Chapter 558

Chapter 558: Marquises Hippo’s Reminder

“Duke!”

Marquises Hippo quickly connected the communication with Duke Farah.

“Marquises Hippo, why, after such a long time, have you only killed a few strong fighters from the Great Flame Empire?”

Duke Farah questioned.

After more than half a year, Marquises Hippo and his assassination team had, in fact, killed quite a number of strong fighters.

They had taken down one level 120 strong fighter from the Black Tiger Tribe, two level 120 strong fighters from both the Swift Tribe and the Spirit Heart Tribe, over twenty level 110 strong fighters, and more than a hundred level 100 strong warriors.

But in Duke Farah’s view, this progress was still insufficient.

This was because Marquises Hippo and his assassination team had six Marquises at level 130.

Additionally, they had as many as thirty-five Counts at level 120.

With such a powerful assassination team, in his estimation, achieving three to five times this result would not be too much to ask.

“We also want to kill more high-ranking members of the Great Flame Empire, but they know we exist and have tightened their defenses,” Marquises Hippo replied helplessly. “No matter what, we can’t disregard our own safety and attack recklessly.”

“In fact, the difficulty of assassinating the high-ranking members of the Great Flame Empire has been increasing. Not only are their defenses tight, but all the high-ranking members are staying within defensive barriers, and they have deployed a large number of scouts to search for our whereabouts.”

“What’s most troublesome is that their strong fighters possess treasures that allow them to conceal their presence. Up close, only the six of us Marquises can barely sense them.”

“If we hadn’t been cautious, we might have entirely lost our forces.”

“…”

Duke Farah was speechless.

He didn’t expect that his slightly doubtful tone, just meant to show a bit of a duke’s authority, would result in Marquises Hippo’s lengthy complaints.

It seemed the assassination team indeed faced great challenges.

He could hardly imagine that the difficulties were not insurmountable, but rather almost unimaginable.

Because the strong fighters’ bodies that the assassination team had killed and collected were all delivered to them by the Great Flame Empire.

These bodies came from the strong fighters killed during the conquest of the Black Tiger Tribe, the Swift Tribe, and the Spirit Heart Tribe.

For more than half a year, the entire assassination team had been leisurely cultivating.

Marquises Hippo’s complaints were given with implicit permission from the high-ranking officials of the Great Flame Empire.

He had learned about the decisions of the alliance of the sixteen tribes before Duke Farah and had long received corresponding countermeasures.

“You should know that the Great Flame Empire’s army is marching out in full force to attack the Flying Wolf Tribe?”

Duke Farah changed the subject.

“Yes, we are actually on our way to the stronghold of the Flying Wolf Tribe,” Marquises Hippo answered without hesitation. “If our gathered information is correct, the Great Flame Empire possesses a treasure that can tear apart space, as well as another immensely spacious treasure that can contain life.”

“Using these two treasures, the Great Flame Empire’s army can suddenly appear at the stronghold of the Flying Wolf Tribe in a short time.”

“It is also because of this that the Great Flame Empire is not afraid of being vulnerable in their territory and dares to march out in full force to attack the Flying Wolf Tribe’s stronghold. With these two treasures, they can quickly return to any place within their territory.”

“Now I understand!”

Duke Farah realized how the Great Flame Empire’s army came swooping down like divine soldiers.

His heart was instantly filled with anticipation.

If he could suppress the Great Flame Empire and obtain these two treasures, refining them to a level usable by the Undying Race, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

The difficulty of reuniting the entire Tianling Star Cluster in the future would significantly decrease.

He could easily redirect the Undying Race’s army to any life planets swiftly.

After deep contemplation, Duke Farah spoke, “The Flying Wolf Tribe, Poxin Tribe, and Cangyu Tribe have jointly requested my assistance, hoping that we can quickly send troops to suppress the Great Flame Empire.”

“In return, they are willing to restore the old tribute, even doubling it.”

“That’s a good opportunity!”

Marquises Hippo’s voice brimmed with surprise. “The Great Flame Empire is rising too quickly; we must suppress them. This would also set a good precedent for the various tribes in the Tianling Star Cluster, allowing them to accept our Undying Race’s rule again. However…”

He shifted his tone and asked, “We can’t just let the Flying Wolf Tribe, Poxin Tribe, and Cangyu Tribe benefit. I suspect they have not committed to signing a contract to renew their acceptance of our Undying Race’s rule, right?”

“No!”

Duke Farah shook his head.

“I knew it; this means they are only doubling their annual tribute. In the long run, it’s a substantial cost, but in the short term, it’s hardly anything.”

Marquises Hippo scoffed, “I estimate they don’t intend to pay tribute for many years, secretly wishing to drive our Undying Race back to the Undying Star System.”

“The chances of getting them to sign a contract accepting our Undying Race’s rule are extremely slim…”

Duke Farah shook his head.

The reason was simple—accepting the Undying Race’s rule was hardly better than surrendering directly to the Great Flame Empire.

The only severe condition imposed by the Great Flame Empire was that the tribes under their rule would entirely lose their territories, only receiving a designated area as their residence.

But apart from this aspect, the other policies were far superior to those of the Undying Race.

In comparison, accepting the Great Flame Empire’s rule was definitely much more favorable than submitting to the Undying Race.

In this case, the Flying Wolf Tribe, Poxin Tribe, and Cangyu Tribe would naturally refuse to agree to accept the Undying Race’s rule again or even sign related contracts.

“…”

Marquises Hippo chose to remain silent.

He seemed to see the logic in Duke Farah’s words.

“I plan to send troops quickly, and I need you to lead them personally. How does that sound?”

Duke Farah asked.

“Sure!”

Marquises Hippo nodded.

“Since you are already on your way to the life planet where the Flying Wolf Tribe’s stronghold is located, lead the assassination team to gather as much information as possible about the deployments of the Great Flame Empire’s army.”

Duke Farah decided, “I will assemble the army here and head directly to that area. Once we arrive, you can take some time to take over and organize.”

“Understood!”

Marquises Hippo seemed to think of something and couldn’t help but remind, “Assembling the army must be done as secretly as possible, without leaking any information; the route of the march must also remain confidential. At the same time, be prepared to defend against ambushes.”

“The Great Flame Empire’s Intelligence Organization is extraordinary. From what I know, they had an excellent grasp of the movements of the Spirit Heart Tribe and Swift Tribe coalition when they attacked them.”

“The Great Flame Empire’s army can also quickly set traps along their march routes.”

“Then we really need to plan carefully to ensure secrecy!”

Duke Farah became serious with this reminder.

Marquises Hippo, however, smiled silently.

He knew these instructions were given to him by the military of the Great Flame Empire.

Duke Farah’s decisions closely matched what the Great Flame Empire’s military had inferred.

Truth blended with falsehood, mixing reality with deception.

If anything went wrong with the Undying Race’s army, Duke Farah could never imagine that he and the assassination team had already surrendered to the Great Flame Empire.

They were all waiting for the Great Flame Empire to unify the entire Tianling Star Cluster before allowing them to launch a counterattack against the Undying Star System under the banner of the Undying Race rebels.