Chapter 352 City-State Independence Act

Suddenly, they heard a terrifying roar, like the battle cry of a giant from ancient times charging towards Black Moon. They froze for a few seconds before realizing it was the angry roar of the store manager.

The otter editor's cup fell to the ground. He stared blankly at the water curtain, his mouth moving unnaturally. It seemed that he had exhausted all his energy to utter just a few syllables.

"This can't be true..." it said. "This is ridiculous."

"They're all crazy!! They're all crazy!!!" screamed the Crucian Carp manager.

That scream ignited everyone's emotions. The strangers, the shop assistants who hadn't left yet, even the bewildered civilians outside the bookstore—everyone, almost at that moment, gradually grasped the truth, and anxiety swept through the city like a tidal wave. The quiet city suddenly erupted in chaos, people rushed out of their homes, roaring at anyone they saw.

Supporters of the bill cheered, while opponents clenched their anger and shock into fists, striking their compatriots. Some, enraged, smashed windows, while panicked people set fires in the streets. However, the Holy Guards were unable to intervene in time, and they too were bewildered by the news. In a matter of seconds, the ancient city nearly collapsed, every life a shrieking sand in the avalanche.

Suddenly, the utter chaos was forcibly halted. Chu Hengkong unfurled his Death Wings, his bony wings scorching with claw marks as dense as rain. He effectively prohibited every living being from moving within a wide area. This prohibition lasted for about two seconds, after which wooden spears appeared out of thin air across the street. He knew the third team had reacted, so he wearily retracted his Death Wings.

"I don't understand," he said.

He really couldn't understand why, even though they all knew the content of that ridiculous bill and how ridiculous the delusions put forward by politicians were, they had never thought that the day would come when it would become a reality.

Break away from the Senluo Secret Realm and become an independent island? Sever a continent's worth of land from the Secret Realm, and drift 1.5 billion people into the Sea of ​​Illusion? How could such a fantasy possibly succeed? Even if Jingsha's divine power could truly protect all beings from the demonic threat, what would become of life thereafter? What would become of the Secret Realm with a quarter of its territory missing? What about the Desperate Front? What about the other islands?

He was not good at calculations and situation deduction, but even so he knew that such a strange act would have a huge impact, and the world as people knew it would collapse directly.

Gulibo sat down on the ground with a thud, his little eyes as blank as a piece of white paper.

"Independence?" it trembled. "Then what will happen to the Desperate Front? Should we... travel across the ocean to support everyone...?"

"There's no more Desperate Front!" roared the Otter Editor. "Don't you understand? The Desperate Front only existed because the city-states held fast to the front lines, but after the city-states gained independence, it physically disappeared! Without even the land behind the front, what's the point of fighting?!"

"The fortress on the front line has disappeared, and the soldiers have nowhere to retreat..." Ji Huaisu muttered to himself, "Xura Island will never fight this kind of battle. Even the martial artists can't station themselves at the coastline. After that..."

"After that, the war will begin."

Trek appeared before them, his face calm yet gloomy. "Only two factions remain in this vast land: the Empire of Truth and the Spiral Tower. Originally, the Thorns and the Battle Front were the only buffer between these two behemoths. After Thorns' independence, they will devour the Secret Realm in a matter of days, wiping out all life within and around it. They will cross the Netherworld Homeland to the south and reach the other side of the coastline..."

He paused for a moment and said, "Without its barrier, the city of Huilong will be annihilated as well."

Ji Huaisu bit his lip tightly: "And then?"

"Once the existing territories and resources are divided, the two outsiders will come into direct conflict," Trek said. "It will no longer be a minor border war; the border of the confrontation will be their homeland. The gods of both sides will come out in full force, the Supreme Mage and the Philosopher Emperor will personally take to the battlefield, and the aftermath of the war will sweep across the Ten Thousand Dusts Isle. Whether the other factions like it or not, they will be swept into the struggle between the Supremes. At that time..."

"The second war is about to begin." Chu Hengkong said.

In just a few words, a catastrophic vision unfolded before everyone: a hell on earth. Most people in the Shendong Realm were still alive because the situation was barely balanced. If Jingsha became independent, that balance would collapse instantly, and the consequences were self-evident.

"There must be a way to maintain it!" Li Ke said anxiously, "Please ask Shura Island to hold on for a while longer, waiting for the main force from Longquan Township to arrive..."

"Rush here to defend a hopeless dead zone?" Finder asked. "This isn't a question of fighting spirit. The key to war lies in logistics. Gods and demigods don't worry about food, but even a Sephiroth needs to eat! The battle line can only be maintained by the supplies provided by the city-state for thousands of years. If we lose our base camp, how can we fight?!"

"So that's really it?" Rico said blankly, "Was World War II started just because of this stupid bill?"

“No,” Velvet said.

While the others argued, she remained alone, gazing at the water curtain, listening to Parriman's speech. She spoke calmly, as if anticipating this. "The Supremes will not allow a war to break out lightly. Even the Outer Dao's own master would not wish to witness such a hasty confrontation. Perhaps it will be the Master of the Remnant Heart, or perhaps the Master of the Ethereal. A Supreme will personally descend upon the Senluo Secret Realm. The World Tree will wield its might to rebuild its territory, creating a second desperate frontier."

But that does not mean the problem is solved. If the Lord of Remnant Heart comes to guard, the sharp blade that intimidates the heterodox gods will no longer exist, and the Shendong Realm will return to its darkest period. High-quality heterodox gods will come indiscriminately, coming and leaving like a hurricane, leaving only a broken tragedy.

If Piaomiao Fate Master arrives to defend Longquan Township, the defenses will be weakened, forcing the roaming Dragon Township martial artists to return to defend the mainland, leading to the destruction of numerous small and medium-sized Dust Islands. Zhulong will have to simultaneously fight the Abyss and defend the mainland, exacerbating the pressure on the Zhulong. Daylight hours in the Shendong Realm will be shortened to 6-7 hours, with some border Dust Islands receiving less than 4 hours of sunlight. As the First Abyss' power waxes and wanes, the Shendong Realm will gradually be shrouded in a long night.

Velvet concluded: "Whatever the choice, the world is heading towards a slow death."

"I can't imagine anything worse." Vander said in a daze.

"Actually, there is," Velvet continued. "Mr. Trek mentioned logistics earlier. The city-state of Thorns is also the largest granary within the Allied Forces' territory. Thorns' independence will result in the loss of food supplies for approximately 7,000 medium-sized dust islands and 30,000 small dust islands surrounding the Secret Realm. Many more dust islands will suffer secondary effects due to the interruption of trade. Parriman mentioned that they will rebuild shipping routes centered on the new city-state, but this project will take at least a year, and before it is completed, more than ten billion intelligent beings will die of famine..."

She rechecked her calculations and changed her words, "But before they starve to death, the outsiders will follow the tide and arrive first. They will be slaughtered in hunger."

"Thank you, Miss Velvet. Please stop the deduction and give us some time to calm down," said the big seal.

Someone howled, "I want to die."

There's probably no better way to describe the mood of the local people at this moment than to say the sky is falling. Even more desperate than the impending hell is that hundreds of millions of citizens are completely unaware of it, even celebrating the passage of the bill, happy that they can stay away from the war.

The cry of "I want to die" can be said to be the inner voice of everyone at this moment. They really want to die. Seeing such a bastard passing by in front of them but being unable to do anything, they wish they could slit their own necks in advance for these idiots.

Then, anxiety took hold.

"So what should we do?"

A shop assistant whispered, "With the Lord of the Divine Tree here with us, we won't die..."

"What about the other Dust Islands? What about the tens of billions of people?!"

"How should I know? This is not something I could have imagined! And I voted against it!"

"The situation may not be so bad!"

"What do you know about the situation? You didn't even vote!"

"I don't even know anything about the third order, how can I vote for the city-state?"

Everyone was in a daze, blaming one another as if scolding the people around them would solve the problem. Everyone was panicking in the face of such a massive disaster. The scale of the problem far exceeded even the most pessimistic imaginations, and psychological preparation was almost zero, because before today, no one had ever thought that the bill could actually pass.

"The passage of a bill like this requires a double check from both citizens and the Senate!" Rico shouted. "It's one thing for the legislators to be manipulated by Parriman, but are the citizens really that foolish?"

"The Wattle Festival incident was the final trigger," Trick told her. "Opposition to the bill was lumped together with terrorists. Parriman's speech further fueled popular resistance. Even people who weren't interested in politics sided with the bill because their festival had been ruined... That day, some opinion leaders were supposed to lead the protest, but they were found to have voted in favor. The opposition was thrown into disarray, unable to focus on anything else."

Fander had a headache: "Pariman instigated them to rebel?"

"I think his method was simpler." Trek conjured a small mushroom. "He could have had a small number of people consume inspiration mushroom powder before the vote, and use the mushrooms to sway their opinions. Unfortunately, everyone was busy fighting at the time and didn't have the energy to deal with such petty tricks."

The old octopus was also in the bookstore, hiding in a corner, bewildered: "When I was growing mushrooms, I never thought something like this would happen!!"

"It turned out to be your fault!"

"It's the voters' fault, isn't it?"

"What's the point of saying this now?"

"So are we just going to sit here and watch others die?!"

At this moment, a loud clanging sound was heard, interrupting everyone's quarrel.

Chu Hengkong tapped the handle of his sword gently. He remained seated on the sofa, listening to the quarrel without showing any emotion. As usual, he spoke with an air of indifference, "What should we do next?"

Li Ke said dully, "The bill has already been passed, so what's the next step?"

"There are still 30 days until the law is implemented. There's plenty of time. Why rush?" Chu Hengkong laughed. "Boss, you came to Jingsha with a job. You won't give up easily, will you?"

"It hasn't even started yet, let alone the outcome."

Velvet glanced at her watch and turned off the water screen projection. She stood up with the help of her cane and said, "It's almost time. My application should be approved."

"What application?"

"A request to meet the Jingsha Sacred Tree."

The wind chimes at the doorway rang again, and a man in dark, aristocratic attire stepped into the bookstore amidst the ringing of the bells. He nodded to everyone and extended his hand toward the door.

"Please follow me," Benintic said.

(End of this chapter)