âSince youâve finished making arrangements for your family, you can start brainstorming strategic plans for the Great Eastern Alliance and then prepare a proposal for me later,â Lu Yin said.
Wei Rong respectfully answered, âYour Highness, can I be given information regarding the militaryâs current strength in order to properly prepare the proposal?â
Lu Yin considered his request. âIâm a part of Aegisâ first level management and am also an Honored Chosen of the Hall of Honor. I can also request help from the experts of the Sea Kingâs Dome if needed, and there are actually a few Envoys from the Sea Kingâs Dome that might take action.â
Wei Rong was stunned by all this information, and he suddenly realized that he had been left far behind by Lu Yin. Although the Wei family had a legacy that stretched back many years, they had always been restricted to the Outerverse. Thus, their development had stagnated. Lu Yin was like a different breed; he had surpassed the Wei familyâs accomplishments after just ten years, and his connections were far superior to what the Wei family had gathered. This was truly Lu Yinâs unique gift.
Everyone had their own unique destiny and future, and compared to Lu Yin, Wei Rong lacked both opportunities as well as talent.
âI understand. Iâll go and draft a proposal with Wang WenâŠâ
Wei Rong left soon afterward, and Lu Yin was feeling excited as he watched Wei Rong leave. He had told Lu Yin that he had left some spies within the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.
Wei Rong had been very close to the Umbral Butterfly Tribeâs young mistress, Angie, and she had even fallen for him at one point. However, Wei Rong wasnât someone who would be swayed by emotions, and he had still planted some spies within the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. By revealing these spies now, he was demonstrating his loyalty to Lu Yin, much like how Wang Wen had given Wei Rong to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin had not told Wei Rong anything about Ah Mu yet, as Lu Yin was still not confident where Wei Rongâs true loyalties lay.
The central weaves had started panicking after many of their top officers were assassinated within the span of a single day. Although the main figures of the Central Coalition did their best to calm the rest of the officers down, many of them were so scared that they did not even dare to leave their houses, which were being guarded by numerous elite soldiers.
âAlthough the locations of our higher-ranking officers isn't a very well-kept secret, it still isnât realistic for someone to kill three hundred of them at the same time. This would only be possible if there was someone helping them from the inside,â Gui Wuzong stated coldly after turning on a screen in a dark room .
Nearly a dozen leaders from the various weaves in the Outerverseâs central region were on the screen, though some of them were keeping their faces.
âLeader Gui, are you saying that thereâs a spy among us?â someone asked in a gruff voice.
Gui Wuzong answered, âAbsolutely, though this spy has to be in a high position since they knew the locations of three hundred officers. Iâm sure that they would have revealed all the locations of our higher-ranking officers and have had them assassinated if not for the fact that the Great Eastern Alliance didnât have the strength to carry out such a task. In fact , this person might even be one of us.â
âLeader Gui, donât be swayed by others. Itâs not difficult for someone in the organization to learn about the locations of our higher-ranking officers, and most of the other officers in the military would have been able to gain access to that information. We shouldnât grow suspicious of each other and allow this incident to affect our cooperation,â Angie calmly interposed. She was the one attending the meeting as the Umbral Butterfly Tribeâs representative.
Gui Wuzong looked over at Angie. âThen Iâll be direct. Angie, I suspect you to be the spy.â
Everyone else also turned to look at Angie.
Angie grew furious. âWhat do you mean by that, Leader Gui?â
âEveryone here knows that you were very close to Wei Rong and that the two of you were more than just friends. Now that Wei Rong has joined Lu Yinâs side, what of you? Will you be persuaded over to Lu Yinâs side as well?â Gui Wuzong asked coldly.
Everyone carefully watched Angie.
Angie was outraged. âWei Rong is a useless person who was beaten by Lu Yin, and I would never stay with such a man. Iâm the young mistress of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and I will lead the Umbral Butterfly Weave in the future! How could he possibly persuade me? Leader Gui, please be more respectful.â
Leader Gui did not respond.
Someone else spoke up at this moment. âAlright, donât start fighting between ourselves before the actual war begins. We all have the same goal right now, which is to deal with Lu Yin, who brought chaos to our formerly peaceful Outerverse weaves. Leader Gui, in the future, we shouldnât voice accusations like this that donât have any evidence behind them.â
Gui Wuzong calmly answered, âItâs still just a guess, but I will find evidence.â
Angie glared at Gui Wuzong with clenched fists.
Ever since Angie had heard the news that Wei Rong had joined the Great Yu Empire, she had been in a horrible mood. She had initially fallen for Wei Rong due to his grand ambition and assured confidence in being able to control his own future. She had thus given herself to him, but he had ultimately been defeated and even joined the enemyâs side, which left her feeling humiliated.
Gui Wuzongâs accusations intensified these frustrations even further, and she would have immediately left if not for the meeting.
At this moment, she really wanted to find Wei Rong and ask him why he had decided to follow Lu Yin. In fact, she actually wanted to kill Wei Rong herself.
The meeting between the leaders of the central weaves ended after an hour, but they were unable to come to any agreement about their next move as they were all unsure of what Lu Yin would do next. Was it possible that they themselves would be Lu Yinâs next target?
But for some of the leaders, their chances of being targeted were even less than the high-ranking officersâ, as some of those officers had been Hunter realm powerhouses.
These assassinations had reminded the Outerverse of how powerful Lu Yin had become, and many people were even more intimidated of him than ever.
After the meeting ended, Angie walked out to her balcony that had a clear view of a forest and took a deep breath, which made her feel a bit better. Then, her gadget suddenly beeped, and her expression darkened the moment she saw that Wei Rong was calling her.
âHow dare you still contact me?â Angieâs voice was filled with her anger and disappointment.
Wei Rongâs image on the screen looked shocked. âWho made my dear Angie so angry?â
Angie angrily demanded, âYou, you coward! What happened to the courage that you had when you orchestrated the events on Sourcepeak Planet? What happened to your ambition? Itâs already humiliating enough that you were defeated, but itâs even worse that you surrendered. Not only did you lose to Lu Yin, but you also lost your dignity.â
Wei Rong rubbed his temples. âIt seems that youâre very disappointed in me.â
Angie glared at him. âYou really have disappointed me, Wei Rong. I wanted to let you rule over the Umbral Butterfly Tribe and help you as you ushered in a new era. However, what did you do? You let me down, and youâve let down everyone who ever trusted you! Does it matter if you were defeated? Who hasnât been defeated before? You can always start over. But instead, you actually surrendered! Donât tell me that this is a part of your plan! Iâm not stupid, and neither is Lu Yin.â
Wei Rong sighed. âIt looks like your love for me has transformed into hate, so thereâs no reason for me to try consoling you.â
Angie sneered. âConsoling me? How could you possibly console me? I hate you, and I also despise you!â
Wei Rongâs expression grew cold. âAre the central weavesâ Central Coalition preparing to go to war against the Great Eastern Alliance?â
Angie laughed. âDid you call me just to try to figure out our strategy? Wei Rong, not only have you lost your dignity after joining Lu Yin, but even your intelligence has decreased. Why would I ever tell you anything?â
âI can always just guess the answer even if you donât say anything. The weaves in the Outerverseâs central region must have implemented a few strategies to handle Lu Yinâs actions. For example, past mistakes can be forgiven, and years of rivalries can be temporarily reconciled. In addition, the most important factor would be to lure over powerhouses from the west. That means that youâre no longer merely a coalition that represents the weaves of the central region, but are rather an organization representing half of the Outerverse,â Wei Rong slowly explained.
Angie glared at him. âDoes it matter even if your guess is correct? You canât stop us.â
Wei Rong hesitated.
The next moment, Angie suddenly changed the topic. âWei Rong, I know that youâre unwilling to work under Lu Yin, but your family is under his control. He must be holding your family hostage as a threat, right?â
Wei Rong didnât answer and merely calmly looked at Angie.
Angie gently urged, âJust give up. You have such grand ambitions, so donât let your family become a burden. Can you really give up on your dreams just for your family? Donât forget that youâre the first person to outsmart the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society! You also helped countless people in the Outerverse realize that itâs possible to overthrow those powerful organizations! Wei Rong, your future should not be limited by anyone. Join us, and help us defeat the Great Eastern Alliance. Weâre not Armament Weave, and neither are we the Wei familyâwe have tens of thousands of battleships and experts, and we also have countless resources for you to use.â
Most people were under the assumption that Wei Rong had surrendered because Lu Yin had threatened Wei Rong with the lives of his family, especially since both Wei Baichuan and Wei Xingâer had been in the Great Yu Empire. However, Wei Rong was not a normal person, and he would never be held back by his family. There was no need for Angie to tell him that he should not give up on his dreams to save his family.
Angie understood Wei Rong quite well, but Lu Yin also understood the young man just as well. This was why Lu Yin had never threatened Wei Rong with the lives of his family, as Lu Yin had no desire to do so, and he also did not want Wei Rong to look down upon him.
Since she understood Wei Rong so well, Angie was even more confused by his actions, especially whenever she thought about why Wei Rong had simply surrendered. This confusion made her feel like she had been both deceived and humiliated.
Wei Rong listened to Angieâs advice and sighed. âThere arenât that many people in this universe who can understand me, but Angie, youâre one of them. Since you understand me, then you should know that I will never change my mind once I have decided to do something.â
Angie frowned.
âAlso, you know very well that I always like to have a backup plan,â Wei Rong leisurely continued.
Angie didnât initially understand what he was implying, but then, she suddenly had a bad feeling. She had almost forgotten that she was now enemies with this man, and the same tactics that he had once used to impress her suddenly seemed quite frightening when she was on the receiving end.
âI donât trust many people, no matter if they might be my friends, siblings, family, or allies.â Wei Rong looked at Angie. âThus, I always ensure that I have a backup plan to deal with the people I donât trust. Do you remember that you once invited me to visit the Umbral Butterfly Tribeâs home planet?â
Angieâs eyes grew sharp. âWhat- what have you done?â
Wei Rong smiled. âNothing much. I just added some stuff to your body by taking advantage of your ability to absorb energy from plants. I didnât use a great deal of it, and itâs also something that canât be discovered easily. However, you might face some difficulties once it accumulates in your body over a long period of time.â
Angieâs face went pale, and she screamed, âYouâre despicable!â
Many powerhouses from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe who were near that particular tree looked up in shock to see Angie crazily screaming at someone from the treetops.
Wei Rong shrugged. âYou canât blame me, as thatâs just how I am. Perhaps everyone from the Wei family has this trait. Still, you should go and get yourself checked out. Maybe youâll be able to find a way to cure yourself? Of course, itâs also fine if you canât find a cure, as I can help you.â
Angie hung up, immediately called over all of the tribeâs elders who were on the planet, and had them all check their bodies.