Chapter 678: Chaos at the Crossroads

In the lounge, Yenir’s heart skipped a beat. Without time to ponder White Bone, he hurriedly checked the message from Fang Hao.

Moments later, after reviewing all the intel compiled by the Military, his face darkened instantly.

There was no doubt about it—disturbances in neighboring nations were undoubtedly linked to the Rebels.

Yet Yenir hadn’t expected the Rebels to be even more ruthless and swift than he had predicted.

“Just as I suspected? The Rebels plan to ignite chaos while provoking neighboring nations to attack us. First, to tie down our forces, second, to generate piles of experimental data, and third, to ‘prove’ that the Prime Minister and his cronies have truly betrayed us!”

“Smart move. If nothing goes awry, these Rebels must have promised huge incentives to nearby nations, allowing them to carve up Huaguo!”

With a steely glare, Yenir could almost see how eager these nations would be after the Rebels’ proposal on the streets.

During this National War, after he had taken down countless Third-Stage combatants from various countries, those minor nations—already nursing old grudges—would naturally welcome such an offer.

Perhaps in their eyes, the Rebels had become nothing more than pushovers, compelling them to seek the Rebels’ help. Then, amidst internal chaos, carving up Huaguo could very well be on the table! With an offer that irresistible, who wouldn’t be tempted?

However, these small nations might not realize what truly lurks behind the Rebels.

Especially…

Noticing that the Military’s satellites had been knocked out, Yenir began to entertain a certain possibility!

“If I were the Rebels, I wouldn’t care about the fate of Huaguo’s survivors—but controlling a nation’s sovereignty is another matter! Losing satellites makes it nearly impossible to monitor neighboring nations. That suggests the Rebels’ target might extend far beyond just us!”

What situation could possibly make reconnaissance unnecessary!?

The only time you don’t need intel is when the enemy is completely wiped out!

The thought of neighboring small nations smugly collaborating with the Rebels in assaulting the border made Yenir silently curse under his breath.

A bunch of idiots! As humans, don’t these fools realize that satellites aren’t just for watching them—they also warn against humanity’s real monsters? When the Sea Beast catastrophe hits, none in Asia will be able to escape!

Without wasting another moment, Yenir drew a deep breath and quickly reconnected with the Otherworldly Ghosts he had stationed across various nations.

These Otherworldly Ghosts had been painstakingly converted during the National War. Although he deliberately kept them at a lower level to preserve their strategic thinking, they were no match for the formidable ones he had brought back to the Capital.

Yet as covert operatives, they were far more reliable than the Death Servants Otherworldly Ghosts.

Intent on conserving his mental power, he had so far avoided tracking these Otherworldly Ghosts’ movements, but at this moment, Yenir had no choice but to contact them as quickly as possible.

“Buzz!”

As his mental power was frantically drained over thousands of kilometers spanning six countries, Yenir felt utterly depleted—yet he managed to sync with the Otherworldly Ghosts stationed abroad.

Ignoring the threat of collapsing from weakness, Yenir gritted his teeth and began absorbing the surge of new intel.

The drain was immense… remotely controlling Otherworldly Ghosts over such staggering distances was even tougher than he’d anticipated!

………….

About ten minutes later, Yenir slumped onto the ground, his face drained of color.

After syncing the memories from the Otherworldly Ghosts in Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, and three other major battle zones, he managed to piece together some critical intel.

Although these Otherworldly Ghosts roamed freely, once the National War resumed they were interrogated by their respective nations, limiting their mobility. Still, even with the issues affecting these Third-Stage entities, they relayed several confidential details.

“Troop mobilizations have been detected in three of the six surrounding countries.”

“We can confirm two for sure: South Korea and Vietnam. These battle zones border Huaguo and are the most vulnerable to invasion.”

“As for the suspected domestic mobilization, that involves the Indian Battle Zone. However, their core forces are concentrated in northern India, far from Huaguo’s border, so it’s still unclear if they’re ready to invade.”

“The remaining minor nations might be involved too, but the Otherworldly Ghosts under my control belong to the combat unit rather than the high-ranking officials. The situation remains murky.”

Quickly compiling the available intel, Yenir rubbed his tired brows and transmitted his findings back to the Capital Military District.

To his surprise, the Japanese Battle Zone—the nation harboring the deepest animosity towards Huaguo—had shown no signs of activity. According to feedback from the planted Otherworldly Ghosts, it appeared that a large force had been funneled into a certain Dungeon.

“On second thought, that’s logical. Japan and Huaguo don’t share a border. If the Sea Beast catastrophe erupts, it might even thwart the Rebels’ plans.”

“After all, once the Rebels reveal ties with monsters, those idiots—even if eager to invade Huaguo—will realize who the real threat is.”

A flicker of relief passed over Yenir’s face as he exhaled slowly. Struggling to stand, he collapsed onto a bed to contemplate his next move.

It wasn’t that he underestimated the strength of these three nations; rather, the intel from the Otherworldly Ghosts suggested that these suspected troop-mobilizing countries hadn’t committed all their forces, seemingly just testing the waters.

Clearly, though these three battle zones were greedy and in cahoots with the Rebels, they wouldn’t launch a full-scale invasion until they were certain of a guaranteed payoff.

“They’re so troublesome…”

“Even though no sign of Peak Third-Stage units has emerged yet, those who have reached that level are all deathly timid.”

“But the combined strength of Awakeners mobilized from these three battle zones is enough to form an army of over 600,000. If they exploit a corpse tide to invade the border, disaster is imminent…”

The destructive power of the Awakeners far surpasses that of zombies.

If this enemy force storms into Huaguo, unleashing indiscriminate slaughter and plunder, it’s not just the survivors who will perish—industrial and military facilities will also be devastated!

By then, if Yenir wanted to rebuild and stabilize the nation, he’d be utterly spent. Every precious moment of development was clawed out with his life—if he can’t prevent this, all his efforts since rebirth will have been in vain!

“What am I to do…?”

“Without Mother, with the Sea Beast catastrophe looming, an inexplicable corpse tide emerging, and nations foolishly launching wars—each crisis demands my attention, yet each drains me tremendously!”

Clenching his fists tight, Yenir felt an unfamiliar surge of fury burning within him for the first time since his rebirth.

He wasn’t afraid of powerful enemies or the tough road ahead!

But these shadowy figures and a bunch of idiots made him want to wipe out the surrounding nations without a second thought!

Damn it! If he didn’t care about the survivors and his fellow humans, he wouldn’t have to hold back so much!

“Mother! If I could just obliterate this place and then ride the Sword Storm straight through the battle zone—if I didn’t mind the casualties, I’m 90% sure I could force Mother to reveal herself!”

“Enemy Country? If it weren’t for the fear that killing top-tier figures from various nations might plunge us into chaos and trigger even greater disorder…”

Relying solely on the Otherworldly Ghosts, he could single-handedly slaughter the high-ranking officials from every nation!

Clenching his fists even tighter, Yenir suppressed the violent urges within him and ordered all his deployed Otherworldly Ghosts to continue gathering intel.

“Now…”

“I just hope the upcoming operations go more smoothly…”

“Don’t push me… you’d better not force me into a corner…!”