Xu Tianran's punch was like the Seven Injury Fist: it hurt the enemy, but himself first.
As the saying went, before the armies moved, provisions had to go first. Shrek and the Three Great Empires had been able to estimate roughly when the war would break out because they had factual grounds for doing so.
Could they wage war before the autumn harvest? They could, but it would inevitably require forced labor, further taxation, and the transport of grain and supplies. Once too much grain was requisitioned, the common people would rather die than endure it.
Could they wage war after the autumn harvest? They could, but it had to be swift. Fighting through an entire winter was not much of a problem for Soul Engineers, but the civilian laborers accompanying the army would suffer terribly.
If it dragged on any longer and delayed the spring planting, it would become a catastrophic crisis that harmed the nation and its people.
Therefore, the Sun Moon Empire had only a scant few windows in which to wage war. Launching one early would only bring greater losses to their own side.
In the end, the Sun Moon Empire was the side fighting outward.
Military texts said: "Thus, a wise general sought provisions from the enemy. One zhong of enemy grain was worth twenty of one's own; one shi of enemy fodder was worth twenty of one's own."
Rushing into war was absolutely not a wise choice.
But even if it meant hurting himself before hurting the enemy, Xu Tianran went all in. He could not stand by and watch that mysterious force entrenched within the Three Great Empires gradually arm their Soul Masters.
Even if he, the one who had launched the war early, threw this punch and left himself with churning blood