Chapter 645 - 644: Cannot Slack Off

Chapter 645: Chapter 644: Cannot Slack Off

They drank until nightfall. In the end, the Monk, the Daoist, and Zhang Qing left the main hall with a retinue of young women. As for what the three of them were going to do, everyone knew.

After the Monk and the others left, Xi Zijin also said she needed to rest and departed the main hall alone. As she was leaving, however, Zijin made a point to remind Lin Yun to drink a little less.

Everyone had left the main hall, except for Little Ape and the Black-striped Tiger, who were still sleeping soundly to the side.

Seeing that everyone else had gone, Lin Yun, the Grand Commander, and the Second Commander chatted casually. They stopped drinking and had a Demon Palace maid pour them three cups of tea.

"Grand Commander, although the Demon Palace has won a string of victories, we absolutely cannot get careless at a time like this. In terms of overall strength, the Divine Palace is still stronger than the Demon Palace," Lin Yun said, looking at the Grand Commander.

Hearing Lin Yun’s words, the Grand Commander nodded. He knew this was no time to relax. The more successful they were, the more careful they had to be of a Divine Palace counterattack.

Therefore, even before Lin Yun’s reminder, the Grand Commander had already given strict orders that the Demon Palace Warriors must not slacken in the slightest. The defenses of every city were not to be neglected in any way.

"Brother Lin Yun, the Grand Commander and I have discussed this. Right now, the defenses of the three cities, including Demon City, are not a problem. The Divine Palace has no opportunity to launch a sneak attack. But, in your opinion, what should we do next? Should we just defend the three cities and remain at a stalemate with the Divine Palace?" the Second Commander asked.

Hearing this, Lin Yun smiled faintly. ’Hunker down and defend the three cities, stuck in a stalemate with the Divine Palace? That’s obviously not an option. Setting everything else aside, I just don’t have the time.’

’There are still many things waiting for me on the Celestial Spirit Continent. I can’t waste too much time in this world. According to my plan, I must uncover the secrets of this ruin and obtain its treasures within two years.’

’Besides, I can’t afford to wait, and neither can Qing Zhu. I’m sure Qing Zhu can’t afford to spend ten or twenty years stuck in this world. She must also want a swift victory.’

"Defending indefinitely is impossible," Lin Yun said aloud. "We outsiders can’t afford to waste all our time here. Even if we don’t make a move, the Divine Palace definitely will. The only reason the Divine Palace hasn’t counterattacked immediately is that the morale of the Divine Palace Warriors has been damaged."

Lin Yun then told the Grand Commander and the Second Commander about how he had destroyed the main hall of Divine Celestial City. Upon hearing this, the Grand Commander had a sudden realization.

"So that’s how it is. The main hall of Divine Celestial City is like the main hall of our Demon City—a Sacred Land in the hearts of all our warriors. If the main hall of Demon City were destroyed, the morale of the Demon Palace Warriors would plummet as well."

They hadn’t expected Lin Yun to have also destroyed the main hall of Divine Celestial City before he left. The Grand Commander and Second Commander were no fools; they both understood Lin Yun’s intentions.

He had done it to buy the Demon Palace some time. After all, the other two cities besides Demon City had only just been conquered and weren’t completely under their control. If the Divine Palace were to counterattack now, it would be very troublesome to handle.

And with this one move, Lin Yun had completely shattered the Divine Palace’s plans for a swift counterattack, forcing them to watch helplessly as the Demon Palace caught its breath.

"Although the Divine Palace won’t be attacking for the time being, this period won’t last long. It won’t exceed three months at most. After that, the Divine Palace will absolutely launch an all-out offensive," Lin Yun stated.

Hearing this, both the Grand Commander and the Second Commander nodded in agreement. Lin Yun then continued, "Therefore, we still can’t relax. We must speed things up and make the defenses of the other two cities unassailable."

On the surface, it might seem like the two newly captured cities were completely under the Demon Palace’s control, but internally, many hidden dangers remained.

First, these two cities had been run by the Divine Palace for many years, so almost everyone inside was loyal to them. Moreover, many Divine Palace Warriors had been captured and were currently imprisoned within these two cities.

These imprisoned Divine Palace personnel were an extremely unstable time bomb; you never knew when it might go off.

According to the Grand Commander, the number of Divine Palace prisoners in both cities combined was over five thousand. Over five thousand prisoners! In other words, the number of prisoners was almost half the number of Demon Palace Warriors garrisoned there.

If these Divine Palace prisoners got even the slightest opportunity to cause chaos within the cities, it would be incredibly dangerous.

In Lin Yun’s view, there were simply too many Divine Palace prisoners. They were too dangerous and fundamentally uncontrollable. If any kind of riot were to occur, these prisoners could cause a major disaster.

"Then what do you propose, Brother Lin Yun?" the Grand Commander asked, somewhat confused.

In response, Lin Yun’s expression remained unchanged as he uttered a single word, "Kill."

Hearing Lin Yun’s word, the Grand Commander and Second Commander were both stunned. ’Kill them? All five thousand prisoners?’

"Brother Lin Yun, that’s five thousand prisoners... To kill them all, isn’t that a bit..." the Second Commander began, but Lin Yun cut him off before he could finish.

"A bit cruel, you mean?"

They nodded. Both the Grand Commander and the Second Commander felt it was a bit cruel. But Lin Yun’s thinking was completely different from theirs. He was long accustomed to slaughter.

Back in the Eastern Heart Domain, he had seen far worse than a mere five thousand people being killed—he had witnessed tens of thousands being slaughtered.

’Just like that time at Taiqing Academy... when the Saint grew angry, how many of its disciples and Elders were killed?’

’The Demon Palace has only just recovered some of its Vitality. At a time like this, there can be no room for error. If we don’t kill these prisoners and something really does happen later, it will be too late for regrets.’

’War means people will die. To put it bluntly, every war, from beginning to end, is built upon a mountain of countless lives.’

He explained his reasoning to the two commanders. After hearing Lin Yun out, the Grand Commander and Second Commander mulled it over for a moment before nodding in agreement. They knew Lin Yun wasn’t wrong. At the same time, they realized that compared to him, they were worlds apart. Lin Yun’s decisiveness and ruthlessness alone left them in the dust.

Besides killing all the Divine Palace prisoners, Lin Yun also told them to relocate half of the people from Demon City to the other cities, regardless of age or gender.

Demon City’s population was far too large, well exceeding its capacity. Rather than having everyone crammed into Demon City, it would be better to move them to the other two cities.

The Grand Commander and Second Commander both strongly agreed with Lin Yun’s proposals. The Second Commander even stated that he would personally begin overseeing these matters the next day, including the execution of the five thousand Divine Palace prisoners. ℯ

(Seventh update! Please add to your library, vote with a Monthly Pass, recommend, and leave a tip!)