Heiye Ming paced back and forth on the bridge of 'Black Swirl' that looked like an abyss palace, turning a deaf ear to Jin Xinyue's bewilderment. A moment later, he finally said calmly, "The war experience in the past hundreds of years tells me that if there is a plan that can achieve the greatest victory in the shortest amount of time at the lowest cost, the plan will probably go wrong."
Jin Xinyue smiled and made a gesture of 'do as you please'. "It's true that this is a great gamble. Whether or not you are willing to take the risk will depend on your decision, General Ming.
"Of course, you can reject the plan and adopt a more reliable strategy, General Ming. After all, the Tian Yuan Realm, as the birthplace and the heart of the Federation, is too well-defended. One moment of carelessness, and you will be mired in the swamp of iron and fire.
"If it were the newly-developed worlds such as the Forest Ocean Sector, the Nether World Sector, or the Water Crystal Sector, with the unparalleled capability of the Black Wind Fleet, you would certainly be able to assault, break, and occupy them easily, wouldn't you?
"However, what's the point of occupying the worlds that are either undeveloped, desolate, or filled with rolling sand for the Black Wind Fleet?"
Heiye Ming sniffed and said, "After occupying the barren worlds, you will be able to develop them into the logistics bases of the Black Wind Fleet. What can the other six Sectors do to us after twenty years of construction?"
"But you don't have twenty years."
Mysterious flames were beaming out of Jin Xinyue's eyes. She said calmly, "Although I don't know the situation in the homeland of the Imperium of True Human Beings, you must have your reasons since your fleet has lurked in the brown dwarfs near the Federation for such a long time without launching an attack."
Heiye Ming narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to find out where my fleet is anchored?"
Jin Xinyue chuckled. "There's no need to worry, General Ming. There are too many brown dwarfs near the Federation that have not been explored yet. Also, compared to the boundless universe, even the largest fleet is nothing more than a grain of sand in an ocean. The Federation won't discover you.
"I just feel that, now that we have cooperated to this point, we should be more open about many things.
"General Ming, it's been more than eight years since you discovered the Federation. Eight years is more than enough time for you to establish an enormous space gate and a piece of ultra-remote communication magical equipment. If you could summon reinforcements from the homeland of the Imperium, you would've done so a long time ago!
"I assume that there are only two reasons why you haven't taken action yet. the war between the Imperium and the Holy League. it is impossible to summon more troops from the frontline and there's no time to summon and to spare astronomical resources and and forth resources to jump to the edge of the cosmos to 'purge the barbarians' and's's and spare spare and you and and you and that's and forth and there are two resources and Not......... to you..
"Hehe. We have learned a lot of intelligence about the Imperium from Su Changfa, an Immortal Cultivator of the Imperium in the past, and from the captives of the claw fleet. We know what the expedition army of the Imperium did after they discovered the new worlds, and we also know that the Black Wind Fleet's situation in the Imperium is not good!
"Alright. If General Ming is unwilling to take the gamble, we can just fight the war of attrition dutifully. General Ming, you can attack the new worlds where the Federation has few troops first. The Nether World Sector, the Forest Ocean Sector, the Water Crystal Sector … All of them are fine. After you conquer them, General Ming will spend ten to twenty years building and consolidating them. In the meantime, we will slowly exhaust them. The Federation still has six Sectors that can produce starships incessantly. Three, no, five starships for one starship of General Ming.
"I would like to know what will be left of the Black Wind Fleet after twenty years of bloody attrition. Even if you occupy the Federation in the end, what will be left of the Federation?
"Trust me. By then, crystals, steel, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures … Nothing will be left of the Federation. The only thing left will be hatred!
"Oh, right. I almost forgot. If General Ming is really fighting the Federation for twenty years or even longer here, there is no reason why the homeland of the Imperium will not receive any news at all, right?
"Hehe. If I were an ambitious lord and warlord in the homeland of the Imperium, would I have come to reap the fruits of victory when the Black Wind Fleet and the Xing Yao Federation were both heavily wounded? It is tempting to swallow the seven new worlds and absorb the remaining forces of the Black Wind Fleet!"
Heiye Ming was silent for a long time. His entire body seemed to have melted with the bridge and turned into something similar to the mainframe crystal processor of the starship. The voice deep inside his chest was devoid of any human emotions. "Jin Xinyue, you are very smart, but smart people don't usually end well."
"I know."
Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly and opened her hands. "I've put everything on the table. The arrow is already on the bow, and I have to shoot it! Everything that I've done in secret, including the conversation with General Ming right now, cannot be kept a secret for long! If General Ming vetoed the operation at the last moment, I would have no choice but to surrender and wait for my death. My reputation would be ruined, and I would become the greatest traitor in the history of the federation!
"General Ming, my life, the survival of the demon race, the future of the Xing Yao Federation, and even the Black Wind Fleet all depend on your decision right now. Come on. Please decide our fate!"
Jin Xinyue raised her long, fair neck, revealing bright blue veins, as if she were completely at Heiye Ming's mercy.
Heiye Ming was silent for such a long time that he was almost frozen into a statue. There was no telling what was going on in his grey eyes. Finally, he said, "Jin Xinyue, of course, you will become the greatest traitor in the history of the Federation. But you will also become the governor of the Imperium of True Human Beings that governs the Blood Demon Sector, the Forest Ocean Sector, and Boneyard!
"If you are capable of raising assets, collecting resources, and training a new army after we occupy the Federation, when the Black Wind Fleet returns to the center of the cosmos, I will even give you the management of the seven Sectors here. According to your military credits and contribution points, you will even have a chance to become a marquess of the Imperium!
"If your ambition cannot be satisfied by the seven Sectors at the edge of the cosmos, just lead your army and return to the center of the cosmos with us. Trust me. The Black Wind Fleet will certainly reclaim the glory of the past, and you will certainly make a name for yourself at the center of the cosmos, the central area of the Imperium!"
Heiye Ming's promise made every pore on Jin Xinyue's body open. The air named 'ambition' spurted out beyond her control and condensed into a layer of bouncing demonic fire around her. Her voice was shivering as she said, "Thank you for your appreciation, General Ming. Jin Xinyue is a grateful person. I will certainly do my best for General Ming, for the Black Wind Fleet, and for the Imperium of True Human Beings. I will not stop until I die!"
"You won't die," Heiye Ming said.
"Only when the Black Wind Fleet comes will the enemies of the Imperium die without a proper burial!"
Jin Xinyue was both excited and exhilarated. She suddenly straightened her left arm, clenched her fists, and gnashed her teeth. "Long live the Imperium!"
Heiye Ming straightened his fists and declared solemnly, "Long live the Imperium!"
"Then …"
Jin Xinyue licked her dry lips and took a deep breath. She asked, still somewhat anxiously, "The real 'Dim Moon Plan' will begin in twenty-four hours?"
"Yes. Twenty-four hours," Heiye Ming said.
Heiye Ming said, "Although the Black Wind Fleet is not fully prepared yet, now that you have done so much work on your side, you may be discovered by the federation at any moment. It is now or never. We should take action as soon as possible!
"Do not underestimate Guo Chunfeng's Secret Sword Bureau. We must launch a fatal strike at the heart of the Federation before they realize what is going on!
"In twenty-four hours, the Black Wind Fleet will land in the Tian Yuan Realm. The battle will decide the fate of the Imperium!
"Get ready. It will probably be the longest twenty-four hours in the history of the Federation. Make sure that the plan goes smoothly, Governor … Governor Jin, the future marquess of the Imperium!"
Jin Xinyue shuddered from the bottom of her heart. "I will. I will."
Heiye Ming cut off the super remote communication between the two parties. The shadow of the future marquess of the Imperium, who was shivering in excitement, gradually twisted, thinned, and disappeared. The bridge was cold and dark again.
Heiye Ming stood in the darkness for a long time. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if he were considering a strategic problem of great importance.
A moment later, he activated another communication line and triggered another vivid light beam that seemed to be right in front of his eyes.
The picture displayed on the light beam was a small secret chamber. It was white, delicate, and tranquil.
There were all kinds of small but spotless torture instruments in the corner, making the secret room look like some kind of weird operating room.
At the center of the secret chamber, a man was hanging upside down with a thick rope.
The man was shackled from head to toe by shackles made of super alloy steel. Shackles piled on top of shackles, and layers of armor engraved with layers of restrictive spells had him nailed in an upside-down iron coffin, with only his head sticking out of the coffin.
But even his head was locked by an iron mask that did not have any gaps, making it impossible for him to make any sound, see anything, or hear anybody else.
Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste … All his senses had been blocked. Only his sense of pain had been magnified to ten times the tolerance of ordinary people. The hanging man was mired in the bottommost level of the boundless hell.
Dozens of cables extended out of the hanging man's body and were connected to the crystal processors and the interrogation magical equipment of spiritual energy.
With the modern interrogation equipment from the Imperium of True Human Beings, it was no longer necessary to make a bloody scene. By directly stimulating the nerve endings, the excruciating pain dozens of times more intense than mincemeat could be created at any moment.
The high control over the muscles could even prevent the victim from screaming or cramping. The victim was like a piece of dead meat that could be fried in a pot if there were still nerve reactions left.
It was exactly the case for the hanging man at this moment.
Heiye Ming made a gesture, hinting the spies of the Imperium who were manipulating the interrogation magical equipment to stop for now. He also opened the barriers on the two sides of the hanging man's iron mask that blocked his ears.
"Jin Xinyue's words were exactly as you guessed."
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