by <unknown>
"Let's put your groundless words aside for a moment, which, for the record, are just a joke in my eyes.
"Even if I am convinced by you, so what? Do you think that, just because I am the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons and the nominal monarch of the Blood Demon Sector, I can stop the world war with a declaration?
"Let me tell you something. The war is not started by me alone. The real starter of the war is the general will of the twelve demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons, or rather, the general will of all the demon emperors, demon kings, all the silver-blood demons, and even the entire demon race! It is the will of the Blood Demon Sector that started the war before I was elected as the representative of the 'war will'!
"Once a war machine is activated, it will be alive. Like a ravenous, quickly-growing beast, nobody can stop it from maturing and raging, not even its creator!
"I became the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons and the nominal monarch of the Blood Demon Sector not because of my charisma, not because of my personal combat ability, but because I am the one who is most suitable to push the war forward right now!
"The bottom line is, the 'commander-in-chief of the coalition army' is just a tiny rivet on the steering wheel of the enormous war machine or a relatively conspicuous tusk in the mouth of the war beast!
"Do you believe this? If I convene a meeting of the twelve demon emperors at this second, and I declare that 'human beings and demons are of the same origin, and we should seek reconciliation instead of attacking each other', I will be killed by the other eleven demon emperors collectively in the next second, and a new commander-in-chief of the coalition army, who is colder, crueler, and hates human beings a hundred times more than I do, will be assigned the next second to continue carrying out the will of the enormous beast!
"This is a war. This is the will of a people. You think that, by convincing or killing a certain someone, it will be enough to stop a people from going mad? I am growing more and more suspicious about how you are distributing your computational ability as a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator."
Li Yao was rendered speechless, with cold sweat covering his forehead.
With a glimmer of contempt in his eyes, Jin Tuyi sighed and said, "It is impossible. The nation has already gone insane. It is rushing at full speed on the cliff of destruction. There is no way that you or I can stop it!
"This is an abnormal, congenitally deficient nation—a freak that is born in the fire of war. It only survives to this day through the benefits of wars. But in order to loot more war benefits, the nation is dedicating more and more resources to wars like a snowball! To get resources, it must wage a war, and to wage a war, it must collect even more resources. The vicious cycle of war is everything about the nation. Without wars, the nation will fall apart! How are you going to stop it?
"I have some boring data here. Would you like to hear it?
"In the last fiscal year, the military budge of the nation was 34% of the GDP, not counting the indirect expenses such as the excessive infrastructure for the usage of wars. If such costs are taken into consideration, perhaps half of the resources of the entire nation have been poured into wars. This is certainly 'military above everything'!
"In this nation, soldiers who do not work and only fight take up 15% of the whole population. Roughly speaking, every five civilians are supporting a soldier who will consume tremendous resources!
"To support the enormous war machine, the government is not only levying dozens of kinds of fancy war taxes, defense taxes, and legion construction fees, but also taking from the budges of other fields such as education, medical care, and insurance. Still, the deficit is getting huger and huger. Perhaps, in the next ten years, the gap will be beyond repair, and the government will collapse!
"To reduce the deficit, and to make a fortune through wars, the government and the major forces of the nation are all selling war bonds and victory funds, attracting the ordinary citizens and the bottom-level soldiers with trophies and war benefits so that they will devote the last coin in their pocket into the endeavor again.
"But whatever the war bonds and the victory funds are, they can only be redeemed with a complete victory and the tremendous war benefits that are looted during the war!
"In front of you right now is exactly such an insane country!
"Now, just with a few words of yours, you are trying to make the nation stop the war in exchange for worthless peace?
"Let me tell you something. If the war ends today, the government and the top hundred forces in the nation will all collapse tomorrow! The only reason they can survive to this day is that the public believes that they will bring a satisfactory victory and an astronomical quantity of trophies tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or the day after!
"Do you understand now? We are not talking about the difference between human beings and demons, not rightness and evilness, not the existence of the Imperium of True Human Beings; we are talking about the simplest question of benefits!"
Li Yao took a long breath and said firmly, "I understand that the Blood Demon Sector is a barren world that is already on the verge of collapse because of the shortage of resources. You need a war to survive, but I believe that there must be a second approach!
"Wars bring resources, but communication will, too. The Blood Demon Sector, the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the Flying Star Sector are highly complementary to each other! If we dedicate our resources to communication and construction instead of a war, we will be able to cast our influence on an even broader world!
"The handiest example is Boneyard!
"Boneyard is only ten thousand lightyears away from us. Although it is not easy to reach the place with the teleportation technology of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, the Flying Star Sector actually boasts very mature space jump technology and starship production technology!
"Even if we do reach Boneyard, the environment there is too harsh, with overwhelming tsunamis every now and then. Therefore, it is impossible for the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector to develop it on their own. But with the help of demons whose bodies are strong enough for the rough environment, we will be able to develop Boneyard profoundly and collect all the available resources on it!
"After all, demons were created in the first place because human beings tried to survive on the planets with harsh environments and therefore performed minor modification on their bodies!
"It doesn't matter whether or not you are willing to turn into human beings. What matters now is that our technology and benefits can be combined in order to explore a large space of survival instead of fighting in the small pond until there are no winners left in the end!
"Boneyard will only be a start.
"The Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector are two worlds with a single galaxy. We have only one star in the entire Sector. Other than the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, other planets are neither habitable nor boast too many resources that are of use to us. It is also one of the reasons we have to attack each other.
"But the Flying Star Sector is different. In the territory of the Star Ocean Imperium, the Flying Star Sector was a prosperous world that was closer to the heartland of the imperium, with dozens of galaxies and hundreds of resource planets!
"The Flying Star Sector is vast and sparsely populated. The citizens of the Flying Star Sector are not able to develop the resource planets where the environment is usually harsh. Instead, they encounter many dangers in the boundless sea of stars!
"But if the Flying Star Sector, the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector join hands, we will be able to develop the resource planets and establish a new universal fleet with the resources that we collect as a foundation. We will be able to explore more Sectors and let more worlds join the embrace of the alliance!
"The new alliance will be able to collect and utilize resources at an efficiency dozens of times higher than any of the three Sec
tors right now. The combination of the studies of spiritual energy and biochemistry will also yield even more magnificent warriors and weapons!
"Only such an alliance will be able to compete with the Imperium of True Human Beings and protect our home!
"This is a future that I have come up with after considering for a long time. Perhaps it is still too immature and groundless, and there will certainly be many problems. But Senior Jin, don't you think that such a future is thousands of times better than the destruction of the Blood Demon Sector when it goes down the path of active aggression?"
Jin Tuyi stared at Li Yao silently for a long time.
Right when Li Yao thought that he had been convinced, Jin Tuyi laughed again.
There was derision in every wrinkle on his face.
The commander-in-chief of the coalition army said casually, "That is indeed a very impressive future. After hearing your words, it appears to me that this is the only way to fight against the Imperium of True Human Beings, isn't it?"
"Exactly!" Li Yao announced resolutely. "With my computational ability, this is the only approach that I can come up with to make all my compatriots survive. Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, and no matter how many obstacles there are, I will still walk down on the road without turning back. If I run into pebbles, I will kick them away. If I run into giant rocks, I will smash them into pieces!"
Jin Tuyi smiled. "Young man, I appreciate your sincerity and your genuine belief, and the 'beautiful future' that you just described has slightly aroused my interest, too. But there is just one little problem. Do you think that the 'aggressive nation' that I introduced just now is the Blood Demon Sector?"
Li Yao was dazed. "What do you mean?"
"All the data I provided just now, and the insane, feverish nation I depicted, is not the Blood Demon Sector but the Star Glory Federation, your motherland."
Chapter 988: The Federation in the Enemy's Eyes |
"The Star Glory Federation is an abnormal country born in war. It has been surrounded by enemies since it was established. For five hundred years, wars have always been the main theme of the country. An enormous interest group that counts on wars has been created, too!
"To this day, hunting demon beasts and demons is still the pillar of industry. Of the top five hundred sects of the federation, 281 provide military services such as hunting demon beasts or resisting the demons as their main business. Such businesses almost cover one fifth of the total job market of the federation.
"Of 'Cultivators', the ruling class of the federation, almost one third are combat-type Cultivators. Even the non-combat-type Cultivators are often involved in jobs that are related to war, too.
"For example, the producers of military magical equipment enjoy a higher social position than those who produce civil magical equipment. A culture-type Cultivator tends to create the artworks depicting wars, too. Sometimes, they even join the army and boost the morale with battle hymns, which makes them warriors in a different sense.
"If you don't understand what an 'interest group' is, just think about yourself, Vulture Li Yao.
"Ten years ago, after you killed dozens of nobles of the Blood Demon Sector on Boneyard, I paid special attention to your profile. Just now, I brought out all your files and read them again. It caught my attention that one of your identities was 'disabled veteran'.
"Since you are a disabled veteran, you must know how many benefits a veteran enjoys in the Star Glory Federation.
"Free usage of public facilities and transportation, tax reduction when operating a company or a sect, a high amount of disability allowance and retirement allowance every month… In the federation, every veteran is an invisible magnate!
"You are very proud of such an identity, aren't you?
"However, I would very much like to know, when you are enjoying all the benefits that seem justified to you, have you ever considered a little question?
"Money does not fall from the sky. The Star Glory Federation has been at war for five hundred years. How many martyrs and disabled veterans have been produced during the period? Where does the money that paid for your benefits come from?
"The martyrs are easy to handle. Their compensation is only one-time. But as the technology advances, the studies of spiritual energy and biochemistry are both witnessing a high-speed development, and it is becoming more and more difficult for the wounded to die. Even if they die, there is a certain likelihood that they will be turned into spectral Cultivators, who enjoy the same rights as living people do!
"The only result is that the disabled veterans and the retired soldiers of the Star Glory Federation grow larger and larger, and there is simply no way to cut them off. You have formed an enormous interest group.
"How can the position of soldiers be improved? Wars. Only wars! In peacetime, the soldiers in service are nothing better than a pile of garbage, not to mention the veterans!
"Do you see it now? Don't presume that only demons crave wars. Veterans such as you also yearn, and need, wars. Without wars, you are just a heap of cr*p!
"This is just a tiny interest group within the federation.
"There are also the Cultivation sects whose main businesses are to slay demon beasts and to resist the intrusion of demons, the combat-type Cultivators who know nothing except for fighting, and the leaders who have dedicated all the resources of their sects into 'war bonds' and 'victory funds'. Do you really that they want the war to come to an abrupt end immediately?
"Let me put it more frankly. If total peace is indeed reached, where do you want so many combat-type Cultivators to go? Playing magic in a circus?
"Vulture Li Yao, you are perhaps the biggest miracle of the Star Glory Federation over the past five hundred years since it was born. You've advanced to such an unbelievable level after only ten years. That is also the only reason I'm willing to waste so much of my time talking to you.
"However, whatever level you are at, you are still too young.
"You have no idea about true strength. You don't know the first thing about how the world operates!"
"Your Star Glory Federation has always been an out-and-out war machine since it was established five hundred years. It can only function normally with a great number of war benefits as the lubricant!
"Five hundred years ago, you destroyed the Far East Demon Kingdom and looted tremendous war benefits, which led to a hundred years of brief prosperity.
"Three hundred years ago, when the war benefits ran out, you aimed at the 'Alliance of Demons of the Grand Desolate Plateau' again. After seven expeditions, you finally conquered the Grand Desolate Plateau!
"With the war benefits after you conquered the Grand Desolate Plateau, the federation developed at a high speed for another hundred years.
"By that point, the entire Heaven's Origin Sector was already your territory. There were no more demon kingdoms and demon cities that you could exploit more war benefits. But the interest groups that had expanded to the maximum during the hundreds of years of wars were not likely to just collapse by themselves.
"Therefore, you cast your eyes to the Blood Demon Sector, preparing to use the internal organs of the Blood Demon Sector to lubricate the gears and tracks of the war machine."
Li Yao was so angry that he was actually laughing. "Senior Jin, I did not expect that you would call white black like this! Even if the Star Glory Federation is truly a war machine, that is because of the threat of demons, isn't it? Are the Far East Demon Kingdom and the Alliance of Demons of the Grand Desolate Plateau any more merciful than the Star Glory Federation? Before we destroyed them, had there been one second passing by without them thinking of completely destroying us?
"During the past hundred years, haven't the beast tides of the Blood Demon Sector always invaded the Heaven's Origin Sector first? You are allowed to attack, but we are forbidden from counterattacking. Is that what you meant?"
"I don't want to discuss who's right and who's wrong," Jin Tuyi said causally. "I only want t
o talk about facts with a special Cultivator like you. Which one between the Far East Demon Kingdom and the Star Glory Federation was the intruder and which was the defender years ago is a moot question right now.
"The fact is, no matter how innocent the Star Glory Federation was in the beginning, it has been nurtured by the blood and corpses of the two wars that both lasted a hundred years!
"It is true that the Blood Demon Sector launched countless trial attacks over the past decades, even including the large-scale attacks such as the 'Battle of Dawn'. If you label us as invaders, I will admit it, too.
"But do you know when the Star Glory Federation issued the first 'war bond' targeting the Blood Demon Sector?
"Let me tell you. It was a hundred and forty-two years ago!
"Why? The reason was simple!
"A hundred and seventy years ago, the Blood Demon Sector finished the war against the 'Alliance of Demons of the Grand Desolate Plateau' and finally conquered the entire Grand Desolate Plateau.
"The protracted war drained the resources of the federation and put the government's finances on the brink of collapse.
"Development on the rough, unpopulated Grand Desolate Plateau required a huge amount of investment, but the federal government could not offer a penny!
"In order to raise money, the federal government had to issue a new construction bond, hoping to trade the monopolization of the resources on the Grand Desolate Plateau for the support of the major sects.
"But none of the sects were willing to buy it.
"Why? Because the entire Heaven's Origin Sector had already been conquered! In the foreseeable future, peace and development would be the mainstream of the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the social position of the federal army and the combat-type Cultivators in the major sects would certainly plummet.
"That was definitely unacceptable for the interest groups who were parasites of wars.
"Therefore, they coerced the federal government into issuing a new war bond while the federal government was seriously lacking funds.
