Chapter 2231: The Unending Drudgery, the Unceasing War

With just a light flick, Mei Wuniang felt a gentle breeze brush her face, an invisible force softly pressing her back into the chair.

She only saw He Lingchuan take out a seal, stamp a red mark at the end of the letter, then fold the paper neatly and place it into a brocade pouch.

"This is your life-saving charm." He pushed the pouch forward. "If your secret is exposed and you're unfortunately captured, you must ensure the rulers of Tiangong or Lingxu City receive this pouch—it can save your life."

Mei Wuniang's eyes lit up as she reached to take it.

But He Lingchuan pulled his hand back: "I've sealed this; if you open it yourself, it will lose its power."

Really?

Mei Wuniang immediately said: "Fine, I won't open it. For something that can save my life, I don't joke!"

Only then did He Lingchuan hand the pouch to her: "Finished eating? Come with me—I'll find you a skilled physician to fix your face."

￥￥￥￥￥

Not long after, the war situation quietly shifted.

The allies and sects abandoned by Mou State were conquered one by one by Between Between Between Beijia and its forces, generating vast amounts of nightmare energy absorbed by Tianluo Star.

This was Between Between Between Beijia Yaodi's success—it offered nightmare energy to Tiangong this way to ease Tiangong's dissatisfaction with it.

But doing so naturally had side effects.

Polang, Shan Yu, and the seven great vassal demon states contributed most in the war against Mou State, suffering the heaviest casualties—but as the war dragged on, they found Chiyan State, Baoshu State, and Lingxu City actually profiting richly from trade with Mou State!

Meanwhile, Between Between Between Beijia generated the most nightmare energy while purging Lingshan forces; the nightmare energy from the Mou-Between Between Between Beijia battlefield was less prominent—meaning the efforts of vassal demon states like Shan Yu State went unacknowledged by the gods, instead drawing sharp rebukes.

Fighting like this is so dull.

Those who contributed the least gained the most;

while we who contributed the most suffered the heaviest losses!

How can this be endured?

Don't forget: although we all belong to the northern demon states, we are actually in competition—even at war. When they grow stronger, doesn't that mean we grow weaker?

The seven vassal demon states repeatedly stormed Wang Ting, demanding to cut off domestic trade with Mou State, and passionately declared: "Every copper coin we send to Mou State will turn into an arrow aimed at our own soldiers!"

Lingxu City naturally could not agree to this request.

The goods transported along those routes were not only from Mou State, but also from Cangyan and other nations—if we indiscriminately cut them all off without distinction, the greatest loss would actually be Between Between Between Beijia's.

Besides, as the attacking side with advantage, Between Between Between Beijia ought to be fearless—it should be displaying mighty power abroad and peace and prosperity at home, befitting a great nation's grace. Even Mou State, which is taking beatings, hasn't cut off the trade route to Yangshan Islands—what gives Between Between Between Beijia the right to first slash its own……its own meridians?

Thus, as court disputes intensify and rumors spread nationwide, how can frontline soldiers focus on fighting well?

Here is another background:

Since its founding, Cangyan has proclaimed to the world: Tiangong not only absorbs the people's fat and ointment, but also wages war, exchanging the blood and flesh of the young and strong for nightmare energy to sustain itself.

Never before has Tiangong's cruel face been so openly revealed on such a scale.

Ordinary people hearing this first reaction is disbelief.

But the deeds of Cangyan and Jiukuang Dadi are slowly spreading among mortals, and Cangyan's founding proclamation is repeatedly raised.

The more it is mentioned, the more people gradually come to believe it.

After all, Jiukuang Dadi is such an extraordinary figure—even if he has been demonized in many countries—being demonized, isn't that even more impressive? —more and more people believe his words and actions must be reasonable.

The conduct of extraordinary people easily inspires trust and following.

Moreover, Jiukuang Dadi also has an identity not officially recognized in most countries:

Dragon God Reincarnation!

Dragon God claims Tiangong harvests human lives to exchange for nightmare energy; Between Between Between Beijia and other god-worshipping nations vehemently deny this, calling Cangyan's smearing of Tiangong, but conspiracy theories always find fertile ground—people not only enjoy discussing them, but are especially eager to spread them.

The soldiers of Between Between Between Beijia's vassal demon states have, of course, heard of this too.

When the armies lock into a stalemate with Mou forces, when victory is uncertain, someone can't help but wonder: Is Lingxu City deliberately driving us to the battlefield, using our lives to trade for nightmare energy to offer to Tiangong?

Such talk in the military is not just a one- or two-time occurrence—each time it is severely suppressed, yet the atmosphere cannot be fundamentally quelled.

Many mouths can melt gold; accumulated criticism can rot bones.

Gradually, Between Between Between Beijia's army performance on the battlefield became less enthusiastic.

After all, who goes to the battlefield seeking to die?

These vassal demon states: officials lack zeal, soldiers lack enthusiasm—over time, the intensity of the Mou-Between Between Between Beijia battlefield gradually declined; sometimes Mou State's western front saw no fighting, and a break would last over a month.

Troops grew weary, began to "mò yáng gōng"—sometimes frontline both sides privately traded, exchanging addictive supplies. When Tiangong and Lingxu City urged, they'd go fight a few battles just to go through the motions.

Jiukuang Dadi has always closely monitored the strong-state battlefield; following it here, he finally sighed in relief and told the ministers:

"In today's world, as long as Between Between Between Beijia, Mou State, and Cangyan maintain overall peace, even if elsewhere is chaotic, the growth rate of nightmare energy will far fall short of Tiangong's eruptive surge. Tianluo Star's law, overall, favors humanity."

These three great states are the most important foundation of world peace.

With these three as ballast, no matter how great the storm Tiangong stirs up, it cannot grow much larger.

Though the outside world is in turmoil, in fact, right now is humanity's best period in nearly a thousand years:

Spiritual energy abundant, all things competing to flourish; Tiangong fallen, humanity risen!

When Wang Fubao entered the capital to report for duty, he couldn't help but ask the Great Emperor:

"Mou State has fully retracted, abandoned its old allies and Lingshan's subordinates—its reputation and prestige must have suffered. Once the Mou-Between Between Between Beijia war ends, Mou State may have few allies left in the human world."

He previously never dwelled on such matters, until he led troops in battle and endured much hardship, only then did he grasp the true meaning of "He who does not plan the whole cannot plan one domain."

He Lingchuan didn't look up: "So what?"

He was still pleased—Wang Fubao and Wan Qi Liang have grown rapidly in recent years.

They are the embodiment of Cangyan's young generals.

A great state needs such emerging, flourishing strength.

"By then, won't it be lone palm hard to sound?"

"To take and to let go—this is called breaking one's arm to survive, also called having no choice." He Lingchuan paused his brush, "Mou State is not stupid; it knows it must focus all effort to overcome the present crisis before considering 'later.' But this does not mean it has no chance left to retaliate and expand its power."