Decapitation and the Pearl Island Chain

Winter had arrived in the blink of an eye. New Sea Commandery lay toward the southern part of the East Sea, so it had not snowed.

Liang Zhaohuang was currently within the Liang Family's ancestral grounds, reading through a set of intelligence reports as his expression changed several times.

Fifteen days earlier, the East Sea King, Ying Province's Prefect, Ying Province's Grand Director, and the Alligator Dragon Lord—four fourth-order True Lords at the Nascent Soul level—had joined forces to launch a surprise raid upon the Demon Country army's camp to the south. Their aim had been a decapitation strike: to kill the Azure Roc King, who commanded the demon army invading the East Sea.

Had they succeeded, they would have dealt a crippling blow to the Demon Country's army. They might even have wiped out the entire Demon Country force that had entered the East Sea in one stroke, securing yet another great victory in the war between the Immortal Dynasty and the Demon Country.

There had been no warning whatsoever before this surprise decapitation operation, nor had the slightest bit of news leaked out.

It was only over the half month following the battle that Liang Zhaohuang gradually received information from various sources, allowing him to roughly reconstruct the course and outcome of the operation.

From the intelligence he had gathered, Liang Zhaohuang could tell that the Immortal Dynasty had made exhaustive preparations for this surprise decapitation strike.

Even in Ning Province and Jiao Province, the Immortal Dynasty's armies had launched attacks of their own to coordinate with the operation, kicking off two major battles that drew much of the southern Demon Country's attention—and large numbers of demon troops—away.

As for the East Sea, even more preparations had been made.

With the right timing, terrain, and support all in