In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

Unable to resist the powerful, Yunxi, no matter how unwilling, could only go to Lingdou City as a special envoy of the Sea God Pavilion under the protection of Huo Yuhao and his new girlfriend Huo Tianling.

Upon arriving at Lingdou City, Yunxi did not linger. Led by a general, she went directly to Lake City, a city that had been harassed by the Beidou Spirit Fleet.

The name Lake City may be unfamiliar to most people, but it has another name – Tianhai City.

That's right, it's the city where the second-generation Tang God King, Tang Wulin, once fought his way up.

However, the shipping industry is underdeveloped at present, and major port cities are not very prosperous. The people who go to sea are limited to sea dwellers who live by the sea all year round and sea spirit masters.

Yunxi stood on the east city wall of Lake City, gazing at the port not far ahead, her expression extremely solemn.

All that could be seen was... only four level-seven soul-guided cannons were set up on the huge port. In front of each soul-guided cannon, there was only some symbolic protection made of specially made sand. Whether it could withstand a round of artillery fire was another matter, and it did not provide much protection at all.

Of course, Yunxi knew very well that these were all measures taken out of necessity. Without a navy of equal caliber as leverage, building more defensive fortifications would be futile. It was better to save costs and minimize losses... and so on.

Yunxi seemed to suddenly realize something, and quickly turned to look at the general beside her, saying in an icy tone, "Why not build city walls?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Tiexin stammered, "Special Envoy, the warlord of the Sea God Pavilion said that the eastern coastline of the Douling Empire is too long. Rather than building city walls, it would be better to implement a scorched-earth policy and relocate the residents of major port cities to the interior."

"Damn it! War is about morale. The battle hasn't even officially started, and they're already talking about a large-scale relocation of residents. Even if Ou Ze wants to avoid trouble, shouldn't he consider the circumstances?"

Yunxi was so angry that she pounded on the city wall. She didn't understand before, but after spending some time in the circles of the second and third generations of the Sea God Pavilion, she finally saw through the true nature of those bastards.

Spending money on oneself, even in brothels, is no big deal; millions of gold soul coins might go down the drain. But if it's spent elsewhere, even a single copper soul coin feels unsettling.

A few days ago, Chen Yu held a public fundraising event within the Sea God Pavilion. The idea was that since there was a war, the Sea God Pavilion's public account was short of funds. During peacetime, everyone had amassed a lot of wealth, and now that the Sea God Pavilion was in trouble, everyone should donate some money to help the Sea God Pavilion overcome its difficulties.

It was only after Lin Huiqun took the lead that each elder of the Sea God Pavilion reluctantly donated ten million gold soul coins.

Among the second and third generation members, some donated fifty, some one hundred, some three hundred, and some five hundred, but none of them donated more than one thousand gold soul coins.

With a formidable enemy at hand, the plague-stricken nobles preferred to spend hundreds of thousands of gold soul coins to stay overnight in brothels rather than use that money for military expenses.

Perhaps... in their eyes, as long as the Sea God doesn't fall, there's no need for much military spending under the Sea God's radiance.

Conversely, if Poseidon falls from power, what's the point of spending more military funds?

Let's live for today and enjoy the moment.

Huo Yuhao is a microcosm of the entire Sea God Pavilion. In Shrek City, there are many people like him who like to reap the benefits without sowing.

Ugh!

Thinking of this, Yunxi sighed. She finally understood why Chen Yu insisted on sending her to the front lines for investigation.

Because... Yunxi has not yet been completely assimilated by the Sea God Pavilion.

Thinking of this, Yunxi said expressionlessly, "Commander Yang, here's what we'll do: arrange for people to start preparing to build the city wall right now. Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. I will prepare all the necessary procedures, funds, resources, and materials. Give me two days, at most two days, and the Douling Royal Family's order will be delivered to you."

After saying that, Yunxi clenched her fists, ignoring Yang Tiexin's changing expression beside her, and stepped off the city wall. She then activated her flying soul tool and flew towards Lingdou City.

Just then, Huo Yuhao suddenly appeared beside Yunxi, holding a document in his hand. "According to official records from Lake City, the Beidou Spirit Fleet's harassment is unpredictable, sometimes lasting three days, sometimes five. Each time, they travel light, bombing the port once and then leaving, leaving no opportunity to retaliate."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao suddenly paused for a few seconds, then continued with a serious expression, "Under these circumstances, the difficulty of building the city wall will increase significantly. The city wall that is built in the morning may be blown up in the afternoon."

Yunxi said expressionlessly, "Building the city wall is not the goal. The goal is to show the world our determination to fight. In this world, there is never a shortage of brave people, never a shortage of those who dare to face the baptism of bullets to build the city wall. Even if they die in battle, their families can receive a generous death benefit."

"And if we... cannot even part with this little bit of gold and silver, the reputation of the Sea God Pavilion will decline again and again, and the scene of Jialing Pass in the past will be repeated once again."

Huo Yuhao silently gazed at the capable young woman in front of him. For a moment, he saw the shadows of Meng Bingyu and Chen Yu in her.

This is not surprising. Yunxi worked under Meng Bingyu and Chen Yu, and since they were both women, it was only natural for her to learn from each other's ways of dealing with people.

The original text can be found at 6#9@book/bar!

But... thinking about Meng Bingyu's personality, Huo Yuhao's paranoia suddenly kicked in.

Huo Yuhao couldn't help but ask, "Sister Yunxi, which of the two, Meng Bingyu or Senior Sister Chen Yu, has been more helpful to your growth?"

Yunxi pondered, "We're about the same. Bingyu doesn't feel like someone my age; she's more like an older female elder in the family who teaches me how to conduct myself in my spare time."

"As for Chen Yu, she is also the career-oriented type of girl, but her methods are a bit naive. When the two of us are reviewing memorials together, we can discuss a small matter for a long time. We are more like good sisters who help each other and make progress together."

"Huo Yuhao, you don't need to doubt my stance. I've learned about the situation in the God Realm from Chen Yu. Gods are also divided into different ranks, and life is not easy for low-ranking gods. Rather than becoming an eternal slave, I would rather die of old age in the lower realm."

Before they knew it, the two arrived in Lingdou City once again. This time, instead of going to the Sea God Pavilion office, they went to the Douling Royal Hotel and asked the staff to notify the high-ranking officials of the Douling Empire to come for a meeting.

To put it bluntly, Huo Yuhao and Yun Xi wanted to bypass Ou Ze and his group and directly connect with the high-ranking officials of the Douling Empire to finalize matters related to the construction of the sea defense line. (End of this chapter)