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Perhaps it was meant as a warning, or maybe it was intended to reassure them to send aid, but the letter requesting help did not conceal the slightest detail about the current forces remaining in the Southern Gate of Tiannan.

Of the fifteen thousand soldiers blessed by the spirits, less than six thousand were left at the Southern Gate of Tiannan.

Along with four hundred thousand auxiliary troops and the high, Technique-imbued walls of the Southern Gate, they were barely holding off Jiangnan’s assault.

There were three thousand soldiers blessed by Azland, and barely two thousand blessed soldiers capable of battle from the six nations combined, making up five thousand in total.

With them, there was a ninety percent certainty that the Southern Gate could be held.

However, should they choose to stab their own people in the back, and if the six thousand elite troops of the Southern Gate were to return to aid Azland. .. it would spell doom!

Even the Hawk Faction, which was always in favor of war, couldn’t muster the courage to support their king in face of such a risk....

"To wipe out the Southern Gate, do you possess the ability? If so, why haven’t you taken it down yet?" The leading General sneered as he looked at the opposition.

If the enemy truly had the ability to wipe out everyone at the Southern Gate, the king’s plans for expansion might indeed have a chance.

After all, there weren’t many blessed soldiers left among the six nations, and a sudden attack from them would make it impossible for the six nations to unite and fight back.

Moreover, the two nations bordering their land were not as powerful as Wutu Country. If not a single elite soldier from the Southern Gate could return, it was not impossible to seize a large portion of these two nations’ territories.

But the prerequisite was total annihilation!

Throughout history, defeating an army was easy, but exterminating one was extremely difficult, wasn’t it?

When two armies faced off, a loss of less than thirty percent was often enough to cause a complete rout, even among elite forces.

If the commanding general could escape, then fifty to sixty percent of the survivors might be regrouped.

Annihilation occurred either when an army was trapped in an isolated city or was completely overwhelmed!

Neither of these scenarios was present in the current situation.

Behind the Southern Gate lay the vast expanse of the Southern Wilderness.

If it could not be held, there would be no shortage of enemy forces that could retreat, and the terrain on the other side made encirclement impossible.

And as for overwhelming force, ha... If Jiangnan really had that strength, would they even get a chance to receive a plea for help?

Faced with this issue, Weichi Feihu found himself in a difficult position. To persuade the other side, he would have to reveal his plan to break through the Southern Gate, but once the plan was spoken, there was also the risk of it being leaked!

His master had indeed anticipated that negotiations would come to this point.

"How about this," Weichi Feihu smiled as he lifted his head, "you carry on and provide reinforcement as usual, merely arriving a day or two later than scheduled!"

"What do you mean?" The General frowned. "What are you getting at?"

"Isn’t this the safest method?" Weichi Feihu continued, "Being late by a day or two to reinforce is at most a matter for reprimand, and there are many excuses that could be made, such as the weather, or natural disasters... If they can still hold the Southern Gate at that time, it means we in Jiangnan cannot break through, and we’ll have to cede the land in the Southeast. Moreover, the greater their losses, the more influence you will have in the negotiations, and the more benefits you will be able to secure. Why not do it?"

"This..." The General and the surrounding Military Generals were taken aback.

This sounded... indeed not a bad plan.

Because it was only a matter of being one or two days late, as long as the Southern Gate hadn’t fallen, even if they arrived late, the current situation meant that the other side would not dare do much to them.

On the contrary, they would rely even more on Azland’s reinforcement troops.

And, if Jiangnan could indeed break through the Southern Gate because of those two days’ delay, it would mean that Jiangnan truly possessed that strength.

Choosing to be an enemy to Jiangnan at that time would be unwise, especially considering that in order to raise those three thousand elite soldiers, Azland had already caused widespread public discontent.

If they were to suffer losses defending the city, it would truly be a loss of more than the gain!

The Prince looked at the silent Military Generals and hesitated before asking, "General, what do you think?"

After thinking for a moment, the General finally saluted with his fists and said, "Your Majesty, what are your thoughts?"

The king of Azland gave his son a deep look. Although his only child, this naive boy seemed to be relying too much on General Long.

Of course, he was aware of all this, but... what could he do before? After all, he only had one son, and the Long Family held significant sway; he couldn’t easily take action against them. But now...

Seeing his personally promoted General asking for his opinion with such respect, the old king nodded with a smile, "This plan is excellent. It avoids risks while offering an opportunity. I find it very good. What about you?"

Even at his most majestic, who would have dared to oppose him?

Now that he was old, even the most ferocious tiger, with teeth that could no longer bite, could no longer inspire fear.

He missed the version of himself that was strong and vigorous terribly, and now, he had a chance to return to those days.

The ghosts of the main temple had already promised him that if he could build more than four hundred Ghost Temples and offer sacrifices of a hundred thousand virgins in the bloom of youth, they would grant him a new body, one with strength surpassing that of any mortal.

Such promises were often boasted by many malevolent spirits of the Southern Wilderness, and he wouldn’t normally believe them, but lately... the power demonstrated by these Ghost Temples had been so miraculous that it had given him, who was already advanced in years, new ideas.

He certainly understood that he was gambling with the nation’s fate; if he lost this bet, the country risked destruction. But if he were to die, what did it matter to him whether the country fell or not?

"I think it’s an opportunity," the king said with a smile, looking at everyone. "After all... no one would refuse the chance for more land, right?"

Upon hearing this, the military generals fell silent. More land meant the chance to establish more Ghost Temples and to have more people for sacrifices, and they themselves could gain more power. If it was a matter of taking just a slight risk, why not?

"General Weichi, is it?" General Long looked at the other, "What do you want us to do?"

Was this already settled?

Weichi Feihu was stunned for a moment, suddenly feeling that diplomacy wasn’t that hard after all...

"Ahem, what we mean is that you should reply saying you will definitely arrive within three days and create some false impressions that it will happen. In fact, your people should delay by one to two days. As long as you meet this condition, the treaty will take effect," he said.

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"Fei Hu’s side has concluded the negotiations..."

Beneath the passes of Tiannan, Chen Qing looked at the mighty pass and said, "Go prepare..."

Tian Heng nodded upon hearing this, "Yes, my lord."

Shen Qi frowned slightly beside him. "It went too smoothly. Could it be a deliberate trap?"

Tian Heng also looked at Chen Qing. The main force this time was his Western Sea Army.

In the past few days, the losses had been severe.

If they fell into another trap, it could be a major blow to their vital energy.

Especially his direct troops, whom he had cultivated loyally for many years, were emboldened enough to accumulate a great deal of faith power within them.

Losing them would mean struggling for years to reclaim the faith power obtained from Ao Zhen.

Currently, Xuu Hu held the highest status in their power structure and was catching up with him the fastest. The newly appointed Combat God Weichi Feihong was no simple character either, preferring to go north and fight for his own power.

There was also the mysterious Thunder Department Combat God, making the power competition in Jiangnan no easy feat.

If he fell behind, resources would become progressively scarce.

If they could take Southeast, the losses they had suffered would be acceptable, but if they failed... they would lose even more, and that would be troubling.

Seeing Tian Heng look over, Chen Qing shook his head, "It’s unlikely to be a plot, because it doesn’t make much sense.

Scheming against Azland brings them no benefit.

They would try to take this place with or without their agreement.

Under the pressure of an intense offensive, the Southern Barbarians’ defenders would still resort to using the second blessing.

Even if they arrived on time, our soldiers could evacuate immediately.

At most, we would suffer some additional losses, but what gain is there for Azland? "

"On the contrary, if they collaborate with us, Azland stands a very real chance of breaking free from its dragon-trapped predicament of hundreds of years and making a breakthrough from the Great West Plate. And I’m quite certain that the entity worshipped in their Ghost Temple would also tempt them to do so! "

"Ghost Temple?" Everyone was taken aback. Hesitating for a moment, Tian Heng asked curiously, "My lord, isn’t the Ghost Temple backed by a single power?"

They all believed that the Ghost Temples established by the Southern Wilderness were backed by the ancient force supporting Emperor Siao of the Capital City, all part of a single power. Logically, they shouldn’t be encouraging their followers to splinter but to cooperate instead.

Their biggest concern was that the spirits of the Ghost Temples within Azland might cause trouble, but from what Chen Qing was saying, those spirits might even aid their side?

What was really going on?