122: Chapter 122 I won't vote for anyone!

The weakening of [Heroic Spirit] due to quantity is mainly reflected in the weakening of their exclusive skills; their governance capabilities remain unaffected.

Following [General Han Xin] shocking the world with his thirty-seven exclusive skills, the "governance-type Heroic Spirits" that Chen Aoyun placed next made the audience watching the live stream feel the weight of civilization once again.

[Jiang Ziya], [Heroic Spirit Zhuge Liang], [Cao Cao], [Zhou Yu], [Lu Xun]...

One by one, names that shone throughout the long river of history descended upon the Star Chessboard as Chen Aoyun continuously collected Construction Power!

Across nearly thirteen thousand chess squares, Chen Aoyun placed thirteen Huaxia Heroic Spirits in one go to take charge of governance!

While Heroic Spirits from other countries could only bring the governance level of their chess squares to around 30% in ten days, the Heroic Spirits Chen Aoyun placed brought the governance level up to 45% in the same ten-day period!

Governance efficiency represents the ability of a [Heroic Spirit], and the strength of Huaxia Heroic Spirits is vividly demonstrated by this point!

"Sigh~ It is a pity that the start was just too late! There are few blank chess squares left. Not only have High-level Demons appeared on the chessboard, but the 'circle shrinkage' has also begun. The Dragon Kingdom has no time to continue deeply cultivating the chess squares and must face the final confrontation with other countries!" commentator York sighed.

This sigh spoke volumes of Chen Aoyun's helplessness.

Ten days. On the tenth day after defeating that [chess piece] from France, the 'circle shrinkage' began.

Just like the poison circle in a game, the military strength of the chess pieces remaining 'outside the circle' will rapidly decrease.

But if they move 'inside the circle', they have to face the two major powers, Ottoman and France, head-on!

The Dragon Kingdom's efficiency in governing chess squares is high, but unfortunately, they started too late.

When the highest governance level of the chess squares occupied by the Dragon Kingdom reached 45%, the governance level of most chess squares of other countries, especially Ottoman and France, had already approached 90%!

Furthermore, in order to place thirteen [Heroic Spirits], Chen Aoyun spent one-third of the ten days collecting Construction Power. This was only achieved because the acquisition rate of Construction Power was ten times that of a normal Game of National Destiny; if the acquisition rate were not ten times higher, it would have taken even longer.

Chen Aoyun also occupied ten golden resource points, and using the items within them, he smoothed out the weakening effect of the number of Heroic Spirits on [General Han Xin].

Yet even so, with 360,000 troops gained from governing chess squares, plus the 40,000 troops restored after [The More The Better] was weakened and then recovered, the Dragon Kingdom's total military strength barely reached 400,000.

400,000 looks like a lot, but compared to the current 1.55 million troops of Ottoman and 1.4 million troops of France, the Dragon Kingdom's total military strength is nothing but a fraction of theirs!

The 'circle shrinkage' has already begun, and there is no more time for the Dragon Kingdom to deeply cultivate governance; soon, Chen Aoyun will have to face these two major powers!

And with the start of the 'circle shrinkage' and the compression of living space, the political maneuvering on the chessboard has become increasingly blatant.

"Distribute your troops across multiple chess pieces, then send them to me to be devoured. After I devour most of your chess pieces, I will leave one of your chess pieces behind so that you won't be eliminated. In this way, I can eliminate the threats behind the scattered forces while also avoiding combat losses in military strength!"

The maneuvering of the great powers, and the opportunistic attachment of the weak nations.

That is how the Game of National Destiny is played!

After the circle shrinkage began, Ottoman and France also extended an olive branch to Chen Aoyun.

On the Star Chessboard, Ottoman [Strategist] Adar said to Chen Aoyun with a grin, "Brother, give me your occupied territory, and I will guarantee you a top ten finish... Out of respect for the last Game of National Destiny, I will guarantee you a top five finish. How about it?"

Seeing Chen Aoyun silent, Adar put away some of his playfulness and lowered his voice, saying, "Second place is definitely out of the question; second place has already been reserved for the USA. Third and fourth place are also reserved. You might not understand, but there is a tacit understanding between great powers. When you should screw over the other party, you must do it to death; when you should cooperate, you will be as close as can be, provided the price is right."

Leaving one chess piece alive and not killing it, and after dealing with strong enemies, eliminating those countries that surrendered according to the order promised by Adar—if Ottoman defeats France, the country killed last will be second place!

I don't know what kind of deal was made privately with the USA, but the plot point is within the range of the circle shrinkage.

The plot strategy is nearing its end. If the USA, which has insufficient occupied territory and only its initial military strength upon coming out of the plot, receives protection from Ottoman, getting second place is not impossible.

It was only after hearing these words from Adar that Chen Aoyun suddenly realized, "No wonder those great powers dared to ignore the ranking of the Game of National Destiny and dive headlong into the plot points. I was wondering before if the Strategists and Roleplayers of those great powers were really that enlightened, not afraid of dying due to a low ranking? So it turns out it was arranged long ago."

Adar put away the grin on his face and said to Chen Aoyun, "Don't underestimate the ambition and courage of the participants from great powers. There are also risks in conquering plot points. Haven't you seen that there are very few countries left in the two plot points now? The elimination speed of the plot is even higher than occupying chess squares. Some participants from great powers died early in the plot world."

"There is no possibility of resurrection if eliminated too early... The topic has drifted far. Back to the main point, I can promise you a top five finish, while France can at most promise you a top ten finish. Joining me is undoubtedly your best choice..."

An abrupt voice suddenly sounded; it was the [Strategist] of France, "Top five? The prerequisite for top five is that you can defeat me, France. Can you? Although we are slightly lacking in military strength, the [Heroic Spirits] available to me, France, in this Game of National Destiny are stronger than yours, Ottoman! If I remember correctly, those threatening Heroic Spirits of yours in Ottoman are still in the cooldown period and cannot be fielded, right?!"

After the circle shrinkage, the military strength of Ottoman and France was far ahead of the others, and forming cliques naturally happened around these two countries.

The two sides were in a zero-sum game, which not only involved their own rankings but also the rankings of those countries that took sides.

In the confrontation between Ottoman and France, if Ottoman wins, after France is eliminated first, it will undoubtedly be the turn of those countries that sided with Ottoman next.

Conversely, if France wins, it will be the same; it will first wipe out the countries that sided with Ottoman, so that the countries that sided with its own side can obtain the promised ranking.

Therefore, the choice of which side to take is very important. Ottoman has an advantage in military strength, while France's Heroic Spirits might be stronger. It just depends on how Chen Aoyun decides.

However, under the scorching gaze of the two, Chen Aoyun's answer exceeded everyone's expectations.

He slowly lifted his eyelids, his gaze calmly sweeping over Adar, and then passing over the Strategist of France.

Chen Aoyun's final choice was: Not joining anyone!