People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

But Ernst didn't have that filter.

Thanks to the Qing Dynasty, at least in the final moments of its tumultuous life, it played its last remaining role, completely shattering the last vestiges of illusion and fantasy that the people of China held about "imperial power."

Therefore, Ernst could easily discern the confusion hidden in the emperor's heart behind the questions such as "What do you think of Yan now?", "Which do you think is better, change or no change?", and "What kind of person do you think you are, and what kind of person is the true dragon?"

He is still human after all.

When he asked Ernst about his attitude toward these matters, he wasn't really trying to find out Ernst's thoughts; he was simply helping himself make that decision.

Ernst always believed in the saying: when a person asks a question, he probably already has an answer in his mind.

Lin Qingyan left quickly.

As she said goodbye, she told Ernst the date she would be going to Hundredstove – three days later.

She told a small lie about the timing; in fact, according to the normal procedure of the Dali Temple's inspection, she should have stayed in Longmen for a week or even half a month.

But she didn't want to stay that long.

After talking with Chen Huijie, she had an increasingly strong premonition.

The root of the problem with Longmen lies not in Longmen itself, but in Baizao.

The root of Wei Yanwu's abnormality lies not in her and Wei Yanwu, but in Zhenlong.

Therefore, to truly grasp the thread of that clue and investigate the mystery behind it, what she needs to do is return to Baizhao as soon as possible.

As for whether there will be any consequences for setting off early.

Lin Qingyan wasn't stupid. If her initial recklessness was her method of investigation, then her subsequent recklessness after meeting Chen at the Governor's Mansion was an act for those around her.

Among the officials who accompanied her, Jie Zhen seemed to be hiding something, while Tai He clearly did not want her to investigate too deeply.

If you want to go back early, you can do so by asking Taihe for help.

He must have already prepared a report that is "detailed, logically sound, but irrelevant to the facts".

What? The incorruptible Lin Qingyan is actually going to use a fake report to fool the Dali Temple?

No, no, no, how can this be considered fooling around? This is just to avoid alerting the enemy.

Moreover, she would guarantee that the true dragon would never be misled by false reports!

Because she intends to meet the emperor!

Meanwhile, in the Yan Kingdom, in the palace of Baizhao.

Zhenlong watched Ning Ciqiu's retreating figure as she left the palace under the protection of the Imperial Guards, and nodded in agreement.

He paused, glanced at the imperial desk beside him where a chessboard lay, and slowly said:

"You didn't lie to me about that."

On the chessboard, the pieces are scattered like stars, creating a completely haphazard game.

This clearly shows that at least one person among the chess players is definitely not very good at the game.

But Zhenlong paid no attention to this. He slowly got up, moved his position, and sat down at the chessboard, his face solemn.

"Next, I will meet Ernst in person at Baizhao."

"If what you say is true, he has such ability and such a powerful background, then I will grant you my promise and summon your brothers and sisters to open the Suiling Mausoleum so that you can fight this battle one more time."

There was finally some movement on the emperor's desk.

However, a black piece that was not placed under the cover rolled off the edge of the board and landed on the opposite side of the dragon. Like a drop of ink falling into clear water, it splashed in mid-air, creating ink-like spots that outlined the image of a thin man.

If the candle-bearer of the Year-Keeping Terrace were here now, he would surely recognize this person as the most dangerous of the Year Beast's agents, known as the "Sinner," the second-in-command of the Year—"Wang."

His face was gloomy. Compared to his elder brother Ling Shuo's square face, which looked upright and full of vigor, he seemed to have a more sinister aura. Coupled with his weak appearance and cold eyes, he had the cool and ruthless feeling of a "poisonous warrior" in the traditional impression of Yan people.

However, at this moment, this most wanted criminal in the entire Yan Kingdom appeared openly in the main hall of the Forbidden City, opposite the Emperor's desk.

His gaze fell upon the "true dragon" before him, who had shed his childishness and appeared remarkably mature, and he slowly said:

"You know I never lie."

He curled the corners of his lips into a smile, seemingly with a hint of sarcasm.

"This isn't the first time we've worked together. Back then, when I said the key to breaking the deadlock lay in Yanwu, did I ever lie to you?"

A cold glint flashed in the dragon's eyes, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by a light chuckle:

"hehe."

"You didn't lie to me, but you've caused me a lot of trouble."

"Did I cause you so much suffering?"

Please ask a question in return.

"Then why don't you run?"

"Yanwu can run, but you can't?"

"If I run away, what will happen to the Great Yan? What will happen to the world? What will happen to the hundreds of millions of people? The remonstrance was originally intended to find a way out for the world. If I also leave, then Yan will truly be doomed!"

The true dragon refuted this.

But Wang didn't care about what he said at all; he just smiled and said:

"That's right, isn't it? It's because you can't let go."

The true dragon wasn't annoyed; it shut him down with a single sentence:

"You can let it go? You can let it go? You hid in the snowy night, sneaking into the palace from a cleaning cart, begging me to make a deal with you?"

Wang's already dark face suddenly turned even darker.

Are you trying to expose my weaknesses?

He had no other choice at the time!

He saw an opportunity in Sherag, and for the first time, it dawned on him: Terra wasn't just Yan; it had many other nations, and it held endless surprises! He realized for the first time that while the existence of the Year Beast might indeed be a threat, the idea that the Year Beast was a threat was somewhat impossible!

After all, the world is so big, and there are definitely beings who can subdue the Year Beast!

He hated himself for not thinking of this sooner, and he hated himself for remembering everything, for summoning the giant beasts that had been defeated by the Sui beasts back to take revenge on Sui, so that they could weaken Sui's strength by killing each other, but he didn't think that there were giant beasts in more than just Yan on the Terra land!

【Sami】, 【Yelagand】, 【Chronology】, and many more. Even during the last concert, he secretly peeked through 【Ling】's dream of freedom and discovered that Sherag had gained four more behemoths! And all of them were new varieties!

Although not every one of these behemoths is stronger than Sui, so what? Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. With [Sami] in charge, each of the remaining beasts could be the final straw that breaks Sui's back!

So he slightly changed his strategy.

The preparations made beforehand—the power within the eldest brother's sword, the clothes woven from the national treasure, and the help of other behemoths that hate the year—are indispensable!

But that's not enough!

He needs more, much more support! He needs to broaden his horizons and expand his vision; he needs to include all the resources Terra can mobilize in this game!

Only in this way can he achieve a 98% win rate!

But all of this has two premises.

Firstly, he needs to be able to persuade Ernst to help him!

Secondly, he must be able to persuade the true dragon to allow the other helpers he has found to successfully come to Da Yan and Bai Zao!

Both of these questions are hellishly difficult. As for the former, forcing Ernst into a confrontation is out of the question. But if it's just a matter of words, he and Ernst have met once. Although Ernst helped him by eliminating the sinister black snake, he said at the time that it was to repay Ernst for helping his brothers and sisters.

He couldn't think of any reason why he could convince Ernst to contribute so much effort to summon so many giant beasts to help him.

The latter, needless to say, is even more difficult!

Because of the Yanwu Palace Coup, Zhenlong's trust in Wang was questionable. He himself did not want to cooperate with Si Suitai (as mentioned in the plot) and the court, who had refused to help Jie when they first stormed Suiling. The two sides were already mutually disgusted, not to mention that his plan was so dangerous!

[An unknown number of colossal beasts, but guaranteed to be at least three, have been summoned to Baizhao. Together with the Sui Beast agents, they will fight the soon-to-awaken Sui and defeat it!]

To be honest, even if Wang himself said these words, he would think it was a huge conspiracy, a conspiracy to demolish Baizhao City.

But for his brothers and sisters, he had to take a gamble; he had to try!

So he took the plunge!

He had been lying in wait at Dingfeng Restaurant, where the banquet for the True Dragon was being prepared. To avoid being discovered, he even hid in a garbage truck that handled kitchen waste. This allowed him to infiltrate the Forbidden City. After lying in wait for several days, he finally found an opportunity when the True Dragon was alone in the palace. He endured humiliation and finally met the True Dragon.

He was no longer the same boy who had once sought him out, begging for a solution to the growing madness of the old dragon, a victim of Oripathy, and the threat it posed to the court. Now, he appeared calmer, more composed, and more enigmatic.

But after hearing his plan, he gave a somewhat unexpected evaluation.

The dragon stood up in surprise, looking even somewhat excited.

"I think you want to pick up the chessboard and smash it on my head!"

Chapter 952 True Dragon: Yes, I'm going to rebel!

True Dragon originally had no intention of forming another partnership with Nozomi.

Wang is the agent of the Year Beast, and among all the Year Beast agents, he has the worst attitude towards the Great Yan.

The remaining agents of the Year Beast still pursue a "human" life. They either serve in the army to guard the border or run shops in the city. Most of them try to minimize their influence as "Year Beasts" and focus on emphasizing their human-like aspects. To some extent, they have even gone to extremes. Many agents of the Year Beast even resist using their powers.

As a result, in the end, there emerged beings like Shuo, who completely sealed their own power and reshaped their physical bodies under the name "Chongyue" to walk the world.

But the only difference is the hope.

Wang never hesitated to use his power in front of others.

To be honest, from an outsider's perspective, this isn't really a big problem.

If a behemoth doesn't use its powers, isn't it just a super tank with high stats but relies entirely on physical attacks for damage? Who would actually cripple themselves?

As you can see, the behemoths like Sami, Yeragand, and the Timeline all have a very clear attitude towards power—it must be easy to use, durable, and usable forever!

But to the people of Yan, this was extremely terrifying.

How can one allow another to sleep soundly beside one's bed? If someone sleeps next to you with a knife in their arms, who wouldn't shudder when they close their eyes at night?

Moreover, Wang is the kind of person who doesn't even bother to hide his knife. At least his brothers and sisters carry a scabbard or have a flower pinned to their knives. But he openly tells you, "I have a knife, and this knife may stab you at any time."

It's no wonder that Sui Jia and Yan didn't treat him very well.

Not to mention, the plan Wang proposed this time is truly "shocking"!

"Release several giant beasts into the territory of Yan Kingdom to assist you in directly suppressing the awakened consciousness of Sui by force, and then let you take its place."

To be fair, is this plan feasible?

If Ernst were willing to lend a hand, if the combat power of giants like [Sami] were truly comparable to [Sui], and if Baizhao were truly that durable.

That plan sounds quite feasible!

The problem is that some plans, just because they are feasible, can not be implemented.

Wang only needs to boldly propose a series of outlandish plans, but Zhenlong has much more to consider!

Are you up to something? Are you planning to betray us later? If a war really breaks out, could this be the second "Godslaying War" of the Great Yan Dynasty? How much manpower, resources, and military strength would be needed to mobilize?

The true dragon needs time to think and deliberate.

In fact, the true dragons of all dynasties have considered how to solve the problem of the Year Beast.

But the problem of the Year Beast has remained unresolved. Why?

The reason for this is that the ancestors of the Great Yan Dynasty chose to trust the wisdom of their descendants and built the Sui Mausoleum on the Jingyu main mine, one of the three major source stone mines in Terra. Then they built the Hundred Stove City on top of the Sui Mausoleum, temporarily suppressing the "dead Sui" in this stacked manner, and then making all generations of the Great Yan Dynasty's descendants sit on a powder keg.

Whenever the brilliant and ambitious Emperor of Great Yan wanted to solve the problem of the Year Beast once and for all, he had to face this problem: if you take action, it will affect the whole situation!

To suddenly launch a military campaign during peacetime is a sign of folly!

Even if they win, it will be a waste of resources and manpower. Baizao City could be completely destroyed in a battle of this magnitude, leaving countless people displaced and homeless. The imperial court will also experience unprecedented turmoil! If things go wrong, the emperor, who was a brilliant strategist in the first half of his life, might end up with a temple name of "Xuan" after his death.

If they lose, it will be a cataclysmic event. No one can predict what kind of temper the awakened Sui Beast will have. If it wants revenge, the entire Great Yan will be devastated! He himself will probably gain a historical meme comparable to "throwing a whip to stop a river," and will be remembered in history, but in the opposite direction!

That's truly a lose-lose situation.

The most troublesome issue is still the main mineral vein of Jingyu.

What if something goes wrong during the fight?

"Bang" sound!

Then the Yan Kingdom, the origin of fireworks in Terra, can set off a physically spectacular fireworks display across the entire land!

What should I do?

Well, let's trust the wisdom of future generations!