Chapter 622: Unusual Movement from the Divine Palace

Chapter 622: Chapter 622: Unusual Movement from the Divine Palace

The Monk and Daoist secretly escorted the two women back. Just after they had left, Zhang Qing found Lin Yun. He said there was an important matter to discuss and asked Lin Yun and his companions to head to the Main Hall.

Seeing Zhang Qing’s grave expression, Lin Yun didn’t press for details. He took Xi Zijin with him and followed Zhang Qing to the Main Hall.

Over the past month, with the help of Low-grade Spirit Essence Pills, Zhang Qing had also broken through to the next Realm, reaching Celestial Spirit Realm Great Success.

Upon reaching the Main Hall, they found that the other Demon Palace Commanders were already waiting. After Lin Yun and his companions were seated, the Grand Commander wasted no time and got straight to the point.

"Brother Lin Yun, I’ve called you here today because there’s been unusual movement from the Divine Palace. It looks like they’re ready for the final battle."

Lin Yun wasn’t surprised to hear this. ’The timing is about right,’ he thought. ’After more than a month, the Divine Palace should be ready.’

"Then what is the consensus among the Commanders?" Lin Yun asked calmly, looking at the assembled leaders.

In response to Lin Yun’s question, the ten Demon Palace Commanders were nearly unanimous in their support for digging in and defending Demon City. For one, the Demon Palace’s overall strength was currently inferior to the Divine Palace’s. A direct confrontation would surely end in defeat.

For another, Demon City was easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Divine Palace wouldn’t be able to breach it anytime soon, allowing the Demon Palace Warriors to use the city’s defenses to whittle down their enemy’s strength.

Lin Yun, however, did not agree with the ten Demon Palace Commanders. ’It’s true that the Demon Palace is at a disadvantage,’ he thought, ’but a purely defensive strategy will only lead to our eventual annihilation.’

’No matter how fortified Demon City is, it can eventually be breached. Besides, what if the Divine Palace simply surrounds the city and lays siege without attacking? There are so many people within Demon City—how long can they hold out?’

After listening to the ten Commanders, Lin Yun spoke calmly. "A purely defensive stance is not the best strategy. Since the Demon Palace is already at a disadvantage, once the war begins, our first thought should be how to reverse that disadvantage."

Lin Yun’s thinking was clear. Especially at a time like this, they couldn’t afford to be purely defensive. To do so would be digging their own grave.

"Then what are you suggesting, Brother Lin Yun?" the Grand Commander asked after hearing his words.

Lin Yun explained his idea to the ten Demon Palace Commanders. As he had mentioned before, the Demon Palace’s only advantage over the Divine Palace was its small defensive perimeter. It held only Demon City, and all its Warriors were already gathered there. This meant their reaction time before a battle would be much faster than the Divine Palace’s.

He asked the Grand Commander to have someone bring a map of their world, which clearly marked the territories of the Divine Palace and the Demon Palace.

The map clearly showed that the Divine Palace occupied ninety percent of the world’s territory, while the Demon Palace held only Demon City and a small area surrounding it.

He pointed to the Five Great Cities under the Divine Palace’s rule. The distance between these cities wasn’t vast, but even traveling at full speed, it would take at least a day to get from one to another.

Therefore, Lin Yun’s point was that while the Divine Palace might have three times as many Warriors, they had to divide their forces to garrison these five cities. If the Demon Palace were to concentrate all its power on attacking a single city, the Divine Palace garrison there would be completely unable to resist.

"Excellent! Brother Lin Yun, that’s a brilliant idea. If we can capture one of the Divine Palace’s cities first, it will be a huge boost to the morale of our Demon Palace Warriors." It wasn’t just the Grand Commander; the other Commanders also strongly approved of Lin Yun’s idea.

A shrewd light flashed in Lin Yun’s eyes as he looked at them. ’Qing Zhu is in the Divine Palace,’ he thought. ’I know that woman isn’t easily fooled. She must have anticipated that I’d have the Demon Palace concentrate its forces to storm a single location.’

’Therefore, to ensure victory in this first battle, we’ll need to lay some groundwork.’

Lin Yun’s assessment was correct. At that very moment, in the central Main Hall of the Divine Palace’s Divine Celestial City, Qing Zhu was seated on the hall’s main throne. The twelve great Commanders of the Divine Palace were seated on either side of her.

The Divine Palace had been inactive for over a month for two reasons. First, they needed to prepare thoroughly. Second, and this was something Lin Yun hadn’t anticipated, Qing Zhu needed time to take control of the entire Divine Palace.

The Divine Palace was no longer run by its Grand Commander; Qing Zhu was now the one calling the shots.

"Has the Demon Palace discovered our intent to attack?" Qing Zhu asked with a faint smile, looking down at the commanders before her.

"Yes. As you instructed, Commander Qing Zhu, we have deliberately revealed our intention to attack to the Demon Palace," the Grand Commander of the Divine Palace replied.

"Very good," Qing Zhu said with a slight smile.

Just as Lin Yun had suspected, Qing Zhu had already guessed that he would gather the Demon Palace’s full strength to launch an all-out assault on one of the Five Great Cities. Therefore, she had secretly gathered all the Divine Palace Warriors and positioned them at a central point between the five cities to await orders.

A full ten thousand Divine Palace Warriors were stationed at the center point of the Five Great Cities. From this position, no matter which city Lin Yun attacked, these ten thousand Warriors from the Divine Palace could arrive within half a day.

’Lin Yun, let me guess which city you’ll attack first,’ she mused with a light laugh. Her expression suggested she believed the battle was already won.

What Qing Zhu didn’t realize, however, was that just as she had read his mind, Lin Yun had also read hers. At that moment, he finished explaining his complete plan to the ten Demon Palace Commanders. After hearing it all, the Grand Commander spoke with some concern.

"Brother Lin Yun, isn’t this plan too dangerous?"

"In our current situation, we can only seek fortune in danger. If we don’t take risks, the Demon Palace has no chance of victory in a direct confrontation with the Divine Palace," Lin Yun replied.

The ten Demon Palace Commanders knew he was right. As they looked at Lin Yun, a newfound respect appeared in their eyes.

Lin Yun’s plan involved using himself and his companions as bait, putting them in a situation where survival was nearly impossible. If the Divine Palace discovered the flaw in their ruse, Lin Yun’s group wouldn’t even have a chance to escape.

Even the Second Commander, who harbored a grudge against Lin Yun and his companions, found his gaze softening considerably as he looked at him.

Aware of the risks involved in Lin Yun’s plan, Xi Zijin hadn’t said a word. To her, it was simple: she would do whatever Lin Yun said.

The longer she spent with Lin Yun, the more Xi Zijin felt he possessed a kind of magic, something that made a person unconsciously trust him.

"Grand Commander, there’s no time to waste. We move tonight. We’ll proceed exactly as we’ve just discussed," Lin Yun said in a low, serious voice.

Hearing this, the Grand Commander nodded in agreement. ’Lin Yun’s plan is entirely for the sake of the Demon Palace—for its victory.’

With all the arrangements made, Lin Yun stared at the map before him, his gaze locked on the location of Divine Celestial City. He muttered under his breath, "Qing Zhu, this is our first direct clash. As for who will win and who will lose... we shall wait and see."

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