Punish Huaxia Severely

Only after a long while did the aura surrounding Jin Dachang gradually subside.

His gaze slowly swept over the Haidong Country Awakened, who were silent as frightened mice, and he snorted again.

To all the Awakened, Jin Dachang was acting so violently because Huaxia had slandered his ancestor.

But they had no idea.

They did not know the real reason Jin Dachang was so furious.

Everything in Huaxia's articles... was true.

The banned books of Haidong Country had once described a powerful, prosperous empire.

Back then, that empire had been the center of the world.

Envoys from countless countries had traveled thousands of miles, bearing jewels and beautiful women, to bow at that empire's sovereign's feet.

Back then, Haidong Country's rulers had only dared call themselves kings, not emperors. They had even needed an imperial investiture before they could legitimately ascend the throne!

Those records matched the articles Huaxia had published.

Jin Dachang had no choice but to believe them.

Haidong Country had once been Huaxia's vassal.

Haidong's ancestors had once groveled before Huaxia's ancestors.

Even the founding of their country had only been possible because Huaxia had helped.

At the thought, Jin Dachang could not help feeling a trace of fear.

It seemed Huaxia's inheritor truly knew many secrets unknown to anyone else.

This time, it was only articles. If they found solid evidence next time...

He would truly be finished!

But even a handful of articles was more than he could afford to ignore.

They concerned Kim Chunchu's dignity and the confidence of every descendant of the Kim Clan.

That was why he had to act enraged and show enough indignation.

He had to make everyone believe that Huaxia's articles were utter nonsense.

Jin Dachang's gaze turned vicious, his tone grim.

"Huaxia has slandered the Kim Clan's ancestor. I will not swallow this insult."

"Tell me how we should strike back!"

Everyone present instinctively glanced toward the corner.

The man who had earlier advised Jin Dachang not to act rashly was still coughing up blood.

"Commander..."

Seeing that no one was speaking, one of Jin Dachang's advisers stepped forward.

He was not an Awakened, but Jin Dachang kept him close because he was skilled at reading his superiors' minds.

"In today's world, ancestors are more than just ancestors. They are the very foundation of our power!"

"King Taejong is not only the ancestor of our commander and the Kim Clan, but the ancestor of all Haidong people!"

"Huaxia has acted with reckless disregard and insulted King Taejong. This is no longer mere provocation. This is a declaration of war!"

"We must strike back with overwhelming force and punish Huaxia severely!"

The adviser spoke with an air of righteous conviction.

His eyes, however, never stopped watching Jin Dachang's expression.

At the slightest sign of displeasure, he would immediately change his tune.

"Punish Huaxia severely?"

Jin Dachang deliberately furrowed his brow and spoke gravely.

"You mean we should declare war on Huaxia outright?"

"But Huaxia has only published articles and taken no other action. If Haidong Country declares war now, we risk giving people grounds to criticize us!"

The flash of excitement in Jin Dachang's eyes did not escape the adviser.

Instantly encouraged, the adviser raised his voice another notch.

"Commander, our ancestors must not be defiled!"

"Huaxia must be punished severely!"

"Huaxia provoked us first. However Haidong retaliates, Huaxia will have brought it upon itself!"

"Under your leadership, our army of over a hundred thousand Awakened will sweep everything before it and shatter Huaxia's lies in one stroke!"

"Only then will the world know that King Taejong must never be insulted!"

"Whoever dares insult our ancestors or the descendants of the Kim Clan will be trampled beneath the feet of the big stick nation!"

Roused by the adviser, the others felt their blood surge and began clamoring for war against Huaxia.

Jin Dachang snorted coldly, his powerful pressure silencing them once again.

Though he pretended to be conflicted, inwardly, Jin Dachang was laughing wildly.

He had been struggling to find a way to get rid of Su Chen.

He had never expected Huaxia to hand him an excuse.

Declaring war outright would certainly invite plenty of criticism.

But compared with the threat Su Chen posed, that was not even worth Jin Dachang's consideration.

Besides, just a year ago, he had been an ordinary truck driver in Haidong Country.

Becoming an inheritor had been like ascending to heaven in a single step.

He had gone straight from the bottom of society to the pinnacle of power.

A life of extravagant luxury and indulgence.

The sense of control that came from taking whatever he wanted from others, with no one daring to resist.

Things he had never even dared dream of had suddenly become reality.

Jin Dachang had soon forgotten what it felt like to be an ordinary person.

Now, all he cared about was holding tightly to the power and benefits that had fallen into his lap.

And Su Chen was undoubtedly the greatest threat to them.

If Haidong Country declared war on Huaxia, he could eliminate Su Chen with full justification.

He could also clear Kim Chunchu's sullied name and make his own position even more secure.

It was killing two birds with one stone!

Admittedly, it was rather strange that Huaxia had suddenly produced these articles.

But to Jin Dachang, this was precisely a sign of Huaxia's weakness.

Haidong Country's Awakened had seized Huaxia's Ancestor Symbols. Huaxia was bound to harbor a grudge.

But with no one having awakened their bloodline and only a single inheritor in all of Huaxia, they had no way to stand against Haidong Country.

Yet simply swallowing the insult would do nothing to appease Huaxia's people.

So Huaxia's authorities and its inheritor had worked together to produce these articles.

They wanted to divert the public's attention elsewhere.

But you never imagined...

You've handed me the perfect excuse to strike!

Once I kill that inheritor of yours...

No one will ever know Huaxia's buried history again.

You've shot yourselves in the foot!

At that thought, Jin Dachang stopped hesitating and spoke.

"Pass on my orders!"

"Huaxia has openly provoked us and insulted Haidong's ancestors. We have decided to retaliate resolutely!"

"However, considering that Huaxia and Haidong have been neighbors for generations, I, as Haidong Country's inheritor, am unwilling to start a war lightly!"

"But Huaxia's inheritor, as the instigator of this incident, must personally come to Haidong Country, apologize before King Taejong's symbol, and admit his guilt and accept punishment!"

Jin Dachang's imposing presence bore down on them, every word striking their hearts like a heavy hammer.

"Otherwise, Haidong Country will declare war on Huaxia!"

"The Kim Clan's army of over a hundred thousand Awakened will crush Huaxia!"

As Jin Dachang finished speaking, the Awakened in the room lit up with excitement and could not help shouting.

"Our commander is truly wise!"

"An inheritor represents his ancestors! If Huaxia's inheritor admits his guilt before King Taejong, that means Huaxia's ancestors are kowtowing before Haidong's ancestors and confessing their guilt!"

"Exactly! Unless the people of Huaxia have lost their minds, they'll never let their inheritor do that. But that will give us even stronger grounds to declare war!"

"That's right! Huaxia provoked us first, but our commander was unwilling to rush into war and gave them a chance to apologize and admit their mistake. If Huaxia refuses to appreciate it, they'll deserve to be wiped out!"

"Haha! Huaxia only has one inheritor. How could he possibly stop our army of over a hundred thousand Awakened?"

"This time, Haidong Country will crush Huaxia and shake the world!"

"Crush Huaxia and shake the world!"