Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 81 Siege
On the other side, in the Eastern Continent, at the Wind and Thunder Mountains.

Since the great battle between the two destinies eighty years ago, in which the Eastern family retreated, Shaluo Valley has developed rapidly. Centered on the Fenglei Mountains, it has subdued hundreds of towns and cities of all sizes in the surrounding area, and the Wu Kingdom was established.

Eighty years have passed, and through various means of development, the Wu Kingdom has become the most powerful kingdom in the Eastern Continent. Its capital, located next to the Fenglei Mountains, is the most prosperous city in the Eastern Continent.

But now...

Darkness enveloped the scene, yet the lights shone brightly.

The Fenglei Mountains and their surroundings were shrouded in darkness, except for the brightly lit Wudu in the center, where a large number of spirit masters patrolled back and forth, creating a tense atmosphere.

Unlike other towns on the Spirit Continent, Wudu never built city walls from the beginning. The entire city is open, which greatly facilitates transportation and promotes urban development, but it also makes it much more difficult to defend.

This wouldn't have been a problem originally, because the Wu Kingdom had a large population, as well as a Spirit Guard and Spirit Beast Legion that matched the population, enough to protect the capital.

In addition, with the deterrent power of the king "Li Taiyi", Wudu has not suffered any war or enemy attacks in the past eighty years, so whether or not there are city walls is irrelevant.

However, nowadays, the various spirit beast legions around the capital are on high alert, and there are also a large number of spirit guards patrolling the city, creating a situation where the enemy is at the gates.

Outside the capital, in the darkness, waves of energy rippled through the air, and even the oppressive aura of a king could be faintly seen, surrounding the martial capital and forming a siege. This caused the various spirit beast legions to become restless, with the risk of them "storming up" at any moment.

“Kings, at least five kings!”

"This is only what has been exposed; there are probably many more hidden in the shadows."

"There might even be Emperor-level Spirit Masters and sixth-tier spirit beasts trying to force the teacher to show himself!"

Inside the main hall of the Wudu Royal Palace, the lights were also bright.

Several people gathered together, their expressions solemn, and the atmosphere tense.

There was also a giant eagle beside them, its sharp eyes calm and undisturbed.

"It's the Land of Fire!"

A middle-aged man spoke up, his expression icy: "That Flame Emperor has been chasing our teacher for decades without any results, and now he has finally come to this. The various attacks inside and outside the city these past few days must be their doing, trying to force our teacher to show himself."

"It's probably not just the Land of Fire!"

An elderly man in white shook his head: "Although the Fire Kingdom is an old kingdom, it is impossible for it to send out five monarch-level spirit masters all at once, not to mention that there may be more than five monarchs. Other kingdoms and other forces must also be involved."

"Is the dog desperate enough to do something rash?"

The middle-aged man said coldly, "That would only lead to mutual destruction. Just follow the plan and wait for the teacher to return before demanding compensation from them."

Upon hearing this, the group remained silent and did not speak immediately.

The old man frowned deeply and looked at the Wind and Thunder Eagle King beside him: "Has Master Nangong really left?"

The Wind and Thunder Eagle King nodded: "He was an Emperor-level Spirit Master from the same era as the previous Heavenly Mandate. Now that his lifespan is coming to an end, it is only natural for him to return to the Holy City on this basis."

"Of course?"

The old man murmured to himself, then immediately asked, "Didn't the Holy City send a second Emperor-level Spirit Master?"

The Wind and Thunder Eagle King nodded: "Now it seems... not."

"Is this the attitude of the Holy City?"

The old man frowned and fell silent.

Just then, a young-looking man with graying temples stepped forward: "Perhaps we have been too radical in our actions lately!"

"Um!?"

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned and looked at him with suspicion. The middle-aged man from before stood up even more angrily: "Zhang Xuanming, what do you mean by that?"

"It doesn't mean anything; it's just stating the facts!"

Zhang Xuanming shook his head, showing no sign of backing down despite the stares of the crowd and the anger of the middle-aged man: "The attitude of the Holy City, the departure of Nangong Tianming, and the alliance between various forces and the Fire Kingdom are the best proof."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

They were well aware that, as the most powerful kingdom in the Eastern Continent, the Wu Kingdom, though seemingly glorious, was actually walking on thin ice. Not only was it being eyed by its mortal enemy, the Fire Kingdom, but it was also being suppressed and excluded by other countries and forces, both openly and covertly.

All of this is not only due to the grudges of the past, but also due to the various actions taken by the Wu Kingdom today, which have triggered various conflicts of interest.

In terms of administration, needless to say, the Wu Kingdom completely abolished aristocratic rule, established a large number of public schools to train commoners as spirit masters, and opened up channels for upward mobility. In addition, the economic prosperity brought about a large number of people joining the country every year, including a large number of refugees and even runaways.

The surrounding countries have experienced this firsthand. To prevent their people from fleeing, they have even built city walls on the borders, increased the number of troops, and increased the severity of punishments, but they still cannot stop the flow of people from their countries to the Wu Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Wu Kingdom made no attempt to restrain itself. Not only did it welcome all comers and open its doors wide, it also openly and secretly introduced refugees through various channels, seemingly poaching people's talents and even taking their lives.

How can any country tolerate such blatant acts that threaten its very survival? There has long been animosity between nations.

In addition, Wu Kingdom has been developing industry, commerce and animal husbandry on a large scale in recent years. With emerging commodities such as cement, glass and soap, as well as meat products such as sand lions, it has been dumping them on other countries, plundering their wealth, damaging their industries, and even trying to control their economies and livestock lifelines.

Although other countries have taken countermeasures, raising tariffs and even banning Wu Kingdom goods from circulation, these are merely stopgap measures. Wu Kingdom goods have a significant price advantage, and the official bans only exacerbate smuggling. A 50% profit margin can drive people to take risks.

A 100% profit margin can lead people to trample on the law.

A profit of 300% is something even death cannot stop.

Although Wu Kingdom's goods were not that cheap, they were still enough to tempt many merchants to risk smuggling them, defying the bans imposed by various countries.

It wasn't just merchants; some minor and major nobles, and even royal families from various countries, were involved.

Today, the economic lifeline and livestock industry of the surrounding kingdoms have been taken over by Wu Kingdom. Their original industries have been squeezed out of business and forced to transform.

This gives the Wu Kingdom terrifying control over neighboring countries. If the Wu Kingdom closes smuggling channels or raises commodity prices, the economies of those countries will be affected, especially the livestock industry and meat market.

Unfortunately, the Wu Kingdom did just that. In recent years, the Wu Kingdom has significantly increased the prices of exported goods and meat, causing prices in neighboring countries to rise. Although they haven't reached the point of being unable to survive, they have still taken a heavy toll on these countries.

This was not just about pursuing interests; it also made neighboring countries and even the entire Spirit Control Continent see the Martial Kingdom's aggressiveness and threat, revealing its ambitious nature. Even the Holy City of Spirit Control Masters felt somewhat dissatisfied.

Therefore, Nangong Tianming, the Holy City Elder who blocked the Flame Emperor eighty years ago and had been living in seclusion in the Wind and Thunder Mountains, left the Wind and Thunder Mountains a few months ago under the pretext that his lifespan was coming to an end.

The Holy City of Spirit Masters did not send a second guardian. To this day, several unidentified monarchs have joined forces to besiege the capital of the Martial Kingdom, threatening to bring their troops to the city gates.

The attitudes of the Holy City of Spirit Control, Nangong Tianming, and the various kingdoms and forces have all been made quite clear.

They went too far, exceeding the limits of tolerance for all parties. Even the Holy City of Spirit Control had to change its attitude and withdraw Nangong Tianming, the Emperor-level Spirit Control Master.

Therefore, everyone fell silent in the face of Zhang Xuanming's words.

"Too extreme?"

Only the middle-aged man was furious: "So you mean that the teacher's national policy is flawed, and we shouldn't do this, but should bow down and compromise with those people?"

"I didn't say that!"

Zhang Xuanming frowned: "What I mean is that we can slow down a bit; there's no need to push them to this point."

"Then you still have to bow your head?"

The middle-aged man said angrily, "Do you think they'll leave satisfied if we back down? No, they'll only push their luck. Once this happens, it'll happen again and again!"

"So what's your plan to get out of this situation?"

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Xuanming retorted fiercely, "Do you really want to perish with them? They have five Monarch-level Spirit Masters, and that's just the ones on the surface. Who knows how many more are hidden in the shadows, and there might even be Emperor-level Spirit Masters among them. What do you have to fight them with? The lives of everyone in the city?"

"I……"

"All right!"

The middle-aged man was about to retort when he was silenced by the old man: "Do we still want internal strife at a time like this?"

"Humph!"

The middle-aged man snorted coldly, turned his head away, and said nothing more.

Zhang Xuanming remained silent, making the atmosphere in the hall even more tense.

Finally, the old man spoke up: "Now that things have come to this, there is no other way but to proceed according to the king's plan. We can only delay as long as possible. The king must have received the news and will soon take countermeasures."

"..."

"Then let's do as Prime Minister Zhou says!"

"At this point, the key is to keep the overall situation intact!"

"Let's call it a day then!"

No one objected to this mature advice. After a moment of silence, they all voiced their agreement and then dispersed, leaving Zhang Xuanming and the Wind and Thunder Eagle King alone in the hall.

"..."

Watching the crowd depart, Zhang Xuanming remained silent for a long time. Only after everyone had left did he turn back to the silent Wind and Thunder Eagle King and ask, "Who do you think it is?"

"Chen Luojun?"

"It seems so, but it also seems not!"

The Wind and Thunder Eagle King shook his head: "You humans are too complicated!"

"complex?"

Zhang Xuanming murmured to himself, then suddenly burst into laughter, saying with a self-deprecating tone, "Yes, we humans are too complicated!"

After saying that, he turned to look outside, his eyes full of worry: "Teacher..."

(End of this chapter)