The Treaty of Versailles!

Treaty of Versailles!

Emperor Dai Haochen of the Star Luo Empire widened his eyes, his gaze filled with utter disbelief.

He was aware of the unexpected explosion that had occurred at the Great God Lake Defense Line last night.

He was not the only one who knew; almost everyone in Star Luo City had seen it.

After all, the sound of the explosion had been deafening, and the light it emitted had been far too bright.

He had sent people to investigate, but the situation was urgent, and the Great God Lake Defense Line was quite a distance from Star Luo City.

Dai Haochen waited and waited, but in the end, the men he had dispatched never returned.

Consequently, he had closed his eyes for a brief nap.

He had only dozed off for a moment, and the second he opened his eyes, he was told that Star Luo City had been surrounded by the elite troops of the Great Ming Empire???

He could not fathom it, nor could he understand.

He did not know how the Great Ming Empire had managed to breach the Great God Lake Defense Line, race hundreds of kilometers through the night, and successfully lay siege to Star Luo City.

BANG—!!! BOOM!!!

Just as Dai Haochen was still deep in thought, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the north gate of Star Luo City.

Immediately after, a group of people came stumbling toward him.

"It's bad, it's bad, Your Majesty! The north gate has fallen, and the iron cavalry of the Great Ming is upon us!"

"Your Majesty, we should take the remaining forces and relocate the capital."

"As long as the green hills remain, there is no need to worry about firewood!"

"Your Majesty, as long as you leave Star Luo City, you will have a chance to make a comeback!"

The ministers spoke over one another, yet Dai Haochen remained frozen in place, not moving an inch.

"Father!"

At that moment, a youthful, immature voice rang out.

Dai Haochen snapped his head up to look at the three people approaching from behind.

"Dai Weisi, Empress Zhu, Dai Mubai!"

The arrivals were Dai Weisi, Empress Zhu, and Dai Mubai, who had only recently learned to walk.

In an instant, Dai Haochen's heart softened.

In truth, he had already considered numerous solutions in the moments prior.

But in the end, he had rejected them all.

The Star Luo Empire was one of only two empires on the Douluo Continent to have stood for a millennium; it was a long-established power, and it had taken generations of the Dai family's ancestors dedicating their lives to reach this point.

Now, he had squandered it all away.

He truly had no face to relocate the capital.

Even if he were to die in battle here, he would still have the face to meet his ancestors.

But when he saw his eldest son Dai Weisi, Empress Zhu, and even his youngest son Dai Mubai, who had only just learned to walk, he hesitated.

Dai Haochen parted his parched lips.

"So this is the Star Luo Imperial Palace... It is indeed worthy of an empire; it is far more luxurious than the Galloping Wolf Kingdom."

Regrettably, before he could utter those final words, dozens of figures suddenly flew in from the distant horizon.

"Since you are all here, it seems we won't need to hunt you down one by one."

Twelve Spirit Douluos and nearly thirty Spirit Saints—it was clearly the Holy Spirit Sect that had mobilized.

In the blink of an eye, they had surrounded everyone within the palace.

"It's over, the Star Luo Empire is finished!"

HUM—!!!

Just then, a brilliant starlight flared outside the palace.

"Oh? I didn't expect there to be such a powerful Spirit Master within the Star Luo Empire."

The twelve deacons exchanged glances, and six of them instantly took flight, heading toward the source of the brilliant starlight.

"Stay exactly where you are, and perhaps you might still live a life of wealth and status, second only to one and above ten thousand."

"Do not put up any futile resistance; if you defy our orders, we cannot guarantee your safety."

CRACK—CRACK—!!!

Dai Haochen clenched his fists tightly.

He felt only deep humiliation. How dare they? How could they... It was truly a case of a tiger falling to the plains and being bullied by dogs.

If the Clear Sky Sect were still around as they once were, how would a mere few Spirit Douluos dare to act like this!

It was a pity, but the past was the past, and the present was the present.

Currently, the Star Luo Empire could not compare to the flourishing Great Ming Empire in terms of military strength or the number of spirit masters.

Xingyao City.

Xu Nian'an spent the entire night drafting the treaty for Star Luo's defeat.

Yes, Xu Nian'an had no intention of striking while the iron was hot to immediately annihilate the Star Luo Empire.

Are you kidding?

How vast was the entire Star Luo Empire? Was it something a nation with only a few million people like his own could possibly manage?

If you take too large a step, you're bound to tear something.

If the citizens of Great Ming ever became outnumbered by the foreign population, it would be the harbinger of the empire's collapse.

If others could easily implement a plan to replace the populace, then after a period of time, for all intents and purposes, Xu Nian'an would not have won at all; he would have essentially been conquering the world for someone else.

Just look at certain modern nations that imported foreign populations.

For Xu Nian'an, an absolute racial purist, this was completely intolerable.

Yet, Xu Nian'an could not simply slaughter every city he arrived at and kill everyone.

Therefore, destroying the Star Luo Empire was, at least for now, out of the question.

The population base of the Great Ming Empire was simply too small.

It wasn't until the sky began to brighten that Xu Nian'an received word in Xingyao City from Star Luo City.

"Report, Your Majesty! We have successfully surrounded and captured Star Luo City, and have taken the Star Luo Emperor, Dai Haochen, alive!"

Looking at the treaty in his hand, Xu Nian'an nodded with satisfaction.

"Prepare the carriage; we head to Star Luo City immediately!"

Although Xu Nian'an did not intend to destroy the Star Luo Empire, since he had finally defeated them, they were now a defeated nation. They had to pay reparations, and he would use the treaty to constrain them for the next few decades, using that time to grow his own population.

Wouldn't that make it easier to rule this continent later?

The following afternoon.

The luxurious carriage of the Great Ming Empire pulled up outside Star Luo City.

Xu Nian'an had specifically changed into battle armor and chosen a dragon-horse that possessed the bloodline of a sub-dragon.

Sitting atop the towering steed, he saw a sea of white; the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry had completely secured Star Luo City.

Beside Xu Nian'an were countless Dragon Guards clad in golden dragon armor.

"Report! Upon occupying Star Luo City, our Great Snow Dragon Cavalry did not enter a single household, nor did we seize a single grain of food!"

As Xu Nian'an rode into Star Luo City, the commander of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry immediately stepped forward to report.

Hearing this, Xu Nian'an nodded.

Although he didn't care much, he did not want the Great Ming Empire to appear in the eyes of the continent's countless people as a mere invading force.

Even if he didn't care.

A defeated nation had to look like a defeated nation.

But Xu Nian'an also knew that rather than robbing the common folk of their meager earnings, it was far better to bleed the Star Luo royal family dry.

Standing before the imperial palace of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Nian'an couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

"In these two thousand-plus years, I am likely the only one who has fought their way here, aren't I?"

Star Luo Empire conference room.

Dai Haochen had been on pins and needles all day, but in the end, he finally waited for that man to arrive.

"I can allow you to continue serving as the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire."

Swish!

As soon as Xu Nian'an's words fell, countless gazes immediately snapped toward him.

Dai Haochen's face was filled with wild joy.

He had originally assumed he wouldn't survive, that the Star Luo Empire would be downgraded to a kingdom, and that his eldest son would take his place (to better control the Star Luo Empire).

Now, it seemed he wouldn't have to die, and the empire wouldn't have to be downgraded.

"However, as a defeated nation, there are certain conditions you must sign."

Xu Nian'an pulled out the Treaty of Versailles.

The main content covered three points: territorial division, military restrictions, and war reparations.