Inside the main hall of the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Bastards! This is treason, treason! A bunch of traitors!"
"Western Alliance... What does this mean?"
"Are they planning to defy me, defy the orders of the Heaven Dou Empire?!"
Xue Ye, the mighty ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire, was furious.
He had never expected that the little kingdoms, which had once shown the Heaven Dou Empire such unending respect, would turn on them the moment the empire was defeated.
The Heaven Dou Empire had just suffered a defeat on the border with the Great Ming Empire, losing five hundred thousand troops. It was devastating news.
There was no way to keep it secret. That news gave those kingdoms the confidence to stir up trouble and join the Western Alliance.
The Heaven Dou Empire had suffered a heavy blow. Its current forces probably weren't even as numerous as the combined armies of those few kingdoms.
What's more, there was also the Great Ming Empire, a behemoth of a power. Even the Heaven Dou Empire would need to join forces with the Star Luo Empire to oppose it.
After analyzing the situation from every angle, the kings all arrived at the same conclusion.
Even if they formed the Western Alliance United Nations, the Heaven Dou Empire wouldn't be able to deal with them anytime soon.
The Heaven Dou Empire's main forces still had to be deployed on the battlefield along the Great Ming border.
As for whether they might suffer the same fate as the Great Ming Empire after it was dealt with, that was where the benefits of the United Nations came into play.
A single kingdom, wavering on its own, couldn't sway the balance of power on the Douluo Continent.
But what about three, four, five, or even seven or eight kingdoms?
United, they posed a threat no less than an empire. If the United Nations came under threat, it could simply choose to submit to another empire and help that empire rule the continent.
Three sides keeping one another in check—a triangle was stable.
Bang!!!
The more Xue Ye thought about it, the angrier he grew. At last, he slammed his palm hard against the desk.
"I can't deal with the Great Ming Empire just yet, but surely I can handle a few measly kingdoms!"
As he thought this, a murderous glint flashed in Xue Ye's eyes.
He absolutely couldn't let them get away with this.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't! The Heaven Dou Empire is currently joining forces with the Star Luo Empire to fight the Great Ming Empire. Our main forces should be reserved for the future battlefield against Great Ming."
"We mustn't open another front. Besides, with the Heaven Dou Empire's current reserve of elite troops, we simply can't sustain a war on two fronts!"
At those words, Xue Ye fell silent.
It was true. The Heaven Dou Empire's current reserve of elite troops was nowhere near enough to sustain a war on two fronts.
Helpless, Xue Ye could only suppress his anger.
"Send word to the Balak Kingdom. Prince Xue Ba is to mobilize the kingdom's troops and join them with the Heaven Dou army to form a force of five hundred thousand. We march against the Great Ming Empire!"
The king of the Balak Kingdom had a somewhat unusual relationship with the Heaven Dou Empire. Thanks to its strategic location, the kingdom had nearly three hundred thousand heavily armed troops, and its king was a prince by title.
Now, the Star Luo Empire was demanding that the Heaven Dou Empire send troops to contain the Great Ming Empire.
The Great Ming Empire had deployed most of its forces to the southern battlefield against the Star Luo Empire. The Heaven Dou Empire naturally couldn't let them down at a time like this.
Even if they had to borrow troops, they had to grit their teeth and go through with it.
Of course, a small incident took place along the way.
The Balak Kingdom's army wanted to cross the Silves Kingdom directly and enter Heaven Dou territory to join up with the Heaven Dou army.
In the past, that would have been no problem, since they all belonged to the Heaven Dou camp.
But unfortunately, that wasn't possible anymore. The Silves Kingdom had now been won over by the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom and become a member of the Western Alliance United Nations.
As a result, the Balak Kingdom's army was driven away in a humiliating fashion. They had to take a long detour before they could enter the Heaven Dou Empire.
In secret, the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom had stopped limiting itself to winning over the Heaven Dou Empire's kingdoms.
One night, it secretly contacted the king of the Hadrian Kingdom. After two and a half hours of negotiations, the other side chose to wait and see.
The reason they wanted to wait and see was to find out how the Star Luo and Great Ming Empires would fare.
The Star Luo Empire's main army had gained no advantage in its clash with the Great Ming Empire's main forces. Instead, it had lost a defensive line in its very first large-scale battle.
That was also why the other side was considering joining the Western Alliance United Nations.
After all, Xu Nian'an had declared war on both empires and every kingdom in the Star Luo Empire.
If the Star Luo Empire was defeated, they could declare independence and join the Western Alliance United Nations, confident they could escape the consequences of Star Luo's defeat.
The reason they wanted to wait was that the Star Luo Empire wasn't fighting the Great Ming Empire alone.
It had an imperial ally: the Heaven Dou Empire.
No one was a fool. Even a foolish king couldn't survive for long in the Warring States Era.
Xingyao City, the imperial camp!
Bang!!!!
[Level 31!] ... [Level 33!] ... [Level 36!] ...
With Ma Xiaotao's help, Xu Nian'an successfully refined the Infernal Delicate Apricot. His Soul Power broke through to level thirty, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately chose to absorb his third Soul Ring.
At once, the Soul Power within his body surged. In the blink of an eye, he crossed seven or eight levels and reached the peak of level thirty-nine!!!
Crack!!!
As Soul Power roiled through his body, Xu Nian'an's bones cracked and popped. His Soul Power broke through once more.
[Level 40!]
吟~!!!
Xu Nian'an slowly opened his eyes. The third Soul Ring around him flashed, and waves of sword intent surged wildly.
Forty Dragon Emperor Swords appeared around Xu Nian'an, and a phantom slowly took shape behind them.
"Return!!!"
Xu Nian'an beckoned with one hand. The countless phantoms around him all returned to his body.
"Your Majesty~"
Xu Nian'an slowly turned his head, meeting Ma Xiaotao's bright red eyes.
He looked away and brushed dust from his clothes, though there wasn't any.
"I want you to lead the Holy Spirit Cult into Tianxing Province and eliminate its high-ranking officials. Take on the identity of a high official's daughter and lead Tianxing out of the Heaven Dou Empire. Establish the Tianjing Kingdom!"
After hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Ma Xiaotao slowly rose to her feet.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
On July seventh, the Holy Spirit Cult infiltrated Tianxing Province.
Three days later, all of the high-ranking officials in Tianxing Province had been slaughtered. A gravely wounded young woman, on the verge of death, was found among the family of one of Tianxing's officials.
She was none other than the eldest daughter of a Tianxing official. Her whole family had been slaughtered, and she alone had survived.
With the help of Tianxing Province's high-ranking Soul Masters, she took command of the army legitimately and became the province's new ruler.
She then used an iron fist to crush every voice of opposition.
"Under the leadership of the Star Luo Empire, two hundred thousand of our Tianxing sons and daughters lie buried in a foreign land."
"Because of the selfish desires of certain people, how many of us have been torn from our families!"
"I, Tianfeng, hereby declare that I am breaking away from the Star Luo Empire. I declare independence and establish the Tianjing Kingdom."
"We will take part in no war, and we will obey no one's orders!"
On July twelfth, with the Holy Spirit Cult's help, Ma Xiaotao secured control of Tianxing Province's military forces. Once her position was secure, she decisively declared independence from the Star Luo Empire and established the Tianjing Kingdom.
Since Ma Xiaotao stood on the side of the common people, she faced no opposition. Instead, she won their overwhelming support.
After all, the two hundred thousand troops Tianxing Province had sent as reinforcements had all died in the Galloping Wolf Kingdom. The people were already seething with resentment, and it had been the Star Luo Empire that demanded they send those troops. Now word had come that the Star Luo Empire had been defeated.
Why keep fighting alongside the Star Luo Empire?
So their children and husbands could keep dying on the battlefield?
Better to refuse to fight, establish an independent kingdom, and stop obeying the Star Luo Empire's orders.
When news of the Tianjing Kingdom's establishment reached them, the Great Ming Empire immediately issued a statement.
"The Great Ming Empire has no enmity with the Tianjing Kingdom. The Great Ming Empire is simply protecting its people and defending its interests from harm.
"As long as the Tianjing Kingdom does not harm the Great Ming Empire's interests, we will not send troops, much less start a war. The Great Ming Empire loves peace and hopes for peace!"
(PS: I'll speed up the plot. Of course, I won't keep writing about wars; I'll develop side storylines later, too...)