Drive the Wolves to Devour the Tiger, Devour Their Territory Piece by Piece
Pushing open the soundproof wooden door, the room was filled with the gentle fragrance of sandalwood.
On the White Jade couch, the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, who had transformed into a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, was sleeping peacefully, her cascading silver hair spread out beside her pillow.
After taking the God-Level Dragon Soul Restoration Liquid, the previously hideous dark red Asura Sword between her brows had completely disappeared. A faint seven-colored elemental halo surrounded her, and she was slowly and steadily repairing her Divine Core essence, which had been damaged for ten thousand years, in her sleep.
Su Chen reached out and touched her smooth, slightly cool forehead to confirm that there was no further risk of backlash. After tucking her in with the quilt, he quietly left the quiet room.
As soon as I stepped out of the corridor, I saw a tall and slender figure standing under the crabapple tree in the courtyard.
Qian Renxue had completely shed the crown prince disguise and blood-stained soft armor she had worn for over ten years, and put on a well-tailored, plain white flowing fairy dress.
Her long, cascading golden hair was loosely tied up with a white jade hairpin, revealing her slender, snow-white Swan neck. She had lost some of the cold and stern demeanor she had when she was in charge of the Eastern Palace, and gained more of the pure and gentle beauty that belonged to a stunning young woman.
As she gazed at the deepening twilight in the north, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and a deep, unyielding melancholy lingered in her eyes.
Hearing footsteps, Qian Renxue turned around. "Has Gu Yuena's injury stabilized?"
"The repair fluid is very effective; a few days of sleep will restore a lot of my energy." Su Chen walked to her side and stopped, glancing at her slightly tense profile. "Still thinking about the Eastern Palace and Elder Ju?"
Qian Renxue remained silent for a moment, then gently gripped the railing with her delicate hand. "I've been lurking in Heaven Dou City for over a decade, and I was just one step away from taking over the entire empire without bloodshed. But it was all destroyed overnight, and Elder Ju's life was lost in the process."
"If you lose territory, you can just take it back. Being alive is the most important thing."
Su Chen reached out and placed his hand on the slightly cool back of her hand. "Most of the assassins and key members of the Eastern Palace have withdrawn. As long as their foundation is not destroyed, they have a chance to make a comeback."
Feeling the scalding heat from the back of her hand, Qian Renxue's tense nerves, which had been taut all day, finally began to relax.
She didn't pull her hand away; instead, she gently rested her cheek on Su Chen's firm shoulder, her reddish-gold hair brushing against his neck, and softly replied:
"Okay. From now on, I won't be Xue Qinghe anymore; I'll only be your Qian Renxue."
At the same moment, a hundred miles away in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, the Tai Chi Hall was dark and gloomy, with a suffocating atmosphere.
Although the bloodstains on the golden bricks of the main hall had been hastily wiped clean by the palace staff, the half-collapsed Coiling Dragon Golden Pillar and the shattered glazed tiles were still a shocking sight.
Wearing a bright yellow dragon robe Xue Xing sat on the dragon throne with a livid face.
In the center of the main hall, Liu Erlong, with a blood-stained white cloth wrapped around her left shoulder, and Flender, whose wings were charred and whose ribs were broken, stood in a disheveled state, having just finished reporting the devastating defeat at North Wind Canyon in detail.
Bang!!
Xue Xing slammed her hand on the armrest, her beard trembling violently with rage. "Useless! All of you are useless!! Three thousand elite heavy cavalry, plus eight hundred archers and you three Soul Saint and Soul Ancestor, went to besiege a few young girls, and you were all wiped out by that little beast Su Chen with a single fire! That idiot Yu Xiaogang always boasts so much, but when it came to the battlefield, he couldn't even last three days. He has utterly disgraced the Imperial Family family!"
Yu Luomian's facial muscles twitched violently twice.
Yu Xiaogang is still hiding in the side camp, running a high fever and talking nonsense. Yu Tianheng's right arm and collarbone were shattered, and he lost half a year of cultivation. This battle has made the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan lose face.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" A Imperial Family commander beside Xue Xing pleaded, "The capital's main camp still has 80,000 troops at our disposal. Why not have two elders of the Divine Sect Protector of the Nation lead the army south tomorrow, crush the Glazed Tile Fortress City in one fell swoop, and uproot Su Chen and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"
"Take it flat? What can we use to take it flat?!" The Second Elder of the Clear Sky Sect, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
The Second Elder's face was extremely grim. He said in a deep voice, "In the two battles at the Meridian Gate and the Vermilion Bird Barbican, the Imperial City Guards suffered over ten thousand casualties! Brother Hao's core essence was severely damaged! That Glazed Tile Fortress City is high and the moat is deep. Not only do three Titled Douluo — Chen Xin, Gu Rong, and Dugu Bo —and Ning Fengzhi's amplification reside inside, but the mysterious silver-haired woman who appeared at the Meridian Gate today is also hiding there! It is no longer advisable to launch a forceful attack!"
Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the hall fell silent, as if doused with ice water, even the furious Xue Xing felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water.
The Seventh Elder rubbed his still throbbing wrist and said in a deep voice, "Second Brother is right. I have already sent a top-level urgent report to the Clear Sky Sect using the Wind-Chasing Eagle that the sect has been secretly raising. When the sect leader and several brothers learn that Brother Hao is seriously injured and the army is blocked, they will definitely mobilize the sect's elite forces to come down the mountain to provide assistance. However, the mountains are high and the roads are long, and it will take some time for the large force to gather and arrive."
"Are we just going to stand by and watch Su Chen and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect gain a foothold in the south?" Xue Xing asked anxiously.
"A direct assault on a heavily fortified city is a poor strategy, but we can cripple its defenses and cut off its supplies!"
Clutching his chest wound, Yu Luomian's eyes flashed with malice. He stepped forward and offered a plan. "Although the Glazed Tile Fortress City is fortified, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect still has three garrison cities, including Red Iron Ridge, and several vital iron mines on the southern outskirts, relying entirely on the surrounding small countries for grain and iron supplies. I have already sent a letter back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, requesting my elder brother to send experts down the mountain. Before that, Your Majesty can issue ten imperial edicts ordering the lords of the border cities of Barak and Silves to send troops to gradually erode the outer strongholds of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! In addition, aren't there still several high-level Soul Master Academy such as Blazing Fire, Thunder, and Plant stranded in the city? Directly detain their elders and their families, forcing these academy Team to follow my Blue Lightning Enforcement Team south to clear out the outer outposts! This will both test the strength of the Glazed Tile Fortress City and completely muddy the waters without losing a single soldier from the Imperial City!"
The Second Elder of the Clear Sky Sect slowly nodded. "Using the wolves to devour the tiger, gradually eroding its strength. This plan is feasible. Let's do as Brother Yu says and first eliminate all the henchmen surrounding the Glazed Tile Fortress City!"
The night was as dark as ink, and a cold wind swept across the towering eaves of the Glazed Tile Fortress City, forming a thin layer of white frost in the Blue Stone courtyard.
Inside the study in the main courtyard, Su Chen had just finished checking the defense maps of the three garrison cities surrounding Southern Xinjiang with Ning Fengzhi and was preparing to return to his room to recuperate. Suddenly, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps echoed on the quiet Blue Stone path outside the courtyard!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The main gate of the courtyard was pounded on forcefully.
Su Chen got up and opened the door. In the light of the lanterns at the courtyard gate, Shui Yue'er was wearing only a thin, ice-blue gauze dress, her hair at her temples was slightly damp from the cold, and her pretty face was as white as paper.
Upon seeing Su Chen appear, she rushed forward and grabbed Su Chen sleeve, her voice trembling with tears as she pleaded urgently:
"Su Chen! Something terrible has happened! As night falls and the chill intensifies, the extreme cold energy within my sister's dantian has suddenly launched a full-scale counterattack! Please, save my sister!"