Chapter 303: Besiege Without Attacking: Preparing to Boil the Frog in Warm Water

After the Two Great Empires united, they were in no hurry to attack.

The massive army pressed toward the border, stationing themselves directly at the border of the Bala Kingdom.

They surrounded without attacking, first exerting psychological pressure on the enemy.

This method of boiling a frog in warm water was intended to gradually wear down the enemy's morale and make them tremble in fear.

If they had attacked by force, Zhuqing and Xue Ke felt they could have conquered the Bala Kingdom very quickly.

But if it were too fast, firstly, the military casualties and losses would be relatively high, and secondly, the bloodthirst just stirred up in the commoners would slowly dissipate.

After all, without an opponent, there is no pressure.

Moreover, the Two Great Empires drilled their troops at the border of the Bala Kingdom every day, displaying the Empire's might to strike at the enemy psychologically first.

One week later, the entire Bala Kingdom fell into panic, and many commoners secretly packed their valuables and fled the Bala Kingdom.

Facing this situation, Tang San and the Elders of the Kingdom felt incomparably troubled.

The enemy had not yet attacked, but the interior of the Kingdom was already in chaos; many positions had not yet been perfected, and now it was like adding fuel to the fire.

What was worse was that their discussions over several consecutive days failed to find any solution.

Tang San privately combed through the materials on the Spirit Hall in his possession, hoping to find any possible clues and solutions, but he had yet to gain anything.

Suddenly, Tang San remembered that there was a special major at the Spirit Hall Academy that did not require guards.

Students of this major would arrange their own personnel for security, and the area for this major was a restricted zone that ordinary people could not enter.

This major was the military major.

The existence of this major made Tang San realize that the Two Great Empires' strategy of surrounding without attacking might be teaching content from the military major at the Spirit Hall Academy.

This scheme was too disgusting; Tang San felt that these military aspects must have been taught in the military major at the Spirit Hall Academy.

After all, this kind of tactic of surrounding without attacking was a first in the history of the Douluo Continent.

Thinking of this, Tang San could not help but feel a bit of regret in his heart.

When he was at the Spirit Hall Academy before, why hadn't he snuck into the military academy to learn a bit?

The current situation made Tang San realize that to overthrow the Spirit Hall, military strength was indispensable.

Why hadn't he paid attention to this point before?

But the situation was already like this, and no matter what was said, it was already too late.

There was also the Spirit Hall Branch within the Bala Kingdom, which had been purchasing supplies in the Kingdom at high prices; he hadn't discovered any problems with this before, as such supplies were purchased in every city.

Now it seemed that this was also a foreshadowing laid by the Spirit Hall.

Since all cities were purchasing supplies, others could not see any problems.

In some regions rich in produce, surplus supplies would be sold to the Spirit Hall, and then the Spirit Hall would transport these supplies to places where supplies were scarce to sell them.

Because all cities implemented a unified retail price, people thought the Spirit Hall was doing a good deed and did not think of other possible uses for it.

When the Two Great Empires were preparing their military equipment, the Spirit Hall Branch began to quietly expand its purchase volume.

If the Two Great Empires did not attack, this would not have triggered any problems.

However, now that the Two Great Empires were besieging, the Spirit Hall Branch directly activated the Defense Array, then closed the branch and evacuated.

Now, even with money, one could not buy the necessary supplies.

If there had been enough supplies before, there would have been no need to fear the siege by the Two Great Empires at all.

A large part of the reason for the commoners' panic was the closure of the Spirit Hall Branch.

Most commoners were now accustomed to exchanging all their supplies for points, with very little stored at home; when they needed them, they could just go to the Logistics Department of the Spirit Hall Branch to exchange them.

This method was much more convenient than hoarding them at home as before, so most commoners followed suit.

Now that the Spirit Hall Branch was closed, the supplies at home were becoming increasingly scarce, and the Kingdom could not supply them, so many commoners began to panic.

The thoughts of these commoners were very simple: the Spirit Hall Branch of the Bala Kingdom had closed, but those in other places had not.

Due to the popularity of the Storage Soul Guidance Ring and the convenience of travel, they all wanted to flee to other cities.

As for their homes, they could just come back and rebuild after the war ended.

As for a sense of honor toward the Kingdom, perhaps they once had it, but that was for the previous kingdom.

Now the Kingdom was controlled by the Clear Sky Sect, and the time was too short; there was simply no popular support.

In this situation, many commoners chose to leave to find their own path to survival.

Tang San also began to think about how to use the existing resources to break the siege of the Two Great Empires.

He began to adjust the Kingdom's defense system and look for a way to break the siege of the Two Great Empires.

However, it was just a waste of effort.

Although the Kingdom had reserves, the daily consumption was also a huge number.

If the Two Great Empires continued to besiege, the Kingdom's internal economic system would suffer a serious impact, or even collapse, which would then affect all other aspects.

At that time, there would be no need for the Two Great Empires to launch an attack; the Bala Kingdom would head toward collapse on its own.

Therefore, after deep deliberation, the unanimous conclusion reached by Tang San and all the Elders was: start the war as soon as possible.

They could not delay any longer; the longer it took, the more unfavorable the situation would be for the Bala Kingdom.

……

The matter of the Bala Kingdom had now spread throughout the entire Douluo Continent, and no matter where people were, they were heatedly discussing this topic.

Oscar and the others in Wuhun City also learned of this matter, and they were deeply worried because this might mean that the situation on the Douluo Continent would once again become turbulent.

Gathering again, there were only four people.

Although they also tried to notify Tang San, the Mobile Phone message had been sent, but no reply was received, and the call went unanswered.

Before the war broke out, the Spirit Hall had already shut down the signal within the territory of the Bala Kingdom.

So Tang San's Mobile Phone, as well as all the Mobile Phones within the Bala Kingdom, became like bricks, unable to function at all.

Although Zhuqing and Xue Ke said they didn't need the Spirit Hall's help, how could the Spirit Hall really not help at all?

After learning the news, the Cabinet Twelve Elders quickly convened a meeting to discuss countermeasures.

During the meeting, an old incident from several years ago resurfaced in everyone's minds.

The scene of the Heaven Dou Empire attacking the Star Luo Empire.

At that time, the Spirit Hall chose to stand by and did not provide any help to the Star Luo Empire.

However, after the war ended, Jerry returned and carried out a severe rectification of many people.

Many Elders still vividly remember the scenes of those rectifications.

Therefore, before this Cabinet meeting had even begun, many Elders came forward one after another, expressing their desire to support the Two Great Empires.

However, the Two Great Empires refused the help of the Spirit Hall, stating that they already had sufficient strength to deal with the current situation.

This caused the secret calculations in many people's hearts to fall through.

Some people wanted to take this opportunity to make a contribution, thinking that based on Jerry's personality, he would definitely reward them according to their merits once he returned.

Although the Spirit Hall agreed to the decision of the Two Great Empires, they could still take some actions in private to deal with potential situations.

Using the slogans that the war might affect the Spirit Hall Branches and that supplies would be heavily consumed within a certain period after the war.

The Spirit Hall began to purchase large quantities of supplies in preparation for a rainy day.

Purchases in other regions proceeded as normal, but they focused their procurement of supplies on the Bala Kingdom.

After the purchases were completed, in order to prevent the war from affecting the Spirit Hall Branches, they activated the Defense Array and temporarily closed the branches.

As for the issue with the Mobile Phone signal, that was an action taken by others in secret.

The messages sent by Oscar and the others were therefore unable to be delivered to Tang San.

"Now that we cannot contact Tang San, and the Clear Sky Sect controls the Bala Kingdom, it means Tang San has returned to the Clear Sky Sect; that is why they have the confidence to re-emerge, and they conquered a kingdom as soon as they did."

Oscar said after a calm analysis.

"The Two Great Empires have developed rapidly over these years, yet Tang San does not understand the situation at all, nor did he inform us; now he is acting rashly and inciting war on the continent."

Ma Hongjun said angrily.

"That's right, if he had notified us in advance, we could have transferred a large amount of supplies through the Gourmet Association."

"Now look at this, the personnel who evacuated from the Gourmet Association said that all the Spirit Hall Branches in the Bala Kingdom have been closed; with the lack of supplies, they will be broken through by the Two Great Empires sooner or later."

"Look, even an ordinary member of the Gourmet Association can see the situation clearly, so why can't Tang San?"

"Does he not consider the consequences when he does things?"

Oscar was also equally angry when he said this.

Regardless, the few of them were still on the same front for now.

Although everyone had some small calculations in their hearts, they always discussed things before making decisions.

Tang San's actions sparked a sense of dissatisfaction among the group.

He had not discussed it with them, nor had he revealed a single clue to them; such behavior made his friends feel confused and angry.

If Tang San knew the thoughts of Oscar and the others at this moment, he would definitely feel very wronged; this matter was entirely planned by the Elders of the Clear Sky Sect, and he only found out about it later.

Over these years, everyone had been lurking in Wuhun City, and everyone needed to act cautiously; they felt that Tang San's arbitrary actions made their situation even more difficult.

Now that they could not contact Tang San, they were completely helpless and could only pray for him.

Although the few of them did not say it explicitly, they did not think highly of Tang San in their hearts.

Tang San chose a frontal assault, and now that he was surrounded tightly, a sneak attack was simply impossible.

Soldier against soldier, general against general.

He chose not to use Title Douluo-level powerhouses to participate in this battle because he knew full well the strength and influence of a Title Douluo.

Under the current circumstances, if a Title Douluo were dispatched, it would very likely attract the attention of the Spirit Hall and might even bring more trouble.

Since the attitude of the Spirit Hall was still unknown, he decided to wait and see, dispatching ordinary soldiers and generals first.

In the past, Title Douluo were forbidden from participating in large-scale wars; this Rule was established by the Spirit Hall.

However, the world had now advanced twice, and the number of Title Douluo had multiplied; the Spirit Hall had not explicitly stated whether they still restricted Title Douluo or not.

Therefore, before the Spirit Hall's attitude became clear, it was better not to dispatch Title Douluo.

If the Spirit Hall also joined the war because of the deployment of Title Douluo, then the Clear Sky Sect's re-emergence this time would truly become a joke.

Back then, Jerry stood on the city wall and challenged the Elders of the Clear Sky Sect single-handedly, striking fear into the hearts of many in the Clear Sky Sect.

And what was even more terrifying were the various methods Jerry used; they did not want to see them again now.

If they did not violate the regulations of the Spirit Hall, then the Spirit Hall had no reason to intervene.

This was just a psychological comfort they gave themselves; if the Two Great Empires had not jointly stated that they did not need the Spirit Hall's participation, the Spirit Hall would have come out to suppress the Clear Sky Sect at the very first moment.

After all, there were too many people who wanted to curry favor with Jerry, and the Clear Sky Sect incident provided an excellent opportunity for those who wanted to please him.

Do not be fooled by the fact that many people in the Spirit Hall usually put on airs; that was in other aspects, but in events that could be associated with Jerry, these people's attitudes were now absolutely clear: they supported Jerry.

Wuhun City

The Cabinet Twelve Elders were gathered together; besides them, Qian Daoliu, Poseidon, and Bibi Dong were also present.

Qian Daoliu's gaze lingered on Poseidon for a moment, then he took a deep breath and said to the Twelve Elders:

"The Two Great Empires have already indicated that they do not need the Spirit Hall's help this time, but the people below are making too many small moves; you Twelve Elders must restrain your subordinates."

Qian Daoliu said after glancing at Poseidon, thinking to himself, this is all I can do to help you.

I have already ordered the Cabinet Elders to restrain the people below; as for whether the Clear Sky Sect can withstand the attack of the Two Great Empires, it will depend on their own abilities.

Qian Daoliu had always known that Poseidon had feelings for Tang Chen.

For so many years, the reason he and Poseidon had not taken that step was because Tang Chen stood in the middle, preventing their relationship from developing further.

Even knowing that Tang Chen was already dead, Poseidon's heart was still occupied by him.

The Clear Sky Sect was Tang Chen's family sect; not taking the initiative to destroy the Clear Sky Sect out of consideration for past feelings was already the greatest mercy to them.

If the Clear Sky Sect could not hold on this time, then let it be wiped out completely.

Poseidon stood to the side, opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she fell silent again.

She wanted to fight for a glimmer of hope for the Clear Sky Sect, but thinking about how she had already joined the Spirit Hall, she ultimately chose silence.

She had seen how well Qian Daoliu had treated her over these years, but every time she saw Qian Daoliu, she thought of the time the three of them were together, and she thought of Tang Chen.

This was also one of the reasons why she had always found it difficult to forget Tang Chen.

After Qian Daoliu finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire conference room became heavy and tense; every Elder understood the severity of this incident.

They had also restrained their subordinates, but peace had lasted for too long these years, and having finally encountered an event like this, some people wanted to get involved even if it wasn't to curry favor with Jerry.

These people did it for nothing else but fame.

Previously, there were even people who secretly ran off to join the army of the Heaven Dou Empire, only to be discovered by the Heaven Dou Empire and sent back.

This war could be said to have ignited the raging fire in many people's hearts, so even though the Cabinet Twelve Elders tried their best to restrain them, many people would not listen.

Some students from the Soul Guidance Master major, carrying a pile of Soul Guidance Grenades, Soul Guidance Mortars, Soul Guidance Small Bombs, and the like, thought about going to the real battlefield to test them out.

If they hadn't been stopped, it is estimated that a bunch of students would have already run off to the battlefield by now.

Thinking of these matters, the Cabinet Twelve Elders also had a massive headache.

PS: New author, comments are welcome. If you like it, please bookmark and subscribe; if it's convenient, please give a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket. Thank you all for your support!

(End of this chapter)