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In the blink of an eye, another half month had passed.
The shattered city of Xiaohai had been rebuilt by Xu Huang's orders. With the assistance of Soul Masters and various soul-guided devices, constructing a city was relatively effortless.
However, the decoration was a bit lacking.
After establishing the temporary base, Xu Huang sent scouts to explore nearby cities. The scouts who managed to return reported that within a fifty-mile radius of Xiaohai City, the area was tightly guarded by the Tiandou Army, the New Tiandou Federal Army, the Starluo Army, and the Spirit Palace troops, making it impossible to escape.
Both the ground and the sky were under constant surveillance by Soul Masters.
They were trapped here!
Even the maritime area outside Xiaohai City was patrolled by the coalition's warships, preventing the Sun-Moon Empire's forces from finding alternative routes into the interior.
Especially within the Starluo Empire, the coastal city where the former Xingguang Sect was located and the nearby sea areas were heavily guarded by the local Starluo Army.
Before other possible routes for the Sun-Moon Army to arrive were discovered, they could only gather in this small area of Xiaohai City and gradually expand their conquest from there.
However, the four major armies of Douluo Continent had seized their soul-guided weapons, and the research on soul-guided devices in Douluo Continent was not far behind, though it lagged considerably in weaponry.
With the captured soul-guided weapons now under study, it would undoubtedly be possible to imitate and mass-produce them in a relatively short time.
This was another major problem.
Xu Huang was growing increasingly impatient. Unlike on the Sun-Moon Continent, where he had smooth sailing with the help of the Eternal and Creation Divine Throne, and where all enemies either fled or were utterly defeated before him, the situation was different on this continent.
Here, they had already lost an unparalleled expert, a Rank 98 Soul Master, three Rank 96 Soul Masters, and twenty-one Rank 91 to Rank 95 Soul Masters.
Now, they were still besieged in Xiaohai City. Besides the route back to the Sun-Moon Continent, all other directions were blocked. Moreover, their weapons had been seized by the local forces of Douluo Continent. As the enemy was more familiar with the local environment, the gap was narrowing, putting them at a significant disadvantage.
Xu Huang even suspected that if he hadn't struck a blow at Tang San's spiritual phantom upon first entering this land, intimidating the Soul Sea City side, they would have launched a direct assault rather than opting for this prolonged "fish in a barrel" strategy.
Furthermore, a major issue loomed: the supply of provisions. With more and more Sun-Moon soldiers landing, their consumption was rising rapidly.
Originally, Xu Huang had planned for the first wave of troops to land on Douluo Continent, capture a city, and use the advanced soul-guided weapons to secure several nearby cities, thereby establishing initial self-supply.
He had not anticipated the rapid response from the Douluo Continent's empire and the terrifying strength of their high-level combat forces, which had swiftly annihilated many of his Titled Douluosubordinates.
This was also one of the reasons Xu Huang had considered challenging the Soul Sea authorities to a soul battle.
Unfortunately, Ge Long had refused. After all, war was not a game. Unless Xu Huang had absolute strength to suppress everyone, including Tang San, it was unrealistic to engage in a "soul duel."
Absolute strength...
Xu Huang believed he possessed it, but it came from the Eternal and Creation Divine Throne.
Bravery, perseverance, wisdom, kindness, and all other virtuous qualities must be possessed by the user. Even if one does not truly have them, one must at least pretend to, deceiving oneself and behaving in a manner that does not show oppression of the weak or abuse of power.
During the process of unifying the Sun-Moon Continent, the Eternal and Creation Divine Throne had primarily served as a cultivation aid, saving time for trusted subordinates, rather than playing a role in conquest. Otherwise, the throne would have abandoned him as its user or ceased to acknowledge him.
Moreover, after using that sword a month ago, King Easton, the Holy Dragon, and the Eternal Angel had voiced significant concerns and criticized him for nearly half a month.
As the representative of the Creator God, Xu Huang was essentially the spokesperson for the Creator God. Tang San's slap in the face was tantamount to slapping the Creator God's dignity.
Such an affront deserved retribution.
However, as the representative of the Creator God, Xu Huang could not lose his composure and recklessly wield the Eternal and Creation Sword, causing damage to the plane. Fortunately, the sword had been angled upwards, and no one had died as a result. Otherwise, he would have permanently lost the right to use the Eternal and Creation Divine Throne.
"Your Majesty, how about we offer appropriate compensation first?" suggested Luo Qiu. "You've demonstrated your power, but they probably don't know your exact situation. If it comes to actual fighting, they'll be hesitant and most likely don't want to engage."
"How about we provide compensation and then rent Xiaohai City?"
"They're only after benefits anyway."
Xu Huang clasped his hands and rested his chin on them.
Avenge the residents of Xiaohai City? For someone in a high position, it was merely a matter of the Sun-Moon Army damaging their dignity, needing to regain face and obtain corresponding benefits.
No normal person likes war unless they can gain significant benefits from it.
"That's a good point. As long as we offer enough benefits, they'll likely agree to rent Xiaohai City to us, allowing us to gradually expand outward," Xu Huang admitted. He did not want a fight, as he did not have a hundred percent certainty of defeating Tang San. If the opponent was pushed to desperation and sought divine inheritance, Xu Huang would be exposed to the eyes of the divine realm.
But—
"As the representative of the Creator God, how can you compromise with those who insult you?" King Easton's voice echoed in Xu Huang's mind. "He has insulted you, which is equivalent to insulting the Creator God. You must retaliate."
The Holy Dragon followed up, saying in a deep voice, "Are you afraid?"
The Eternal Angel also agreed, "They're right. As the representative of the Creator God, you cannot let this insult go unpunished. You must give Tang San a good thrashing."
When it came to the issue of the Creator God's dignity, King Easton, the Holy Dragon, and the Eternal Angel were united in their stance, not allowing Xu Huang to simply let it go.
Regardless of the larger situation?
As long as the Creator God's dignity was insulted, it could not be easily forgiven!
Even if it drew the attention of the divine realm, it didn't matter. The Eternal and Creation Divine Throne had the ability to traverse planes, allowing him to move to other planes under the divine realm's jurisdiction, conceal his presence, and return later. Xu Huang could still regain control of his original forces.
Facing the three's provocations, Xu Huang was somewhat troubled.
Retaliate?
He certainly wanted to, and even wanted to defeat his opponent, but the problem was that his adversary was not weak. If the conflict escalated, it would be his Sun-Moon Army that would collapse first...
(End of Chapter)