After the middle-aged man finished speaking, the court erupted in laughter.

What he said actually made some sense.

After all, Chen Chu was only at the mid-level strength.

They were utterly insignificant compared to these saints.

Chen Chu was initially somewhat modest, but then he heard the continuous mocking voices from these saints.

Chen Chu, however, spoke directly in a commanding tone.

"Bring me a map!"

Warfare often depends not on sheer strength.

Both the strong and the weak have their own fighting styles.

If you lack skill, make up for it with your brains.

Chen Chu's mind was filled with a wealth of knowledge that far surpassed that of these Soul Clan Saints.

"You really intend to dictate the fate of the world?" the armored saint sneered.

The Empress's gaze fell upon him, and she said, "Han Kai, this is my man. Perhaps he has a solution. Let's hear what he has to say, or perhaps you can offer a countermeasure now!"

The question, "Give me a solution," immediately silenced the powerful warrior, who possessed the strength of a peak Saint.

He had no way to solve it.

Even though everyone else was silent, they were all looking at Chen Chu with cold smiles. With only mid-level strength, what good ideas could he possibly come up with?

A waiter brought over a map.

The map marks the territories of different factions.

Chen Chu was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected the second level of the Ghost Realm to be so vast.

I had heard Shafei mention it before, but I didn't have a concrete understanding of it.

Looking at the map now, I'm afraid the second level of the Ghost Realm could be half the size of the Great Xia Dynasty.

This is only a part of a dungeon!

The map marks five major powers, also known as the five Soul Kingdoms.

There are also some smaller forces, about seven or eight scattered around the five Soul Kingdoms, which look like vassal states.

The strongest Soul Kingdom, also known as the Soul Sea Kingdom they just mentioned, is located in the west.

The other four kingdoms, including the Empress's Soul Serpent Kingdom, are scattered in the east like stars around a constellation.

However, the Soul Serpent Kingdom is the closest kingdom to the Soul Sea Kingdom.

If the Soul Sea Kingdom wants to expand, it must first take down the Soul Serpent Kingdom before it can better target the other three Soul Kingdoms.

“Mark the approximate strength of each country!”

Chen Chu glanced at the waiter beside him.

The waiter looked troubled.

These are things that a waitress like her could never know.

The Empress parted her lips slightly and spoke.

"You want to know the strength of which countries? I'll tell you!"

Chen Chu glanced at the Empress and then said, "I need to know their complete troop deployment. Also, how accurate is the information you gathered? If it's inaccurate, then the cost will be double what we found!"

Chen Chu's actions surprised the ministers below.

There was no way a man dared to stand so close to the Empress, and even spoke in a commanding tone.

"The information we gathered may not be entirely accurate, but it's definitely about 80% reliable!"

After the Empress finished speaking, she began to introduce the military deployments of various countries to Chen Chu.

After listening, Chen Chu picked up a calligraphy brush. Although the brush was not easy to use, there was no point in forcing anything now.

"As Your Majesty said, we only need to unite these countries to safely overcome this crisis!"

After Chen Chu finished speaking, the ministers below all looked disdainful.

The burly man in armor, the peak saint known as Fierce Armor, sneered.

"If it were that easy, we would have already joined forces with them. Would we need you to tell us that?"

Chen Chu smiled and shook his head, but he wasn't angry. "The past is the past, and the present is the present. With the threat from the Soul Sea Kingdom, do you think they aren't worried?"

"They're just observing right now, and I suspect you're even concealing the news of the defeat, aren't you?"

After Chen Chu finished speaking, Han Kai was stunned. "How did you know that we were hiding the news?"

"If you hadn't been hiding information, those three Soul Kingdoms would probably have sent people to make contact by now!"

Chen Chu shook his head. "Spread the news of our defeat now. We must let them know immediately that the Soul Sea Kingdom is terrifyingly powerful and almost invincible!"

"Moreover, after the Soul Sea Kingdom conquers us, they will use the remaining forces of our Soul Serpent Kingdom as vanguards to begin invading them!"

Having said that, Chen Chu stopped talking.

Han Kai looked at Chen Chu, waiting for him to continue.

The little girl standing to the side was not happy about it.

"Why don't you continue? Why did you stop?"

The Empress looked helpless. "Liu'er, don't be rude!"

Chen Chu smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the following news is all military secret. Are we really going to start discussing it here in the main hall? What if the news leaks out...?"

"Very well, the twelve of you will come with me. The rest of you may leave!"

The Empress looked at the twelve saints standing at the very front.

He then got up and walked towards the side hall next to him.

Chen Chu naturally followed the Empress.

However, the powerful ministers in the court looked at each other in bewilderment.

I don't know why the Empress is so biased towards a stranger.

Moreover, this unfamiliar man was only at the mid-level in strength.

But since His Majesty has given such an order, they have no choice but to obey.

The group arrived at the side hall.

The Empress sat firmly behind her desk, with Chen Chu standing beside her, and twelve powerful sages forming a circle opposite them.

"Speak out your countermeasures. Those here are all my trusted confidants."

The Empress's words about a confidant greatly pleased the twelve saints present.

Chen Chu nodded slightly, and then took out the map he had just seen.

"What I just said—that we need to create anxiety to make it easier to unite with other Soul Kingdoms—is only the first step!"

As he spoke, Chen Chu used his brush to point to the Soul-Hooking Kingdom, which was located above their Soul Serpent Kingdom, on the map.

"The Soul-Hooking Kingdom is about the same strength as us, and if our Soul Serpent Kingdom is breached, they will definitely be the first country to suffer a severe blow."

"In that case, they are our first target!"

Han Kai frowned. "You mean we're the first to join forces with them? Impossible! We fought them last year!"

"No, as I just said, forming an alliance is only the first step, just getting them to have the awareness of forming an alliance!"

Chen Chu smiled slightly, "The second step we need to take is to unite with the Soul Sea Kingdom!"

Chen Chu's words made everyone's eyes widen.

"What?! You want to join forces with the Soul Sea Kingdom?!" Han Kai looked like he wanted to devour someone. "We just lost 100,000 Soul Army soldiers to them. If you join forces with them now, aren't you just handing us over to them?"

The middle-aged man who had previously mocked Chen Chu also said coldly, "That's absolutely impossible!"