Lin Xinghai hadn’t expected that a single glance from him would provoke such a strong reaction from the commander and vice-commander of the Blood Carving Mercenary Corps.

Of course, even if he had known, he wouldn’t have minded. In fact, he would have been quite satisfied.

He was leading the worst team to begin with, so if any of the Mercenary Corps under his command were to be disobedient, it would be a massive headache.

Soon, Lin Xinghai returned to the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps’ encampment.

By now, all the Mercenary Corps had more or less settled in. The area had been roughly divided into sections based on the size of each corps.

The area assigned to the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps was a full 500 square meters, quite a bit larger than the plots given to the Third Level Mercenary Corps.

Within this area, Fang Tianhe had already directed people to pitch over thirty tents, enough to house the one hundred members of the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps.

Now, with Lin Xinghai’s return, Mercenaries poked their heads out of the tents one by one, raring to go.

They had all clearly seen the other Mercenary Corps scrambling around earlier, arguing heatedly for a spot on a good team.

But their Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps was an exception. Lin Xinghai had sent word back earlier that he would make his own arrangements.

This made the members of the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps feel both proud and expectant, wondering what kind of arrangements Lin Xinghai had in store for them.

Just then, hearing the commotion, Fang Tianhe also emerged from one of the tents.

"You’re finally back," Fang Tianhe said, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Lin Xinghai. "What’s the plan?"

It wasn’t just Fang Tianhe; Shen Han, Roger, and other nearby Mercenaries also gathered around.

Lin Xinghai glanced at the crowd, smiled, and said, "Chairman Jin has assigned me a captaincy. Everyone, get ready. We’ll assemble at the main gate in half an hour. We’re in the first wave of teams to deploy."

Hearing Lin Xinghai say this, the Mercenaries in the area immediately burst into cheers.

After all, only the commanders of Third Level Mercenary Corps were appointed as captains. They had speculated that Lin Xinghai was qualified for the role, but it had just been a guess. Now that it was confirmed, they were naturally ecstatic.

Since the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps would be leading a contingent, its members all shared in the glory. Everyone returned to their tents to prepare, buzzing with excitement.

...

Half an hour later, the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps marched in neat formation toward the main gate of the encampment.

When Lin Xinghai led his team over, the other Mercenary Corps of the 1st Contingent had already arrived. Clearly, they all wanted to make a good impression on him.

Lin Xinghai was pleased by this, but there was one thing he wasn’t happy about: the various Mercenary Corps were all crammed together in a disorganized mess.

However, it wasn’t just their 1st Contingent. The other nine contingents of the first wave were also assembling, and their formations weren’t any better. Some were even more chaotic.

However, as the Third Level Mercenary Corps in charge of leading each contingent arrived and began directing their units to form up, the chaos was quickly brought under control.

Lin Xinghai had Fang Tianhe go and organize the formation. Soon, the nineteen Mercenary Corps, including their own Heaven-Sundering and the Mountain and Sea Mercenary Corps, quickly formed a reasonably orderly square.

Only then did Lin Xinghai have a moment to observe the other contingents. The ones dispatched in the first wave were undoubtedly the teams with the greatest overall combat strength.

As expected, he soon spotted some familiar faces. The Holy Light Mercenary Corps and the Soaring Dragon Merc were both present.

Song Yao and Qin Wenbo spotted Lin Xinghai at the same time and hurried over to greet him.

"I really envy the Mercenary Corps going out with you! Following you is practically a guaranteed way to earn easy Points," Song Yao said, a hint of envy in his voice.

"If only it were that simple," Lin Xinghai said, shaking his head. "I’m just one person. There are some dangers I’d be powerless to handle on my own."

"You might be one person, but when it comes to dealing with Mutated Zombies, you alone are more effective than my entire Mercenary Corps combined." Song Yao’s expression was complex as he spoke.

The same went for Qin Wenbo. He hadn’t even broken through to the Blood Qi Realm, so he felt even more out of his depth when it came to fighting Mutated Zombies.

"The dangers inside Guanghan City aren’t limited to Mutated Zombies. Given the density of Zombies here, the Zombie tides are the greatest threat." As he mentioned the tides, a grave expression appeared in Lin Xinghai’s eyes.

Hearing this, Song Yao and Qin Wenbo exchanged a look. "Brother Lin," one of them asked hesitantly, "do you think we might encounter a Zombie tide?"

"It’s not ’might,’ it’s ’will,’" Lin Xinghai said, his expression serious. "The Zombie population in Guanghan City is too dense. When a Mutated Zombie here feels threatened, it will summon a tide. Unless you can kill it instantly, you will definitely face one."

"So, what you all should really be thinking about is how to handle a Zombie tide. You need to have a clear idea of what size tide you can fight and at what point you must immediately retreat."

After his words, a heavy weight settled on both Song Yao and Qin Wenbo.

A Zombie tide was a danger no Mercenary ever wanted to face. Fortunately, the Mercenary Guild had required them to form large contingents for this clearing operation.

A dozen or so Mercenary Corps working together might just stand a chance against a small-scale Zombie tide.

Theoretically, a thousand Mercenaries should be enough to handle a Zombie tide of up to ten thousand.

But theory was just theory. They had no idea what the actual combined combat effectiveness of their newly formed contingents would be.

Besides, given the Zombie density in Guanghan City, it wouldn’t be surprising if they encountered a tide of thirty thousand, fifty thousand, or even a hundred thousand.

Just as the two of them were frowning deeply, they felt their shoulders dip and realized Lin Xinghai had clapped each of them on one.

"Don’t overthink it. If you run into trouble, just call for help from the outposts the Military Department has set up," Lin Xinghai said. "Even if you can’t handle the Zombie tide, you can still run, can’t you?" With that, he gave them a wave and turned to walk back to his own contingent.

Song Yao and Qin Wenbo exchanged a look and a wry smile before heading back to their own teams.

They did so because Jin Canlan had just arrived, along with a group of senior officials from the Mercenary Guild.

The portly man had wiped the usual smile from his face, replacing it with a solemn expression.

He personally handed out route maps to each contingent’s captain, offering a few words of encouragement as he went.

’If Lin Xinghai hadn’t dealt with him so many times before, he never would have guessed from the man’s serious demeanor what a shameless bastard he really was.’

Finally, once Chairman Jin had made his rounds, the Mercenary Corps, who had been waiting for a long time, started their Armored Vehicles and headed for Guanghan City, ten kilometers away.