Over the course of his rise, King Chengdui had conquered far more worlds than Qin Yi. His experience was vast, and the experts under his command were all battle-hardened veterans.
Yet the moment the two sides clashed, the battle turned out like this. Both the Nie Kingdom and Qin's Nation were left confused, even stunned.
This... made no sense at all.
But the reason was actually quite simple. No matter how experienced or powerful King Chengdui was, he had one fatal weakness compared to Qin Yi: he knew far too little about the worlds he conquered.
Qin Yi, on the other hand, had always had a clear objective from the very beginning. He knew the story, background, and major figures of every world. More importantly, he knew exactly who the true geniuses were. His kingdom gave those talented individuals the environment they needed to grow, ensuring they wouldn't die prematurely because of accidents or circumstances before reaching their full potential.
Take the Naruto World, for example. Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Itachi, Might Guy, and many others had undergone countless battles and years of training. By now, they had all reached the fifth level of Starlight. Or the world of The Legend of Sword and Fairy, where Jiang Qing, Li Xiaoyao, Lin Yueru, Zhao Ling'er, and the others had likewise become top-tier experts.
Qin Yi knew who the protagonists of every world were. He knew how to find the people with the greatest potential.
King Chengdui was different. He entered each new world knowing almost nothing. He could only strengthen the experts he happened to encounter. As for the countless hidden talents and future heroes that existed in those worlds, he neither knew of them nor had any way of discovering them.
He had conquered more worlds than Qin Yi, but the problems accumulating beneath the surface had grown just as quickly.
---
The battle continued.
Qin's Nation advanced almost effortlessly. Even after the Nie Kingdom's Venerables joined the fighting, they still couldn't stop Qin's Nation's momentum.
The Parliamentary Institute's strategists... Their carefully planned decisions... Qin Yi's final command... Combined with the army's overwhelming strength, the three worked together seamlessly to create the unstoppable military force that Qin's Nation had become.
They fought with planning. They fought with discipline. They fought with strength. During the battle, they even formed enormous military formations to systematically surround and wipe out enemy forces.
The Nie Kingdom, by comparison, fought much more crudely. They had three powerful armies. They had thirty-six Venerables, each commanding elite troops.
But after that? Who coordinated them? What battle plan were they following? What overall strategy did they have?
None.
Against an enemy they could overwhelm with sheer strength, this might have been enough. But against an army like Qin's Nation, one that had meticulous planning, complete preparation, and elite soldiers, how were they supposed to win?
The course of the battle exceeded everyone's expectations. Qin's Nation had never imagined the enemy would prove so vulnerable. Likewise, the Nie Kingdom had never expected to be defeated so quickly.
Large-scale warfare wasn't child's play.
King Chengdui had always valued individual experts above everything else. He had never cared much about strategy or the people capable of creating it. As a result, the Nie Kingdom was severely lacking in that area.
Qin's Nation was the exact opposite. Qin Yi had developed the government. He had developed the military. He had established the Parliamentary Institute and the Academy of Sciences. Even people whose personal strength was average could hold positions of immense importance if they possessed extraordinary intelligence, people like Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, and members of the Nara Clan.
The Parliamentary Institute itself was an enormous organization made up of these brilliant minds, and its status within the nation was exceptionally high. They never fought on the front lines. Their job was to formulate strategies and make decisions. Even so, they could determine the outcome of an entire war.
Sometimes, even Qin Yi himself, as King, would follow the Parliamentary Institute's recommendations before issuing his final orders.
---
The continuous defeats left King Chengdui shocked. What truly enraged him was that the Nie Kingdom's armies were being steadily driven back.
"Damn it!" He slammed his hands down and stood up. "What are the thirty-six Venerables doing? How could they possibly be losing to them?"
The Shinigami reporting from the front replied with difficulty, "The enemy's organization and coordination are incredibly strong. It's as if they prepared every single step in advance. And Qin's Nation's troops are no weaker than ours. They're extremely difficult to deal with."
"...Qin's Nation." King Chengdui slowly repeated the name, his eyes filled with chilling hostility.
This war was enormous in scale, spanning both the Human World and Soul Society. Together, nearly two hundred million soldiers were fighting. At that scale, even if one area of the battlefield suffered setbacks, it wouldn't necessarily affect the overall situation.
But that was exactly the problem. In a war of this scale, everything was interconnected. Once the tide began to turn against one side, a complete collapse was only a matter of time.
At that moment, among the four battlefronts in Soul Society, only the southern front had managed to maintain a stalemate. Neither side had gained the upper hand there, but neither had broken through. Soldiers continued to die every moment.
"The south isn't a concern." King Chengdui's eyes flickered as he fell into thought. "But the north... the more I look at it, the stranger it seems."
Compared to the other three fronts, the northern battlefield was unusually quiet. The southern army was mostly composed of experts from Hueco Mundo, which wasn't surprising. But the northern force consisted of people he had never seen before. More importantly, the power they wielded seemed to naturally suppress the abilities of the Shinigami.
After a long silence, King Chengdui suddenly stood up.
"Aizen. Yasuo." His gaze sharpened as he called their names.
"Captain Chengdui," Aizen replied with his usual smiling expression.
Yasuo, on the other hand, merely glanced at him before lowering his head again and continuing to wipe down his sword sheath.
"You two are coming with me." King Chengdui spoke in a deep voice.
Without another word, he strode out of the office and headed toward Central 46.
---
In the skies above the northern battlefield, Qin Yi calmly watched the three-dimensional display before him.
By now, the drones had searched almost every corner of Soul Society. After eliminating each possible location one by one, they still hadn't found any trace of the Realm Gate.
Around him, reports of victory kept arriving, but Qin Yi merely nodded calmly.
"Report! On the western front, Whitebeard has slain two Venerables. Our army continues to advance and holds an overwhelming advantage!"
"Report! On the eastern front, Uchiha Madara has defeated one Venerable and is currently holding off three more by himself. Our forces are pushing forward steadily and have secured the advantage!"
Both battlefronts were bringing good news, but none of it surprised Qin Yi.
Why had he ordered an immediate attack? Why had he chosen to invade on the enemy's home ground?
Because, in terms of overall military strength, Qin's Nation held a considerable advantage. And his goal had never been to win a battle of pride. He intended to seize this King's World for himself.
He had already annexed plenty of ordinary worlds. As for King's Worlds, aside from the insignificant minor worlds once ruled by Li Yuanli, there was only one before him now, the Nie Kingdom.
A kingdom practically offering itself to him.
Qin Yi had no intention of letting prey that had reached his mouth escape.
"Issue the order."
"Launch a full-scale offensive."
"I want to see what other trump cards King Chengdui still has."
"If he has any, then we'll entertain him."
"But if he doesn't..."
"I'll show him the difference between one King and another."
Qin Yi spoke coldly.
His King's Might spread across the battlefield like an endless tide. At that moment, he truly stood above all others, the supreme ruler.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The soldier acknowledged the order and immediately withdrew.
(End of Chapter)
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