Aboard the flagship, Song Zining started shouting like a madman, “Attack! All forces, attack! I must kill all of these dark races!”
Some aides surrounded Song Zining. “Marshal, no! The fleet is way behind us and you haven’t recovered yet. You’ll die if you go over like this!”
Song Zining struggled with all his might. “Scram, give me the order seal, I must attack!”
The generals grabbed him by the hands and legs, doing their utmost to keep him in check. The flagship also slowed down a bit to allow the main fleet to catch up.
Seeing the airship slowing down, Song Zining started shouting hysterically, “How dare you disobey me and ruin important matters?! I’ll execute your nine generations!”
The officers paid him no heed and only held tighter onto him. It was apparent that Song Zining hadn’t recovered because he couldn’t break free despite being a divine champion.
The airship gradually slowed down to a hovering pace. Song Zining said anxiously, “Fine, you guys can stay, but let go of me and bring me my armor. I’ll go myself, okay?”
One of the generals said, “Sire, you are a pillar of the Empire. The Empire’s fate for the next thirty years depends on you! Sire, you cannot act impulsively, the country is more important!”
“My brother is right there, and his fate is unknown! He fought the Evernight forces alone for four entire days! How come you guys never talked about the country back then?!”
The general only said, “Please calm your anger, we were only acting on orders and had no choice. Please don’t make this difficult for us.”
Song Zining’s struggle weakened. He stopped moving all of a sudden and said coldly, “I understand, let me go.”
The generals exchanged glances, hesitating whether or not they should let the man go.
Song Zining said calmly, “Don’t worry, I’m alive and well. Since you guys are handing me the Empire’s fate for the next thirty years, isn’t it better to not offend me? The only bad thing about me is that I hold grudges.”
The shocked generals let go of him, but they still kept him surrounded for fear that something would happen to him.
Song Zining patted his clothes. “These robes are dirty now, get me a change of clothes and prepare tea!”
A general went to fetch the clothes while another one went to prepare tea. The other four generals stayed close to Song Zining, not taking half a step away.
Song Zining changed and enjoyed his tea quietly, almost as though nothing had happened. The generals secretly heaved a sigh of relief but also felt a strange chill down their spines.
The flagship finally joined the Imperial Guard fleet, and hundreds of airsh.i.p.s bore down on the dark races with earth-shattering momentum.
The Empire had mobilized all of its elites for this operation. The Evernight side held great numbers, but they had suffered gravely in Qianye’s hands; at the moment, morale was already at rock bottom. Moreover, they were all made up of ground forces since no one had imagined the Empire would attack with their fleet.
Hence, the battle ended with the dark race’s expected defeat and subsequent retreat to their fortress. How could the Imperial fleet stop there? They quickly fell into an aerial formation and launched a follow-up assault, seeking to destroy Evernight’s core fortress in one fell swoop.
At this moment, everyone in the area began to feel suffocated. Like fish removed from water, they grabbed at their throats in a vain attempt to inhale yet no air came in.
The Imperial fleet fell into chaos. Several vessels began to spin, crash into one another, and slowly drift toward the ground.
Fortunately, the Imperial Guard was full of talented officers. One of them channeled his origin power and transmitted his voice to the entire fleet, “This is a suppressive might! Use your origin power to protect your mind! All champions, protect your subordinates.”
The command proved rather effective. Order was quickly restored in the fleet, but most of the crew still required protection from the foreign power. There was no way to fight under such circ.u.mstances.
The dark races weren’t in a better state. The fortress was now deathly silent—the fierce counterattack was gone, much like a meek young girl who had been stripped bare. It was just that the attackers were in no condition to invade, either.
Song Zining sat at the helm, completely unaffected by the developments. All he did was smile coldly.
A burly man walked up to the deck in large strides and bowed. “I’m sure Marshal Song has things planned out, can you give us some instructions?”
Song Zining didn’t even look at him. He sipped a mouthful of tea before saying, “This is Commander Fang’s first time here, so it’s only normal that you’re not familiar with the place. That suppressive might we felt is the malicious intent we were talking about. Since it has arrived, we’ll be provoking it if we keep on fighting.”
General Fang was bewildered, so he could only ask again, “What should we do now?”
“Wait?”
“How long?”
“It normally leaves after a day or two.”
“A day or two!” Command Fang gnashed his teeth. “The fleet will last half a day at most! Any longer and we’ll lose all the airsh.i.p.s here.”
“Don’t take my word for it. Just look at what happened with just a gaze, can you keep on fighting like this?”
General Fang was no longer calm. “This is just a gaze?”
“What else?”
The commander was livid. Moments later, he said, “If that’s the case, we might have to retreat.”
Song Zining stood up at this point and pointed upward. “There’s no rush. Those above are probably negotiating right now. There will be a result before long.”
“Those above?” Commander Fang was dazed.
Song Zining couldn’t be bothered to explain. He walked over to the edge of the airship and said, “I’m going to take a look at where my brother fell. I’m not rushing to my death, so you don’t need to send anyone after me.”
With that, Song Zining leaped off the deck and, like a willow leaf, drifted toward the isolated peak.
“Good skills!” Commander Fang praised secretly. Song Zining was still quite weak, so he shouldn’t have been able to fly. Yet, he had utilized what little origin power he could muster to soar freely like a bird.
Commander Fang understood that he was far from that level of origin power control. He became even more surprised after thinking about it. Even someone like Song Zining was seriously injured in a showdown against Nighteye who woke up only recently. Just how powerful was that lady?
Commander Fang suddenly felt relieved that the Imperial Guard was never sent into the new world. Otherwise, it would be quite the misfortune if they were to run into Nighteye.
Song Zining’s sleeves were like wings that carried him to the mountain peak. Fragmented scenes of the battle appeared as he paced around the place. Many of the images were of dark race corpses, some on the ground and others falling through the air. Many others were just unrecognizable specks of light.
Song Zining walked around, observing quietly until he arrived at a high ground.
This was where the peak used to be, where Qianye had fought his final battle. Song Zining arrived at the place where the royal banner had stood tall; he could almost look up and see the flying standard.
What was Qianye’s mood when he planted this banner here to challenge the dark races? There was no one to accompany him but his sword.
That flag was gone, just like the mountain top.
Song Zining knelt on one knee in front of the flag. “I arrived too late, Qianye. Give me thirty years! I will clear away all gratitude and grudges in three decades. I will help you get back everything you were owed. After thirty years, when all karma has been severed, we shall meet again.”
He stood up slowly and swung his sleeve with a cold smile. “From now on, no one can restrain me. Who have I ever feared on the path of tactics?”
Song Zining was completely calm by the time he was back on the flagship. General Fang had been observing him in secret, but he never figured out what exactly the seventh young master wanted to do. He really didn’t want to go against Song Zining, so it was a relief to find him back in one piece.
“Marshal Song, when will those above finish their negotiations. Our men can’t hold out much longer.”
“The same goes for the dark races, so it will end very soon.”
General Fang was a bit hesitant. “How do you know the dark races can’t hold out?”
Song Zining said, “Because they have more experts among them, and that attracts more of the new world’s malicious intent.
General Fang sighed in relief, but he quickly realized that something was off. “Does that mean we’ll lose if we actually start fighting?”
“It’s likely from the looks of it.”
“But didn’t Qianye kill over a hundred thousand dark races? Their corpses are still there.”
Song Zining’s expression betrayed his emotions as he turned toward the Evernight Fortress. “Qianye killed almost half of their forces, but most of the demonkin and vampire experts remain. We’re still at a disadvantage against their two races combined.”
General Fang bowed. “Thank you for the explanation.”
Song Zining had regained his composure when he turned around. “You’re being too polite! Don’t hesitate to ask if there’s anything I can help with.”
General Fang replied hurriedly, “No way, we’re the ones looking forward to your guidance.”
It was already a known fact that Song Zining was adept in strategy. The collapse of the situation after his injury further proved his ability as a leader.
Only after these difficult times did people from the Empire come to understand how difficult it was for him to produce such glorious results back in the year with such limited resources.
Song Zining had finally woken up, and his foundations were unharmed. Recovery was only a matter of time, and he would surely obtain great authority in the Empire sooner or later.
Commander Fang was building friendly relationsh.i.p.s with Song Zining because he had realized this. Some words of guidance from him during difficult times would be extremely helpful.
Song Zining had his own plans as well. The two seemed to have hit it off quite well after he made a sharp switch from the initial mockery to cordial friendship.
It was at this time that Profundity Monarch’s voice echoed through the skies, “This is an order! Unload the soldiers and cargo at the following location and build a base there. The Imperial Guard fleet shall return to the Empire.”
Origin power gathered at the center of the Imperial forces, forming a map of the sinkhole region. There was a mark near it to show the new base’s location.
The new base was several hundred kilometers away from the Evernight fortress, forming a triangle with the sinkhole as the apex.
It was clear that they had reached an agreement with the Evernight faction. The surprised commander was now entirely convinced of Song Zining’s wisdom.
The seventh young master picked up his teacup and finished his drink. A cold smile emerged on his countenance, hidden behind his long sleeves.
Orders were issued in the Evernight fortress as well, and a council member arrived to take command.
As for how confused, surprised, and angry the dark race survivors were about this ceasefire, that was no longer important.
Several energy fluctuations spread out in all directions. One of them shot through a demonkin door, manifesting as a number of silhouettes in the void above one of their continents.
The Demon King was still cloaked in a layer of mist. “What’s the situation on Habsburg’s side?”
“The Flaming Crown is still behind closed doors.” The one replying was the chairman of the Evernight Council.
The Demon King chuckled. “Habsburg’s recuperation seems to be taking quite a bit longer, so long that he could’ve gone to the new world for a while.”
The chairman mumbled, “He had some obj… erm… concerns about joining the fight on the void continent. After the war, he refused to be debriefed by the council, and it was said that things turned pretty sour between him and Medanzo. Your Majesty, should we seek the Queen of the Night’s opinion?”
The Demon King said, “The void continent war has ended, what’s there to debrief? There’s no need to disturb Lilith at all. Why should I care about the vampire race’s internal dispute regarding contributions? My dear Mark, you seem to have misunderstood my intention. I just wanted a certain item from the spoils of war Habsburg obtained. This is a personal deal, just a personal deal.”
The chairman bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty, it’s a careless mistake on my part. I’ll send someone to call on His Highness Habsburg again with generous gifts.”
The Demon King turned to a tall young man, saying, “Predica, you haven’t seen Habsburg in a while, right?”
This blond young man was clad in a wizard’s robe, and his countenance bore an inherent shade of haughtiness. His external appearance was more like a warrior than a prophet.
Most Evernight nobles might not be familiar with him, but this young demonkin was extremely famous in the top circle. He was the last treasure of the Dark Nightmare, known as the Judgment Prophet. It was very likely that he would claim the crown of number one prophet once he matured.
Brows twitching, Predica said with a bow, “When your subject last saw Habsburg, neither of us had come of age. It has probably been a few decades. I have never left our traditional territory since awakening.”
The Demon King said, “Then you go and meet him.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Oh right, if Habsburg has any concerns, I can see him personally as well.” With that, the Demon King nodded at the chairman and vanished.
Only after the black mist before him had dispersed did Predica glance at the cloaked chairman. “What happened?”
No matter how polite the Demon King was, one must never ignore his dignity as the supreme darkness. Predica was close to the Demon King due to his birth and knew all too well about the decisiveness and tenacity hidden beneath his amiable demeanor.
Recently, there had been a lot of undercurrents between the demonkin and the vampires. The friction wasn’t quite contained even in the presence of human heavenly monarchs. There was no telling what would happen if the Demon King were to visit Habsburg in person.
In truth, all the powerhouses in the council were feeling uneasy. Everyone was wondering if an irreversible conflict would break out between the young Demon King and the Queen of the Night who had ruled supreme for so many years.
The council chairman was just as worried. He said after a moment of silence, “Your Excellency Predica, I’m actually not very sure about the details behind this. His Majesty has made a most generous offer in exchange for a certain looted item. I don’t know what it is, and His Majesty never explained, but Habsburg surely knows. The last couple of times, he said he didn’t have that item.”
Predica couldn’t help but slap his forehead. “Oh my…” He then stopped speaking.
The council chairman shot him a puzzled glance, suspecting that Predica already had the answers.
But having lived more than a thousand years, the chairman didn’t have much curiosity left in him. He waited patiently, but seeing that the man had no intention of elaborating, he summoned his subordinates to make arrangements.
