Li Yao scratched his messy hair and could not help but feel that he had been trapped by himself.
With the super warship 'Burning Prairie' and two hundred thousand Grand Illusionary Soldiers, the capability of the federal army has been improved by at least 50%. It truly has the ability to attack the Blood Demon Sector now.
As it happens, the Blood Demon Sector has lost fourteen demon emperors and more than twenty top-tier main-force troops, and it is caught in internal strife now!
Jin Tuyi is definitely not the most lenient guy in the guy. He won't even bother to blink when he is butchering the dissidents!
Also, with the outbreak of the Demon God Virus and the plague…
The Blood Demon Sector is indeed at the weakest moment in its entire history.
We are strong, and our enemy are feeble. No wonder even the prudent Nascent Soul Stage experts are interested in an expedition!
To be honest, if Li Yao had not known the inside information of the Blood Demon Sector, and if he were in Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao's place, there was a good chance that he would have seconded the expedition, too.
But of course, he certainly would not now.
Aside from the morality of the war, even purely from the perspective of the national interests of the Star Glory Federation, the war would still bring no good.
With Jin Tuyi's guerilla warfare, it would be impossible for the Heaven's Origin Sector to conquer the Blood Demon Sector quickly.
'Blood for blood' was pure nonsense. No country would wage a war against another country for nothing but hatred. The biggest purpose of the expedition was, of course, to capture the demons as slaves who could be sent for mining on the resource planets of the Flying Star Sector. In such a way, the two Sectors could excavate tremendous resources and expand more quickly in order to deal with the invasion of the Imperium of True Human Beings a hundred years later.
But the real problem was that the Blood Demon Sector was savaged by the plague and the walking dead now!
If the federal army crushed the coalition army of demons, which was controlling the plague, the only outcome was all the demons ending up as the uncontrollable mutants or Elder Nether Spring's slaves.
Then, even if Elder Nether Spring was killed in the end, who on earth could be sent for mining? The uncontrollable mutants who could only live for half a month?
Without the demons developing the Flying Star Sector at the highest efficiency, not enough resources would be collected. Without enough resources, the new federation could never be built, nor would it be able to explore the vast universe. Then, the only thing that awaited everybody was the destined doom a hundred years later!
From that point of view, ending the war as quickly as possible, helping the Blood Demon Sector to control the plague, saving as many demons as possible, and trying to motivate them to work on the resource planets willingly was the only way out for the federation!
I am right. Li Yao firmed his belief again. Even if there are the help of Burning Prairie and the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, the war is still not in the interests of the federation. I have to stop the war. I cannot allow my compatriots to be killed in the Blood Demon Sector in vain, only to push the federation further down the path of destruction!
However, what exactly should he do?
The complexity of the situation far exceeded their previous estimations.
As smart as Jin Tuyi was, he was just a demon, not a god. When he came up with the ultimate version of the Red Tide Plan, it was impossible for him to know about the existence of the Children of the Nether World and Abyss, nor could he foresee that the arrival of powerful magical equipment such as Burning Prairie and Grand Illusionary Soldiers would bolster the fighting will of the entire federation to such an extent!
The two factors made the supposedly easy task an arduous one.
I have critical evidence in my hand. The question is how I can deliver the evidence to my targets!
Li Yao rubbed his temples and analyzed the three targets one more time.
Lu Zui, director of the Secret Sword Bureau, must've been bewildered by Abyss Guo Chunfeng. Also, those intelligence workers left no traces at all. I don't even know where to find him.
Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao is the firmest hawk. He is raising a tide in parliament and calling for an expedition to the Blood Demon Sector. Encouraged by Burning Prairie and the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, he will certainly not be easy to convince. Besides, how can I break through his security and talk to the big shot of the military face to face?
Speaker Jiang Hailiu is the best choice. He is the only one who hasn't lost his mind because of fury or ambition, but there's still the same question—how can I approach him?
Li Yao knew just by thinking with his bottom that the capital city must be unprecedently guarded after the assault three months ago, not to mention the critical locations such as the house of the Speaker or the parliament building!
To sneak into the house of the Speaker might be even more difficult than sneaking into the headquarters of the Pantheon of Demons!
The trickiest part was that, when he snuck into the Pantheon of Demons or the Eye of Blood Demon, everyone around had been an enemy. Li Yao had no concerns at all. He could create chaos with his crystal bombs at any moment and go on a killing spree.
But right now, of the soldiers of the federal army, the agents of the Secret Sword Bureau, and the bodyguards of the Speaker, 99% were innocent and did not know the truth. How could he attack them?
If he caused any damage and hurt a dutiful good man or an innocent passer-by, not only would he be guilty, he would be further proving that he was Blood Devil Li Yao, too.
Damn it!
Li Yao gritted his teeth and discovered that he was in a much more perilous situation than the Flying Star Sector or the Blood Demon Sector!
What if I simply show up in public since I cannot meet the Speaker?
Li Yao shook his head hard and vetoed the idea instantly.
After the chaos that he caused on the Grand Desolate Plateau, Guo Chunfeng would be looking for him with his Secret Sword Agents like a hungry hound. Wherever he showed up, the first to arrive would certainly be Guo Chunfeng and his subordinates.
If he did not resist, he would be taken away by Guo Chunfeng.
If he did resist, he would certainly injure a lot of Cultivators, soldiers, and Secret Sword Agents, which would also be evidence that he was a Blood Devil now.
What a dilemma!
Or maybe, should I turn to Ding Lingdang, Professor Mo Xuan, or Luo Xingzi?
He thought for a moment and believed that his old friends were most reliable of all.
Even if they did not believe him, they would not give him away to the Secret Sword Bureau easily. The Cultivators from the Flying Star Sector were strong enough to compete with the Secret Sword Bureau. The evidence that he had brought could be delivered to the Speaker through them, too.
After all, Li Yao had not done anything wrong. They could investigate however they wanted.
While he was pondering, the mental devil crawled out of his head like a bug and asked pitifully, "Then, what will you do with me?"
"Of course, I will ask for the help of Ding Lingdang, Professor Mo Xuan and Senior Luo Xingzi and see how you can be eliminated!" Li Yao replied gravely.
"How cruel of you!" the mental devil screamed. "Senior Jin said that we should live in peace!"
Disregarding the mental devil's scream, Li Yao typed in 'Ding Lingdang' on the light beam and searched.
Over the past ten years, Ding Lingdang had become one of the most influential celebrities in the Star Glory Federation. Many adolescents were her loyal supporters and established thousands of websites and forums for her. Red Fire House, the largest website of all, had more than fifty million registered users!
'Blazing Tyrannosaur' was Ding Lingdang's nickname in the Blood Demon Sector. In the Heaven's Origin Sector, everybody all the unstoppable female warrior 'Crimson Queen'!
Watching Ding Lingdang rushing, mauling, and crashing savagely in the battle videos, Li Yao found it difficult to move his eyes. Fascination beamed out of his face.
She is much stronger after ten years. I like it!
Li Yao swallowed hard and looked for the latest news on Ding Lingdang.
He knew that many teenagers in the Star Glory Federation would establish organizations like 'fan clubs' for the Cultivators they admired. They would follow the news of their idol and even arrange meetings with their idol occasionally.
As he expected, although he failed to find Ding Lingdang's contact on the website, he did find a summoning thread.
Seven days later, Ding Lingdang would be present at the hundred-day memorial ceremony for the victims in the assault of the capital city. The thread was calling for the fans in the capital city to meet Ding Lingdang.
Hundred-day memorial?
Li Yao's eyes shined. He inputted the keyword into the search engine and soon found a lot of information.
The memorial ceremony was of a fairly large scale. It would be hosted by Speaker Jiang Hailiu in person. The military leaders, including Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao, and influential celebrities of the federation would all participate.
The ordinary citizens taking part in the memorial ceremony were several million!
Other than mourning for the victims in the assault three months ago, the federal government would also publicize Burning Prairie, the super warship from the Flying Star Sector. It would be docked right in the sky above the capital city!
By then, not only would there be tens of millions of residents of the capital city watching the gathering, all the citizens of the federation would also be enjoying the legendary warship through the media!
Perhaps, the federal government was trying to eliminate the public's sense of insecurity and reestablish their faith in such a way.
The news made Li Yao's eyes glitter. The craziest idea popped up in his head.
Right now, the one thing that the Children of the Nether World and Abyss Guo Chunfeng are most scared of is me showing up in public. That's why they are covering me up and even vilifying me as the Blood Devil!
If I jump out in a random city and shout 'I am Vulture Li Yao', I will certainly be considered a lunatic. Then, Guo Chunfeng's accomplices will take me away at the earliest chance!
However, what if I do it in the capital city?
What if I jump out in front of the eyes of millions of citizens, the cameras of thousands of media outlets, and the noses of every leader and official worth mentioning?
At the climax of the 'hundred-day memorial ceremony', when Burning Prairie slowly stops in the sky of the capital city attracting everyone's attention, I will suddenly jump out and display a line words on the shell of the warship with my magical equipment.
I am Li Yao. I am still alive!
What will happen then?
Can the Secret Sword Bureau capture or kill me in front of so many eyewitnesses? Even if they take me away, can Guo Chunfeng still lie to everybody and secretly interrogate me?
That's right!
Li Yao snapped his fingers hard, his eyes brimming with delight. The Children of the Nether World and Abyss are trying everything they can to wipe me out. So, I will make the headlines in the capital city. Let's see how you can disguise that!