"My lords, this Prince Huo brings only a twenty-man escort — what exactly is he scheming?" His Majesty the Emperor was equally perplexed.
"Your Majesty, who cares what he's scheming? What can twenty people accomplish? Even if every last one of them were at the peak of the Celestial realm, trying to take on the entire Sancai Island Domain would be the dream of a madman. With the advantage of terrain and favorable conditions, even twenty peak Celestial cultivators won't leave alive. Besides, we have allies."
Everyone nodded. Even Zhao Situ found the situation deeply puzzling. If the Huichun Island Domain truly intended to seek vengeance, they should be sending a massive army.
So why send only a dozen-odd people? No matter how formidable a handful of cultivators might be, what kind of chaos could they possibly cause?
Moreover, the Sancai Island Domain had rallied many allies this time — numerous surrounding powers had all hitched themselves to the Sancai war chariot.
If war truly broke out with the Huichun Island Domain, these neighboring forces would absolutely not stand by idly.
After all, that wouldn't serve their interests either.
"Your Majesty, perhaps Prince Huo has come to negotiate?" someone offered.
"Impossible! If it were negotiation, wouldn't he have sent advance notice? Instead he barges straight through with his people?"
"But if it's not negotiation, could he really be here to fight? With twenty men, how much fighting can he do?"
"Could the Huichun Island Domain's main army already be assembled, and these twenty are merely the vanguard, clearing the path ahead?"
Even as a vanguard, what path could twenty people clear?
The Sancai Island Domain's imperial city was built on advantageous terrain, protected by formations. On top of that, the Sancai Island Domain had its own crop of powerful experts standing guard.
Under these circumstances, launching a direct assault would be the most irrational choice possible.
The Huichun Island Domain had already suffered a devastating blow from the meddling of those noble houses from the Duowen Divine Kingdom, leaving them severely weakened. Their ranks of top-tier experts had shrunk considerably.
There was simply no way the Huichun Island Domain had the resources to launch an attack right now.
"Your Majesty — Prince Huo of the Huichun Island Domain has arrived with his escort at the airspace above the outer perimeter of the imperial city. He is calling Your Majesty out by name, demanding that you come and face him!" A second wave of scouts delivered the latest report.
This news instantly swept away every remaining doubt and put a decisive end to the discussion.
Now, even a fool could see that Prince Huo had not come to negotiate. If he intended diplomacy, he would have submitted a formal visiting card and handled matters through proper protocol.
Instead, Prince Huo was calling the Emperor out by name.
This was a naked provocation. In an instant, the expressions on every face in the hall turned extremely complicated.
Those with shorter tempers were already shouting: "Your Majesty, since this Prince Huo has come of his own free will to seek death, let us grant him his wish!"
"Exactly — right on our doorstep, and he dares to act arrogant? Putting an end to him couldn't be more perfect! It saves us the trouble of hunting him down!"
"Your Majesty, give the order to fight! We volunteer as the vanguard and would be happy to test these Huichun Island Domain experts!"
It was plain to see that these people had never truly given up on the Huichun Island Domain.