Capítulo 1468: Chapter 256: Isn’t This Just Brainwashing!

Everyone else nodded unanimously, very convinced.

“Don’t talk nonsense, that’s not Spirit Energy, I don’t even know how to brainwash.”

Ian rolled his eyes: “I just gave him a little guidance on his research, you know, in the City of Knowledge, their system is knowledge above all. For a genius like me, they already want to kiss my boots.”

“What?! That’s not brainwashing?!”

Hearing this, Adalbert widened his eyes in shock. Even Green Tide and Roland by his side revealed expressions of disbelief.

——So you really can’t brainwash?!

“You guys…”

Noticing the shocked expressions of his companions, Ian could only shake his head helplessly: he emphasized, “Although I can’t brainwash, I can rewrite souls, apply Iron Stamps, and overlay false memories.”

“But that’s not brainwashing, it’s just ordinary soul surgery.”

——Isn’t that brainwashing?

Although it was a bit different from what everyone originally imagined, the result was pretty much the same.

“It’s really difficult to explain the difference between brainwashing and soul modification to you all.”

In the Domain of Void, Ian sighed, closed the communication screen, and said, “Heart of Terra, help me prepare the material library for Soul’s Steel Seal and memory overlays.”

“Let me see what exactly they want to do over at Fiery Flame Land.”

The next day.

When Rongying groggily awoke in the lounge of the city hall office, he was already wearing Xia Hui Domain City Hall’s work uniform, with a full set of related documents in his arms.

“Did I… succeed?”

Waking up somewhat confused, Rongying pondered carefully, and instantly, a large amount of memory flowed from the depths of his soul.

It turned out that yesterday he had successfully possessed an official of Xia Hui Domain City Hall, but because the artificial soul on this side of Xia Hui Domain had an aggressive structure, once triggered it caused intense stimulation, completely different from a normal soul, so he had fainted.

This structure was probably designed to prevent the appearance of the ‘Deceased Monarch’. This was also a piece of intelligence.

And besides this memory, his mind was also filled with the memory of a mid-aged brewing worker in Leyan Territory, working hard step by step, and eventually becoming a small leader in the related industry under the appreciation of the new Lord—it seemed this was the memory of the person he had possessed.

“Great!”

Thinking of this, Rongying’s eyes brightened: “I have completed the task, now it’s time to report to headquarters!”

“But I must be careful and cautious, I have to wait until after work today to slowly contact them back home without being discovered by others.”

“Brand new war weapons, a new beverage brewing industry, citizens of very high quality… Indeed, there’s something unusual in Xia Hui Domain, even if it’s really guided by the Prophet, there’s no way it could develop this fast!”

“Perhaps, it’s because Ian Silverpeak used some kind of Spirit Energy, brainwashing the local populace!”

“I will stay long-term in Xia Hui Domain, continuously sending back key information to headquarters!”

Mumbling to himself, Rongying felt completely unaware of anything wrong with himself.

Even if occasionally some slightly abnormal thoughts arose, the ‘Soul’s Steel Seal’ forcibly returned his thinking to the cognition of ‘this is very reasonable’.

With such thoughts, still in the original body, yet himself thinking he merged with the official, Rongying got up calmly and proceeded to his work station to start ‘working’.

Meanwhile, Ian and the others observed this scene through the conference room camera.

“Boss, do we really let him report our situation to Fiery Flame Land?”

Green Tide inquired: “Although much of it is false, generally speaking, it still encompasses seventy to eighty percent of the territory’s real situation.”

“Isn’t this too much information disclosed?”

“Is this considered too much?”

In response, Roland, who had just returned from dusting off the canyon, laughed heartily: “They don’t even know we’ve built an underground military factory in the mountains, unless there’s a major earthquake, even a natural disaster passing by can hardly destroy it!”

“Not too much.”

Ian also nodded slightly, calmly saying, “In fact, by letting the enemy know part of our intelligence, they will act according to my predicted directions.”

“Just like the Prophecy I made in Nauman City six months ago, its essence was to cause hesitation in Fiery Flame Land’s immediate actions—the intelligence they have is that we have powerful weapons capable of defeating Constructed Knights, and we have already anticipated their original attack routes. Given this, they can only come up with brand new methods.”

“Even if I am the Prophet, I can’t possibly predict every enemy attack route completely, or what if Fiery Flame Land directly engages in a frontal assault, with an overwhelming army that even predictions can’t counter? Though unlikely, it remains a possibility.”

“Therefore, we must allow this spy to reveal some of our intelligence, let them know we are strong, but not so strong, not needing a full-scale army pressure to deal with us.”

“However, sir.”

At this moment, Scott frowned, the pen in his hand unconsciously bent out of shape due to his grip: “What if Fiery Flame Land predicts your thought and insists on using a massive military pressure?”

“Our hard power indeed isn’t enough, if a truly elite troop from Fiery Flame Land came to attack South Ridge… we cannot withstand a frontal confrontation.”

——So, you predicted my prediction, I predicted you predicted my prediction, right? What kind of Eight Miraculous Thinking Domain is this.

“Not necessarily.”

Ian watched Rongying on the screen, then lifted his head, looked toward the sky, and said somewhat intriguingly: “At least, I also prepared for every scenario—if Fiery Flame Land is really that cautious, then I’ll let them know what the Prophet’s caution means.”

“In any case, fundamentally, what’s most important isn’t making Fiery Flame Land underestimate us, but letting us know, what kind of ace Fiery Flame Land has hidden.”

This is Ian’s primary goal.

On the Dying Star Path, starting from Year 775, Xia Hui Domain has constantly been attacked by elite squads from Fiery Flame Land performing high-intensity sabotage raids. While they could be foreseen, those squads were originally dispatched with the mentality of certain death, determined to damage Xia Hui Domain even if it meant they wouldn’t return.

In the midst of it, Ian himself encountered no fewer than ten assassination attempts, and these assassination attempts persisted until Terra Year 779, which is four years from now, when Fiery Flame Land launched a full-scale attack, tearing the Western front line and surging straight towards South Ridge.

This troop, though newly formed, had extremely rich combat experience, clearly having undergone extensive training.

Ian was very curious about what exactly this mysterious elite unit from Fiery Flame Land on the Dying Star Path was, that almost defeated him, who grew crops for years, crafted mechanical battle armor and elite troops.

If not for using the final option of the Mech-Dragon Technique, Ian might have truly retreated to the depths of the mountains to hold out—it’s simply absurd.

That troop marks the true underlying strength of each major nation.

And though it may not be as strong as four years later, it undoubtedly exists now.

“If possible, this crisis must be resolved early.”

Ian thought so to himself, whispering: “This is why I need to expose some of my threats.”

“To force Fiery Flame Land to ‘come early’ to deal with me.”