The messenger saw that Xu Jiawei still seemed unable to grasp the situation, so he could only grit his teeth and say, "Your Majesty, it's already too late. Before I arrived, the first line of defense in the Mingdou Mountain Range had already been breached. The White Tiger Duke fought to the death and refused to retreat, but in the end, with no other choice, he could only lead his troops in an emergency withdrawal and reinforce their defenses using the mountain terrain."
Xu Jiawei's heart sank. Another explosion sounded in the distance, and Xingluo City's tallest military communications tower snapped under the bombardment.
The metal tower, dozens of meters tall, toppled over and crashed into the burning streets.
The Civilization Sanctioner raised its head toward the sky as golden spatial formation patterns reappeared.
"Combat time has ended."
"Begin retrieval."
Its legs bent, and the propulsion Soul Tools on its back activated at full power. Its massive body rose from the ruins of the imperial palace and flew toward the spatial formation patterns.
Several Xingluo consecrated officials still wanted to give chase, but Xu Jiawei stopped them.
"Don't pursue it."
The consecrated officials halted in midair and could only watch as the Civilization Sanctioner entered the spatial passage.
The golden formation patterns closed, and the spatial fluctuations covering Xingluo City rapidly vanished.
Xu Jiawei stood amid the ruins of the imperial palace, gazing at the thick smoke rising from the south, west, and north of the city.
He bent down, picked up a broken Xingluo military banner, and planted its pole into the rubble beneath his feet.
Not long afterward, a second battle report arrived from the direction of the Mingdou Mountain Range.
"Your Majesty, the third line of defense has fallen."
"The White Tiger Duke has officially led the