Joint forces night raid! Keep acting!

The allied forces came with a menacing momentum.

Yet, their retreat was utterly wretched.

The seventy to eighty thousand troops that formed the core of the offensive were nearly wiped out in their entirety.

Even the central army, under the deliberate direction of Su Changge, was engulfed by artillery fire and suffered heavy losses.

In a single battle, nine out of every ten soldiers from the hundred-thousand-strong army were gone.

Even the accompanying spirit masters suffered significant casualties.

With morale in total disarray, the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Seventh Princess had no choice but to lead their remaining remnants back to defend the Royal Capital.

After this battle!

Even the Spirit Hall branch and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, who stood behind the Third Prince and the Seventh Princess, fell silent.

Faced with the Thirteenth Princess's army, which possessed such sharp weapons of war, if they were to resist to the bitter end, what kind of price would they... ultimately have to pay?

Would they be the ones to die next?

"Pass the order to all units: reorganize the weapons and clear the battlefield! Furthermore, be relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside tonight; guard against the enemy jumping over the wall like a cornered dog."

Atop the camp ramparts, Su Changge issued new instructions to the commanders who had rushed over. His peripheral vision swept over Xue Qinghe, who still wore a look of lingering regret, before he wrapped his arms around the Thirteenth Princess Rose—who had long since turned into a puddle of mush—and turned to leave.

He wondered, after seeing today's events with her own eyes, what price the esteemed daughter of the Pope would offer to win him over?

The Royal Capital, the Royal Palace!

The Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Princess, and the Spirit Douluo and core backbone of each of the three factions were gathered here.

Only now did the terror on everyone's faces slowly begin to dissipate.

However, they all looked at one another, and no one spoke first.

Or rather, they had yet to come up with a way to break their current predicament.

Time slipped away rapidly until nightfall, when the two Spirit Douluo from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan could no longer hold back and spoke first.

"Two Princes, Seventh Princess, we must find a way to deal with the Thirteenth Princess's army as soon as possible. Otherwise... when the Thirteenth Princess brings her army to lay siege tomorrow, the hearts of the various large and small factions will waver. If they join forces with the Thirteenth Princess from within, even if we don't want to, we will be forced to retreat from the Royal Capital and hand the throne over to the Thirteenth Princess on a silver platter!"

"The throne must never be handed over to anyone!!!"

At the thought of such a scene, the expressions of the Spirit Douluo from the Spirit Hall branch, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and the kingdom's military shifted.

That was a result they absolutely could not accept.

If it truly came to that, then what would their efforts and sacrifices over the past few months have been for?

Especially for the Spirit Douluo from the Spirit Hall branch and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a monstrous killing intent began to brew in their eyes.

They were different from the two Spirit Douluo of the kingdom's military; those two had no one above them.

But they had the Spirit Hall and their sects above them, the Council of Elders and the Pope... truly towering figures.

Were they expected to kneel before those great figures and admit their failure?

"Everyone, there is no other choice now; let us fight to the death! Gather all the Spirit Douluo, Spirit Saints, and Spirit Kings from our three factions. Tonight, while the Thirteenth Princess's side is relaxed after their great victory, we will launch a night raid on their camp..."

"With the cover of night to obscure their vision, those ordinary soldiers—even if they possess those sharp weapons of war—will find it difficult to threaten us."

"As long as we kill the Thirteenth Princess, everything will return to its original trajectory..."

Amidst a series of sinister, brutal roars, the many Spirit Douluo quickly finalized the plan for the night raid.

At this moment, the so-called Third Prince, Fifth Prince, and Seventh Princess—the candidates for the throne—were all relegated to the sidelines, not even having the qualifications to interject.

Only now did they recognize the reality.

After each of them lost tens of thousands of troops, their status and value in the eyes of these Spirit Douluo had plummeted.

If not for the fact that they carried the blood of the Haagen-Dazs Royal Court, they likely wouldn't even have the qualifications to sit in on this meeting.

Late at night.

The camp where Su Changge and his people were stationed.

When the Spirit Douluo from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Spirit Hall branch, and the military approached within a few miles of the camp with dozens of Spirit Saints and Spirit Kings, they were immediately sensed by Pufferfish Douluo.

Su Changge, Xue Qinghe, and the Thirteenth Princess walked out of the tent one after another and arrived at the top of the camp ramparts.

Staring into the darkness in the distance, Su Changge's expression was steady, while Xue Qinghe remained calm, not even raising an eyebrow.

Only the Thirteenth Princess was restless, clutching Su Changge's hand tightly like an octopus, just as she had on the desk inside the tent not long ago.

"Pass the order down: all artillery pieces are to be loaded. Target the area two miles away, at a bearing of 15 degrees north by east. Ten rounds of rapid fire!"

Upon receiving the preset coordinates pointed out by Pufferfish Douluo, Su Changge quickly relayed the combat orders.

It wasn't that Su Changge hadn't considered luring the enemy deep, but considering the risk factor was too high—one slip-up and he would be caught in it himself—he decisively abandoned the idea.

In any case, Xue Qinghe had brought quite a few high-level spirit masters this time, and they had Pufferfish Douluo, a Title Douluo, as a safety net.

A few rounds of saturated artillery fire to reduce the enemy's combat power and incidentally drain the spirit power of those Spirit Douluo... that was enough for him.

BOOM!!!

The moment the artillery fired, a deafening roar tore through the tranquil night.

The group of high-level enemy Spirit Masters had only just looked up when they saw the shells, their surfaces glowing with intense heat from friction against the air, raining down upon their heads.

"Damn it... dodge, quickly!!!"

The several Spirit Douluo leading the charge didn't even have time to unleash their spirit skills; their speed surged as they transformed into streaks of afterimages, darting forward.

But those Spirit Saints and Spirit Kings were not so lucky.

Many of them hadn't even caught sight of the camp gates before they were caught in the violent energy waves produced by the explosions, ending up either severely wounded or dead.

"Everyone, push your speed to the limit! Those with amplification spirit skills, release them immediately... Since the enemy has already discovered us, there is no need to remain stealthy."

As one Spirit Douluo after another revealed their eight spirit rings, the accompanying Spirit Saints and Spirit Kings also manifested their own.

The brilliant yellow, purple, and black spirit rings nearly illuminated half the night sky.

"Yo, one, two, three... seven!"

"Not bad, seven Spirit Douluo."

"Your Highness, leave a few for this old man. I've been idle for so long, let me stretch my limbs a bit."

Watching the seven figures approaching at high speed, Pufferfish Douluo rubbed his wrists, his fighting spirit soaring.

"The men I brought are insufficient, so naturally, I need you to take the field yourself. However... do not kill those Cardinals from the Spirit Hall branch."

"If we attract the attention of Spirit Hall, it will only invite unnecessary trouble."

As Xue Qinghe spoke, he cast a sidelong glance at Su Changge.

Seeing that Su Changge appeared completely normal, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he thought highly of Su Changge and had the intention of making him a confidant, his true identity... it must never be known to others until the plan to usurp the nation was fully realized.

Yet, Xue Qinghe was unaware of Su Changge's true origins.

If Xue Qinghe possessed the ability to read minds, he would surely hear Su Changge sneering coldly in his heart at this moment, Act! Keep acting! I'd like to see just how long you can keep this performance up.