Chapter 958: 436: The Expedition (Part 3)
Chapter 958: Chapter 436: The Expedition (Part 3)
In just three days, the world of Tang Shi completed its fourfold mobilization, with all kinds of military supplies prepared, indicating that the people of Nuoshan had long been silently preparing for Tang Shi’s expedition.
Lin’an is the world closest to Tang Shi, and naturally holds great caution against Tang Shi.
Especially since the Yang family in Lin’an has a close relationship with Tian Shengwu of the Star Sea.
The moment Lu Hong and others led their troops out of Tang Shi, the hidden spies near Tang Shi, planted by Lin’an City, hurriedly delivered the intelligence back.
Lu Huairen quickly glanced through the intelligence handed over by his subordinates, then gently tapped the table and said, “Please invite King Yang Lin to come to me at once.”
Soon, Yang Lin entered Lu Huairen’s office, led by the guards.
“King Yang Lin, at the service of the King of Lin’an!” Yang Lin slightly bowed to Lu Huairen, and without waiting for a reply, he got up and sat down on a seat to the side.
He gave face, but not much of it.
Fortunately, Lu Huairen did not mind these things. Since becoming the King of Lin’an, Lu Huairen’s perspective has changed. As long as he was certain that Yang Lin had no chance of rebelling to seize power again, why should Lu Huairen break this National Guardian Pillar and cripple Lin’an’s strength?
“Old Yang, here’s the latest intelligence from below. Take a look.”
Receiving the intelligence tossed over by Lu Huairen, Yang Lin quickly skimmed through it.
Then, his face turned serious, and he said in a low voice, “The world of Tang Shi intends to wage war on us!”
“Why do you say so?” Lu Huairen asked unhurriedly.
Yang Lin looked at Lu Huairen, seeing that he seemed unconcerned, and said, “Is the King of Lin’an not afraid of their attack?”
“Of course.” Lu Huairen smiled slightly, “Now, the Nine Domains are in chaos, and the Eighteen Realms are invading. The old rules of the Nine Domains no longer apply to this war. My Lin’an ancestor is an Earth Realm Celestial God, his strength is notable across the Constant Domain. If the world of Tang Shi dares to attack, the ancestor will surely teach them how to behave with their tails between their legs.”
“You intend to use Heavenly God powers against mortals?!” Yang Lin, evidently influenced by the rules of the Nine Domains, was very opposed to this approach.
Lu Huairen understood Yang Lin’s thoughts, and he countered, “Did the Eighteen Realms not quickly conquer many worlds in our Northern Territory by leveraging the power of the Heavenly God? Our Constant Domain has already been opened by the Heavenly God’s might. Are we still to foolishly abide by those ridiculous rules that lead to our extinction?”
Faced with Lu Huairen’s retort, Yang Lin fell silent. He didn’t know how to refute, but indeed, since the invasion of the Eighteen Realms, the wars above the Nine Domains could not adhere to old conventions. To deal with the Heavenly God, one must wield equivalent power; only Heavenly Gods can face other Heavenly Gods. And as for Lin’an World, saying sorry, they have a top-class Earth Realm ancestor of the Constant Domain.
“That’s right.” Lu Huairen seemed quite pleased, “I didn’t trouble them first, and yet they dare provoke me. In that case, King Yang Lin, you must teach these invaders a proper lesson, and see if you can expand territories for Lin’an World, too?”
Yang Lin understood Lu Huairen’s intentions and said, “I will certainly ensure Lin’an is well protected, but as for expanding territories… Now is the time when our Constant Domain needs unity to face external threats. Such actions could disrupt internal peace and stability; I don’t recommend this approach.”
“But if the people of Tang Shi are close to attacking our doorstep, can I not interpret this as them undermining our internal stability? Since King Yang Lin knows it is a critical survival moment for our Constant Domain, if we do not first eliminate internal threats, how can our clans rest easy to contend with the Eighteen Realms?”
With that said, Lu Huairen pulled out a blank sheet of paper and began writing swiftly.
Yang Lin did not approach to look; he simply frowned and waited.
Before long, two letters were prepared.
“Guards!”
With Lu Huairen’s shout, a guard entered the office, “What is the King’s command?”
“Deliver these three letters into the hands of the lords of the three worlds: An Town, Warehouse River.”
“Understood!”
Seeing the guard leave with the letters, Yang Lin guessed Lu Huairen’s intention, “You intend to ally with An Town and Warehouse River to split the Star Sea powers?”
“What else? The Star Sea Power possesses three worlds. Tang Shi is closest to us, but Tianwu and that Star Sea World are too far from Lin’an, beyond our reach, and I’m not interested; better to curry favor and rally allies.”
“King of Lin’an, I still…”
Not giving Yang Lin the chance to continue voicing his opinion, Lu Huairen interrupted, “Alright, King Yang Lin, you may go and prepare. I expect you to encircle and annihilate all the soldiers of Tang Shi’s world expedition this time, let none escape.”
Lu Huairen made this demand, hoping that through this action, the families of the major worlds in the Constant Domain could see Lin’an’s capabilities.
As Nuoshan said, Lu Huairen also believed that to counter the impending southern invasion of the Eighteen Realms, the Constant Domain must build a power alliance. Displaying their strength would be an essential strategy to secure a higher position for Lin’an.
The saying goes, an official one level higher can crush others, especially the King of Lin’an, the sovereign of Lin’an. Even if Yang Lin had a hundred different suggestions, after Lu Huairen spoke, he could only bow and accept, “Minister Yang Lin obeys the order!”
Lu Hong led the four divisions of the army, marching toward Lin’an World. In less than a few dozen days, they arrived at a large marshland near Lin’an.
“Let’s set up camp here today; tomorrow morning, we attack Lin’an.”
With Lu Hong’s command, the army quickly busied themselves.
As time ticked away, until late in the night, Lu Hong lay back on a recliner, slowly recovering from the injuries inflicted during the previous battle between the Netherworld God and Hoffman. Even with the Netherworld God’s help, most of the injuries were healed, but many internal injuries still required rest, and the scars from being burned by the power of rules needed to be gradually eradicated by the wounded himself.
“Star Lord!”
Suddenly, Xie’an’s voice called from outside the tent.
“Come in!”
With Lu Hong’s approval, Xie’an lifted the curtain and entered.
“Why aren’t you sleeping or cultivating at this late hour? What brings you here?”
“I suspect Lin’an World will launch a surprise attack on us tonight.” Xie’an wasted no words, directly expressing his suspicion.
Lu Hong raised an eyebrow, “Why do you think so?”
“Because since we set out, there hasn’t been a single move from Lin’an World, which is highly unusual. Perhaps at first, they didn’t realize our target, but after several days, even a fool could see our route is directed towards Lin’an. They can’t be unaware.”
“Maybe our scouts have been effective in clearing out spies, so Lin’an World hasn’t received the intelligence yet?”