteoric, but reaching this position at his age did surpass the majority.

Jensen’s forehead was high, his nose like a lion’s, extending directly from his forehead, his eyes deeply set, a pair of emotionless blue eyes forever indifferent. Being stared at by him felt like being watched by a Fierce Beast, a chilling sensation.

He was a typical military extremist, believed in bringing all order under military control, expanding territory externally, and internally, transforming society into a machine operating according to preset procedures through force. The 107 Ace Division, under this from inside out seemingly cast iron figure’s training, had become a tireless and numb monster!

Imagine, a reinforced elite armored division, seven thousand in the Combat Department, twelve thousand other personnel. Totaling less than twenty thousand, yet hundreds die or are wounded annually in training, such a ratio, calling the 107 Armored Division a death camp wouldn’t be an exaggeration!

Yet, in the military and people’s eyes, this army held a very high status.

Like a fierce boxer, whose supporters never saw his flaws, the fiercer he was and the better his record, the more ardent the public’s support.

Rumors said the 107 Armored Division never accepted captives. Their cruelty to enemies was as famous as their cruelty to themselves. This shared an image with Faset’s 31st Army. It seemed the entire Leefer Group took pride in this.

Fatty slightly raised his eyebrows, his mouth slanting down. He wasn’t a butcher, but anyone who provoked the bandit army would never see him soften, even facing widespread condemnation.

The 107 Division, if capable, should go to Leifeng Star right now, slaughter all three hundred Judgers cleanly, and then deal with the dozens of Western Alliance Armored Divisions!

Once the new battle reports from Leifeng Star come out, this Vice Admiral should understand that he’d better not compete with the bandit army in cruelty!

These guys charging into battle aren’t really opponents. The real opponents are those standing next to Jensen. Feiyang Hydefield Military District Chief of Staff Admiral David Pires, Commander of the Eighth Group Fleet of Feiyang Admiral Marcel Langlo, Feiyang Joint Staff Department Admiral Eric Sozer, and Feiyang Military Intelligence Bureau Horst Hecker.

Pires is good at strategy, Langlo at combat, Sozer holds high prestige, and Hecker is a venomous snake lurking in the shadows. These four, although not as renowned as the Five Tiger Generals like Leefer, have immense influence over the Feiyang military. Under their sway, a whole batch of Feiyang officers is forming an undercurrent, pushing the Feiyang army towards the dangerous path of militarism.

With Leefer’s fierce tiger unleashed and dragons soaring in Ryan, these four supported the entire Leefer Legion in Feiyang. They worked openly, while some worked secretly, already prepared to take over the Feiyang army upon Hastings’s death.

Fatty withdrew his gaze, refrained from speaking, curiously watching Jensen, his eyes as if looking at an idiot.

Someone like Jensen, whether in the Feiyang military or the Leefer Legion, is just a minor character. No matter how strong the 107 Division is, it’s merely an armored division. Even the dumbest division commander knows to shut up in front of the Military God. Yet at this moment, he dares to scrutinize Fatty with such a disdainful look and speak with a provocation-ready tone, undoubtedly at someone’s behest.

Fatty sneered. This person’s identity, and his arrogant and conceited nature, always looking down on soldiers from other Fei Alliance Member Countries, make him perfect for testing and provoking.

He can be sure that if he just responds, the other party will seize the opportunity. Firstly, they want to see what kind of person this Leray Fatty, rumored to be Hastings’s successor, really is. What can’t be discerned from appearances can sometimes be utterly exposed with just a few words.

Secondly, they release a signal to these surrounding Feiyang authorities.

Francis assassinated, Hastings critically ill, and Leefer rising to prominence! They dare provoke in front of the Military God, they are determined to succeed!

But who am I, what’s my status, some small fry trying to act like a shark with me.

Initially fearing the world wouldn’t be chaotic enough, Fatty, who long held back to provoke, chuckled at Jensen whose expression grew stiffer, then turned around and spat on the ground.

An invisible commotion swiftly swept through the crowd. Feiyang Generals and government officials watched Fatty with a complex look. Nobody from any faction had expected that someone who should maintain a good image and deferential posture to win Feiyang’s favor, support, and recognition would make his first statement on Feiyang soil in such a manner.

——Spit!

”Fatty, if you have something to do, leave first.” The commotion in the crowd subsided rapidly with a gentle wave of Hastings’s hand, like treetops without wind, quickly quieting down.

”Let’s go,” Hastings said to Margaret.

When the wheelchair passed by Jensen, the elder remarked blandly, ”Vice Admiral Jensen, next time you meet a guest, remember to greet them. I don’t want Feiyang soldiers to be accused of lacking manners.”

The pier was dead silent. Hastings’s words were light yet powerful.

Jensen’s face shifted from blue to white, simultaneously angry and aggrieved. Even though he indeed received instructions, preparing to exert pressure on Fatty upon his arrival here, making him realize Feiyang is not a place he can meddle, he hasn’t actually said anything yet!

Jensen was about to argue when Pires beside him gently pulled him, forcing him to turn his head angrily.

”After the presidential election, I’m planning to host a banquet. Since everyone is here today, I won’t need to notify each individually,” Hastings said, walking toward the port hall amidst the crowd, turning to Gambier, ”At that time, I have very important announcements regarding the Allies and the Military Department. Before that, I will discuss with various parties...”

Hastings’s words lingered in the ears. Pires and others stood still, watching Fatty being led by one of Hastings’s assistant officers towards another dedicated passage on the hall’s left side, deep in thought.

Has the battle started this soon, not even requiring a real, or even verbal conflict?

The feeling was as if two Brawlers, already stirred into an unbearable frenzy, had just had the iron cage opened between them and were biting fiercely at each other.

So intense.

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