Chapter 676 – Alliance at Huangshui (Part 13)
“Seriously, I’ve been lurking in the live stream for a while now, and I thought I was used to all the craziness, but I still got blown away. When dealing with nomads, how dare you strike at their weakest point? Pray tell, what color is your heart?”
“@Old Driver Alliance, #000000”
“#000000? What does that mean?”
“That’s #000000, the color code for pure black.”
“Question: What color is the host’s heart?”
“Answer: Pure black, of course.”
“Sounds about right.”
“What’s wrong with pure black? I like whatever color my host’s heart is; even the dark side is cute! If I want a good life, can’t I have a little color? Although I always curse the host as trash in the live chat, deep down I’m shouting that the host is so handsome, marry me! I just love watching her mess with others while they can do nothing about it—so cute, so cool!”
“Let’s not forget, the host is a former commander of the Galactic Federation, a big shot in the military, so surely her heart isn’t just white. Can you imagine a pure and innocent commander? What would she use to defeat her enemies, maternal love? The strategies military people use against foes aren’t poison schemes; that’s called strategic deployment. So tell us, host, how do you plan to mess with the Northern Border? Even a hard-hearted phantom limb will stick with you!”
“Seriously, ‘a hard-hearted phantom limb will stick with you’?!”
Jiang Pengji looked at the absurd comments in concern, worrying if such filth would affect the minors present.
As a tip notification rang out, an endless stream of amusing comments floated across the screen.
“Grass-digging team reporting in. Host, where are we digging up grass? I guarantee we won’t leave a single blade for the enemy.”
“Captain of the National Grass-Digging Team reporting in, I guarantee the grassland will be completely stripped bare.”
“Grass-Digging Brigade is on the chase; we assure you no grass will survive. Even Earth will be left barren, leaving the enemy with nothing!”
Jiang Pengji gazed at the comments, knowing that while she appeared calm as a mountain on the surface, inside she was unable to hold back a chuckle.
These lively characters~
Wei Ci furrowed his brow, and his words snapped Jiang Pengji back to attention.
“But, my lord… what about the large-scale epidemic affecting the pastures?”
Wei Ci thought Jiang Pengji was considering creating a man-made “grass” disease to mess with the Northern Border, his brow knitting tightly.
Jiang Pengji chuckled, “There is such a thing, but do you think your lord has such a ruthless side? Leave a little wiggle room for a future encounter. If the Northern Border is ruined completely, who ends up exhausted? Moreover, your lord can’t get that kind of thing anyway… The Northern Border is vast, and their abundant grasslands are firmly in the hands of the Northern Border tribes. They just took a big hit recently, with their pastures nearly wiped out; they’ll be more cautious now. If we openly confront them, isn’t that inviting trouble?”
As an outstanding hunter, she was very aware of one principle: until a bullet leaves the barrel and pierces the heart of the prey, one must not let the prey sense a hint of killing intent. If she wanted to pull a fast one on the Northern Border, she needed to hide her killing intent even more than before.
After all, she had a group of eager little princesses under her care; caution was a must.
Wei Ci cleared his thoughts, stating matter-of-factly.
“The leader has a plan.”
Jiang Pengji replied, “Of course I do… I intend to hand this matter over to you because I know you won’t let me down.”
Excluding a few military generals, the rest of the strategists were all quite cunning.
After ruling out Yang Si and Feng Zhen, who needed to accompany her army, Jiang Pengji carefully considered Qi Guanrang, Xu Ke, Feng Jin, and Wei Ci.
After much deliberation, she chose Wei Ci.
Why?
Because, like her, he could control his malicious thoughts until the moment the enemy perished.
Humans tend to favor their “kind,” and Jiang Pengji was no exception.
Wei Ci straightened up, leaning in to ask, “Please direct me, my lord.”
Jiang Pengji said, “Lean in closer.”
Wei Ci gazed at her, the two locking eyes for a moment. “There’s no one here; you can speak freely, my lord.”
In the end, it was Wei Ci who relented.
Respectfully kneeling beside her, their distance now unprecedentedly close.
As Jiang Pengji whispered into his ear, her warm breath brushing against his earlobe, his body tingled with an unusual heat.
His hands were resting on his knees, tightly clenched into fists under his wide sleeves.
When she finished speaking, Wei Ci felt a sense of breathlessness, as if he had been soaking in a hot spring for an hour, his mind spinning.
Jiang Pengji noticed his reaction and asked with a smile, “Got it?”
Wei Ci blinked, respectfully lowering his head, regaining his composure in an instant.
“Ci will not disappoint your expectations, my lord.”
Jiang Pengji smiled, her eyes narrowing, “I know you won’t let me down.”
She conveniently ignored the words “great expectations,” which sounded somewhat scratching to the ear.
Wei Ci looked down, pretending not to know, but his body betrayed him with loyal treason.
Thanks to the host, even if Jiang Pengji spoke softly, the audience could hear her clearly.
Some oblivious viewers were still lost in Jiang Pengji’s “scheme,” not noticing the interaction between the two.
“Wow, host, you’re so dark. Aren’t you scared of corrupting the kids?”
“Isn’t the trend now to have a dark character? Like the domineering CEO and his delicate young wife, or the cunning prince and his arrogant consort… If the host switched genders, she’d definitely be the global male god; so many fans would be seeking to die for her!”
“Let’s not derail the topic, though. Is there a genius analyzing whether the host’s scheme is feasible?”
Using economic means to indirectly harm the Northern Border’s ecology, a host who could come up with such a cunning idea is quite the character!
Very well, the title of ‘Heartless Goddess’ is hereby awarded to the host!
In the live stream, with 150,000 viewers, people from every walk of life were present.
Many were just idle spectators but there were also “gods” among them.
“Personal opinion: The feasibility is very high. The Northern Border’s three tribes have already been devastated by the Horse Plague, suffering a massive economic blow. Not just the pasture owners, but small-scale shepherds are also facing significant losses. The former is somewhat okay; after all, a dead camel is bigger than a horse, but what about those small-scale shepherds? Their lives are getting quite tough.”
This audience member analyzed seriously, though his ID was quite amusing.
“The Horse Plague isn’t a human-caused disaster, but a natural one, widespread across the Northern Border, with unimaginable economic losses. Who’s going to compensate for these losses? The Northern Border Royal Court? Clearly not! Even in our current society, if there were a nationwide economic loss, nearly all industries would collapse. Even if the state machinery wanted to compensate, the amounts would be limited, let alone in this backward era of the host. Each household can only find their own way to make up the losses. It’s truly like being a mute eating bitter melon nobody can complain.”
“After the Horse Plague, the deaths and injuries among horses in the Northern Border are severe. With a lack of horses, the grass resources will definitely overflow. To compensate for the losses from the Horse Plague, the shepherds must explore alternative business routes. If the host instructs Wei Ci to arrange trade teams to acquire sheepskins, rabbit furs, and cured lamb and rabbit meat from the Northern Border, it’s a signal, hinting they could raise sheep and rabbits using the surplus grass resources.”
