Chapter 345: Persuasion

Meng Yifan would not be intimidated by a Level 5 Middle Grade Demon Beast like Lang Badi, even in a direct confrontation, but a Level 5 Peak Demon Beast like the dragon Ao Bi'an was truly thorny for Meng Yifan to deal with without a Mushroom Bomb in hand.

"What should I do?" Meng Yifan pondered deeply; did he really have to accept the offer of amnesty and submit to Tan Qingyang's command?

However, Tan Qingyang was no good bird either; if he defected, he would certainly have to obey his orders to fight the Level 5 Demon Beast army, which would mean being used as a pawn.

An old fox in the officialdom like Tan Qingyang was sinister and calculating; if he played some tricks, it would be very easy for Meng Yifan to be done in by him.

This was like a game between three parties: the Demon Race was the most powerful, Dongzhou City was slightly weaker but barely holding on thanks to the great war, and Meng Yifan was the weakest party.

For each party, the other two were enemies, so Tan Qingyang was eager for Meng Yifan and the Monster Army to destroy each other so he could reap the benefits.

Meng Yifan had similar thoughts; he wanted to provide arms to strengthen Dongzhou City's combat power and let Dongzhou City fight the Demon Race to the death, ideally leaving both sides battered, so that Meng Yifan could easily handle both forces.

Meng Yifan really wanted to explain to Ao Bi'an right now that he was not a reincarnated great power, there was no Innate Spirit Essence in his Divine Soul Origin, and that Dongzhou City was their main opponent—it had many Immortal Masters, so go fight Dongzhou City first.

The problem was, even if Meng Yifan said so, Ao Bi'an would not believe him unless Meng Yifan was willing to open his Divine Soul Origin and let Ao Bi'an enter to check carefully.

However, the Divine Soul Origin was the foundation of a cultivator; who would be willing to open their mind and let others inspect it? If Ao Bi'an took the opportunity to attack Meng Yifan's Divine Soul Origin while checking, Meng Yifan would suffer heavy damage, and if he didn't die, he would be severely injured.

Therefore, Meng Yifan simply could not explain it clearly to Ao Bi'an, and this battle between the two sides was inevitable.

"Haha, True Person Meng, have you considered it? Your wisest choice now is to bring your elite troops to join Dongzhou City and join forces with us; only then can we deal with the Demon Race experts," Tan Qingyang laughed. He seemed to have calculated that Meng Yifan had no choice but to defect to his command; with Meng Yifan's addition, he would dare to lead the Immortal Masters out of the city to fight and wrestle with the Demon Race.

Meng Yifan pondered for a moment and asked, "If I join Dongzhou City, what will happen to the forty thousand commoners in Luolong County?"

Tan Qingyang said, "This official will notify the Dongchuan Prefecture Prefect, Zhang Yiqing, to have him properly settle the commoners of Luolong County."

"If Zhang Yiqing had the ability to protect the commoners, he wouldn't have sat by and watched Dongchuan Prefecture be plunged into misery; by now, only Dongchuan City and Luolong County remain in the entire Dongchuan Prefecture," Meng Yifan said with disdain.

It was obvious that Tan Qingyang did not want to care about the lives of the forty thousand plus commoners in Luolong County at all; to an Inspector of his high status, the most important thing was to defeat the Demon Race army.

As for how many commoners died in the process, Tan Qingyang did not care much; this was called putting the overall situation first, and from his perspective, this consideration was not wrong.

But these forty thousand plus Luolong County commoners were Meng Yifan's subjects, and they had followed him in rebellion with all their hearts; if others didn't care about their lives, Meng Yifan could not ignore them.

"Inspector, I have decided to live and die with the commoners of Luolong County. I can join Dongzhou City, but I must bring the forty thousand commoners into Dongzhou City with me," Meng Yifan said in a firm and unquestionable tone.

"This..." Tan Qingyang was stunned for a moment; he had not expected that this rebel, Meng Yifan, would actually refuse to abandon the commoners of Luolong County. No wonder he was so popular in Luolong County.

Dongzhou City was a large city capable of accommodating three hundred thousand people, but when the Demon Race invaded, refugees from all directions poured into Dongzhou City, and now five hundred thousand commoners were already living inside the city.

The food consumed by five hundred thousand commoners every day was an astronomical figure; Tan Qingyang already felt the strain and could only supply food in limited quantities every day. If he were to accept the forty thousand plus commoners from Luolong County, the pressure on Dongzhou City's food supply would be even greater.

"True Person Meng, those who achieve great things do not fuss over trifles; everything must be for the sake of the overall situation. Only by defeating the Demon Race invasion can the commoners live and work in peace. Let Dongchuan Prefecture properly settle the commoners of Luolong County."

Tan Qingyang felt very uncomfortable saying these words. He was the Dongzhou Inspector; logically speaking, all the commoners in Dongzhou Province were his subjects, and he had an obligation to protect their safety. But now, Dongzhou's strength was limited, and he was truly unable to take care of all the commoners.

"No, since these commoners are willing to follow me, I must live and die with them. If Dongzhou City is unwilling to accept the forty thousand commoners of Luolong County, I will fight a great battle against the Demon Race in Luolong County. Even if I am smashed to pieces, I will live and die with the commoners," Meng Yifan said with resounding force.

Tan Qingyang was speechless after hearing this; you, a rebel, are acting more like a good official who loves the people like his own children than the Inspector himself—is this really okay?

Tan Qingyang did not believe that Meng Yifan refused to come to Dongzhou City just for those forty thousand commoners, but Meng Yifan's words were high-sounding, and Tan Qingyang was left speechless, not knowing how to refute him.

Should Tan Qingyang really say that the commoners were just a bunch of insignificant ants, and if they died, they died, so there was no need to care about them?

Some things can be done, but cannot be said.

Some things can be said, but cannot be done.

"Inspector Tan, you don't need to persuade me anymore. I am not going anywhere; I will stay in Luolong County to fight the Demon Race to the death. If Ao Bi'an wants to trouble me, let him come; I am not afraid of him."

"Inspector Tan, I need those four types of Spirit Medicine, as well as Spirit Stones; please send someone to deliver some to me. I have urgent use for them."

"With those Spirit Medicines and Spirit Stones, I will be more confident in fighting Ao Bi'an. Don't worry, I won't take them for free; I will trade you for them with Sweet Potato and Potato seeds, or with AK47s and Congreve Rocket Launchers," Meng Yifan said.

Tan Qingyang hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, and finally decided to give Meng Yifan some; he wouldn't be at a loss anyway. Those Spirit Medicines and Spirit Stones were not particularly precious items, and he didn't know what Meng Yifan needed them for.

However, the current situation was that Meng Yifan was the weakest party, and Tan Qingyang was also willing to strengthen Meng Yifan's power to let him fight the Demon Race to the death.

Not to mention anything else, even if Meng Yifan could perish together with Lang Badi, it would reduce the pressure on Dongzhou City.

"Fine, this official agrees to your request. I can give you those four types of Spirit Medicine and the Spirit Stones. However, I don't want Sweet Potato and Potato seeds; give me the AK47s and Congreve Rocket Launchers," Tan Qingyang said.