I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 541 - 296: Gathering a Million Soldiers, Movements in All Directions_2

Chapter 541: Chapter 296: Gathering a Million Soldiers, Movements in All Directions_2

Yan Country had launched a full-scale war, and within less than a month, Xi Country had lost three provinces, while Long Country also had a province occupied. It was only due to the fact that Zhou Country was located far from Yan Country; otherwise, Zhou Country might well have been annihilated.

The Dragon Tooth Daoist Soldiers were indeed fierce, but that did not mean they could outmatch the adversary.

They had tangled with Xi Country for so many years without conquering a single province, which clearly spoke to Yan Country’s power.

As for why they had been able to entangle with Xi Country for so may years, it was naturally due to support from Yan Country and Long Country. They would love nothing more than for themselves to bite even deeper.

Hearing Xu Bu speak thus, all the ministers in the hall, who bore the traits of dragons, were silent.

"Why not seek the Dragon’s body, reshape the Dragon Soul, and Your Majesty, recreate heaven and earth?" someone suggested.

The suggestion meant reviving the Demon Dragon of the past to reverse the situation.

Although the Demon Dragon had been dismembered, it could be reassembled if its scattered parts were gathered, and as for the Dragon Soul, that was the "Dragon Tooth Military Technique."

However, Xu Bu immediately vetoed the idea, "If the Demon Dragon reappears, it will only bring about more trouble and evil karma. It’s utterly impracticable."

Though he said so, Xu Bu was indeed tempted, but tempting as it was, action was another matter.

He certainly didn’t want to end up with an Emperor Taishang over his head for no reason. Should the Demon Dragon be resurrected, wouldn’t his position as Emperor Zhou, the practitioner of the "Dragon Tooth Military Technique," become very awkward?

Therefore, he flatly rejected the suggestion on grounds of righteousness.

Everyone could hear what Xu Bu was implying, so no one brought it up again. Yet truly resurrecting the Demon Dragon was no easy task.

First, the Demon Dragon had been dismembered, each piece hidden away in some unknown region, either collected by great families or buried in the plains, the deep sea, and it was uncertain if they could even locate them.

By the time they found all the pieces, Zhou Country might well have been destroyed.

"Our great era lies not in the present, but in the future," Xu Bu declared upon seeing this.

Xu Bu had long made his plans. He did not intend to compete but to wait until his "Dragon Tooth Military Technique" reached its zenith. He would feign death and self-entomb, emerging when another dynasty grew weak, thereby gaining enough power.

It was mainly because these people were too strong and wily; he simply couldn’t defeat them. So, he would wait for another chaotic era, emerge from the Emperor’s Mausoleum with his Dragon Tooth Daoist Soldiers and sweep across the world like a thunderbolt to achieve the imperial throne.

None of the other warrior-lords could match his ability. After all, the "Dragon Tooth Military Technique" came from no ordinary source. It could reverse the human form and turn it into a dragon’s, greatly extending the lifespan, especially when combined with self-entombment, which would also slow the passage of life.

Indeed, he had not given up; otherwise, he would have surrendered rather than boldly claim the throne.

The reason for claiming the empery was to absorb the essence of a whole nation with his current half-dragon form and, previously, to plunder from Xi Country the wealth required for the Emperor’s Mausoleum.

Upon hearing Xu Bu’s declaration, everyone was greatly stirred, as the high-ranking among them naturally knew of Xu Bu’s plans. Now was not the time for victory, but after wearing down the opposition, they could mold them at will.

"Please take the construction of the Emperor’s Mausoleum to heart, gentlemen, for it is the foundation of us all," Xu Bu, who surely intended to wait within the Mausoleum, said. He was not one to simply send out a message.

He intended to play out the full ruse, not to gloss over it for his enemies.

Neglecting these details for minor conveniences would cost him his very life.

After all, when the enemies came knocking and discovered you were still alive, how could they possibly let you be?

At best, you’d be imprisoned—a dismal fate, given that his lifetime far exceeded of average warrior-lords. When other Emperors saw such longevity, they would certainly covet it, and life would become unbearably torturous.

"Yes, Dragon Lord," everyone naturally replied in unison. After all, it concerned them personally—they would surely take it to heart.

...

"Another epic task?" Zhou Ding looked at the new task that appeared.

The epic task named The Battle for the Nation’s Fate naturally came with intelligence released by Jiang Lu, which puzzled him. The enemy had yet to reach a point of desperation, yet they had chosen to stake everything on a single throw.

He understood why this epic task was called The Battle for the Nation’s Fate, as long as he won, there would hardly be any resistance to unification.

As for losing, the consequence of failing the task would be his death.

He also didn’t know if there would be another achievement like starting all over again that might be triggered next.

Therefore, for the safety of his own life, Zhou Ding felt that he must complete this task.

"Gathering millions of Daoist Soldiers is going to be tough," Zhou Ding also felt a bit of a headache.

If these millions of Daoist Soldiers were a coalition of many troop leaders, Zhou Ding wouldn’t be too worried. He had millions of Daoist Soldiers under his command too and could match them pound for pound.

But the terrifying power held by one troop leader commanding millions of Daoist Soldiers could indeed steamroll his Yan Country.

However, he also understood that the enemy couldn’t steamroll him, as they definitely couldn’t control all millions of Daoist Soldiers. At most, only one-tenth could be controlled, and the remaining nine million Daoist Soldiers would serve more as a deterrent.

"Recruiting soldiers now would be too late." Zhou Ding knew that even with the Dynasty Struggle System, recruiting merely required him to enter numbers in a designated column, but the process took time to take effect.

The larger the number, the longer the process.

Now he also knew that although he had system assistance, the system’s effects required time and had to conform to logic. For instance, when he enacted a national policy, it would come into being or be executed due to various circumstances.

For example, certain technologies would coincidentally become known to someone who would then come to his service and would be promoted through various accidents.

Technologies like planes, cannons, and warships were the accumulation of technological advancements from various national policies, forming a complete technological structure over time, requiring only his activation of the policy for someone to have an epiphany or to achieve it through collective wisdom and efforts.

"I only have ten thousand Four Ounces Taoist Soldiers at hand. Although they excel at overcoming the strong with the weak and the many with the few, no matter how strong they are, they can only counter at most one million king-level Daoist Soldiers. The gap with tens of millions is too vast."

Four Ounces Taoist Soldiers and king-level Daoist Soldiers, named after the strategy "using four ounces to move a thousand pounds," were Zhou Ding’s most powerful type of Daoist Soldiers. The difficulty, time, and cost to train them were extremely high, and they could fight ten at their level.

As for himself, after becoming Emperor, he had gained an achievement that exempted him from 99% of the damage within the main city, and 90% within his domain. Essentially, as long as he stayed within his main city and coupled with the Daoist Soldiers’ feedback, assassins wouldn’t even think of harming him.

Fortunately, over the years, he had stayed in the main city and never left, so he didn’t have to worry about his personal safety.

It’s not that Zhou Ding didn’t want to train more. He also wanted a million Four Ounces Taoist Soldiers, but he couldn’t afford the consumption if there were more.

His daily expenditure was that of a million king-level Daoist Soldiers, meaning although they could fight ten at their level, the cost was also that of ten people.

But fewer numbers meant easier control.

Luo Chuan and Jiang Lu, controlling a million Daoist Soldiers, seemed overwhelmed and couldn’t necessarily bring out the full power of a million Daoist Soldiers. In contrast, Zhou Ding controlling ten thousand Four Ounces Taoist Soldiers could unleash the force of a million. If it really came to a fight, Zhou Ding might even win.

Of course, there was no lacking downside. The military technique feedback from ten thousand Four Ounces Taoist Soldiers was only at the level of ten thousand, not at the level of millions, unlike the other two, one a troop leader with million-level feedback and the other with ten-million-level feedback, who were very powerful.

"I can only use props to speed things up, just don’t know if it’s going to be in time." Zhou Ding had hoarded quite a few props. Since the last time the main city fell and he had to start over, he had developed a habit of stockpiling them.

Now that the decisive battle was approaching, it was the suitable time to use them.

"After using everything, the national strength of Yan Country should be able to advance to the next level."