The fierce battle in White Stone City represented the beginning of the Dongfang family's comprehensive counterattack.
Although some discordant episodes had taken place in the meantime — for example, the 'Fire Blade Squad', an elite rapid reaction troop of the family, was blown up by somebody punch after punch in the crystal train tunnel below White Stone City — in most of the battlefields, the Dongfang family's fierce counterattacks had firmly defended the glory of the 'First Family' of the Imperium.
A lot of secret bureaus of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils were discovered and sabotaged. A lot of hidden reformists surfaced and were secretly captured by the Association of Demon Hunters. The propaganda machine of the Dongfang family was also working at full power, promoting itself and describing the reformists as traitors who were trying to shake the foundation of the Imperium.
Dongfang Wang, the Prime Minister of the Imperium, showed up in public a lot of times and demonstrated the vibe of "unwavering". A lot of hesitant forces were more or less reassured. They had been preparing to join the reformists and the Li family, but they decided to wait and see what would happen next.
A storm was brewing. Right now, even the dullest Immortal Cultivator could smell the smoke that was lingering in the atmosphere of the capital planet. A final battle was about to break out.
Everything did not seem to affect Li Linghai, who was still commanding in the Emperor's Mausoleum, at all.
She was still acting according to her original plan. She allowed the Dongfang family and the Association of Demon Hunters to destroy the secret bureaus of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils and captured a lot of core members of the reformists, while she secretly shipped the experts of the Deep Sea Fleet and the Thunder Fleet, as well as a batch of powerful magical equipment, to the underground world of the capital planet through various channels.
At this moment, a remote video conference was going on.
It was hosted by Li Linghai in person, but the participants were the backbones of the reformists who were distributed in every dark corner of the entire capital planet.
Of course, Li Yao was among them.
Right now, he was neither in the Emperor's Mausoleum nor in White Stone City. Instead, he had found a dark, damp alley deep below the ground of the capital and was lurking in the 47th district. While modifying and strengthening the special equipment that had been delivered from the black market in a secret workshop of magical equipment, he simulated the final assault that was about to be carried out in a similar terrain.
"In the past ten days, the Dongfang family's counterattack has been very rampant. We have indeed suffered heavy losses."
On the 3D light beam, Li Linghai said casually, "But everything was within our expectations. We even intentionally guided it. The dozens of arrest operations and the shocking cases were all to cover our real target, Dongfang Renxin and his secret institute!
"Right now, the Dongfang family has been fooled. At least two 'baits' attracted their attention.
"Firstly, the operation in White Stone City.
"Although the operation failed, the Dongfang family mistakenly thought that our target was the mayor of White Stone City. Everybody knows that the mayor is a trusted subordinate of Dongfang Tai, the fifth elder of the Dongfang family and the CEO of 'Red Drill Heavy Industry Group'. Red Drill Heavy Industry Group monopolized more than thirty percent of the Crystal Suit and starship production of the Dongfang family. It is not hard to imagine how important Dongfang Tai is. He cannot be lost.
"The operation in White Stone City and the few subsequent arrests were all targeted at the backbones of the 'Red Drill Heavy Industry Group'. Together with the files that we intentionally abandoned in the secret bureau so that the Dongfang family could get, it was enough to mislead the Dongfang family into making the wrong judgment that our ultimate target was Dongfang Tai!
"With Dongfang Tai's identity and position, he naturally would not run back to his hometown with his tail between his legs. Instead, he mobilized tremendous elite soldiers to ensure his safety. As a result, the defense in other places would be much thinner.
"Secondly, the people we captured in the early stages were all imprisoned in the secret stronghold we set up in Black Mountain City. This news was also known by the Dongfang family through various channels. At the same time, we also released news that we would arrest Dongfang Tai on the 10th of June.
"The fish has taken the bait. According to the exact intelligence, the Dongfang family is secretly planning a thunderous rescue operation. It is estimated that they will attack the secret bureau in Black Mountain City on June 10 and rescue all the prisoners.
"Both the operation to protect Dongfang Tai and the operation to attack the Black Mountain City will involve a lot of elite troops of the Dongfang family on the capital planet, which will make the troops in other areas weak if not empty. Also, we have not done anything to Dongfang Renxin during this time. It is absolutely impossible for the enemy to know that we have grasped all the evidence of Dongfang Renxin's crimes.
"On Dongfang Renxin's side, around June 10, he will welcome a special guest in the secret institute. An elder of the Dongfang family who is very close to the two brothers, Dongfang Wang and Dongfang Renxin, will perform the 'spiritual root polishing technique' on his favorite grandson. As for the specific polishing technique, we do not know the details yet. What we do know is that such a polishing will sacrifice a dozen or even dozens of training geniuses with excellent aptitudes. The death of dozens of geniuses will be exchanged for the cleansing and rebirth of a mediocre talent!
"Such a secret technique has a high requirement on the freshness of the 'raw materials', and many of the 'raw materials' can only be found by chance. Therefore, once the date is set, not just the capital, it will not change even if the world is turned upside down. On June 10, Dongfang Renxin will certainly show up in the secret laboratory with all the evidence of his crimes!
"Our assault, on the other hand, will begin at two o 'clock in the afternoon on June 10.
"The elite tactical team of Yue Wushuang's Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils will form the first team, which will be responsible for breaking into the secret institute to intercept the evidence and arrest the suspects.
"The elite experts of the Deep Sea Fleet and the Thunder Fleet will be temporarily incorporated into the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils as the second team, which will be commanded by Tu Zhengdao, the captain of the assault team. Your mission will be to block the warriors of the Dongfang family at the periphery of the secret institute, ensure the smooth operation of the arrest operation, and cover the devil huntresses to evacuate with the target and the evidence.
"The third team, which will be made of Li Yao, Huang Feng, and Master Jin Tianzong, will have only one mission. When the operation begins, destroy all the crystal bombs deployed inside and outside the secret institute as quickly as possible and terminate the operation of the self-detonation devices!
"No matter how fierce the battle on the ground is, as long as we successfully take down Dongfang Renxin, the collapse of Dongfang Wang's cabinet will be inevitable. Dongfang Wang will not even be able to retreat in one piece. His reputation will be ruined, and he will stand in court. The sky of the Imperium of True Human Beings will change, too!
"Therefore, the codename of the secret arrest operation will be 'Heavenly Change'!"
Confident, Li Linghai assigned the mission and the details of the "Heavenly Change Operation" quickly. In less than half an hour, the deployment of the operation that would decide the fate of the Imperium was completed.
After the meeting, everybody's hologram disappeared into the darkness, but she kept the point-to-point long-distance communication with Li Yao.
"I'm told that you had an encounter with Dongfang Mingyue during the operation in White Stone City?"
Li Linghai asked straightforwardly.
Touching his neck, Li Yao's eyelids twitched. He said, still in fear, "Yes. That woman was truly brutal. Had it not been for Her Grace's warning earlier to keep me vigilant all the time, chances are that my head would've been cut off by her."
"Huh …"
Naturally, Li Linghai couldn't have foreseen that Li Yao and "Dongfang Mingyue" were old acquaintances who had known each other for years. Pondering for a moment, he asked, "Neither of you seemed to have used your Colossi. It was just a physical battle, wasn't it?"
"Didn't Her Grace say that it was best to keep a low profile in the operation in the capital and not to use the Colossi unless it was absolutely necessary?"
Blinking his eyes, Li Yao said innocently, "It was a perilous scene at that time. The battle between Dongfang Mingyue and I was soul-stirring, too. Both of us were wary of each other's ultimate weapons and attacked each other's Cosmos Rings in order to disrupt each other's movements of retrieving magical equipment from the Cosmos Rings.
"I assume that the she-devil, Dongfang Mingyue, was slightly wary of me, too. After all, my Gold Vulture certainly deserved its reputation. If she wanted to kill me when I was armed with the Gold Vulture, she would've had to pay the most gory, gory price!
"Therefore, neither of us used our Colossi in the end, and I managed to force the she-devil to retreat and escape."
Li Linghai nodded slightly, not suspecting Li Yao's words at all.
Although he was bragging, she was still aware of Li Yao's bizarre escape methods. She had even experienced them in person.
Before he got the Imperial Fire Pearl, Li Yao was already able to escape thousands of kilometers away under Li Lingfeng's pursuit. Now that his Cultivation and his magical equipment had been fully improved, it was not surprising that he was able to escape from Dongfang Mingyue's attack in one piece.
"Alright. I'm relieved now that you are fine."
Li Linghai's tone turned gentle. "Take a good rest in the next couple of days and make careful preparations. You will play an indispensable role in the 'Sky Changing Operation'. When the Sky Changing Operation is completed successfully, the great cause of 'renewing the Imperium' will see the dawn. I won't forget your contributions."
"Your Grace —"
Thinking of something, Li Yao suddenly said, "There's something very strange that has been bothering me for a long time. I really can't figure it out. Since the banner of the reformists is' Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions', our supreme Emperor Shenwu should play a very important role. But right now, His Majesty is still under the control of the Dongfang family. Why have I never heard of any plan to rescue His Majesty from you?
"As the saying goes, a long delay means trouble. What if the emperor speaks against the reformists or even yourself after being controlled by the Dongfang family for too long?"
With a casual smile, Li Linghai said, "As the saying goes, 'the emperor commands his vassals with his authority'. Considering Dongfang Wang's current predicament, even if he asks the emperor to speak for him, nobody will admit that he is the real emperor.
"As for the rescue plan, of course, I do have one. I'm also secretly investigating where Dongfang Wang has hidden the emperor. When the 'Sky Changing Operation' succeeds, Dongfang Wang's cabinet collapses, and the Dongfang family is in chaos, we will certainly rescue the emperor. By then, we will need your help."
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