Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 490 Strategic Thinking on Blue Star, the Object of the Star Wars

Beria truly lived up to his reputation as a cunning old fox.

Despite the complete information asymmetry, the plan submitted by this Lord of Twilight precisely matched the highest priority contingency plan of the Eastern Xia General Staff. It was as if he, with his own ideas and strategies, had wrestled with the Eastern Xia's top staff and military supercomputer, and the outcome was still undecided.

It must be acknowledged that geniuses do exist in the world, especially an old fellow from a world of great power.

At the same time, there is another very crucial element: judging from this plan alone, Beria has completely restrained his personal desires.

According to Dongxia's original assessment, if Belial were to cause trouble in the Starry World, the best target would be the Misty Moon Divine Court.

The two sides have a deep-seated feud, so why not seize the opportunity to use someone else to kill them?

There are many reasons. For example, [Sunset Dusk] fell into the hands of Dongxia along with Belial. If the Seven-Eyed God finds out, he might do everything in his power to kill Chen Mo and cut off this dangerous door.

But Beria had an upright appearance and clear eyes.

"Reporting to Commander Li, I believe that as long as we don't leak the news of my defection to the East Xia, it won't be easy for the Divine Court to find out."

When he spoke of "abandoning darkness for light," the crowd could vaguely see a radiant glow on his face.

Belial: "Even the gods cannot sense this forbidden land of ours!"

"From this perspective, attacking the Mist Moon Divine Court is not a good choice."

Do you have a map here? I'd like to borrow it so I can explain things more clearly!

Beria's words were quite sincere, and Commander Li Zehua nodded. The officer next to him opened the electronic sand table with a 3D holographic projection.

After staring blankly at the sand table for a while, Belial let out a sigh that was hard to decipher, then took the laser pointer and began to draw on the sand table.

"Commander, I believe that if our Eastern Xia troops can stay for a long time and the logistical support can keep up, then we can fight against the Mist Moon Divine Court, we can fight against the Qiyue Dynasty, and we can even start a war against the Sky Dome west of the Dragon's Spine."

"However, our troops are under very tight time constraints."

"The key issue is not what the consequences of this battle will be, but how Hanhai will be treated after the battle."

Beria's laser pointer drew a circle centered on Qingfeng Mountain.

"I believe that, given the strategic depth of these major human powers, a mere 25 to 28 hours of blitz warfare is completely insufficient to neutralize their war-making capabilities."

"And once our troops retreat, the Han Hai Territory will surely suffer a brutal reprisal from our enemies."

Twenty-eight hours is the maximum attack time given by the military, because troops cannot only consider the attack but also the return journey.

When launching an attack, it's like fighting a war, a crucial battle, which might take longer. But when returning, the speed can be increased, and less time can be used.

According to the precise estimates from Dongxia based on topographical maps, a full-scale attack would take 28 hours, and a safe and stable return trip would take approximately 16 to 17 hours. Therefore, the troops' 60-hour stay would leave about a quarter of that time as a safety margin.

Don't think that these dozen or so hours are a long time. After all, this is war, a war in which anything can happen.

If the enemy fights desperately to intercept; if the vehicles are severely damaged; if some guys resort to their old tricks and let the floodgates open; or even if some super-powerful figure emerges, unleashing a massive, unrecoverable trap...

According to Belial, this amount of time spent in war is not enough to gain sufficient benefits. Therefore, Belial suggests continuing the northern expedition to attack the orcs!
This point coincides with the opinion of the General Staff of the Xia Kingdom.

First of all, fighting the orcs is absolutely politically correct. Regardless of what other countries think, during the period when the Han Hai is launching a strong attack on the orcs, the possibility of them stabbing each other in the back is relatively small.

Even Green Pine, with whom they had a deep-seated grudge, couldn't very well launch a surprise attack from behind while the Orcs were openly resisting them in the Vast Ocean.

On another level, the fact that Han Hai brought in such a powerful external force as "a god descending to earth" and ultimately chose to fight beasts rather than humans may further win the favor of the human nations.

Secondly, the orcs' spring and autumn hunts were repeatedly interrupted by the vast sea, and the fertile land of the White Deer Plain was taken away. This hatred was irreconcilable, and a war was inevitable sooner or later.

Why not take this opportunity to give them a good beating? Even if we don't kill them, it will greatly reduce the pressure on Han Hai in the future.

Finally, a usable portal must be located near Qingfeng Mountain, where the orcs are closest, making it the shortest and most efficient way to defeat them.

Isn't this just the perfect target to be beaten up?

"Moreover, we also possess the absolute justice of sending troops!"

When the topic of sending troops was mentioned as righteous, Dongxia perked up: "Oh? How so?"

Belial slapped his chest and said, "The royal family of the beastmen, the 'Golden Mane' tribe, represented by the 'Blood Fang' clan, conspired with evil forces to bring in a massive army of undead from the underworld, causing not only huge losses to the Vast Ocean but also posing a great threat to the safety of the Starry Continent."

"I saw this with my own eyes! I can find you both witnesses and physical evidence!"

"It is only natural for Han Hai to call for reinforcements to fight the orcs!"

Everyone was silent.

That goes without saying, of course you saw it with your own eyes...

The evil forces that the Orcs colluded with are none other than Belial himself, aren't they? You orchestrated this whole mess...

In any case, Beria's performance greatly exceeded the expectations of the Eastern Xia side.

Whether he was truly wholeheartedly working for Dongxia or had ulterior motives, this cunning, shrewd, or rather, seasoned ruler of the twilight of the kingdom provided Dongxia, which always liked to plan every detail meticulously, with a valuable new perspective on issues.

Seeing Beria's radiant and eloquent speech, Commander Li Zehua suddenly had an idea.

What are your thoughts on the situation on Earth?

Beria suddenly got stuck.

"Report, report to the commander, regarding the situation on Blue Star, I... I don't know much about it!"

"It's okay if you don't know, just take some time to learn about it."

"Xiao Gu!"

Commander Gu Liyang stepped forward, his military boots clicking together: "Present!"

"Give Mr. Belial a Level 3 access privilege so he can see the outside world!"

"Yes!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The current state of Earth can be summed up in one sentence: "Even a broken pot has its own lid."

It's covered!
The undead calamity that spread from the Sea Serpent Islands in the previous phase ravaged Earth for a while. However, as the terrifying upright ape group with the strongest learning ability, as long as enough people die, they can always learn from their experience.

Iron Cross experts, located far to the north, were the first to give a clear conclusion: the scope and intensity of the undead catastrophe outbreak are positively correlated with the population density of the local Four-Clawed Sea Serpent people.

As is well known, although the management of the Iron Cross is abstract, some departments still retain a relatively rigorous style. Since the outbreak of the "Warring States Period Warrior Amulet" infection incident in the country, the Iron Cross's environmental control department has strengthened its monitoring of the sea serpent descendants.

You know what, although political ability, moral standards, industrial strength, and military combat power are all declining, the Iron Cross environmental protection department's investigation capabilities remain as strong as ever. They can even find out exactly how many lizards are in which grove of trees.

After organizing the data, they quickly discovered that regardless of whether the region was thriving or desolate, or whether the location was bustling or remote, the infection rate of the undead would be significantly higher in areas with a large number of sea serpents.

After comparing a large amount of data, they quickly announced this exciting discovery.

You think they're trying to save humanity? Wrong. They have no interest in that at all; they've simply found a group of people they can legally plunder.

From the various abstract behaviors of the nations of Earth over the years, it is very clear that so-called axioms, justice, and morality are nothing more than a few masks that interest groups occasionally put on.

This time, however, interests and justice happened to overlap a little.

Thus, countries began to completely devour the sea serpent race, then either threw them across their borders or into concentration camps.

The Sea Serpents were once the second largest economy on Earth, and even after a slight decline, they were still firmly among the top.

After many countries dealt with the sea snake population, they took stock and found that they not only didn't lose money, but actually had a surplus.

The one that ate the most was, and yet again, the bald eagle.

After all, the exiled government of the Sea Serpent, including a group of aristocratic elders, government officials, powerful conglomerates, and giants, is all in the hands of the Bald Eagle.

The bald eagle, having enjoyed a delicious meal, even began a massive plunder of the financial system, directly freezing and seizing the assets of the Sea Serpent government and private individuals, euphemistically calling it "compensation for losses!"
This is an old tradition of theirs. They're quite adept at doing this kind of thing.

The Grand President issued a temporary decree, ordering all government departments and financial institutions to freeze the assets of the Sea Serpent Clan throughout the entire planet, citing the Sea Serpent Clan's deliberate creation of a source of infection and the resulting significant losses to the Bald Eagle. The assets were then placed under the "temporary trusteeship" of the Bald Eagle.

The scope of freezing and custody includes, but is not limited to, bank accounts, real estate, company shares, marketable bonds, physical assets, virtual currencies... and extends all the way to precious metals in safes, motor vehicles in garages, jewelry, and even blood...

That's right, the human body itself is an asset, especially for young children.

They can eat a lot and they can work hard!
After the freeze, it's all about plunder and relocation.

There are "voluntary donations", "plea for guilty pleas", "temporary resettlement expenses", "lawyer's fees", and so on.

Soon, all the "valuable personnel" of the Sea Serpent race, including high-ranking officials of the exiled government, patriarchs of aristocratic families, upper-level managers, and middle-class doctors and professors, were drawn into this gluttonous feast.

After they've eaten and cleaned everything up, they can donate organs if necessary, or dig up potatoes if needed; there's always a place where they can be used.

This series of outrageous actions unexpectedly brought about a positive effect.

Because the right-wing fanatics of the Sea Serpent Army were wiped out, without the offerings and blessing of the "cult artifacts," the primordial liches sent out from the Sea Serpent could not be maintained, and the chain of undead resurrection was broken.

On the main island of the Sea Serpent, after the first batch of flying undead set off, it wouldn't be possible to assemble a second air force squadron in the short term. And as long as there's no replenishment and the snowball effect doesn't materialize, wiping out the undead creatures roaming the islands with their superior firepower is just a matter of time.

After the initial panic, as the number of deaths increased, the age structure of various countries became younger, and their combat experience became richer. They also summarized many combat patterns and successfully achieved effective defense against the undead creatures and staged counterattacks.

The Great Emperor of the North, the uninhabited ice cap to the South, Stratholme to the East, and to the West... to the West lies the [Sprout], but the undead do not venture west...

And so, after ravaging Blue Star for more than half a year, the number of undead creatures scattered outside decreased sharply, and Blue Star miraculously restored most of its order.

Looking across this world, most countries of medium to high strength have gradually come to an end in their extermination of undead creatures. Those still struggling are mostly countries that were already in hellish conditions.

In places like theirs, a few more zombies or skeletons don't matter much. The number of people killed by undead creatures is less than a fraction of the number who die of starvation, disease, or violence.

As for what impact the dead will have on the world?
Actually, it doesn't have any impact.

In most countries, the population is just a series of numbers. It doesn't matter whether more or fewer people die, as long as it doesn't affect the interests of the small group of people at the top of society. These countries have an extremely exaggerated tolerance for death.

In the end, the areas most severely affected were the Four-Clawed Sea Serpent's homeland, the Southern Hibiscus Kingdom, and the Pearl Land.

The latter two were once colonies of the Four-Clawed Sea Serpent, and were once defiled by the living people of the Sea Serpent. Now, they are being defiled by the dead people of the Sea Serpent once more.

Dongxia intervened and temporarily controlled the undead creatures in Mingzhu, while Bei Mulan Kingdom held its line and prevented the zombie storm from spreading out of Nan Mujin Kingdom.

In the words of a well-known "objective and impartial" international organization: Faced with the greatest disaster in human history, in the darkest moment when the world was shrouded in shadow, humanity has shown unprecedented courage. Instead of retreating or running away, it has challenged the disaster.

Of course, the person who deserves the most special thanks is the president of the world's strongest nation.

It was he who demonstrated unparalleled vision and decisive leadership, successfully quelling this evil storm, allowing the dead to rest in peace and the living to move forward! Establishing order amidst chaos, defining survival amidst destruction!
It would be a real shame not to award a major prize related to peace.

To be honest, Belial's emotions were quite turbulent when he saw these scenes.

This blue planet has so many abstract forces, why did I end up in the hands of Dongxia...?

The Lord of Twilight took a deep breath, tried to compose himself, and made the following comments.

"The world of extreme egoists, or rather, it is a world created by a group of extreme egoists. The representative who is on the surface uses his visible greed to cover up the hidden greed of those guys under the table."

Commander Li Zehua smiled and nodded: "We can't interfere in other people's affairs. We mainly want to hear your suggestions on the national policy of Dongxia."

"What do you think we should do next?"

Beria pondered for a while, then looked up and said, "Commander, I think we don't need to do anything."

"Just focus on our own steady development and wait for them to fall apart!"

Gu Liyang, who was standing next to him, snorted: "The integration is not even finished yet, how can it be time to slack off?"

This refers to the main points of contention within Dongxia regarding the Pearl Region.

Having gained a foothold and gradually completed the cleanup of most of the undead there, should we further increase our troops to take control, or maintain the status quo?

Even, withdraw?
Gu Liyang, from the military system, was clearly a radical without hesitation.

Faced with Gu Liyang's slightly accusatory tone, Beria seemed somewhat bewildered, but Old Li simply waved his hand dismissively.

"Get out of the way, don't interfere. I want to hear Mr. Bei's opinion, not yours!"

Turning to her, she emphasized in a gentle tone, "Just say it. Today, here, no one is guilty of speaking out!"

"it is good!"

Beria turned to look at Gu Liyang again, nodded slightly as if to express his apology, and then straightened his upper body by supporting himself with his hands.

"My understanding of Earth is still quite superficial; I can only comprehend it using the mindset of the starry world."

"In the starry world, cultivation, advancement, and gaining greater power are the only certain and most valuable things. Just like what I have been pursuing for over a hundred years is to improve my power and prepare to face the gods."

"For this reason, I can disregard everything else—fame, wealth, or pleasure—none of it matters!"

As he spoke, the Lord of Twilight seemed to become somewhat fanatical, with flames flickering in his eyes.

"If our Dongxia wants to dominate a region and act arrogantly, then naturally we will take everything we can get our hands on and seize everything we can grab."

But we are not!

The repeated use of "we" left the Eastern Xia commanders somewhat bewildered.

"What we want is to stand at the top in this chaotic world, so there are some things we can't do."

"For example, the Pearl Island you mentioned."

"The location is nice, but the people at the top, the structure, and the historical legacy are all a burden to us."

"If the benefits we receive are far less than what we put in, then we shouldn't take them now."

He paused, organizing his thoughts.

"It's like a thicket of highly poisonous thorns. We have to spend a lot of effort cutting it down, transforming it, and then replanting mild saplings to grow usable fruits and vegetables to counteract the effects of these poisonous weeds."

"If you put in a lot of effort but reap a slow harvest, it's better to let it rot until it becomes a barren wasteland. You can just sweep it up, scatter some seeds, and it'll be ready to use."

Gu Liyang frowned and couldn't help but ask again, "Aren't you considering geostrategic considerations?"

Seemingly sensing the support of the Grand Commander, Beria's answer this time was much more straightforward, his voice becoming even more forceful: "Geostrategy? All geostrategy only has meaning when there is war."

"It's like when my Twilight Tower was in the Frostwind Duchy, it was at odds with Crocodile Fortress in the Bloodthorn Brotherhood. The Waterpu Bay stronghold outside Crocodile Fortress cut off our Twilight Tower's trade routes, but I never bothered with it."

"Because I've calculated it carefully. If I take Shuipu Bay, I'll need to station a trustworthy army there, win over the mercenaries who come and go in the vicinity at high prices, and constantly guard against enemy counterattacks. I might not be able to earn back this cost even if I travel a century-long trade route!"

"When there was no war between Twilight Tower and Crocodile Fortress, our caravans could pass through normally, so why should I spend this money?"

"If the day of war really comes, even if Shuipu Bay is in my hands, do you think the enemy will let me trade smoothly? Won't they still resort to ambushes and treacherous schemes along the roadside?"

“I’ll save this money and find an opportunity to take down Crocodile Castle. That will solve everything.”

A moment of silence fell over the room.

That seems to be the logic.

Belial was overjoyed to see that his words seemed to have gained some approval, and he became even more unrestrained in his speech.

"According to my research, there has always been a mainstream voice in Dongxia that advocates protecting key waterways."

"I think, just like the example I just gave, when there's no war, merchant ships can come and go as they please, so what need is there for protection?"

"If a real war breaks out, the enemy has air force, missiles, submarines, and possibly some weapons I don't know about. Can this waterway really be protected?"

Gu Liyang scratched his head. It had only been a few days, but the old man had learned quite quickly, even throwing out words like "missile" and "submarine."

Commander Li Zehua casually picked up the thermos and refilled Belial's cup of water, startling the Lord of Twilight so much that he almost tumbled off his wheelchair.

"Don't move, sit still, and continue!"

"Yes!"

Beria held the water glass carefully, as if it were a rare treasure.

"I think that when war really breaks out, this base, which is far from the mainland and is supposed to protect the shipping lanes, might become a target for others and not even be able to protect itself."

"Furthermore, although on the surface it seems that the waterway is under the control of others and can be cut off with a wave of the hand, we must also see that behind it is the astronomical investment of the enemy."

"Their military spending is all tied up in these bases where their generals are stationed in the field, while our military spending is on new technologies and equipment. With the spending of one side increasing while the other decreases, why are we in such a hurry?"

He raised his head, his eyes bright as stars.

"They should be the ones who are anxious!"

Following this communication, the top leadership of Dongxia quickly reached a consensus.

While the old man wasn't entirely right—after all, the situation on Earth is far more complex than on any other planet, and geopolitics can't be simply summarized as "trade routes and outposts"—his thinking was clear and his vision broad.

At this stage, Beria's suggestion, whether offered proactively or under duress, truly reflects his deep affection for Dongxia.

They can be used as unofficial advisors.

A few days later, an appointment was issued, and Belial, the former Lord of Twilight, became the Chief Advisor of the Eastern Xia Special High-Energy Object Research Association.

By the way, the direct translation of the so-called "special high-energy object" in the Starry World is simple and clear—

"Gods!"
　They said they were in a meeting, so don't write "Blue Star"...

　　I'll be patient a little longer.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)