Ant Lord in the Star Realm

Chapter 922 - 662: Great Leader Dragon Cypress (Part 3)

The Mountain Pepper Ant King said, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, after consulting between our five leaders, seventeen deputy leaders, and the twenty-four elite combat team leaders, we agree that we cannot give Blue Island a chance to breathe."

"We mean to invite all forces on the continent capable and willing to participate in the battle, to counterattack Blue Island, encircle the Eight Continents, and trap and kill, slowly wearing down the Stone Hunt Blue Ant."

The passionate emotions of the insects in the square instantly cooled, weighing their thoughts and awaiting further words.

Dragon Cypress: "Before the war, the Stone Hunt Blue Ant Kingdom had about 17 to 18 million ant troops, over a hundred Ant Kings, and four to five hundred Assistant Kings. Among them, three million ant troops were lost on Rainbow Island, how about the losses on Yu’e Island?"

Sedge Bee King replied, "Similarly, about three million."

Dragon Cypress: "The Stone Hunt Blue Ant Kingdom still has over ten million ant troops and three to four hundred Assistant Kings. Attacking the island won’t be so easy, will it?"

Bloodvine Bee King: "We’ve calculated that the Wave Tree Bay Allied Forces can gather thirty million troops within half a month, and through negotiations with other countries, an additional ten million reinforcements should be possible. In terms of sheer numbers, we have nearly a four to one troop advantage."

Azure Mica Ant King said, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, the five of us Ant Kings have discussed and feel that to destroy Blue Island, we need a Great Leader skilled in strategy to coordinate and command the five major group armies. As for strength and war command, across the continent, only you, Dragon Cypress Ant King, are fit for the task."

—— Great Leader?

As soon as these words were spoken, the insect crowd in the square was in an uproar.

Dragon Cypress had anticipated that the Wave Tree Bay Alliance would harbor thoughts of seizing the opportunity to counterattack Blue Island, and Dragon Cypress had intended to encourage this, but had not expected them to suddenly present such a proposal.

—— Great Leader? What does this mean?

Dragon Cypress’s eyes narrowed, thoughts flashing, as the Ice State Whirl Beast transformed into dense fog and dissipated, instructing, "Cypress, Silver Cypress, take your troops to the lake to rest."

Dragon Cypress also called, "Leaders, let’s talk in the main hall!"

Dark Maple Dragonfly King also called, "Let’s enter the main nest for detailed discussion!"

...

The five leaders and many key members of the allied army gathered together.

Dragon Cypress asked directly, "Butterfly King Nupur, Sedge Bee King, is the Wave Tree Bay Alliance running low on war reserve funds?"

Sedge Bee King: "... The matter of electing the Great Leader is unrelated to Source Stone."

The five leaders looked somewhat embarrassed.

Butterfly King Nupur answered frankly, "The gap is indeed quite large. Dragon Cypress Ant King, your bounty might be difficult to immediately fulfill."

Butterfly King Nupur detailed, "Currently, the alliance has stored Divine-Given Origin Force Food valued at Source Stone with the Snow Velvet Spider King, totaling 5.4 billion. The amount is not small, but the war expenditure is greater."

"In this battle, Insect Clan Warriors and Assistant Kings sacrificed, and the junior members of their clans, Ant Kings and Bee Kings, need sufficient resources for compensation. About 1.2 billion Source Stones are needed."

"The war is considered won, all participating Insect Clan Warriors and Assistant Kings need to be rewarded, requiring another 1 billion."

"If we counterattack Blue Island, with thirty million troops on the front line, the daily food consumption would be enormous. Merely relying on donations falls short, so resources must be spent to purchase from Inland Kingdom, and funds also needed to hire ant and bee clans unwilling to fight for transportation. A month of war food costs may reach 1 billion, and this is ongoing consumption."

Dragon Cypress realized they were short on funds.

Due to the system, the Wild God-Given Seed managed by the Wave Tree Bay United Kingdom likely numbers fewer than three digits, the profit produced is insufficient for internal distribution, and such a large power mainly relies on donations to sustain the war.

Previously, without Kirin Beast on Blue Island, this model could still function and even thrive relatively.

If merely over a millennium, with a super low probability of a single Kirin Beast or two, a ten billion high-stakes bounty wouldn’t be much.

No one expected the stable appearance of Kirin Beast and a significant number of Sea Beasts...

This time, Dragon Cypress’s bounty approaches 60 billion, which can’t be paid out, and the gap is enormous.

The war consumes resources, and the Wave Tree Bay Alliance wishes to counterattack Blue Island, which requires at least 3 billion resources...

So, did they come up with the clever plan of ’Great Leader’?

Their logical thinking must be:

The alliance’s wealth is the Great Leader’s wealth, the alliance’s debt is the Great Leader’s debt; what the Great Leader owes, is as good as settling the account.

But if Blue Island is taken?

Victory belongs to everyone, and the fruits of victory should be shared by all.

However,

as the ’Great Leader’, is it not expected to reap more for working harder?

Dragon Cypress shook its tentacle and said, "Regarding the bounty, let’s wait for the Snow Velvet Tycoon to arrive and see what it has to say. As for being the Great Leader... I’m an ant that loves peace, cannot stand killings, dislike conflicts, and am not good at fighting. This position, I truly cannot take on."

Loves peace?

Dislikes conflict?

Not good at fighting?

"..."

The hall was stifling.

What do the heads of Ant Kings, Assistant Kings, and Beetle Kings thrown outside say?

"Dragon Cypress Ant King is too modest..."

The Reaper Leaf Insect King broke the silence, pondered, and asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, do you think it is suitable to rally forces and counterattack Blue Island at this moment?"

The Ocean God’s Scepter is something similar to the Thousand-Year Tree, a combat-type Outworld Civilization artifact. It’s even more formidable than the Thousand-Year Tree, with a larger scope of protection.

Counterattacking Blue Island can only encircle without killing, which presents a fatal problem: two years later is the Expedition Year; if pressured too much, the ants from Blue Island might run away with the Wild God-Given Seed, leaving Origin Force Star Realm. This is a loss Dragon Cypress absolutely cannot bear.

At the same time,

the Eddy Scorpionfish Ant King from Zhibai Continent must die; this scourge should not be left for long.

Dragon Cypress’s idea is still to feign attack, spreading the message to the outside that Blue Island will be seized at once, and that the Allied Army has the strength and determination to besiege Blue Island and annihilate the Stone Hunt Blue Ants.

To force the Eddy Scorpionfish Ant King to either leave Origin Force Star Realm or go mad and jump out to cause trouble in retaliation.

Dragon Cypress responded righteously, "This is not a question of suitability, but a necessity to counterattack. As everyone says, we must not give Blue Island any chance to breathe."

The Reaper Leaf Beetle King nodded its tentacle heavily, "That’s good! It seems everyone’s opinion on this matter is highly consistent."

The Reaper Leaf Beetle King took a glance around and slowly said, "I am a mainland insect from Zhibai Continent, here to assist in combat on Wanglan Continent, originally not supposed to be involved in the internal management affairs of Wave Tree Bay Alliance. However, the war has reached this critical point, I have to say a few words."

"According to my over a hundred years of war experience, the five Great Leaders of the Alliance each command a Group Army, each with their own duties. The five leaders jointly decide on war affairs, the seventeen Deputy Leaders collaborate, balance power, making major errors less likely. This system can defend Yu’e Island, but that’s about it."

"If we want to counterattack Blue Island, this conservative war command system won’t work; there must be a Great Leader with both strength and ability, capable of winning the trust of all insects to unify command."

Butterfly King Nupur also chimed in, "Although it is unclear how Rainbow Island managed to annihilate all the invading Blue Island elite forces in one fell swoop, the battle results are undeniable. The current favorable situation was orchestrated by Dragon Cypress Ant King, witnessed by all insects of Wave Tree Bay Alliance. Dragon Cypress Ant King’s prestige has thus reached its peak due to this battle. As it stands, only Dragon Cypress Ant King is fit for the position of Great Leader."

Mountain Pepper Ant King concluded, "Indeed. To counterattack Blue Island, a Great Leader is needed; currently, only Dragon Cypress Ant King has the ability to take on this position."

In the hall, all the insects agreed.

Dragon Cypress reluctantly shook its tentacle, hesitated and nodded, speaking in a tone full of helplessness, "Since everyone says so, it seems I can’t refuse. But I’m truly not interested in the Great Leader position. We can take a compromise; I can serve as ’Temporary Great Leader’, for the war against Blue Island, I can take on the role temporarily to do some work within my ability. Matters beyond Blue Island, I won’t handle."

No insect responded.

Dragon Cypress slowly turned around, observing, and added, "I’ve calculated, the total reward for the battle at Rainbow Island is about 5.85 billion Source Stones and 83 Divine-Grade Fruits. Here’s the deal, not a single Divine-Grade Fruit can be missed, they can be gradually redeemed. From the Spider King Scroll, I’ll take only 1 billion to purchase Divine-Grade Fruits. And then... I’ve heard Blue Island’s Source Stone Mines are quite rich? After conquering it, let’s mine them empty first, cut off their roots. The Source Stones excavated, make up the 4.85 billion?"

"Dragon Cypress Ant King is magnanimous!"

"This is very reasonable!"

"This is a solution to solve the problem!"

"As long as Dragon Cypress Ant King can help us win Blue Island, Source Stones will definitely not be a problem."

...

All insects agreed.

Dragon Cypress moved to the middle of the hall in front of the sand table, activated its Earth System Abilities, the sand changed, transforming into a rough topographic map of Blue Island, tentacle pointing, said:

"Now is the best season for cross-sea combat, come, let’s discuss a rough strategy for attacking Blue Island, get moving tonight, start the pre-war preparations..."