"Got any ideas?"
The Demon Empress, sitting cross-legged, opened her eyes.
After "Zhongli Wu" received the news from that wisp of the Holy Emperor's consciousness, it seemed a change had occurred between the Demon Empress and "Zhongli Wu."
At least on the surface, he now wore a look of absolute "submission."
Thus, after discussing how to deal with the Sea God Douluo, a powerhouse who might join the situation at any moment, things had reached their current state.
"Zhongli Wu" lowered his head in thought, then his eyes suddenly lit up; he obviously had an idea. "Since we are worried that the Sea God Douluo, possessing the Sea God Helmet, joining the war will give the top experts of the Three Great Empires an overwhelming advantage, thereby making the Sun Moon Empire's situation even more difficult, we might as well approach it from another angle."
"Ultimately, our goal isn't to help the Sun Moon Empire win the war, but to keep the entire continent in a state of war, so that we can snatch chestnuts from the fire in the chaos."
"So, as long as we leverage the complex situation of the Douluo Continent and make a clever layout, we should be able to find a turning point."
The Demon Empress neither agreed nor disagreed, looking at "Zhongli Wu" and asking, "What's your idea? Speak freely."
"Zhongli Wu"'s eyes flickered as he slowly said, "Currently, the Three Great Empires of the original Douluo Continent stand in a tripartite confrontation. On the surface, they seem closely aligned, but in reality, their internal contradictions are severe. If someone hadn't stopped it in advance and their monarch was relatively wise, our previous plan would have succeeded long ago."
What he was referring to now was the plan back then where they had laid down possessed sleeper agents to provoke conflicts among the lower and middle-tier personnel of the Tian Hun and Star Luo Empires.
"The reason these Three Great Empires allied is entirely because the Sun Moon Empire is strong enough to force them to cooperate sincerely. But after a long period of war consumption, coupled with more and more top experts emerging among the Three Great Empires, they are already struggling to keep up. If the fighting continues, the Sun Moon Empire will completely be unable to hold on. To break this deadlock, the Three Great Empires themselves must fall into chaos. Once they fall into chaos, or even start fighting each other, and can't be persuaded to stop, what will those top experts do?"
"Du Busi will side with the Tian Hun Empire. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Shrek Academy will most likely help neither side, let alone the Great Star Dou Forest. As for the Sea God Douluo, who would he help?"
Their previous deduction that the Sea God Douluo would join the war on the side of the original Three Great Empires was purely because the Demon Empress was on the Sun Moon Empire's side. But if the Three Great Empires descended into a chaotic war, as a devotee of the Sea God, how could he possibly help any single one of the Three Great Empires?
As long as this happened, all the top experts would be tied down. This way, they would only need to deal with the Sea God Douluo, and then quietly watch the continental chaos unfold, reaping the benefits of the fisherman.
"Fall into chaos?" The Demon Empress glanced at "Zhongli Wu". "How do we make them chaotic?"
"Once they fall into chaos, it's equivalent to them giving up on the Sun Moon Empire. Even I know that the Sun Moon Empire right now is a mouth-watering, dripping fat piece of cake, and one that is almost within reach. You want to force them to give it up? You humans are all cunning and deceitful; it's impossible they wouldn't see through this."
"True, giving up one piece of cake is unlikely. But..." Changing the subject, "Zhongli Wu"'s mouth curled into a cold sneer. "But what if there's another piece of cake?"
The Demon Empress's beautiful eyes raised, her interest piqued. "What do you mean?"
"Zhongli Wu" smiled faintly. "You don't know this. According to the intelligence sent back by 'Ye Xishui's' undercover agent in the Dou Ling Empire, the Emperor of the Dou Ling Empire has always been ambitious. His idea is to hide his strength and bide his time, waiting to reap the fisherman's gain, quietly waiting for the right moment to unify the continent. To us, isn't this an opportunity?"
A light of contemplation flashed in the Demon Empress's eyes. "You mean, as long as we bake another piece of cake, we can use this human's ambition to trigger a chaotic war among the Three Great Empires, thereby buying us an opportunity?"
"Zhongli Wu" nodded and said, "Exactly."
"Who do you choose for this piece of cake?" After roughly grasping the outline of this plan, the Demon Empress asked. However, she also understood in her heart that since the Dou Ling Empire was acting as the knife to cut the cake, the cake to be made couldn't be them. That left only the Tian Hun Empire and the Star Luo Empire.
"The Tian Hun Empire." "Zhongli Wu"'s tone was exceptionally firm.
In his view, only by making the Tian Hun Empire the cake could it make the other two empires drool, enticing the Dou Ling Empire to take a bite right away. As for why he didn't choose the Star Luo Empire... if something happened to the Star Luo Empire, what about the Sun Moon Empire? But if it were the Tian Hun Empire, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Shrek Academy were still there to prevent the Sun Moon Empire from taking advantage of the situation to launch a sneak attack.
Furthermore... there were historical lingering factors between the Tian Hun and Dou Ling Empires. The Tian Hun Empire held a special kind of incentive for the Dou Ling Empire.
"To make something happen to the Tian Hun Empire, we should make a move against its royal family. Of course, in my opinion, this might still not be enough."
Hearing this, a sense of agreement rose in the Demon Empress's heart. But before she could say it out loud, she heard "Zhongli Wu" say this sentence, and then continue laying out the next part of the plan.
"Besides this, we should also make a move against the Star Luo royal family, but don't kill them. After all, the Star Luo Empire's situation is a bit special. If the Star Luo royal family is wiped out, there's still the Dai family. Once the Dai family takes power, given Dai Hao's nature or out of political consideration, he will definitely quickly integrate the entire nation to share a bitter hatred of the enemy."
"But if we leave some of their bloodline behind..." A wicked smile rose in "Zhongli Wu"'s heart. The Xu family, the Dai family... one is the current royal family, the other is the former royal family. Even if Dai Hao is unwilling, his subordinates will push him into it. When that happens, it will be real chaos!
"Only by having one of these two royal families annihilated and the other heavily wounded will the Tian Hun Empire inevitably descend into chaos, and the Star Luo Empire, the strongest of the original Three Great Empires, will definitely not fare well either. This can create an opportunity for the weakest Dou Ling Empire. If we do this, the original Three Great Empires will completely fall into chaos, becoming an absolute mess."
"Very good." The Demon Empress was obviously extremely satisfied. She nodded, assuming an attitude of being all ears. "Tell me, how exactly should we implement this?"
"Alright." At this moment, "Zhongli Wu"'s tone seemed quite confident. "If we want to strike at a royal family, even someone with Super Douluo cultivation won't do. To ensure success in one strike, it must be done by a Limit Douluo. And among the Limit Douluos currently not locked onto by the enemy, the only ones who can take action are you and 'Ye Xishui'."
"Your current strength is naturally beyond doubt. Once you've mostly recovered, you can make a move against the Tian Hun royal family."
"And 'Ye Xishui' will target the Star Luo royal family."
The Demon Empress pondered for a moment and raised an objection. "Based on what you said earlier, all the bloodlines of the Tian Hun royal family are to be wiped out. If that's the case, how do you ensure this?"
A cold gleam flashed in "Zhongli Wu"'s eyes. "First, we need a large number of spies to infiltrate deep into the Tian Hun Empire and collect detailed intelligence on the royal family. For example, who is officially registered and possesses the Tian Hun royal bloodline. We treat the genealogy as a death register and cross them all out! Besides that, we need to know their whereabouts, weaknesses, and so on. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we formulate the most effective plan."
The Demon Empress frowned slightly. "Your idea won't work."
If we really go by this... the flowers would wither before we are done! "It must be fast, and the targets must be concentrated!"
"Zhongli Wu" remained silent, only feeling embarrassed. How could he not know this himself? For such a suitable opportunity... it was only possible to launch a sudden attack when the royal family held a major celebration. But as for this so-called major celebration... it would probably require the Sun Moon Empire to be destroyed first.
Seeing "Zhongli Wu" frowning tightly and just staying silent, the Demon Empress couldn't help but shake her head secretly, and her tone reverted to coldness. "You may withdraw first and think about it carefully. By the time I've recovered, I expect an answer from you. Also, find a suitable place for me. I can't stay in the sea anymore."
"Yes." "Zhongli Wu" accepted the order. Even though he had no clues now, he could start scouting for information first. Who knows when it might come in handy.
...
Sea God Family Headquarters. The magnificent and grand Sea God Temple stood in the center.
However, right now in front of the temple gates, a group of Title Douluos from the Sea God Family were anxiously pacing and waiting, until they saw the Sea God Douluo Chen Juntao returning with the Sea Dragon Douluo. Seeing this, everyone immediately crowded around. Their eyes were filled with concern and curiosity.
"Patriarch, how did the operation go?" Sea Shark Douluo asked urgently.
Chen Juntao shook his head, a trace of regret revealing itself in his gaze. "We still let the remnant of the Deep Sea Devil Whale King escape."
Once these words were spoken, the Title Douluos burst into an uproar, their faces filled with disbelief. In their hearts, with their Patriarch's strength, dealing with a remnant of the Deep Sea Devil Whale King should have been a sure thing, yet unexpectedly, it still managed to escape.
"How is that possible!?" "What kind of strength does that remnant actually possess?" Sea Snake Douluo frowned, looking completely baffled.
Even if she had Limit Douluo combat power, it would be absolutely impossible for her to win against their Patriarch who possessed the Sea God Helmet. As for their Patriarch showing mercy... heh, that was completely impossible. Setting aside the Demon Empress's identity, just based on what had happened so far, the Demon Empress had already brought a heavy disaster to the Sea God Family, successively killing four Title Douluos: Sea Crab Douluo, Sea Anemone Douluo, Sea Elephant Douluo, and Sea Lion Douluo. This deep blood feud made every member of the Sea God Family hate the Demon Empress to the bone. They vowed not to rest until this revenge was exacted!
At this time, Chen Juntao turned to look at Sea Dragon Douluo. His injuries were not light; his face was pale, and his aura was weak. So, he handed the heavily injured Sea Dragon Douluo over to Sea Weed Douluo. "Sea Weed, Sea Dragon was heavily wounded by that remnant. Take him to heal first."
"Alright." After Sea Weed Douluo took over Sea Dragon Douluo, a burst of green light surged from his palm, enveloping Sea Dragon Douluo. He said at the same time, "Big brother, I'll take you down to rest first."
"Okay." Sea Dragon Douluo nodded slightly, looking at Chen Juntao. "Patriarch, I will take my leave."
Chen Juntao nodded. "Rest well."
After settling Sea Dragon Douluo, Chen Juntao looked around at the family's Title Douluos and slowly opened his mouth. "That remnant has completely become a massive threat. Her cultivation has even broken through to seven hundred thousand years. At that time, I directly used the divine artifact given by Lord Sea God, wanting to keep her there completely. But the result was beyond my expectations. That remnant... possesses the power of a god."
"A god!?"
The group of Title Douluos instantly turned pale with fright! As devotees of a god, they were very clear on what that meant. But how could a soul beast become a god!? Could it be that this remnant, like the Demonic Soul Great White Shark, had gained the favor of a god?
Chen Juntao seemed to see through their thoughts and said, "My thoughts are the same as yours. I assume she was just lucky." Immediately after, Chen Juntao changed the subject. "But no matter what, we can't let this continue. If this remnant continues to grow, it will be detrimental to Lord Sea God's faith. We must eliminate her."
"Yes!"
Hearing this, the eyes of the Sea God Family's Title Douluos instantly became resolute. For the sake of Lord Sea God's faith, this remnant must be eradicated! Even if it costs them their own lives!
Following this, they heard Chen Juntao say, "According to the feedback I got from the Sea God Helmet, that remnant is no longer in the ocean; it's highly likely she is hiding on land. We need the help of land soul masters to track her down more effectively. I plan to head to the mainland, to Shrek Academy and Haotian Sect. Lord Sea God originally came from these two major powers; perhaps they can provide us with some necessary clues."
After all, the Sea God Family had lived in seclusion for a long time and had no contact with humans. If that remnant was truly dead set on hiding on the continent, without the help of land-based forces, the difficulty would be no less than finding a needle in a haystack.
However, at this moment, Sea Horse Douluo and Sea Spear Douluo exchanged a glance and stepped forward, saying, "Patriarch, perhaps we can first take a trip to the North Sea where the Sea Princess clan resides. Last time when the Demon Empress attacked the Sea Princess clan, we went to reinforce them. Although we didn't fight that remnant, the Sea Princess clan had human guests at the time. According to the Sea Princess, they not only saw that remnant but seemingly even clashed with her. Perhaps through the Sea Princess clan, we can inquire with those humans from last time and find out some news regarding the remnant of the Deep Sea Devil Whale King."
As for Haotian Sect and Shrek Academy... who knew if they even knew of this remnant's existence?
The Sea God Douluo Chen Juntao froze slightly, then fell into deep thought. A moment later, he nodded: "What you two say makes sense. The Sea Princess clan has had direct contact with the Demon Empress, so perhaps they can provide us with some crucial clues. If so, I will personally head to the North Sea when the time comes to catch up with the Sea Princess. But don't give up on those two land-based powers I just mentioned."
"Sea Horse."
"Here." Sea Horse Douluo immediately stepped forward.
"Take Sea Shark and Sea Snake with you, and make a trip to Shrek."
As soon as the words fell, Chen Juntao looked at Sea Spear Douluo.
Before he could speak, Sea Spear said, "Patriarch."
"Sea Spear, you and Sea Gull will make a trip to Haotian Sect."
"Yes."
Chen Juntao's gaze was profound. "Go make your preparations, then."
He refused to believe that attacking from three sides like this, the remnant of the Deep Sea Devil Whale King could escape his grasp again!
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