Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 672

Because the room was already on silent last night, it remained quiet and didn't disturb Yudie's sound sleep.

Qiu Tu glanced at Yu Die beside him, then with a thought, the blanket was lifted out of thin air, and he moved horizontally to the floor below the bed.

As soon as his feet landed silently, the communicator flew out of his pocket and landed in his hand, while the wardrobe opened silently and automatically, and a nightgown flew out and was draped over his body.

Qiu Tu checked the incoming call on his communicator and then quietly walked out of the bedroom.

As I stepped out of the bedroom, six servants were already waiting at the door.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu, they all bowed in unison, wanting to greet him.

Qiu Tu simply waved his hand, signaling them to be quiet and leave.

After the servants left, Qiu Tu closed the door and then answered the phone.

The authoritative voice of Princess Xi came from the other end of the phone, "Qiu Tu, something has happened."

The fact that Princess Xi was contacting him at this time meant that nothing good could happen, so Qiu Tu had already anticipated this.

He gave a deep "hmm," then asked, "What is it?"

Princess Xi said with a serious expression, "Just now, the delegations from the Third and Fourth Sanctuaries crossed the barrier between the two domains and arrived in the 'Northwest Region' without any prior notice."

Her tone was somber, "And... this time, the 'Iron Women's Army' has come out in full force. Their steel tanks seem intent on trampling the 'Northwest Region.'"

"Meanwhile, at the Third Shelter, Vice Speaker Shen Yuzhou once again mobilized, arriving in the Northwest Region alongside the 'Iron Women's Army.'"

Upon hearing Princess Xi's words, Qiu Tu frowned slightly.

He didn't answer immediately, but instead raised his hand and glanced at the back of it.

There was a barely perceptible black dot on the back of his hand, which Zhao Ji had placed on it yesterday; it was the "mark of the gods."

With this mark, the two people can sense each other as long as they are in the same area.

Last night, Qiu Tu could still sense Zhao Ji's presence while he was on the road. But... he can't sense her anymore.

This suggests that Zhao Ji likely left the "Northwest Region" last night and headed to the "Boundless Heart Sea - Core Area" to prepare for that great opportunity...

Qiu Tu originally thought that this matter could be kept secret for a while, giving him more time to develop his career.

But now it seems... there must be experts in the 3rd and 4th shelters as well. Once Zhao Ji left, that expert must have discovered it.

This explains why, no sooner had Lady Zhaoji left than the delegations from the 3rd and 4th Sanctuaries arrived in the "Northwest Region".

'Indeed...we must not underestimate the heroes of the world...'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu came to his senses and asked into the phone, "After they came in, did they notify all the shelters?"

Although the various shelters belong to the human camp and support each other, their power structures are intertwined. However, each shelter also has its own sovereignty.

Entering the territory of another shelter without authorization is, to some extent, an invasion of its territory. The other party is fully entitled to raise strong objections and take legitimate countermeasures.

This can also be used to determine the degree of hostility from the other party.

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Princess Xi on the other end of the phone said with a serious expression, "That's the problem."

"The other party sent an official letter, but... they did not follow the standard procedure."

"They first entered the 'Northwest Region,' then passed through part of Shelter 6 and went directly to the disaster zone."

"After that, they marched rapidly through the disaster zone and arrived in Fengqi Prefecture in the early hours of this morning."

"It wasn't until they entered the territory of the 7th Shelter that Shen Yuzhou, the vice-chairman of the 3rd Shelter, and Li Feng, the head of the 4th Shelter, sent letters to the three major shelters, announcing their preparations for a foreign affairs visit."

Qiu Tu frowned even more deeply.

'A show of force followed by diplomacy? A demonstration? Or something else entirely?'

'Looks like they've come with ill intentions...'

Since Qiu Tu met Shen Ling Shuang, he was already quite familiar with Shen Yu Zhou.

During this time, after learning about the 4th Shelter, the "Iron Maidens Legion," and about Li Feng, I felt a sense of longing.

Unexpectedly, I ended up contacting them under these circumstances...

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7,000 words in one chapter. Rain Butterfly is asking for monthly votes!

Chapter 599 The Iron Women's Army and Shen Yuzhou Attack! (7k words)

However, since the deed has already happened, Qiu Tu can't regret it and can only deal with it actively.

So, after composing himself, he asked Princess Xi on the other end of the phone in a deep voice, "So, where is the other party now?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Princess Xi's voice held a hint of relief. She said, "Now, the other party has not continued to advance, but has chosen to stay in Fengqi Prefecture to recuperate."

"I immediately sent the Speaker of the Fengqi Prefecture Council to receive them, and also dispatched Du Wenzhong to greet them. However, the two sides have only just made contact and do not yet know the specific details."

Du Wenzhong was one of the only two remaining high-ranking members of the royalist faction, and also one of Princess Xi's few confidants.

It would be appropriate for him to personally greet the delegations from the 3rd and 4th Sanctuaries.

Thinking this through, Qiu Tu's gaze deepened as he quietly analyzed the purpose of the delegations from the 3rd and 4th shelters' visit.

First, Qiu Tu can confirm that the delegations from the two major shelters clearly have ill intentions.

However, their actions—by bypassing the territory of Shelter 6 and marching rapidly to Shelter 7, and then choosing to recuperate in Phoenix Island after issuing an official letter—show that they were still operating on the fringes of the "rules."

So...their purpose in this operation was most likely still a demonstration.

After making this judgment in his mind, Qiu Tu's brain continued to race.

An individual or an organization must have its own purpose in doing something.

Just like Qiu Tu helped Princess Xi in order to interfere in the affairs of the 6th Sanctuary; helped Kou Xuan in order to obtain the "root of the nose" of the Kang King as soon as possible; and then turned Princess Xi to the side in order to use Princess Xi's hand to take action against the 7th Sanctuary in a reasonable and legal way.

Everything is goal-oriented.

As one of the top powers in the human faction, the 3rd and 4th Sanctuaries must have gone to great lengths for a specific purpose.

They likely had two purposes in interfering in the affairs of Shelter No. 7.

For the public good, it means curbing Qiu Tu's development, helping the 7th Sanctuary's leadership maintain its rule, and restoring unity and order to the human camp.

For personal reasons, they had a legitimate and legal reason to interfere in the 7th shelter and used it as a springboard to begin interfering in the political situation of the "Northwest Region".

During this period, Qiu Tu's intelligence became more comprehensive and abundant because he controlled the 6th and 7th shelters.

This gave him some understanding of the relationships and establishment process of the several shelters.

The three shelters in the "Southwest Region" were established too early to be of much reference value.

The three major shelters in the "Northwest Region" were mostly built by individuals with already powerful backgrounds, capable of unifying the surrounding areas and fighting against evil gods. Later, other shelters, after investigation, were deemed worthy of support.

In return, they provided intelligence, weapons, supplies, money, and other resources to help that faction build a new sanctuary.

Because most shelters are quite far apart, and to avoid misunderstandings, the shelters that provide support usually do not send personnel over.

Only when a new shelter is successfully established and needs to provide some personnel support will other shelters "conditionally" provide personnel support.

—For example, the establishment of the "Military Academy" in Shelter No. 8 was achieved at great expense, with people from Shelter No. 6 coming to assist in its construction.

Therefore, each of the various shelters is independent of the others, belonging to an independent country with its own full sovereignty.

Opportunities to directly intervene in the internal affairs of other shelters are not many.

More often, they influence the decisions of other shelters through cultural, ideological, and political leanings.

A situation like the "Northwest Region," where one can directly intervene in regime change, has never occurred since the beginning of the Cataclysmic Era.

This inevitably makes other shelters tempted.

After all, this is a huge piece of meat...

However, the appearance of Zhao Ji directly interrupted the ambitions of the 3rd and 4th Sanctuaries, preventing them from achieving their two goals.

However, it is clear that they have not completely abandoned these two objectives.

This can be seen from the fact that they did not give Qiu Tu recognition after he took over the 3rd and 4th shelters.

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu felt that everything was becoming clearer.

The two purposes of the third and fourth shelters.

The goal of "restoring order to the human faction" could no longer be achieved—they lacked the capability to conduct cross-regional operations and reverse the order in the "Northwest Region."

So what remains is to leverage their influence within the human camp to "interfere in the internal affairs of the 7th Sanctuary and expand their influence in the Northwest region."

'Should we establish a position similar to "supervision"?'

'Does a request for a change in leadership at Shelter 7 require the approval of Shelters 3 and 4?'

'Demanding a certain amount of Cataclysmic Materials and Cataclysmic Artifacts as military funds?'

'Are you demanding the opening of the autonomous regions controlled by the 3rd and 4th shelters?'

With his mind racing, Qiu Tu mentally listed out the purposes of the 3rd and 4th shelter delegations' visits.

However, after listing them, he smiled and shook his head.

The most ridiculous idea in the world is to try to get something at the negotiating table that you can't get on the battlefield.

Did they really think that after Zhao Ji left, there was no one in the "Northwest Region" who could keep them in check?

I haven't left yet!

With this in mind, Qiu Tu no longer hesitated. He promised Princess Xi with a blank expression, "Don't worry. With me here, the 7th Shelter will not be in chaos."

Princess Xi made this call early in the morning to test Qiu Tu's strength and confidence.

Now that she had received a satisfactory answer, she felt a great sense of relief.

Regardless of whether Qiu Tu is showing off or not, he certainly looks very confident right now.

In that case, she wouldn't need to rush to jump ship.

'Let's wait and see. Let's see how Qiu Tu resolves this crisis.'

With that thought in mind, Princess Xi made up her mind. She gave a deep reply and then said, "In that case, I can rest assured."

"Then I'll go and keep an eye on the delegations from the two shelters. I'll keep you informed of any new developments."

"Let's greet them together at the central command."

Qiu Tu gave a faint "hmm".

After hanging up the phone, Qiu Tu's expression was not as relaxed as before. He held the communicator in his hand, gazing at the vibrant spring scenery outside the window, his gaze somewhat deep.

His concern wasn't due to the external threat from the 3rd and 4th shelters, but rather the internal problems plaguing the 6th and 7th shelters...

More than twenty minutes had passed since he answered Princess Xi's call. However, during this time, the Security Bureau had not reported any intelligence regarding the arrival of the 3rd and 4th Shelter delegations...

Qiu Tu had no doubt about the Security Bureau's loyalty. With Yu Die and Guan Xiao in charge, the Security Bureau was 100% loyal to Qiu Tu.

His concern was that the Security Bureau's intelligence system at Shelter 7 was clearly not mature or efficient enough.

Although both sides are building intelligence systems from scratch, Princess Xi's intelligence system is clearly being built much faster.

This is partly because she is now the highest-ranking official in the 7th Sanctuary and can easily utilize all of the 7th Sanctuary's overt power.

However, intelligence work only focuses on results, not the process.

Besides the Security Bureau's intelligence work, Qiu Tu's other internal worry was the Kou family...

The top fighters from the 3rd and 4th Shelters were dispatched, crossing the barriers of the "Southwest Region" and "Northwest Region," and passing through the territory of the 6th Shelter. However, no message came from the 6th Shelter...

Qiu Tu couldn't believe that the Kou family, with their control over the 6th Shelter, wouldn't have received this intelligence...

'Heh...it seems that with Zhao Ji gone, many people have other ideas...'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu's gaze deepened.

He pondered quietly for a while, but did not immediately begin to devise corresponding countermeasures.

Strike the snake at its vital point. The reason why various forces are now restless is the arrival of the 3rd and 4th Sanctuary delegations.

Therefore, no matter how much he does, it's not as good as defeating the two groups of sanctuary messengers and proving himself.

At that time, all internal and external troubles will be swept away!

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu made up his mind: Since that's the case, then let's deal with the envoy groups from the 3rd and 4th shelters.

However, after making up his mind, Qiu Tu himself didn't realize that his eyes weren't as firm as they initially were; instead, a hint of hesitation had crept into them...