The Almighty Dragon General

Chapter 1436
Thea rose to her feet and filled James' plate.
With a gentle face, she handed over the plate to James and said, "Honey, here..."
James accepted it. As he saw Thea's gentle face, he smiled. 'Thanks, Darling."
When he called her 'Darling', Thea's heart melted.
Her nose started to tingle, and she almost burst into tears.
It had been a long time since James had called her 'Darling'.
At this moment, she thought that all her efforts up until this point had been worthwhile.
It took a few moments before she managed to calm her emotions.
Showing her pearly whites, she grinned and said, "After we get through this hectic six-month time, regardless of the outcome,
we're going to leave and live in isolation, is that alright?"
"Yes." James nodded.
He had grown weary of days like these.
Ten years in the army and ten years of fighting. He was already worn out.
If it had not been for the unexpected situation at that time, he would not have gone back to the Southern Plains.
James picked up his cutlery and started to eat in silence.
'That's right..." Halfway through eating, James suddenly put down his knife and fork, looked at Thea, and asked, "Do you know
about the Phantom Army, Thea?"
"Yes." Thea nodded and said, "After you left Sol, Maxine visited me quite often and chatted with me.
We’ve discussed some of the Capital’s circumstances. I’m aware of the Phantom Army's appearance, and I know that Tobias is
the Phantom Army's commander.

I'm also aware that the Phantom Army is made up entirely of ancient martial artists."
James pondered for a while and asked, 'What do you think the Phantom Army was established for specifically?"
Since leaving the Cadens' Mansion, James had been thinking about this question.
He had thought of many possibilities, but he was not entirely sure of them.
James felt Thea had changed.
She was no longer the sweet and naive young girl she used to be.
The current Thea was acutely aware of the circumstances in the Capital and Sol.
Thea actually did have a conversation with Maxine about this.
She began to speak, "According to Maxine's careful analysis, after Tobias sneakily attacked Bennett and stole his Spirit Turtle's
core, Tobias must be afraid of Bennett.
So, he’s in need of a powerful ally.
"Before he snatched away the core, Tobias’ cultivation base was at the seventh rank.
Now that he's refined the core, his cultivation base must have reached the eighth rank.
He shouldn't need an ally anymore after reaching the eighth rank.
"Given that the eighth rank is far too powerful, there aren't many people who can threaten him anymore.
"But he still became the commander of the Phantom Army. He was the head of the Caden family.
Eventhough the Caden family is powerful, they were never interested in politics. It’s impossible for Tobias to become the
commander of the Phantom Army without someone else's assistance.
"Furthermore, regarding Orient Commerce's recent performance, it’s possible that the King of a century ago, a.k.a Lance, has
stepped forward to take control of the overall situation.
"Across Sol, he's the only one capable of assembling an army of ancient martial artists in such a short period of time."

James was listening intently.
Thea continued, 'The Phantom Army may have been formed for a number of reasons.
First, to deal with the Gu Sect. Second, to maintain control over the King.
Third, to keep your power in check. More importantly, new forces are constantly emerging. It appeared that the earlier promise
was no longer valid.
Lance was concerned that Sol would be in chaos and that he would lose control of Sol, so he began to reorganize Orient
Commerce and established the Phantom Army. He might have made an agreement of some kind with Tobias."
"Hmm." James nodded softly after listening up until this point. "A precise and in-depth analysis."
He looked at Thea and inquired, "Did Maxine tell you these or did you figure them out yourself?"
Thea laughed and said, "How would I be able to do this? I don't even know anything about these, so I can't really assess the
situation clearly. All of these are things Maxine told me while we were chatting. She said that
Sol's current situation is not very encouraging. It’ll all depend on who wins when several parties are vying for supremacy."
"First, let’s eat. After the meal, I'll pay a visit to the King to learn more about the situation."
James picked up his fork again.
When Thea noticed that James' suspicions about her identity had faded, she breathed a sigh of relief.
With a slightly pleading look on her pretty face, she gave James a worried glance and said, "Promise me, Honey. Once the
election is over, stop worrying about it regardless of who wins or loses, okay?"
"Okay."
James nodded gently.
He did not know who could be the new King, but he was aware that for the new King's ascension, many would be sacrificed.