ragginovel Chapter 2526: Swallowing the Country
Chapter 2526: Swallowing the Country
Chapter 2526: Swallowing the Country
"What? Fellow Daoist Yuan, you want the Horned Kingdom to annex the Shadow God Kingdom?"
When Xiaoming Sanren learned of Yuanzu's plan, even he, with his composure, couldn't help but lose his composure and stood up in shock.
Upon meeting Yuan Zuo in the capital of Jiaosheng, Xiaoming Sanren had a premonition that Yuan Zuo might betray King Chuxu and switch allegiance to the Three Kings. He was still rejoicing over his wise decision back then.
As the saying goes, "doing nothing is doing something," he did not rush to achieve quick results or force the Kingdom of Jiaosheng to submit to the three kings. Instead, he achieved unexpected results without lifting a finger.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Zuo was about to completely surrender to the Kingdom of Jiaosheng!
Xiaoming Sanren had assumed that Bai Ying'er and Yuan Zuo's secret meeting was to push for an alliance between the two countries. He had just been pondering how to balance the relationship between the two countries after they had both pledged allegiance to the three kings.
Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even if Yuan Zuo is abandoned by his people, with the strength of the Shadow God Kingdom and the support of the King of Chu Xu, it would be no problem to withstand the siege of the two countries for a hundred years. Why should he surrender?
"Humph!"
Anger flashed in Yuan Zuo's eyes. "Since the Chu Xu Royal Palace is so unrighteous, don't blame me for being unjust! They want to seize my Shadow God Kingdom, I'll make sure they get nothing!"
Sensing Yuan Zuo's undisguised anger, Xiao Ming Sanren was secretly surprised. He hadn't expected the conflict between King Chu Xu and Yuan Zuo to have reached such a point, with Yuan Zuo willing to suffer mutual losses rather than let King Chu Xu's mansion succeed.
Whether it was King Chu Xu's intention, or the King Chu Xu's special envoy's stubbornness and disregard for Yuan Zuo, it's unclear. Initially, it seemed King Chu Xu's decision to send that envoy was a mistake, but it turned out he was a man of great talent, having driven Yuan Zuo to this point.
However, it would be better if they became enemies!
The situation has completely deviated from Xiaoming Sanren's expectations. Not to mention himself, even Beilu Wang and the others would probably be shocked when they received the news.
Xiao Ming Sanren's mind raced with thoughts. This was a golden opportunity for the three kings, but they might not be able to reap the benefits without effort. Bai Ying'er and Yuan Zuo's meeting with him at this time must mean they had something big on their minds.
He turned to look at Bai Ying'er and said in a deep voice, "King Chuxu will not sit idly by and watch you annex the Shadow God Kingdom."
Bai Ying'er remained calm, clearly having anticipated this, and said indifferently, "Not only will King Chu Xu not let this go, but King Zhi Lian behind Chi Rong Kingdom will also find it difficult to tolerate, and may even force them to join forces."
Xiaoming Sanren nodded silently. This was exactly what he wanted to say. It seemed that Bai Ying'er and the others had already considered the pros and cons.
If the Kingdom of Jiaosheng were to annex the Kingdom of Yingshen, it could surpass the Kingdom of Chirong in one fell swoop and rise to become the number one immortal kingdom, completely disrupting the balance of this region. Unless it submits to King Zhilian, the Kingdom of Jiaosheng is a thorn in King Zhilian's side and a thorn in his flesh. Even the slightest connection with King Beilu and his group is something King Zhilian cannot tolerate.
King Chu Xu's centuries of toil have come to naught, and he is bound to seek revenge. Joining forces with King Zhi Lian is the only option, and it is even possible that the two royal palaces will send troops directly.
At that time, the Kingdom of Jiaosheng will find it difficult to withstand the wrath of the two royal palaces, and will have no choice but to seek help from the King of Beilu and his forces to obtain greater support.
"What do you two want?" Xiaoming Sanren asked bluntly.
Bai Ying'er and Yuan Zuo exchanged a glance; their answer was exactly as Xiaoming Sanren had expected.
"We will spare no effort to ensure that King Chuxu and King Zhilian can never control this place. We hope that the three royal palaces can provide more support! But..."
At this point, Bai Ying'er's tone changed.
Xiaoming Sanren held his breath, only to hear Bai Ying'er say in an unquestionable tone, "We don't want to be anyone's puppet!"
Upon hearing this, Xiaoming Sanren's smile faded further, and he fell into deep thought.
The immortal kingdoms surrounding the Zhu Qian Dynasty were all subservient to it, each backed either by one of the Eight Princes of Zhu Qian or by the Zhu Qian Dynasty's royal family. Although they didn't yet hold the power of life and death over it, they dared not refuse any orders given to them unless they were extremely difficult to accept.
For example, when the Eastern Flood Dragon King summoned his men to the forbidden area, both the Shadow God Kingdom and the Crimson Melt Kingdom sent their strongest warriors, who are now trapped in the forbidden area, their fates unknown.
Bai Ying'er's intentions were clear: Jiaosheng Kingdom could become a tool in the hands of the Northern Lu King and his allies to strike at the Chu Xu King and the Zhi Lian King, but it would not be controlled by the Northern Lu King and his allies. The relationship between the two sides was not one of master and servant, but of allies.
Furthermore, if the Horned Sage Kingdom were to achieve a decisive victory and annex the Crimson Melt Kingdom, the Northern Lu King and his people would have to cover for the Horned Sage Kingdom and bear the pressure from the royal family on their behalf. This is because the Zhu Qian Dynasty would never allow a powerful immortal kingdom to emerge in the surrounding area without its control.
In the past, Xiaoming Sanren would have scoffed at this, but times have changed. The other party must be very clear about the current situation to dare to make such a demand.
"What grand ambitions the leader has!"
Xiaoming Sanren glanced in the direction of the Five Thunder Sect's headquarters and said meaningfully.
Yuan Zuo agreed wholeheartedly, his face showing respect. "Master, your supernatural powers are unparalleled. I, Yuan, am willing to be your disciple!"
These words greatly surprised Xiaoming Sanren, making him even more wary of the Five Thunder Sect leader. How could this person have subdued Yuanzuo, the ruler of a nation?
Looking back at the history of the Horned Kingdom, by taking advantage of the forbidden land incident and the conflicts between the five kings of Zhu Qian, the other side has developed a small country into a major power that stands alongside Chi Rong and Ying Shen in just two or three hundred years. Now, they are even going to annex the Ying Shen Kingdom. Every step they take is terrifyingly precise.
If we allow the Kingdom of Jiaosheng to continue to grow stronger, wouldn't it be like raising a tiger that will eventually become a threat to the Zhu Qian Dynasty? But if we don't agree, the Kingdom of Jiaosheng will switch allegiance to the King of Zhilian, and the forces of the King of Beilu and his allies will be completely eliminated from this place.
This matter is no longer something he can decide on his own; it must be reported to the Prince's Palace and the three princes must make a decision.
Xiaoming Sanren hurriedly left the palace and immediately sent a message back to the Prince's residence. Yuanzu also set off for the palace to make final preparations.
The war between the three kingdoms was raging. The armies of the Crimson Melt Kingdom and the Horned Blossom Kingdom were like two sharp swords, piercing straight into the heart of the Shadow God Kingdom, conquering cities and seizing territories, and were invincible.
The Shadow God Kingdom not only had to defend against external enemies, but also suppress internal rebellions. As a result, it was overwhelmed and suffered repeated defeats on the front lines. The more the rebellions were quelled, the more they multiplied, and the faster the situation deteriorated, far exceeding everyone's expectations.
Even the people of the Shadow God Kingdom couldn't understand how such a powerful immortal kingdom had fallen to this state!
The capital of the Shadow God Kingdom.
'boom! ’
A loud bang came from inside the hall, and the eunuch outside the door trembled, his eyes flashing with deep fear.
"I'm not going to see you! Get out of here, all of you!"
Yuan Zuo's roar echoed outside the palace, his anger reaching the heavens.
The special envoy of the King of Chuxu stood in front of the palace gate. Upon hearing the sound, he sighed softly, shook his head, and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the sky. Judging from the direction he left, he was heading back to the Zhuqian Dynasty.
After his repeated requests, King Chu Xu finally relented and sent another special envoy to clean up the mess. Before leaving, the special envoy of King Chu Xu wanted to bid farewell to Yuan Zuo and try his best to resolve the misunderstanding between the two, but Yuan Zuo was already deeply prejudiced against him and did not even want to see him one last time.
Although he was not good at politics, after years of exposure to the subject, he could not possibly have failed to notice that there was definitely something wrong here. However, he was unwilling to delve into it and left it to the next special envoy.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, the special envoy... has already left. Before leaving, he left a letter, instructing... instructing us to present it to Your Majesty..."
The eunuch, his face filled with fear, reported this with trembling hands.
'boom! '
The palace doors swung open, a gust of wind snatched the letter from his hand, and then slammed them shut.
The eunuch felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly withdrew.
Yuan Zuo opened the letter, read it, gave a cold laugh, burned it, and his expression gradually turned serious.
The reason why his relationship with the special envoy of the King of Chu Xu deteriorated to this point was that he took advantage of the other party's temperament, seized on the other party's previous mistakes, and refused to let it go.
Unexpectedly, this man, who had been repeatedly humiliated by him, did not confront him directly. Instead, he chose to swallow his pride and reported to the King of Chu, admitting his incompetence and explaining that the situation was beyond his control, and requesting a replacement.
The other party took all the blame. The advantage was that no one would suspect that it was a problem with his father's reign. The disadvantage was that with a new special envoy, his approach might not have the same effect.
"It must be done as soon as possible..."
After pondering for a moment, Yuan Zuo personally wrote several letters with talismans.
Not long after, Yuan Zuo, the incarnation of the capital of Jiao Sheng Kingdom, met Xiao Ming Sanren again. Xiao Ming Sanren brought good news: the King of Bei Lu sent back a talisman, agreeing to the demands of Jiao Sheng Kingdom, on the condition that Jiao Sheng Kingdom could never make peace with the King of Zhi Lian and the King of Chu Xu.
Even Lian Xiaoming Sanren hadn't expected that the Northern Lu King, the Night Mist King, and the Serpent Blaze King would agree so easily, as if they didn't want to continue the entanglement and wanted to cut the Gordian knot quickly. This glimpse revealed the whole picture; something must have happened in the forbidden area again, making the situation increasingly urgent. They wanted to use the Horned Birth Kingdom to provoke the Zhilian King and the Chuxu King, and also to tie down some of their forces.
With the support of the Northern King, Yuan Zuo had no more worries and immediately began to mobilize all his forces.
From that day on, rebel forces within the Shadow God Kingdom sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Such numerous betrayals dealt a severe blow to morale. The Shadow God Kingdom had no will to fight and, when faced with the armies of the Horned Kingdom and the Crimson Melt Kingdom, either fled before the battle or surrendered at the mere sight of them, suffering a series of defeats.
Gradually, the capital of the Shadow God Kingdom became like an isolated island trapped in the heart of a lake.
……
The southern border of the Zhu Qian Dynasty.
A fiery red light traveled through the wind, enveloping a flying car in which two men sat.
One was dressed in pure white, the other in heavy armor, both over two zhang tall and shaped like bears.
The man in white leaned leisurely against the cloud-shaped couch, holding a jade slip in his hand, with other jade slips and talismans placed around him.
The heavily armored man squatted on the ground, also examining one of the talismans, and exclaimed, "This is bad! How did the situation deteriorate to this extent! What exactly did that Mu fellow do down there?"
The man in white waved the jade slip in his hand and tossed it to the heavily armored man. "This is Brother Mu's self-statement to the Prince. I presume he wouldn't dare to falsify it. It seems Brother Mu hasn't done anything excessive; those actions were all human nature. The only oversight was failing to communicate with Yuan Zuo in time. He has power but no favor, but he shouldn't have turned against him so quickly. His Majesty Yuan Zuo is being far too extreme!"
After reading it, the heavily armored man scoffed and tossed the jade slip aside. "How can you completely believe Mu's self-report? This man must be using the prince's name to act recklessly and without restraint, which is why he angered the other party. And now my senior brother has to clean up his mess—it's truly hateful!"
As he spoke, he picked up the talisman he had just received and sighed, "The armies of the two countries are pointing directly at the capital. I fear that the Shadow God Kingdom is doomed. I wonder if Senior Brother has any brilliant plan to turn the tide?"
The man in white said, “Junior brother says that Brother Mu is acting under the Prince’s banner, but I think the opposite is true! Although the Shadow God Kingdom shows signs of destruction, the root cause lies within, not without. I am not Brother Mu, and Yuan Zuo has no prejudice against me. As long as we resolve the grudges in Yuan Zuo’s heart and then help him subdue the rebels in the name of the Prince, things will improve immediately. If Yuan Zuo is truly extreme in temperament and intolerant of others, what harm is there in tolerating him for a while?”
He flashed a confident smile and began to speak fluently.
The heavily armored man had always trusted his senior brother greatly, and upon hearing this, he said admiringly, "Senior brother is indeed a master strategist. If the prince had sent you there long ago, this wouldn't have happened!"
"The prince had no other choice."
The man in white gently shook his head. He was trusted by the King of Chu and knew the whole story.
The Forbidden Immortal Abode has always been a source of concern for the five superior kingdoms and the half-demon kingdoms, leaving King Chu Xu's capable men stretched thin. When Brother Mu was initially sent, no great achievements were expected; the only goal was to stabilize the situation, prevent the other four kings from succeeding, and hold out until the struggle for the Forbidden Immortal Abode ended, allowing the royal court to focus its efforts. However, Brother Mu was unexpectedly impatient, unable to even fulfill such a simple request.
However, when the man in white learned what had happened during this period, he felt that something was not right. But if the facts were as he had deduced, it would be quite unbelievable.
"I have already sent a talisman to appease Yuanzuo, and await..."
Before he could finish speaking, a streak of light shot into the flying car. The man in white grabbed it, and the smile on his face froze instantly.
The heavily armored man also saw the contents of the talisman and exclaimed in disbelief, "How is this possible!"
According to the records, the King of Shadow God Kingdom suddenly issued a decree, confessing his crimes and admitting that he was powerless to resist the armies of the two countries. He did not want the people of Shadow God Kingdom to suffer unnecessary losses, so he was willing to resign from his position as King of Shadow God Kingdom, open the city gates and surrender, and earnestly requested that the two countries consider his actions and put away their swords.
The army of the Horned Kingdom seemed to have prior knowledge, advancing rapidly and entering the capital city before the Crimson Rong Kingdom, encountering no resistance whatsoever. Upon arriving at the city walls, Yuan Zuo ordered the defensive formations to be dismantled and personally went out to greet them.
At this time, the Shadow God Kingdom had already changed hands!
Yuan Zuo's actions shocked the world!
No one expected that the powerful Shadow God Kingdom would perish so quickly. Even the Crimson Melt Kingdom was caught off guard. When the Horned Birth Kingdom took over, the Crimson Melt Kingdom's army was still steadily advancing towards the capital!
Two hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Horned Life was a small country that could be easily manipulated by the Kingdom of Shadow God. The Kingdom of Horned Life was filled with fear and trembling just by sending a single army.
In just two hundred years, the Kingdom of Horned Life avenged its past grievances by annexing the powerful Kingdom of Shadow God. While this could not be described as a snake swallowing a whale, it was still unbelievable. The cultivators from both countries who had personally experienced the war felt as if it were a different world.
When the news of the great victory reached the country, the people of Kokoro were as if in a dream, and then erupted in jubilation.
The Five Thunder Sect's headquarters.
Qin Sang sat cross-legged, meditating. His expression shifted slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze seemed to pierce through the stone wall, traverse the vast territory, and look towards the former capital of the Shadow God Kingdom.
After a moment, he closed his eyes again and continued his meditation.