Beastmaster of the Ages - Chapter 7294

Chapter 7208: The Secret!

Jiang Guxu’s words, though rough, were not without merit, summarizing much of the situation of the Heavenly Eight Demon Army.

He directly confronted Li Tianming, the newly appointed War God, showing neither hostility nor contempt, nor much respect either, clearly not having high hopes for Li Tianming.

Li Tianming, however, smiled and said, “I know all that you’ve said. This path is indeed not simple. I’m not naive enough to expect everyone to submit to me upon taking office. I just wanted to remind you of something.”

Jiang Guxu’s eyes flickered, slowly rubbing a white chess piece, lost in thought.

He calmly spoke, “What are you trying to say? Do you think we’ll suffer some annihilation if we don’t actively submit to you and support your rise to power? Even the three deputy generals couldn’t do anything to our seven border generals, so what can you do?”

“To achieve status by threatening you is indeed difficult, and unstable. I’ve never thought of it that way,” Li Tianming smiled.

“Then what do you want?” Jiang Guxu frowned.

“The position of War God is tempting, but it’s not a necessity for me. I’m still young, and I have plenty of opportunities. It’s not that I need you all, but that you need me—or more precisely, you need a true War God,” Li Tianming said slowly.

“What a joke!” Jiang Guxu scoffed, then continued, “What do you mean we need you? You’re just a child who hasn’t even grown up yet. Your role in the entire Eighth Heavenly Division is at most equivalent to a commander of ten thousand. There are far too many people like that in the Heavenly Emperor’s Great Wall; we don’t need another one!”

Li Tianming remained noncommittal, smiling as he strolled in the pavilion in the lake, slowly saying, “Since I’m taking office, of course I’ve learned about the situation here. As far as I know, the casualties of the Demon Extermination Army in the Eighth Heavenly Division are among the highest in the entire Heavenly Emperor’s Great Wall, especially in the last thousand years. Why do you think that is?”

Jiang Guxu’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing this. He said in a deep voice, “How did you learn this information?”

“What’s so strange about that? Battlefield casualties aren’t a secret. Anyone with a keen eye can find out. I just used a little trickery,” Li Tianming said with a smile.

Of course, no one could have imagined that Yin Chen was actually investigating everything.

Jiang Guxu’s eyes flickered as he leaned back on the stone chair and slowly said, “Battlefield casualties vary, and are related to defensive positions, tactics, and the ever-changing battlefield situation. What can this prove?”

“You know very well in your heart, so why do I have to say it outright?” Li Tianming smiled and sat down on the other side of the chessboard, facing Jiang Guxu directly. “The Heavenly Eight Demon Army is definitely not caused by the reasons you just mentioned, but rather stems from the three command systems of the deputy generals.”

“Hehe.” Jiang Guxu’s gaze towards Li Tianming changed slightly. He slowly said, “Tell me more, and I want to see what insights you, the Great War God, have.”

Li Tianming’s smile faded, and he said more seriously, “These three deputy generals have spent a thousand years winning over people’s hearts in order to ascend to the position of Great War God. They have engaged in infighting within the city, turning the public army into a private army, which has increased internal conflicts within the Heavenly Eight Division and reduced their ability to resolve external conflicts. This is a major reason for the increased casualties.”

“What you say is indeed a problem, but that alone is not enough to deal a fatal blow to the Demon Extinction Army,” Jiang Guxu stroked his beard, his gaze deep.

“Of course, it’s not just that,” Li Tianming said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Furthermore, in their quest for merit, these deputy generals have resorted to any means necessary, relentlessly pursuing the Primordial Demons without regard for their own casualties. This has indeed accumulated superficial merits, but it has also become the root cause of the heavy casualties suffered by the entire Heavenly Eight Demon Extinction Army.”

“Power shifts are an inevitable result, unavoidable, and it has no direct relation to whether you can take office,” Jiang Guxu sneered. “Now that the Demon Extinction Army is divided into three groups, and they’ve been fighting for it for so long, if you take office and end this conflict directly, preventing any deputy general from obtaining the position of Great War God, wouldn’t the deaths and injuries of the Demon Extinction Army seem meaningless?”

“I respected you as an old general who had rendered countless merits to the Heavenly Emperor Sect, but I didn’t expect you to say such things,” Li Tianming shook his head, seemingly somewhat disappointed.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Guxu was not angered, but rather appeared quite interested.

“What are your thoughts?” Jiang Guxu asked, his eyes flickering slightly.

“These unnecessary sacrifices originated from the three deputy generals. The trouble stems from them, so these sacrifices are meaningless. It wouldn’t matter whether I came or not,” Li Tianming said slowly, looking directly at Jiang Guxu. “Therefore, with both internal and external troubles, the losers will definitely be all of the Heavenly Eight Demon Army, while the winner can only be one of the three deputy generals. That’s the real tragedy.”

“Even if you understand all this, what can you do? Their strength and power here are almost at their peak. No one can shake them, let alone you, whom even the Demon Army doesn’t respect,” Jiang Guxu said calmly.

It seemed that he had already seen through all of this long ago.

Li Tianming didn’t directly refute him, but instead asked, “If this division continues, this section of the Great Wall will only get worse. Are you willing to watch the Tianzi No. 8 section rot away like this?”

“We border generals are certainly aware of these issues,” Jiang Guxu said calmly. “But this power struggle is beyond our control, and it’s even more impossible for us to support anyone. Unauthorized intervention would only fuel this unhealthy trend.”

“So what you truly crave is a powerful, well-funded, and popular war god parachuted in,” Li Tianming said sharply. “What you need is someone who can truly subdue the three deputy generals, convert private armies back to public ones, end the conflict, and revitalize the Tianba Demon Army. But most of you are thinking that this person is definitely not me, aren’t you?”

“You are indeed somewhat clever, but that cleverness alone is far from enough. Your foundation is too weak; you simply cannot accomplish these things. Any normal person wouldn’t believe this person is you. Everyone knows you have powerful backers. No problem, you can use women to wipe out the entire Heavenly Eight Demon Army, but no one will submit to you, because this is not the Emperor’s Plan!” Jiang Guxu coldly snorted without any politeness.

“I don’t need you to change your minds immediately.” Li Tianming smiled slightly and continued, “You admitted it yourself; you actually wanted the Great War God to come, but you didn’t want me to come, because you all think I can’t solve the problem.”

“Since you understand this, why bother coming to see me?” Jiang Guxu narrowed his eyes.

“But what if I can solve the problem?” Li Tianming narrowed his eyes.