Otherwise, it would be impossible to betray casually.
The possibility of betrayal also arises when the same group of people gains the support of those Spiritual Realm creatures' strongholds in the same Astral Plane, leading to mutual betrayal due to internal competition.
Essentially, this has no impact on those Spiritual Realm creatures, so they can allow such betrayals to occur.
After all, there needs to be a selection among pawns; if some pawns truly escape their control and manipulation, develop their own consciousness, and threaten the interests of their stronghold, they will certainly be abandoned.
Of course, for these Spiritual Realm strongholds in the Astral Plane, it's impossible to easily allow betrayal, unless it's absolutely necessary.
After all, even such betrayal requires enduring the immense pain of soul rending, and upon returning to the sealed world, the pain of soul rending combined with the terrifying inability to move is something no Spiritual Realm creature is willing to endure.
Therefore, Spiritual Realm creatures usually do not betray the Spiritual Realm Commander.
Of course, these matters are all related to the Spiritual Realm and are irrelevant to Shen Mu's Mount & Blade Rules.
He doesn't care about these things; what do they have to do with him?
Anyway, he possesses the Mount & Blade Rules.
So, he will just handle things according to his Mount & Blade Rules.
Soon, these 20 Blue Star Humans, who came for the Spiritual Realm Commander or Ten-Man Commander enfeoffment, left the Noble Residence.
Zhang Bo, however, remained behind alone.
"Mr. Zhang Bo, is there something you need?" When Shen Mu saw him staying behind alone, he knew Zhang Bo likely had something he wanted to report.
Manid, standing nearby, didn't say much. He tidied up the already arranged town construction blueprints, rolled up the parchment blueprint, tucked it under his arm, and respectfully bid farewell to Shen Mu before leaving the meeting room and heading towards his administrative office.
Of course, when passing by Zhang Bo, out of respect for this Prophecy-type Mage, he still nodded to show his recognition and respect.
After all, no matter what, Zhang Bo was still a Mage, a spellcaster. Manid, who had already understood the power of spellcasters, would naturally show him respect, especially since even Shen Mu showed him respect. Manid, being familiar with social etiquette, would naturally express his respect as well.
Zhang Bo also respectfully nodded to Manid, who was clearly a white-skinned, high-nosed Lingjie Human Race with heterochromatic eyes and hair, to express his own respect for him.
If he could replace Shen Mu's position among these Lingjie Human Race, then perhaps he would still need the help of these Spiritual Realm Lords.
After all, Zhang Bo was now also stirring, with his own ideas. Although he still held absolute loyalty to General Yang of Green Leaf Group, if he were to lead Green Leaf Group to destroy this most important stronghold of the Lingjie Human Race, then by signing soul contracts with those Human Mages, he might have a great chance to reconnect with that Lingjie Human Race force in the Astral Plane, and then become their spokesperson, becoming a new Spiritual Realm Lord.
He was very likely to gain leadership of Deherim and establish a second Deherim.
And he would be the second Shen Mu.
He looked down on Shen Mu, believing that Shen Mu had only relied on the powerful foundation of the Lingjie Human Race to grow so rapidly, and had also used treacherous methods like espionage to conquer Diesel Company. Furthermore, it was only because Diesel Company had used most of its resources to analyze that divine artifact, that greatest secret, and had not used these resources to defend against Deherim, that they failed.
After all, at that time, Zhang Bo also held a high position of power within Diesel Company. Although not exactly high-ranking, he had access to many secrets.
He also knew that Xue Zhigang, the deceased general manager, was secretly using a large amount of Diesel Company's resources to enhance himself, seeking to gain greater power. The timing Shen Mu chose for the attack happened to be when Xue Zhigang had reached a critical point but had not yet broken through.
That's why Diesel Company was defeated so quickly and so miserably.
"It's all luck. In my opinion, this Shen Mu is just an ordinary young man, similar to me, and two years younger. If I could gain his luck, combined with my own abilities, I could definitely gain more power than he has now." As Zhang Bo thought this, his heart couldn't help but feel incredibly excited, and he subconsciously clenched his fists.
He truly yearned for success. If he could achieve the kind of success Shen Mu had now, he would be immensely thrilled.
"Right, Mr. Zhang Bo, what is it? Just tell me directly. I still have other things to do and am quite busy." Shen Mu, seeing that Zhang Bo clearly had something to say, sat in his chair and gestured for Zhang Bo to sit in the chair beside him and speak.
"I won't sit down, Respected Lord Shen Mu. I do have something to discuss; it's about my knowledge exchange with the Mages in the Torch Tower."
Zhang Bo quickly recalled the plan he had already formulated in his mind, then continued with a fawning smile on his face as he said to Shen Mu, "Previously, I had a good understanding with those Human Mages, and I have already explained many of the Mage knowledge points I possess to Mage James. They have also stated that the knowledge points I provided can accelerate their research into magic theory and strengthen some of the spells they themselves possess."
"Hmm, excellent." Shen Mu nodded, very satisfied with Zhang Bo's report. After all, the reason he allowed Zhang Bo into the Holy White Council's Holy Light Torch Tower was to have him enhance the magical theories possessed by the Eden Guard Believers through the magical knowledge of the Spiritual Realm.
Now it seemed to be a good idea, and it had already successfully worked according to his plan.
At this moment, Shen Mu looked at Zhang Bo and said to him again, "Since there's progress, that's excellent. I've kept your previous suggestion in mind. If you can make the Eden Guard Believers willing to follow you, then I wouldn't mind letting you become their Spiritual Realm Commander."
Because Shen Mu clearly understood why Zhang Bo was working so diligently for him. And when he saw those Eden Garde Devotees, he would speak to him so respectfully and report progress constantly, all because he wanted to become a Spiritual Realm Commander and gain the allegiance of the Eden Guard Believers.
After all, he was already a Mage himself. If he could also gain 10 Lingjie Human Race who were also spellcasters to follow him, it would truly be of great help to him.
Therefore, Shen Mu knew very well that Zhang Bo's diligence was all for those 10 Eden Guard Believers.
And when Shen Mu saw Zhang Bo's diligence, he had actually already made a decision in his heart: if possible, he was willing to let those 10 Eden Guard Believers become Zhang Bo's followers.
This would not only enhance the magical abilities of the Eden Guard Believers but also make Zhang Bo wholeheartedly follow him.
Shen Mu also highly approved of this Prophecy-type Mage.
"Thank you very much for your approval, Respected Lord Shen Mu." Zhang Bo's face was still beaming with an excited smile at this time, and he once again bowed respectfully to Shen Mu. After discussing some more magic-related matters, he then took his leave, saying very sincerely, "I will continue to work hard and will absolutely not let down your expectations, Respected Lord Shen Mu."
"Hmm, very good, that's it." Shen Mu nodded, then waved his hand, signaling that Zhang Bo could leave.
Zhang Bo once again respectfully bowed with his hand over his chest, then left the meeting room and walked towards the outside of the Noble Residence.
His mood was extremely agitated.
However, he didn't show anything on his face. Instead, he furrowed his brows, putting on a distressed look that seemed to indicate he was enduring something difficult or was burdened with worries.
Because he knew that as soon as he left the Noble Residence, he would definitely be met by the representatives of the senior managers and the leaders of the middle-level managers, who would send their subordinates to investigate his situation.
They wanted to know his expression, whether he had stayed behind alone to report anything to Shen Mu, or, upon learning that he had left Shen Mu's Noble Residence, they wanted to be the first to approach Zhang Bo and inquire about what had happened when he stayed behind alone in the Noble Residence.
After all, whether it was the senior managers' plan to completely eliminate the middle-level managers and restore their original command system.
Or the middle-level managers' desire and ambition to replace the senior managers and take their positions.
In reality, they all needed to gain Zhang Bo's approval and affirmation.
More precisely, they needed to gain the approval and affirmation of Zhang Bo's superior, Shen Mu.
For them, Shen Mu was the true ultimate authority. If Shen Mu did not agree to them completely eliminating the middle-level managers, or did not agree to the middle-level managers replacing the senior managers and taking their positions, then all their plans, ambitions, and ideas would be rootless.
They would be things that simply could not be realized at all.
Therefore, they needed to sound out Zhang Bo to understand how Shen Mu was thinking behind the scenes. This way, they could determine the intensity and extent to which their plan should be carried out, ensuring their safety while ensuring the plan received Shen Mu's perfect permission.
So, at this moment, as Zhang Bo had just left the Noble Residence and was about to head to the dining hall for a meal, he encountered the representatives of the senior managers and the leaders of the middle-level managers at a corner ahead. They had already gathered at the crossroads, watching him approach, and then quickly stepped forward to respectfully shake hands and greet Zhang Bo.
"Why are you two here? I was just about to look for you both." Zhang Bo, seeing the two of them, shook hands with each of them, then looked at them and said directly, "Lord Shen Mu already knows about your confrontation this morning. It seems someone else explained the situation to Lord Shen Mu, so he is very displeased. Although your intentions were good, you should have investigated quietly yourselves; there was no need to make such a big fuss."
"Lord Shen Mu already knows? This matter indeed didn't escape his ears." The representative of the senior managers and the leader of the middle-level managers both paused slightly, but it was not unexpected for them.
After all, this was Deherim, Shen Mu's territory. It would be absolutely impossible to keep anything completely hidden from Shen Mu.
So, neither of them was particularly surprised.
Instead, they looked at Zhang Bo even more eagerly.
After all, Zhang Bo telling them this news indicated that there was still room for maneuver. And Zhang Bo had just said that Shen Mu approved of their actions, just felt they were making too much of a fuss. So, the matter of the Diesel Company remnants was indeed a very good excuse.
This also gave them more room to operate.
As long as they settled the matter, completed it, or even went to extremes, then Shen Mu, to avoid further sunk costs, might just hold his nose and accept the outcome.
For example, these senior managers wanted to slaughter all the middle-level managers who had betrayed them.
These middle-level managers wanted to completely expel the senior managers from the center of power, turning them into idle personnel.
Both sides planned this way.
But at this moment, hearing Zhang Bo's words, which were a warning but in reality an approval, they both subconsciously exchanged glances, seeing the undisguised malice and hostility towards each other in their eyes.
"Alright, alright, why are you two clashing again?" Zhang Bo saw them exchanging glances, with sparks in their eyes. Although he was pleased inside, he still patted both their shoulders and said to them, "Let's go, let's eat. It's noon now. Let's see what the dining hall has made. And while we eat this afternoon, I'll also tell you about some of the instructions Lord Shen Mu gave me. You absolutely must not cause any major trouble; I always feel a bit uneasy."
That's what he said, but Zhang Bo also made some provocative choices in his tone, and he also reminded them, "And just before I left, Lord Shen Mu specifically instructed me to find the traces of the Diesel Company remnants and then identify them. Although you've made a big fuss, as long as you can thoroughly investigate the Diesel Company remnants, it will count as making amends and will be the basis for you to receive rewards."
At this moment, the hearts of both the representative of the senior managers and the leader of the middle-level managers, hearing Zhang Bo's words, suddenly pounded.
Rather than a warning, these words seemed to imply that some accidental killings might occur.
As long as they could find the Diesel Company remnants.
Mistakes allowed! (End of chapter)