Chapter 2640: The Tangled and Complex Situation

He Lingchuan also understood that they could not rely solely on them, because Bekka was ultimately under the control of the celestial demons. But through the Immortal Medicine case, he had long seen through the strength of these aristocratic forces. By now, they might not necessarily still have the ability to add bricks and tiles to Bekka, but they still had the power to drag things down. As long as Panlong sent a few more people over to lobby, they could gain more precious time in the early stages of the war.

It was a pity that this strategy was never truly carried out. By the time He Lingchuan was last kicked offline, Bekka's aristocrats did indeed have some industries making money in Panlong, but their scale was not large.

Now that he had just returned, he could almost certainly confirm that this strategy had been shelved, and the reason was not hard to guess:

First, because he, the main proponent of this idea, was absent, and no one dared deny the influence of the Tiger Wing General domestically;

Second, this plan was a double-edged sword, binding the interests of Bekka's nobility with Panlong. Conversely, it meant that many decision-makers and high officials in Panlong had also become stakeholders in Bekka's interests. How many of them would be eroded, corrupted, and fall?

Would Panlong's astonishing combat strength, derived from "unity from top to bottom," be affected as a result?

These were the pros and cons that Zhong Shengguang, as the ruler, needed to weigh.

Perhaps during He Lingchuan's slumber, he believed this strategy lacked an effective executor and thus shelved it.

No matter what, facing Bekka's mighty invasion, He Lingchuan always felt it was a great pity that this strategy had not been carried out back then.

He always felt that the best way to fight a powerful enemy was to stick together, you in me and me in you, so that when the enemy struck you, you would also feel the pain of being torn and flayed, making it impossible for them to bear down.

Thinking this, he let out a long sigh, alas.

If only Bekka could be made to suffer a little more, then Panlong's pressure could also be lightened a little.

"The Mao River Plain has already fallen. Currently, we are under attack from two sides, and the south will soon face enemy invasion as well." Hu Min moved his finger across the sand table, explaining a situation that was not optimistic: "The flames of war are about to burn onto Panlong's wilderness."

Panlong Wilderness is the birthplace of Panlong State; all other territories were later expansions. The Panlong people have the deepest feelings for this place. If the Bekka army reaches here, the blow to Panlong State would be the greatest.

In the eastern part of Panlong Wilderness, the Bekka army is still being firmly blocked by the Red General at Longkou Pass, unable to advance westward.

Between Panlong Wilderness and the Mao River Plain lie mountains and ridges, the most critical of which is Longkou Pass. As the name suggests, it occupies a perilous mountain pass—one man can hold the gate, ten thousand cannot open it.

Long ago, the Great Wind Army launched a surprise attack from Panlong Wilderness on Longkou Pass, and before dawn had already reached the Xiji King City. This also illustrates the importance of this pass.

Now the Red General stations his troops here firmly, blocking hundreds of thousands of Bekka soldiers outside the pass.

Once Longkou Pass falls, the Bekka army can smoothly advance into Tianhe Plain. This is the Longshan Valley in the eastern part of Panlong Wilderness, the finest horse pasture, where He Lingchuan once raised horses for a year and a half.

By then, Panlong would lose not only the best horse pasture but also the eastern gateway!

The entire Panlong Wilderness would then have no natural barrier as solid as Longkou Pass to defend. Once the enemy enters the wilderness, Panlongcheng would face attacks from all directions.

Moreover, the northern part of Panlong Wilderness still faces the invasion of the allied forces of Balin, Pangxu, and Zhepu.

The countries and forces surrounding Panlong have long clearly split into two factions: one leaning toward Panlong, the other toward Bekka.

By now, small states can no longer maintain neutrality or objectivity.

As early as twenty years ago, Balin and the former Xianyou were old rivals of Panlongcheng, frequently harassing Panlong Wilderness. But after Panlongcheng seized the Mao River Plain, its strength grew rapidly, and the situation reversed—Xianyou was instead destroyed by Panlong.

In this process, Balin also grew tired of being caught in the middle. This time, Bekka launched a full-scale assault on Panlong, and as Bekka's junior ally, Balin could not stand by idly. Thus, it joined forces with Pangxu and Zhepu, marching from north to south to attack Panlong Wilderness.

Had this occurred two years earlier, such behavior would have been asking for a beating—Panlong State would have slapped them twice hard without hesitation, possibly even sending a national annihilation package.

But now Panlong State is fully focused on resisting Bekka's invasion while also dealing with disturbances from the three countries, truly overwhelmed.

Balin and the others have coordinated with Bekka, leaving Panlong vulnerable to attacks from both front and rear.

Fortunately, Panlong State is no longer alone. It holds the leadership position in the Seventeen-Nation Alliance in the south, an alliance formed by seventeen nations and forces, including small and medium-sized countries, sects, tribes, and of course, demon territories.

Some are merely small trading states, but there are also brave and skilled fighting forces and ethnic groups.

Over the past years, from Panlongcheng to Panlong State, they have developed deep economic and even political ties with these allies, so the Seventeen Alliance has also jointly dispatched over 100,000 troops to assist in the northern war of Panlong Wilderness.

As for Hu Min's mention of an imminent "third front under attack," this is a new situation Panlongcheng has never encountered before:

Bekka has opened a new battlefront, attacking the southern part of Panlong Wilderness!

This development has a clear context: after Bekka seized the Mao River Plain, they directly took control of the southern free port of Baishawan, used it as a springboard, and transported the Bekka navy to Chongguo's coastline for a lightning landing, swallowing this small country whole!

From Bekka's capture of Baishawan to the fall of Chongguo, it took only six days in total!

And that's not counting the several days of sea travel in between.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Panlongcheng faced this sudden disaster—Chongguo hadn't even had time to organize its army, only pulling together over a thousand people.

The outcome is easy to imagine: just four words—utterly destroyed.

Bekka's attack on Chongguo's "royal city" required little effort—the city guard opened the gates to welcome them. The Bekka army marched straight in, grandly entered the palace, directly placed shackles on the monarch, and dragged him away before everyone's eyes.

As for whether to try him afterward, how to try him, and on what charges—those are still for Bekka to decide.

In short, after Bekka's army took Chongguo with the speed of thunder—too fast to cover one's ears—they forcibly opened a third route for attacking Panlong Wilderness.

From Chongguo to Panlong Wilderness, the route still requires passing through four countries and forces along the way. But Bekka effectively flexed its muscles—would these countries and forces still dare to confront it head-on?

In normal times, perhaps they would exchange diplomatic barbs. But when Bekka acts unreasonably, which other country would dare to speak up? They fear that if Bekka loses control, it might even turn on them.

At this moment, might makes right—how useful!

Bekka also knows well that its large army spent a year and a half entangled with Panlong just to take the Mao River Plain. If they wanted to honestly attack Longkou Pass from east to west, it would take even longer, and who knows how many lives would be consumed.

After all, the pass is guarded by the Red General.

This female general is truly terrifying—heavenly realms have long circulated the tale that even Mitian is in her grasp.

(End of Chapter)