Chapter 90: Current State of the Continent

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Current State of the Continent

"Please forgive my hesitation, My Lord." Xiao Jie suddenly felt a little nervous and uneasy. "I don’t mean to question your orders, but right now, my heart truly feels..."

"I understand, Xiao Jie," Shen Yun softly interrupted him in his mind. "This is completely normal. You are now a living being with a soul, not a manipulated weapon. In fact, I prefer that you have your own thoughts and can judge the rightness of a situation for yourself."

No matter what an object was before Enlightenment, it would possess its own independent thoughts afterward. Shen Yun understood this very well. No matter how obedient Xiao Jie was, Shen Yun could only guide and understand his thoughts; he couldn’t just treat him as a mere weapon.

"I see... I understand now. This change is also a gift from My Lord," Xiao Jie murmured. He had indeed grasped the reality of his new existence.

"Speaking of which, I’m actually a bit curious about this Female Paladin," Shen Yun’s voice carried a hint of teasing. "Does she really have so much charm that you didn’t strike her down immediately?"

According to Xiao Jiu’s explanation, the gender of a previously genderless object was determined by its inner heart. She had become female precisely because of the affection born from spending day and night with Shen Yun over the past three years. Since Xiao Jie identified as male, it was only natural for him to be attracted to a woman.

"Charm? No, it has nothing to do with that." Unexpectedly, Xiao Jie refuted Shen Yun with deadpan seriousness. "Morality and righteousness don’t even exist on the battlefield, let alone the worthless charm of the opposite sex. I understand now. The reason I hesitated was because my data analysis concluded that keeping her alive would secure greater benefits for My Lord. This is precisely the purpose of the independent thought My Lord has gifted me. From now on, I will make excellent use of it to better protect you."

Shen Yun’s mouth fell open slightly. This level of devotion put a little bit of pressure on him.

"What’s wrong?" Vierlia, who was standing beside him, had kept her eyes fixed on Shen Yun.

"No, it’s nothing." Shen Yun shook his head and looked back down at the map on the table.

Overall, the entire continent was divided into three main sections by a vast, rushing river: East, South, and North. The Violet Empire was located in the eastern section, a block originally composed of seventeen small kingdoms that occupied about a third of the landmass. Right now, the Violet Empire had already swallowed up five neighboring countries, and Xiao Jie was preparing to move on to other, non-adjacent kingdoms. However, even if they annexed every kingdom in the east, their territory would only be twenty or thirty percent larger than the Southern Empire.

The Ibi Empire.

An "Ibi" was a fierce magical beast that stood at the very top of this world’s food chain, similar to a lion or a tiger. Taking this name was enough to prove the pure aggressiveness of the sole empire in the south. The Holy Temple Headquarters was also located within the borders of the Ibi Empire.

Then, there was the heterogenous Alliance in the north. The Winged Race, the Elf Race, and the Beast Race—these three major Sub-human Races from the Otherworld occupied the northern territories.

Beastmen... Shen Yun couldn’t help but look outside the grand hall.

There were Beastmen living in the Violet Empire as well. In fact, there was one serving in the Queen’s Guard. However, she was completely different from the cute, animal-eared girls he had imagined. Instead, she was in a highly bestial state. Her entire head was literally that of a dog, and her body was covered in soft, white fur. Although she stood perfectly straight with a slender figure and delicate features, aesthetically speaking, she still looked incredibly bizarre to him.

"I remember you mentioning that the Ibi Empire and the Alliance are in a constant state of war?" After marveling at the thought for a moment, Shen Yun brought his gaze back to the map.

"That’s right. Both sides have a Great Saint acting as their pillar of support. If that weren’t the case, small countries like ours without a Great Saint would have no way to survive," Vierlia nodded.

The distribution of the Great Saints—the absolute apex powerhouses of the continent—was actually quite simple. The Ibi Empire and the Alliance had one each. The Holy Hall had three, and the Magic Association had two. There were only seven in total.

"Assuming the Demon King is still unable to make a move, or isn’t confident enough to do so yet," Shen Yun extended a finger and drew a circle over the Ibi Empire on the map, "the Holy Hall will likely prioritize seizing control of the Ibi Empire."

After all, they were located right within its borders. The people of this world already somewhat grasped the immense value of territory and population. One only needed to look at the Holy Hall’s methods to understand. The reason they possessed so many Saint Realm experts was that they poached the vast majority of high-quality geniuses from across the world. And eight hundred years ago, the Demon King had tried to do the exact same thing: conquer the world.

"What about us?" Vierlia merely glanced at the map before quickly locking her eyes back onto Shen Yun.

"If the Demon King didn’t exist, I would have smashed my way into the Holy Hall a long time ago," Shen Yun shook his head helplessly. "Right now, the Demon King’s strength and condition are unknown. We can only prepare for the worst-case scenario and test the waters step by step... while simultaneously strengthening the Violet Empire. In short, our first step is to bring the entire eastern region under our control."

If the Violet Empire grew stronger, it would only bring benefits—both to China and to himself. Moreover, this was the perfect opportunity. They could do it all in the name of resisting the Demon King.

"Does this count as..." Vierlia suddenly reached out, draped her arms over Shen Yun’s shoulders, and rested her chin on them, staring intently at his profile. She softly breathed out, "Conquering an empire for me?"

"It counts, of course it does..." Shen Yun turned his head, their noses even brushing lightly against each other. "Do you still read those historical romance web novels targeted at women?"

"I read them occasionally." Vierlia looked a tiny bit embarrassed, then blinked. "If this were a scene in one of those novels, I should probably throw you down on the bed right now. Would that work?"

"What kind of stuff have you been reading..." Shen Yun felt a bit overwhelmed. Perhaps it was because she was back in her own territory, but Vierlia’s initiative and passion were continuously rising.

"I’m just kidding." Her Majesty drew out a long nasal tone, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "I can’t beat you in a fight anyway, so I couldn’t do something like that even if I tried."

Although she was actually quite shy, the more Shen Yun tried to avoid the topic, the more intrigued she became. Especially when she saw Shen Yun’s earnest expression as he racked his brain for her and the Violet Empire, an overwhelming desire to claim this man as her own kept bubbling up inside her.

"This is just too much!" Xiao Jiu couldn’t help but mutter again. "How can Master let himself be flirted with? He should be flirting back!"

Flirt back with what? Shen Yun couldn’t help but retort in his mind, did she not know flirting was a two-way street? If he flirted back, he really would end up getting thrown onto the bed, and then he’d be doomed. He finally understood a certain saying. Men who weren’t outstanding would never know just how proactive women could be.

A hint of disappointment flashed through Vierlia’s eyes. He was distracted again. It seemed her offensive had failed once more. She understood that going too far was just as bad as falling short, and it wouldn’t do to annoy Shen Yun. So, she withdrew her hands and finally looked at the map, earnestly pondering their military deployment strategy.

Shen Yun inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Right at that moment, Xiao Jie’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind again.

"My Lord, over here at the sixth kingdom... the Holy Hall’s Paladin and the Kingdom Saint Realm expert have both fled."