“Ancestor, the human race… they’ve killed their way in…”
Within demon territory, where hundreds of clans stood scattered across the land, deep in an ancient and shadowed primeval forest, strange rock formations loomed like ferocious beasts crouching upon the earth.
Vines coiled around them, tendrils stretching outward like giant pythons, spreading across the stone surfaces.
Beneath the massive rocks, several half-human, half-demon creatures lay prostrate on the ground, speaking in frightened voices.
After a long silence, a lazy and ancient voice drifted out from the abyss within the giant stone.
“Eat them all.”
“Eat them.”
“What if we finish eating?”
“Why does the human race love sending us food so much?”
“As many as come, eat them all.”
From within the abyss came several different grotesque sounds—some deep, some shrill, some thick and resonant, some soft and alluring. Male and female voices intertwined.
…
“Your Majesty, 5 million troops who advanced 400 kilometers into demon territory have all been devoured.”
“Your Majesty, the imperial treasury is empty and the people are suffering. I beg Your Majesty to reconsider and withdraw the army to recuperate.”
“Your Majesty, we cannot continue fighting.”
In the Great Shang court, the officials argued fiercely. Some advised withdrawal, others insisted on expanding the army and pressing deeper.
The war faction and peace faction quarreled daily. The sand table in the center of the hall had been pushed and recalculated countless times.
Battle reports were updated every day. More than ten years had already passed.
At this point in the war, Great Shang’s population had already lost more than 300 million people.
To this day, no matter how far the Great Shang army advanced into demon territory, not a single person had ever returned alive according to the records.
By now, the empire had grown wiser. It began fortifying the borders while gradually expanding territory, slowly nibbling away at demon lands.
In the Main Hall, Long Qianqian looked exhausted, her expression dark and heavy.
Since her ascension, she had been at war with the demon clan for more than ten years without pause.
She realized there was no turning back. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Within the empire, the population was vast. Every day, people were sent to the battlefield. The farmlands lay mostly abandoned. How could commoners have time to farm?
Across the empire’s cities and towns, aside from wealthy nobles who still had some grain reserves, ordinary people were already starving and freezing. To survive, they could only enlist. Only at the front did they receive food and clothing.
But everyone knew that once you went to the battlefield, you would never return alive.
Long Qianqian could no longer retreat. She had initiated this war. After so many years, Great Shang had poured in immense wealth, grain, and population, suffering heavy losses year after year.
If she chose to cease hostilities now, more than ten years of war would have been for nothing. No gains whatsoever. Only centuries of national strength drained. How could she accept that?
Even if she seized only tens of thousands of square kilometers of demon territory, it would be worth it.
Yet the cruel truth was that after more than ten years of fighting, she had gained nothing at all.
“Reporting to Your Majesty.”
Suddenly, a voice rang out. Long Qianqian came back to her senses. Her gaze shifted, and she saw a middle-aged figure step forward.
“What does the Prime Minister wish to say?”
“Your Majesty, at this moment, the only strategy left is to open new battlefronts.”
The hall fell silent in shock. Long Qianqian’s brows knitted tightly. Open new battlefronts?
“Li Wu, the northern front has already dragged the empire to exhaustion. We have lost more than 300 million troops and consumed nearly all grain supplies. And you still propose such madness?”
“Your Majesty, this Li Wu is a villain. I beg Your Majesty to dismiss him from office and investigate him.”
The old ministers knew well that it had been this Prime Minister Li Wu who had incited the Emperor to wage war in the first place. That war had now lasted more than a decade.
During these ten years, Li Changsheng had stripped the noble families of the Imperial Capital of their wealth. Although the treasury had grown fuller, the aristocrats had become paupers.
All officials and nobles hated Li Changsheng to the bone. They wished to tear him apart and drink his blood.
If he had not remained within the Imperial Capital, he would have been killed long ago.
Ignoring the clamor, Li Changsheng spoke calmly.
“The Great Shang Empire lies in the southeastern region of the Heavenly Mystic Continent. To the north lies the demon clan. To the east lies the Eastern Sea demon clan. To the south are demons. To the west are demons.”
“The northern demon clan is extremely powerful. But the demon clans in the west and south are comparatively weak. I humbly propose dispatching two additional armies of 10 million each, dividing into two routes, and striking the western and southern demon clans!”
The hall erupted in shock.
“Li Wu, are you insane?” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“How do you know the western and southern demon clans are weak? You are dragging Great Shang into the abyss. You want the empire destroyed!”
“Your Majesty, absolutely not! The northern demon clan has not yet been resolved. If we rashly open new fronts and provoke the western and southern demon clans, Great Shang will have no chance of recovery!”
“Your Majesty, Li Wu’s intentions are treasonous. Please strip him of office and investigate him!”
Indeed, Great Shang was surrounded by demon clans on all sides. The entire empire, including the former Great Qian Empire, had long been encircled by demon territories.
To the west and south, the small states that had split from the former Great Qian Empire had been holding off those demon clans, so Great Shang had suffered relatively few losses there.
If new battlefronts were opened now, Great Shang would plunge into utter ruin.
Yet as Li Changsheng had said, although they were all demon clans, they were not unified. Each had its own races and spheres of influence.
The western and southern demon clans were indeed weaker. The small successor states of the former Great Qian Empire had often fought them to a standstill, sometimes even annihilating small demon squads entirely.
This proved that the western and southern demon clans were not stronger than the northern one.
“Ministers, my proposal is not to push Great Shang into despair, but to save it!” Li Changsheng declared sharply.
“If Great Shang continues exhausting itself on the northern front, one day we will be consumed entirely. When that day comes, surrounded by demon clans on all sides, what path will remain for the empire?”
“Only by carving out another route now can we preserve a path of survival, even if the empire faces life and death in the future.”
He pointed to the sand table. “Behind the western and southern demon clans lies our escape route.”
“If we continue this attritional war in the north until Great Shang is utterly depleted, we will have no way out. At that time, all of us, including Your Majesty, will have no hope of turning the tide.”
As he said, Great Shang was like livestock penned in by demon clans across the continent.
If they fought only the northern demon clan until their population was exhausted, until there was no one left to fight, there would be no retreat.
Only by seeking another path now and preserving a spark of survival could they prepare for the worst.
Li Changsheng knew in his heart that Great Shang had not yet truly committed its full strength. It had been restrained and cautious.
If things continued this way, the war could drag on for centuries without end. He needed to add more fuel to the fire, accelerating the empire’s exhaustion.
It was also for his own sake.
“Transmit my decree. Conscription of 40 million additional troops. Divide into two routes and wage war against the western and southern demon clans!”