Chapter 91: If the Enemy Cowers, Then Attack!

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: If the Enemy Cowers, Then Attack!

"Even the Kingdom Saint Realms have fled?" Shen Yun asked in a deep voice.

"That’s right."

It would have been understandable if only the Holy Hall’s Paladins had run away. No matter how slow information traveled, they should have reacted by now. But for even the Kingdom Saint Realms to flee...

"In that case, come back first and bring the remaining Saint Realms with you," Shen Yun ordered. He figured the other kingdoms further away were likely in the same situation, so there was no need to check on them.

"Understood," Xiaojie complied.

Shen Yun turned his attention back to the map. Violet now controlled nearly half of the eastern region. The remaining eleven countries were situated closely against the north. If their forces wanted to run, they could only retreat northward. However, it didn’t really matter. Their retreat made it perfectly convenient for him to completely take over their territories.

Currently, Shen Yun’s strategy against the Holy Hall and the Demon King was primarily focused on probing and defense. But if he discovered the enemy was nothing more than a paper tiger, he wouldn’t hesitate to act. After all, even when biding one’s time, one had to seize every opportunity to strike back decisively.

A few hours later.

The five Saint Realms from the countries neighboring Violet arrived, along with the Female Paladin. Shen Yun didn’t even need to pressure them. Every single one of them was incredibly respectful, immediately assuming the posture of submissive subjects. Given how terrifying Xiaojie’s strength was, they had absolutely no desire to test Shen Yun’s power for themselves.

Shen Yun only met with them briefly. He left the subsequent tasks of integrating the armies, dispatching personnel to take over, and handling related arrangements entirely to Queen Vierlia. Naturally, this also included continuing their eastward expansion and sending intelligence operatives south to the Ibi Empire to gather information.

Meanwhile, Shen Yun focused on his cultivation while traveling back and forth to Earth. He helped Violet purchase and transport military weapons and auxiliary equipment, such as firearms and grenades, prioritizing older, easy-to-operate individual weapons. These could still deal considerable damage to Cultivators below the Golden Core stage. He even needed to slowly deploy infrastructure like signal towers and communication devices.

Half a month later.

The Demon King still hadn’t made a move. Shen Yun, dressed in a tight black robe suited to the customs of this world, sat dining with Vierlia in the royal garden. They didn’t get to eat together every day; Vierlia had been incredibly busy lately with far too much on her plate. Thus, she had specifically squeezed out an hour today to cook a rather lavish lunch for him. She had even worn a slightly revealing, light purple dress that perfectly accentuated her snow-white skin, making her especially captivating. Yet, even with such a beauty sitting before him, Shen Yun simply gorged himself without a care for his image.

"My palate has been completely spoiled by the two of you." Swallowing the last bite of his food, Shen Yun stopped, looking quite satisfied. "I can’t even get used to eating anything other than what you and Xiaojiu make."

"That doesn’t matter," Xiaojiu, who was standing to the side, said as she leaned down to wipe the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief. Her voice was incredibly gentle. "Xiaojiu will always, always be by Master’s side anyway."

Hearing this, the Queen sitting across from him bit her lip, her expression dimming slightly. A Queen had a Queen’s responsibilities. In this regard, she had been thoroughly overshadowed by Xiaojiu.

"Vierlia, have the people we sent south managed to gather any information?" Shen Yun had something important to discuss today, so as soon as he finished eating, he got straight down to business.

Vierlia lowered her gaze, not wanting Shen Yun to see her eyes. She felt her current look was definitely full of resentment. Still, she answered softly, "The Demon King hasn’t made any moves, but there is confirmed information that the Saint Hall Master visited the Ibi Imperial Palace. After that, they began assembling their army."

The purpose of assembling an army went without saying. However, using a mortal army to deal with Violet...

"Honestly, I’m a bit tempted." Shen Yun clasped his hands together in front of his face. "We detained a Vice Hall Master and annexed three-quarters of the eastern region. Faced with such probing, the Holy Hall has only taken control of the Ibi Empire, attempting to pit their army against ours. While we can’t rule out the possibility that they’re setting a trap, it definitely proves they’re insecure."

An army could indeed delay powerful Cultivators to some extent, but it could never serve as the deciding factor for victory. Furthermore, didn’t setting a trap indirectly prove their insecurity? If they truly possessed the strength, they would have just attacked directly.

"Are you thinking of..." Vierlia suddenly raised her head.

"That’s right. We’ll take the fight to them—just Xiaojie and I." Shen Yun raised an eyebrow, continuing before Vierlia could speak. "I’ve spent this time researching the Demon King’s campaign from eight hundred years ago. He really is Ludwig’s idol. He acted arrogantly, and it was hard to see any logic in his actions. If he had truly resurrected, I think... even if he hadn’t fully regained his strength, he wouldn’t be so cautious as to make absolutely no moves."

Over the past half month, aside from collecting information, he had also interrogated Bill and the captive Ludwig. As it turned out, neither of them had actually seen the Demon King. The crystal in Ludwig’s possession had been given to him by a mysterious masked man, while Bill had been slowly corrupted and seduced into depravity by the Saint Hall Master under the guise of restoring his emotions.

Shen Yun harbored a suspicion that the Demon King’s resurrection might just be a hoax. But just as he had originally thought: if the enemy was acting cowardly, they would strike!

"I know everything you’re saying." Vierlia pursed her lips, reaching across the table to take Shen Yun’s hands in hers. Her azure eyes made no attempt to hide her worry. "But even if there is only a one percent chance that this is a trap... I would rather you break through to the Divine Realm before coming to save our world."

"Don’t be silly." Shen Yun couldn’t help but chuckle. "If I were to tip-toe around over a one percent risk, I would never get anything done."

He had already been cautious enough. Now, he was actually a bit worried that if the Demon King or the Saint Hall Master were planning something, they might be stalling for time just as he was. Dragging things out would only put him at a disadvantage.

Vierlia hesitated for a long time before finally nodding heavily. "Okay."

Ultimately, she was a smart woman. She knew she couldn’t let her own fears and worries hold Shen Yun back.

"Then it’s decided." Shen Yun gave her a reassuring smile. "Later, Xiaojie and I will go deal with the last bit of trouble in the rear, and then we’ll charge straight into the Holy Hall."

During this time, the fleeing Paladins of the Holy Hall and some of the Kingdom Saint Realms had not fully retreated. Instead, they had withdrawn step by step, consolidating their forces in a Coastal Country. What they were planning was obvious: they simply wanted to wait for the Ibi Empire to attack, then launch a pincer movement from the front and rear.

With over a dozen Saint Realms, under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to stall or even defeat one or two Great Saints. But how could they have known that Shen Yun was also waiting for them to gather in one place? That way, he could wipe them all out in one fell swoop, eliminating any future threats from the rear.

Vierlia suddenly stood up, walked over to Shen Yun, and pulled him into a gentle, lingering kiss.

"May you be... invincible!"