The forces of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and the Star Luo Empire had been assigned to the region facing the Spirit Theocracy.
This arrangement had been completed several days earlier. It had been proposed by Ning Fengzhi, tacitly approved by Tang Xiao, and quietly implemented under the cover of the Comprehensive Alliance's internal rotation system.
No one had objected at the time, because it had appeared to be nothing more than a routine adjustment of the defensive lines—neither overly abrupt nor suspicious.
But looking back now, the entire sequence of events became as clear as a map spread out beneath the sunlight.
The Comprehensive Alliance's command system had already begun to show obvious delays amid the chaos of being attacked from both north and south.
Order after order had been issued from the council chamber in an attempt to redeploy the defensive lines, but those orders had encountered obstacle after obstacle during transmission.
Communication channels had been cut off, supplies lagged behind the actual battlefield situation, and conflicting orders received by the frontline commanders had left them unable to make clear decisions.
By the time night fell once more, the Comprehensive Alliance's territory had shrunk to a third of its original size.
The regions simultaneously occupied by the Fairytale Empire and the Spirit Theocracy were like a sheet of paper torn apart from both sides, closing inward at an irreversible speed.
Along the Fairytale Empire army's advance route, a city slowly raised a new banner in the twilight.
The banner was deep purple, embroidered with a silver crescent moon and a golden arc at its center, unfurling in the wind above the city walls.
At the city gate, several soldiers wearing standard Fairytale Empire light armor were counting supplies.
Their movements were crisp and orderly, as practiced as