Inside the imperial study of Star Luo Palace, dim yellow lamplight swayed gently in the night breeze, stretching the shadows of the beams and pillars across the walls, now long, now short.
Dai Tianfeng and Zhu Tianlin sat facing each other across a desk, candlelight casting overlapping shadows over their faces.
"Lin Yuantu still refuses to relent?"
Dai Tianfeng raised a hand and rubbed his faintly aching eyes, the bags beneath them dark and bruised beneath his fingers.
"The Grand General remains determined not to withdraw the troops. According to him, he would rather lead the army into a head-on clash with Spirit Hall than retreat from the border garrison without dignity."
Zhu Tianlin frowned slightly as he replied in a deep voice.
"Lin Yuantu alone, even with military authority in his hands, is not much of a problem.
"The problem is that more than a third of the civil and military officials are clinging to wishful thinking.
"They believe Spirit Hall is merely putting on a show, that it does not have such a huge appetite as to demand three major fortified cities right from the start."
Dai Tianfeng leaned back against the carved chair, letting out a deep sigh.
As the emperor of the Star Luo Empire, he held supreme imperial authority.
Yet faced with the joint opposition of so many officials, he still found his hands tied.
If he truly killed all those officials in one stroke, the Star Luo Empire's operations would suffer.
"They have merely been blinded by the peace before them. They have not witnessed Qian Cheng's cruelty and brutality firsthand. Otherwise, they would certainly see Your Majesty's actions as the wise choice."
Zhu Tianlin's voice turned colder, and a fierce glint flashed through his eyes.
"I know they will not shed tears until