The entire Dark Flame mobilized on Qianye’s orders.

Moments later, the generals and leaders of every department had flocked into the command room. Qianye glanced down at the room full of people, feeling greatly satisfied.

Those qualified to enter the command room were all champions, with the exception of the department heads. In the past, the logistics officers would usually outnumber the frontline generals, but now, most of the people here were champions. Their auras clashed against one another, causing the weaker civil officers to turn pale and almost lose consciousness.

The generals naturally noticed this, but none of them had any intention of holding back. On the contrary, they released their auras with the ardor of a peacock in heat trying to overpower their opponent.

The number of generals in the room had more than doubled. Now, there were close to thirty champions, a force to be reckoned with wherever they went.

The new generals were mostly survivors from the battle of Whitetown. They weren’t idle while Qianye was cultivating on the Northern Continent; all of them were doing their utmost to cultivate as well. With the help of supplementary materials that could aid in origin vortex condensation, almost everyone who had accumulated enough managed to break through. The highest record was three breakthroughs in a single day.

In addition to the mercenaries from Whitetown, there were two newly-recruited generals who had come to join Dark Flame with their own small corps in tow. According to Song Zining’s rules, the mercenaries would be reorganized after joining and spread among various units.

Seeing that Dark Flame was so rich and powerful, the two generals didn’t dare say anything and obediently accepted the reorganization.

Such a smooth incorporation was rare even for major clans like the Zhao. The gap was still obvious, though. It went without saying that many of the mercenary generals here had used up their potential after the breakthrough, and their primary cultivation art wasn’t enough to help them break these limits. They were not given meticulously designed equipment, combat arts, or partners who could complement them. So, in terms of fighting power, ten Zhao clan champions would easily defeat ten of these mercenary champions.

In the neutral lands, however, they were an unprecedented force. Perhaps only a handful of powers like the Throne of Blood and the heavenly monarch’s residence could compare to Dark Flame now.

At the thought of the heavenly monarch’s residence, Qianye remembered something he had neglected for a while. Those “old friends” had hidden themselves so well that he had almost forgotten them.

Putting the matter off first, he looked at the generals and said, “Many of our brothers have grown since the battle of Whitetown. This is great! You guys hoped that I would bring you to conquer the world, now’s the chance. The nation of Zheng is suffering unrest, we need to mobilize our forces and help them stabilize the situation. What do you think?”

A general scratched his head. “Where is Zheng exactly? Also, what does their unrest have to do with us? It seems… we don’t have a good reason.”

None of them was dumb. This so-called moving out to stabilize the situation was the same as offering to help one of the major neutral-land cities maintain order. It was just that they would still need a bit of cover or they might become the butt of public criticism.

Qianye said with a smile, “Where is Zheng, good question! I want everyone to start cramming once you go back. The intelligence division has organized all relevant information and maps. You’ll each get a copy of the documents. I’ll give you one day to memorize everything. As for a just cause, Zheng has so many princes seeking the throne. Why don’t we have one of the weaker ones invite us in?”

Finding the plan quite reasonable, the generals nodded with all their might. There were also a good number of them with bitter expressions—killing enemies on the front lines wasn’t out of the question, but asking them to study was simply too much.

Qianye wasn’t about to pay attention to them. He dismissed the meeting with a wave of his hand, reminding them that they would be given a spot check tomorrow morning. Those who couldn’t recite the information would be locked in a private cell to study until they could.

Dark Flame was no longer small, and they had just finished recruiting recently. A major armament war wasn’t something that could be completed in a day or two. It just so happened that he could use these days to draw up a more detailed strategy. Qianye intended to lead the new elite corps that had been equipped to Red Scorpion standards, with three divisions providing support. These three divisions would be in charge of occupying territory and maintaining order rather than fighting.

The mobilization process was, of course, left to the people under him. Qianye, on the other hand, needed to make other preparations. At the very least, he needed to conclude his business with the heavenly monarch’s residence.

The Qin Continent, Imperial Capital. Everyone seemed to be in an anxious rush recently, and a formless tension seemed to fill the atmosphere.

Strange scenes had been playing out in the Imperial Capital since the void continent war. Many of the ordinary people living under the Emperor’s feet had relatives or friends working in important departments. This facilitated the rapid spread of rumors. In little taverns, hotels, and restaurants—when people were tipsy and merry—there would always be someone talking about the secrets of the heavenly monarchs. It was almost as though they had seen them personally.

News of the great victory lifted everyone’s spirits, but those in important positions knew more inside information.

It was… a bitter victory.

The Imperial clan had moved out in full force for the war of national fate. Even those who had remained isolated for many years, like Princess Haimi, had accepted the order to fight. Geniuses like the Fourteenth Prince and Nineteenth Princess had also fallen in battle. The former’s death directly impacted the crown prince selection.

Fortunately, the Radiant Emperor was no longer contained like before and was gradually revealing his power. From the current situation, it looked like the crown prince matter would be settled pretty quickly.

However, the fall of the Longevity Monarch was a fact. Following the monarch’s death, the Radiant Emperor took control of the capital and core regions of the continent to prepare for the subsequent Sanguine Funeral. That was a plan of convenience, however. Uprooting the entire system of the Longevity Monarch’s people wasn’t an easy job. This character had been operating in the Imperial clan for over a hundred years, and his roots were deep-seated in many different domains. Add to that the complicated relationships of the Imperial family, with members married to almost all major clans and high-ranking aristocracy, this clean-up was destined to take years.

To certain powerful characters, Lin Xitang’s disappearance was another important matter. It was no longer a secret that Lin Xitang had appeared at the void continent, slaughtered the Minister of the Right, and rearranged the entire war progress. A number of true ministers were beginning to reveal the Minister of the Right’s crimes in court, allowing those nearby to see the current state of affairs and preventing them from doing stupid things.

There was no more news of Lin Xitang after his fight in the void. The Radiant Emperor never admitted that Lin Xitang had fallen in battle, only that he was missing. He flew into a rage when someone reported relevant intelligence from the dark race side, and demoted him by three ranks. None of the ministers stepped forward to criticize the move, keeping silent in tacit unison. On the surface, it seemed like they were unwilling to touch the dragon’s proverbial whiskers, but in truth, they were either in the war or had obtained detailed intelligence about it. Their emotions regarding this Emperor were extremely complicated right now.

Besides, the information from the other faction wasn’t any different from what they already knew. There was only an outcome and no details. The Evernight faction also found this excessively odd. Prince Habsburg never explained the process to the council. He immediately returned to his castle afterward and refused all guests, saying that he was seriously injured and needed to lie in the blood pond. The other vampire nobles in the fleet didn’t dare say a word. With the Demon King present back then, making things up randomly would be courting death.

Hence, no one in the court mentioned anything about the Imperial Teacher, but the experienced generals all knew that Lin Xitang had likely fallen.

Only when the marshal was gone did people notice how important he was. So many important matters would pass through his hands, and he would make handling these affairs look relatively easy. People discovered upon receiving his duties that they weren’t so simple. Just like the central pillar in a house—people paid little attention when passing by, but everyone became restless once it was gone, afraid that the roof would fall on them anytime.

Everyone was on the edge throughout the court, and the cars on the street seemed to be moving faster than normal.

Song Zining and some generals were currently discussing matters at one of the Imperial departments. They were apparently well-acquainted since the conversation would include light-hearted jokes from time to time. These men from Zhang Boqian’s lineage had worked with Song Zining for a time, so their relationship was quite good. They were transferred to the military after the heavenly monarch gave up his office according to custom. Right now, Song Zining was discussing the price for a batch of military equipment.

It was at this time that Song Zining’s personal attendant stepped forward and whispered something in his ears. The seventh young master’s expression changed quickly—from his initial calmness to shock, then to an odd expression of trying to hold back laughter.

“Seventh young noble, what are you so amused about?” someone asked. Even though Song Zining had separated from the Song Clan, these people were still used to calling him the seventh young noble.

Song Zining said with a chuckle, “It’s nothing, I just learned that that dummy Qianye has suddenly become smart.”

Qianye’s name was a taboo in the military, but things had naturally changed after the void continent war. Many young officers and the generals fighting on the front lines had a good impression of him, and held the actions of Li Fengshui’s group in contempt. Qianye’s identity was still taboo at this point, but in a different way—no one talked about his vampire identity anymore.

Hearing Song Zining say this, the generals all exchanged glances. The youngest among them said with a wry smile, “Sire Qianye isn’t dumb.”

Song Zining replied in a relaxed manner, “When was he ever smart?”

The young general sighed. “I guess you’re the only one who dares say something like that! All of us feel stifled in his presence.”

These generals were a part of the transfer and clean up after the battle of Whitetown. Everyone nodded, recalling that they had felt the same when they saw Qianye.

Song Zining laughed loudly. “Don’t be so tense. Qianye is a very nice person and very easily bullied.”

“Who would even dare? They must be tired of living.” The general put everyone’s thoughts into words.

Song Zining only laughed but didn’t continue on this topic. Instead, he went back to their previous discussion about supplies.

…

Outside of Tidehark, a giant shadow swept across the land and flew toward Ancient Totemic Castle. Some in Tidehark had long since noticed the strange phenomenon. They climbed up to high ground one after the other to gaze at the faintly discernible colossus amidst the clouds.

The alarm had set off in the castle, and the giant ballistae on the turrets were taking aim at the approaching giant. The cannoneers could feel their palms sweating as they gazed at the dragonship within their crosshairs.

“Hold it! Hold steady! No one is to fire without orders!” The officers shouted hysterically, afraid that someone would step on the firing pedal.

Experts with good eye-power had already noticed that the approaching monstrosity wasn’t a void colossus since there were clear signs of human construction on it. This shocked them even more because they had never imagined such an airship to exist.

A werewolf elder gazed at the dragonship for a long while before crying out, “It’s the Martyr’s Palace! Quick, inform the great chief!”

The Wolf King’s voice appeared behind him. “No need, I’ve seen it.”

The werewolf experts turned back. Seeing that the Wolf King had appeared behind them at some point, they hurriedly performed a salute.

The Wolf King’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at the distant Martyr’s Palace. Moments later, he said, “Relax, bring Qianye to see me when he comes down.”