"Things aren't going well?"
The eldest princess frowned. Jiangnan was a place they had to take. The West Sea had been under the control of the Laoda of the Shen Family for a long time, and it was unlikely that they could seize it temporarily. Therefore, if they wanted to contend with the other side, controlling the entrance to the West Sea, Jiangnan was a very important strategic position!
However, the enemy's strength far exceeded their expectations. The Duke of Qin had deployed a large army in the West Sea, and the Duke of Lu had brought 100,000 of his bloodline disciples to aid them. In theory, this should have been enough to tie down their forces!
Yet he still had the energy to compete with me for the Nanming Prefecture.
Furthermore, judging from the number of troops reinforced at the shore, the other side shows no intention of backing down and seems determined to fight to the bitter end.
Now that Mu Hongqing has done this, the two sides are likely to be locked in a stalemate, and it seems impossible for them to take over Nanming Prefecture in the short term.
If we can't take Nanming Prefecture in the short term, Nanyang City will become a necessary location!
Compared to the central location of Nanming Prefecture, Nanyang City is situated in the rear, making it a more conservative position. If I take Nanyang City, even if the situation becomes unfavorable, I can retreat there, observe the power struggle between the imperial court and the Laoda of the Shen Family, and then seek another opportunity.
But the other party told him that Nanyang City couldn't be taken easily either?
"How could this be?" The eldest princess frowned. "There are no imperial troops stationed in Nanyang City, and now your Laoliu controls all the magic arrays. With just a few sorcerers from the Shen Family, how can they possibly defend Nanyang?"
"That's the problem." Shen Laowu frowned. "At the shore, Laoliu had his zombies blockade us. He demanded that more than 70% of the zombies who came ashore be zombies!"
"Are you kidding me?" The princess frowned deeply!
The location of the breach on the coast is not so easy to obtain. It requires a large number of living corpses to fill the gap with their lives. Moreover, these are not ordinary living corpses. Only those with high-level bloodlines have a chance to find the breach in the magic array and fill the exit with their lives. Now, whether it is the location of Nanming Prefecture or Nanyang City, the breaches have all come at a huge cost.
Shen Laoliu was very cunning. He was lazy and uncooperative when looking for a breakthrough, and he accurately calculated her side's need for a breakthrough in the city, causing her and Laowu's forces to waste a lot of resources.
Now that everything is in place, how could she allow them to suddenly raise the price and demand such conditions?
If it were you, would you hand over a large amount of military power and crucial rear-area defenses to someone else?
Even if this person is Ancient Insect that has cooperated with Laowu for many years.
However, Ancient Insect naturally have a desire to devour each other. Compared to Shen Laowu, with whom she had established the Golden Crow Bloodline Technique, she trusted Shen Laoliu less than one percent of Shen Laowu!
"But the magic array is in Laoliu's hands, and Laoliu also said that he needs some protection!" Shen Laowu frowned. "In the current situation, he has timed things very well, and we are afraid we can't afford to drag things out with him."
Upon hearing this, the eldest princess's face immediately darkened. That was indeed true; the other party had some leverage to delay, and even if things completely turned sour, he could still turn to Shen Laoda. They had bargaining power!
Damn it, this Ancient Insect has the nerve to say that human nature is complex? Aren't they all the same? Insidious and despicable!
"Seventy percent impossible!" the princess said coldly. "Pass on the message: forty percent!!"
On the other side.
Shen Lao'er was controlling Shen Laoliu, turned to look at Chen Qing, while in the distance, Shen Laoliu was communicating blankly with one of Shen Laowu's dependents who had come ashore.
At this moment, Shen Lao'er was covered in sweat, and his spiritual energy was obviously severely depleted. It was clear that completely controlling Shen Laoliu and preventing him from being exposed halfway was extremely exhausting.
Chen Qing shook his head. "Forty percent won't do. Your family doesn't have the bodies of the Golden Dragon Guard and the Black Dragon Guards. Their overall strength is completely mismatched with the Princess's side. Even with seventy percent, they won't have much of a chance of winning in a head-on confrontation."
"But what if we add a magic array?" suggested Shen Laoqi, who was standing nearby.
"Even adding a magic array won't work," Chen Qing shook his head. "We must ensure a sufficient quantity. This operation is a do-or-die situation. If we fail and can't stop the Princess's spread, the Jiangnan region will immediately fall to her!"
The members of the Shen Family exchanged glances upon hearing this, and finally nodded.
Seeing this, Shen Lao'er gritted his teeth and controlled Shen Laoliu, saying, "Sixty percent, that's the bottom line. If you can't do it, then we can forget about being brothers!"
These were the harshest words Shen Laoliu and Shen Laowu had ever spoken to each other, in their memories. Because they had inherited the memories of the two brothers, the two Ancient Insect ' relationship seemed good on the surface, or at least it was affected to some extent, which led to them rarely arguing. Even through Laoliu's memories, Shen Lao'er rarely saw any trace of the two turning against each other. The only time was when Shen Laowu went to the capital and the two had some disputes when they were negotiating terms. That was the first time Shen Laoliu had spoken harshly.
That's the one sentence!
Sure enough, upon receiving this message through his relatives, Shen Laowu's expression changed, and he immediately looked at the Princess with a wry smile, saying, " Laoliu is serious, sixty percent, not backing down an inch!"
"Sixty percent."
The eldest princess bit her bright red nails, her brows furrowed. She disliked such uncertainties. Giving 60% of the troops to the Laoliu meant that she would need to deploy more elite forces in the rear to ensure peace of mind.
After much deliberation, the eldest princess finally said, "Sixty percent is acceptable, but on two conditions!"
"Please speak," Shen Laowu said respectfully.
"First, Shen Laoliu must stay with us from the moment we land on the island, and he must also be present on the front lines in the confrontation with Shen Laoda of the West Sea!"
Shen Laowu nodded upon hearing this. Laoliu controlled the magic array of Nanyang City, which was highly unpredictable. If he were left to guard the rear, along with 60% of his troops and their families, he would indeed be a threat, and they had to comply. However, if he stayed with them at the front line, they would at least not have to worry about him using the magic array to do something in secret. With the number of powerful human bodies that the Princess now controlled, even if she gave up 60% of them, Laoliu would still have no chance of winning against the odds.
Upon realizing this, he immediately contacted the other party.
"Remember, it has to be his real body with us, not his puppet clone!" the princess reminded him quietly.
Shen Laowu nodded, and after relaying the message through his relatives, the other party hesitated for a long time before finally replying, "Okay, but a non-harm agreement must be signed!"
The Laowu nodded. The Laoliu was still cautious enough. The eldest princess was powerful and had now obtained some of the Dragon Palace Inheritance, so she was growing rapidly. The Laoliu's techniques were not suitable for one-on-one battles, so he naturally had to use a spell to restrain her to feel at ease.
"Secondly: I want half of the bodies of the remaining members of the Shen Family, Shen Laoqi must belong to us!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing and the others on the other side immediately displayed various expressions, with the Laoshiyi bursting into laughter. "Looks like our Seventh Brother is still the most popular!"
The Laoqi rolled his eyes at the other person. "Stop talking nonsense!" Then he shook his head at Chen Qing.
Chen Qing understood that he couldn't proceed too quickly, otherwise it would arouse suspicion.
Shen Lao'er understood immediately and replied, " Laoqi can't go to you, Shen Family can give you another one!"
On the other side, Shen Laowu chuckled upon hearing this, "This Laoliu certainly knows how to use this opportunity to demand a price. What should we do, Your Highness? It seems the other party doesn't want to hand over the Laoqi!"
" Laoqi is crucial; we can't let him go!" The Eldest Princess shook her head. "We'll give up two members of the Shen Family, but Laoqi must be ours. Otherwise, I'll seize the coastline by force and show him he can't believe the Shen Family's magic array is unbreakable. If I don't care about the cost, I won't be the one who dies!"
The Laowu nodded and immediately relayed the message. He knew that the eldest princess was a strong-willed person, and it was impossible to persuade the Laoliu to compromise.
They hesitated for a long time.
After a long pause, he finally replied, " Laoshiyi and Laoshi Brothers must belong to me. Laoqi can belong to you, but you must establish a magical agreement that forbids you from using Laoqi's magic to monitor me!"
"Alright!" The eldest princess agreed without hesitation, clearly not one to drag things out.
"In that case, we'll land at the port tomorrow!" the Princess said. "Time is of the essence. After stabilizing Nanyang City, I need to focus all my energy on the situation in Nanming Prefecture. I must have everything in Nanyang settled within ten days at most!"
Shen Laowu nodded and immediately relayed the message. A short while later, the other party replied, "Place the ship at the port at noon tomorrow. Laoliu will be waiting for Her Highness the Princess inside the magic array. Only after the incantation is signed can the living corpses be released into the city!"
The eldest princess nodded slightly. "Alright."
Upon hearing the princess's reply, Chen Qing and his group adopted a serious expression.
"Gentlemen, we only have one chance!" Chen Qing said solemnly. "We are facing a man who has completely ruined the Duke of Qin. The slightest mishap will result in total annihilation. Gentlemen, whether the Jiangnan region can buy enough time depends on this one opportunity!!"
Oh dear, I'm so confused! I forgot to write the title for the last chapter. Sorry, sorry! I'll change it as soon as the editors are back at work on Monday, once I get the permission to edit the title.
I am very sorry for making such a basic mistake. I will resume regular updates as soon as the weather clears up in the next couple of days. Thank you all for your concern and support.