Qin Qian remained silent, or rather, his attention was not focused on the present moment.
On the left side of the hall, an elderly man spoke in a low, haunting tone.
"Fighting a defensive war is simply too frustrating."
"We have already lost three cities. Although the populace was evacuated in advance, a lost city is still a lost city. It will inevitably deal a blow to our morale."
"The people of our nation are waiting for good news. They won't care whether those three cities were defensible or if they were merely logistical hubs."
"They only know that losing territory is a sign of an incompetent commander and incompetent leadership!"
"Who is going to shoulder the blame for this?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for everyone in the hall to hear.
Still, no one responded. The elder continued.
"It seems no one wants to take the fall."
"The soldiers at the front are still fighting for their lives, yet they have no reinforcements behind them."
"They are fighting a battle destined for defeat, a battle where they are destined to sacrifice themselves for nothing."
"Is anyone going to take responsibility for those lives?"
The elder's gaze swept across the hall before finally landing on Wan Tianqing.
"Mr. Wan, you were the first to suggest we step forward and go to war. Tell us, who will shoulder the blame and the loss of life?"
Wan Tianqing gave a faint smile, but a middle-aged man beside him stared back at the elder.
"Then who does Mr. Li think should bear it?"
Silence filled the air once more. Mr. Li glared at Wan Tianqing, but Wan Tianqing didn't even spare him a glance.
The middle-aged man sneered.
"Mr. Li said earlier that a defensive war is too frustrating. Surely you have a better plan in mind? Why not share it with us so we can all appreciate your wisdom?"
His voice turned mocking as he continued.
"I trust that a man of Mr. Li's character wouldn't be without ideas, merely capable of empty talk?"
"To oppose for the sake of opposing, completely disregarding the big picture—is that truly how a gentleman conducts himself?"
These words acted like a fuse, and both sides in the hall quickly erupted into an argument. Wan Tianqing, however, remained as still as a monk in deep meditation, his hands tucked into his sleeves as he lowered his head in thought.
"Enough!!!"
From the head of the table, Qin Qian slammed his hand down. The bickering ceased instantly, and every eye turned toward the Monarch of Great Wei.
Qin Qian stared at his ministers, his gaze like that of a lion patrolling its territory.
"The war has only just begun. What is there to panic about?"
"Great Qi attacking our cities only serves to solidify their status as invaders. What blame is there to shoulder?"
"As I see it, this is clearly a means to rouse our spirits. As the saying goes, an indignant army is bound to win!"
"As for the lives of the soldiers, I, the Monarch of Great Wei, will bear that responsibility!"
"They are all soldiers of my Great Wei, my subjects. If I do not bear it, who will?"
"I will not let them die in vain!"
"Their parents will be supported by Great Wei; their children will be cared for by Great Wei!"
"If their children wish to become transcendents in the future, Great Wei will provide all potions from Sequence 9 to Sequence 7 for the three major pathways!"
Qin Qian's voice rang out with such conviction that some of the newcomers who had recently joined the Wannian Platform felt their blood boil with excitement. They felt that following such a monarch promised a boundless future.
"Since the war has started, instead of thinking about how to handle the aftermath, we should think about how to win and how to maximize our gains."
"They want to promote to Sequence 3, but who is to say no one among us wants to promote to Sequence 3 as well?"
As he spoke, he cast a subtle glance at Wan Tianqing.
However, he found that Wan Tianqing hadn't even raised his head, still looking down as if lost in thought.
...
Wangnian City.
The blade-wielding ghost struck with a frontal slash!
Yin Yang could feel that Qin Ye had touched his internal organs, and the blade-wielding ghost and the others could feel it too!
Thus, the blade-wielding ghost's attacks were now incredibly fierce. Every strike was relentless, as if it intended to take the opponent down with it. After all, it could be resurrected.
Combat was like that; even if you were slightly stronger, once your momentum faltered, you would fall into a defensive position.
Qin Ye had no desire to die alongside the blade-wielding ghost, so his momentum naturally weakened.
Not only that, but the Headless Ghost was also assisting the blade-wielding ghost. For a time, they actually managed to suppress Qin Ye.
Although the Thief pathway possessed strange abilities, it was not a pathway designed for direct, frontal combat.
If he had been of the Axeman or Martial Artist pathways, the two ghosts certainly wouldn't be having such an easy time.
"You asked for this!"
Qin Ye gritted his teeth and pulled a finger from his pocket.
The finger was withered and blackened, with very long nails.
He gripped the finger tightly and shouted, "Death Spirits!"
Qin Ye was well-read; after all, he was a man who enjoyed books.
From the moment he began fighting the blade-wielding ghost, he realized it was a ghost—a very powerful ghost!
Ordinary methods were useless against such a spirit. The best way was to use energy shocks, such as light or fire-attributed energy, which were precisely what his Thief pathway lacked.
Fortunately, he still possessed a very powerful transcendent item!
A transcendent item that could summon powerful death spirits!
As the words "Death Spirits" left his lips, the air before him churned, and four tall, slender ghostly figures appeared.
Just looking at them was enough to sense their immense power.
But what happened next completely subverted his expectations.
Those four figures actually knelt!
No matter how he commanded them, the four phantoms remained unmoved, obediently bowing toward the blade-wielding ghost.
Qin Ye was stunned. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his back as a flaming arrow pierced through his shoulder blade, branding a Sacrifice Brand deep into his body.
Qin Ye descended rapidly, landing beside a pair of fighting Demigods. He decisively activated his ability, transferring both the injury and the brand onto them.
Pfft!
The Demigod who bore the injuries instantly spat out blood, looking at Qin Ye with a gaze full of resentment.
The other Demigod took the opportunity to launch a fierce assault, using every trick in his arsenal. With a few slashes, he left the injured man heavily wounded.
"Hahaha! Power! Power!"
The man was desperate to kill a Demigod and seize their divinity.
Perhaps he hadn't even noticed that his sanity was rapidly eroding.
"Hehehehe..."
The heavily wounded Demigod let out a hideous laugh. Suddenly, his flesh began to swell, and his divinity boiled.
He wanted to self-detonate!
A Demigod detonating their own divinity would have enough power to level more than half of Wangnian City.
But for some reason, after his flesh swelled to a certain point, it suddenly froze in place.
The other Demigod, seeing this, rushed forward to strike, wanting to kill him and take the divinity before he could explode.
But when he cut into that flesh, he discovered that inside, there was no meat—only clusters of eyeballs.
"This is..."
The moment he locked eyes with those orbs, he was instantly corrupted.
Qin Ye noticed this scene and immediately turned to flee, only to find that the surrounding air was filled with flying heads.
Those heads lacked skullcaps; where the brain should have been, there were now giant eyeballs.
This was...
An evil god!
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