Chapter 279: Determining the Strategy

Calculating with intent against the unsuspecting, Lin Bai coordinated with Hu Qing and easily captured Huang Yun, who was waiting outside to provide support.

In fact, almost no Cultivator of the same level could withstand Lin Bai's Mind Set—Provocation, Indoctrination, Being Read Mind, and now, the additions of Charm and the Eye of Seeing Remnants...

Huang Yun and his several pets could neither win in a fight nor escape; after their Dharma Treasures were completely broken by the Blacksmith Six-Piece Set, the group was tortured by the Lightning Storm until they wished for death, and in the end, they willingly allowed themselves to be sealed into cards.

Huang Yun and Yan Sun had the honor of possessing permanent housing in Silver Cards, while the remaining pet beasts were sealed into one-time-use Ordinary Cards.

Lin Bai had a limited number of cards; it was impossible to permanently retain everyone he encountered.

As a Beast Tamer, once Huang Yun was sealed, his pet beasts would attack Lin Bai recklessly to save their master, which would awaken his intelligence; he felt depressed and would still mobilize the pet beasts to attack Lin Bai, so sealing everything about him was the best choice.

As for the pet beasts disappearing after the one-time-use Ordinary Cards were used, leading to a decline in Huang Yun's strength, Lin Bai didn't care at all—who would care about the emotions of a Puppet!

Moreover, he already possessed the cultivation of the Void Refinement Realm, and his next goal was the Great Vehicle Realm; card characters who could not keep up with his growth speed would eventually be eliminated.

Lin Bai returned to Zhen City with Hu Qing and Huang Yun.

Ye Song's figure appeared from a large forest ravaged by the Lightning Storm; he looked up at the sky, then looked around, reached out to pick up a piece of charcoal, and muttered in a low voice: "Taking down a Void Refinement Realm expert is still such a laborious task, and the most effective means of attack is still the Lightning Storm...

A supernatural power that can destroy everything within a hundred miles with a single shout—could it be that he is relying on external forces?

Besides the Fazhe Zhidao, is there really no other technique to defeat the enemy?

Lin Bai, oh Lin Bai, so you weren't deliberately trying to disgust people; you really don't have any effective means of attack! How many people have been bluffed by you! Interesting..."

"Alliance Leader, the Beggar Sect's assets in Binghuo City have been completely destroyed."

"The remaining Disciples in Dinghuo City have also been killed to the point that they don't dare to log on."

"The team from the Heavenly Sword Sect, led by the Purple-Clothed Ancestor, has stopped three thousand miles northeast of Zhen City; if they want to, they can reach Zhen City in half an hour. We must prepare as early as possible..."

"The teams from Wanhun Valley and Tianmo Mountain have stopped three thousand miles northwest of Zhen City..."

"The Beast Taming Sect is in the southeast..."

"The Weapon Refinement Sect and the Danling Sect are guarding the southwest..."

In the span of a single day, one piece of bad news after another converged upon Lin Bai.

The Chaoyuan Sword Sect, Hundred Flowers Valley, Beast Taming Pavilion, Medicine King Valley, and other sects previously controlled by Lin Bai fell one after another, and even Huilong Temple, where Lin Bai had established a mountain gate, could not escape the disaster.

When Huilong Temple fell, the Super Sect Leader System also issued a new task: 【To save the land but lose the people, both are lost; to save the people but lose the land, both are saved; the mountain gate has fallen, as a sect leader, you must retake the mountain gate to uphold the prestige of the Justice Alliance; Reward: 300 Merit】

However.

This task was the same as the task to rescue Lao Mi; winning the current victory would solve the problem, so Lin Bai didn't need to spend extra effort on the task.

All of these were losses caused to the Justice Alliance by the teams led by Great Vehicle Realm experts from the various sects that had set out earlier.

The teams from the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects, which had poured out in full force, would take at least seven days to arrive.

Having witnessed the power of the Magpie Bridge, the Heavenly Dao Sect and other sects issued death orders to their subordinate sects scattered across various regions: guard the gateways of every town well, and starting from the capital of the Taiyi Kingdom and moving outward, hunt down and kill any suspicious Magpie Bridge Bridge-Guard of the Justice Alliance with all their might, doing everything possible to prevent the laying of the Magpie Bridge network.

They wanted to trap Lin Bai in Zhen City.

The Seven Righteous Sects even joined forces with the Demonic Five Sects to issue an ultimatum to the Taiyi Kingdom, forbidding them from assisting Lin Bai; otherwise, the Taiyi Kingdom would have no reason to continue existing.

Once this order was issued, the City Lords of many important towns in the Taiyi Kingdom disregarded the royal family's orders and defected to the Seven Righteous Sects one after another.

A perfectly fine country was suddenly teetering on the brink of collapse, torn apart.

When the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects were determined to put Lin Bai to death, Lin Bai and his Justice Alliance were instantly placed in a position of being besieged on all sides...

No one was optimistic about the future of the Justice Alliance.

However, for a sect that had been established for less than two months to be able to stir up the situation of the world to such an extent could be considered unprecedented.

"Are you satisfied?" After a short interval of just over ten hours, the Duke of the State, seeing Lin Bai again, looked haggard, appearing as if he had aged more than ten years; the situation changed in an instant, and even someone as strong as him could not cope with it for a while.

Behind the Duke of the State were more than a dozen generals clad in armor and wielding weapons.

The gazes these generals cast toward Lin Bai were somewhat unkind, as if they wished they could skin Lin Bai and devour his bones.

Squad after squad of soldiers held hands and entered Zhen City via the Magpie Bridge, a sight that left the people of Zhen City in awe and filled them with even more yearning for the Magpie Bridge.

Merchants even began to discuss the benefits of the Magpie Bridge for their businesses, but they would often stop after saying a word or two; after all, if Lin Bai couldn't survive this war, the Magpie Bridge would cease to exist, and no matter how much they planned, it would all be in vain.

The soldiers of the Zhenbei Army lined up and dispersed onto the drill ground, beginning to assemble various defensive siege weapons.

The cultivation of these soldiers was at least at the Spirit Transformation stage, and like their generals, the soldiers cast looks full of disgust toward Lin Bai.

No one liked this guy who had dragged them from peace into war, especially since the enemy was the unfathomable Great Vehicle Realm...

Negative Emotion flooded Lin Bai's mind in waves; the storm Lin Bai had stirred up had mobilized too many people's emotions. If Negative Emotion could be converted into Spiritual Power, he feared he would already be at the Great Vehicle Stage.

At this moment, Lin Bai looked contentedly at the thousands of Spirit Transformation stage soldiers, his eyebrows dancing with joy.

As expected of the Taiyi Kingdom, which had been established for thousands of years; its foundation was indeed deep. He knew it was impossible for any royal family to be willing to have a dozen "Supreme Emperors" hanging over their heads.

"What is the Duke saying? Give me liberty or give me death. If we win this war, the Taiyi Kingdom will henceforth be independent of the Seven Righteous Sects." Lin Bai looked at the Duke of the State, who was expressing his dissatisfaction, and said, "The Justice Alliance is not interested in power; on the contrary, we will use the Fazhe Zhidao to help the Taiyi Kingdom develop rapidly. If we win this battle, it won't be long before the Taiyi Kingdom is definitely the number one power on the continent. This is a mutually beneficial matter for both sides."

"That is if we can win," the Duke of the State said with a dark face.

"Duke, life offers few chances to struggle; some opportunities, if you grasp them, you have them; if you miss them, they are gone forever." Lin Bai smiled slightly, "Generals, don't look so mournful. Smile, stay optimistic and relaxed, and good luck will stand on our side..."

Under the effect of "You Smile When You See Me," all the generals were forced to reveal a smile, including the Duke of the State.

And so.

The Negative Emotion Value in Lin Bai's backend ushered in a new round of screen-filling; he easily learned the names of the dozen generals before him.

"Lin Bai, restrain yourself. All these generals are battle-hardened men; offending them will do you no good," the Duke of the State scolded with a smile.

"I am just letting them feel the charm of the Fazhe Zhidao and strengthen their confidence in me. After all, I am the Alliance Leader of the Justice Alliance, the World Walker of the Justice Sect, and I have conquered two Great Vehicle Realm people by relying on the Fazhe Zhidao. With the many ancestors of the Justice Sect behind me possessing heaven-defying cultivation, who are you putting on a long face for!" Lin Bai restrained his smile and said, "Opposing the Seven Righteous Sects is mutually beneficial; there is no issue of who is begging whom. The Duke must not have told them about the other way of practicing the Fazhe Zhidao!"

"Arrogant brat."

"Arrogant."

Several of the generals had fiery tempers and exploded on the spot; some even drew their Swords and pointed them at Lin Bai.

Xu Longyun frowned slightly, flashed to Lin Bai's side, and looked at the many generals with a sunken face, using her actions to show she stood on the same front as Lin Bai.

"A bunch of idiots; if I relied on you, that is when you should be worried," Lin Bai shook his head and said dismissively.

The Duke of the State looked at Lin Bai and scolded, "Put your Sword away."

Several generals looked at each other and each withdrew their weapons.

A single remark awakened the dreamer; Lin Bai was right. The Justice Alliance treating them as the main force was exactly what they should be most worried about, because that meant Lin Bai was just a silver-plated pewter spearhead, with no confidence at all against the Proper Seven Sects.

That Lin Bai looked down on them was actually a good thing.

"Lin Bai, this time the Zhenbei Army has mobilized 100,000 people to assist the Justice Alliance in garrisoning Zhen City. There are 30 in the Void Refinement Realm, 10,000 elites in the Spirit Transformation Realm, and the rest are all in the Golden Core Realm. The Zhenbei Army has brought 30 Immortal-Extinguishing Cannons, 30 Lu-Xian Cannons, and 50,000 catties of high-grade Spirit Stones. Activating the Zhen City Defense Array can hold for three hours," the Duke of the State looked at Lin Bai and skipped the previous topic, "The Great Vehicle Realm must garrison the Capital to protect the safety of the royal family..."

"Duke, the three hours you refer to, what intensity of attack is it for?" Lin Bai asked in surprise.

"If ten Great Vehicle Realm experts attack simultaneously, it can hold for three hours," the Duke of the State looked at Lin Bai and said, "After three hours, the Spirit Stones will be exhausted, and Zhen City will surely fall."

"What if there is the Magpie Bridge to transport Spirit Stones back and forth from the Capital?" Lin Bai asked. He discovered that he had still underestimated the strength of the Taiyi Kingdom; with thousands of years of accumulation, their foundation was truly thick!

"The array formation cannot support it, and the Immortal-Extinguishing Cannons and Lu-Xian Cannons cannot support it either; even with Spirit Stones, it won't work," the Duke of the State frowned slightly, "Lin Bai, stop plotting against the Taiyi Kingdom. This is the maximum support I have been able to secure. The Taiyi Kingdom cannot exhaust everything it has for the Justice Alliance."

"I know, you all still have to live your lives!" Lin Bai laughed, "Three hours is enough."

"We can only defend the city, not attack," the Duke of the State added.

"Defending the city is enough; leave the attacking to me," Lin Bai smiled, "With the Magpie Bridge, if we can't hold it, we can retreat to the Capital! By that time, the Great Vehicle Realm guarding the royal family will be guarding us!"

"You..." the Duke of the State laughed in anger.

"Just a joke. We are allies; how could I possibly pit my own people?" Lin Bai laughed, "Duke, rest assured, this is the main battlefield. We want to use this battle to display the prestige of the Justice Alliance and make the Proper Seven Sects retreat in the face of difficulties. The Magpie Bridges deployed in various places before were not for running away, but for recovering lost territory after the war."

The Duke of the State looked at Lin Bai and did not speak for a long time.

He also could not figure out which of Lin Bai's words were true and which were false.

But seeing Xu Longyun standing by Lin Bai's side, the Duke of the State could be certain that this guy was capable of doing anything...

"What is your strategy?" the Duke of the State asked.

"You all first help clear out the spies of various factions within the city to prevent them from causing destruction from the inside," Lin Bai looked around at everyone and said, "Then, we will launch a public opinion war through the Heavenly Descended, continuing to promote the benefits of the Magpie Bridge to people's livelihoods, and pinning the label of obstructing civilization and suppressing the grassroots people on the Proper Seven Sects and the Demonic Five Sects. When necessary, you can first bestow upon me the title of Love God; in the name of the Love God, promoting the Magpie Bridge will be more persuasive."

The Duke of the State looked at Lin Bai and nodded.

Xu Longyun's breathing quickened slightly, and she hurriedly gave the Duke of the State a wink. Compared to the ethereal Heavenly Dao, she preferred to make Lin Bai's title as Love God a reality.

Having deployed the Love God mission arrangements, Lin Bai looked at the Duke of the State and said, "Duke, later let the Heavenly Dao Review do an exclusive interview with you to reveal the military strength of the Taiyi Kingdom to the world. During the interview, the Duke can moderately exaggerate the military strength of the Taiyi Kingdom."

"Why?" the Duke of the State asked, "Things have already developed to this point; exaggerating the strength of the Taiyi Kingdom cannot stop the footsteps of the Proper Seven Sects. They will still attack regardless. The higher the strength the Taiyi Kingdom proclaims, the more it will make the Proper Seven Sects suspicious," he frowned, "Could it be that you want to force the royal family of the Taiyi Kingdom into a dead end so they have to join forces with you?"

"It's not that I want to force the royal family of the Taiyi Kingdom into a dead end, but that I want to force the royal families of the Taichu Kingdom and the Taihao Kingdom into a dead end," Lin Bai smiled calmly, "The Taiyi Kingdom has already raised the banner of resistance, yet the Taichu Kingdom and the Taihao Kingdom are watching from the sidelines. Why should we let them live so comfortably?"

"The Taiyi Kingdom has military strength that can threaten the Proper Seven Sects. Does the Duke think the Proper Seven Sects will wonder if the Taichu Kingdom and the Taihao Kingdom have the same strength? Will they take this opportunity to weaken their strength? Even if they won't now, once they pacify the Justice Alliance, do you think they will?"

Hiss!

The generals behind the Duke of the State gasped.

Looking at Lin Bai, the Duke of the State sighed silently and finally confirmed that he indeed had the ability to throw the world into chaos!

It was too vicious!

"Duke, once the seeds of suspicion are planted, the Taichu Kingdom and the Taihao Kingdom will weigh the pros and cons, and they might just have to rebel," Lin Bai said with a relaxed smile.

"At that time, when the Justice Alliance talks about cooperation with them, it will also be easy, right!" the Duke of the State hummed with a forced smile.

"Taking precautions," Lin Bai said bashfully, "Making friends numerous and enemies few has always been the tenet of the Justice Alliance. Moreover, the Justice Alliance and these few countries were already on the same line; sooner or later we would come together. I just slightly accelerated the process of cooperation between the two sides."

First tricking them into a dead end and then cooperating—one must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to be chosen by you as an ally!

The Duke of the State thought to himself: "And then?"

"Then it's simple," Lin Bai smiled, "While things are slowly fermenting, let's finish the Cooking Competition first..."

The public opinion war, while heartless, was at least related to the current war. How did it jump back to the Cooking Competition? The Duke of the State choked on his breath and said with dissatisfaction, "At a time like this, you are still thinking about the Cooking Competition?"

"Duke, the laws of the Way of Cooking also need to be spread," Lin Bai said, "At this time, the more relaxed we appear, the more we can make the other side wary, thereby winning us more time for deployment. Duke, put your heart in your stomach; the Cooking Competition does not conflict with fighting foreign enemies..."

The situation was becoming increasingly chaotic. In case they really couldn't withstand the encirclement of the Proper Seven Sects and chose to run away, there would be no time to hold such a cross-city competition again.

Therefore.

The Cooking Competition must be completed; the more Skills, the better.

(End of this chapter)