Thinking about what just occurred would only blacken my heart further. Saying it was for the greater good is nothing but hypocritical bullshit. I killed millions of lives, and it's something I'm fully capable and willing to live with. All those who perished would have died regardless if I were to claim the city today or later.
The only difference is that they died without any pain today, instead of being blown apart with explosives, gunfire, and hails of poison and toxic, painful death.
The head of the Sea of Demons, the one called the emperor, was easily eliminated. My plan had started several weeks ago, after all. I had already infiltrated the Imperial City and identified the entire structure of the city—from the people who worked at the imperial palace, the cooks and chefs, the guards, and even the soldiers and eunuchs.
I had made several adjustments to my physical appearance thanks to poison, copying the appearance of a eunuch who had access to the emperor's food tray. Poisoning his wine was simple and easy, especially since I had done it over several days. By mixing several undetectable poisons into his everyday wine, which would only trigger once I allowed them to, I ensured his demise.
That was all I needed to do to eliminate an Origin Shattering Realm cultivator.
Fighting him head-on would only result in my death. Cowardly? One could easily say so, but efficient? No one could argue the point. I didn't have the power to fight him directly and would need years upon years before I could even match his cultivation level. But we didn't have that much time.
I had asked them to give up, but they refused. They declined a toast only to drink a forfeit.
As for the soldiers, they all rested in their barracks and trained and practiced every day in the same area. Poisoning their drink was easy as I could simply camouflage myself each day, either as a soldier or as a random cook. The plan went on for days into weeks until it bore fruition. Sadly for the generals, none of them mixed with the normal soldiers, and they all had their own things to do.
But I was prepared for them, as proven by the complete surrender of the Sea of Demons.
I had made sure to send twelve copies of my body, each one with its own army. As for my real body, it was all the way inside the city. As I walked forward to the palace gate, death surrounded me. Soldiers lay on the ground, surrounded by grieving parents and family. The empire had fallen.
I walked up the stairs, among terrified cultivators who noticed and fully recognized me from afar. I looked like a monster to them as I walked forward with an aura so incredible, mixed with the haunted souls of the soldiers who had just died unwillingly. I walked up until I reached the gate of the palace and simply pushed the golden gates forward.
They spread apart, allowing me to enter, as the serfs and slaves ran away in terror.
I walked up until I reached the dead emperor. I picked up his body and threw it aside after I grabbed his holding bag and the crown he wore on his head. I squeezed the crown until it turned to mush and sat on the throne. My clone, which was right next to the three generals, spoke, "Go to the palace," my clone said and then simply dissipated.
The three generals realized they were in the presence of a clone and rushed toward the palace, only to find me sitting on the throne. The smarter of the three was the spear general, who immediately groveled on his knees. "All hail the new emperor! SHEN BAO THE HUMBLE DRAGON!"
The other two immediately understood and groveled down, repeating the same line.
I looked at the three and said, "Your allegiance means nothing to me, and words and promises are easy to break."
"We swear by the heavenly Dao that as long as you live, we shall serve!" the spear general said, his voice filled with desperation.
I smiled at his wording and said, "You really need to work on how you say things. What you just mean is that if I were to die, you'll serve me no more," I replied, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
Which sounded utterly idiotic—I mean, who would keep serving a dead man?
The look on their faces was priceless. Their eyes widened in realization, and beads of sweat formed on their foreheads.
I approached them and said, "Eat this. I don't believe in words, only actions." I held out my palm, revealing three pills.
The three of them looked at each other, confused and hesitant.
"You can inspect it all you want. It's basically poison, and if you don't receive the antidote from me every ten years, you'll die a terrible death. You can only get out of this poison by either becoming a Heavenly Stage cultivator or if I free you by giving you the antidote," I explained, my voice calm and unwavering.
They understood immediately that loyalty cannot be bought but it can be enforced. They had no choice—the man in front of them was powerful. Although not as strong as them, they could simply kill him if they worked together. However, none of them were thinking straight at the moment, and it was the perfect opportunity for me to have them swallow this pill.
The first to grab the pill was the General of the West, whose daughter I had treated.
"Good," I said, watching as the other two followed suit, grabbing the remaining pills.
The effects were immediate. The General of the Shield's body healed, recovering from having blocked one of the tungsten pillars. As for the other two, they felt revitalizing Qi surge through them.
"Three billion and six hundred million Saint Qi crystals," he said.
"And how much do we have in our treasury?" I asked.
"A bit less than two billion in raw crystals and more than twice that amount in value in treasures," he said.
"Hmm, give me a second," I said, sending a divine sense message to the automaton.
Nota second later, the portal from the pagoda opened and two of the Suns immediately emerged. The councilor was stunned to see both of them in my presence and bowed down. "Glory to the Suns!" he exclaimed.
They didn't pay him any attention and were just smiling. "You don't like crowns," the Dusking Sun said, noticing the crumpled golden crown on the ground.
"Nothing but a pointless vestige of life. It is only worth the gold it weighs and the trust of the people. For me right now, it's valueless," I said, dismissing the crown with a wave of my hand.
"You must need us if you asked for both of us," the Dusking Sun said.
"I need money," I stated bluntly.
"How much?" the Blue Sun asked.
"Three billion Saint Qi crystals," I replied.
The Blue Sun frowned. "That isn't a simple amount. Are you planning on paying the gratuity this early?" she asked.
"Yes, with some benefits too," I replied.
"You won't receive the loyalty of the people if you simply pay the death gratuity, you know," she said.
"I'm not in need of that. Loyalty without purpose is meaningless. All I trust is my puppets. These people, however, lost their family and need compensation."
"I see. I can arrange that amount, but..."
"I'll pay you interest and facilitate trade between my region and yours. No tax," I offered.
"Oh, that's a generous offer. I'll take you up on it," she said.
"Hey, what about me?" the Dusking Sun interjected.
"I'll need your beasts," I said. "I'll hire them," I added, detailing the need and goal for the beasts.
The three of them—councilor included—stood with mouths agape as I explained what I was going to do with all that money and the resources I was going to obtain. Their shock was palpable, but I remained calm and composed, my mind already planning the next steps in my conquest and consolidation of power.
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