"Was I truly such a foolish and incompetent ruler?"
Xiao Ying's face darkened as he rebuked them, yet Hojo Soun and the Hojo Clan members were not afraid but delighted. Their ambitions, which had only just been suppressed, began to stir again as they all stared eagerly at Xiao Ying.
It made sense. The Hojo Clan had now submitted to the Great Huan Dynasty. If the Huan Emperor ordered them to deal with the Dark Council, it would be nothing short of a joke. Not only would it accomplish nothing, it would be no different from sending the Hojo Clan to their deaths—and the losses would be the Great Huan Dynasty's own strength. The Huan Emperor could not possibly be foolish to that extent.
"The task is neither difficult nor easy. The key lies in whether you take it to heart and whether you give it your all!"
Xiao Ying did not immediately clear up their doubts. Instead, he first soothed them, giving them a measure of confidence and hope before issuing a warning.
Hojo Soun exchanged glances with the Hojo Clan members. With righteous solemnity and faces full of loyalty, they shouted, "With Your Majesty's command, even through mountains of blades and seas of fire, even if crushed to dust and shattered to pieces, this minister shall not shrink from it!"
Xiao Ying smiled in satisfaction and said slowly, "Very simple! I want the Hojo Clan to gather every ninja and War Shinobi it can muster, then send them deep into the Dark Council's sphere of influence. That should not be difficult, should it?"
Needle against wheat awn—assassination was what ninjas did best, while the Undying Forces were fundamentally beings who moved through darkness.
If ninjas were to assassinate undying beings, what force could be more suitable than ninjas?