Chapter 16: Divine Court, Expedition
"Welcome, Star Lord!"
The Old Man knelt down excitedly, while the others exchanged glances before following the former Chief's lead and kneeling as well.
"Welcome, Star Lord!"
"Rise. The development of the Human Race has deviated from my expectations, which is why I personally descended. From now on, the tribe will be renamed the Divine Court, and the position of Chief will be changed to High Priest!"
"Due to the special circumstances this time, I will personally assume the role of High Priest. After I leave, the selection of the High Priest will require trials."
Jiang Fan's aura was fully unleashed, and the surrounding phenomena were very cooperative, providing ample special effects.
"Yes!"
Everyone replied respectfully.
"What is the current population of the Divine Court?"
"Reporting to Star Lord, the current tribe... the Divine Court has over one hundred thousand people..."
The Old Man replied.
"One hundred thousand..."
Jiang Fan frowned. It was too few.
"Please do not be angry. After the original tribe split, most people followed those with good prestige and carved out their own kingdoms. Only a small portion, out of reverence for the Sage, followed the last Chief here to establish a small tribe.
Originally, even with just a small portion, our population numbered in the millions. However, the Seven Kingdoms viewed us as a potential threat and sent people to suppress us during that time.
Ultimately, perhaps out of pity for us, they allowed us to survive precariously in this remote place, as long as our tribe's population did not exceed one hundred fifty thousand..."
Speaking of this, the Old Man felt a surge of anger in his heart, but given their strength, they couldn't change anything, until...
The Old Man looked at Jiang Fan, who was bathed in the phenomena, with burning eyes.
"Integrate everyone in the next few days, and follow me to attack the Seven Kingdoms one by one."
Jiang Fan waved his hand, signaling for everyone to disperse, his gaze shifting towards an empty space.
The Old Man hesitated slightly: "This... my Lord... we only have this many people..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Jiang Fan wave his hand, and a magnificent palace rose from the ground out of thin air.
The people who hadn't dispersed yet saw this scene, their pupils constricted violently, and their faith in Jiang Fan grew even stronger. They believed that under Jiang Fan's leadership, they would surely return to their former prosperity.
The Old Man swallowed, choking down the rest of his words, and said excitedly, "We will not fail the Lord's command!"
Jiang Fan didn't respond, walking into the palace he had just built. This time, he was just trying his hand, seeing how strong one ten-thousandth of his power was.
It seemed now that single-handedly challenging a million-strong army was possible, but it wasn't a long-term solution. What he wanted wasn't to annihilate the Seven Kingdoms, but to make them submit.
He wanted to establish centralized rule where divine power superseded everything. This would facilitate management and allow him to better control the development of Earth Star, avoiding unnecessary accidents like what had occurred during this process.
There was no sleep tonight.
The Seven Kingdoms all dispatched large numbers of people to investigate the source of the phenomena, but in the end, they found nothing. This phenomenon seemed entirely natural, not caused by anyone else.
Was this truly the case?
The rulers of the Seven Kingdoms were skeptical. Various signs of the extraordinary hinted at Weirdness, especially occurring right before a major war. They couldn't rest or eat until they investigated it thoroughly.
What if it was another country's hidden card?
If the opponent were to use a decisive move on the battlefield, the losses would be severe, and they would ultimately be carved up by the Six countries.
"My empire shall not be coveted by anyone!"
As if by tacit agreement, the Seven Kingdoms all decided to postpone the war, even going so far as to use the pawns they had planted in other countries for decades.
A bloody storm raged during these few days.
People dared not go out at night, and every dawn, several corpses could be seen on the streets.
This caused panic among the populace, who worried about their own future.
time passed like this for a few days.
Gu Country.
"How is the situation? How has the investigation gone these past few days?"
Gu Bei asked Yuanfang, who was beside him.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, we used all the pawns planted in the Six countries but found no hidden secrets in other countries. Not only that, but the other Six countries are also taking action.
In just these few days, we've killed thousands of spies from the Six countries. The people are in a state of panic, and few go out, even during the day, let alone at night... If this continues, it will be detrimental to the country's development..."
Yuanfang's expression was solemn.
"No unusual occurrences..."
Gu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. He had also heard a little about the recent movements of the Six countries. It seemed that the phenomena that night had frightened all the countries quite a bit, but it was possible that one of the countries was pretending not to know in order to cooperate with them in a play...
"Your Majesty... I have a guess... I wonder if I should speak it?"
Yuanfang's tone was hesitant.
"Speak!"
"Could it be the small tribe that caused the commotion?"
Gu Bei's face stiffened upon hearing this. It was indeed possible. Although the current tribe could be wiped out with a flick of a finger, the entire tribe, including the old, weak, women, and children, numbered only one hundred thousand.
But it was hard to avoid unexpected events. Were there not enough miracles in history?
"Send people..."
Gu Bei's words were interrupted by a messenger's shout.
"Report!!!"
The person who came was flustered and breathless, seemingly indicating an emergency.
"What is it? Speak quickly!"
Gu Bei said with authority.
"A large army has been discovered fifty li away!"
"A large army? How many people are there? Which country's army is it?"
Gu Bei was very confused. Everyone was on edge right now. Which country was so foolish as to make a rash move?
"The estimated number of the opposing force is less than one hundred thousand. Their allegiance is unknown!"
Gu Bei felt confused but also had a few guesses. How dare they? What gave them the courage?
"Let's go, follow me to war. I want to see with my own eyes what their confidence is!"
Gu Bei sneered, then led an army of seven hundred thousand out to meet the enemy.
It wasn't that he didn't want to bring more. The total population of the Human Race was only over thirty million, distributed among the Seven Kingdoms, averaging just over four million per country.
Excluding the old, weak, women, children, and ordinary citizens, having seven hundred thousand troops was considered a sign of a prosperous country.
The vast army marched out of the city and occupied the wilderness.
From above, one could see dense black dots on the ground.
Gu Bei sat on a dragon carriage, holding a sword, with more than a dozen horses providing the power.
The two sides quickly met ten li away and stopped their advance.
"Send people ahead to gather information."
Gu Bei issued the command.
...
"My Lord, a large army has appeared ahead..."
The Old Man Zhuo Yuanming reminded Jiang Fan, who was sitting in a luxurious carriage.
"Which country's army is it?"
Jiang Fan opened his eyes and saw the large army ten li away through his divine abilities, and he knew the number.
"Gu Country."
Jiang Fan said calmly, "Go straight ahead, ignore them, and you don't need to worry about getting hurt."
"Yes!"
"My Lord has ordered, continue advancing!"
Zhuo Yuanming continued to command the army to advance.
As the army set out, they soon encountered the scouts sent by Gu Bei.
Seeing that they actually dared to advance, the scouts quickly pulled their horses around and shouted back, "What force are you! How dare you attack our Gu Country!"
Zhuo Yuanming glanced at Jiang Fan. Seeing that he didn't respond, Zhuo Yuanming directly had someone reply, "The Star Lord Yu Hui of old has fallen, and a new order is about to be born. The Seven Kingdoms that fall will become the nourishment needed for its birth!
Rebuilding the glory of the past, continuing the radiance of the Sage, unification is inevitable, and the Divine Court is duty-bound!!"