Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Ye Yun, after venturing into the game once to clear out the Suishou beasts around Tengcheng, had fallen into seclusion. He had only visited his beloved daughter once.
"Elder Qin, Elder Xia, has His Majesty emerged from seclusion yet?" on the Seventh Heaven, in the imperial court, Yue Xia stood anxiously before Qin Zhan and Xia Xingchao.
"His Majesty is still in seclusion, Marshal Yue. What is so urgent?" Qin Zhan asked, seeing the usually composed Yue Xia so flustered.
"The Futian Empire has deployed a hundred-thousand-strong army of Extreme Realm cultivators, led by twenty Quasi-Emperors, and they are heading towards the Fifth Starfield. Prior to this, five legions, each nearing a hundred million in scale, are also advancing towards the border front of the Fifth Cosmos." Yue Xia looked at Qin Zhan, his expression grave.
"One hundred thousand Extreme Realm cultivators? The Futian Empire has always been suppressed by us. How could such a terrifying army suddenly appear, along with twenty Quasi-Emperors at once?" Not to mention Qin Zhan, even Xia Xingchao, standing beside him, was shocked.
A hundred thousand Extreme Realm cultivators plus five hundred million soldiers, coupled with the two hundred million soldiers already stationed at the border front, was the Futian Empire planning to launch a full-scale war?
It was important to note that the current Ten Directions Empire had just barely surpassed five hundred cultivators at or above the middle stage of the Extreme Realm. Although this included several dozen Quasi-Emperor powerhouses, the fact that the enemy could dispatch twenty Quasi-Emperors at once meant that the Futian Empire's current number of Quasi-Emperors would not be small.
"According to the reports from the front, these hundred thousand soldiers are likely disciples from the Three Sects and Three Palaces, these hidden forces. This means that those hidden powers have now colluded with Yao Die and the others. Moreover, given the influence of these hidden powers, the number of Futian Empire's soldiers will increase at a terrifying rate. It is believed that it will not be long before the Futian Empire's army surpasses its previous peak strength."
In the past few years, the Ten Directions Empire had annihilated hundreds of millions of Futian soldiers. However, if the Three Sects and Three Palaces truly backed them, then Futian's prestige and military strength would reach a new height.
The hidden powers had lingered in the Ten Directions Heaven for too long, and even many past Great Emperors had shadows of them behind them. Now that they collectively sided with Yao Die, those still neutral or previously enslaved forces would naturally gravitate towards them.
"Old Qin, how many cultivators does our empire have above the initial stage of the Extreme Realm?" Xia Xingchao, formerly the foremost of the Five Clawed of the Huayi Nation, was clearly more decisive.
"The gap is too large. Our early Extreme Realm cultivators have only just surpassed five thousand, and nearly eighty percent are members of the Thorn Army. Our main forces are still at the Monarch stage. If we exclude those thirty million Monarchs, the cultivators above Monarch that we have nurtured ourselves are only a little over 1.6 million." Qin Zhan gave a wry smile about this.
Although the resources allocated by the empire daily were immense, the base of soldiers was simply too large. While tens of thousands of soldiers broke through daily, the vast majority occurred among cultivators at the Main God Realm.
"Old Qin, Marshal Yue, His Majesty is still in seclusion. I suggest you first consolidate the front lines and slow down the pace of conquest. This will prevent unnecessary sacrifices of our soldiers. Furthermore, we have eight group armies, with over twenty Quasi-Emperors in total. If we gather them, we can not only deploy their Quasi-Emperors in advance but also carry out large-scale slaughter of their troops once war breaks out."
After speaking, Xia Xingchao glanced at the two before turning to make arrangements for pre-war logistics. He was merely the Left Prime Minister and had no decision-making power in conquest; he could only offer advice to the two.
"I believe Elder Xia's suggestion is reasonable. Old Qin, what do you think?" Yue Xia pondered for a moment before asking Qin Zhan.
"The domain gates between starfields are complex. Some have only two domain gates, while others have three. We just need to gather in a starfield with only two domain gates. That way, even if they come, we can mount a good defense. This method is worth trying. However..."
"Old Yue, I think our eight group armies combined have twenty-seven Quasi-Emperors. We can be a bit more aggressive. For example, after arranging our defenses, we could send all our Quasi-Emperors out for a few surprise attacks."
As he spoke the word 'surprise attacks,' Qin Zhan actually gave a somewhat lewd smile.
"Wouldn't that be a bit dishonorable?" Yue Xia asked hesitantly.
"Dishonorable? You're a thousand-year-old virgin who doesn't even have a wife. I'll go this time, and I'll drag Old Wang and the others along. The more people, the more strength." Qin Zhan said, then directly sent a message to Wang Chen and Liu Hai. Within moments, the two appeared before them with a few people each.
"Old Wang? Old Liu? You guys arrived so quickly?" Yue Xia looked at Wang Chen and Liu Hai, feeling that their expressions were not quite right.
"Heh heh, Old Yue, you don't understand how bored they are. They've told me several times that they want to see the front lines." Qin Zhan chuckled, pleased with himself for catching a few Quasi-Emperors to be free labor.
As for Wang Chen and the others, they were going mad from staying here every day, possessing Quasi-Emperor strength but no outlet to use it, only seclusion outside of seclusion. Now that Qin Zhan had asked them to help kill enemies, they were overjoyed. They even brought their two adjutants along, saying they wanted to show them the world.
Thus, the original eight groups, with twenty-seven Quasi-Emperors, became thirty-three.
Yue Xia led a few people away. In the Fifth Cosmos, after Liu Lang and Xue Wuhen received Yue Xia's orders, they quickly gathered their subordinates and retreated to the starfield where the Xue Clan's main camp was located, awaiting Yue Xia's arrival to rendezvous.
Unfortunately, all the major legions were still exploring territory in the Sixth Cosmos, separated by a full two thousand seven hundred starfields. This meant that the other six group armies could not come.
"Brother Wuhen, quickly send a signal for your clansmen to return to the Xue Clan starfield as soon as possible. If they cannot return within ten days, tell them to find a safe place to hide outside." After the army entered the Xue Clan starfield, Liu Lang said to Xue Wuhen.
The two legions had been conquering the Fifth Starfield alone for over half a year, capturing more than one hundred and twenty nebulae. The Xue Clan had already dispersed. Now, it was almost impossible to recall all the Xue Clan members at once.