170: Victory without fighting

He didn't laugh or speak; he just scrolled up a bit to the broadcast he had just sent and read it again. The words were the same, and the tone hadn't changed, but looking at it now, it felt different.

Shen Xiaochuan's finger was still on the confirmation button. The Main Hall was very quiet. The wind outside the window had stopped, and the copper gear pendant hung by his cuff, motionless. The red dots on the sand table were still flashing, but the rhythm was chaotic; they were no longer advancing in unison but were retreating sporadically.

When the first troop withdrawal announcement popped up, the System's voice was very soft.

[Italy Divine Domain issues a statement: Effective immediately, all military operations against the Huaxia Divine Domain are terminated, and it is withdrawing from the NATO combat coordination group.]

Shen Xiaochuan blinked.

He didn't move, just glanced at the broadcast he had sent again. The words hadn't changed, but this time, he felt a bit more confident. Someone believed it, and the first one had left.

He opened the data panel and stared at the energy fluctuations of the three Italian legions on the frontline. Ten minutes ago, they were pressing against the border, but now they were plummeting. The turrets were shut down, the barriers were lowered, and even the reconnaissance drones were retracted.

It wasn't an act; they were truly withdrawing.

He tapped the table twice and stopped.

Five minutes later, Australia sent a message: "Based on strategic focus adjustments, frontline troops will immediately return for defense."

Seven minutes later, Canada followed: "Suspending all external joint military deployments and entering a state of domestic defense."

Nine minutes later, the British Empire also issued an announcement: "This domain will no longer participate in the blockade actions against the Huaxia Divine Domain."

Shen Xiaochuan leaned back a bit.

The chair made a slight sound. He looked up at the projection map on the dome; the once-dense enemy signals were now extinguishing one by one.

He opened the monitoring channel; the NATO meeting was still connected, but no one was speaking.

Thor said: "All frontline units must immediately evacuate the Huaxia border without delay!"

Cassillon was unconvinced: "How can we admit defeat? Just because he sold a bead? Who can prove that thing can really destroy a King-level Divine Domain? It might just be a fake!"

No one responded.

Three seconds later, the German representative went offline.

Ten seconds later, the French representative turned off their audio.

Poland wanted to speak, opened their mouth, but in the end said nothing and simply disconnected.

Thor was silent for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, his tone had changed: "The order has been issued. Execute it."

Shen Xiaochuan turned off the audio, leaving only the text logs scrolling.

He knew they weren't afraid of him.

They were afraid the next fire bead would fall on their own heads.

He opened the map and marked the withdrawal routes with yellow lines. Italy retreated from the southern line to the Mediterranean, the Australian fleet turned back, the Canadian air force began its return flight, and the British Empire's sea fortress lowered its energy shields.

Western Europe and the East Coast of North America, once a continuous red zone, were now shattered beyond recognition.

He clicked on the footage of the US 7th Divine Fleet. The grayish-purple clouds, which had been charged to 97% just moments ago, had now dissipated by half. Thirty capital ships slowly turned around, and the barriers were deactivated layer by layer, as if they had lost their strength.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

It wasn't a smile; it was a sigh of relief.

In this round, he was gambling on human nature.

You might not be afraid of death, but your allies are.

You might dare to hold out, but the people behind you don't dare to hold out with you.

A fire bead wasn't a weapon; it was a touchstone. Who truly dared to fight and who just wanted to watch the fun could be seen at a glance.

He picked up his water glass and took a sip. The water was cold, but he didn't care.

Just then, a server-wide announcement popped up on the Blue Star Channel:

[The US Divine Domain officially announces: Suspending the blockade against the Huaxia Divine Domain and promising not to initiate any form of joint encirclement for one year. At the same time, it will provide some economic resources as a strategic buffer.]

Shen Xiaochuan put down his glass.

He knew this wasn't just a withdrawal.

It was a surrender.

He didn't speak, nor did he send another broadcast. At this time, the more he said, the more it would seem like bragging. What he wanted wasn't for others to praise how powerful he was, but for everyone to remember—

Provoking me costs too much; you can't afford it.

He opened the back end of the Faith Mall and checked his balance. The 100 million faith points from the previous transaction had arrived, and he hadn't spent a single point. He wasn't in a hurry to sell the second one, either. Sometimes, keeping something is more frightening than using it.

He switched to the communication frequencies of the NATO countries.

Thor's expression was grim as he said: "We are now isolated and without help. the UK left first, Germany won't take a stand, and France has cut off intelligence sharing. If we keep fighting, we'll only lose more miserably."

Cassillon stood nearby, gritting his teeth: "We're just going to admit defeat like this? A newly emerged minor god forced US back with a single sentence. Who will listen to US in the future?"

Thor stared at him, his voice low: "Then you tell me what to do? Italy is gone, Canada followed, and the UK has withdrawn. You want me to lead a few small countries to attack his main city?"

No one spoke.

Cassillon opened his mouth but ultimately stayed silent.

The meeting ended.

Shen Xiaochuan turned off the screen.

He knew NATO still existed, but it was no longer the same NATO.

Once trust is broken, it can never be restored.

He looked at the sand table. The Huaxia Region was still golden, with clear borders and a complete defense line. The outer ring of red light now only had a few scattered dots, like mud left behind after a low tide.

He reached out and touched the copper gear pendant.

The cold metal pressed against his fingertips.

This was a gift from his parents. Back then, they worked twelve-hour shifts at the steel mill just to save money to buy him mechanical models. At that time, he said he wanted to build trains, and his mother smiled and said: "Our Xiaochuan will definitely be able to build something even more impressive than a train in the future."

He didn't build trains.

But he built a divine kingdom.

And he had held it.

He closed his eyes, sat for a minute, and when he opened them, he saw a notification pop up in the bottom right corner of the console:

[Multiple national resource transport teams detected setting off. Destination: Skydome City. Marked as "Strategic Buffer Supplies," estimated to arrive within seventy-two hours.]

He finished reading it but didn't click confirm or forward it.

He just let out a soft sigh.

The wind blew through the window crack, fluttering a piece of paper on the corner of the desk. It was the production report for the Thunder Crystal vein, brought by the Black Bear Spirit this morning. He reflexively pressed it down, his gaze shifting to the column for today's new faith points—

+1

+1

+1

It jumped once every second—not much, but it never stopped.

He stared at that number for a long time.

Then he looked up at the global view above the sand table.

The whole world was moving.

Some were leaving, some were retreating, some were turning off lights, and some were patching up defenses.

But no one mentioned "encirclement" anymore.

No one sent any more provocations.

He stood up, walked a few steps, and then stopped.

Finally, he returned to his seat, placed his hands on the table, and quietly watched the screen.

Outside, dawn was approaching. The first light of day crawled up from the horizon, shining into the Main Hall and falling on his face.

He didn't move.

Nor did he speak.

He just sat there, like a machine that had just stopped, still dissipating heat but no longer roaring.

On the sand table, the last red dot disappeared.

The last batch of US patrol ships withdrew from the combat zone, the barriers were completely closed, and the blockade line had thoroughly collapsed.

He said softly: "Finally, it's quiet."

As his voice faded, there was only the faint hum of the System running in the Main Hall.

The copper gear pendant swayed slightly in the morning light, flashing with a faint golden glow.