Chapter 60: War Mobilization, Arming the Great Army
In the laboratory of the Hall of Worship, the lingering aura from the newly completed divine artifact had not yet fully dissipated. The silver moon divine light shield hovered in mid-air, moonlight flowing across its surface, emanating an awe-inspiring majesty.
Kong Deming was still immersed in the immense shock and delight of his Martial Soul being nourished by the divine artifact and the path forward now being clear, when Lei Chen's calm yet indisputable voice reached his ears.
"While this path can lead to godhood, the threshold is extremely high," Lei Chen said indifferently, his gaze seeming to pierce through the future. "In the current age, you are the only one who has delved deep enough into the otherworld's alchemical system to be capable of forging a divine artifact."
"Therefore, for this plane, this path remains a singular case and will be difficult to popularize in the short term."
Upon hearing this, Kong Deming quickly calmed down from his ecstasy and pondered carefully. It was indeed true.
How arduous was the forging of a divine artifact?
His success was because he was already a tenth-rank Soul Engineer. Replicating it would be no easy feat.
"Your judgment is wise, Exalted One," Kong Deming replied respectfully. "This method is indeed exceedingly demanding and difficult to propagate."
"In comparison, using the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to temper the physical body, supplemented by *The Innate Secret Method*, though the progress is slightly slower, is more stable and universally applicable, suitable for the vast majority of Soul Masters."
"As long as you understand this, it is sufficient. Let us set this matter aside for now." Lei Chen gave a slight nod, then shifted the topic, his tone taking on a solemn edge. "I have come this time with another important matter that requires your immediate attention."
Seeing the Plane Master's expression turn grave, Kong Deming immediately focused his mind, bowed his head, and stood at attention. "Please give your orders, Exalted One. Deming would not hesitate to give his life!"
Lei Chen did not beat around the bush and issued the directive directly: "Unseal and retrieve all the war-grade Spirit Tools that your Sun Moon Empire has accumulated over thousands of years for the purpose of unifying the Continent. Use them to arm all the Soul Masters across the entire Continent."
"What? Arm... all the Soul Masters across the Continent?" Even with Kong Deming's resolute will and vast experience, he couldn't help but be stunned upon hearing this, his face a mask of astonishment and confusion.
For thousands of years, the Sun Moon Empire and the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent had been in a state of confrontation, with constant friction. Although surface peace was maintained, in the shadows, they never ceased thinking about restoring their former glory and unifying the Continent.
Over these millennia, especially after the great war defeat over four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Empire had endured hardships, devoting the vast majority of its resources to the research, development, and production of Spirit Tools.
In particular, the stockpile of various high-destructive-power war-grade Spirit Tools had long reached astronomical numbers, sufficient to arm a Soul Engineer Corps far exceeding the size of their nominal standing army in a short period.
These reserves were the Sun Moon Empire's greatest trump card and the very foundation for realizing their future ambitions.
Now, the Plane Master was actually demanding that they take out this painstakingly accumulated family fortune to arm their potential enemies—the Soul Masters of the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent? This was simply...
Kong Deming took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the storm of shock in his heart, and couldn't help but ask, "Exalted One, forgive this junior's dullness, but this move... actually arming all the Continent's Soul Masters... why? Could it be that these Spirit Tools accumulated by our Sun Moon Empire have another purpose?"
Lei Chen's gaze was profound, as if piercing through the dome of the Hall of Worship to see the threat approaching from the depths of space. He said in a heavy tone, "The reason is simple."
"Before long, a great war concerning the very survival of this plane will erupt. This war is not internal strife, but an invasion from outside the plane. Its scale will engulf the entire plane; no one will be spared."
He looked at Kong Deming and continued, "At that time, the entire power of the plane must be gathered. Internal conflicts are utterly meaningless in the face of such an existential crisis. I need you to transform this accumulated strength into the shield and spear of the entire plane."
Hearing the phrases "plane's survival" and "external invasion," Kong Deming's pupils contracted sharply. He instantly understood the severity of the matter far exceeded his imagination.
For the Plane Master to personally appear with a warning and demand the consolidation of the entire Continent's power... just how terrifying must the enemy be?
Before Kong Deming could fully digest this astonishing news, Lei Chen had already given the specific targets:
"I am aware of your Sun Moon Empire's reserves. With their stockpiles, you must arm at least ten top-tier corps equivalent in configuration to your empire's most elite Beast King-level Soul Engineer Corps."
"As for the next tier, the standard for ordinary Soul Engineer Corps, you must arm fifty. Hmm, given the richness of your inventory and the base number of Soul Masters from the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent, achieving this goal should be more than sufficient."
Kong Deming quickly calculated in his mind.
The Beast King-level Soul Engineer Corps was the Sun Moon Empire's ace. Each one was equipped with a large number of high-grade Spirit Tools of rank seven and above, even including some rank-nine soul tools. Their members were at least elite Soul Masters of Spirit King rank and above. Their combat power was sufficient to confront head-on, even crush, several Super Douluos.
Forging a single Beast King-level Soul Engineer Corps was immensely costly. Their Sun Moon Empire only had four in total. And now the Plane Master was asking for ten of equivalent specifications.
Plus fifty ordinary Soul Engineer Corps...
This would indeed require mobilizing almost all of the Sun Moon Empire's strategic reserves.
In the past, due to the limited number of Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire, a vast number of Spirit Tools could only be sealed away in warehouses.
But if they included the other Soul Masters from the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent, the number of Soul Masters would instantly multiply several times over, sufficient to maximize the utility of these stockpiled war-grade Spirit Tools.
"Ten top-tier Soul Engineer Corps, fifty ordinary ones..." Kong Deming murmured the numbers again, his gaze gradually turning resolute.
If there truly was a plane-level war, then concentrating forces to face the external threat together was the only choice.
Moreover, if they could use this opportunity to spread the Sun Moon Empire's Spirit Tool system across the entire Continent, it might not be entirely disadvantageous for the Sun Moon Empire's position in the post-war new order.
He took a deep breath, bowed, and accepted the command: "This junior understands! I shall respectfully obey the Exalted One's decree!"
"I will immediately report to His Majesty the Emperor, open all strategic warehouses, and simultaneously contact Shrek, the Body Sect, and the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent to coordinate Soul Master forces and complete the armament and reorganization as soon as possible!"
Seeing Kong Deming adapt so quickly, a flicker of satisfaction passed through Lei Chen's eyes.
Once this force was armed, the long-range firepower support for the lower-tier battlefields in the upcoming planar war would be secured.
If the long-range firepower was sufficiently fierce, it could minimize the need for brutal close-quarters combat with the enemy, thereby reducing casualties among the living beings of their plane.
And if close-quarters combat became unavoidable, requiring a wall of flesh to hold the line... wasn't there Electrolux's Undead Space? An endless army of undead was the perfect resource for attrition.
A war between two planes, unless the disparity in strength was so great as to decide the outcome with a single strike, would ultimately evolve into a protracted war of attrition, testing reserves and willpower.
In a protracted war of mutual attrition, they would swallow the energy and laws of the opposing plane bit by bit, until the accumulated advantage reached a critical point, allowing them to completely overwhelm the opponent and achieve the final assimilation."
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