In the corner, Ghost and Chrysanthemum Douluo trembled like leaves.
They had never been particularly brave, and now they were completely terrified.
They hurried to recover their Soul Power, then fled back to Spirit City in a sorry state and went straight to see the Pope.
They laid everything bare without concealing a thing: the City of Slaughter had been occupied, the enemy had a large number of powerful fighters, and some of them even looked bizarre.
They had expected Bibi Dong to be shocked, perhaps even to show some alarm. Unexpectedly, her reaction was far calmer than they had imagined.
"Your Holiness... you don't seem surprised?"
Yue Guan's mouth twitched. Unable to hold back his confusion, he asked.
Beside him, Gui Mei hadn't said a word, but he was just as curious, watching her closely.
Bibi Dong's gaze was gloomy, and her expression was as if she had "an endocrine disorder." Beyond that, she showed no reaction.
There were at least a dozen Titled Douluo! And they seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Under the circumstances, shouldn't she have reacted differently?
"Elders, take a look at the latest intelligence first."
"While you were away, something happened in Sunset Forest too."
"If I'm not mistaken, the two incidents must be connected."
Bibi Dong waved a hand instead of answering, and tossed them a sheet of parchment bearing information about the Holy Demon Federation.
It had at least eight Titled Douluo, including Dugu Bo, and half of them were stronger than Thousand Jun Falling Devil. There could well be even more powerful fighters behind them.
Moreover, a few days ago, they had summoned an army out of thin air and crushed the elite forces of the Heaven Dou Empire. Their overall combat strength was greater than that of Spirit Hall's hidden army.
It wasn't that Bibi Dong wasn't surprised by what had happened in the City of Slaughter. Rather, after digesting all the information above, she had become far more prepared to accept it. She was nearly past the point of being shocked.
"H-how could this happen? It's only been a short while since Old Ghost and I left, and the situation has taken such a sharp turn for the worse!"
"Do you think the mysterious and powerful force that attacked the Heaven Dou Empire is the same one that seized the City of Slaughter?"
After Yue Guan finished reading, he sucked in a sharp breath. He immediately understood what Bibi Dong meant, but still found it hard to believe. The two sides weren't even the same race.
Judging by the information available, the Holy Demon Federation in Sunset Forest was unquestionably made up entirely of humans. They hadn't seen any other humanoid creatures.
But the two of them had just returned from the City of Slaughter, where they had seen figures with human shapes but obvious Soul Beast traits—a bizarre, neither-this-nor-that race.
To say the two sides belonged to the same faction made for a bizarre picture. And judging by the number of Titled Douluo alone, it was hard to imagine that the other side was even stronger than Spirit Hall.
"Terrifying, isn't it? But that's the only way to explain why these events happened so coincidentally."
"The battle in Sunset Forest and the fall of the City of Slaughter were almost simultaneous."
"Besides, whether or not our guess is right, the situation is complicated now. The Douluo Continent has been turned upside down!"
Bibi Dong gave a cold smile, her tone unchanged.
Ghost and Chrysanthemum Douluo exchanged glances but didn't ask anything further.
Based on past experience, when the Pope spoke this far, it meant she had already made her decision.
There was no need for suggestions or unnecessary talk. They only had to wait for further instructions, then carry them out to the letter.
"This unknown faction calls itself the Holy Demon Federation. I've had people search through every record, but they haven't found a single clue."
"So it most likely comes from beyond the Douluo Continent—whether from another continent or somewhere else, it's unquestionably powerful."
"The Heaven Dou Empire can't win, and neither can the Star Luo Empire. Even if Spirit Hall commits all its elite forces, it would be hard to secure victory. So there's only one path left!"
At this, Ghost and Chrysanthemum Douluo suddenly understood.
The three factions on the Douluo Continent had been in a delicate balance.
If the enemy came from one of them, then at most it would be an "internal conflict."
If the Heaven Dou Empire grew strong, Spirit Hall would help the Star Luo Empire—and vice versa.
And if Spirit Hall ever rose to power and started a war to unify the continent, Heaven Dou and Star Luo would probably join forces too.
That was precisely why Qian Renxue had disguised herself as Xue Qinghe and gone undercover: she had anticipated such a situation and wanted to control the empire from the shadows.
But today's circumstances were entirely different. The enemy came from an unknown realm, and from the outset had shattered the old balance, displaying overwhelming strength.
Naturally, the three original factions of the Douluo Continent had reason to set aside their "internal conflicts" and turn their attention to an "external conflict."
"Your Holiness, what should we do?"
Yue Guan was perceptive enough to bring the question to the fore at just the right moment.
Bibi Dong smiled in satisfaction. Picking up where she had left off, she pointed to the map hanging nearby.
"We must approach Heaven Dou and Star Luo and persuade them to form an alliance against this foreign enemy, to fight the Holy Demon Federation together!"
"Spirit Hall is powerful, but we don't have many regular troops. The Star Luo Empire's army of fierce tigers and wolves is just what we need to make up for that."
"As for the Heaven Dou Empire... it can handle logistics and supplies, and it can provide the battlefield. After all, the enemy appeared within its borders."
Not long ago, Bibi Dong had thought everything through.
Now that she was saying it aloud, it meant the operation was about to begin.
As her loyal followers, Ghost and Chrysanthemum Douluo gave her their support, nodding in deep agreement.
"The Heaven Dou Empire has just suffered a major defeat and has little strength to draw on. With that undercover agent there to smooth things over, persuading it to join the alliance should be a breeze."
"As for the Star Luo Empire, though it's always been aggressive, with a great enemy at the gates, it should make the right choice once we lay out the stakes."
"This would be an unprecedented undertaking among all the Popes throughout history. Have you decided what to call the alliance, Your Holiness? A name would give it greater unity!"
Yue Guan's question came at just the right moment.
Bibi Dong nodded, the corners of her lips curving in a cold, alluring smile.
Clearly, she had considered such an important question long ago. There was only one answer!
"Our enemy calls itself the Holy Demon Federation, so it must be an organization similar to an alliance. Then we'll call ours the Douluo Federation!"
"All right, this matter cannot wait. Elders, set out at once for the area around Heaven Dou City and find a young man named Dai Mubai."
"According to the intelligence, he's a prince of the Star Luo Empire, but he's studying at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. He's currently planning to dodge the conscription order with his classmates..."
Ghost and Chrysanthemum Douluo understood everything she'd said so far.
But her final instructions left them both puzzled.
Unite the three factions of the continent and form the Douluo Federation—a grand plan!
What did a mere Star Luo prince have to do with it? Especially one who didn't seem to be in favor.
Bibi Dong clearly saw their confusion. Seeing their expressions, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes as she explained the rest of her plan.
"The Heaven Dou Empire is already entirely under control. I'm not worried about anything going wrong there."
"But the Star Luo Empire is different. The ambitions of the Star Luo Emperor far exceed those of Xue Ye."
"Your mission is to escort Dai Mubai home and build a relationship of trust with him."
"If the Star Luo Emperor doesn't know what's good for him, rejects the alliance, or tries to challenge Spirit Hall's leading position, then we'll have to take a different approach and support a new puppet's rise to power..."
Before you continue