Chapter 137: The Schemes of the Four Great Factions

Gu Sha asked casually, "How many can they send?"

Feilong replied in a low voice, "Boss, although I wasn't highly regarded at the Flying Sword Sect, I still spent enough time there to understand the strength of the four major powers in North Dragon. Every one of them has a Domain Master presiding over them."

"Only a Domain Master?" Gu Sha asked.

Feilong nodded. "It’s not that these forces only have Domain Masters. The Flying Sword Sect, the Scarlet Gold Crane clan, the Wu family, and the Lin family are called 'Divine Powers' precisely because they have true, powerful beings who have reached the divine level. However, I don't know how powerful these gods truly are. But as far as I know, now that Earth's source energy has just begun to recover, the world can only support the arrival of Domain Masters. Anything too powerful would be repelled. So, whether they are from the Upper Realm or the Tianyuan Realm, the strongest beings currently on Earth are only at the Domain Master level."

Gu Sha nodded.

Feilong urged him anxiously, "Boss, please don't take this lightly. Even though you are very strong, you are still only at the War Emperor stage. If the Domain Masters of those four powers arrive, even all of Taihang Mountain wouldn't be enough to stand against them."

Gu Sha waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, the Domain Masters won't be coming."

The reason Gu Sha was so certain was that he knew the trajectory of the future. Ever since he broke through to the seventh-rank War Emperor stage, he had used his ability to foresee the future several times. He knew clearly that in three days, the four powers would come to cause trouble. A large group of experts would arrive, including several War Emperors—in particular, the Scarlet Gold Crane clan would send a ninth-rank War Emperor.

But that was as far as it would go.

A Domain Master is a figure of supreme importance who cannot move lightly. North Dragon may seem peaceful now, but in reality, many dark forces are watching from the outside. The moment any of the major cities in North Dragon loses its presiding Domain Master, dark clans will immediately launch an assault. The reason both sides maintain a fragile peace is that their strengths are evenly matched; neither can overcome the other.

Peace is always built on the equivalence of power!

...

North Dragon, Tianshui City.

Tianshui City was originally a first-tier city within Long Province, but after the apocalypse descended, it fell into a kingdom of zombies. Some time ago, when the various Upper Realm forces carved up the territory, the Beast-Hybrid Lin family took a liking to this area. They dispatched experts to clear out the zombies, rounded up nearly three million people, and rebuilt the city, naming it Tianshui City. The Lin family became the masters of Tianshui.

At this moment, in a villa in Tianshui City, the high-level officials of the Lin family were holding a meeting. The Lin family in Tianshui had been designated by the main family in the Upper Realm as a branch. Although it was newly established, it was fully equipped with clearly defined roles such as Family Head and Elders.

In the conference room, the Lin Family Head sat at the head of the table and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, I have already communicated with the heads of the Wu family, the Flying Sword Sect, and the Scarlet Gold Crane clan regarding the Taihang Mountain affair. We all agree that this matter must be dealt with decisively."

The Great Elder asked, "A direct assault?"

The Family Head shook his head. "That certainly won't work. Not to mention the hostages our families have at Taihang Mountain, we cannot ignore the thousands of Earth's superhumans there. We are different from Gu Sha; he can completely disregard his reputation. But if we ignore the lives of those hostages, our reputation will be ruined. It would be very troublesome to establish a firm foothold on Earth and acquire more resources in the future."

A high-level official frowned. "Those Earth humans? What is worth valuing about them?"

The Family Head replied, "Without those Earth humans, should we rely on ourselves? How many people do we have? How many resources can we seize? Do not forget, besides our forces from other star regions, the Tianyuan Realm is also lurking and watching us."

"But we don't intend to stay on Earth for many years, do we? This Earth has already been breached by the Tianyuan Realm," the official said. "We will eventually abandon Earth; we are just here to scavenge for resources. What is the use of that reputation? Are we really going to protect those Earthlings?"

The Family Head stated, "It is not about protecting Earth, but using the power of Earth's humans to secure more resources for us. Besides, Earth's recovery is an opportunity bought by the sacrifices of numerous powerful beings during the ancient era. This era of Earth will give birth to many experts, which is something we also need to contest for. Even setting that aside, it’s simple: look at the blessed lands that have recovered recently. Without the help of Earth humans, with our limited manpower, how much could we possibly seize? We even need manpower just to run a mine!"

The high-level officials fell silent.

The Family Head continued, "You must change your mindset. Stop acting as if you are superior. Although we will leave Earth sooner or later, we need to stay for the time being, and we need those Earth humans to help us with construction. You can think of them as lowly in your hearts, but do not show it. Even that bandit Gu Sha knows he needs to recruit a bunch of underlings!"

He then added, "Do not touch the City Guard. Recall two War Emperors from the blessed land near Dayan Mountain, and arrange for six War Kings to accompany them to Taihang Mountain to carry out the mission."

The Great Elder asked, "Family Head, what about the ransom Gu Sha demanded?"

"Give it to him," the Family Head said. "The method I discussed with the other three families is to 'openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang.' On the surface, we satisfy Gu Sha's conditions. Send him all the rare materials, corpse cores, and mutant bones he requested. Then, when he releases the hostages, we will incite chaos. At that moment, the experts we have arranged will sneak into Taihang Mountain to capture the leader first. That bandit den at Taihang Mountain looks imposing, but it is actually vulnerable. As long as we kill Gu Sha, the remaining mutant beasts are nothing to worry about. The Lin family will mobilize a ninth-rank War Emperor, and combined with the War Emperors from our three allies, Gu Sha will surely die!"

...

On the Global Forum, the four major families in the North Dragon region suddenly issued a notice stating that, for the safety of the numerous superhumans and to maintain peace and avoid being manipulated by the Tianyuan Realm, the four major powers had discussed the matter and decided to agree to Gu Sha's conditions.

In the statement, the four powers used language that appeared entirely focused on the well-being of Earth's humans, filled with righteousness. In short, their message was clear: they were not yielding, but rather considering the "greater good." They claimed they had descended to Earth to assist humanity, and now, for the sake of humanity, they were willing to be coerced and to endure Gu Sha's extortion for the sake of the big picture.

This announcement stood on the high moral ground, sounding solemn and absolutely just.

In contrast, Gu Sha was once again vilified as a despicable villain, branded with titles like "scum of the human race," "traitor to humanity," and "traitor to the planet."