Chapter 954: Without Striking a Blow (III)
Up ahead.
“Commander... those people...” Lin Hongyu hadn’t posed the question when she saw the young man, but she was indeed curious.
“They’re for use in pacifying the City of Supernaturals,” Li Hao explained as they walked. “There’s a large number of supernaturals inside the city. I also brought them along to conduct some experiments with.”
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“Experiments?”
“Mmhmm,” the young man answered frankly. “I would like to conduct a few experiments on those who do not listen to orders or commit all kinds of evils and crimes. After we kill them, can we use their supernatural locks to enhance the locks of other supernaturals?”
“This... can’t be... can it be... commander?” Lin Hongyu trembled despite the lack of a breeze. If they could, that would be a terrifying discovery.
There was only one known advantage to killing supernaturals, and that was to collect their mysterious power. However, that resource was useless to those of higher cultivation levels. No one lacked energy there.
But if killing supernaturals could lead to strengthening one’s own supernatural locks, then that would lead to horrific outcomes. So even if this was true, Lin Hongyu felt that Li Hao should not conduct these sorts of experiments.
“It’s not that complicated, nor should it be that scary!” Li Hao laughed. “We can also take a peek into the supernatural path. Supernaturals are born from the revitalization of energy and are deeply tied to supernatural locks. They’re also related to the auras of heaven and earth. In fact, they give me the feeling of a naturally forming aura...”
He spoke of some concepts that Lin Hongyu didn’t quite understand. Li Hao just wanted to express that the abilities of supernaturals... seemed to be a kind of connate aura.
Take the various element-bending techniques—that was a result of the aura melding into the world and comprehending the auras of the world. But supernaturals grasped these abilities from birth. On the other hand, once they grew stronger and their own consciousness developed, they lost such abilities when they learned to wield energy with a deft hand.
Therefore, perhaps these supernaturals put to use a kind of natural aura that was bestowed by the world. If that was the case... this would be very interesting indeed. It also represented that Li Hao would encounter different conditions when consolidating his new cultivation system.
It was very difficult for martial masters to comprehend the aura. But if supernaturals were naturally equipped with the aura, that put them on an entirely different playing field.
Countless supernaturals were born in the twenty years since the supernatural had awoken. A variety of abilities abounded. Since comprehending the aura was a laborious process, Li Hao hoped to identify some key connections between martial masters and supernaturals through these Heaven Favored.
Lin Hongyu, however, was very apprehensive. Li Hao’s casual chitchat was a source of great consternation. There might be a horrific ending in store for the City of Supernaturals!
They’d reached the city lord manor by now. Li Hao found a random seat. There were no servants around, so he poured a cup of tea for himself and indicated for Lin Hongyu to sit as well.
“I’ve eliminated the nine ministries and royal family.”
Lin Hongyu jerked with surprise. She knew that the young man had sealed them off from the world, but only for a short period of time. The blockade was already undone on this day.
They’re gone?
Although she’d guessed that Li Hao had great plans in mind when he took the redwood, she hadn’t anticipated that he would triumph so quickly.
“Congratulations to the commander!”
“There’s nothing to congratulate or be happy about,” laughed Li Hao. “I came to the City of Supernaturals to resolve the issues that the city faces. In addition, I’m here to undo the restrictions that Commander Yu and City Lord Lin are operating under.
“There’s no need to continue hiding like this. The cabinet meeting ends tomorrow—it can’t continue indefinitely, can it? We’ll discuss more when Huang Yu arrives.”
Lin Hongyu nodded, not daring to say anything else. So fast! Everything is changing so fast that it’s hard to believe!
......
Huang Yu quietly arrived ten minutes later. He was momentarily lost in a daze when Li Hao said that the nine ministries were no more. It took a moment to digest this news.
Since Skystar City had been conquered and the City of Supernaturals sworn fealty, then that left only the three great organizations that were of concern.
“Does the commander mean to... fully take over the City of Supernaturals now?”
“There are too many supernaturals here.” Li Hao nodded. “What’s happened at Skystar City will soon be common knowledge. It will be even more the case here. The aristocracies that have lost all of their heavyweights will quickly realize that something’s wrong. We can’t keep them in the dark forever.”
“But... there are too many supernaturals in the city.” Huang Yu frowned. “I have ten thousand soldiers with me. Although they are equipped with Battle Heaven armor, their strength is limited with the departure of Senior Redwood. If general unrest rises, it will be difficult for me to rapidly stamp it out.”
“Will the supernaturals in the city dare rebel?” laughed the young man.
“Logically speaking, they shouldn’t. But once the first person does or tries to run, it will quickly lead to a chain reaction,” Huang Yu said solemnly. “Some supernaturals are afraid of nothing. If they know that their death is assured upon being arrested, they will resist with every last bit of strength! Even if they’re just one out of every hundred people, that will still be ten thousand mutineers in the City of Supernaturals!”
Although that might not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, it could drag in the entire city if the situation grew out of hand.
Li Hao looked at Lin Hongyu.
“Those who lead an insurrection are always the troublemakers,” she said softly when she noted the young man’s attention. “There won’t be much of a disturbance in the city once we eliminate these people, even if there’s a new face as the city lord.
“Those who remain will be weaklings, one and all. They’re not here to pursue quests of domination and supremacy. They don’t care who oversees them. Once we eradicate the troublemakers and swiftly dispel any other uproar, everything should proceed in a smooth and quiet fashion.”
“But these people don’t normally congregate together...” Huang Yu nodded at the city lord’s words.
“Let’s give them a reason to.” Lin Hongyu smiled. Commander Yu looked at her quizzically.
“The cabinet meeting will officially end tomorrow,” the woman’s smile deepened. “Therefore, I’d like to select one hundred generals from the city within the next three hours. Those who can recruit one hundred supernaturals within the next three hours will be promoted as centurions, and those who can recruit one thousand supernaturals will be further promoted as a ranking officer of the army.
“Whoever can accomplish that in such a short amount of time will be those with some skill or certain ambition in their hearts. They are prime candidates for an insurrection,” Lin Hongyu concluded with a laugh. “Whoever can complete the mission will be easily hailed as the leader of that group of troublemakers. I’ll welcome them into the city lord manor and bestow them military titles and personal wealth. Those who are tempted by them are also a bunch of people of a similar vein.
“We’ll capture them all in one fell swoop! After they’re gone, I wouldn’t say that the city would be completely empty of undesirable elements, but at least ninety percent of the troublemakers will be gone. The remaining ten will be solitary characters that do not draw concern!”
Li Hao couldn’t help but look at Lin Hongyu with appreciation. Damn!
“Three hours is too short,” he said. “We’re not in that much of a rush. Let’s wait one night and give them more time to consider. We can make the announcement now and have them assemble in the inner city tomorrow. How about it?”
“The commander is wise!” smiled Lin Hongyu.
Li Hao started, then realized something after a beat. Did she purposefully leave a problem for me to solve? So my smarts would be showcased? This woman... Straight-shooter Sky Sword suggested her as a candidate to take over operations at Skystar City—he obviously thinks highly of her. I wasn’t sure about the idea before, but I think it bears real merit now.
This woman had many tricks up her sleeves.
Anyone who could gather at least one hundred people in a night should be detained for further observation or killed, no matter if they were good or bad. Once these people were gone, there would be no significant sources of potential unrest left in the city.
As strong as lone rangers might be, they were just one person. So long as they weren’t able to lead the rest of the supernaturals into rebelling, that would be fine. Not to mention, there wasn’t a single Arcanus left in the city at the moment. The strongest there might be was an Arcanus.
“City Lord Lin is proposing a wonderful plan!” Huang Yu nodded. “Except... people might not be willing to step forward without any rewards. Then for the rewards offered...”
“Mysterious power stones, origin weapons, Water of Life... The last would be the key!” Lin Hongyu chuckled. “It’s what most people need these days and the key resource limiting their development. Having Water of Life in hand is the key to becoming a powerhouse.
“Being able to recruit one hundred people and joining the supernatural army will result in one drop of Water of Life. One thousand people will result in ten drops. Ten thousand, one hundred drops!
“Of course, we’ll tell them that payment will be made in installments. Those who gather one hundred people will receive theirs on the spot. One thousand will receive theirs in half a year. Ten thousand in three years. That will allay their suspicions. Receiving one hundred drops of Water of Life after working for three years is a worthwhile proposal to them!”
Huang Yu nodded and looked at Lin Hongyu again. She was... truly a very shrewd woman. He was suddenly reminded of Ole Zhao. He was a shrewd man, but he was very old. Lin Hongyu was young—had she been born with her stratagems?
“This is a great idea.” Li Hao nodded with a smile. “Those with the ability to gather ten thousand people in one night... are good candidates to be army commanders if they’re good people. If they’re not up to the task, they will be useful in directing public sentiment!
“If they’re bad people, then they’re potential sources of rebellion. We can make use of the good and outright kill the bad. it’s two birds with one stone, so the city lord’s suggestion is quite in line with my wishes!”
“The commander is far too kind,” Lin Hongyu said softly. “It’s just a few tricks. If you approve, I’ll have the third elder issue the order immediately.”
“You can!”
Lin Hongyu quickly sent out a message via transmission pendant. The Lin third elder had remained inside the city all this time, so it was convenient to have him carry out additional instructions.