23 The Mighty Little Team

However, the cheers of the soldiers and officers who wanted to support Minister Chen stopped after hearing the sound of a gong being struck loudly and continuously.

Many people's faces changed, so Chen Long immediately asked what was happening.

Several officers who wanted Chen Long's attention immediately stepped forward and said, "That is the signal for war, Prince. And that means the enemy has arrived in front of the city walls."

Before this, Chen Long had entered through the eastern gate facing the kingdom's territory, so he had not seen any concentration of enemy troops because the enemy troops were in front of the western gate of the city.

Therefore, Chen Long immediately took out the pills he had made from Kotaraja and distributed them to many people according to his brother Chen Hoklong's advice about which soldiers and officers could be trusted immediately and thus given 100% of the medicine.

And which officers were not yet fully trusted, so they were only given 50% of the medicine.

Chen Hoklong also advised which officers and soldiers' loyalty still needed to be proven first, so they only received 20% of the strength-enhancing pills.

After distributing all the pills, Chen Long immediately headed toward the western gate.

***

At this moment, he was already on top of the fortress at the western gate. Here, he observed a large concentration of enemies outside the fortress.

"Our nation's forces have been under pressure recently. Previously, we controlled an area of 100 km outside this fortress. However, recently, our forces have been forced to retreat, and we have had to take refuge within the fortress," Chen Hoklong explained to Chen Long.

Chen Long nodded, then began searching for the enemy's strong figures.

At that moment, an officer whispered to Chen Hoklong.

After receiving the whisper, Chen Hoklong said to Chen Long, "It turns out the enemy forces have gained new strength."

"New strength?"

"Yes. This is a prince from the Owl Kingdom, our enemy kingdom. It turns out that this prince has been studying at the Fire Sword Sect for the past three years, one of the largest sects in the eighth kingdom, which is also the superior kingdom of the Owl Kingdom, which is only a ninth-tier kingdom like ours. And now, this prince has come to help his kingdom fight against us."

After a moment of silence, Chen Hoklong said, "And according to the latest intelligence reports, the prince is currently at the Foundation Building Realm, Level 1."

What Chen Hoklong said also caused the officers around Chen Long to fall silent. They then began to show worried expressions.

Chen Long fell silent for a moment. He began to think about his strength. Although he had previously defeated several experts whose cultivation levels were far above his own, such as the king's ancestor at the 10th level of the Body Strengthening Realm and Monk Anbu at the 9th level of the Body Strengthening Realm, this time he had to face someone who was already at the 1st level of the Foundation Building Realm, and this was something new to him.

He had once possessed the Daylight Jade, which he believed could defeat any enemy, even those in the Foundation Building Realm.

However, the issue was that he had given the Daylight Jade to his older sister, Chen Yiling, in the royal city. It was meant to be the strongest weapon if the royal city were attacked while he was away at the border city.

Currently, Chen Long can only rely on a few items that can serve as his trump cards to fight the enemy, and that includes the Magic Snake Rope, so he can still remain calm.

After that, he said to Chen Hoklong, "Give me a volunteer army to leave the fortress and kill as many enemies as possible. I will lead them to strike a blow against the enemy. And remember, the troops with me must not be forced. They must be volunteers who have volunteered themselves to join this force."

After saying that, Chen Long immediately descended from the fortress and mounted his Thunder Horse, waiting right in front of the western gate of the fortress.

The officers began challenging the soldiers to join the team led by Chen Long himself.

Chen Long turned his body around and looked up at the soldiers on the fortress.

"There is no coercion, only willingness. But of course, you must know that if you volunteer to join the team led by Prince Chen Long, then if you survive, your rank will be promoted several levels. If you do not survive, your families will receive assistance from the kingdom. This is my promise!" said Chen Hoklong.

"I will join the prince." A voice echoed from above, and the person descended, even jumping when he reached the second floor.

He was Ah Man, who, upon descending, immediately nodded and mounted his horse to wait beside Chen Long.

Chen Long greatly admired this large-built soldier. Therefore, he patted Ah Man on the shoulder and asked the men to put the battle armour on Ah Man's body while Chen Long himself did not wear any battle armour.

After Ah Man's statement, one after another, the soldiers and several officers declared their resolve to join the small force to follow Chen Long outside the fortress.

Finally, after waiting for nearly half an hour, 64 people voluntarily declared their willingness to join the team formed by Chen Long.

Once again, Chen Long turned his body and his horse, and looked at each of the 64 people following him.

"I will etch your faces into my memory, and my brother will record your names. Make no mistake—you will follow me from victory to victory!"

Everyone nodded. Chen Long then produced a medium-grade Purple Thunder Amulet and distributed ten amulets to each of the 64 members of his elite unit.

Chen Long taught them how to use the talismans and instructed them to use the talismans in their hands when they were in dire straits.

He also gave them pills. These were not ordinary pills; they were body-protecting pills. With these pills, their bodies would be impervious to the striking power of those at the Body Purification Realm level. Only those at the Body Strengthening Realm could injure them.

This made the 64 members feel they had made the right decision to join this small team.

After preparations were complete, Chen Long told the gatekeeper, "Open this gate for us and close it immediately once we pass through."

Chen Long deliberately said that so that the enemy could not take advantage of the open gate to enter and seize the city.

After that, the gate was opened, and Chen Long immediately shouted, leading the way forward. He charged forward on his lightning horse, directly heading toward the enemy.

The 64 members of his team, part of this brave and formidable small unit, now began to cheer with unwavering resolve, emerging from the gate without fear. They gazed ahead at the enemy with burning determination, displaying extraordinary courage to secure victory alongside Chen Long.