I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 537 - 294: The First Battle on the Harbor, The Emerging Brilliant Sun_2

Xu En fell silent for a moment upon hearing this and then said, "Those people should die."

"Don’t say that; they are quite capable." Gu Shanhai still felt the need to defend them, not because the institute’s people were incompetent but because the process was inherently slow.

Yan Country seemed unrealistically powerful, as though they were cheating, and because Gu Shanhai was a specialist, it made them appear even slower. In reality, they were not slow at all; Gu Shanhai had seen the experimental data himself.

As the two were talking, Gu Shanhai suddenly furrowed his brows and then, in an instant, sprang into action. He vanished right before Xu En’s eyes, leaving only one phrase behind,

"Enemy attack!"

"What?!" Xu En’s expression changed dramatically, and he quickly departed to gather his troops.

In an instant, Gu Shanhai moved to the harbor entrance, where he saw dense, incoming cannon fire like torrents of arrows.

"These cannonballs infused with Daoist Soldier power can’t be drawn into my sleeve dimension," Gu Shanhai noted with a slightly altered expression.

It was his first time seeing such a perfect integration of military tactics and modern weaponry.

The cannonballs not only possessed the destructive power of normal shells but also the force of Daoist Soldiers, which allowed the general to control their speed, power, and accuracy.

These were at least of the ten thousand King-level Daoist Soldiers’ force. If Gu Shanhai were to try and contain them in his dimension, there was a considerably high probability of it being torn apart.

Therefore, he could only counter with the power of the Daoist Soldiers.

Ten thousand Heart Demon Dao Soldiers materialized, forming the Eight Formation Map. Eight demonic shadows solidified, defending the positions, while the soul force of the White Tiger military, combined with Gu Shanhai’s mana aura, surged forth.

"Make your move!"

The enormous White Tiger let out a roar, generating sonic waves that trembled across much of the sky.

Waves surged on the sea surface, and the enemy’s ironclad warships formed a special naval Array for resistance.

As for the incoming cannonballs, they were already shattered by the White Tiger’s roar in mid-air.

"Kill them all—" Gu Shanhai issued the order once again.

The Heart Demon Dao Soldiers moved. On the sea surface, they moved as if on flat land, not even causing a ripple, completely suppressed by the Eight Formation Map.

While Gu Shanhai’s role seemed limited to issuing commands, in reality, every action of the Heart Demon Dao Soldiers was orchestrated and computed by the Four Sacred Beasts System for initiative and interfacing.

Therefore, while Gu Shanhai issued the orders, the Four Sacred Beasts System conducted the commands.

As a system, it handled these menial tasks while Gu Shanhai set the broader strategy, benefiting from battlefield and combat models to greatly ease the process than if Gu Shanhai had to operate them by hand.

The Heart Demon Dao Soldiers, each bizarre in form, swiftly closed in on the Yan Country warships.

The warships relentlessly released cannon fire for attack, growing more powerful with each volley. From the third round onward, the roar of the White Tiger couldn’t hold them back.

Under the command of the Four Sacred Beasts System, the Eight Formation Map’s eight Demons also launched their assault. The huge Array spun into action, rendering all attacks ineffective as they struck.

[Request to deploy strategy: The Thirty-Six Stratagems]

The request from the Four Sacred Beasts System appeared before Gu Shanhai. With the enemies drawing near, it was naturally planning for close combat.

"Approved." Gu Shanhai found no reason to deny it.

Following this, the Four Sacred Beasts System directly drew mana to form specific Thirty-Six Stratagems, aimed either at subduing the enemy or enhancing themselves.

Both forces collided instantly, and then the intense struggle began, each side trying to breach the other’s defenses, which heavily relied on having their own military Arrays in place.

Inside the Heart Demon Dao Soldiers’ Eight Formation Map, both the White Tiger and the eight Demons assisted, while the enemy’s military Array relied on their warships, equipped with extremely powerful defensive strength.

"It’s somewhat interesting but that’s as far as it goes."

Gu Shanhai then took out the Azure Dragon. This was war, not a one-on-one duel, killing the opponent was the key point.

The Azure Dragon began to gather strength, Mana continuously fed into it by Gu Shanhai.

Among Gu Shanhai’s arsenal, the most formidable offensive power unquestionably belonged to the Azure Dragon. Whether it was arrays or Heart Demon Dao Soldiers, these fundamentally served as auxiliary, the Azure Dragon had been designated as a weapon from the start.

[Warning! Azure Dragon is nearing limit value]

The warning from the Four Saints Beast System flashed past, but Gu Shanhai didn’t take it to heart. Instead, he scoffed, "No need to remind me, I know my own creation better than you do."

Subsequently, a violent Mana aura and Dragon Breath laser erupted, combining the power feedback from the Daoist Soldiers, the entire sea area churned with various forces in this terrifying Dragon Breath laser, including flames, frost, and deadly poisons.

The speed of the Dragon Breath laser was extremely fast, and before the enemy could react, it bombarded their military formation.

The enemy’s formation began to melt like snow, and afterwards, the Dragon Breath exploded, turning into a terrifying aura that enveloped the entire battlefield.

This aura was not only used to amplify the Heart Demon Dao Soldiers but also to weaken the enemy.

"As expected, the perfected sixth level lets me alone match a hundred thousand King-level Taoist Soldiers and their commanders." Gu Shanhai had always relied on individual prowess, whether it was Heart Demon Dao Soldiers, the White Tiger, or the Eight Formation Map, they were merely parts of the sixth level that belonged to him.

By exploring alternative paths, one individual could possess both the numbers of Daoist Soldiers and the capabilities of a commander.

It was mainly the White Tiger giving strength.

Once the enemy lost their military formation, the Eight Formation Map directly swallowed their entire fleet. Next, the enemy, having lost the boost and protection of the military formation, shifted from being evenly matched to being at a disadvantage.

Screams of agony constantly emanated from the fleet, and the sea surface was stained with a layer of blood-red.

At this point, Xu En also hurried over, swallowing hard upon seeing the scene.

"Marquis, have you... resolved it?" he asked, somewhat in disbelief.

"Did you send a message to His Majesty?" Gu Shanhai didn’t answer but directly questioned.

"A response has been received. Yan Country has initiated full-scale war, invading Dalong and Xi Country on two fronts without any warning."

"Xi Country, caught off guard, lost three states swiftly and is also faced with an invasion from Zhou Country. Now, Xi Country is in grave danger."

Xu En also put away his shocked expression and said gravely.

"What’s the reason?" Gu Shanhai asked further.

"It’s unclear for now, but according to the intelligence, the adversary seems to have grasped the power of the sun, though this matter cannot yet be verified," Xu En explained.

"???" Gu Shanhai was flabbergasted; he naturally knew what the power of the sun was. If it were a regular nuclear bomb, indeed, it would be of little concern, but in this world, it certainly incorporated the inherent system, and getting hit by one would really kill people.

"If that’s really the case, then it’s a big problem." Gu Shanhai understood; if Zhou Ding truly mastered a nuke combined with military tactics, then he indeed possessed the raw strength to achieve these feats.

What likely followed would be a strong demonstration, but it was unknown whom Zhou Ding would choose as this unfortunate example.

"Go send a message to His Majesty. I’ll return tonight," Gu Shanhai said, looking into the distance.

He genuinely hadn’t expected the situation to change so swiftly. At this stage, winning a head-on battle was highly unlikely, so to win, unconventional methods must be used.

"Yes, Marquis." Xu En’s expression changed as he understood Gu Shanhai’s temperament—always preferring to sit if standing wasn’t necessary, always delaying tasks if possible. If even he was prepared to return, it indicated that a significant change was indeed imminent.

Gu Shanhai’s unconventional method was simple: a decapitation strike, to kill Zhou Ding directly.

The difficulty was indeed high, but compared to facing modern military-powered Daoist Soldiers and a nuke fused with military tactics on the battlefield, this challenge was much lesser.

Gu Shanhai could withstand a nuke, but not one merged with the power of military tactics—this was no longer a mere nuke but a top-tier military weapon with multiple capabilities.