139. The Imperial Allied Forces II

The ruler of the Goldstone Empire rushed to the Heavenly Origin Empire. He had barely taken his seat before ordering the ruler of the Heavenly Origin Empire to send all the ministers away. The two monarchs then began a secret discussion in the empty hall.

This move by the ruler of the Goldstone Empire immediately set the entire court of the Heavenly Origin Empire abuzz with speculation. What could have caused him to hurry all the way from the Death Empire? Surely the Death Empire could not be plotting against the Goldstone Empire? Could the Death Empire’s annexation of the Doma Empire conceal some sinister scheme? That made no sense either. When the Doma Empire had once offered itself up, the Death Empire had refused it. Why would they now leave themselves open to criticism? As for the Goldstone Empire, that seemed even less likely. When the enemy army had been at their gates, it was the Death Empire’s forces that had come to their rescue. If the Death Empire truly wanted to seize the Goldstone Empire, it could simply have remained on the sidelines and cleaned up afterward. There was no need to go to so much trouble now.

The assembled ministers stood until their legs went numb, yet none of them could figure out what was happening.

Inside the hall, meanwhile, the rulers of the two empires were enjoying a lively conversation. The Dragonrock Empire naturally wanted to obtain more benefits from the Death Empire, and the best shortcut to gaining greater benefits was to establish an allied imperial army. Once that army went wherever it pleased, would not all the spoils belong to everyone?

Mo Fei had also given the matter considerable thought. He was constantly launching campaigns, and every campaign required troops to be stationed abroad. Storm City on Demon Island already held no fewer than one hundred thousand soldiers, not counting the warriors of the Bull-Headed Tribe who had later entered the city to settle there.

On another continent, which Mo Fei had temporarily named the Diamond Continent, there were more than one hundred and twenty thousand dwarves, from those working in the mines to the master craftsmen preparing equipment and overseeing its manufacture.

To guard against instability on that continent, the Bear Tribe had sent an additional thirty thousand troops in its later stages. Their total forces there had consequently reached seventy thousand, while nearly ten thousand berserker infantry were also stationed on the continent. This was not merely to prevent the Bear Tribe from causing trouble. Simply protecting the more than one hundred thousand dwarves was enough to force Mo Fei to deploy troops from his own empire there.

Although those dwarves could all become competent soldiers once they took up crossbows, becoming soldiers was not their true purpose. Their task was to create profit for the Death Empire and the Bear Tribe in the end.

On the Diamond Continent, Mo Fei contributed people and technology, while the Bear Tribe supplied the troops and covered all the initial expenses. The final profits were divided equally between the two sides. The early sales of the equipment had already earned the Bear Tribe several times what it had invested, making its enthusiasm for the undertaking even greater.

Mo Fei’s strategy of equal profit-sharing had firmly tied the Bear Tribe to him. For the time being, he had no reason to fear that they would cause trouble. The strength stationed in Storm City exerted a certain amount of pressure on the Bear Tribe. Before those matters were resolved, the tribe would never even consider turning against Mo Fei.

It was this constant dispatch of personnel, along with the increasingly severe strain caused by the empire’s limited manpower, that had compelled Mo Fei to consider the idea of forming an allied imperial army.

Besides, a powerful enemy still existed. Unless that enemy was utterly crushed, who knew when it might launch another attack? One could guard against a thief for a thousand days, but not for a thousand days and nights without rest. Yet Mo Fei was already stretched beyond his limits relying solely on the Death Empire. Even if he conquered more territory, he had no troops left to garrison it.

With the other empires joining in, the Death Empire’s share of the profits might temporarily become smaller. But with everyone contributing, the shortage of manpower would no longer leave him so helpless, and the room for further expansion would increase accordingly. In the future, the profits would only grow rather than shrink. After all, the method of dividing them would still be decided by Mo Fei.

The incorporation of the Doma Empire had brought him only commercial specialists. In every other respect, he had received no real reinforcement. He therefore had no choice but to turn his attention to the allied nations.

After nearly being annihilated in the recent war, the Goldstone Empire was even more eager than Mo Fei to establish an allied imperial army. Mo Fei was happy to let the Goldstone Empire take the lead. That would be far better than having the Death Empire come forward directly, and it would also allow the Goldstone Empire to shoulder more of the expenses. After all, it was the richest empire, though also the weakest of them all.

Several days after the emperors of the Goldstone Empire and the Dragonrock Empire had shut themselves away for secret talks, they were suddenly informed that the rulers of the Flying Dragon Empire and the Magic Martial Empire had arrived together.

The two monarchs had no choice but to suspend their discussion and go outside to welcome the unexpected visitors.

The first words spoken by the emperor of the Flying Dragon Empire after taking his seat made the hearts of the Goldstone and Dragonrock emperors give a heavy thump.

“I came this time to discuss with the two of you whether it might be possible for several of our empires to establish an allied imperial army. I imagine you have already discussed the matter at length. But do not leave the Flying Dragon Empire out of it. We already have tens of thousands of troops training in the imperial army’s camp.”

“How did you know we were discussing the formation of an allied imperial army?” the ruler of the Goldstone Empire stammered, inadvertently revealing the truth.

The emperor of the Flying Dragon Empire nearly laughed aloud. He had merely made an assumption, yet the Goldstone emperor had given everything away.

“If you were not discussing that, then what were you discussing?” the emperor of the Flying Dragon Empire deliberately drew out his voice. “Why else would you lock the doors?”

“Very well. There is no point hiding it from you two,” said the ruler of the Dragonrock Empire. He knew that the two men could not have arrived by coincidence; they must have received word of the matter. “We are indeed discussing the formation of an allied imperial army. It is good that you have come. We can discuss everything together. However, whether the two of you can join us still depends on their approval.”

Everyone present knew exactly who “they” meant: the Death Empire.

Among the three allied nations, the Death Empire was unquestionably the most important. If the Death Empire did not give its approval, anything they did would be futile.

“You are all sitting here discussing this, so naturally he has already agreed,” said the emperor of the Flying Dragon Empire. “As for our Flying Dragon Empire, I do not think that young fellow will refuse me. The one who might cause trouble is this old man.”

At the end of his sentence, he pointed at the emperor of the Magic Martial Empire and laughed.

The Flying Dragon emperor was confident that Mo Fei would not reject him. They had cooperated twice before, and he had also spoken privately with Mo Fei once. He believed that as long as he made the proposal face-to-face, there would be no problem.

The emperor of the Magic Martial Empire grew anxious when he heard that he might be the obstacle.

“What problem do I have? Our cooperation this time went so well. You only need to look at what he sent to our empire to know that. Besides, who still remembers those old grievances? If you have nothing useful to say, no one will mistake you for a mute. Do not make me turn against you again.”

The Magic Martial emperor could no longer keep a pleasant expression on his face.

He naturally had no intention of being excluded at such a favorable moment. Whatever happened, he had to join. How could he support his empire by relying solely on magical beasts? His empire was not without resources, but after the dwarves and elves had returned home in large numbers one after another, fewer and fewer people remained to develop them.

Once the allied empire was established, he would immediately ask the Death Empire to send people to help with resource development. Hearing the Flying Dragon emperor’s words, how could he not be anxious?

“I was only teasing you,” the Flying Dragon emperor said with a hearty laugh. “If he refuses this time, we will all blame you. Let us see whether you can persuade him.”

“Exactly.” The Magic Martial emperor let out a sigh of relief. With the Flying Dragon Empire joining them, their chances would certainly be much greater.

Mo Fei had no idea that everything now depended on his approval.

When the rulers of all four empires appeared together in the Death Empire, they genuinely startled him. Seeing the four old fellows grinning from ear to ear, Mo Fei could not help feeling that this plan, this proposal, had clearly been his own idea.

So why did he feel as though the four old men had somehow turned the tables and schemed against him?

…

Naturally, Mo Fei could not simply decide the outcome according to his own wishes. There was a reason people said that experience outweighed youth. Once the four old fellows sat down, Mo Fei could not get a word in edgewise. Before he knew it, the matter had been settled.

Fortunately, everything was developing in a favorable direction. Otherwise, Mo Fei would truly have been left with nowhere to voice his grievances.

Following the meeting, the formation of the allied imperial army was immediately announced across the entire continent.

The announcement sent the continent into an uproar. The largest and strongest empires had joined forces. What future could the smaller empires possibly have?

For a time, a wave of mergers swept across the continent. Several small empires surrounding the Flying Dragon Empire demanded to be incorporated into it. Meanwhile, several small coastal empires bordering the Goldstone Empire actually sent envoys to the Death Empire, requesting incorporation into its territory.

Mo Fei could only laugh helplessly.

They were far too distant from him for such a request to be realistic. Besides, no one was threatening them. Why were they in such a hurry?

Left with no alternative, Mo Fei issued an imperial declaration across the continent. It stated that neither the Death Empire nor the allied imperial armed forces would, or could, declare war on any empire on the continent. They would not annex any empire by force.

The formation of the allied imperial armed forces was purely a defensive necessity following two continental wars. It was not directed against any empire on the continent, and the other empires had no need to worry.

The allied imperial forces had been established for two purposes: first, to defend against invasions from other continents; and second, to find ways to carry the flames of war back to the hostile continent or enemy that had initiated the conflict. They were not directed against their own continent.

Who could have guessed that the declaration would only make the continent even more excited?

To carry the flames of war back to the hostile continent that had started the conflict—what exactly did that mean?

Every empire on the continent interpreted those words differently, but they all arrived at one common conclusion. If this powerful allied imperial army occupied the territories of hostile continents or enemy forces, then the benefits…

The Dragonrock Empire had recently been driven nearly to distraction by several neighboring minor nations. In the end, it accepted the request of two nearby small empires to merge with it, officially expanding its territory.

As the weakest military power in the alliance, the Goldstone Empire also showed no hesitation. It accepted the territories of four small empires that had originally sought to join the Death Empire.

For the moment, only the Magic Martial Empire and the Flying Dragon Empire showed no intention of accepting neighboring states.

Thus, the most powerful empires on the continent joined together, and before they had even marched to war, they had already swallowed nearly all the large and small empires on their own continent.

To achieve such an outcome without war or military intimidation was astonishing. It also demonstrated, from another perspective, just how formidable the allied imperial army had become under the leadership of the Death Empire.

Everyone knew, however, that all of this had originated with the Death Empire.

After successfully joining the imperial alliance, the Magic Martial Empire sent a request to the Death Empire. It asked the Death Empire to dispatch personnel to help develop the resources of the Magic Martial Empire. At the same time, it stated that the Death Empire could claim a certain share of the resources developed with its assistance and would receive priority access to them.

This “unequal” treaty sent Elder Ouf into such delighted laughter that he fainted.

The might of the Death Empire was plain for all to see. After the troops that had completed their training left the camp and returned to their respective empires, the rulers of those empires inspected them and unanimously praised the Death Empire’s training methods.

With the final establishment of the allied imperial armed forces, the recruit training camp would soon begin receiving troops from several member empires. From then on, these soldiers would no longer be transferred back to their original empires. After completing their training, they would remain stationed locally.

The allied imperial army would be responsible for maintaining stability in every member empire. If unrest broke out in any empire, the army would be required to enter that empire at once, even without orders from its emperor.

Its first duty would be to protect the ruler of that empire, and its second would be to suppress the disturbance.

The allied imperial army would recognize only the legitimate rulers of the member empires. Any usurper who had not received their recognition would suffer the army’s merciless retaliation.

This provision had been added at the insistence of the Flying Dragon Empire.

Once the other rulers read it, they immediately understood its significance. Over time, this clause would only grow stronger, never weaker.

The old fellows understood at a glance that this army would eventually become a vital force for protecting themselves and the heirs they personally designated. Anyone who seized power without their approval or authorization would be deemed illegitimate.

To a certain extent, this would also reduce the likelihood of rebellion and unrest within their empires.

And when one thought about it, what empire currently possessed armed forces capable of matching the allied imperial army?