Chapter 2232: What Has Changed and What Hasn’t

“Look at Betha’s consistent behavior,” he said. “Most places it interferes with fall into chaos and don’t prosper. Only occasionally does one or two manage well, and that’s not due to its governance.” He paused, then added, “As long as a place is in turmoil, the State of Mou will have an opportunity to re-enter. Just wait, time will tell.”

While the two great powers waged fierce war and imperial nectar frequently erupted, the State of Cangyan seized its unique opportune moment to develop diligently. Time passed, bit by bit.

It took Betha two years to eliminate the State of Mou’s “partisans” and severely cripple the forces of Spirit Mountain.

This step was pushed forward swiftly by Betha’s concerted efforts, from top to bottom. The Sky Demons required the absorption of nightmare energy, and Betha itself did not wish for Spirit Mountain’s power to grow with the resurgence of spiritual energy, so it moved preemptively.

After removing these undeveloped adversaries, what about the vacuum left behind? Betha, of course, would not directly occupy or send people to govern effectively. Instead, it employed its usual method:

Supporting local minority factions to ensure their greater obedience.

He Lingchuan was already accustomed to this tactic in the Panlong world. To counterbalance Panlong City, Betha had orchestrated the death of Xiluo Kingdom’s old monarch and supported the second prince, who had the weakest foundation, to ascend the throne. The latter indeed became completely subservient, dragging the entire Xiluo Kingdom into an abyss of no return, leading to its demise!

History always repeats itself in a tiresome cycle.

Betha did this for two reasons. Firstly, it didn't want to expend much effort, as these areas were too fragmented. If all were annexed as enclaves, the administrative costs would be immense.

Secondly, the long-term turmoil in these places could consistently provide nightmare energy to the Sky Demons.

For its own long-term stability and peace, Betha had to continuously meet the Sky Demons’ demands and work to develop new nightmare energy pools.

These areas indeed remained chaotic for a long time, with constant fighting and struggles daily.

Many years later, the Mou-Betha War settled into its usual slow pace, like an old ox pulling a broken cart. Both sides had exhausted their passion and had nothing left to say to each other, only occasionally stirring to make a few gestures.

The State of Mou stabilized its economy, thereby securing its position.

At this point, it extended its tentacles again, re-infiltrating those regions.

Previously, it had failed to protect its smaller allies, who either died, surrendered, or fell into chaos, severely damaging Mou’s prestige.

So it approached quietly, sincerely offering money and special weapons:

“Do you want them? With money and weapons, you can fight them!”

“No?”

“Then I’ll find the next one.”

Someone would always want them, for the sake of money.

Money’s influence was always immense.

Spiritual energy continued to recover, and the world remained tumultuous. Yet, observant individuals would notice that after years of upheaval, the human realm still maintained a three-way standoff between Betha, the State of Mou, and Cangyan, with none missing.

Other smaller and medium-sized powers, such as the State of Shen, which grew stronger while Betha was preoccupied with the east, and allies who had re-established alliances with the State of Mou, were scattered around these three giants.

The primary power structure of the human realm had returned to the dynamic balance of many years ago.

At first glance, it seemed as if nothing had changed, yet everything had.

When the first snow of the year fell upon the wilderness, Panlong City finally issued an order:

March on Xiluo!

As Zhong Shengguang had predicted, this battle held great significance for the people of Panlong and had to be fought sooner or later.

At this time, Betha’s attention was fully focused on the east, temporarily easing its pressure on Panlong City.

Panlong City frequently received news from the east: the Xin family in the Sha River basin rapidly consolidated the forces of Spirit Mountain, resisting Betha’s attacks, expanding their territory, and training troops, rising faster than even Panlong City.

Xin Yi had also returned a long time ago and was doing quite well in his hometown.

To Betha, this was an even more conspicuous target.

“When we bully you, you should simply endure it. How dare you fight back and resist? If not you, then who should we beat?”

So Betha unhesitatingly launched a powerful crackdown against it.

This development was, unusually, consistent with the history He Lingchuan knew. On the actual timeline, the Xin family of Sha River did indeed rise during this period and was subjected to Betha’s powerful suppression.

Perhaps for this very reason, Spirit Mountain sought to divert Betha’s attention from the Xin family and secure more opportunities and space for their development.

Perhaps this was one of the main reasons why True Man Qianhuan betrayed Panlong City?

However, unlike history, Xin Yi, who had returned home, maintained contact with Zhong Shengguang. Therefore, Panlong City was well aware of the situation east of Betha.

Simply standing by and allowing Betha to crush the Xin family would also not benefit Panlong City.

Therefore, Panlong City chose to send troops at this time, echoing the Xin family from east to west. This simultaneously eased the Xin family’s pressure and trapped Betha on both sides, making the latter very uncomfortable, a situation known as being stretched thin.

Betha had always caused Panlong City discomfort in the past, but now that Panlong City was growing stronger, it was beginning to return the favor.

As for Zhong Shengguang and General Hong, the major war looming behind them was inevitable; they would have to face it sooner or later!

The time had come.

Xiluo, by the Lakeside of Immortals.

What was once a land of immortals was now a battlefield of carnage.

Coincidentally, this was the very Lakeside of Immortals that He Chunhua’s family had passed through when they relocated from Blackwater City to the capital for his official duties. At that time, they had even fought against defeated soldiers and bandits fleeing from the front lines.

However, the scale of that battle was truly insignificant compared to the current scene.

Along the clear, sparkling lake, two armies were clashing. The terrain here was naturally narrow, and now it was teeming with so many people that avian demons looking down from high above couldn’t even discern the color of the ground.

Half a month earlier, General Hong, General Huyi, and General Nanke led a force of 100,000 into Xiluo territory!

After several months of cautious observation, Panlong City finally announced its entry into the war.

And it entered with fierce momentum, launching a direct assault on a force in Xiluo’s western border immediately after a long-distance raid, without even needing to rest.

The combat capabilities of the local secessionist forces were already vastly inferior to those of the Panlong army, and having fought for several months prior, they were already exhausted.

From Xiluo’s periphery to its heartland, the Panlong Grand Army took only seven hours to penetrate deep into enemy territory, with General Nanke beheading the enemy commander from his horse!

Within Xiluo, one of the four factions was eliminated in just ten hours!

Even with this speed, General Hong was not satisfied, as the Great Wind Army had taken the palace of Jintao Kingdom in only a single night back then.

The Panlong Grand Army then consolidated for ten hours, resting, eating, and feeding their horses, before setting their sights on the next objective.

According to Panlong City’s usual tactics, they would have divided their forces into four or five routes to sweep through Xiluo like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves. However, under Zhong Shengguang’s instructions, General Huyi and General Hong remained together, forming the central army, while other generals split off into separate forces.

Although this ensured stable progress, the advance was somewhat slower.

Consequently, the forces within Xiluo still had time to react, and Betha also had time to dispatch troops!