Chapter 1362: Phase Two (Part 2)
Unlike the usual reports, it was split into two parts—one of them was a total death toll encompassing all races.
The other section was categorized into regions with detailed analyses into the casualty rates of different races. There was also a standard deviation that had never appeared in any other report. From the conclusion of that report, over ninety percent of regions had already met the criteria. The new world had reached a hundred and twenty percent.
After the prince concluded his report, the chairman’s muffled voice emerged from under his hood. “We can begin phase two of the operation. Set up observation stations according to the plan. For the regions that haven’t met the criteria, increase troop strength by thirty percent. The Jeruson and Wallace families will be in charge of the transportation and installation of survey facilities. We ask Master Melia to coordinate all prophets.”
“Additionally, please be careful not to let the new world exceed a hundred again.” With that, the chairman looked up at the Masefield clan.
Progia hadn’t forgotten the pain of losing their promising young duke, Freyr. He couldn’t help but glare at Medanzo, saying, “It’s all because of those scheming vampires. Our losses are always heavy when they’re in charge of the warzone.”
Medanzo didn’t even look up at him. “Reynold is the commander of the vampires, and you’ve already complained to him I believe.”
Progia didn’t have the time to reply before the chairman cut him short. “Arrangements have been made on the Azure King’s side, no need to bring it up again. Lightless Monarch, how is the progress on your end?”
Medanzo said, “The Queen of the Night has returned to her slumber. If there are no accidents, like someone with authority waking her up, things outside of the Perth clan’s territory won’t catch her attention.”
Those with authority were, of course, referring to the existing second-generation primogenitors. There were four of them in total operating in the outside world at the moment—the Azure King Reynold, the Lightless Monarch Medanzo, Habsburg of the Flaming Crown, and the Dark Gospel Howard.
Howard and Medanzo were archenemies. After his awakening, the former only appeared once in public before fading away from sight. The only confirmed news was that he hadn’t left the Twilight Continent.
After some thought, the chairman looked up at the Demon King. “The Flaming Crown…”
The Demon King said, “I’ll handle his case, you avoid the Sperger clan’s castle.”
The council chairman was surprised because this went against the original plan, but he immediately replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Medanzo didn’t seem any different on the surface, but his fingers tightened under his sleeves. Immediately, a wave of consciousness swept over him. Medanzo didn’t move a muscle, and even his blood core stopped beating as he knew that this was a warning from the Demon King.
“Lastly, the Eye of Control and Eye of Destruction.” The council chairman paused briefly.
The Great Demonkin Prophet Melia stood up and bowed toward the Demon King. “I apologize, Your Majesty. I simply cannot see their whereabouts.” He glanced at Predica who was standing to the right of the supreme. “Perhaps the young highness of the Dark Nightmare can…”
The Demon King said, “Predica will not join any factional activity.”
His words were decisive and firm. Melia immediately replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. Then I will discuss a plan with my colleagues.”
The Demon King said, “Let it be. It’s only normal that you can’t see through a combination of human divination and vampire secret arts.”
Naturally, no one doubted the Demon King’s words. Many eyes fell upon Medanzo, who kept his eyes lowered and his sleeves drawn together, almost as though he didn’t hear anything.
Predica said after some thought, “Your Majesty, do you mean after all that has gone down in Blacksun Valley, some humans want to save Qianye and some vampires want to save Nighteye? This game of trading pieces is quite interesting.”
The Demon King said, “The short-lived races have always been full of conflicts, and the vampires are quite similar to them.”
Predica seemed raring to have a go. “Perhaps I could give it a try.”
The Demon King said, “You better stay away from touching the daybreak side until the effects of Lin Xitang’s divination are entirely gone from this world.”
The round table fell utterly silent. This was the first time Lin Xitang’s name had been brought up at the council’s round table since the void continent war.
As the overseer of the entire operation, Habsburg had cited injuries and refused to be debriefed. The sheer amount of complaints the Evernight Council had received regarding the miserable loss of sword-bearers and the sudden withdrawal of the fleet was enough to bury him.
However, no one was able to bring these complaints up for discussion mainly because of the Demon King’s suppression. This supreme had made it clear that he didn’t want to listen to anyone talking about that war. Yet, he had brought it up himself today.
The chairman coughed for attention. “Actually, we’ve already made some hypothetical plans after Marshal Lin passed away.”
“One is to strike at the heart of the Great Qin. From our current intelligence, it’s very possible that we can stir up a conflict between their Emperor and his important ministers. This method is a bit more difficult because we need to find a good entry point, otherwise, it’s possible that the entire operation will fail to mobilize. The good thing is that we won’t need to invest too much afterward; all we need to do is watch as their internal dispute unfolds. Of course, the outcome will also be beyond our control. It might bring about another transformation in fate or it might fail just like the previous Operation Blueblood.”
“The other solution is to begin from the Western Continent warzone where he was once posted, that is, Fire Beacon Continent. The power balance there is complicated—the Zhao clan, the military, and two provinces controlled by rebels. This method will be easier since there are already people who are in opposition, all we need to do is provide some fuel, and those with a brain will know how to make use of it. The Western Continent is the farthest from the heart of the Empire, so we have more time and space to turn rumors into opposing voices.”
At this point, the council chairman shot the Demon King a glance. Seeing no response from the supreme, he continued, “The first method will require an inside asset. How are your men over there?”
Medanzo said, “The Empire went through a major cleanup after the Sanguine Burial. I don’t have any assets left, even the peripheral spies have been exiled to remote lands.”
The chairman nodded. “Actually, we’ve already done a pressure test on the second route. We passed some ambiguous words about the marshal to the relevant people in the Qin Empire. Their upper echelons are fairly cautious, so much so that our envoy couldn’t figure out if they had sensed the problem or if they’re already under pressure. The response among the opposition is fairly good; they seem quite happy to hear bad news about those suppressing them.”
The chairman finally received a reply from the Demon King.
“We’ll leave that here for now. Continue your tests while setting up the observation posts on the
Fire Beacon Continent.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The chairman scanned everyone at the table. “If no one has any questions, we shall enter phase two of the plan after we go back.”
Sousa, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, “What do we do about Fort Continent?”
The chairman said, “That place is not within our survey plans.”
The werewolf said, “That means, I can do what I want?”
The Demon King butted in all of a sudden, “The Summit of Peaks no longer owns the Tempest’s advantage. I hope you don’t cause a ruckus in unimportant places.”
Sousa nodded. “Of course, as you wish.”
As the meeting came to an end, everyone bowed toward the Demon King and left in succession. Only the chairman, Predica, and Melia remained in the end.
The chairman said after gathering his thoughts, “Your Majesty, what do we do about the previous plan where we follow a part of Marshal Lin’s traces?” He was still quite respectful of Lin Xitang.
The Demon King said slowly, “That’s just to obtain a control group in the daybreak system. Just clear out a few human settlement zones and you’ll get your numbers.”
The other three stopped speaking. It would take a lot more than a small number if they were to use ordinary people here, and what’s more, Lin Xitang wasn't just a control group. However, no one spoke words of objection.
Master Melia said, “I must report the changes in the plan to His Highness Anwen and hasten the modifications.”
The chairman nodded. “Then I’ll work on the war preparations.”
After Melia and the chairman had left, the Demon King chuckled softly. “Only he would care about those ants. It’ll be worth it if we can clear away more of them in exchange for giving him peace, isn’t that right?”
Predica leaned back in his chair and put a hand over his eyes. “Only under the assumption that the man didn’t leave any backup plans.”
The matter thus returned to the starting point. The answers to Lin Xitang’s thread of fate could only be found on Lin Xitang’s body.
The Demon King’s tone was always gentle. “Then I hope Habsburg will realize this sooner.”
Predica’s heart skipped a beat and his hands turned cold. However, he maintained his lazy posture without making a single movement.