Chapter 500: Losses

While all of America was in an uproar over the fall of the four demigods of the Dragon Witch Cult, Li Mochen, whose sacrifice was only halfway through, received a call from Clark Banfield.

"BOSS, I have some bad news. Your base at River Bend Wharf was nearly breached by the Dragon Witch Cult. Based on what I know so far, the losses there are severe."

Li Mochen's eyes narrowed slightly. "What exactly happened?"

He had deployed heavy forces at Fick River Bend Wharf: the wharf itself had a defense force of two hundred men, twenty outlaws, six demon-refining machines, and three battle-demon mechs.

Moreover, since the second trade voyage of the Alliance Wing fleet had not yet begun, nearly a hundred escort troops were stationed there.

In addition, Lind Ames, White Thomas, Yule Clementine, and the newly recruited legend Alex Nelson were all stationed in the vicinity, ready to engage at any time.

The defensive fortifications there were also top-tier. Li Mochen had invested 40 million gold shields to further improve and strengthen the original fortifications built by the Blood Hand Gang, constructing a semi-military fortress around several warehouses.

"Other forces intervened, BOSS. They deployed up to 3,000 elite armed personnel and nine legends. During the raid, they sealed off the surrounding area. I obtained intelligence seven minutes before the battle and informed your grandfather immediately. However, Consulius seemed to be restrained by some force and never moved. Fortunately, you killed Delarosa in time; they might have feared a demigod's strike and voluntarily withdrew from the battlefield."

Clark Banfield's voice seemed calm, but those familiar with him would detect the excitement hidden in his tone.

Before switching jobs, he never imagined that his seemingly reluctant choice would become the most surprising turning point in his life.

In America, the number of forces capable of confronting the revitalized Dragon Witch Cult and emerging victorious would not exceed twenty!

He still remembered the disbelief and envy in his former colleague's voice when he called him ten minutes ago.

Who could have predicted that the war between Andre Lee Wiltonstein and the Dragon Witch Cult would end like this?

Li Mochen's head throbbed as anger brewed in his chest. "Banfield, do you know who did it? What are the losses?"

"It should be one of your enemies, that magician. I found that several mercenary groups involved in the battle are closely related to him. I've recorded their names. Also, the Medici family is under suspicion; I traced several of their bank accounts to the Medici family. As for the losses—"

Clark Banfield's voice grew heavy. "Four of your warehouses were burned down, and the goods stored inside were reduced to ashes. The loss should exceed 700 million gold shields. Additionally, 132 magic-energy professionals were killed in action. White Thomas is dead; Lind Ames and Alex Nelson are both seriously injured; only Yule Clementine is relatively unharmed. White Thomas was unlucky—a sniper bullet blew off his head, though with his cultivation, he could have dodged it."

Li Mochen was momentarily stunned. White Thomas—this was the first legend under his command to fall in battle.

Although this person was forced into his service by coercive means, his death was still a heavy blow to the fledgling force Li Mochen was building.

Fortunately, the information White Thomas held about the CIA and about his parents had already been extracted from him on the day the Blood Spirit Crystal was implanted.

Otherwise, he would be even more troubled now, having missed many clues about his enemies.

Li Mochen thought this news was bad enough, but then he received a string of further噩耗 from his new chief information officer.

First, 134 stores of the Xuri Electrical Retail Company were destroyed by the Dragon Witch Cult and needed renovation. Since they were newly purchased stores that the Xuri Group had voluntarily abandoned, casualties among their staff were light, only about thirty. However, over a hundred workers from the renovation company hired for these stores died.

Then two buildings owned by Li Mochen in Macon were bombed, causing heavy civilian casualties—over seven hundred dead or injured.

The financial loss from these two incidents alone reached 730 million gold shields. Considering that afterward Li Mochen would have to pay compensation to the innocent victims, that would be another expenditure of several hundred million gold shields.

But the financial loss was secondary; the key was that the rapid expansion of the Xuri Retail Group had suffered a severe blow.

It was expected that the company's commercial rivals nationwide would spare no effort to publicize this incident in the media, stoking public concern about the safety of Xuri stores and influencing employment choices for sales and security personnel.

Meanwhile, the security forces also suffered heavy combat losses. The Xuri Retail Group alone had at least 120 killed and 300 wounded. Michael Wood also encountered one of the enemy's main units during an operation.

Although this battle was ultimately won with the support of Beres Andor, the Freemason proxy commander appointed by Li Mochen, six high-level Outlaws were killed, Big White was lightly damaged, and Two White was severely damaged. None of the five participating Legends emerged unscathed. Michael's 'Special Operations Battalion,' composed entirely of Outlaws and numbering 150, also lost 37 men, temporarily losing combat effectiveness.

According to Clark Banfield's report, this battle also involved an element of bad luck. The enemy had no intelligence on the whereabouts of Michael's direct special operations unit, yet they happened to encounter them head-on two hours earlier by sheer coincidence.

If Beres Andor and the Freemason combat units had not arrived in time to support, Michael and his men would likely have been completely annihilated, which left the latter deeply remorseful. After the battle, he immediately confined himself to the guardhouse.

Li Mochen knew that this was likely the backlash of 'fortune.' He was grateful that the bottom two layers of the 'Divine Spirit Luck Purple Gold Pagoda' had turned pure gold after the two sacrifices of the 'Scarlet Dragon Armor,' allowing it to suppress his fortune more strongly; otherwise, the losses in this battle would have been far greater.

However, upon learning of the battle situation, Li Mochen not only offered no words of comfort to Michael Wood but formally imposed a ten-day confinement. At the same time, he awarded Michael a bonus of 30 million gold shields and a fourth-grade holy artifact, the 'Gazer's Holy Ring.'

It was true that their security forces had suffered heavy losses, but they had also achieved a brilliant victory. The Dragon Witch Cult's death toll was at least five times that of the Xuri Group.

Thanks to Michael Wood's preemptive strike and command ability, this massive cult lost four heavy troop concentrations gathered around Georgia, with 1,900 magic-capable professionals killed, including 320 Outlaws.

This brilliant achievement was generally satisfactory to Li Mochen. But if Michael Wood had not been overly aggressive after consecutive victories, this costly victory with heavy casualties should not have occurred.

Therefore, appropriate reprimand and punishment were still necessary. This was also a strategy for managing subordinates, helping them adjust their mindset.