Chapter 387: The Fickle Balak Kingdom
Facing the aggressive Heaven Dou Empire, Bibi Dong no longer intended to retreat.
The failure of the Soul Hunting Operation, the failure of the usurpation plan, and the recent cutoff of subsidy allocations by the Heaven Dou Empire had all severely damaged Bibi Dong's prestige within Spirit Hall. Many Elders had already begun to question her.
It was only because Bibi Dong's own strength was formidable that she could barely suppress their dissatisfaction.
But if they lost control over the Spirit Hunting Forests now, then even if Bibi Dong's power remained overwhelming, the Elders might not dare oppose her openly, but they would certainly begin ignoring her orders in secret.
Therefore, regarding the matter of the Spirit Hunting Forests, Bibi Dong absolutely could not allow the Heaven Dou Empire's scheme to succeed.
After a brief moment of thought, Bibi Dong came up with a plan.
"Someone."
After summoning a Cardinal, Bibi Dong immediately ordered, "Send a command to the four kingdoms and one duchy under the Heaven Dou Empire. Tell them to stir up trouble along the borders and give the Heaven Dou Empire a small warning."
As if feeling that this was not enough, Bibi Dong added, "Have the Balak Kingdom declare independence."
This was Bibi Dong's plan.
Speaking of which, the Two Great Empires on the Douluo Continent had established kingdoms and duchies along their borders to guard against each other. The Heaven Dou Empire alone had four major kingdoms and one duchy under its name.
At first, these kingdoms and duchies naturally pledged allegiance to the Two Great Empires. But as time passed, because Spirit Hall's headquarters was located near the border between the Two Great Empires, closer to these kingdoms and duchies, and because these kingdoms and duchies were not strong themselves, most of them had gradually fallen under Spirit Hall's control.
Therefore, Bibi Dong now ordered the four kingdoms and one duchy that nominally belonged to the Heaven Dou Empire to threaten it and warn it not to act recklessly.
In particular, Bibi Dong wanted the Balak Kingdom to declare independence. This warning could not be more obvious.
Since she could make the Balak Kingdom declare independence, she could naturally make the other three kingdoms and one duchy do the same. If the Heaven Dou Empire refused to be sensible, she would have the others follow suit.
Of course, if the Heaven Dou Empire knew when to stop and ceased interfering with the Spirit Hunting Forests, then Bibi Dong would naturally give them a way out. She would let the Balak Kingdom lose a few battles, then declare submission again.
The choice had been given to the Heaven Dou Empire. What happened next would depend on Emperor Xue Ye.
A few days later, the Balak Kingdom suddenly issued a statement to the entire Continent, formally announcing its withdrawal from the Heaven Dou Empire and its independence.
Although the other three kingdoms and one duchy under the Heaven Dou Empire did not follow suit, they also began military exercises along their borders.
The Heaven Dou Empire was greatly shaken and immediately dispatched a large army to suppress the Balak Kingdom, while also increasing troop deployments along the borders of the other three kingdoms and one duchy.
Not long after the Heaven Dou Empire mobilized its forces, Platinum Bishop Salas, who was in charge of Spirit Hall's affairs in Heaven Dou City, sought an audience with Emperor Xue Ye.
Both openly and covertly, Salas threatened and warned him, hoping Emperor Xue Ye would stop taking action against the Spirit Hunting Forests, or else face the consequences.
However, Emperor Xue Ye did not back down under Salas's threats, causing the two sides to part on bad terms.
"What an audacious Spirit Hall!"
Even with Emperor Xue Ye's composure, he could barely contain his rage over the actions of the kingdoms and duchies under his name.
"Their wolfish ambitions have finally been exposed!"
Previously, when Spirit Hall launched the Soul Hunting Operation against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, strictly speaking, it was only an internal affair of the Spirit Master world.
Even if the Soul Hunting Operation had succeeded, Spirit Hall would only have dominated the Spirit Master world.
But now that Spirit Hall had extended its reach into the kingdoms and duchies, what exactly were they planning?
Most likely, they were aiming to unify the Douluo Continent.
It was precisely because Emperor Xue Ye understood this point that he was so agitated.
It was not only Emperor Xue Ye. Even the emperor of the Star Luo Empire secretly became vigilant after learning about this matter.
Although Spirit Hall was currently targeting the Heaven Dou Empire, who could guarantee that Spirit Hall would not target the Star Luo Empire in the future?
The Star Luo Empire also began raising its guard against the kingdoms and duchies under its own rule.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Seeing Emperor Xue Ye's furious expression, Prince Xue Xing quickly tried to soothe him.
"The Balak Kingdom jumping out now may not be entirely bad for us. At the very least, this action has fully exposed Spirit Hall's ambitions."
"Xue Xing, you have a point."
As the emperor of a nation, Emperor Xue Ye quickly regained his composure after his initial outburst.
"However, the Balak Kingdom must still be suppressed as soon as possible."
If the Balak Kingdom declared independence from the Heaven Dou Empire and suffered no punishment, it would deal a massive blow to the Heaven Dou Empire's prestige.
"Your Majesty, forgive my frankness," Prince Xue Xing said, "but perhaps we should take a step back regarding the Spirit Hunting Forests."
Hearing this, Emperor Xue Ye immediately frowned, but he did not reject the suggestion outright.
Prince Xue Xing continued sincerely, "This incident happened too suddenly, and we were unprepared. If we continue provoking Spirit Hall over the Spirit Hunting Forests, the other three kingdoms and one duchy may follow suit. That would place us in a very passive position."
"Take a step back…"
Emperor Xue Ye frowned deeply before finally saying, "Fine. We will take a small step back, but we cannot come away with nothing."
He had originally wanted to reclaim full ownership of the Spirit Hunting Forests. Now, it seemed impossible to go that far. He could only retreat slightly and share ownership of the Spirit Hunting Forests with Spirit Hall.
Soon, Prince Xue Xing conveyed Emperor Xue Ye's attitude to Salas, and Salas immediately reported it to Spirit City.
Before long, Salas received Spirit City's approval.
In this way, the matter was ultimately resolved through compromise.
Facing the Heaven Dou Empire's expeditionary forces, the Balak Kingdom suffered a few minor defeats, then declared its submission to the Heaven Dou Empire once again.
After "subduing" the Balak Kingdom, the Heaven Dou Empire carried out a nominal punishment against it, barely recovering its lost prestige. Only then did the army withdraw back to the capital.
After the Balak Kingdom's repeated changes in stance, everything seemed to have returned to normal, and the situation on the Continent appeared unchanged compared to before.
However, the scent of gunpowder had grown much stronger.
This series of events completely exposed Spirit Hall's wolfish ambitions. At the same time, numerous kingdoms and duchies had sided with Spirit Hall, causing the Two Great Empires' wariness toward Spirit Hall to reach its peak.
The situation on the Continent became increasingly strange.
.....
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