Chapter 1503: Preparing in Advance
The high-ranking officials of the Great Night Empire were naturally perfectly aware of Yang Haoran's origins. Therefore, they understood the meaning behind this Demon Saint's words, and precisely because they comprehended the stakes involved, their expressions changed.
In contrast, Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged. He was as calm and composed as before, as if the Demon Saint's words had no effect on him whatsoever.
In truth, Yang Haoran's heart was not as calm as it appeared on the surface at that moment. The Demon Saint's words still caused some ripples in his emotions; he simply didn't let his inner turmoil show on his face. After all, this matter involved the Underworld Office, and he dared not be careless.
However, he was not surprised by this outcome in the slightest. Over the years, he had stirred up such a massive commotion in the Eastern Sunrise Ocean that it would have been difficult not to attract attention. The six great Demon Saints must have noticed him long ago. To deal with him more effectively, the first thing they would certainly do would be to understand him—to learn about his past and present. Once they did that, discovering his former identity would indeed not be too difficult.
After learning his former identity, the six great Demon Saints would certainly also know that the Underworld Office was hunting for Yang Haoran throughout the world. To deal with him more easily, the six great Demon Saints would naturally inform the Underworld Office of his whereabouts. This was completely logical and to be expected.
Once the Underworld Office learned of Yang Haoran's whereabouts, they would definitely send people to deal with him. In this way, the Sea Demon Alliance could happily reap the benefits, perhaps even eliminating him without expending a single soldier. If he were in their position, he would do the same.
Therefore, upon hearing the Demon Saint's words now, although he took them seriously, he was not surprised in the least.
At this moment, all the high-ranking officials of the Great Night Empire turned their gaze towards Yang Haoran. When they saw that Yang Haoran's expression had not changed in the slightest, a sense of reassurance immediately settled in their hearts.
In their view, Yang Haoran's ability to remain calm after hearing those words indicated that he hadn't taken the matter to heart at all, or perhaps he had anticipated this point long ago, and had thus made the appropriate preparations.
Yang Haoran naturally felt the gazes of the Great Night Empire's high-ranking officials. However, he did not return their gazes. His eyes remained fixed on the Demon Saint who had spoken.
"Heh heh, your attitude is so firm, it seems you don't wish to accept my proposal."
Yang Haoran spoke with a faint smile. After these words fell, his gaze swept over the other five Demon Saints. Seeing that none of them intended to speak, he continued.
"Even if you don't consider yourselves, shouldn't you consider the tens of thousands of subordinates under your command? You should know that your decision concerns their very lives and deaths. Do you really want them to lose this only hope of survival?"
The Demon Saint who had spoken first had originally intended to bring up the Underworld Office to intimidate Yang Haoran, hoping to make Yang Haoran shift his focus to the Underworld Office. This would give them a chance to devise a way to escape. But to his utter astonishment, Yang Haoran not only didn't take the matter seriously, but also threatened all six of them, using the lives of the many sea demons of the Sea Demon Alliance as leverage, trying to force the six of them into submission.
To say that the six great Demon Saints had no feelings for their subordinate sea demons at all was clearly impossible. However, to make them surrender to Yang Haoran because of this, they similarly could not bring themselves to do. For a moment, all six fell silent once more. No one spoke again.
Yang Haoran saw the six of them remain silent, their expressions growing uglier by the moment. So he continued to speak with a smile.
"I know this matter is difficult to decide. I understand your predicament. Therefore, I am willing to give you time to consider. I believe that by then, you will certainly provide me with a satisfactory answer."
After Yang Haoran finished speaking, he seemed to have no intention of waiting for the six Demon Saints' reply. Instead, he directly shifted his gaze from the six Demon Saints, looking at Old Master Wu.
"Old Wu, give them a push. Tell those cleaning up the battlefield to hurry."
Yang Haoran instructed Old Master Wu. However, he didn't explain further. Instead, Old Master Wu nodded in understanding and affirmation, then left the great hall.
With the successful subjugation of the Sea Demon Alliance, not to mention the heart of the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, but even the entire Eastern Sunrise Ocean, there were no longer any forces capable of threatening the Great Night Empire. As the victor of this great war, the Great Night Empire should, logically, have had ample time to clear the battlefield, with absolutely no need for urgency. Furthermore, it was Yang Haoran, the Emperor himself, who issued the command. Yet, Yang Haoran did so. From this, it was clear that there must have been a reason.
However, Yang Haoran offered no explanation for this. He merely told Old Master Wu to urge those cleaning up the battlefield to hurry, so the reason remained unknown.
Old Master Wu's urging was not only effective but remarkably so. Under their pressure, the battlefield was quickly cleared. Upon learning of this, Yang Haoran did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately led his forces triumphantly back to the capital.
Back in the Great Night Empire, Yang Haoran ordered all members of the Sea Demon Alliance to be imprisoned, including the six great Demon Saints. As the number of captured Sea Demon Alliance members was simply too large, the Great Night Empire's dungeons could not possibly hold so many prisoners. Therefore, Yang Haoran ordered that the Sea Demon Alliance members be imprisoned separately.
This not only solved the problem of the dungeons being unable to hold the prisoners, but also allowed them to disperse and separate the Sea Demon Alliance members, preventing them from plotting trouble and interfering with Yang Haoran's plans.
With the successful subjugation of the Sea Demon Alliance, there were no longer any forces in the entire Eastern Sunrise Ocean that dared to challenge the Great Night Empire. This immersed the entire Great Night Empire in the joy of victory. Many high-ranking officials believed that Emperor Yang Haoran would certainly continue to dispatch troops, conquer the entire Eastern Sunrise Ocean in one fell swoop, making the Great Night Empire the hegemon of the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, its sole dominant force.
However, the truth was not so. Yang Haoran surprisingly did not send out any more troops for expeditions, but instead chose to rest and recuperate.
The reason Yang Haoran acted this way was naturally due to his own considerations. Since the six great Demon Saints had informed the Underworld Office of his whereabouts, the Underworld Office would undoubtedly act soon. Therefore, he had to make preparations in advance for this, to greet the impending storm from the Underworld Office. If, during this period, a portion of the Great Night Empire's fighting strength were to be drawn away, and the Underworld Office launched an attack on the Great Night Empire during that time, it would have a massive impact on the Great Night Empire, and Shen Zhihua might even suffer defeat.
Setting that point aside, just considering the safety of military expeditions, Yang Haoran would not undertake them in the near future. Because if they were to encounter agents of the Underworld Office during an expedition, or fall into an ambush prepared by the Underworld Office in advance, then the expeditionary force would certainly be annihilated, which would bring considerable losses to the Great Night Empire.
Therefore, after considering multiple factors, Yang Haoran decisively gave up further military expeditions, choosing to rest and recuperate. In any case, the Sea Demon Alliance had already been successfully subdued, and there were no other forces in the entire Eastern Sunrise Ocean capable of confronting the Great Night Empire. As long as the threat from the Underworld Office was properly dealt with, then conquering the entire Eastern Sunrise Ocean would only be a matter of time. There was no need to rush.
After the Great Night Empire defeated the Sea Demon Alliance, the reason Yang Haoran urged them to clean up the battlefield and left without delay afterwards, was also to deal with the Underworld Office. Because, for him, given the situation at the time, the sooner he returned to the Great Night Empire, the more its safety could be guaranteed. After all, at that time, he had taken almost all of the Great Night Empire's fighting power with him. If he didn't bring his people back to the Great Night Empire in time, and the Underworld Office attacked the Great Night Empire during that period, then the Great Night Empire's situation would become perilous. Therefore, to prevent such a scenario from truly occurring, he had to immediately lead his people back to the Great Night Empire.
Yang Haoran was not certain when the Underworld Office's storm would descend. But he couldn't ignore it simply because he couldn't determine the exact time. The preparations that needed to be made in advance were essential. Doing so would only bring benefits and no harm. Relying on last-minute efforts could very likely lead the Great Night Empire into a state of utter ruin, and then it wouldn't just be Yang Haoran who died, but also the tens of thousands of citizens of the Great Night Empire.
As for the captives from the Sea Demon Alliance, Yang Haoran did not kill them but instead imprisoned them separately. The purpose was very simple: of course, it was to subjugate them, to make these sea demons serve him, and become his loyal followers. As for how to achieve this, he entrusted the matter to the experienced Old Master Wu to handle. He believed that with Old Master Wu taking charge, resolving this matter would only be a question of time.
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