No one expected that in less than half a year, the Great Shang Empire would lose more than 30 million soldiers. Although the demon clan had lost 40 to 50 million, their numbers were still greater than the empire’s.
“Your Majesty, we cannot continue fighting.”
“Your Majesty, if this continues, the empire will be finished.”
For a moment, inside the Main Hall, the old ministers of the peace faction all began to remonstrate urgently.
Because of a single decision, in just half a year, the imperial army had suffered catastrophic losses, directly destroying ten years of fragile peace.
More than 30 million lives. That was enough to feed the demon clan for ten years.
“Your Majesty, I suggest immediately sending all prisoners across the empire to the front lines to atone for their crimes through merit,” Li Changsheng stepped forward.
He showed no sign of panic. The only thing he had not anticipated was how brutal the war would be.
More than 30 million lost in just half a year. At this rate, even an army of 100 million would not last three years.
The pro-war faction also looked grave. At this point, stopping the war was impossible.
This conflict had already provoked the demon clan. The demon cultivators were not fools. They could certainly see that Great Shang intended to fight a decisive battle.
This was a struggle of foundational strength between the two sides.
Li Changsheng naturally would not miss this opportunity. He not only wanted Great Shang to fall, but also to reclaim dignity for the human race. This concerned the fate of all humanity.
“Continue fighting. Send more reinforcements.”
Long Qianqian examined the stream of battle reports. These reports were never delayed by more than a day, transmitted back through communication talismans.
Inside the hall, a large sand table had been set up. The ministers stared at it intently, conducting strategic simulations.
Long Qianqian’s gaze was firm. Suddenly, she looked toward Li Changsheng.
His heart skipped a beat. He understood immediately. The Emperor was running short on funds.
In just half a year, the national treasury had consumed 200 million spirit stones, equivalent to 2 billion gold coins.
Spirit stones were not merely currency. They were rare and precious strategic resources.
Talismans, medicinal pills, formation arrays, magical artifacts—all required spirit stones for activation.
Li Changsheng understood without words. He immediately left the palace with his guards and began going door to door, seizing the wealth and resources of the wealthy families.
“The empire is in peril. It is time for you to serve the empire. If you refuse to think of the empire and instead seek to profit from its crisis, then seize their property!”
Li Changsheng already knew the aristocrats and wealthy elites of the Imperial Capital thoroughly.
He knew exactly which families were richest. In ordinary times, the empire left them untouched, allowing them to hide their wealth among the people. But now that the empire was in danger, it was time to harvest them.
In the Ming Dynasty, it had been the refusal of gentry and nobles to donate that emptied the treasury and ultimately led to collapse.
Now was the moment to use them. If they were unwilling to go to the front lines, then they would donate their entire fortunes.
Li Changsheng led troops through the city, confiscating assets. In just one month, several hundred million spirit stones were delivered to the treasury.
The treasury immediately redirected funds to the front lines. Across the empire, massive recruitment efforts intensified.
Countless commoners, driven by money, rushed toward the battlefield. Any man capable of wielding a blade could enlist.
The distinction between the human race and the demon clan was simple. On the battlefield, any creature of a different species was an enemy to kill.
When the demon clan deployed King-level Spiritual Practitioner experts, Great Shang responded with its own King-level Spiritual Practitioners.
If the demon clan deployed Saint-level Spiritual Practitioners, Great Shang would summon the ancient patriarchs of super clans who had not emerged for hundreds of years.
For now, however, the demon clan had not yet deployed Saint-level Spiritual Practitioners. Thus, both sides still relied mainly on mortal armies.
Fortunately, Great Shang’s population exceeded 1 billion, sufficient to sustain the war.
Ordinary citizens who could barely afford clothing now rushed to enlist. It was not necessarily patriotism. Simply the promise of food and clothing at the front was enough to drive countless people to charge into battle for a meal and something to wear.
Another half year passed in the blink of an eye. The war did not cease.
The entire northern frontier had become a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The stench of blood permeated the borderlands. Everywhere one looked, there were rotting bodies.
Eventually, the demon clan retreated beyond the border.
But the Great Shang army had already gone mad with bloodlust. Seeing the retreat, they charged past the border and invaded demon territory.
When hungry, they roasted demon beasts and ate them. When demons were hungry, they devoured humans. The two sides slaughtered and consumed each other, treating the battlefield like a grotesque banquet.
Thus, another year of war passed.
The wealth of the Great Shang Empire was consumed at terrifying speed. Its population dwindled just as rapidly.
The original 100 million troops were already dead. Tens of millions of prisoners sent afterward had also perished.
Grain supplies dwindled rapidly. The national strength of Great Shang visibly declined. Yet its national temperament grew fiercer than ever.
…
“Reporting to the Supreme Emperor, the national fortune of Great Shang will remain stable for 500 years, but…”
“But what?”
“But the fatal hexagram predicting the destruction of Great Shang has not disappeared. There are still over 900 years remaining.”
Deep within the Supreme Emperor’s palace in the Imperial Capital, a group of cultivators from the Observatory stood trembling in the Xuantiang Palace, sweat pouring down their faces.
Before them, the figure of Long Cang appeared.
At this moment, Long Cang’s brows were tightly furrowed.
He had been silently observing this war. Even he had not expected that Long Qianqian, the new Emperor, would launch such a massive conflict only days after ascending the throne.
This was war against the entire demon clan.
In the thousands of years of Great Shang’s history, the only previous full-scale war with the demon clan had occurred in the early days of its founding. Back then, Long Cang had also been ambitious, just like Long Qianqian now, determined to fight the demon clan to the death.
Long Cang had not intervened. He believed that the cause of Great Shang’s eventual destruction likely lay with the demon clan.
According to his calculations, if the war continued, the demon clan would eventually deploy terrifying Saint-level demon cultivators, and perhaps even draw out the strongest Emperor-level demon cultivators.
He reasoned that even if Long Qianqian had not initiated war, it would not have changed Great Shang’s ultimate fate.
Perhaps everything was destined. No matter what choices he made, he could not alter this fate.
At the very least, by launching the war early, Long Qianqian had allowed him to foresee the cause and general trajectory of the empire’s downfall.
What astonished him, however, was that this war would continue for a thousand years, never ceasing until Great Shang finally perished.
Long Qianqian had locked horns with the demon clan. Until one side was utterly destroyed, she would not relent.
Since the war began, the Supreme Emperor had never intervened. Clearly, Long Cang supported her, having fully handed the empire over to her control.
Long Qianqian sought to prove herself, to prove that she was right to sit upon the throne. She wanted Great Shang to expand its territory. She wanted to become the first Emperor to defeat the demon clan.
No matter the cost. Even if it meant exhausting the treasury and wagering the empire’s destiny and everything it possessed, she would fight the demon clan to the end.
…