First Empire of the Continent!

Northern Expedition!

Humiliation!

This was nothing short of a lifelong disgrace for both himself and the Star Luo Empire!

As the emperor of the defeated Star Luo Empire, Dai Haochen had not only signed a humiliating treaty of territorial cession and reparations.

It wasn't enough that he had to pay massive war indemnities; he was also forced to sign a military restriction treaty, ceding the Huwei Mountain Range, located a hundred miles outside Star Luo City, to the Great Ming Empire to serve as quarters for the Ming troops stationed in Star Luo.

In modern terms, this was a military base—a military base where the Great Ming would be stationed within the Star Luo Empire from now on.

This was a location the Great Ming Empire had selected only after careful deliberation.

In fact, the Huwei Mountain Range and the Great God Lake Defense Line were aligned on the same point, situated along a straight line.

Just like the Great God Lake Defense Line, it was only a little over a hundred kilometers away from the Star Luo Empire's capital, Star Luo City.

This was the very reason why Xu Nian'an had chosen this location.

Of course, if the Great God Lake Defense Line hadn't been nuked by Xu Nian'an, leaving the area contaminated, it would have been an even better place to establish a military base, making it very easy to contain the Star Luo Empire.

However, since things had already transpired, even though the Huwei Mountain Range had the drawback of being closer to the Moers Province of the Star Luo Empire, it was still more than capable of keeping the Star Luo Empire in check.

BANG!!!

"Damn it, you bastards! To force this Emperor to suffer such a bizarre humiliation—this is simply the shame of the empire!!!!!"

Inside the Star Luo Imperial Palace.

After Xu Nian'an and the Daming Army withdrew from the palace, Emperor Dai Haochen of the Star Luo Empire flew into a sudden, violent rage.

They had lost.

The war initiated by the Star Luo Empire had been lost.

What Dai Haochen found most intolerable was that he had lost to a country that, just a year ago, had been nothing more than a tiny kingdom, and one that had been established as an empire for less than three months.

If that weren't enough, what Dai Haochen found most unbearable of all was that the Star Luo Empire hadn't been the only empire attacking the Great Ming.

The Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire had joined forces to attack the Great Ming, with his Star Luo Empire striking first, only to be defeated in less than a month.

One billion in war reparations!!!

What kind of concept was that?

One billion—a sum that would take the Star Luo Empire hundreds of years to pay off.

Thinking of the wealth the Star Luo Empire had accumulated over many years, with 150 million now plundered by the Great Ming Empire, Dai Haochen felt a sharp, throbbing pain in his heart.

"Pass the order... go... go to the Great God Lake and summon Zhu Ya back to me."

"That damned thing, how did he defend that Great God Lake Defense Line? How could he... how could he let the Ming army surround Star Luo City?"

"Tell him to get back here!!!"

Dai Haochen was furious.

150 million was by no means a small sum.

Such a vast amount of money was almost ninety-nine percent of the Star Luo Empire's entire treasury.

With so much money suddenly taken away by the Great Ming, it was almost certain that the Star Luo Empire's economy wouldn't even be able to recover for at least ten years, if not longer.

Not long after Dai Haochen's order was passed down.

A series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed through the imperial palace hall.

"Report!!! Report!!! Urgent dispatch!"

Before long, a guard clad in black armor rushed in, his face deathly pale.

"It's... it's not good, Your Majesty!"

Seeing the panicked look on the man's face, Dai Haochen's gaze sharpened.

As he looked at the man, a wave of inexplicable panic washed over Dai Haochen.

Wasn't this the person he had sent out last night to investigate the anomalies at the Great God Lake Defense Line?

How could...

"Your Majesty, it's gone, everything is gone! The 700,000-strong army within the Great God Lake Defense Line, and even the entire Great God Lake Defense Line itself, as well as the entire Great God Lake... have all been... have all been leveled to the ground!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the guard's eyes bulged, blood leaked from his seven orifices, and he collapsed heavily onto his knees.

In an instant, he lost control of his body and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Imperial Physician!!!"

"Imperial Physician!!!"

Buzz, buzz~!!!

At this moment, Dai Haochen's head was filled with a deafening roar.

Dai Haochen had actually been somewhat prepared for the possibility that the elite Great Ming Army could silently slip past the Great God Lake Defense Line and surround Star Luo City.

For instance, he had anticipated that the Great Ming might split their forces into two, using one to stall the battlefield while the other took a detour to launch a surprise attack.

However, he never imagined that the Great Ming would completely wipe out his entire army of eight hundred thousand.

It wasn't just that they were scattered; they had leveled the entire front line and even razed a massive reservoir—a lake—to the ground.

In truth, even now, at this late hour, Dai Haochen still harbored a sliver of unrealistic fantasy.

The situation was overwhelming, but Dai Haochen thought he could sign the humiliating treaty, then regroup his forces later, join hands with the Tiandou army once more, and launch a grand counter-offensive.

Deep down, he was still praying that the northern battlefield was performing well and yielding decent results.

After all, only if the Great Ming Empire lost could he reclaim the territory that belonged to him.

Only then could he get back his Gold Soul Coins, and he wouldn't have to pay that one-billion-coin war indemnity.

Unfortunately, all of this was nothing more than his own solitary fantasy!

A defeated nation, in the end, remains a defeated nation.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the main quest...!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining:

Blueprint for the Level 9 Soul Tool, Peacemaker.

National Defense Missile, North Wind!

First-class Faction Summoning Card (Limited to this world).

800,000-year Adaptive Soul Ring!]

On the other side, inside a luxurious carriage escorted by the Ming Army, Xu Nian'an took a moment to claim his system's main quest rewards.

Damn it, System, did you embezzle my rewards?

Looking at the system's offerings, to be honest, Xu Nian'an was a bit speechless.

How could the rewards be getting fewer and fewer?

Xu Nian'an didn't understand.

Previous rewards had been increasingly impressive, especially the last time he established the empire, which had come with all sorts of incredible items.

[Ding... The difficulty of the quest determines the quality of the reward. The system believes that defending one's own territory is the duty of an emperor.]

Seeing the system's explanation, Xu Nian'an's face flushed red.

Fine, it seemed that was indeed the case.

When he established the empire, it was, after all, a special event that warranted unique rewards.

At that time, it was only natural for the rewards to be more generous.

Moreover, this time's rewards weren't actually that bad; they just seemed a bit lackluster compared to the past.

Fine, fine. After half a month of hard work, he had finally secured his fourth soul ring.

Just as he returned to Xingyao City, Xu Nian'an wanted to absorb the 800,000-year adaptive soul ring he had just obtained.

But before he could make a move, a young general clad in red armor immediately came to report.

"Report, Your Majesty!"

"Tiandou is attacking with an army of five hundred thousand, invading our borders!"

Before Xu Nian'an could react to this news, a cold notification sound rang out in his mind once again.

[Ding, main quest triggered: Defeat the Tiandou Allied Army and become the most powerful nation on the continent!]

[Main Quest: First Empire of the Continent!]

Listening to the young general in red and looking at the system notification panel that had popped up before him, Xu Nian'an sighed slightly and slowly turned around, facing away from everyone.

"My life has been like walking on thin ice."

"Gather the troops! Northern Expedition!!!"

Xu Nian'an's voice was resonant and powerful, acting like a shot of adrenaline for the many soldiers present.

"Soldiers, the revolution is not yet complete; all of you... must continue to strive."

"This battle must be fought—for the empire, and for your future homes."

"Strike one punch to avoid a hundred battles!"