Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-4001

“How can it be happening so quickly?”

Long Chen was startled along with the rest.

“This jade tablet is the Vermilion Bird Empire’s karmic luck talisman, and I’ve had it on me ever since I was born. When I was reunited with my mother again, she told me its origins. It is connected to the Vermilion Bird Empire’s fate grand formation, so for it to crack now means that a great battle has already started.”

Hearing this, Zhu Yunwen and the others were shocked and enraged. Could it be that the eight empires had long since been prepared for this? As soon as their probing was done, they directly launched into war?

All of a sudden, everyone became like panicked ants. Even the always unflustered Zhu Yunwen felt powerless. There was sweat dripping down his forehead.

“Everyone, don’t panic. It’s not as dire as you’re thinking. In a war between empires, besieging the cities is actually not as important as besieging the people’s hearts,” said Long Chen calmly.

“Big brother, what does that mean?” asked Zhu Yifeng.

“Brother Long is saying that until they have no other choice, they will not be throwing themselves to death. They don’t want to lose their people either. For them to launch their attack so quickly is most likely to create a tense atmosphere over the empire. It’s an attack on the commoners’ hearts,” said Zhu Yunwen.

Long Chen nodded. The crown prince truly did see a bit further than the others. Long Chen then said, “Yes, that is what they’re most likely doing. The Philosopher Institute had so many of their people bought by the other empires. So, after spending so much energy and time plotting, there’s no way that their plan is just an all-out assault. They must have disseminated rumors unfavorable to the Vermilion Bird Empire while overexaggerating the benefits and reputations of the other empires. After so many years of brainwashing, along with the scholars pushing them on, quite a few people in the empire already look forward to the coming of the other empires. They are dissatisfied with the Vermilion Bird Empire and hope for the other empires to rule over them, thinking that they can live better lives that way. That’s why, at this time, when the eight empires apply pressure at the border, the true attack is already inside the Vermilion Bird Empire. Those traitors will come out and start spreading information that hurts the Vermilion Bird Empire, hoping for an armed rebellion inside the empire.”

“Those bastards! They really deserve death! Why was our imperial father so foolish as to let those idiot scholars do as they please?!”

Everyone was enraged when they heard this deduction from Long Chen. They clenched their teeth furiously.

“You are disrespecting His Majesty, your own father! Do you not want your life anymore?” barked Zhu Yunwen.

The prince who spoke instantly turned pale after hearing that. He had only said it due to his anger overwhelming him. However, now that he had said it, there was no taking it back.

“Everyone, this never happened, understood? Don’t bring it up again, to anyone,” ordered Zhu Yunwen coldly.

Everyone hastily nodded and that prince was extremely grateful, especially to the crown prince. The latter was using his special status to help this prince cover up his mistake. Otherwise, if this matter was learned by the emperor, this prince would definitely be punished. The crown prince would also be punished for attempting to cover things up.

Long Chen smiled and said, “You did speak wrongly. The emperor is no fool. His intelligence isn’t something that you can imagine, as everything done to the Philosopher Institute was part of his plans. Also, everything that you see now is still fully under control. This internal discord, this spreading of rumors, ultimately won’t be able to cause any major problem. After all, those traitors are never the main force of the empire. The core forces of the empire are still firmly within the hands of the royal family, while the people being swayed are just random rabbles. They aren’t even willing to work for the empire but blame the empire for not giving them better opportunities. Rather than striving to climb, they complain that others succeed through dishonest means, thinking that their poverty is due to rich people stealing their wealth. Their negative energy spreads easily, and the empire decided to allow them to spread their poison in order to numb their enemies, making the latter think that the empire’s people are no longer stable. In truth, even if all those people were to revolt, they would be unable to shake the empire’s foundation. If my guess is correct, this should be the start of the empire’s gamble. While the other side plays mental warfare, the Vermilion Bird Empire pretends to be thrown into disorder. But on the inside, there are no big waves. Mental warfare requires time and the right rhythm, so you don’t need to be panicked just yet. We will continue to work hard at pushing forward, and we will still be on time.”

This deduction mostly settled their frantic emotions, and they couldn’t help feeling ashamed of themselves. Despite being the same age, Long Chen could see far further than them. It was like they were just children who didn’t know anything.

“But if we just let there be so much chaos, how will we reign them in?” Yu Qianxue couldn’t help frowning.

“Reign them in? Naturally through simple brute force. When the empire bares its fangs, it doesn’t matter who is right or wrong. Anyone who raises their blade against the empire is the empire’s enemy, and they must be killed. There will be no laws or justice to protect them. There will only be traitors who need to be slain. Both the invaders and the traitors will all be slain. It is a typical case of the waves washing away the sand, leaving only the gold. After this war is over, the Vermilion Bird Empire will be more unified, stronger than ever,” said Long Chen.

Hearing this, these experts were shaken. If that was true, the population of the empire would probably enter a state of steep decline. It was unknown just how many people would be killed by their foolishness.

However, from the viewpoint of the empire, if a person was disloyal to the empire and joined their enemies, that was no different from raising a blade against the empire. Such a person was truly not worthy of pity.

“Let’s go. We’ll pick up the pace so we can get out as early as possible. Otherwise, the main characters on the battlefield won’t be us,” said Long Chen.

“Yes!”

Everyone nodded fervently. Long Chen was now their mental pillar, and they all listened to him.

Furthermore, Long Chen had also found that while these princes and princesses often fought against each other, they all had bottom lines that they didn’t cross, having their own respect for themselves.

Also, when the empire was truly in danger, they were exceptionally unified. Just that one point was enough for Long Chen to admire the way Yu Xiaoyun and the imperial family raised their children. It could be considered quite impressive in some regards.

According to their original plan, they would have stayed here another day to rest. However, everyone was in a rush, and they were once more willing to take the risk. Thus, they directly charged through the third gate.

When they entered the third gate, they felt like they were at the heart of a tornado, its wild power tearing at them from all directions. Quite a few of them had the flesh ripped from their bodies.

However, they were mentally prepared, so they had all activated their Vermilion Bird bloodline, forming a barrier that just barely allowed them to endure the impact.

On the first level, the pressure came from above; on the second level, it came from in front; and now on the third level, it came from all directions.

Long Chen had many heavy pieces of equipment on him. But he directly tore through the pressure of this place all the way to the tenth step.

When Long Chen reached the ninth step, he found that the pressure had reached two hundred and ninety dragon power. However, the moment he stepped onto the tenth step, his body shook and a kind of violent power almost flattened him to the ground.

The jade plate he had to measure the pressure shattered.

“This is…!” Long Chen looked at the step in front of him and was filled with disbelief.

“Three thousand dragon power?!”