Chapter 961 - 439: Crisis
The next morning, as the Star Sea army was about to set off, Yang Lin, the King of Lin’an World, appeared alone outside the camp.
Seeing Yang Lin approaching, the guards immediately stepped forward to inquire, "Who are you?!"
"Lin’an, King of Lin’an, Yang Lin."
Regarding the world they were about to invade, these soldiers were certainly familiar, as they often discussed some insider news about Lin’an World in private.
Upon seeing the King of Lin’an coming here, that soldier appeared solemn and instinctively reached for the war blade at his waist.
"I’m not here to cause trouble." Seeing the other’s movement, Yang Lin explained, "Please inform the Lord of the Star Sea that I, Yang Lin, am here to visit."
Upon hearing this, the soldier knew what he should do and quickly retreated, running swiftly back into the camp.
Soon, the message reached Lu Hong.
"Yang Lin is here?" Lu Hong was not surprised by this visit, after all, he had some ties with the Yang family, although such connections were not sufficient to make them assuredly consider Lin’an World as their kin, nor did the other side consider Star Sea as their own.
Lu Hong was not surprised by the visit but was curious about its actual purpose...
Heh, Yang Lin must have wanted to deal a severe blow to the Star Sea Department with last night’s surprise attack, and today he comes to give me some warning.
"Let him in."
Following Lu Hong’s order, Yang Lin was brought into the army tent.
"Sit." Lu Hong pointed to a chair beside him, signaling for Yang Lin to sit down.
After the soldier serving tea left, Lu Hong spoke, "King Lin’an, today is the day my Star Sea army sets off. What is the matter that we need to speak briefly about?"
Yang Lin’s face showed a trace of reluctance, yes, as Lu Hong had guessed, he certainly came to see the Lord of the Star Sea and to inquire why Star Sea World suddenly decided to attack his Lin’an World in such a dire external situation. However, just coming forward seemed a bit lacking in confidence, especially since Yang Lin had great confidence in the strength of the Yang family army, so he chose to attack the Star Sea camp at night, causing severe damage before suppressing the other side with a high posture.
Unfortunately, the Yang family army did not gain any advantage in last night’s battle.
"Should I call you Lu Hong or Star Lord?"
"Call me Star Lord." Lu Hong replied indifferently.
Yang Lin nodded, "Then, Star Lord, may I ask why Star Sea World suddenly wants to attack my Lin’an World?"
"Because Constant Domain is too weak."
"Weak?" Yang Lin thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement, "Star Lord is right, Constant Domain is indeed the weakest among the Nine Domains, but... what does this have to do with you starting a war?!"
"Naturally." Lu Hong took a sip of tea and continued, "Precisely because it’s weak, it must unite."
"Heh." Yang Lin let out a mocking laugh, "Unite? Is war the unity Star Lord speaks of?"
Losing to Yang Lin’s question, Lu Hong did not directly answer but instead asked, "Do you know why the Six Domains Alliance was defeated?"
Upon mentioning this, Yang Lin furrowed his brow, understanding Lu Hong’s intention, and then stared deeply at Lu Hong, saying in a deep voice, "You want to unify Constant Domain?!"
"Yes, you are too close to Tang Shi, and I am not at ease." Lu Hong nodded, "By tomorrow at the latest, my Star Sea army will arrive at Lin’an’s gateway. King Lin’an has one day, Yang Susu is also considered a friend of mine. If your Yang family chooses to surrender, I can decide that Lin’an World will still have a King Lin’an afterward, still ruling over the entire Lin’an World."
"Surrender? Ha, you underestimate the Yang family too much. Since the conversation is not congenial, it’s time for me to take my leave!"
With that, Yang Lin got up and walked out. When he reached the tent flap, he paused and spoke again, "Lu Huairen has already sent out a distress signal. If you don’t capture Lin’an in three days, expect to be surrounded and killed at my Lin’an gateway!"
After saying this, Yang Lin lifted the tent flap and left without looking back.
Upon hearing this news, Lu Hong furrowed his brows involuntarily, Lu Huairen calling for aid? This is no small matter!
"Someone, please bring Duke Noshan here."
Soon, Duke Noshan entered the tent, his face carrying some displeasure, "Why did you call me over so early? I have many things to handle."
"Yang Lin just came by."
Upon hearing this, Duke Noshan waved dismissively, "He came by, and that’s that."
"He said that Lu Huairen sent a distress signal, and in three days aid from other worlds will arrive to besiege us."
Hearing Lu Hong’s words, Noshan was slightly taken aback, "Which worlds?"
"You ask me? Whom shall I ask?" Lu Hong shrugged, "But I can investigate for you; I can take action to resolve these people, but if I intervene, this matter will become big."
Lu Hong was of Heavenly God warfare power, if he were to slaughter a world-deployed army by himself, even fools would know that the force utilized by the opponent was no longer merely for the Third Transition, making Godly intervention no longer a taboo in the ensuing war.
"Of course, Yang Lin might be deceiving me."
Upon hearing Lu Hong’s conjecture, Duke Noshan shook his head slightly, "It should be true. Eferot didn’t pursue the attack last night and let Yang Lin escape, causing the Yang family army to avoid serious damage. The other must have been informed out of gratitude, and we need to discuss this immediately with the four department commanders!"
Capturing Lin’an within three days is definitely unrealistic. Therefore, they must come up with a countermeasure.
And while they were discussing, Lu Hong called Di Shu to help investigate which surrounding worlds have deployed troops.
By nightfall, Di Shu’s investigation results were also delivered. Not looking was fine, but upon seeing, they were shocked.
Lin’an as an established power in Constant Domain, has rather good relations with many worlds, and Lu Huairen’s letter was worded fiercely, outlining many pros and cons, causing these worlds to pay attention and eventually decide to deploy troops.
The message was quickly passed to Duke Noshan, who was startled upon seeing the names of five worlds on it. He initially thought only two or three worlds would help Lin’an, but unexpectedly, it was five worlds!
These five worlds, Black Sky, Flower Gap, United Prosperity, Warehouse River, and Sect Tool, are all established worlds in Constant Domain with their profound foundations. Moreover, these five worlds had little participation in the previous Six Domains Alliance and are currently the most well-preserved worlds regarding strength within Constant Domain.
Seeing the names of these worlds on the list, Duke Noshan felt overwhelmed. They had considered the impact of attacking Lin’an within Constant Domain, but did not expect a huge counter immediately even before the battle started.
"Do you have any good ideas?" Lu Hong stood behind Noshan, "If not, I’ll handle it."
"Let me think about it." Saying so, Noshan called out to the soldiers outside, "Immediately invite Xie’an, Eferot, and several commanders here for discussion!"
Ten minutes later, five people’s eyes were fixed on the small piece of paper on the table.
If it were only two or three worlds reinforcing Lin’an, Eferot could have confidently suggested, "Just do it together."
But with five worlds reinforcing Lin’an, plus Lin’an, making six worlds united, what can you use to resist?
"What about... retreating?" Lu Hong saw the dazed expressions of several people and spoke helplessly.
However, as soon as he said this, he was unanimously rejected by five people.
"No way!"
"Right! We can’t retreat!"
"Indeed, we must not withdraw troops!"
Duke Noshan gently tapped the table, his mind racing, "Once we retreat, it represents our fear, and after we’re scared, the opposition won’t let us go. They might even unite six armies to attack Tang Shi World. Rather than bringing war to our home, it’d be better to decide winner and loser at Lin’an World."
"How about this?" Xie’an also emerged from his thoughts with a suggestion, "Dispatch a large army to roam externally and issue a threat alert to those five worlds, warning that whoever dares to invade our Star Sea Department must be prepared to be attacked."
"This won’t do."
Xie’an’s suggestion was quickly refuted, as Eferot spoke, "Their reinforcements to Lin’an don’t need a total mobilization; let alone it’s five worlds deploying together, so the troops required from each world will be significantly reduced. If you deploy a single army, it’s unlikely to pose any threat to these worlds, and the army could easily be swallowed whole by the opposition."