Song Zining might be arrogant, but his words made Duke Yuanguang feel a bit better. It wasn’t too embarrassing to lose to the number three young expert in the Empire.

Song Zining had always presented the romantic young master image in public, but after staying in the army for a good while, he had learned how to use his fist. He challenged all dissatisfied people to a debate in the field behind the barracks, but no one was willing after Duke Yuanguang’s swift defeat.

After subduing the difficult ones, the army under Song Zining’s command was finally in a state of absolute obedience. Hence, he began to launch a series of battles that left everyone flabbergasted. Instead of building a fortress, he gathered a giant fleet and shuttled around the central region, attacking dark race squads whenever the chance arose.

Many people objected to this idea. The first to voice their opinion were those from the aristocratic families. They had an unchangeable love for land and felt that the territory wasn’t fully occupied until there was a fortress on it. Of course, the fact was that they didn’t really occupy the land because Song Zining had no intention at all.

On the other hand, this strategy raised the demand for airships; it was practically burning money. The Empire was now using the most barebones model it could muster, to the point of developing a new model solely for this purpose. It was nothing more than a motor stuffed inside an airship casing, with many areas left uncovered. Even with such a method, the military expenditure had now reached an astronomical number, and the Imperial treasury was slowly draining away.

The major characters back at the Imperial court could no longer sit still. The Radiant Emperor would hear several treasury balance reports each day—his expression would grow uglier after each one, but ultimately, he would always steel his heart and approve the airship construction costs.

The old powerhouses from the military were in great conflict. On one hand, their military budget was draining at an alarming rate, but on the other, the daily reports were beyond glorious. The long list of fallen enemies frequently contained names that had left a deep impression on the Empire’s past. Considering the fact that the dark races were expending far more resources than the Empire, they could only endure.

This was a fight between two bleeding giants, each waiting to see if the other would collapse first. The Empire was bleeding slower than Evernight, but the latter was much larger in size. It was truly difficult to tell who would be the winner.

This was a painful process. Eventually, the Pointer Monarch stopped coming to the military department and only ordered the people there to call him when needed.

Who would’ve thought the fight would reach such a state? It would seem the dark races couldn’t bear it much longer and were beginning to change their strategy.

The Masefield family launched a sudden counterattack and took back their fortress outside of the door. The Empire had only left a small squad there, which fled immediately once the demonkin army appeared.

The Masefield army continued pushing deeper and deeper, only to find that the Imperial fortresses were all empty. The small garrison inside would flee without even fighting.

After taking down several strongholds, the demonkin duke in charge of the army became hesitant. They were now a good distance from the door and closing in on the central region. Could this be Song Zining’s plot to lure him deeper inside and wipe out his forces?

His mission here was to keep the Imperial army busy, optimally forcing Song Zining to return and help. It was fine to lose some troops, but no commander would want their subordinates to be wiped out, even when luring enemy troops.

The demonkin squad’s movements slowed down to a cautious crawl amidst the hesitation, yet they did not encounter the Empire’s main force until they reached the Empire’s base outside of the four-holy-tree grove.

This forest was an important strategic node as the holy tree sap produced here was key to supporting the Empire’s operations in the new world. They would never let go of this place.

The demonkin duke finally lost his patience and launched an attack on the fortress. This time, he encountered sizable resistance. The defending army lasted an entire day under the fierce assault before retreating miserably.

Although their losses were heavy, the demonkin duke felt that it was well worth it when he saw the warehouse full of resources.

The sky grew dark as night arrived in the new world.

As the sky dimmed down, so did the duke’s mood. He was starting to doubt whether this was a trap. He wanted to summon his forces and retreat immediately, but he hesitated after seeing the long stretch of forest before him.

As the core character of a famed demonkin clan, he knew very well what this forest with four-holy-trees meant. It would be a great service to the clan if he could capture and hold onto this forest. The merit would be enough to gain him rare resources that could raise the ceiling on his talents.

The forest under the night sky was so tempting that the duke couldn’t look away. This wasn’t just a forest—it meant authority, riches, position, and much longer life. In short, it meant everything to him.

The duke passed the night in hesitation. He had just calmed down around the break of dawn when he saw a tightly packed fleet of airships over the horizon. The numbers were so great that his heart sank right to the bottom.

It was already too late to retreat. The Empire was so generous that the whole army was being transported by airships—there was no way to outrun them.

The Imperial fleet arrived outside of the forest in the blink of an eye. Considering the duke’s visual acuity, he could already see Song Zining and Zhao Jundu’s flags on the deck. He finally understood that Song Zining had lured him here and used the allure of the forest to make him stay. This allowed the Imperial army to move over in leisure.

The trap was simple, and the bait was very real. He might have had a chance to escape if he had abandoned the forest, but now, he only had one choice left. That was to abandon the troops and flee.

There wasn’t much to think about regarding this decision. The duke made some defensive arrangements and put some experts in leading positions before fleeing at full speed.

Fortunately, Song Zining and Zhao Jundu only shot him a glance with no signs of giving chase. The duke grew a bit calmer as he ran away as quickly as he could. The utter despair of the troops he had left behind was no longer his concern.

He couldn’t be blamed for running away since the Masefield reinforcements were nowhere in sight.

As he was flying away at top speed, an old man in dark-colored robes suddenly appeared in his path. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Startled, the duke felt a sudden and unstoppable chill emerging from the depths of his heart.

“Profundity Monarch!” The duke’s voice was full of despair.

…

Evernight Council. The majestic Sacred Mountain stood just as solemnly. A figure tore across the skies and appeared outside of the council. It then slowly walked up the steps and entered through the doors.

A bleak, ancient bell tolled loudly, its sound spreading far across the continents and reaching several special locations. The toll contained seven notes, an emergency signal that would summon all of the great dark monarchs and princes to a meeting.

Moments later, several powerful auras appeared at the council hall. There were also several marquises who had come instead of their respective princes and great dark monarchs. They would be in charge of recording and reporting the contents of this meeting.

The hall was fairly empty, and no supremes were present on the Sacred Mountain. This was a rare occurrence since the supremes would usually leave a projection to make important decisions when needed.

Even the space in the hall became distorted as a raspy voice said, “Progia of the Masefield clan, why have you summoned all of us here, and why are you so angry?”

“Our clan’s youngest hope, Duke Freyr, has fallen in the new world. Wasn’t the plan for us to attack their rear and keep them busy? Why did their main force turn back all of a sudden? Even that despicable Profundity Monarch appeared! What are you people in the central region doing? Are you all useless?”

The Azure King replied, “Our vampire race has also suffered grave losses, did you not know?”

“The arachne have lost three dukes.”

Progia’s voice rose sharply. “But Freyr did not need to die! If I wasn’t busy fighting the Pointer Monarch, there’s no way I would’ve let the Profundity Monarch succeed.”

“There’s no helping it, the Masefield clan’s door is too close to the humans.”

Progia said in a gloomy voice, “I need compensation.”

“Impossible.” Medanzo immediately declined the notion.

Progia said coldly, “Your vampire race fielded princes and great dark monarchs too often in a scramble for profit. Why else would the world’s malicious intent grow so strong against us? Now things have gone south! None of us dares to attack at will, while the humans have no limitations.”

Medanzo sneered, “As if the demonkin used any fewer experts.”

The Arachne Warlord Noxus tried to mediate, “Let’s not quarrel over such matters. Both your clans have mobilized a lot of experts, only the arachne held back a bit.”

All of a sudden, Medanzo and Progia’s anger turned to Noxus. Medanzo said, “Your arachne race took the biggest slice of the pie.”

Progia said coldly, “Yeah, even the Spider Queen was involved. It would be a wonder if the will of the new world wasn’t agitated.”

Noxus hadn't thought things would turn out this way. After some thought, he tried to draw the fire away. “Don’t forget about the werewolves. I heard Sousa appeared several times as well and without any disguise. I think he might be one of the biggest reasons. The Summit of Peaks has been plotting something as well. I heard they’re working together with humans on Fort Continent.”

Medanzo said impatiently, “What’s the point of discussing a mere divine champion? We need to think about how to deal with the heavenly monarchs.”

Noxus said, “How long do you think it’ll be until the humans also draw the ire of the new world?”

This was a serious question. The Eternal Flame, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, “Two attacks.”

The hall went silent.