Chapter 1035 - Great Reshuffle!
The night was still dark. As the three satellites separated again, the tides within the bloody lake finally died down.
However, the tides around the Eye of Blood Demon had only just started surging and sweeping the entire land.
The well-trained legions were scattered apart by the savaging tidal force. Soldiers of the Insect Clan, the Claw Clan, the Sea Clan, and the Feather Clan were mixed up. They did not know each other and could not find their captains. They had also lost valuable gear and assets, and there was no one to command them.
Right at that moment, they were informed that terrible spores and Elder Nether Spring’s spies were probably lurking among them. They had to set up camp on the spot, waiting to receive the virus test. Also, they were eyeing the strange soldiers around them vigilantly, fearing that they might be spores.
Under such circumstances, the air was tense, and everybody was panicking. A cough was enough to draw almost twenty sabers.
The best warriors of the Blood Demon Sector became an ununified force who were monitoring each other warily. They had lost the combat ability as an army.
Jin Tuyi took the opportunity to mobilize a large number of logistics legions made of the Horn Clan and ask them to occupy the strategical locations outside of the Eye of Blood Demon.
At any other time, the logistics legions were certainly no match for the elite soldiers.
However, right now, the elite soldiers had been scattered and lost their commanders and supplies, but the mediocre logistics legions were still in neat battle formations.
They were responsible for delivering food, crystals, and ammunition for the frontline in the first place. All the assets prepared for the war were almost entirely under the logistics legions’ control!
As a result, the logistics troops became the only steady forces at the night of havoc.
With the help of the forces, Jin Tuyi had the situation under control, too.
With the Spore Stratagem confirmed, all the soldiers of the coalition army of demons had to receive the most rigorous test.
To perform a virus test on the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, one medical warship was far from enough. When dawn was near, another three medical warships arrived, and a lot of medics established a temporary quarantine facility on the ground.
But what they were testing for was much more than a simple virus.
Many middle-level and high-level demons of various clans, after entering Bloodborne, were invited to the secret chamber deep inside the warship after taking various turns.
They were greeted by not the test rigs but tall, strong, nonchalant officers of the Horn Clan, as well as the bloodstained hammers and primed acid cannons.
As the head of the Dark Clothes Society confessed obediently, one ‘referral’ gave away more ‘referrals’. The dark net that Elder Nether Spring had carefully paved in the coalition army of demons was being uprooted and crushed.
While the secret battle on the ship was going on in silence, Jin Tuyi was engaged in another war on Blood Demon, which was more clandestine and soul-stirring.
On the other side of the desk was Wei Tianqing, a demon emperor of the wolf clan who was best known for his brutality and cunningness.
The wolf demon was nicknamed ‘Traceless’. Although he was not as influential as Elder Blood Robe in the Kingdom of Lion Butchers, he was even more ruthless than the controller of the country.
Wei Tianqing rolled his eyes quickly, pondering why Jin Tuyi summoned him in private.
“Twenty-two of Elder Nether Spring’s maggots have been dug out.” Jin Tuyi was still sitting on the broad, furry chair. He crossed his hands and casually remarked, “More spies are being named by them right now. It is estimated that there will be several hundred of them in the end, all of whom are important officers at the key posts!
“Elder Nether Spring is truly appalling. He has infiltrated the coalition army of demons to such an extent without anybody knowing!
“Even you, General Wei, seem to have the agents of Elder Nether Spring among your trusted subordinates!”
Wei Tianqing shook his tail but did not say anything. He was not sure about Jin Tuyi’s real purpose yet.
Jin Tuyi continued. “The collapse of the Eye of Blood Demon made us lose countless elite warriors. When Elder Nether Spring’s spies are all revealed, our losses will be even heavier.
“In the coalition army of demons, the four superpowers, and even the Pantheon of Demons, a lot of vacancies have appeared!
“Whether we like it or not, a reshuffle is inevitable.”
Wei Tianqing narrowed his eyes and finally realized where the conversation was heading. His lips curled into a scornful smile.
As he expected, Jin Tuyi leaned forward and spoke in an alluring voice. “General Wei, in the Claw Clan, lions and tigers have always been most respected. The lion clan and the tiger clan have controlled the most prosperous mines and land and kept a lot of secret training arts to themselves. They have also occupied the most important posts in the Kingdom of Lion Butchers. For hundreds of years, the other few clans have been eclipsed by them. Even the country of the Claw Clan is named after ‘lion’!
“It almost appears that they are the natural-born leaders of the Claw Clan and that the other clans are just vassals of the tiger clan and the lion clan!
“Right now, Elder Blood Robe is dead. The best troops of the lion clan and the tiger clan have suffered heavy losses, too. There are a number of vacancies even in the Pantheon of Demons right now. What is the wolf clan’s choice?
“I once heard an idiom—wolves on the way. As the leader of the wolf clan, do you not want to taste the feeling of standing in the middle of the way?”
Wei Tianqing listened attentively, but he laughed in amusement in the end. “Commander, it never occurred to me that you were the most sordid one. You are trying to tempt me with ‘chief of the Claw Clan, master of the Kingdom of Lion Butchers’ and even ‘one of the twelve demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons’, so that the wolf clan will join your side and help you compete with the lion clan and the tiger clan, which will in no way bend before you, right?
“But it is a shame that I know myself quite well!
“In all the branches of the Claw Clan, the wolf clan has always been relatively weak. The lion clan and the tiger clan have run the Kingdom of Lion Butchers for hundreds of years. It is not going to be easy to expel them.
“Although Elder Blood Robe is dead, Yin Tianzun, his junior brother, is still alive and has tremendous forces under his control, including Invincible Tiger Camp and the Griffin Legion!
“Of course, I’ve heard the idiom ‘wolves on the way’, but I also know another idiom—driving the tiger to swallow the wolf. Hehe. Commander, you are not trying to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf but enticing the wolf to attack the tiger! When the Claw Clan is divided because of the internal strife and the wolf clan, the lion clan, and the tiger clan all suffer heavy losses, you will be able to enjoy all the benefits as a bystander, won’t you?”
“If it is the forces under Yin Tianzun’s control that concern you, that is not going to be a problem,” Jin Tuyi replied casually. “I have undeniable proof that Yin Tianzun is involved in Elder Nether Spring’s scheme. He will soon be despised. None of the troops of the tiger clan and the lion clan will listen to him.”
Wei Tianqing’s pupils constricted violently. “How can that be? Yin Tianzun is the second most influential figure in the Kingdom of Lion Butchers. What benefits could he get by joining Elder Nether Spring’s cause?”
Jin Tuyi’s smile remained unchanged. “You said yourself that he is the second most influential figure. Is it really strange of him to join Elder Nether Spring’s cause in order to be the most influential one?”
Wei Tianqing shook his head and declared, “I don’t buy it! If you have any valid evidence, I would like to see it now, commander!”
Jin Tuyi did not move.
Wei Tianqing narrowed his eyes and realized what was happening. “You are trying to frame Yin Tianzun and smear him to be with Elder Nether Spring!”
“General Wei, we are in troubled times right now. Do not speak such nonsense that will sway our army. Blabbering might lose you your head.”
Jin Tuyi’s eyeballs turned bright gold, bordering on transparent. His smile was even sunnier as he replied, “Since General Wei is so loyal to Yin Tianzun, I will not force you to do what you are not willing to. After all, in the Claw Clan, it is not just the wolf clan that has been suppressed by the lion clan and the tiger clan. There are still the leopard and bear clans.
“Moreover, is there absolutely nobody within the lion clan and the tiger clan who is ambitious enough to replace Yin Tianzun?
“Therefore, General Wei, you may leave now.”
Wei Tianqing was dazed. “You are letting me go just like that?”
Now that he had heard Jin Tuyi’s great scheme, how could he walk away so easily?
Pondering for a moment, his face lost all color. Shuddering, he gnashed his teeth. “Commander, you said now that you’d found Elder Nether Spring’s spies within the wolf clan?”
“Exactly.” Jin Tuyi smiled. “He also confessed that Elder Nether Spring had a lot of conspirators among the demon emperors. Yin Tianzun might be one of them, but he might not be, and it could actually be some other demon emperor. That’s all uncertain now.”
Wei Tianqing smiled miserably. “I assume that, as soon as I walk out of the door, my name will be among Elder Nether Spring’s conspirators, won’t it?”
“Maybe.” Jin Tuyi opened his hands. “He hasn’t completely confessed yet. How would I know? However, Elder Nether Spring has been planning carefully for such a long time, and the wolf clan has a perfect reason for betrayal since you’ve been suppressed by the lion clan and the tiger clan for hundreds of years. It will not be strange if General Wei and Elder Nether Spring met each other’s needs and worked together for the scheme, right?
“General Wei is defending Yin Tianzun loyally right now, but will Yin Tianzun trust you and defend you when you are accused of being Elder Nether Spring’s accomplice?”
Shua!
Wei Tianqing bared his fangs and raised his tail like a bat. All his claws were protruding out with sharp killing intent!
Jin Tuyi was still smiling casually as if he felt nothing. “General Wei, I’ve also heard a third idiom before—when you row a boat against the current, you will be retreating if you are not moving forward. It is exactly so in the reshuffle. If you don’t shuffle them out, they will shuffle your family and your entire clan out!
“Look. Surging tides are rising everywhere. How is it possible for you to stay where you are and protect yourself?
“Many other people are willing to do what you do not want to, in an even more ruthless way!
“You didn’t earn your fame by cowering, did you? Where is your bloodthirst and resolution? Is the rumor true that you are nothing more than the dogs domesticated by the lion clan and the tiger clan?”
Wei Tianqing was silent for a long time before he struggled to say, “The wolf clan alone is no match for the lion clan and the tiger clan.”
“What if you have the help of the leopard clan and the bear clan?” Jin Tuyi said. “And the supporters within the lion clan and the tiger clan? And the Feather Clan and the Horn Clan? And the Sea Clan?”
Wei Tianqing was breathing heavily, but his bat-like tail slowly dangled down. Every hair was loosening.
He finally lowered head. In a coarse voice, he said, “Commander, what should I do?”
“Very simple,” Jin Tuyi replied, one word after another. “Trust me. Obey me. Follow me!”