Defying the Fate of Beheading

Chapter 698 367: Prince Ense Is the Continent's Number 1 Succubus

"He got away?" Olivia asked as she approached after Louis stepped down from Limuru.The fight just now had been too intense, and the little swan was too far away to see clearly.

Louis sighed and said, "We only left one demigod on the other side, but I don't know who it is, we killed too quickly."

Olivia's mouth twitched; for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

But a demigod! A demigod!

You talk about it like it was an unintentional foot soldier on the battlefield that you accidentally took out.

Seeing Olivia's misunderstanding, Louis said, "The main issue is that guy was growing too quickly, it's reasonable he's faster than you, but if he looks like he's almost faster than me, that's not reasonable."

The little swan's vision went dark, desperately wanting to bite his hand on the deck.

But there were too many people on the deck, she couldn't find the opportunity to do so.

Returning to the command cabin, everyone gathered to discuss their next move.

The battle here was too lively; likely all allies on the Fallen Star Sea front saw that sky-shrouding attack, making it impossible to conceal anything.

Other countries didn't want to end this war quickly, and there was hesitation within Ense as well.

But Louis actually knew how much profit the Ense Empire had reaped from this war?

Noom Guard Captain felt a bit regretful for a moment.

Eliminating the disruptive factions within the Mermaid Empire, even if some within still had thoughts, this war was destined to quickly come to an end.

Louis shook his head and said, "There's no need to intentionally prolong the war just to harvest their resources; it doesn't reflect well on the Empire."

The experience of several thousand years in the homeland already taught future generations that having a righteous cause is meaningful.

Even during America's peak when it held power over the world, it exhausted its credibility through repeated external wars.

Of course, those stubborn folks still believe that as long as the strength is sufficient, dissenting voices don't matter.

But there's no eternal empire; as long as you don't suppress everyone at once, when you begin to decline, you will face collective retaliation.

And it might not even need to wait for decline; there will be those ready to attack at the first opportunity.

Thus, Louis suggested trusting in the wisdom of allies.

No matter what they do, the Empire follows suit, best to step back at key moments.

Ense has already made a prominent impression, there's no need to continue being a target over minor details.

Letting go of the last bit of gains at the end... ugh, thinking about it feels painful.

But what's necessary should be let go.

Trying to reap more benefits from the Mermaid Empire will inevitably draw attention.

Louis and the others just need to remain hidden, letting Limuru continue transporting things.

Looking at it, Louis still felt bitter inside.

Pushing the opponent's backup plan too quickly, not knowing how much less resource he could harvest.

In unclaimed sea territories, even large-scale resource extraction leaves little aftermath.

So... how to expand the war gains outside of war reparations?

Oh!

Got it!

Louis's mouth curved into a strange smile.

There's a clear difference between Kingdom Slime and Kingdom Slime.

Currently, Ense has created three Kingdom Slimes, excluding Limuru, the rest though destructive, don't hold the same near mountain-moving advantage.

This means, only a few people know about Limuru's true capabilities.

This allows for a lot of maneuvering room.

I'll be the good guy, but I can't lose out on resources!

So...

...

Several days later.

As the Abyssal Church's plot with the Fishman General and the Mermaid Princess was uncovered, this months-long conflict neared its end.

After a brief symbolic resistance, the Mermaid Empire's army lines began to collapse.

Simultaneously, the Mermaid Empress formally issued diplomatic claims to invite nations to negotiate a settlement at sea.

However, this time the opposition came from the multinational coalition, or rather the majority within.

After all, this engagement involved more than just major nations, even big country soldiers wanted their share of looting.

The homestead scenario from previous lives, a rare minority even across history.

Not to mention, the Mermaid Empire, limited by population, didn't control as much sea territory as imagined.

In the past, they typically had a few merfolk raiding nearby seas, much like hit-and-run banditry.

But once countries united, that deception and hit-and-run approach became ineffective.

With fleets nearby, possessing formidable force, the merfolk weakness in numbers quickly showed, quickly suppressed.

Over this period, nations frenziedly stocked goods.

Especially those small nations unfamiliar with the grand scale, they dived into the sea for frenzied looting, taking sea creatures, forbidden zones, anything they could grab, selling off at the back.

Of course, small nations seeking benefits also had challenges.

They had to "tribute" to the leading big nations; otherwise, who would take them along?

But anyway, this quick money came much easier than ever before.

Nations now were in a state of addiction.

Ultimately, communication revealed it was the Ense Empire most keen to end the conflict.