The Plan. (cont.)

Thinking of this, he silently made up his mind...

After leaving the Zuo Family, Maria and Sui followed the man towards the Hundred Refining Bureau once again.

This time, however, they didn't take the shortcut, but instead silently approached a secluded corner.

Even Wei Sanzheng was ordered to stay nearby this time and was not allowed to enter with the men.

This made Maria even more curious.

What methods did the Yan use to create the strength and situation that would suppress the Great Beast in the future?

Soon, Maria and the others arrived at the underground space inside.

Here...

She saw many things.

"Drawing?"

Looking at the mountain of blueprints piled up in the room, Maria picked one up at random and glanced at it briefly.

It concerns an improved design of previous artillery.

The outcome of the previous battle in South River City showed these people the potential of artillery, but at this stage, artillery was still too cumbersome, its power had not been maximized, and it was not safe...

Therefore, they decided to begin upgrading their artillery.

But...

Is that all?

Maria turned her head away.

Designing only artillery is far from enough...

Maria had also seen what the future world looked like, and she had seen war Great Beast that were far more terrifying and raging than those of this era.

She did not deny that, once they had gathered enough equipment, those Mobile City-State posed a significant threat to ordinary Great Beast.

But...

That's not enough.

That's far from enough...

"Of course it wouldn't be these."

The man shook his head slightly.

He knew, of course, that these things were not enough; the cannons of South River City had indeed shown everyone their potential.

But it's too cumbersome for those Great Beasts, and requires advance preparation...

But the Great Beast won't just wait for humans to attack.

They also attack from the shadows...

So...

"And these too."

The man turned his head.

Maria then noticed that on the wall next to her, which was seven or eight meters high, there were hundreds of pieces of blueprints that had been pieced together!

The precise lines showcase the designer's meticulousness in the simplest way, with the dense lines of uniform thickness!

Ancient, simple lines meticulously outline a plan that even Maria had to take seriously.

"You want to... turn the entire Yan into a war machine?"

From the blueprints, Maria could already see traces of a future Mobile City-State, but... unlike those future Mobile City-State, the blueprints at this moment were less about making cities move and more about making them fight!

The areas that a city should have are divided in sequence.

From the evacuation of civilians to the safe zones, to the design of various counter-attack turret entrances, the placement of attack equipment inside, and the location of the control console...

What shocked Maria even more were the various detailed figures listed...

No... those things aren't numbers, but... a series of marks?

It was then that Maria noticed piles of papers on the wall and floor beside her, each marked with a corresponding number!

The height they could stack up to be even greater than the entire room!

They really intend to do this, and they've already started implementing it!

"These... were things you did after South River City?"

Maria simply picked up a piece of paper, glanced at it a few times, and was somewhat taken aback.

But the man shook his head.

"This is a plan that started a long time ago..."

South River City was merely a catalyst; the core of the plan had already been prepared long ago.

He took a deep breath and silently raised his head.

"Since recorded history, the Great Yan has always lived alongside Great Beast... I know that perhaps in some countries, people regard Great Beast as gods and try to befriend them in various ways."

"I don't deny that there was indeed a time when the Great Yan bowed down to the Great Beast and prayed for their protection..."

"But... what did we get as a result?"

"These so-called Great Beast have never taken us seriously..."

The man's voice was calm, as if he were recounting history.

But Maria could sense the deep anger hidden in the man's words.

"Before I ascended the throne, I traveled throughout the entire Great Yan with several of my brothers..."

"I have witnessed the ignorance of countless villages, where when they encounter mountain demons, they must send away children less than a month old, claiming it is to appease their anger..."

"I have witnessed countless impoverished people forced to leave their homes and resort to cannibalism due to Catastrophes..."

"I have witnessed countless swindlers and fraudsters wantonly bullying the common people, all because of a mere claim of the might of Great Beast..."

"All our contributions, all our pleas, everything that mattered, were utterly insignificant in the eyes of those Great Beasts!"

"From that moment on, I understood that so-called Great Beast never care about humans."

The man clenched his fist, then silently turned his head to look at the two people in front of him.

He knew these two were also Great Beast, but under these circumstances, he still chose to speak his mind.

In fact, he had already made preparations from the moment he chose to bring these two people here.

Why would he leave Wei Sanzheng, whom he trusted most, on the ground?

Because he had been prepared from the very beginning.

If any problems arise, the other side will detonate the explosives that have been buried on the ground since the area was first built, burying everyone dozens of meters underground!

Perhaps the Great Yan will lose an emperor, but... the Great Yan can also lose two dangerous Great Beast!

Even Great Beast cannot remain unmoved when faced with tens of meters of rock and mud without any preparation.

Even if they manage to get out, they will be met by the most elite force in the entire Hundred Stoves!

He simply gazed at Maria and the girl, his face calm.

"It was from that time that I began to feel that this land ultimately belongs to people..."

"And as the Emperor of Great Yan, the only thing I must do is return this land to its rightful people..."

"..."

Neither Sui nor Maria spoke; they simply gazed at each other in silence.

However, Maria remained calm in the face of what the man said, as if she had long since witnessed all suffering.

But Sui smiled.

"So... you want to defeat the Great Beast?"

"... more than."

A flame blazed in the man's eyes, like a raging inferno of madness.

"I will... conquer the Great Beast!"

"With just these?"

Despite his age, he remained indifferent, as if the other party wasn't targeting his fellow countrymen.

In fact, for Great Beast, the concept of kinship has never existed.

They are all unique individuals and never consider others as their own kind.

"..."

The man did not reply; he simply gazed intently at the two women before him, his demeanor calm and composed.

Sui, however, just smiled and shook her head.

"Then I won't discuss whether these things can defeat the Great Beast or accomplish your plan of conquering Great Beast. But I want to ask, what do you intend to do with the Great Beast you've conquered... if these things can fulfill your wish?"

"To be used by others".

The man's words remained calm.

There is no doubt about his aversion and hostility towards the Great Beast.

Even so, he was still able to remain calm.

Killing the Great Beast is certainly the best option, but for the Great Yan Dynasty, it is not the optimal outcome.

The best option is to strip the Great Beast of their power and allow them to control them.

"This is not an easy task."

The woman gazed at the man before her.

It must be admitted that the other party is indeed very ambitious.

Conquer the Great Beast?

This idea is probably something many people have had in mind.

But... at least for now, Sui has only seen the man in front of her make such a move.

But ambition is ultimately just ambition.

Without the corresponding strength, so-called ambition is just a joke.

Now, what she's questioning is the other person's ability.

"What do you intend to do? Build these cardboard boxes, load Great Beast with countless cannons, and use the lives of other people to fill in the future you envision for the behemoth?"

"... It's not possible to do it with just these things."

The man shook his head.

He then turned around and led the group forward.

Sui and Maria followed.

"Although artillery is powerful, the bodies of Great Beast are incredibly sturdy; although steel is strong, attacks from Great Beast are never easy... Conquering Great Beast is not something that can be accomplished simply by advancing the times and using new technologies."

"At its core, it's the Great Beast's overwhelming power..."

"So?"

He's a little curious now.

"So... we plan to plunder the power of the Great Beast in another way..."

The man stopped walking as he spoke.

Beside him, a huge, monolithic, translucent yellow-black crystal, as tall as three people, lay quietly within the sealed area...

Unique diamond-shaped patterns float slowly within it, as if its interior were entirely liquid.

Sui was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on her lips.