Chapter 556.1. Ju Zi's Terrifying Plots

The Sun Moon Empire’s absolute fighting ability was not the only reason they were able to win all their battles and eventually conquer the Heavenly Soul Empire. Their incredibly powerful surveillance and countersurveillance abilities were also important contributing factors to their victories.

When the war had just started, the Heavenly Soul Empire was actually able to put up a decent fight. After all, it had a huge amount of reserves as an old Empire. In addition, it had the support of the Body Sect, which gave it a significant boost in its capabilities.

However, their blows were often useless against the Sun Moon Empire. For strange reasons, they were always unable to deal a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire. On the other hand, the Sun Moon Empire was always able to identify the crucial weaknesses within the Heavenly Soul Empire, and deal heavy blows based on these weaknesses. Over time, the Heavenly Soul Empire could only succumb to its demise.

This time round, the blows which were suffered by the inner parts of the Sun Moon Empire were like a mirror image of the battle between the Sun Moon Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, even until now, they were still unable to determine where exactly their enemies were.

However, Ju Zi saw an extremely familiar name on the letter. Huo Yuhao!

There was only one piece of information which was certain from the message that was handed over to them from Radiant City. And that information was Huo Yuhao’s name.

Yuhao, was that really you?

Even though Ju Zi was thinking about him, her face remained calm and composed.

The old man on the left said, “This is truly a big problem. We must figure out what exactly is going on soon. Otherwise, we have no way to determine what our next course of action should be. Marshal, we must not retreat in times like this! Now that our troops have rested for a good ten days after taking over the whole of the Heavenly Soul Empire, our morale is at its peak. This is the best time for us to attack, no matter where we strike. If we allow the internal affairs of our Empire to influence our decision, we will not be able to achieve as much as we want. This is the perfect time to conquer the whole continent.”

Ju Zi nodded gently.

The old man on the right also nodded. He said, “Our Majesty has the protection of the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. As long as they stay within Radiant City, Radiant City will never fall. Even if those soul engineers were able to infiltrate our territory, their numbers are ultimately limited. They can only do so much damage to our installations with their two soul engineer legions. However, we have millions of troops at our command. We can definitely do more damage than them.”

“Elder Su, watch your words.” Ju Zi frowned as she reprimanded him.

Elder Su revealed a faint smile and said, “When the general is away from the Emperor, the general must make decisions based on his or her own discretion. Marshal, you must be decisive, and not allow this matter to affect you. I believe His Majesty will understand your decision. Our tactics are already finalized. If we were to make any amendments now, it would truly be disadvantageous for all of us!”

Ju Zi sighed and said, “Of course I know what things are like right now. However, how can we fight confidently when Our Majesty is in danger? I believe all of you are elders within the Hall of Consecration. I need some time to think this through. We should not rush out a decision on important matters like this. Otherwise, even if we were to emerge victorious on the front lines, we will still be scolded by the masses when we return to the Sun Moon Empire.”

“Who would dare to do that?!” Elder Su was obviously an ill-tempered old man. He immediately strode forward as his aura surged. He said coldly, “You have been serving the empire wholeheartedly, and have put your female body at the frontlines. We were only able to achieve all that we have with your intelligent tactics. If those old fools try to be funny, I will kill their entire families.”

Even though his words were very extreme, the five other Class 9 soul engineers in the tent did not go against him. Instead, they nodded gently. They might not share the same ill temper as him, but they all agreed with what he said.

Ju Zi stood up as her face revealed a gentle smile. She nodded towards the six Class 9 soul engineers and said, “I thank you all for your support. I will try my best to make a decision as soon as possible. The troops must not catch wind of this news. I will need all six of you to keep this a secret.”

“Roger!” The six Class 9 soul engineers answered as they bowed before her.

The first Worshipped on the left nodded and said, “Marshall, we shall leave you to rest. We will now take our leave. Regardless of your decision, we will definitely support you.”

“Okay.”

The six Worshipped left one by one, leaving Ju Zi alone in the humongous Commander’s Tent.

As Ju Zi sat on her seat, the fearsome and authoritative look on her face started to fade. Now, she started to look like a lady once again.

She sat there in a daze for a good long moment before standing up again. She moved over to the sand model at the side of the tent before strategizing their next move.

The Sun Moon Empire army she was leading was currently in a very special position. This position granted her three different options. The first and most direct option was to attack Shrek City. However, everyone knew that this was not the wisest decision. Ju Zi was naturally able to see the problems the Prime Minister had identified. In addition, she really wanted to avoid any conflict with Shrek Academy. She knew how important it was to him!

After the previous incident where her son was abducted, she had changed a lot. A lot of the things she used to value were now viewed with less importance. And some of the things she had tried her best to suppress in the past were now gushing from her heart.

There were several delicately crafted little flags on the sand model. Those flags were important chess pieces which she had laid out across their area of operation. Most of them were gathered at the border of the Star Luo Empire.

No one could really understand the intentions behind her strategic arrangements. Even though the six Worshipped could guess what she was trying to do, they were ultimately guesses.

From the current situation, it was wisest for them to attack the Star Luo Empire. This was because both the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire bordered the Sun Moon Empire. By conquering the Star Luo Empire, four-fifths of the entire continent would belong to the Sun Moon Empire.

Of course, the Star Luo Empire could not be compared to the Heavenly Soul Empire. Its area was similar to that of the Sun Moon Empire, and was equivalent to the sum of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire. It was an empire which had lasted for ten thousand years, and no one really knew how many reserves and resources it had.

The Star Luo Empire also had the White Tiger Duke waiting at the borders, with a hundred thousand troops ready for battle.

Ju Zi had positioned three hundred thousand troops at the border of the Star Luo Empire. There was a soul tool deployment area for every fifty thousand troops. Hence, they occupied six different locations of tactical importance. This arrangement kept the Star Luo Empire’s troops at bay, as they did not dare to make any moves. At the same time, she had arranged for two soul engineer legions to be on standby to reinforce any group when necessary.

The Star Luo Empire had tried to test the waters a few times, but had always returned in defeat.

There was a similar arrangement at the Dou Ling Empire. From the look of things, Ju Zi’s army had already established their positions against all their enemies. They could advance to attack and retreat to defend at will.

These were all accomplished by Ju Zi in just a few months. Before she had led the armies out for their conquest, she had already started making these arrangements.

Even though the battle seemed very chaotic and messy, everything was, in fact, under her control.

Ju Zi was not only adept at unorthodox military tactics. This time round, she had also displayed her ability to command and lead on the battlefield. She had only used five soul engineer legions to destroy the bulk of the coalition army formed by the Heavenly Soul Empire and Dou Ling Empires. She was even able to restrict the abilities of the Shrek Academy, and keep them from fighting at their full potential.

The remaining troops of the Heavenly Soul Empire did not actually perish in the battle. They had merely retreated back into Shrek City after seeing how they were fighting a losing battle.

After expanding, Shrek City was definitely capable of housing the seventy thousand strong army. At the same time, it also accepted quite a few elites and powerful soul masters from the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, the troops from the Dou Ling Empire could not retreat into Shrek City. After all, they still had to defend their empire! Hence, they had no choice but to return to the Dou Ling Empire and defend their borders.

In this short amount of time, Ju Zi was constantly running through possible permutations for her battle tactics in her head. The Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire had been on high alert and extremely tense for the past few days as they braced themselves for the Sun Moon Empire’s attack. Conversely, her troops had been recharging and resting for the past ten days. With their improved morale, they were in their best possible state.

“Yuhao, is it really you?” Ju Zi muttered to herself. “If it really is you, I wouldn’t find it strange at all. It was a brilliant move you made there!”

“How can a general act based on his or her own discretion? This is a complete joke. Xu Tianran would never stop controlling me even if I am at the front lines.” She revealed a cold look on her face as she smiled. “Xu Tianran, I wonder if you have been injured again…”

“It seems like all of my preparations were appropriate. It’s time to unveil some of these things. Yuhao, thank you for helping me create this condition. I will wait for you here. I am really looking forward to seeing you again. Even if it’s on the battlefield.”

Whenever she mentioned Huo Yuhao’s name in her heart, the coldness in her eyes would be replaced by a warm and loving look as a satisfied smile crept across her face.

She gradually extended her right hand as she clenched her fist above the sand model. Everything was under her control!

Two hours later, the War God Empress’ orders started to pass around the entire army. Every single officer was to report to the Commander’s Tent to receive their next set of orders.

A very solemn and serious aura was emanating from the Commander’s Tent. Ju Zi was wearing her armor and red-gold helmet as she sat in her seat. There was another person seated on her left, who was completely concealed in a long black robe. Even though he had been trying to conceal it, the people around him could still sense a very creepy and frightening aura coming from his body.

Another person was standing behind the man in black. If Huo Yuhao were here, he might be able to recognize her. She was none other than the Vice-Leader of the Holy Ghost Church—Feng Ling.

The only person who could get Feng Ling to stand behind him must be the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church—Zhongli Wu!

Yes, Zhongli Wu was actually at the front lines with the rest of the army.

The other powerful cultivators of the Sun Moon Empire—including Jing Hongchen—were standing beneath Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling. Even though the cultivators from the Holy Ghost Church could not be seen, that did not mean they were not present.