Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 776: Tactics
In the past, when Zhao Hai didn't pay much attention to the affairs of the continent, his thought process was quite simple. He only considered the interests of the Budah family; anything that was beneficial to them and himself, he would pursue.
However, now that he has reached his current position, he realizes that he must consider many more factors. Take the Aklaya Mountain Defense Line as an example; if this is not handled properly, it could lead to dissatisfaction from the Pagoda Empire.
Although the people of the Pagoda Empire have retreated into the Leon Empire, Zhao Hai has given the king of the Pagoda Empire a city, allowing him to exercise control over some people in the Pagoda Empire. In this situation, the people of the Pagoda Empire are very sensitive.
While they were forced to leave their homeland, the more they were in such a situation, the more sensitive they became. Zhao Hai wanted to establish the Aklaya Mountain Defense Line, and it was meant to be directed inward, not outward. The 'inward' here refers to the Leon Empire, Roson Empire, and Aksu Empire in the northern part of the continent, while the 'outward' refers to the Pagoda Empire and the kingdom of light in the southern part. To the Leon Empire, Roson Empire, and Aksu Empire, this inward-focused defense line seemed justifiable, as it was for the purpose of a decisive battle against the divine and demon races.
However, from the perspective of the Pagoda Empire, it took on a different meaning. The better the Aklaya Mountain Defense Line was built, the more the people of the Pagoda Empire felt that Zhao Hai was no longer concerned with the Pagoda Empire. It was as if he was giving the lands of the Pagoda Empire and the kingdom of light to the divine and demon races, leaving them unable to return home.
Moreover, the king of the Pagoda Empire might even think that if one day Zhao Hai truly repelled the divine and demon races, the existence of the Aklaya Mountain Defense Line would no longer be for defending against them, but rather for guarding against the Pagoda Empire itself.
It was precisely because Zhao Hai feared that the king of the Pagoda Empire might have such thoughts that he communicated with him before establishing the fortress, even promising them that once the divine and demon races were repelled, the Leon Empire would not station troops at the Aklaya Mountain Defense Line.
All of Zhao Hai's actions were aimed at maintaining stability in the rear; only with rear stability could he confidently engage the enemy at the front.
Although the Pagoda Empire is currently in a vulnerable position, their influence is not small. They sacrificed their nation for the sake of the entire continent, so Zhao Hai must treat them with some consideration. Otherwise, they wouldn't comply, and the other nations wouldn't feel secure following Zhao Hai's arrangements.
The kings of those nations are in the same position as the king of the Pagoda Empire. How Zhao Hai treats the king of the Pagoda Empire today, he might treat them the same way tomorrow. Since those kings understood the power of the divine and demon races, they no longer fantasized about quickly repelling them, as they knew that was impossible.
Because of this, they feared that one day the divine race would truly assault the Aklaya Mountain Defense Line, putting them in the same peril as the king of the Pagoda Empire. If Zhao Hai treated the king of the Pagoda Empire poorly, there was no hope that he would treat them well in the future. They might even think that Zhao Hai's bad treatment of them was a strategy to eliminate them and seize real power over the continent.
Despite having the strength to abolish several kings and control the entire continent with an iron fist, Zhao Hai did not wish to do so. The kings of these major empires and the great nobles have ruled the continent for thousands of years, and their influence is deeply entrenched. The common people still have a good impression of the royal families of the major empires, so it would not be easy to control or abolish them.