CHAPTER 960: 416, THE MOMENTUM IS TREMENDOUS, THE WORLD IS SHAKEN.

The predicament of the Hou Clan lies in the fact that the Great Jin and the Alliance have already determined the battlefield to be in the Hexi Path. The Hou Clan must choose between the two sides and then serve as cannon fodder for one side; this is a consensus between the Great Jin and the Alliance.

Hou Yuxiao cannot refuse, nor does he have the strength to refuse.

How to break the situation in Hexi? Hou Yuxiao thought for a very long time.

Sikong Yue did propose a way to break the deadlock, which is to use the Jiang siblings to open the treasure map of the Divine Sect, bringing the Holy Land of the world here, and thus delaying the start of the war between the Great Jin and the Alliance.

Although this approach treats the symptoms rather than the root cause, it at least allows the Hou Clan to buy some more time, which currently seems to be the best solution. But Hou Yuxiao simply does not want to use it.

Once he uses this method, it would mean being completely under Sikong Yue’s control again. Sikong Yue is so obsessed with the treasury of the Divine Sect, which must have something very important for her inside.

Since that’s the case, I refuse to follow your plan.

Too many times I’ve let myself be led by the nose by Sikong Yue.

Having been in this position repeatedly has made Sikong Yue a shadow in his heart. Just thinking about Sikong Yue leaves him with no confidence or trust in himself.

If this goes on, he truly fears that someday if he confronts Sikong Yue, he won’t even have the courage to make a move.

More importantly, if he follows Sikong Yue’s approach, in the end, the biggest beneficiary will undoubtedly be the New Moon Cult.

The Great Jin and the Alliance are fighting fiercely, while the New Moon Cult is watching from the sidelines, reaping huge benefits. If he opens the Divine Sect’s treasury according to Sikong Yue’s plan, who knows what enormous advantages the New Moon Cult might gain.

For the Hou Clan, the Great Jin, the Alliance, and the New Moon Cult are currently all insurmountable chasms. For the future of the Hou Clan, having any one power become too strong would not be good.

Before the Hou Clan can rise, they must adhere to a strategy of balance.

They can’t let any side become too powerful.

The Great Jin is this way, as is the New Moon Cult.

But the question is, without using Sikong Yue’s method, what should he do?

With Hexi’s strength, relying on themselves to maneuver between the Great Jin and the Alliance.

Impossible!

Even if joining forces with the Lu Family and the Jiangbei Alliance is the same.

The three families do not have a Martial Dao Saint among them, and the Sacred Army only includes the Hou Clan’s two hundred thousand Red Flame Army, barely enough to threaten a Sub-Saint of Martial Dao. The remaining three hundred thousand Zhaoyang Army, three hundred thousand Hurricane Army, and even the well-known five hundred thousand Shuofeng Army of the Jiangbei Alliance are all part of the heavenly army, at most capable of threatening a Sub-Saint Realm expert.

With just this strength, they can’t even contend arm-wrestling with a single Holy Land.

In short, neither the Great Jin nor the Alliance considered Hexi significant.

Currently, the Great Jin is the strongest in the world, leaving Hou Yuxiao with no choice but to align with the Alliance. The problem is that aligning with the Alliance at Hexi only results in becoming a scapegoat on the Hexi battlefield. Due to the vast difference in power, as long as the Alliance gives orders, the Hou Clan doesn’t get any say in it.

It was already a given for Hou Yuxiao that they cannot lean towards the Alliance in Hexi.

Moreover, as a singular entity, the Hou Clan aligning with the Alliance gains very little in terms of benefits. Rallying the Lu Family and the Jiangbei Alliance, and heading north, are all just means to increase their bargaining chips.

With the combined forces of the three families, military strength can instantly reach thirteen million, including two hundred thousand Sacred Army and eleven million heavenly army. This force is roughly enough to threaten Emperor Yuliang on the Dongyuan Path.

In this way, the Alliance will have to rely on them.

As Tuoba Zun and Yuan Zhen anticipated long ago, from the moment the Great Jin and the Alliance’s armies landed on Hexi land from the east and west, Hou Yuxiao had everything prepared.

The army camps at Xingnan Prefecture, planning a Neutral Zone, under the guise of relocating civilians. Using the Hou Clan’s Martial Artists as cover, they disperse the five-hundred-thousand-strong army, moving north to Yunkang Crossing in batches, then use the Lu Family’s warships to cross the river north, and persuade Chu Kuangren to bring in the Jiangbei Alliance.

All of this was calculated by Hou Yuxiao.

At this moment, with Tuoba Zun forced to leave, it marks the success of all these plans. Tuoba Zun, possessing Saint-level power, can ignore the armies below and kill Hou Yuxiao; the reason he doesn’t dare is because he knows Hou Yuxiao has gained momentum. The Alliance will not allow such a powerful anti-Jin force to be destroyed by him. If he dares to use his Saint-level power, the Alliance will immediately have a Saint appear.

Instead of wasting time here, it was better for him to return to Hexi and plan early.

Mid-air, the crowd watched Tuoba Zun and Yuan Zhen fly away, their expressions showing a faint sense of excitement. Everyone present held high positions and had significant influence, and if they couldn’t see through Hou Yuxiao’s series of maneuvers by now, they’d have lived their lives in vain.

The more they understood, the more the crowd looked at Hou Yuxiao with moved expressions. Hou Yuxiao’s meticulous planning started from the moment the Great Jin and the Alliance stepped into Hexi Path. Considering the Hou Clan’s situation back then and looking at this moment, having righteously forced the retreat of one of the three emperors of the Great Jin, Youye Emperor Tuoba Zun, the difference is like night and day.

"Chu Alliance Leader, Master Lu, from today onwards, the three of us will be on the same ship as the Alliance. What are your thoughts on the upcoming Jiangbei battle? Please feel free to share; Mr. Hou is eager to hear your insights!"

Chu Kuangren and Lu Kangping both showed a simultaneous look of astonishment; neither had expected Hou Yuxiao to ask such a question proactively. After a brief moment of contemplation, both quickly understood that Hou Yuxiao was ostensibly asking for opinions but was in fact inquiring about who should take the lead in the upcoming Jiangbei battle among the three families.