News of Victory Arrived in Quick Succession, and the Emperor's Attitude Changed Drastically

"Urgent dispatch from the front!"

"His Highness the Third Prince defeated sixty thousand with eight hundred troops—a great victory!"

"Urgent dispatch from the front!"

"His Highness the Third Prince defeated sixty thousand with eight hundred troops—a great victory!"

With the experience from a few days ago, the guards stationed at Far Capital's gates immediately moved the wooden barricades aside.

The messenger roared excitedly as he delivered news of the great victory at the front to the Empire's citizens in Far Capital.

"What? Am I hearing things? Did he just say the Third Prince defeated sixty thousand with eight hundred?"

"I just woke up. What happened? There's been a great victory at the front?"

"Eight hundred defeated sixty thousand? Good heavens!"

"It has to be fake! How could eight hundred people defeat sixty thousand? It must be exaggerated!"

"This is an official military report! It shouldn't be fabricated, should it?"

"Can some veteran who's seen combat explain how eight hundred defeated sixty thousand?"

"Yeah, Old Ding, weren't you a veteran for ten years? Tell us, how did eight hundred defeat sixty thousand?"

A bald, one-armed old man stepped out from the crowd and bellowed.

"How the hell would I know? I served for over a decade and followed no fewer than twenty renowned Imperial generals, but I've never encountered anything like this!"

Everyone fell silent, simply because it was too astonishing. Those who had been on the battlefield even began to suspect that the military report was complete nonsense!

The messenger quickly arrived at the family's council hall.

"Report! Urgent dispatch from the front! The Third Prince led the army from Danna Crossing to reinforce Jiashan Fortress."

"With eight hundred Feather Forest Cavalry, he broke through an enemy formation of sixty thousand and pursued the enemy commander!"

The urgent dispatch from the front was swiftly delivered into the Emperor's hands.

Reading how his third son had led the Feather Forest Army he had personally trained—

Displaying immense might on the battlefield, charging and slaughtering in every direction, and directly forcing the enemy commander to retreat—

The siege of Jiashan had been lifted!

"How could this be? Wasn't my third son a good-for-nothing?"

"Not only is he powerful now, he even trained an army stronger than the Royal Legion himself."

At that moment, the Emperor's impression of his third son was profoundly shaken.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. I know my third son—how could he possibly be so valiant?"

"Speak! Did you forge this military report?"

"Did my rebellious third son send you to deceive me?"

The Emperor was in a state of turmoil. He did not want to believe this was the outcome.

He would rather receive news that Jiashan Fortress had fallen to the demon race—

Than accept that the third son he had always looked down on had turned the entire battle around.

"Your Majesty! Every word is true! Commander Zichuan ordered me to rush here and report it. The report bears Commander Zichuan's seal!"

"Enough! Withdraw for now. I will send someone to the front to verify this again!"

"If I discover that you have deceived me, I'll have your head!"

He immediately ordered someone to take the messenger away.

His mind was in complete chaos now, and he no longer possessed his former wise and commanding bearing.

The many Imperial ministers, marshals, and generals below had already read the military report in turn.

After reading it, every one of them was astonished, then revealed the same disbelief as the Emperor.

Ironically, only moments ago, they had still been worrying about the situation at the front.

But now that an urgent dispatch had arrived from the front—and news of a great victory at that—

They were not excited or delighted. Instead, they hoped everything in the report was false.

After all, they had just urged the Emperor to issue an order to grant the Third Prince death.

Yet not only had the Third Prince not rebelled, he had displayed astonishing strength.

He had led his army to repel the invading demon race forces and lifted the siege at the front.

Everyone was deeply uneasy and worried. If it was true, would the Emperor settle accounts with them?

Fortunately, the Emperor did not believe it either, so there was still room to turn things around.

"Your Majesty! This matter is suspicious. It may be the Third Prince's delaying tactic."

"That's right, Your Majesty. But fortunately, we have already sent three hundred thousand Royal Legion troops to the front. They will surely stabilize the situation."

At present, the ministers could only insist that the military report was unreliable and wait for good news from the two princes at the front.

The Emperor had harbored doubts from the start, but after listening to the explanations of his many ministers, he gradually firmed up his own thoughts.

"Mm. I believe my eldest and second sons will let their father sleep soundly."

Amid everyone's words, the Emperor's emotions gradually settled.

How could his third son possibly possess the strength to defeat sixty thousand with eight hundred men? Had he truly misjudged him all these years?

Impossible. For more than a decade, he had been nothing but trash. How could a single trip to the front lines turn him into an imperial star general?

A few days later, the sound of galloping hooves once again came from outside Far Capital.

"Again? Has the situation at the front changed that quickly?"

"Yeah, messenger riders used to come at most once a month. This is truly strange!"

The courier racing past shouted at the top of his lungs, his expression exactly the same as that of the messenger who had passed through last time.

"A great victory for the Southeast Legion! A great victory for the Southeast Legion!"

"His Highness the Third Prince led eight hundred cavalrymen in a direct charge against the central command camp where the demon commander was stationed. Eight hundred defeated one hundred and fifty thousand, and they slew the enemy commander-in-chief!"

"The Southeast Legion seized the opportunity to pursue and slaughter the enemy, killing more than six hundred thousand. The Empire has completely taken control of the Southeastern Plains!"

"The Empire's eastern campaign now faces no further obstacles!"

"A great victory! Congratulations to the Third Prince! Congratulations to the Empire!"

The entire population and all the officials of Far Capital erupted. Everyone stared dumbfoundedly as the courier rode away.

Yet the news he had shouted lingered in their ears, leaving them too stunned for words.

The instant the news landed, Far Capital's bustling streets and crowded taverns seemed to have been put on pause. Even the sound of breathing vanished.

Everyone froze where they stood. Someone's bowl fell from their hand and shattered across the ground, but no one paid it any mind. Their minds held only three words: six hundred thousand.

The first people to recover did not cheer. Instead, they instinctively asked those beside them, "Did I hear that right? The Southeast Legion, under the Third Prince's command, killed six hundred thousand enemies?" Their voices trembled with utter disbelief.

"I remember the demon race deployed an army of a million on the Southeastern Plains, didn't they?"

"Six hundred thousand enemies killed in a single battle—what a magnificent campaign!"

"Glory to the Southeast Legion! Long live His Highness the Third Prince!"

"Long live!"

No one knew who shouted first, but soon everyone was crying out, "Glory to the Southeast Legion! Long live His Highness the Third Prince!"

Far Capital was completely ignited at that moment.

Throughout its streets and alleys, people sang praises of the Southeast Legion and the Third Prince's heroic deeds.

Lin Huang stood in the grand hall, his hands trembling as he looked at the letter that had been delivered.

He would recognize that handwriting even if he were reduced to ashes. It was his third son's handwriting.

The battle report was so detailed and comprehensive that it told him one thing clearly: the slaughter of six hundred thousand enemies was real.

This also proved that his third son had not rebelled, and that the military reports from some time ago had also been true.

The thought that the Empire's eastern campaign now faced no further obstacles, that the dream he had painstakingly pursued for decades might finally come true, filled him with joy.

The overwhelming happiness made him forget everything else.

He no longer cared that his third son had once been trash, nor did he mind that his third son had violated military orders and seized control of the army without authorization.

Having rendered such enormous merit, he instead felt proud of his third son—and of himself.

All of this had been accomplished by his third son, the son whom he had raised.

"Hahahaha!"

"My third son dared to charge the enemy commander protected by over a hundred thousand troops with only eight hundred men. What courage!"

"Shaluoluo, didn't you call yourself the demon race's second greatest expert? You kept obstructing my eastern campaign, but now weren't you still killed by my third son? Hahaha!"

"I said long ago that my third son takes after me. He was merely hiding himself before, waiting for this chance to astonish the world in one fell swoop."

The death of his enemy brought him joy as well, while his third son's bravery made him feel that he had a worthy successor.

Why had he never noticed that his third son possessed such ability before?

Still, it was not too late to notice now. After all, the position of heir had yet to be decided.

Compared to the Emperor's ecstatic delight and shameless self-congratulation—

the ministers, generals, and marshals below had faces ashen as dirt, their expressions utterly dreadful.

They looked at the Emperor on the throne, reading and rereading the battle report, his grin nearly splitting his face.

Every minister, general, and marshal mocked him inwardly.

If we didn't know how you treated the Third Prince, we might actually believe your nonsense.

Now you were happy, had changed your tune, and were proud of the Third Prince.

As expected, emperors were always fickle. A ruler's heart was impossible to fathom.

"Rewards! I will reward my third son handsomely!"

"Celebrate! I want the entire Empire to cheer for this great victory and celebrate under heaven!"

"Record it! I want this great victory entered into the Empire's official history. I want every person in the Empire henceforth to know that the eastern campaign began with me!"