Chapter 550: Chapter 263: Please Be a Vassal State

The reason was actually quite simple.

It was because the identity of Li Xiong and the other outsiders was eventually exposed.

Originally, Wu Savage Country claimed to the Divine Palace that they had painstakingly cultivated an Inborn Grandmaster over a century.

So Li Xiong and the others were initially regarded as pure Chilih tribesmen.

Such smokescreen indeed managed to deceive many people, including the Divine Palace itself.

But gradually, as the war between Wu Savage Country and the Great Changhe grew fiercer, both sides fought ferociously not only on the front lines but also behind the scenes.

Countless acts of espionage and destruction were staged one after another in the rear areas.

In these actions, it was of paramount importance to figure out the origin and foundation of that Inborn Grandmaster.

And as they investigated, the problem emerged.

Though Wu Savage Country had started a rebellion, they had been subjects to the Great Changhe for hundreds of years.

In such a long period, it was impossible that they had not cultivated a faction loyal to Great Changhe within the country.

At the beginning of the Wu Savage Country rebellion when everything went smoothly and the Great Changhe forces were retreating fast, these Great Changhe loyalists may have not dared to make any moves.

After all, if Wu Savage Country could indeed be victorious, their status and position would naturally rise with the tide, and there would be no need to rely on Great Changhe.

However, as the rebellion reached its second year, the overwhelming momentum was contained, the Great Changhe gradually stabilized their footing, and began to fiercely confront the rebel army.

The two sides had a balanced fight, and even after the Wu Savage Country was pushed back and fell into a disadvantage.

Under such circumstances, variables were introduced.

Some people who originally had close ties with the Great Changhe saw that the situation seemed unfavorable, so they started to think about leaving themselves an escape route.

Furthermore, Li Xiong and the others came to Wu Savage Country and stirred up trouble, assisting them in the rebellion. They obviously couldn’t be doing this for the sake of Wu Savage Country.

Their real goal was to take advantage of the chaos in the Great Changhe and, through this war, gradually seize control of the Wu Savage Country’s court. Eventually, they would usurp the resources and rebuild the Xi Shu State.

In fact, these plans had been progressing smoothly.

Once the war started, the control system the Great Changhe had established over the entire Kunhai region disintegrated instantly, as the area was plunged into warfare.

And because of the fierce war with the Great Changhe, Wu Savage Country had no choice but to increasingly rely on Li Xiong and the elites loyal to him.

Especially as the front line battles grew more and more fierce, many senior officers of Wu Savage Country were killed in action. With a shortage of qualified generals, many positions were gradually taken over by Li Xiong’s loyalists, who slowly gained control of the military power of Wu Savage Country.

Under such gradual erosion, after four years of war, more than 80% of Wu Savage Country’s military was controlled by Li Xiong and his followers.

Even among their vassals and allies, around 60% of the military force was under his control.

In the face of this situation, people in Wu Savage Country naturally began to wake up.

Those who discovered they had been deceived started to look for alternative paths.

So, under the leadership of those loyal to Great Changhe and those who wanted to break away from the puppet state to regain national sovereignty, they contacted the Great Temple and asked for the help of the Great Witch Sacrifice, revered by all Chilih people, to help Wu Savage Country to restore its original state, end the endless internal strife, and reach a consensus among many people.

Under this trend, the following events became simpler.

A group of Wu Savage Country ministers who saw through Li Xiong’s true colors directly approached the Divine Palace and revealed the identities of Li Xiong and the other outsiders, as well as the situation Wu Savage Country was facing.

Having explained the grave situation, the Divine Palace’s Great Witch Priest also realized the seriousness of the matter.

If they did not take action, the Chilih people might indeed be manipulated by these outsiders and become an enslaved race.

Therefore, upon learning the truth, the Divine Palace Great Witch Priest directly intervened, publicly revealing the truth of the matter.

Then it was announced that Li Xiong and others, who had almost completely seized control of the Wu Savage Country’s court, were the enemies of all Chilih people, and called on all Chilih people to rise up and eliminate them together.

As previously mentioned.

The Divine Palace Great Witch Priest represented the highest faith in the hearts of all Wuman people.

With his declaration of Li Xiong as the enemy of the tribe, and many Wu Savage Country ministers corroborating his claims, the subsequent onslaught dealt a huge blow to the morale of the Wu Savage Country’s allies.

Just a few days after the Divine Palace made a statement, some small nations that had previously depended on Wu Savage Country declared their defection and repudiated Li Xiong and his followers in their own country. They then promptly joined the camp of the Great Changhe.

As for the Wu Savage Country and Nong Dong Kingdom, where Li Xiong’s control was deeper, they still maintained overall stability, but there were also many people emerging with the intention of defecting.

There were also daily mass desertions within the army.

In just a few short months, the original Wu Savage alliance, which had a military force of over a hundred thousand, crumbled almost instantly, losing a large number of their territories and retreating back to their old nest in the Lingdong region.

Even the number of troops in the Wu Savage Country’s alliance had been reduced to around 80,000 or 90,000.

Among those who remained, there were many whose loyalty was wavering, soldiers and generals alike with no will to fight and not knowing when the collapse would occur.

On the other hand, after receiving help from the Divine Palace, the Great Changhe not only recovered a large amount of lost territory, but their military force also rapidly swelled to almost 200,000, which is twice that of Wu Savage Country.