Beastmaster of the Ages

Xiaodao said, ”Rex Mundi, you’ve overpraised us. My disciple and I merely wanted to fulfill our duties as part of the Infinitum Bodhimanda. Since the moment the ebons plotted to sow disunity in the Swordgod Lin Clan, we’ve had a grudge with them. The fact that we crushed two of their armies is proof of that. What we did today is merely a continuation of our vengeance for what they’ve done to us. Comparatively, Rex Mundi’s destruction of two of their key figures deserves much more credit.”

Xiaodao made sure to not emphasize their contributions while inflating the grudge between the Lin Clan and the ebons. It was incredibly reasonable, and also served to calm the masses’ worries about any ambitions they might have. It showed that the Swordgod Lin Clan, even if they were competing with Yi Daiyan, had a line that they would never cross, especially not anything that threatened the lives of uninvolved innocents. No such global war would take place as a result of the Swordgod Lin Clan’s actions.

”You’re truly humble. Killing Shenxi Xuanxi and Shenxi Ling’e is but icing on the cake. It’s hardly what counts. In all fairness, most of the credit of today’s success belongs to you and your clan. You risked sanction by the Infinitum Bodhimanda to come to save it from the ebons. The masses under our banner shall remember your sterling attitude!” Yi Daiyan emphasized. She seemed to want to make sure that all the accreditation was done properly.

”That’s right! The Swordgod Lin Clan must be proud to have the two of you.”

”You’re truly honorable and loyal folk.”

Such were the sentiments echoed by Yushan Taifeng, Sayedi, and the rest. Tianming rolled his eyes at it all. So what if we get credit? Credit isn’t the same as actual benefits. If you reward me with the Infinitum Stele, I’ll even take down Ebonopolis for you.

Little did Tianming expect that Yi Daiyan would turn to look at him at that precise moment. ”The ebons are on the brink of defeat, and this is the most crucial moment. While our army suffered casualties to some extent, our main force is still capable. We also have two infinitum-class ships backing us up, so we don’t have to fear the Ebonfiend, either. We should take down their last stronghold, Ebonopolis, and rid Ebonia of them for good! It’s the ideal time to wipe these traitors out! I believe we should immediately set out with the two ships. Let’s rid the Infinitum Bodhimanda of Shenxi Xingtian—what do the two of you think?”

It was a public proclamation, unlike the private negotiations she’d had with Tianminng and Xiaodao involving Intrepidus and Myriadpath Valley. She knew that attacking the ebons for massacring innocent civilians was only part of the reason for their choices. The main point of contention was still the fact that the ebons had allied with outsiders.

Tianming’s impression of Yi Daiyan fell because she was trying to use public pressure to get them to cooperate. To think that he had just been marveling at how charismatic and powerful she was. He suddenly realized that she wouldn’t be as easy to deal with as he had previously thought. If she really was that direct and frank, there’s no way she’d put us on a podium like this with everyone watching instead of negotiating with us in private. Tianming and Xiaodao were completely aware of the politics in play, yet the public didn’t yet know about the ebons siding with outside forces. Things simply weren’t so clear cut and transparent.

Everyone anxiously awaited their response.

”Master, we only planned for Taixi City. If we take down Ebonopolis as well, nobody in Ebonia will be able to curb her influence anymore. At the end of the day, Myriadpath Valley and Intrepidus are only sending elites, not armies. If she harbors ill intent against us, we’ll have been forced into a passive position, right?” Tianming asked.

”Indeed.” Xiaodao furrowed his brow. The longer their silence stretched, the more pressure fell upon them.

After confirming that fact, Tianming immediately responded. ”Rex Mundi, I believe that this isn’t a good time to attack Ebonopolis. First, we’ve just experienced a huge battle. While most of our forces are intact, the miniaturized nova sources in these three million ships are running dry. Based on that alone, it’s unlikely that we’ll catch Ebonopolis completely unprepared. Additionally, if we properly charge up the ships, we’d have much better chances against Ebonopolis even though they’ll have been given more time to prepare.

”Second, as far as I’m aware, Shenxi Xingtian is prepared to fight to the bitter end to protect his final stronghold. He’s driving all the wildbeasts in Ebonia to gather near Ebonopolis, ending his attacks on civilian settlements. That’ll increase the wildbeast forces around that city by fiftyfold. Our ships will require ten full charges to be able to blast away the wall of beasts there.”

The second reason was a part of Shenxi Xingtian’s plan that Yin Chen had just found out about. At first, the crowd had been disappointed when they heard the first reason, thinking that the Swordgod Lin Clan had questionable loyalties. But the second reason was indeed quite convincing.

”Fiftyfold?”

They had already been terrified by the sheer number of beasts in the previous attack; fifty times that amount was completely unthinkable.

”We were only able to take Taixi City because the ebons were caught off guard. To be honest, we pretended to ally with Shenxi Xingtian before the battle began, letting him mistakenly believe that our ships would be on his side. Suddenly betraying his expectations like that was the key that completely crushed their morale. However, his mindset is different now. If we attack right away, even if we win, we’ll suffer at least tens of times as many casualties as we just did,” Tianming said.

”That sounds reasonable.”

”We can’t underestimate Ebonopolis just because we managed to take Taixi City.”

”That’s right. The ebons lost every time because they underestimated their opponents.”

”We experienced quite a fright just now. I want to go back and check on my home.”

Tianming’s reasons were received seemingly quietly by those in the ruins of the city. Yi Daiyan’s calm expression, however, was completely unreadable.

”However!” Tianming added. ”The ebons gathering all their beasts into one megawave benefits us in two ways! First, the settlements on the surface are free from wildbeast attacks for now. The beast waves have all receded, so the battle there is temporarily over. Second, nova wildbeasts have always been a problem in Ebonia because they’ve been scattered too far and wide and they reproduce at a rate faster than we can kill them off. But with them now gathered in one place around Ebonopolis, our ships should be able to reduce them to ashes with our concentrated blasts! Every attack is an erosion of the foundations of the ebons’ power!”