Chapter 1857: Judgments from All Sides

The roar reverberated.

Tuo Er's chest heaved rapidly, his eyes filled with hatred as he stared at the pro-divine faction that still refused to admit their mistake, feeling both angry and afraid.

These damned idiots, not only foolishly cooperating with the fugitives, but now that things have turned out like this, they still want to save face!

What good is face? What's the use of pretending our judgment was correct!?

Once Lin An settles scores with them, that'll be real trouble! Given Lin An's nature, he absolutely won't consider the 'friendship' between the two nations!

This is...

Betraying humanity!

"Tuo Er! Calm down!"

"Even if Lin An really comes back, tell me, what can we do!? What else can we do!?"

He too seemed to have been angered by Tuo Er's scolding; one of the Soviet Russia's highest-level officials responsible for making decisions, a stern old man, simply stood up and looked at him as if he had aged ten years.

"Our decision at the time was fine! If you truly believe Lin An isn't dead, why didn't you leave with Tai Er!?"

"No matter what, things have already happened; if Lin An really comes back, we still have to see how the gods react."

"Some things aren't certain!"

His eyes flickered; the old man adjusted his combat uniform and calmly stated his judgment.

"Lin An's return only means that Long An is temporarily safe. He couldn't deal with the gods before, and now it's unlikely he can."

"In my view, the gods' departure isn't fleeing; it's just a return to their former practice of staying behind the scenes."

"We actually don't need to be tense; I believe Lin An, whether he wants to fight the fugitives or not, still needs our strength."

"Even..."

After a brief pause, a hint of hesitation crossed the old man's face:

"Based on the information the gods gave us, they still have hidden strength within. They have enough power to deal with Lin An, they're just unwilling to waste it."

"Therefore, from an interest standpoint, continuing to side with the gods might be best... after all, our relationship with Long An is hard to restore to..."

"You still won't turn back!?"

Before the old man could finish calmly expressing his thought, Tuo Er suddenly froze, looking incredulously at the Soviet Russia high level before him.

At this moment, seeing those still obstinate, clinging to luck, he felt only estrangement.

"That's Lin An!"

"He's human! He's the hero who saved us! What are the fugitives? Monsters! Alien races that feed on us!"

"Good! When Lin An disappeared, you wanted to prioritize the greater good, to preserve the Soviet Russia survivors you could only bow to those monsters; I can understand that. But now Lin An has returned!"

"Shouldn't we be the first to admit our mistake and join forces with him Lin An again!?"

"Tai Er went to support; he isn't the retreat you left behind!? I believe, out of respect for Tai Er's face and our shared humanity, Lin An will forgive us!"

"Forgive? No more talk of forgiveness?"

Just as Tuo Er felt somewhat sorrowful, his impassioned questioning directed at the crowd, a cold, young voice suddenly rang out from one side of the long table.

Over thirty Soviet Russia fourth-stage cultivators rose to their feet together, raising the cards in their hands.

"Our power comes from the gods."

"Tuo Er, do you want us to die?"

As they spoke, the red-haired fourth-stage youth at the front stared fixedly at Tuo Er, while the many fourth-stage cultivators behind him watched silently.

"Don't you understand what the marshal means?"

"That's right, Tuo Er. You reached the fourth stage through equipment rules, while we rely on the gods."

"Have you considered what happens when you turn back and cooperate with Lin An again? How will we deal with those in Soviet Russia who believe in the gods and the survivors who gained power from the gods' hands?"

"Are we to lose our power? Are we to go to our deaths?"

A cold snort, full of undisguised hostility.

The red-haired fourth-stage cultivator slapped his card onto the table with a snap; the regulations subtly locked onto Tuo Er, word by word;

"The moment Lin An hid himself, that was when he truly betrayed us! Forcing us to turn to the gods! Regardless of whether he was hoarding power or whatever, if he hadn't hidden, would the gods have dared to deceive us and let him die!?"

"Now the situation has become like this, it's all his Lin An's fault! He's afraid of death! He just wants to protect himself!"

"Now he's forced to come out; what right do we have to turn back and fawn over him!?"

"Let me tell you one more thing! Andre just contacted us from earlier, indicating the global conference will continue! He Andre couldn't care less about Lin An's appearance!"

"Lin An, he's not invincible! This is no longer his era!"

The sounds were shocking.

Tuo Er's face turned deathly pale as he stared at the suddenly speaking red-haired fourth-stage cultivator; only now did he truly realize why the Soviet Russia interior had genuinely defected to the fugitives.

Why would the Soviet Russia high level tacitly allow betrayal, and why, when Tai Er left, was no one willing to follow him!?

The power granted by the fugitives had, from the moment Lin An disappeared, already thoroughly bound them to the warship!

"An.. Andre..!? Conference?"

"Just how many things are you hiding from me.. why don't I know!?"

Like falling into an ice cellar, originally thinking he was a high-level member who could still persuade the crowd to turn back, Tuo Er suddenly felt like an outsider, actually having long been excluded and cast aside.

"Indeed, there are many things you don't know."

A scoff.

In Tuo Er's shocked and angry gaze, the red-haired fourth-stage cultivator shoved aside the chair in front of him, looking at him with contempt.

"You've gotten too close to Tai Er, and your relations with Long An aren't bad either. There are some things we naturally couldn't let you know."

"Let me be frank: since Andre returned, he's shown signs of wielding fifth-stage power; otherwise, why would you think the gods tacitly allowed him to retake North America?"

"In the original plan, after Long An was eliminated, the Asian theater would be jointly governed by us Soviet Russia and the gods. Of course, if those Japanese still have fighting strength, we'd hand over the Northeast to them."

"The gods hold the greatest power, invincible."

Andre represents North American interests, as well as a super-civilization beyond your imagination.

Even if Lin An is still alive, he is merely the weakest side.

He shook his head, only to see the red-haired Fourth Stage's pupils suddenly contract into crosswise stripes:

Tuoer, you're too naive. You simply can't grasp the real situation. You think politics is playing house? You really think our entire High Level would be so foolish, unable to imagine what you're thinking?

Actually we've already discussed this internally; we've always suspected Lin An might just be hiding, and he too has realized he's the weakest side.

This time he appeared, he was forced to act; otherwise, why would he go to all that flashy trouble for no reason?

Walking up to Tuoer's side, the red-haired Fourth Stage looked at Tuoer pityingly, as a superior would an inferior, and patted his shoulder.

Only the weak bluster; you haven't noticed... Taier hasn't even sent us a single message yet?

I don't believe Lin An doesn't need our power to fight the gods, nor do I believe he wouldn't fear the power behind Andre.

So the only explanation is that he can only use this seemingly shocking return to maintain his last dignity, merely to scare a fool like you.

Turning his head, in eyes like a goat's, the red-haired Fourth Stage seemed to mock, word by word:

Do you believe it or not? At the global conference two days from now, Lin An doesn't even dare to come.