Saohuang parted with a smile. His adjutants also left with smug smiles on their faces. Their arrogance was palpable. It was something that weighed down heavily on Munan's men. Everyone felt angry and aggrieved!
"F*ck! I want to smash that guy's face in so badly!" Yan Lu growled angrily. The anger was shared by every soldier in Munan's platoon…
"Sir, we've failed you this time, we've brought you shame!"
"We're sorry, sir. We promise to do better next time."
No one blamed Munan, they took on the blame themselves instead. Munan looked at this group of people who had been through life and death situations with him, his brothers-in-arms that he would gladly sacrifice his life for, and he felt ashamed.
"No, this is entirely my fault! I underestimated our enemy, I didn't think they would see through our strategies completely, I've failed as your commander. I've brought shame to this platoon. I'm very sorry!" Munan bowed ninety degrees to ask for his men's forgiveness. The men were touched.
"Sir, this is not your fault, in fact this is no one's fault. We've lost once but we will definitely next time!"
"That's right, we'll show them next time!"
Yan Lu also said confidently, "Boss, we'll definitely beat the shit out of them next time, because we are the best!"
"That's right, we are the best!"
Munan took in the faces of these men and he was moved. He smiled. "Thank you. And yes, next time we will win! I'm sure of it!"
None of them would surrender after a small defeat. If they did, they wouldn't have survived so long. However, a loss was a loss. That reality couldn't be denied.
It was impossible for the morale to not get affected. Some became dispirited, others disheartened. The worst was that some started to doubt Munan's capability…
Munan was a military child, his schooling years were spent in military school. He'd taken on assignments since he was a teen and he had about eight years of combat experience. He might be young but his ability was indisputable. However, for those that didn't know him personally, they assumed the reason he could climb the ranks so high was because of his family background.
Why else would he lose so horribly this time?
This caused even Jiangnian to lose face among his colleagues. This time, Munan's defeat had brought immensely shame to the Xi family name…
The Xi family had been at the top for so many years, deserving and demanding other's respect. However, recently, troubles kept assaulting them at every turn. Some even said this was the beginning of the end for the Xi family.
Grandfather Xi, when he was young, was a decorated general, capable both on the battlefield and in the political waters of Hwa Xia. Now that he had reached a certain age, people started to walk all over the Xi family. This made him sigh out of sadness and irritation. Of course, he wouldn't give up just like that.
The Xi family had gone through hell and high waters to reach its current standing, how could he let it fall so easily overnight? Even with his last breath, he wouldn't surrender without putting up a fight!
Therefore, the only thing they could do now was to dust themselves off, recuperate, and try again.
"Tell grandfather honestly, do you have faith in yourself‽"
In the study, Grandfather Xi asked Munan a relatively broad question. His pair of intelligent eyes scanned Munan's facial expression closely.
Munan answered with no trace of fear or evasion in his eyes, "Definitely!"
"Very good." Grandfather Xi nodded satisfactorily. "As long as you have faith in yourself and your team, victory will eventually be yours. Grandfather knows how good you are and will support you every step of the way. Make us proud because the Xi family's future is now on the shoulders of our younger generation."