Chapter 1252 - The Risk of a Tiger Seeking Its Skin
Chapter 1252: The Risk of a Tiger Seeking Its Skin
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ice Storm fell into deep thought.
Meng Chao’s words seemed to open the door to a new world for her.
Behind the door, there were countless questions that she had never thought of before.
Fortunately, with the Land of Holy Light and Picturesque Orchid Lake, both her survival and escape experiences were much broader and more adaptable than that of pure orc warriors and mages.
After careful consideration, she could not help but agree with Meng Chao’s judgment.
“It makes sense. After all, the Wolf King’s foundation is not as strong as the Lion King and the Tiger King’s. Even if he’s lucky enough to become a war priest, his control over the Lion Clan, Tiger Clan, and even the five great clans would not be as strong as the war priests in the past—at least, not in the beginning.”
Ice Storm thoughtfully said, “In order to secure the war priest’s throne, the Wolf King has to be braver, more radical, and tougher than the Lion and Tiger Kings. He needs to be able to satisfy the common wishes of all the Turan orcs.
“In other words, even if the Wolf King is willing to cooperate with you and your people, his own wishes won’t matter because he would be invested in the Turan orcs’ fury and desire. He has no other choice!”
“That’s right, that’s it!”
Meng Chao was happy that he could find a partner with such a clear mind in Picturesque Orchid.
In his opinion, “Jackal” Kanus was actually quite similar to the war-mongering maniac who launched World War II during the Earth era.
The reason why such maniacs could go from a nobody to a leader of the masses in just a few years was thanks to factors such as their abilities, charm, and efforts.
More importantly, they clearly saw the tide of the times, climbed to the top of the storm, and became the embodiment of the people’s desires, anger, and hatred.
Then, once they stole the highest position, they would continue to be driven by the tide of the era and exhaust themselves to satisfy the unquenchable desires of the masses, which would constantly grow. There was no other way besides that.
Therefore, if there was a twenty to thirty percent chance on the Lion King and Tiger King’s side, they could help the Turan civilization’s rumbling war machine to put on the brakes for the time being.
On the Wolf King’s side, there was hardly a chance.
Besides, Meng Chao was convinced. “‘Jackal’ Kanus is more eager to start the war as soon as possible than anyone else. He wishes that he could raise the war’s scale and intensity to the maximum on its first day.
“Why is that?” Ice Storm asked curiously.
She was just curious, not questioning him.
“Because the larger the scale of the war, the more intense it will be. Only then will he have a chance to sit on the War Chief’s throne and become the eternal king of Picturesque Orchid!”
Meng Chao said, “Have you forgotten what he did during the Great Horn Army’s siege?
“Before the rat rebels’ siege, ‘Jackal’ Kanus was only the Wolf King in name. Everybody knew that he was just a puppet and that many unruly commanders in the Wolf Clan didn’t even look at him.
“But what about now?
“Through a series of cunning and ruthless operations, most of the Wolf Clan commanders, who didn’t take him seriously, have either died or gotten injured. Even the surviving ones have ruined reputations because of the rat people. They can no longer pose any threat to ‘Jackal’ Kanus.
“Meanwhile, with a series of performances that turned the tide, our Wolf King established a rather glorious image in the hearts of all the Wolf Clan warriors. Moreover, I believe that his trusted aides have taken the opportunity to fill the gap in power left by the commanders who fled. Hence, they’ve firmly taken control of the entire Wolf Clan.
“Once ‘Jackal’ Kanus becomes the War Chief…
“He’ll definitely need a larger-scale war to establish his prestige and consolidate his rule. He’ll need to deal with the troublemakers whom he can’t use on the battlefield, where swords have no eyes. He’ll also need his trusted aides to take advantage of the situation and gradually take control of the entire Turan Army.
“With his patience, before he’s confident enough to deal with all his internal opponents and the troublemakers, he’ll certainly sweet-talk the unruly chiefs and commanders. He’ll make all kinds of promises that he’ll never be able to keep.
“Tell me, why would such a Wolf King, who’s ready to ‘disguise as a pig to eat the tiger,’ put on an aggressive stance and cooperate with the black-haired, black-eyed aliens? Why would he make such a drastic change in Picturesque Orchid at the risk of angering vested interest groups?”
As the saying went, “This time, it’s different.”
In his previous life, when the Dragon City civilization and the Turan civilization came into contact, “Jackal” Kanus had already firmly taken control of the military and Picturesque Orchid Lake’s political power. Through a series of dazzling victories, he had established a high prestige. All his opponents and troublemakers had also been eliminated by him repeatedly.
Therefore, the “Jackal” Kanus from that time was able to withstand the pressure and sign an alliance agreement with the Dragon City civilization. He had also attached great importance to the suggestions of Dragon City’s people in strategic and tactical issues.
However, the current “Jackal” Kanus was far from being so strong.
The immediate issue for him was to climb up and secure the position of war priest.
It was not about victory or defeat in the war between worlds.
Even if Meng Chao opened his heart to him, he would be keenly aware of the Dragon City civilization’s value.
He would also likely think, ‘Cooperation with Dragon City is imperative, but first, I have to take full control of Orchid Lake’s entire map!”
Unfortunately, by then, it would be too late!
It would not matter if Meng Chao told “Jackal” Kanus about this in person because he would never believe it.
With such an ambitious character, he would never believe it.
Thinking about that, Meng Chao sighed.
“Besides that, there’s another reason why I’m very unwilling to cooperate with the Wolf King—he’s too dangerous.”
Meng Chao continued. “As you know, the Wolf King made his fortune by clinging to the Lion King’s thigh. Whether or not the Lion King treated him as a puppet, a chess piece, or a tool, at least the Lion King gave him his first bucket of gold and gave him the resources, as well as opportunity, to rise miraculously.
“But now, not only has the Wolf King repay the Lion King’s kindness with enmity and tricking him into entering the Holy Mountain, but he has also taken the opportunity to instigate a conflict between the Lion and Tiger Clans. It’s highly possible that he’ll personally lead the tiger clan powerhouses to hunt down the lion king and must be exterminated.
“Do you think that such a person can really become a trustworthy and high-quality partner?”
That was the issue Meng Chao was most worried about.
After all, the manufactured products that Dragon City wanted to sell to Picturesque Orchid Lake were not only tobacco, spirits, carbonated drinks, and civil machinery, but also astronomical lethal weapons.
The anti-material sniper bullets, which were fused with super alloys, embedded with crystals, and made with special technology, could not only pierce a mage’s brain but also obliterate a superhuman’s heart.
The “Jackal” Kanus in his previous life had never betrayed his alliance with Dragon City’s people until the end of his life.
However, who could guarantee that it was not because the soldiers of the Holy Light faction had arrived at the border and the Chaos faction could only huddle together for warmth?
Who could guarantee that the Turan civilization, which had obtained a large scale of Earth’s thermal weapons ten years in advance, absorbed the advanced military concepts of Earth, and whose combat strength had increased tenfold, would not wipe out the Holy Light faction with ease under “Jackal” Kanus’ leadership? Then, would they not burn the bridge after crossing the river and come back to deal with the Dragon City civilization?
No, not only could they not guarantee it, it was simply inevitable.
It was too crowded for a mere planet to have so many messy civilizations.
As long as a civilization had the corresponding ability, it would want to conquer all other civilizations and monopolize the entire Other World, right?
Therefore, the Dragon City civilization had to arm the Turan civilization and get the advanced orcs to act as meat shields in front of them. They had to constantly overpower the Holy Light faction to buy precious time for their own development.
However, they could not arm the Turan civilization too valiantly so that the balance of victory would not slip from one extreme to the other.
If they defeated the Holy Light Temple and turned the Turan civilization into a new big boss, it would be like raising a tiger as a threat and bringing about their own destruction.
It was as difficult as walking on a tightrope over a cliff to grasp such a delicate balance.
Meng Chao really did not want to fight with a peerless villain like Kanus, the Jackal while he walked on a tightrope.
Ice Storm suddenly understood.
If the first reason that Meng Chao had given was a little hard to understand, this one was too correct.
After seeing how the Wolf King treated his benefactor, the Lion King, who had cooperated with the Wolf King and even help him become stronger…
It just seemed like Kanus was grumpy that the Lion King was not dying fast enough.
In fact, Meng Chao had a third reason as well.
He felt that the Wolf King was too intelligent.
One should know that in Meng Chao’s overall plan, he was prepared to slowly turn Picturesque Orchid Lake into Dragon City’s industrial dumping market, resource and raw material gathering place, and recruitment point over a period of ten to twenty years.
In other words, the Turan civilization should become the Dragon City civilization’s vassal.
Meanwhile, the Dragon City civilization should become the Chaos faction’s leader.
Meng Chao believed that after Dragon City discovered Picturesque Orchid Lake, the members of the Survival Committee—whether it was the valiant warriors from the military who wanted to dominate the world, or the nine mega corporations, the business kings who only cared about profit—should also think the same.
The advanced orcs had unmatched brute force
Despite that, an advanced civilization that had entered the information age would never be able to resist the dimensionality reduction blow of a backward civilization that was still in the clan era and still degenerating.
The Dragon City civilization had many mysterious business contracts, complicated legal provisions, sugar-coated bullets that contained poison, and goods and consumption patterns that made the advanced orcs feel all kinds of convenience and pleasure. It was enough to turn the most valiant bestial man into a senior otaku who was paralyzed in the computer chair and waiting to die.
If it was a traditional orc leader like the Horn of Destruction or Violent Blade, they would definitely not be able to resist Dragon City’s infiltration, temptation, and corruption.
In contrast, if it was an “atypical orc leader” like Kanus, the Jackal….