Li Yao's words rendered Heiye Lan speechless. It was not until a long time later that she finally said in a low voice, "As long as we sabotage the heartland of the Federation, there is no way that we will fail!"
Li Yao shook his head. "No. If the true path of immortality can truly bring out the highest combat ability, the Black Wind Fleet should've won easily even without us. After all, when you set off, you did not take into account that twelve Yuanying and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators would join your expedition army.
"Fellow Cultivator Hei, I'm telling you all this not because I want to surrender to the Federation. However, we should all consider every possibility in the future carefully.
"After all, we are not just representing ourselves. I am representing the Ancient Sages Sector, and you are representing the Black Wind Fleet. Countless compatriots and entire worlds are behind us, right?
"If everything goes as well as you described, and the Black Wind Fleet defeats the Federation unstoppably, there will be nothing to be said. The insignificant Ancient Sages Sector does not have the courage to challenge the invincible Imperium of True Human Beings.
"But what if? What if the Black Wind Fleet is really defeated? What should we do?"
With confusion and resistance on her face, Heiye Lan shook her head and said, "I've never thought about that."
"Then, you'd better start thinking about it right now."
Li Yao said casually, "You and I are both clear that the Ancient Sages Sector was tied to the tank of the Black Wind Fleet because we had no choice. You don't expect that the twelve experts of the Ancient Sages Sector will pledge loyalty to the Black Wind Fleet without caring about anything when the war goes wrong and sacrifices are necessary, do you?
"Hehe. If I really make such a promise, it will be a shameless lie, won't it?
"You are lucky. Truly lucky, Fellow Cultivator Hei. They have entrusted you to my care.
"I'm different from the cunning, lying Cultivators from central plateaus. I was born in the jungles of the Southland of Sorcerers, and I hate lying the most. I can't keep anything to myself. I'll say whatever comes to my mind. Why should I hide it?
"Let me be frank with you. The experts of the Ancient Sages Sector are only willing to pledge loyalty to the Imperium of True Human Beings because of its invincibility. Should the Black Wind Fleet show signs of weakness, even if I don't change my mind, it is possible that some of the other eleven people will pledge loyalty to the Federation. By then, the odds of the Black Wind Fleet's failure will be much higher than ten percent.
"Therefore, you should spare some time to think about the future for yourself, your compatriots, and the entire Black Wind Fleet after your failure. Only by planning ahead can you remain calm!"
Heiye Lan thought hard and mumbled, "A way out after the failure? What do you mean? I don't understand! "
"It's very simple."
Li Yao patted the shoulder of the elite female warrior of the Imperium and said casually, "Just now, you said that the Imperium has hundreds of Sectors. Even if you fail, you can always organize new expedition armies to conquer the Xing Yao Federation.
"Let's put aside the question of whether or not the Imperium, which is confronting the Holy League and even being suppressed by the Holy League, can really summon new expedition armies from the frontline that has been tightened to the limits. Even if they can, how long will it take for them to launch a second expedition?
"The elite forces of multiple Sectors will be involved. From planning to organizing to marching to the Federation, even if it doesn't take a hundred years, it will at least take a couple of years, won't it?
"Once the Black Wind Fleet is truly crushed, a couple of years will be more than enough for the Xing Yao Federation to annihilate the remnants of your troops without leaving anything behind. Even if some of you luckily manage to escape and wander all the way back to the Imperium, will the natives of the Black Wind Fleet end up well in the Imperium where the strong prey on the weak?
"It is the same for the Ancient Sages Sector. If we bet everything on you and help the Black Wind Fleet attack the Federation wholeheartedly, the Federation will be able to roast the Ancient Sages Sector again and again in a couple of years once we fail!
"Even if a second expedition army comes and razes the Xing Yao Federation to the ground in a couple of years, will it help at all? The bones of the Ancient Sages Sector and the Black Wind Fleet will be enough to beat drums and gongs! "
Heiye Lan bit her lips so hard that deep teeth marks were left on them. She continued struggling. "No. Maybe it won't take a couple of years, if the Imperium values the Federation enough."
"Hehe."
Li Yao chuckled. "If you ask me, even if a second expedition army does come, it will only take a couple of years to arrive. Chances are that it won't even be here in a decade or two."
Heiye Lan bulged her eyes. "Why?"
Li Yao smiled. "I remember that you told me honestly when we were in the Ancient Sages Sector that the disobedient natives of the Black Wind Fleet were all local tyrants that everybody feared in the central area of the Imperium. You were not in a good relationship with other Sectors, and you were not highly praised by the court, right?
"Fellow Cultivator Hei, if you were the emperor of the Imperium, or the 'Sector Masters', ministers, and grand nobles of the powerful worlds in the central area of the Imperium, after hearing the news that the Black Wind Fleet was defeated, would you be willing to summon your elite troops to the edge of the universe where the enemy is unknown and save the perilous Black Wind Fleet at any cost? Or would you rather … just let the disobedient, disobedient natives of the Black Wind Fleet die? "
Heiye Lan's eyes bulged wider and wider. Bloody streaks were jumping out of her big eyeballs.
"There won't be a second expedition army."
Li Yao showed no mercy at all. He said coldly and heartlessly, "Until the last drop of blood of the last natives of the Black Wind Fleet runs dry, nobody will come to your aid.
"Even if there is only a 1% chance that such a scene will happen, it will still be enough for you to think carefully about how to deal with it, won't it? As the daughter of the commander of the Black Wind Fleet, it is your responsibility. "
Heiye Lan took a deep, deep breath. "You're right, Master Spiritual Vulture. Then, what should I do?"
"How would I know? Take your time to think about it!"
Li Yao said unconcernedly. "All in all, I only know that the Xing Yao Federation and the Black Wind Fleet are bound to have a war. Until their spine is broken, the Federation will not surrender, and the Black Wind Fleet will not abandon the conquest plan, either.
"However, assuming that the Xing Yao Federation crushes the main force of the Black Wind Fleet, it doesn't mean that they can annihilate you quickly and conveniently, does it?"
"Of course!"
Hideous brilliance beamed out of Heiye Lan's eyes as she gnashed her teeth. "Even if — even if the Black Wind Fleet fails, the Federation will have to pay a gory price in order to annihilate us completely! Hehe. Even if we are not capable of conquering the Federation, we can at least die together with the Federation! "
Li Yao sighed and said, "It is your freedom to die together with the Federation. You can hug each other and die slowly, but the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector haven't lived long enough yet. Don't get us involved!
"If we are involved, the Federation, the Ancient Sages Sector, and the Black Wind Fleet will all die together. What can we gain except for the Imperium of True Human Beings?
"All in all, the Imperium of True Human Beings has never done anything for the Ancient Sages Sector. It's fine that we help the Imperium of True Human Beings in a favorable battle, but we don't have to die for the Imperium, do we? As for you, I don't know what benefits the Imperium has offered you to make you work so hard for the Imperium. Didn't the people of the Black Wind Fleet lose the war and get kicked out by the emperor like stray dogs? You don't know how the nobles and powerful ministers in the court have laughed at you during the hundred years that you have been running away in disgrace! Why, for the sake of the Imperium, can you get a high and magnificent monument in the capital? "
Heiye Lan grew excited again. "We will not lose. This is a war for the Black Wind Fleet to reclaim our glory!"
"I know. This is just a casual discussion between us to consolidate our beliefs. I am not cursing the Black Wind Fleet to lose at all."
Li Yao paused for a moment and continued. "What I'm saying is that, under certain extreme circumstances, the interests of the Black Wind Fleet and the interests of the Imperium of True Human Beings may not be the same.
"On the contrary, once the Black Wind Fleet is defeated, chances are that the interests of the Federation, the Ancient Sages Sector, and the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet will be united and stand against the Imperium together.
"Don't stare at me like that. Think about it. Once the Black Wind Fleet is defeated, even if the reinforcements from the homeland of the Imperium are summoned, even if the second wave of the expedition army does arrive as fast as lightning, do you think that they are here to save the Black Wind Fleet?
"Stop daydreaming. You know the life-and-death struggles inside the Imperium better than we do. By then, while it is true that the Xing Yao Federation will be razed to the ground, the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet will most likely be 'absorbed' by the second expedition army. The Ancient Sages Sector, too, will not end well if the coordinates of the second expedition army are discovered during the process.
"Do you want to see such a situation? After the Black Wind Fleet and the Ancient Sages Sector suffer heavy losses in the battle against the Xing Yao Federation, the second expedition army from the homeland of the Imperium will take advantage of the battle and wipe us out?
"Hehe. By then, the experts of the Ancient Sages Sector like us will probably be able to work for the new masters and be given the autonomy of the Ancient Sages Sector. But what about the leadership of the Black Wind Fleet? What will happen to you?"
This time, Heiye Lan really could not hold it back anymore. Her face was pale, and her breathing was rapid. Her teeth were chattering.
"Do you understand it now? Either the Black Wind Fleet wins the battle quickly and unstoppably! Once we lose the battle, we should not count on reinforcements but find a way out! "
Li Yao looked down at the elite female warrior of the Imperium and said, one word after another, "By then, the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet will certainly be in chaos without a leader. Someone has to stand out and clean up the mess, preserve the Black Wind Fleet, and even help the Black Wind Fleet rise again in a different appearance a long time later and return to the center of the cosmos in glory!
"The person will certainly be the new commander of the Black Wind Fleet, the new leader of the people of the Black Wind Fleet and the remaining soldiers of the other four Sectors, and the greatest hero in the history of the Black Wind Sector!"
Heiye Lan's pupils constricted to the minimum. As if she had met 'Master Spiritual Vulture' for the first time, she struggled to ask, "Master Spiritual Vulture, what … are you trying to say exactly?"
Li Yao smiled. "Nothing. I remember that you said that you have two elder brothers, one elder sister, and one younger brother and one younger sister. Even if your father is old and heavily wounded in the fiasco a hundred years ago, I estimate that he will abdicate and vacate the position of 'commander of the Black Wind Fleet' after the battle and finding a new home for the Black Wind Fleet, it will never be your turn, will it?"
"Exactly."
Heiye Lan lowered her head. "I am a pure battle-type Immortal Cultivator who can only pilot a Colossus. My mother's family is not very powerful, either, and she has never been my father's favorite. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been sent to a tiny claw fleet. Even if my father does abdicate, it will never be my turn. My brothers and sisters all have more advantages than I do, not to mention the secondary blood relatives and the other ambitious families!
"The competition for the leadership of the Black Wind Fleet is about strength. Bloodline is never important. So, I never thought …"
"Oh? Strength?"
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