Chapter 1198: A Share of the Pie
The appearance of Shui Ling drew Yang Haoran’s gaze, momentarily setting aside the thoughts occupying his mind.
“Heh heh, is everything handled? ”
Yang Haoran's gaze swept over the Night Watchers Shui Ling had brought back before resting on Shui Ling herself, and he spoke. The mission Shui Ling had undertaken was not particularly dangerous, for during its execution, the various major factions had already scrambled into the Ancient Demon Palace. Afterward, nearly everyone from those factions had perished, and those who hadn't fled for their lives. This meant Shui Ling's mission was rendered even less perilous, which was why neither she nor the Night Watchers under her command sustained any injuries.
“Reporting, Annihilator, everything has been handled. ”
Shui Ling first bowed to Yang Haoran, then respectfully replied.
“Heh heh, smoothly? ”
“The mission proceeded very smoothly, and the ordinary people under the various major factions were all quite cooperative, so we had a significant harvest this time. However. . . ”
Seeing Shui Ling hesitate, Yang Haoran knew she had something she wanted to say but was unsure if she should, hence her reticence.
With Yang Haoran’s assurance, Shui Ling continued.
“However, you're not the only one, Annihilator, who saw this as an opportunity to acquire more ordinary people. The Saint Mother Cult harbored the same intention. When we launched our operation, the Saint Servants of the Saint Mother Cult were also in motion. As a result, we, the Underworld Office, did not completely obtain all the ordinary people previously under the various major factions of Gu Mo City; a portion fell into the hands of the Saint Mother Cult. ”
Ordinarily, Shui Ling wouldn't need to be so hesitant reporting such a matter to Yang Haoran. However, she was naturally aware of today's bloody massacre within Gu Mo City, and she also knew that Yang Haoran and Xia Xinger had assisted each other during that time. It was precisely due to this consideration that she had just felt apprehensive, deliberating whether or not to speak. Throughout her report, Shui Ling carefully observed Yang Haoran's facial expressions, hoping to discern his attitude toward the matter. To her disappointment, however, from the beginning to the end of her report, Yang Haoran's expression remained utterly unchanged.
Thus, she was utterly unable to make an accurate judgment on Yang Haoran's true thoughts about the situation.
Unaware of Yang Haoran's thoughts, Shui Ling naturally dared not speak rashly. After her report, she sealed her lips. In such circumstances, maintaining silence was the most rational course of action; speaking carelessly could only put her at a disadvantage, and might even risk offending Yang Haoran.
“Heh heh, no wonder I didn't see anyone else from the Saint Mother Cult today, apart from Xia Xinger and Zuo Meng. So that's how it is. ”
Yang Haoran spoke with a faint smile, his expression and tone revealing nothing of his true attitude towards the matter. Not only Shui Ling, but anyone else would have been unable to guess his thoughts.
After a slight pause, Yang Haoran continued to ask Shui Ling with a smile.
“Compared to the Saint Mother Cult, who between us had the greater yield in terms of ordinary people? ”
Hearing this, a hint of shame appeared on Shui Ling's face. She did not conceal the truth but instead told Yang Haoran the most honest result, as it was.
“This subordinate is incompetent. The Saint Mother Cult's harvest was greater than ours, and by a significant margin. ”
Yang Haoran didn't seem surprised by this outcome in the slightest. He chuckled faintly.
“You don't need to blame yourself. The Saint Mother Cult deployed everyone except Xia Xinger and Zuo Meng. How many people did you bring? It's perfectly normal that you couldn't match them. If your harvest had been greater than the Saint Mother Cult's, *that* would truly be strange. ”
Shui Ling remained silent, unsure of what to say. Although Yang Haoran clearly wasn't blaming her, the fact remained that their mission's yield was indeed inferior to the Saint Mother Cult's—an unchangeable truth that still left her feeling somewhat ashamed.
“Oh, right, you're back. Where's Yao Guozhi? ”
Yang Haoran asked. To ensure the mission's more complete success, he had sent Yao Guozhi to accompany Shui Ling. However, while Shui Ling had returned, Yao Guozhi was nowhere to be seen, hence his inquiry now.
“Reporting, Annihilator, we brought back a large number of ordinary people this time. Yao Guozhi believed these people required proper arrangement and distribution, and the sooner the better, so he went ahead to handle that matter, which is why he hasn't returned to report back to you. ”
Yang Haoran nodded upon hearing this, indicating his understanding.
“He's certainly proactive. But I do need people with such drive. Take a portion of your people to ensure his safety. With such a massive incident today, it wouldn't do if someone decided to take revenge on me by targeting him. Hand the rest of your people over to Lu Wu; the temple reconstruction requires manpower. ”
“Yes, Annihilator! ”
After Shui Ling received her orders and withdrew, no one else came to disturb Yang Haoran.
The Remnant Moon hung high. Yang Haoran looked up at the crescent, his mind lost in thought. Though his expression wasn't stern, he had shed the faint smile he usually wore.
He remained motionless for an unknown duration before finally stirring, a smile once again gracing his face.
“Though the Remnant Moon isn't perfect, it's the brightest star in the night sky. And I am that Remnant Moon in this night sky! ”
Under Yang Haoran's arrangements, the reconstruction of the Death God Temple proceeded smoothly and at a remarkable pace. This time, it took only a short seven days to successfully rebuild the dilapidated Death God Temple, its scale considerably larger than the previous reconstruction.
The ability to complete such a massive project in such a short time was due to the sheer manpower deployed for this reconstruction, which simply couldn't compare to the previous effort. The truth that "many hands make light work" was vividly demonstrated here.
The Saint Mother Cult did not interfere with the territories of the various major factions, whether outside or inside the city. Perhaps it was because Xia Xinger was still recuperating and had no time to concern herself with the matter, or perhaps she simply had no intention of doing so. Thus, the territories of the major factions naturally fell entirely into Yang Haoran's hands.
The Underworld Office, once expelled from Gu Mo City by the various major factions, had now become Gu Mo City's foremost power. As for the second power, that was, of course, the Saint Mother Cult.
Beyond these two powers, only the Talisman Cult, with a few remaining Talisman Masters, persisted. The presence of these few individuals held only one significance: to prove that their Gu Mo City Talisman Cult had not yet been annihilated.
Although these Talisman Masters were still alive, they dared not prevent Yang Haoran from seizing the Talisman Cult's territory and resources. Each day, they could only cower within the empty Talisman Ancestor Temple, ceaselessly praying to the Talisman Ancestor statue, hoping that someone from above would soon be dispatched to change the current predicament of their Gu Mo City Talisman Cult.
Apart from their Talisman Cult, all other factions had utterly ceased to exist, having been purged from Gu Mo City. In other words, the Talisman Cult, with only a few individuals remaining, could still rank third among all the powers in Gu Mo City, as there were now only three powers left in Gu Mo City. m. biqmgètn
Of course, while it was called third place, this ranking was imbued with insult, for everyone knew that the Gu Mo City Talisman Cult now existed in name only, capable of following in the footsteps of the other factions at any moment.
With the expanded territory, manpower was naturally required for management, to fully utilize the resources at hand; otherwise, even the largest territory would be meaningless. Thus, over those seven days, Yang Haoran successively implanted the Death God Seal into several batches of ordinary people.
Although the number of ordinary people Yang Haoran controlled couldn't compare to the Saint Mother Cult's, it was still quite astonishing. Selecting some individuals from this multitude to become Night Watchers posed no problem whatsoever.
As for these chosen ordinary people, each one was exceptionally excited. Before following Yang Haoran, they had been like slaves, like walking corpses, toiling day and night to create value for their respective factions, and often going hungry and cold.
After joining Yang Haoran, though they still had to work, it was more humane than under their previous factions, and they no longer faced hunger or cold.
This alone already made these ordinary people very happy. When Yang Haoran sought to select suitable individuals among them to become Night Watchers, they were naturally even more overjoyed. For this meant that once chosen, they could shed their identity as ordinary people and possess the miraculous powers that ordinary people lacked. And these miraculous powers would allow them to survive better in this chaotic world, at least not as tragically or helplessly as ordinary folk.
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