Li Yao said in a hurry, "What we are talking about right now is not glory but survival! The Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven's Origin Sector are too close to each other. If the war goes on, we will all be dragged into the abyss of destruction. Neither demons nor human beings will laugh to the end! If the snipe and the clam fight, the Imperium of True Human Beings will only benefit from it! When the expedition army of the Imperium of True Human Beings arrives, I'm afraid that we won't be able to be monkeys even if we want to!
"Senior Jin, as the commander-in-chief of the Coalition Army of Demons, you are responsible for the future of the Blood Demon Sector. Consider the possibility that I just talked about. Don't let the fate of the Blood Demon Sector and all the demons be ruined in your hands!"
Jin Tuyi was amused. He shook his head quickly and said, "I find it hard to believe. How did such a naïve young man come up with such a flawless invasion plan and perfect every detail?
"Let's not talk about the fact that your groundless talk is a complete joke in my eyes.
"Even if I'm convinced by you, so what? Do you think that I can end the world war with one word because I am the commander-in-chief of the Coalition Army of Demons and the nominal leader of the Blood Demon Sector?
"Let me tell you. The war was not started by me alone. It was the collective will of the twelve demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons. No. It was the collective will of all the demon emperors, demon kings, silver-blood nobles, and even all the demons in the Blood Demon Sector! It was the will of the Blood Demon Sector that started the war. Then, I was elected as the spokesperson of the 'will of war'!
"Once the war machine is activated, it will have a life of its own. It is like an insatiable, rapidly expanding behemoth. Nobody can stop its growth and rampage, not even its creator!"
"I became the commander-in-chief of the Coalition Army of Demons and the nominal leader of the Blood Demon Sector, not because of my charisma or my overwhelming strength, but because … At this moment, I am the most suitable person to push the war forward!
"Getting to the bottom of it, the 'commander-in-chief of the Coalition Army of Demons' is just an enormous war machine. It's just a small rivet on the rudder. It's just a rather conspicuous fang in the mouth of the war behemoth! "
"Do you believe me? If I were to convene the Conference of the Twelve Demon Emperors right now and announce that 'humans and demons share the same origin, we should give up on the war. In the next second, I will be killed by the other eleven demon emperors together. In the third second, a commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons who is a hundred times crueler, colder, and more hateful to human beings than I am will be born, and he will carry out the will of the behemoth on his behalf!
"This is war, this is the will of a people, you actually think. Persuading or killing a certain person could stop the crazy burning of the soul of a nation? I'm very suspicious about how the computational ability of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator like you is distributed! "
Li Yao was speechless, cold sweat seeping out of his forehead.
Jin Tuyi's eyes were filled with the brilliance of a child who was unteachable. He sighed and said, "It's useless. The country has gone mad and is rushing at a high speed on the cliff of destruction. Neither you nor I can stop it!
"This is a congenitally deficient, abnormal country in the first place. It is a freak born in the fire of war. It has survived to this day with the dividends of war, but in order to plunder more dividends of war, more and more resources have been devoted to the war like a rolling snowball! For resources. It has to wage a war. In order to wage a war, it has to collect more resources. The vicious cycle of war is everything in this country. Without a war, The country will perish! How are you going to stop it?
"I have some boring data. Do you want to hear it?"
"In the previous fiscal year, the military expenditure of this country took up 34% of the GNP, not counting the hidden expenditures such as the excessive construction of the infrastructure that can be used for war. If it is counted, perhaps half of the resources of the country have been devoted to the war. It is definitely a military war!
"In this country, the soldiers who do not work but fight have taken up 15% of the total population. Almost every five civilians have to support a soldier who consumes a lot of resources!
"In order to support the enormous war machine, not only has the government imposed dozens of war taxes, defense taxes, and legion construction fees, it has also appropriated all kinds of funds, including education, medical care, and insurance. The hole is getting bigger and bigger. Perhaps, in ten years, the deficit will not be filled at all, and the government will completely collapse!
"In order to fill the deficit, and to make a fortune from the war, the government and the major forces of this country have been issuing war bonds and victory funds on a large scale, attracting the ordinary people and the bottom-level soldiers with the trophies and dividends of war so that they can invest the last bit of wealth that they have squeezed out by tightening their belts.
"But whatever the nature of the war bonds and victory funds is, they can only be cashed in with a complete conquest and tremendous dividends of war!
"What is in front of you is such a crazy country!
"Now, with just a few words, you want this country to end the war in exchange for worthless peace?"
"Let me tell you something. If the war really ends today, the government and the top hundred forces of this country will all collapse tomorrow! They have persisted to this day because the people believe that they will bring a gratifying victory and astronomical trophies tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow!
"Do you understand now? We are not talking about human beings and demons, justice and evilness, or whether or not we believe in the existence of the Imperium of True Human Beings, but the simplest one, interests!"
Li Yao took a deep breath and said firmly, "I know that the Blood Demon Sector is on the verge of collapse due to the lack of resources and that you need a war to keep it going. But I believe that there is more than one way to go!
"War can bring resources, but so can communication. The Blood Demon Sector, the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the Flying Star Sector are highly complementary to each other! If we don't invest our strength in war, but in mutual exchanges and construction, we can project our vision to a vaster world! "
"The simplest example is Boneyard!
"Boneyard is only ten thousand lightyears away from us. Although we cannot reach it easily with the teleportation ability of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, the Flying Star Sector boasts rather mature space jump technology and starship production technology!
"On the other hand, even if we reach Boneyard, the environment there is too harsh, and the tides are overwhelming. It is impossible for the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector to fully develop the place. However, with the demons who are strong enough to adapt to the harsh environment, we will be able to develop the place further and collect the resources on Boneyard!
"After all, the origin of the demon race is that human beings performed minor modifications and upgrades on themselves in order to survive on planets with harsh environments!
"It doesn't matter whether you are willing to become human beings or not. What matters is that we can combine our technologies and strengths to develop a greater living space instead of fighting each other to the death in this tiny pond!"
"Boneyard is just the beginning.
"The Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector are both worlds with a single solar system. There is only one solar system in every Sector. Other than the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, other planets are both uninhabitable and do not have many resources available. That is why we have to attack each other.
"But the Flying Star Sector is different. In the territory of the Star Ocean Imperium, the Flying Star Sector is a prosperous world that is closer to the central area of the imperium. It boasts dozens of solar systems and almost a hundred resource planets!
"The Flying Star Sector is too vast and sparsely populated. The residents of the Flying Star Sector alone cannot develop so many resource planets with harsh environments. Instead, they will encounter all kinds of dangers in the boundless sea of stars!
"However, if the Flying Star Sector, the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector are united, we will be able to develop the resource planets on a large scale. With the resources as the foundation, we will be able to establish a new space fleet and explore more Sectors so that they will be embraced by the alliance!
"The efficiency of resource collection and utilization in the new alliance will be dozens of times higher than right now. The integration of spiritual energy and biochemistry will create even stronger warriors and weapons, too!
"Only such a force will be able to resist the Imperium of True Human Beings and protect our homeland!
"This is the future that I've come up with after considering for a long time. Maybe the future is really naïve and empty, and we will run into countless problems. But Senior Jin, don't you think that such a future is ten thousand times better than the Blood Demon Sector marching to its doom in desperation?"
Jin Tuyi stared at Li Yao solemnly and was silent for a long time.
Right when Li Yao thought that he had convinced the guy, Jin Tuyi laughed again.
Every wrinkle on his face was full of mockery.
The commander-in-chief of the Coalition Army of Demons said casually, "It's a very good future. Now that you put it that way, it seems to be the only way to resist the Imperium of True Human Beings, right?"
"Yes!"
Li Yao declared resolutely. "With my computational ability, this is the only path that I can think of that will ensure the survival of my compatriots. Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, no matter how many obstacles there are, I will walk on the path. If I run into a pebble, I will kick it away. If I run into a big one, I will smash it into pieces!"
Jin Tuyi smiled. "Young man, I appreciate your sincerity. I'm interested in the 'beautiful future' that you described, too. However, I have a small question. Do you think that the 'militaristic country' that I mentioned just now is a certain country of demons in the Blood Demon Sector?"
Li Yao was dazed. "What do you mean?"
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