High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

Song Chen finally understood why Lei Yuan welcomed him so warmly; he probably wanted to use him to reclaim lost territory.

"Star Lord, I have a question for you. Answer honestly."

"Please ask, sir."

"Do you think Lei Mo will still pay back the league's money if he wins?"

Lei Yuan remained silent for a long time. This was a question that couldn't be answered casually, because his answer would determine which side Song Chen would stand on.

If he says Lei Mo won't pay back the money, then Song Chen will treat Lei Mo as an enemy.

If he says Lei Mo will repay the money, then Song Chen might turn around and support the rebels, since the alliance doesn't care who rules Lei Ming Star, only about the ability to repay.

For Lei Yuan, a punitive messenger who supports the rebels means the end of the main continent.

Lei Yuan thought for a while and decided not to lie: "I think he will repay it."

"Although Lei Mo rebelled against the main continent, he did not rebel against the Alliance. Not a single word in any of his declarations was directed at the Alliance."

"He's a smart man. He knows the rules of the alliance. Internal strife is an internal matter and the alliance doesn't interfere. But if the rebels take power and don't repay the money, then the alliance will intervene. He won't make that kind of mistake."

"So if Lei Mo really wins, he will most likely continue to pay back the money, and may even pay it back more on time, because he needs the league to recognize his legitimacy."

Song Chen stared at Lei Yuan's eyes, which were gleaming with electricity: "You're quite honest."

Lei Yuan lowered his head slightly: "I have lived for over ten thousand years and have told all sorts of lies, but I dare not do so before the Heavenly Punishment Messenger, the Punishment Messenger."

"I know that in your eyes, it is not something to be proud of for the main continent to oppress the secondary continent for twelve thousand years. The main continent owes the secondary continent more than the alliance owes it."

"But what I want to tell you, sir, is that the development of the main continent is real and substantial."

"Our psionic technology, our cities, our army—these things didn't just appear out of thin air by oppressing the subcontinent. They were built brick by brick by me and generations of the Thunder Clan."

"If Lei Mo wins, he will take all the wealth of the main continent and return it to the secondary continent, and the accumulation of the main continent over twelve thousand years will be wasted."

"At that time, Thunder Star will return to what it was 12,000 years ago, and all four continents will be poor, with no one able to rise above the rest."

"The most critical issue is that if we do this, the Thunder Clan will lose the ability to repay the money in the long term. In a few thousand years, we may not even be able to pay the interest."

"I firmly believe that only when we are in charge can we truly embody the power of the alliance, because our strategy is to develop the Thunder Clan."

After listening, Song Chen did not immediately express his opinion. He tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table for about ten times, and then stopped.

"Have you spoken with Lei Mo?"

Lei Yuan gave a wry smile: "We've talked three times, and each time it was either the conditions he set that I couldn't accept, or the conditions I set that he couldn't accept."

"He wants me to abolish the Council of Elders, redistribute the psionic mineral veins, and compensate the subcontinent with half of the resources of the main continent."

"If I agree to these conditions, the Elders' Council will impeach me the very next day, and the families on the main continent will side with Lei Mo the very next day. They would rather join the rebels and change their masters than give up the interests they have."

"So it's a dead end," Song Chen concluded.

"Yes." Lei Yuan lowered his head.

"I've been mediating for thousands of years, and the result of my mediation is only civil war."

"I am incompetent and have made you laugh at me, sir."

Song Chen stood up and walked to the window of the Star Lord's Hall.

Outside the window, the sky above Thunder City was filled with ceaseless thunderstorms, lightning flashing through the clouds and illuminating the outline of the entire city.

The city was brightly lit, and the residential, commercial, and industrial areas of the Thunder Clan were well-organized, making it look like a civilized metropolis that had been carefully managed for tens of thousands of years.

He turned around, leaned against the window frame, and looked at Lei Yuan.

"Prepare me a detailed map of the rebel-controlled area, troop distribution, an analysis of Lei Mo's personal combat characteristics, and the full transcripts of all three negotiations. Send it to me when it's ready."

Lei Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Song Chen was still prepared to stand on his side. He was overjoyed and immediately stood up, bowing and saying, "This old man obeys."

……

The next morning, Song Chen opened the window of the Star Lord's Mansion, and the sun of Leiming Star let out a few rays of blue-white light through the gaps in the charged clouds.

The thunderstorms in the sky were less intense than last night, but lightning still danced between the clouds like a group of tireless electric snakes.

He was dressed neatly, with a standard disciplinary department overcoat over his silver armor.

Lei Yuan was already waiting in the main hall of the Star Lord's Mansion.

Today he changed into a set of Thunder Clan's traditional psionic battle armor, the armor plates were engraved with lightning patterns, and tiny arcs of electricity jumped between the armor seams with every step he took.

After this old man, who had lived for over ten thousand years, put on his armor, his entire demeanor changed. He was no longer the timid old minister he had been yesterday, but rather like an old wolf cornered against a wall.

Behind him stood seventy-four people, seventy-four generals of the Thunder Clan, all of them at the seventh rank.

Seventy-four people stood in a row, all wearing uniform armor. Electric arcs crackled on the armor plates as they stood ramrod straight with resolute eyes.

"Lord Song Chen." Lei Yuan clasped his hands in a salute.

"Our elite army has assembled. With just your command, the army can attack the rebels."

Song Chen glanced at them and said, "No need for a large army, just you all can come with me."

"What?" Lei Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"My lord, the main rebel force numbers in the tens of millions, and they even have a seventh-tier peak Lei Mo. Are we the only ones left?"

Song Chen glanced at him: "Just you guys are fine, and you don't need to lead the charge."

"Your task is to follow behind me and clean up the mess. You'll handle the prisoners, the wounded, and the deserters. I'll take care of the main rebel force by myself."

The main hall was quiet for a moment.

The generals looked at each other in disbelief. Several of them clearly doubted their ears. One man against the main force of the rebels?

Lei Yuan was silent for two seconds, then looked up into Song Chen's eyes.

He had met too many people, and had dealt with countless officials of the Alliance over the past twelve thousand years. He had learned to judge whether a person was bragging or genuinely confident just by looking into their eyes.

There was no arrogance or pretense in Song Chen's eyes, only calmness.

"I understand." Lei Yuan turned and waved to the seventy-four generals.

"Pass down the order: everyone must obey Lord Song Chen's command. In today's battle, no matter what you see, you are not allowed to retreat or question anything."

"Yes," the seventy-four people answered in unison.

Song Chen nodded in satisfaction. This was the reason he chose to stand on Lei Yuan's side, so that he could kill to his heart's content.