Chapter 957: 435: The Journey (Part 2)
Chapter 957: Chapter 435: The Journey (Part 2)
“Xie’an’s analysis makes a lot of sense, but the situation has changed somewhat. The first thing I did upon returning to the Star Sea was to meet the Netherworld God,” Lu Hong began to recount his earlier experiences. “We defeated those Heavenly Gods from the Eighteen Realms who invaded the Constant Domain. The Netherworld God also killed the great general Tukefu under the command of the King of the Thirteenth Realm. Even the King of the Thirteenth Realm was severely injured by the Netherworld God and fled. I believe that not only will the King of the Thirteenth Realm, but the other realm kings too, be hesitant to invade the Constant Domain easily in the short term.”
After hearing Lu Hong’s story, everyone present nodded. Indeed, with the Netherworld God stationed there, they were not afraid of any high-level threats. On the contrary, the people of the Eighteen Realms would be more fearful of the Netherworld God’s presence and hence wouldn’t dare to invade recklessly.
“So…” Bu Sheng, sitting in the last seat, spoke up at this moment, “should we take this opportunity to unify the Constant Domain?”
As Bu Sheng spoke, most of those present displayed a hint of surprise, but Eferot and Nuoshan looked at Bu Sheng with a strong sense of admiration.
Eferot was the first to speak, “I support Lord Bu Sheng’s proposal. Right now, the Nine Domains are in chaos. Although the Eighteen Realms have intentions towards our Constant Domain, after being deterred by our Star Lord and the Netherworld God, the fires of war in the Nine Domains won’t reach us in the Constant Domain for a while. However, even if not in the short term, eventually, regardless of which side wins, the Constant Domain will become prey for the victor. If that’s the case, why can’t we be the final victor? Or, gather all the forces of the Constant Domain, join this mêlée, and strive to be the ultimate winner?”
Eferot’s words revealed his ambition. Yes, ever since the Star Sea entered All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds, after conquering the Heavenly Martial World and the Tang Shi World one after another, there had been no new moves. Over the years, they have fully consolidated their control over these two Great Worlds and completed the training and coordination among the four groups. The Beast Race, the Star Sky Alliance, and the Saint Peace Kingdom came for the broader territories of All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds, so why would they be content with staying in one corner?
Nuoshan also continued, “Although it is challenging to conquer the entire Constant Domain, if successful, we could quickly gather the strength of a single domain. Only this way can we withstand the impact of the current chaos. But if we just sit back in the Tang Shi, even with the Netherworld God sitting there, we have no chance for further growth and expansion.”
Seeing some of the people frown slightly, possibly not understanding the key points, Nuoshan explained further, “Ladies and gentlemen, what follows chaos?”
“Stability,” Nuoshan answered his own question, “Stability means unification. The Nine Domains haven’t been unified for a long time. Based on ancient records, such large-scale chaos rarely occurred in the Nine Domains either. Therefore, I can confidently say that after this chaos, a massive regime will arise in the Nine Domains, forming an empire capable of crushing all families. Of course, it won’t necessarily be the current Nine Realms Dynasty. The winner of this chaos will sweep across All Heavens with overwhelming power, forming a unified final scenario. So the Star Sea cannot stay out of it; we must get involved, seek benefits for ourselves, expand our power, just as Marshal Eferot said, we too can be the final winner!”
Nuoshan’s analysis was spot on. Lu Hong lightly suppressed the compliments from others and smiled at Nuoshan, “Since you can say this, does it mean you already have a strategic deployment ready?”
Nuoshan nodded without hesitation, “Naturally, we are ready with a strategy, and we will start with the Lin’an World!”
With that, Nuoshan looked across the table at Tian Shengwu, “Lord of Heavenly Martial, you understand the geographical position of Lin’an, so I hope you don’t blame me.”
Hearing this, the Lord of Heavenly Martial shook his head slightly, “How could I? I know you also consider the interests of our Star Sea. Yes, attacking Lin’an had already been put on the agenda before, but the chaos in the Nine Domains caused us to temporarily shelve the plan. However, with the old ancestor of Lin’an seated there, should we ask the Netherworld God to kill them, or try to bring them under our command?”
Tian Shengwu’s question was actually a critical one. When setting out to attack other worlds, the core strategy is whether to annihilate or to primarily use intimidation to incorporate them.
The Eighteen Realms invaded the Nine Domains, leaving bloodshed in their wake, with their core strategy being annihilation. The Eighteen Realms had enough manpower and combat power, not needing to integrate the surrendered armies of those families.
But the Star Sea is different. Their forces are relatively limited; even if they conquered the entire Constant Domain, they still couldn’t fully occupy it with their current strength.
So, incorporating through appeasement was definitely a core policy for this expedition, but it’s not necessary to apply such appeasement and recruitment strategy to all worlds or families; selections must be made.
Tian Shengwu’s question was about how to handle Lin’an World, and since the Yang family was old acquaintances with him, he was naturally very concerned about this issue.
On this matter, Nuoshan did not respond, instead, he looked at Lu Hong.
He knew that Lu Hong also had a complicated relationship with the Yang family in Lin’an World.
Understanding that Nuoshan was deferring the decision-making to him, Lu Hong didn’t rush to answer but instead asked Tian Shengwu, “What is the current situation in Lin’an World? Do you know?”
Tian Shengwu nodded, “I know a bit; I often communicate with Suxin. Currently, Lin’an World is relatively stable inside. The Lu family usurping the King of Lin’an has not changed, and the Yang family remains loyal to Lin’an World without rebelling. At present, Lin’an presents a very delicate balance. I estimate the Lu family is somewhat worried due to this chaos in the Nine Domains, thus not continuing to oppress the Yang family. On the contrary, they have actively released some power to the Yang family. So, if we dispatch troops to attack Lin’an, we may first face the loyal vassal king of Lin’an.”
Hearing this, Lu Hong nodded and candidly stated, “Then fight, bring down this King of Lin’an well, crush the Yang family. Although the Yang family has some dealings with me and the Lord of Heavenly Martial, they are not a bargaining chip. I might consider sparing them, but I won’t sacrifice the interests of the Star Sea because of this relationship.”
Hearing Lu Hong’s words, the others all showed expressions of satisfaction. As a leader, one must understand the importance of the bigger picture. If Lu Hong let his personal relationship with Yang Xiuxiu affect the collective interests of the Star Sea, he wouldn’t deserve to be their common leader. Even if none of the people currently showed it, one day in the future, they would surely pull Lu Hong off the pedestal and elect a new leader who suits their identity—a leader who fits their status.
Since Lu Hong had decided to commence the battle, the following content of this meeting became straightforward, all revolving around the strategies and deployments for dispatching troops to conquer Lin’an.