Chapter 410 - 306 Don’t Bite Me!

"Don’t get too arrogant, Long Yi!" The councilor on the right yelled, pointing at Long Yi.

"Oh, okay. Now you’re biting me?" Long Yi laughed.

The councilor glanced at Long Yi’s muscular body, gave him a fierce look, and then stopped speaking. Regardless of the validity of Long Yi’s achievements, his physical strength was real.

Afterwards, the councilors began to debate. Supporters and opponents were roughly equal. Generally speaking, going to war means consuming significant amounts of funds. And the rich would definitely be the first targets of the Empire’s attention. However, all the wealthy men present supported the war.

When you think about it, in this world, what could stimulate economic development more than war?

The councilors stood up one by one to express their opinions. After endless disputes, no one was able to convince the others.

Having a discussion about starting a war, such a significant matter, was a characteristic of the White Dragon Empire. Once at a meeting, a councilor had suggested to provide free toilet paper in all public restrooms which got an overwhelming approval and was implemented on the spot. Of course, the business providers ended up offering it for free. That year, the sales volume of those businesses’ toilet paper increased significantly, presumably because people liked the quality of the free toilet paper and decided to buy it for their homes.

Of course, some proposals can be approved on the spot, such as the one about toilet paper. But some proposals remain just that; proposals.

Like war.

In the end, only the War Committee can decide whether to go to war.

Listening to the clamor of the crowd, Long Yi felt that they all made good points, and there were no overly aggressive arguments.

Soon, the discussion time limit for the topic was almost up.

The Emperor signaled for the discussion to stop.

"I will consult about this matter with the War Committee. But before that, would Long Yi like to express his opinion?"

The Emperor suddenly asked Long Yi.

Immediately, all eyes turned to Long Yi.

The Emperor’s words suggested that Long Yi’s words held significant weight. Otherwise, why would the Emperor specifically ask Long Yi?

Long Yi hadn’t anticipated being asked and took a moment to think before saying, "I believe that rashly going to war is extremely foolish."

Hearing Long Yi say this, the councilor on the right of Long Yi scoffed, "What, our great hero Long Yi is afraid?"

Long Yi just laughed and counter-asked, "Honorable councilor, where were you when the Black Dragon Empire invaded?"

The councilor was taken aback for a moment, then his face turned red: "I was in Colier Town, but I—"

"So, where were you when we went to war with the Green Dragon Empire?" Long Yi didn’t give him the chance to say more.

"I was in the Imperial City... but..."

"When I destroyed an Undead Warrior Factory in the Black Dragon Empire and was desperately escaping; when the Third Legion risked their lives to come and get me out of the Black Dragon Empire’s territory, where were you then?"

"I..."

"Can’t answer that?" Long Yi laughed. "See, this is why we leave the decision of going to war to the War Committee and not you. Because we are warriors, we don’t trust people unacquainted with the battlefield."

No doubt, Long Yi’s mockery was somewhat broad. Most of the people at the scene hadn’t been on the battlefield. The meeting was mainly to discuss internal affairs, not military matters. Military topics were usually left to the War Committee to discuss.

"Bastard! No matter where I am, I am still dedicating everything to the Empire! The late Emperor himself awarded me! Are you denying all that I have done for the Empire?" The councilor was irate.

Not only him, even the other councilors glared at Long Yi. This Long Yi was too audacious!

The Emperor himself felt that he might have made an unnecessary move. He could’ve asked about these things later, why ask here? If Long Yi didn’t provoke trouble, it wouldn’t align with his character!

But Long Yi just smiled.

"I think you misunderstood. I do not mean to deny your contributions or those of everyone in the room. You are all indispensable talents for the Empire, the pillars among the masses." Long Yi said.

Hearing these words made the expression on people’s faces more agreeable.

"However," the appearance of these two words made people frown again.

"But, there are some things that you should not worry about." Long Yi said.

"I saw that councilor, you’ve always been in charge of the Empire’s water conservancy project. Last year during the flood, your project saved the Empire tens of millions in funds. If I asked you to design a new dragon saddle for all Dragon Knights tomorrow, do you think you could do it?"

The councilor who was pointed at by Long Yi laughed and shook his head. He was delighted to have his achievements mentioned, but designing a dragon saddle was something he certainly couldn’t do.

"See, that’s right. Although your contribution to the Empire is great, in terms of direct help to the Dragon Knights in battle, you may not be as helpful as a tanner who provides them with new dragon saddles. But the money to buy those saddles might have been saved by you."

"Similarly, because you all have made outstanding contributions in your own fields, you are able to become councilors and speak freely. But please do not express too many views on things you don’t understand, especially complicated matters like war. You ensure the economic development of the Empire, and we as warriors ensure that you can keep doing that. Just as we do not interfere in your matters, please do not point fingers at things you don’t understand."

Long Yi’s words were neither humble nor arrogant, neither too aggressive nor retreating.

Red-faced, the councilor next to Long Yi bowed his head in silence. Indeed, he didn’t understand war very well and had spoken rashly due to his prejudice against Long Yi, who now left him speechless.

Long Yi looked around; some were nodding in agreement with him, while obviously others disliked him even more. Seeing this, Long Yi just laughed to himself. I’m not gold, not everyone can love me. Even if I were, there might be those who think of money as dirt... Oops, what nonsense am I saying?

Today’s meeting ended without passing any agenda. Unresolved topics can be reworked and sent back to the Emperor. Smaller meetings to discuss these topics occur every day.

The meeting ended, and the Emperor left first. He did not exit the room but moved forward, as there were still important matters to discuss with the Emperor.

Then, a young man approached Long Yi.

This was the spokesperson for the Eye of the White Dragon, the think tank of the White Dragon Empire.

The Eye of the White Dragon was an independent organization, functioning outside the Emperor’s control. They provided relatively objective viewpoints. Although, due to their lack of access to some classified information, their viewpoints were somewhat biased. However, they occasionally proposed enlightening ideas.

"Mr. Long Yi! Our boss hopes to have a chance to meet you!" the young man said.

"To meet me?" Long Yi smiled, "What a grand posture he has!"

"Yes, to meet you!" The young man maintained his professional smile.

"Okay, he can look for me whenever he has time," said Long Yi.

"No, no, Mr. Long Yi, you misunderstood. I meant for you to go—"

"Sorry, I am quite busy lately."

Long Yi interrupted.

He thought, wants to meet me? Who does he think he is? Just because he said so, I should comply?

The young man had no choice but to leave with a hint of disappointment on his face.

After the meeting, Kirei was waiting for Long Yi in the rest room. When Long Yi entered, he saw the Emperor examining the war assessment report prepared by the think tank.

Kirei gestured Long Yi to sit down. He handed over the report to Long Yi, who scanned through it without uttering a word while Kirei silently waited for him to finish.

The report was quite long and contained many detailed data, which Long Yi did not examine closely. After all, he had no way to verify the authenticity of the data, so he just skimmed through it.

"Long Yi, you don’t support going to war?" Kirei asked.

"Yes, I do," replied Long Yi.

"Eh? But you seemed so agitated before." In reality, the Emperor was inclined towards war, but Long Yi’s evident opposition to it had unsettled him. After all, when it comes to assessing the strength of both sides in a war, no one had more authority to speak than Long Yi.

"I just don’t like laymen meddling in the affairs of professionals," Long Yi said, "If it’s your job, you must do it well without needing me to tell you. If it’s not, you have no right to comment, no matter how righteous your argument is."

Kirei nodded, admitting that there was some truth to Long Yi’s words, though slightly extreme. Nevertheless, this had been the tradition of the White Dragon Empire for many years – although we may not agree with your view, we guarantee your right to express it. Yet to Long Yi, this tradition was utter nonsense. Not everyone is entitled to voice their opinions.

"So, do you believe we have to engage in a full-scale war with the Black Dragon Empire?" asked Kirei.

"How could we? The Black Dragon Empire has been preparing for war for many years. We simply can’t defeat them easily," Long Yi replied.

"Then what do you suggest? Wait, you mean...a diversionary tactic!" Kirei, being a smart man, immediately understood Long Yi’s plan as he had already hinted at it.

"Exactly, a diversion," Long Yi smiled. He liked intelligent people as they don’t waste time on pointless chatter.

Kirei instantly understood Long Yi’s thoughts.

True, in the recent period, the White Dragon Empire had achieved a series of victories against the Black Dragon Empire, but not all of them were from direct confrontations. It was Elsa who killed the nine strongest Dragon Knights of the Black Dragon Empire, and Long Yi who defeated Yake Black!

To this day, the Emperor could still vividly remember the outcome of a direct clash between Dragon Knights of the White Dragon Empire and those of the Black Dragon Empire in Elsa and Long Yi’s absence.

It was never more than a brutal failure.

Under the power of Dragon’s Breath Reincarnation, Black Dragon Empire’s Dragon Knights possessed an overwhelming strength that was difficult to resist.

At present, the Dragon Knights of the Black Dragon Empire had suffered heavy losses. Many were killed or captured in the battle against the Green Dragon Empire. Subsequently, during their pursuit of Long Yi, over 330 more were killed in an explosion.

Such losses were enormous for a country that only possessed 3,000 Dragon Knights!

However, the Black Dragon Empire has yet to respond. Anyone with a brain could guess that they must be planning a devastating revenge! Once this retaliation does arrive, amongst the two imperial powers, either the Black Dragon or the White Dragon, only one would remain!

"Do you know, the research institute is also studying secrets similar to Dragon’s Breath Reincarnation?" whispered Kirei.

"What’s the result?" Long Yi asked.

"The side effects are significant – it’s not worth it," Kirei replied, "However, Dean Ma Deburg developed a new system that can achieve partial effects similar to the Dragon’s Breath Reincarnation without any adverse impact on the Dragon Knights."

"Let me guess, Crystal Core?"

"Yes, Crystal Core."

Long Yi and the Emperor fell silent.

"Come, let me explain my plans to you. As for the war with the Black Dragon Empire, I won’t be participating in that," said Long Yi.

"Okay." The Emperor nodded gravely.

The Emperor knew that as soon as war broke out with the Black Dragon, Long Yi would immediately put into action his plans to invade the plane of the Crazy Demons. The outcome of the war between the Black Dragon Empire and the White Dragon Empire would then be out of his hands.

The upcoming war would have no place for Long Yi. (To be continued. If you like this story, your votes and support on qidian.com will serve as my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read on m.qidian.com.)