Chapter 1915: Needle-sharp Confrontation

Of the seven allied factions, only two remained silent. All the pressure fell on Situ He.

He knew this situation was inevitable once the meeting began, so he took out a letter from Helian Chuan from his pocket. “He Xiao is the Great Emperor of the Netherworld; he has admitted it himself,” he read.

He then handed the letter to the others for circulation.

Prince Poliu was the first to read it. He raised an eyebrow and scoffed, “This fellow has some nerve, claiming to be the reincarnation of the Dragon God!”

Other envoys countered, “But on that day, the Dragon God ascended to the heavens and circled Julu Port for a long time; there were countless witnesses.”

Prince Poliu sneered, “It was mere illusion! Such tricks might deceive country folk, but how could they blind us?”

Someone meekly added, “However, Heavenly God Miaozhan truly fell.”

“That was just him claiming a divine feat for himself!”

Situ He raised an eyelid. “How do you know the Great Emperor of the Netherworld claimed a divine feat for himself? If it wasn't him, then who killed Heavenly God Miaozhan?”

“Uh…” Prince Poliu was at a loss for words. General Piyun, standing nearby, came to his rescue. “Perhaps the words in this letter are also false. He Xiao might not be the Great Emperor of the Netherworld at all! He's just taking credit for the Great Emperor's accomplishments.”

Situ He said impatiently, “If He Xiao isn't the Great Emperor of the Netherworld, what exactly do you want me to clarify?”

Indeed, he had a point!

Prince Poliu quickly steered the conversation back. “Since He Xiao himself has admitted it, let's assume for now that he is the Great Emperor of the Netherworld. This man has mobilized the Black Armored Army to launch uprisings everywhere, and he harbors ill intentions toward us! Marshal Situ, how do you propose we deal with this?”

“Exactly, what do we do now?”

Everyone wanted to know if the Black Armored Army would attack the allied forces. And if they did attack, what should the allies do?

Situ He replied, “Increase vigilance, observe carefully, and for now, remain inactive.”

This answer clearly didn't satisfy everyone. “What if the Black Armored Army attacks then?”

“Aside from the fact that He Xiao might not necessarily resort to force against us, even if the Black Armored Army truly attacks, from which direction would they strike first?” Situ He’s face was grim. “Or are you suggesting we preemptively attack them?”

The envoy from Luoyu Kingdom, who had been silent, dejectedly said, “Be careful; they can conquer a nation in just two days.”

Everyone was momentarily speechless.

“That was a long-planned, surprise attack!” Prince Poliu retorted, displeased. “Don't give others too much credit. These Black Armored troops are just good at creating a grand impression. If we were to attack Peng Nation, ha, that tiny place could be taken with one hand.”

“That He fellow’s entire letter is full of high-sounding principles, but in reality, it's all empty rhetoric and nonsense,” he said, pointing at Helian Chuan's letter and scolding. “According to him, all the places his Black Armored Army conquers are ‘evil’? And if we don't join him, we'll also become evil and become targets for him to eradicate, right? It's simply absurd!”

The Luoyu Kingdom envoy once again spoke coldly, “Then what do you propose we do?”

Luoyu Kingdom stood with Situ He, backing him up. The Luoyu Kingdom envoy spoke the words Situ He found inconvenient to say.

Prince Poliu, aware of this, pointed at Situ He and said, “Shouldn't Marshal Situ be proposing a strategy and leading us to resist the Black Armored Army?”

The moment he said “resist,” everyone knew he was psychologically on the defensive.

Situ He’s face darkened. “I have also said that now is not the time for a proactive attack. The Black Armored Army hasn't even arrived, so how can we even talk about ‘resistance’?”

“That's called preparing for a rainy day. Should we wait until they ride across our borders before you finally wake up?” Prince Poliu sneered. “That He fellow's talk of negotiating with you within three months is just a delaying tactic! Three months, hehe, by then it'll be too late.”

Situ He understood his point, but still prompted, “It seems you already have a plan. Let's hear it.”

“We've been fighting Bixia for over a year, and our troops are exhausted. The Black Armored Army appearing now to take advantage of our weakness is highly disadvantageous to us,” Prince Poliu said, his expression serious. “Looking across the Glimmering Gold Plain, the only force capable of containing them quickly is an even greater power!”

Situ He didn't wait for him to build suspense and ruthlessly exposed his thought: “You want to seek help from the Heavenly Gods?”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Situ He picked up the letter from the table. “He Xiao said that the Heavenly Gods extracting Glimmering Gold Grease is his objective. If we seek help from the Heavenly Gods, we would be actively pushing ourselves to be adversaries of the Black Armored Army. Even if he initially didn't want to fight, he would then make a move. How foolish is your method!”

“With the Heavenly Gods' assistance, what is there to fear from the Black Armored Army?”

Tong Wuchan, the envoy from Luoyu Kingdom, spoke sarcastically, “Heavenly God Miaozhan, one of the top three Heavenly Gods in Lingxu, was killed by him! How do you know other Heavenly Gods can defeat the Great Emperor of the Netherworld?”

Prince Poliu glared at him, almost blurting out, “Who said Heavenly God Miaozhan was really killed by him?” but fearing the conversation would fall into the previous loop, he held his tongue. “No matter how formidable he is personally, his forces are weak. Otherwise, why would he have pretended to be harmless and secretly expanded Yangshan's influence before? We should now borrow strength from the Heavenly Gods, strike hard while he's still developing, and prevent him from growing too powerful. Otherwise, the Black Armored Army will be even harder to deal with in the future.”

Situ He stared at him. “Has Prince Poliu already invited a god? Otherwise, how can you be so certain the Heavenly Gods will definitely intervene and help?”

“…” Prince Poliu dropped the pretense. “The Heavenly Gods favoring the allied forces—isn't that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”

Previously, the Heavenly Gods only blessed Yaoguo and Luodian. Why would they even glance at minor powers like them?

“Everyone here understands that no matter how valiant He Xiao and his Black Armored Army are, they are merely a flash in the pan; in Glimmering Gold, only the Heavenly Gods are eternally powerful!” Prince Poliu declared sharply. “If you can't see the trend, don't drag us all down into the abyss!”

The others remained silent, tacitly agreeing with his statement.

Anyone who tries to contend with the Heavenly Gods must be delusional, no matter who they are!

“The Heavenly Gods wanted me to deal with He Xiao, and I made a request—that Bixia surrender,” Situ He scoffed. “After all this time, the Heavenly Gods haven't replied. Do you truly think they genuinely intend to help us?”

The Heavenly Gods wanted him to ambush He Xiao but were unwilling to sacrifice Bixia. Situ He knew very well that the Heavenly Gods' gaze had always been on Yaoguo, never sparing him a second glance.

“To make demands of the Heavenly Gods, one must at least show sincerity,” a Kanzu tribesman uncharacteristically supported Prince Poliu. “First, we must expel Yangshan's forces from allied territory, so they cannot gather more intelligence!”

The Kanzu people had little affection for He Xiao. When Kang Lang, the sixth prince of Poliu Nation and son-in-law to the Kanzu, became the governor of Qingye City, he was supposed to provide annual dividends to both parties. However, upon reflection, the Kanzu realized that He Xiao's distribution plan for Kang Lang was problematic, causing them to suffer a hidden loss, which they resented greatly.

“At least half of our various trade goods’ supply and transportation depend on Yangshan. Furthermore, some of our military provisions and supplies for fighting Bixia are still provided by Yangshan!” Situ He stated gravely. “Cutting ties would require time and effort.”