Li Yao's powerful computational ability quickly painted a calamitous scene for him.
If the Red Tide Plan was really activated, the super experts and best soldiers of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector would be gathered in the prosperous, populated area in the east of the federation.
Once the virus broke out, most of the participants of the battle would be infected and turn into Elder Nether Spring's slaves or 'uncontrollable mutants'. The troops deployed out of the capital ring of the city would not be able to resist the tide of destruction, either. Important cities would fall one after another. Elder Nether Spring's army of death would snowball and grow larger and larger!
In a chill, Li Yao mumbled, "Elder Nether Spring is too voracious. He is trying to fish up all the experts of the two Sectors together! But the experts in and above the Core Formation Stage and the demon king level are highly immune to viruses in the first place. They can also release flames or frost to cleanse the viruses. They will not be infected so easily."
"It might be true under normal circumstances," Jin Xinyue said, "but what if they are already exhausted, heavily wounded, and surrounded by countless 'uncontrollable mutants'?
"They will have nowhere to run!
"The 'Red Tide Plan', as a strategy for the ultimate war, is extremely risky. Even if everything goes well, the odds of success will be no higher than thirty percent. The most likely outcome is that the elites of the coalition army of demons will be annihilated somewhere in the capital ring of the Star Glory Federation.
"But the Spore Stratagem is different—the only requirement of the plan is to push the main force of the coalition army of demons into the capital ring of the federation!
"After the virus breaks out, the federal soldiers will think that it is a new biochemical weapon that the demon race invented. They will hate demons even more and surround the coalition army without letting anyone through. Driven by their ideology of protecting the ordinary people, the Cultivators will only charge in incessantly like moths to a flame. How will the coalition army escape?
"The coalition army will be there for a last battle. There will be no reason for them to retreat, either. Besides, they will be marching by themselves without support. They will have no choice but to fight!
"Even if a few guys in the coalition army are smart enough to realize that it is a scheme, what can they do? Will they still have a chance to negotiate with the federal army and explain that everything is just a misunderstanding?
"Therefore, even if some of them know the truth, it will be impossible for them to stop the mutual destruction of the coalition army of demons and the federal army. All the experts will be heavily wounded and infected by the 'uncontrollable mutants'. They will either turn into the 'super uncontrollable mutants' that are even tougher or end up being Elder Nether Spring's slaves!
"Since they are in the level of Nascent Soul Stage or demon emperor, they are standing at the peak of evolution in the first place, and their odds of surviving the mutations will be much higher than the odds of ordinary people. Of the hundred Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and demon emperors, as long as one tenth of them, which means around ten super experts, are controlled by the Elder Nether Spring, and the other experts are turned into 'uncontrollable mutants', it will be an extremely terrifying force!
"With the help of the terrifying force, Elder Nether Spring will establish his new order that will shake the very foundations of the world!
"It is a plan that is barely stoppable.
"Even if the leadership of the Heaven's Origin Sector learns of the 'Red Tide Plan', so what? Maybe, they will secretly deploy all the elites in the east of the federation and prepare to wipe out the main force of the Blood Demon Sector. But it will fit Elder Nether Spring's need even better. He does not need a victory, and he is not scared of failure. All he needs is an unprecedented war where all the elites of the two worlds will be gathered!
"The bottom line is, once the main force of the coalition army invades the Star Glory Federation, everything will be doomed whether the federation is prepared or not!"
Li Yao took multiple deep breaths to calm himself down. "The Red Tide Plan is likely to break out at any moment. We have to meet your father and explain everything to him. We must convince him that the Spore Stratagem exists and that the 'Red Tide Plan' has to be aborted!
"Are you confident to persuade your father? Or rather, is he rational enough for communication and willing to concede?"
Jin Xinyue thought carefully and replied, "99% of the time, he is a shrewd guy who will concede for his interest. But what is odd is that, whenever you think that he is conceding, you are actually falling into his trap! I've seen him concede countless times since childhood, both in the Gold Crow Kingdom and in the Pantheon of Demons. He has conceded, retreated, and even yielded dozens of times. But after dozens of times of compromises, all his enemies are dead, and he is now the leader of the Feather Clan and the master of sky. He has even turned into the commander-in-chief of the coalition army and the most powerful being in the Blood Demon Sector in name!"
There was fear in Jin Xinyue's eyes. "In the demon race, the forces on the ground have always been most valued. The Horn Clan and the Claw Clan that govern the earth and the Insect Clan that governs the underground are the strongest clans. In comparison, the Sea Clan that dominates the ocean and the Feather Clan that commands the sky are relatively weaker.
"Over the past hundreds of years, the commander-in-chief of the coalition army has always been from the Horn Clan, the Claw Clan, or the Insect Clan. The ideology of the demon race has been focused on continentalism, too. Beast tides are everything!
"My father is the first commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons from the Feather Clan in two hundred years. He has even successfully altered the guiding principle that prevailed for hundreds of years and changed from 'continentalism' to the 'unification of the sky, the ocean, and the land'. It is not hard to imagine how many interest groups he has confronted and dealt with during the process!
"Therefore, he seems to be someone who is rational enough to communication and willing to compromise when offered with undeniable proof and calculation.
"However, that is never a real concession. It is just the beginning of a new plan.
"That's only in 99% of the cases.
"There are still 1% of cases, where he behaves like an 'insane poet'. I don't know how I can comment on him in such cases.
"In such cases, he is a lunatic that is even crazier than Elder Nether Spring. Nobody can predict him. Nobody can control him. Nobody can sway him!
"Besides, we don't know yet whether or not Elder Nether Spring's spies are around him."
Li Yao narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Jin Xinyue frowned. "I've been suspicious about if my father knew that I was attacked by the troop of Mirage Falcons. If he knew, how much did he know? Considering the sordidness of Elder Nether Spring's Spore Stratagem, is it possible that he has sent a lot of spies to my father?
"It must be noted that, although my father has been elected as the commander-in-chief of the coalition army now, the majority of the coalition army is still made of the Claw Clan, the Horn Clan, and the Insect Clan because of the 'continentalism' that has prevailed for hundreds of years. The Feather Clan does not have much control. Most of the elite troops and the intelligence network are under the command of the Insect Clan, the Claw Clan, and the Horn Clan.
"With Elder Nether Spring's precise arrangements, he must've been preparing for the scheme since decades ago. I wouldn't be surprised if he had smuggled his trusted subordinates into the coalition army.
"If they interfered on purpose and handed false intelligence to my father, it is very possible that my father was misled.
"After all, even a demon emperor cannot know everything that is happening. When he is inside the command center in the headquarters of the Pantheon of Demons, the enormous intelligence network will be his eyes and ears. If the intelligence work is corroded, and if his closest subordinates have betrayed him, he will only make wrong judgements however smart he is."
"Just like Elder Nether Spring manipulated Master Hollow Wind to say what he wanted said, you are suspecting that Elder Nether Spring is manipulating your father without him knowing?" Li Yao said coldly.
"I don't know," Jin Xinyue mumbled. "I truly don't know."
Li Yao smashed the ball. "Therefore, we must sneak into the headquarters of the Pantheon of Demons in Heavenly Path City silently and have a one-to-one conversation with your father!"
Hesitating for a moment, Jin Xinyue asked cautiously, "Master, do you know that the mission is as difficult as 'assassinate the commander-in-chief of the coalition army'?"
Li Yao's eyes were glittering. "How do you know that it won't work out when you haven't tried? At the very least, you are familiar with the terrain of the Pantheon of Demons and Heavenly Path City, right? Also, tell me all the details about your father's habits. We will come up with a perfect infiltration plan!
"However, we must get out of here first!
"After such a long time, the main force of the coalition army must be chasing after the magical equipment that is swimming randomly in the deep sea. This is the moment when they are least wary. It will be too late after they find the truth about the magical equipment!"
Li Yao triggered the light beam and pointed at the map of Void Turmoil City. "Look. According to the map, this teleportation array is the furthest from us. It can bring us to the demonic plant garden at the periphery of Void Turmoil City.
"What are planted in the garden are tall and dense Fire Oil Palm Trees. It is highly unlikely that we will be discovered.
"We will decide what to do after we arrive.
"Plan A. We will hide ourselves in the blubber of the Land Whales. It is a highly effective move that I just tested.
"Plan B. We will rob two soldiers that are roughly the same size as us and take away their armor. Then, we will pretend to be them.
"Plan C. We will pretend to be the 'cannon fodder' being shipped out of the city.
"The bottom line is, don't attack unless it is absolutely necessary. Our primary target now is to stop a world war. Do you understand?"
Jin Xinyue nodded.
"Alright? Have you recovered? We will be teleported in three seconds!"
Li Yao packed up everything and activated the teleportation array.
Three seconds later, the underground chamber was illuminated by a dazzling mystic ray, which melted them.
Within a breath, they appeared in the garden of Fire Oil Palm Trees, or what used to be the garden.
Since there were few obstacles around and most of the Fire Oil Palm Trees had been burnt to the ground, the coalition army had decided to develop the garden into a temporary port.
Two devilish warships were spurting right above their heads. On their left was a troop of heavy beetles that had just arrived. On their right were twenty acid cannons that were being transported. In front of them were several officers who were checking the assets, followed by more than ten biochemical beasts that had just crawled out of the storage tanks.
Earlier today, only half of the garden had been built into a port. An area of half-burnt demonic plants, in which the teleportation array was hidden, had not been cleared yet. That was why the teleportation array had not been discovered.
But the news that a Cultivator had shown up in Void Turmoil City had spread out in all troops. The commander had decided to expand the port to accommodate more reinforcements.
When Li Yao and Jin Xinyue appeared, the last few burnt Fire Oil Palm Trees were falling down slowly, pulled by elephants.
The officers and them looked at each other in a weird silence.
"Master, is there a Plan D?"
"There is. Well, would you please calm down for a moment and listen to our explanation, officers? You may find it hard to believe, but in fact, we are here for world peace…"