Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1284 - 1277: When the Lips Are Gone, the Teeth Will Be Cold

Chapter 1284: Chapter 1277: When the Lips Are Gone, the Teeth Will Be Cold

Luo’er glanced at Bai Po and the others, then at Linglan and her group before continuing, "The three tribes of South West Outer Heaven lack the strength to resist the invasion of the Dongsheng Empire and can only hope for a union with the North to have a chance to counterattack. However, this has caused discontent among the three tribes of North West Outer Heaven, questioning why they should sacrifice their own people to reclaim land that was not originally theirs."

"After South West Outer Heaven is retaken, the Qingqiu, Catkin, and Jin Qian Clan will once again occupy the land without a share for the Luwu, Xiaotian, and Zilu Clans. Such a cost for this result would leave me discontented as well. I believe this is the main reason for the severe internal division within Abisien," Luo’er said with an involuntary shrug of his shoulders.

"Uh..." Luo’er hit the nail on the head, leaving Linglan and the others exchanging glances, speechless.

"Since you know the reasons, resolving them should be relatively easy," he added. "The conflict between you two is mainly a dispute over profit distribution. How to distribute benefits and ease internal strife is an internal affair of the Demon Clan, and it’s not appropriate for us from other races to interfere, but..."

Luo’er took a deep breath and continued, "Here, I have some modest suggestions that I hope can offer some reference. Throughout history, powerful states have always been unified ones. Only by resolving internal conflicts can strength and energy be devoted to external ones. The direct reason you keep losing against the Dongsheng Empire is because your internal strife is much more severe than the conflict you face against the Dongsheng Empire. This leads to infighting and passing the buck when faced with an invasion, wasting valuable opportunities in battle."

"What are you trying to say?" Tuya asked, looking at him.

"My words may offend you all, but what I want to say is that Abisien is, frankly, a joke. You either unite to establish a grand unified Demon Clan Empire, or remain fragmented and wait to be wiped out by the Dongsheng Empire one by one. Forming an alliance in name, but in reality, remaining divided and disunited, seems to me both hypocritical and impotent," Luo’er spoke bluntly.

"Captain Luo’er has quite the bold words, reducing Abisien to nothing," said Bai Po, visibly uncomfortable, even unable to keep his cool.

"This is just my perspective as an outsider—I’m simply stating everything I see. Your unwillingness to face it shows you lack even the intention to correct it. I recognize that reform will inevitably lead to many problems internally, but without change, you will always remain as is."

"Every time the Dongsheng Empire invades, this is how you sit around squabbling. Now there are six Leaders; in the future, there might be five, four, or three. The Dongsheng Empire gains ground with every incursion, while your bickering is meaningless. Are you truly going to wait until Dongsheng generals are celebrating in your current seats before it dawns on you?"

Luo’er’s words left all the Leaders present without a reply, heads lowered in silence.

Just as Luo’er had said, all along, these Leaders had been passing the buck among themselves. They convened meetings in name only, which in reality were nothing but arguments that concluded without resolving any problems.

"Captain Luo’er, if the Demon Clan were to establish an empire, who would lead?" Tuya asked with narrowed eyes, posing a rather sensitive question.

"That’s an internal matter for you," Luo’er replied with a smile, not falling for his ploy. "I hope you all understand—the Dongsheng Empire’s invasion places all of West Outer Heaven in jeopardy, a matter of life and death. Whatever internal conflicts you have, set them aside for the time being and prioritize. The Dongsheng Empire won’t be concerned with your disputes; they will resolutely and mercilessly annihilate you and then completely occupy West Outer Heaven."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Luo’er went on to say, "there’s an old saying from my homeland: ’As the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.’ When the three Clans of South West Outer Heaven suffer under the tyranny of the Dongsheng Empire, and the three Clans of North West Outer Heaven sit by doing nothing, who will come to your aid when the North is invaded?"

"Regardless of how you resolve the profit distribution issue in South West Outer Heaven, I want to remind you that as long as you don’t drive out the Dongsheng Empire, you’ll never be able to discuss distribution. Without driving them out, not only will the three tribes of South West Outer Heaven be doomed, but the three tribes of North West Outer Heaven will also not escape."

"If you abandon the South of West Outer Heaven, you might find peace for a moment, but a decade, a hundred years from now, when your descendants ask about it. Will you tell them angrily that because of the Dongsheng Empire’s aggression, we lost the South of West Outer Heaven? Or should you tell them dispassionately that because of our weakness, we lost the South of West Outer Heaven?"

Luo’er’s words once again plunged the leaders of the Demon Clan into silence. It must be said, Luo’er’s language was incredibly stirring, his speech caused the hearts of the Demon Clan leaders to surge with emotion, and they were easily swayed by Luo’er’s rhetoric.

Of course, stirring speech doesn’t mean deception, Luo’er’s words affected the Demon Clan leaders so deeply because he laid bare the harsh truth in front of everyone.

The little secrets harbored by these leaders in their hearts were all exposed by him publicly, forcing them to confront these very real contradictions.

Luo’er desired the alliance between the Beast-Ear Race and the Beast Head Tribe so earnestly because the inclusion of the Beast Head Tribe was critically important to the war situation; without them, it was nearly impossible for the Beast-Ear Race to mount a counteroffensive on their own.

If the Dongsheng Empire only had a regular army, then even without the Beast Head Tribe, Luo’er and his forces could utilize upgraded weapons, scientific tactics, and home-field advantage to wear down and defeat the Dongsheng army.

But the Dongsheng Empire had beings like Generals, who were the pride of the Magic World and who didn’t abide by any physical laws.

In combating them, no matter how advanced the weapons or tactics, it was all in vain, as the Second Otherworld War thirty years ago had proven.

So, if Luo’er wanted to contend with these Generals in any capacity, the warriors of the Beast Head Tribe were undoubtedly the best choice. These innate warriors could match the cultivators with their own qualities alone and were rightfully the main force of the Demon Clan against the Dongsheng Empire.

And it was precisely because of this that Luo’er urgently hoped that the Demon Clan could temporarily set aside their internal differences and conflicts, and unite to drive the Dongsheng Empire out of West Outer Heaven first.

What would happen in the future was a matter for the future. But now, Luo’er’s objective was crystal clear, even clearer than that of the Demon Clan leaders themselves. That was, under no circumstances could they allow the Dongsheng Empire to gain a solid foothold in West Outer Heaven.

Silence, a long silence. After Luo’er’s impassioned speech, the hall fell into an eerie quiet.

Linglan had something to say, but she couldn’t express it, and could only sit in silence. Because, given the current situation, as soon as she spoke, she would be at a disadvantage. Thus, she needed someone else to break the silence first, especially the Leader of the Beast Head Tribe.

"I largely agree with Captain Luo’er’s view," Bai Po took a deep breath as if making up his mind and looked at Tuya seriously, "No matter what internal conflicts we have, no matter how we should divide the South of West Outer Heaven once it is reclaimed, at this stage, we need to stand united against our enemy, and can no longer be crippled by our own restrictions. Perhaps, after reclaiming the South of West Outer Heaven, we might turn on each other over interests and slay one another in enmity, but that is a matter for later. If we turn on each other with hatred and violence now, the Dongsheng Empire will only exterminate us more comfortably."

"The Dongsheng people will not allow us to linger in West Outer Heaven, they will eliminate us without hesitation," the Leader of the Zilu Clan, Zhuyan, also added, "First it’s the South of West Outer Heaven, then it will be after us. Any opportunity they get, they will surely not let us go, so compromise is meaningless."

Hearing the two allies turning against him one after another, Tuya took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and after a long sigh, he shook his head saying, "Alright, alright. Let’s follow your advice then. Keep fighting, counterattack, counterattack until we achieve total victory."