Chapter 1338: Chapter 1338

After seeing Li Mengyao and Xi Qianxue off, Du You returned to his busy routine. The two women wouldn’t be visiting him for a while since they were eager to improve their own teams and couldn’t possibly bring them along.

On this day, Shaliya approached him, her face showing traces of fatigue.

"Trouble again?" Du You lifted his head and embraced Shaliya in his arms. This could be considered a brief rest, for he would need to continue his hectic work soon. Establishing such a vast empire really entailed an overwhelming number of tasks.

Even with teams aiding in handling affairs, it always seemed like there weren’t enough people.

"There’s been another rebellion in the Imperial Capital," Shaliya sighed. "It seems some people just can’t be completely eradicated."

Du You curled his lip, "Then keep killing. There will always be those who are ignorant of their own mortality." Most of these people were nobles, including relatives from noble families that had perished.

Having lost their status and benefits, these individuals often stirred trouble. They failed to see what made the current empire different from the past. In the old empire, a united uprising from them would force even the king to compromise. But now it was different; Du You had no need for these people, yet many still couldn’t see the shift in power.

Didn’t they see that whenever local officials failed to act, the military would sweep in to kill, and if officials themselves became problematic, the military would intervene. Even if an official was simply in a bad mood, it would still be the military that acted.

In such circumstances, any rebellion was clear evidence of idiocy. Du You was now capable of sending sixth-tier individuals to slaughter; what were these people thinking? Had they not seen the fates of others who had perished?

Under these conditions, even his two sisters had gone out to suppress rebellions, purely because it was too boring at Du You’s place.

"Let’s not talk about these vexing matters for now; rest is more important."

"It’s not that simple; we have to deal with some things. Leaving aside the issues on land for a moment, we must address the matters at sea. With so many surrounding islands and numerous maritime nations, unifying them all is quite challenging."

Du You sighed, "Didn’t I say to leave it to the coastal military forces? With the Frogmen and Murlocs, not to mention our considerable navy, what could they possibly dare to do?"

"It’s not the military that’s the issue; it’s that there are too many islands. We simply don’t know how many of them are inhabited, and a complete purge would be troublesome." Shaliya poked Du You in frustration.

"Then establish a dedicated department for it. After all, these kinds of tasks are numerous and take years to complete." Du You was starting to feel indifferent, as if being bitten by one more flea made no difference – there were already too many troubles to care about.

"Fine then, even if we disregard that issue, what about this one!"

As she spoke, Shaliya presented a new report to Du You. Reading it, his brow knitted together. "The Quicksand Empire? How have they surfaced at this time? Do they really think I wouldn’t dare to deal with them?"

Despite potentially heavy losses, Du You could deploy a large army to sweep through the Quicksand Empire. As long as he didn’t enter the desert regions, the Desert Death God couldn’t directly target him. The desert was his domain, and outside of it lay the territories of other Divine Spirits. Even the Desert Death God wouldn’t dare to wage war so rashly against other deities.

Of course, these were just Du You’s own thoughts; he didn’t know the specifics.

In the worst-case scenario, when war broke out, Du You could simply take the important people and leave this world behind. No matter how formidable the Desert Death God was, he couldn’t pursue across different worlds – as long as Du You’s realm remained, that was all that mattered.

Naturally, such a move was too risky and wouldn’t be considered by Du You unless circumstances were dire.

"These new forces, could they be related to the Desert Death God? If divine beings are intervening, then things are truly problematic."

Du You noticed that the Quicksand Empire had started launching localized attacks against him, a situation that had been ongoing since he began planting trees. But this time, the conflicts were particularly fierce, with large enemy forces frequently observed.

Most concerning was the inclusion of peculiar Magical Beasts within these armies, a phenomenon that had never occurred before. These beasts were powerful and each touted bizarre abilities, although their forms seemed somewhat mismatched.

Shaliya shook her head. "It’s not the work of the Desert Death God. This situation closely resembles the Dark Empire’s handiwork." Du You frowned; the name Dark Empire sounded vaguely familiar.

Given that he frequently ventured into various worlds, his knowledge of each was never too deep. And often, similar or even identical names could easily cause confusion. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾·𝗇𝖾𝗍

"What is the Dark Empire you speak of?" Du You inquired and Shaliya explained.

She knew Du You wouldn’t keep track of such matters. "There are three great empires in the heart of the continent. The Krus Empire is a human realm located south of the central land, and their territory extends even to the southern part of the continent; we’ve traded with them constantly."

Du You nodded. The trade had been very important to him; of course, he remembered it.

"Then there’s the Beastman Empire, somewhat connected to the Beastman Kingdom in the northwest central region, not close to yours. Otherwise, Elsa’s task against the Lion People Clan wouldn’t have been so simple."

"Ha, is that so?" Du You felt a bit embarrassed as he really hadn’t paid attention to the Beastmen’s location.

"Then that leaves the area to the north near us, is that where the Dark Empire is?"

Shaliya confirmed with a nod, "Correct, that’s it. The Dark Empire is a nation that worships an Evil God, and it’s not composed of a single race. Instead, they are all sorts of evil Cyborgs who use Secret Methods to fuse Magical Beasts or other bizarre entities with their own bodies, transforming into monstrous beings."

"The odd Magical Beasts that have appeared in the Quicksand Empire are likely of a similar nature, misshapen and strange, very indicative of the Dark Empire’s work. If I’m not wrong, they’re probably backing the Quicksand Empire from the shadows, covertly opposing us."

Du You was momentarily stunned, then nodded, "I hadn’t expected our progress to be threatening to the Dark Empire already."

"Yes, if it weren’t for our rapid development and strong power, the Dark Empire generally wouldn’t engage in such actions. That nation is too chaotic; even their upper class struggles to agree, typically adhering to the will of the strongest."

Their state starkly resembled that of the Undead territories. "Let’s not worry about them for now. We’re not in a position to continue expanding; let’s focus on strengthening our side first. We can deal with external matters after settling our own."