General Pingxi, Luo Jing, had fallen in battle.
The Imperial Court had retreated on all fronts in Southwind Prefecture.
And that was not all.
The Marquis of Wu'an, Shen Hong, had rebelled and joined forces with the Marquis of Southwind, Zhang Yi, to attack the Imperial Court's army from both sides.
Besides that.
Qianshan, Luoyue, and Baiyong Prefectures had also launched offensives against the Imperial Court on the same day.
The five regional lords seemed to have coordinated their plans.
They had struck against the Imperial Court at the same time.
If the Imperial Court had still been able to contain the earlier unrest, the current upheaval had shattered the stability it had struggled to maintain.
The Imperial Court commanded a substantial army.
But in reality, that strength included the troops of the various prefectures.
Excluding those prefectural troops, the true military power lay with the five great generals led by Shan Hao.
But now Luo Jing had fallen, and the army under his command had perished with him.
As one side weakened, the other grew stronger.
The Imperial Court's strength had immediately diminished considerably.
Especially now, when suspicion lurked everywhere, every regional lord whose troops remained idle could potentially rebel.
As a result.
The Imperial Court also had to divert considerable forces to guard against that possibility in secret.
It could be said.
All these developments together had sent the situation spiraling into complete collapse.
"The realm has fallen into chaos far too quickly!" Qin Shujian put down the Communication Jade Talisman, his brows tightly knitted as he considered the information it contained.
He had never expected this either.
In just a few days, the realm had descended into such turmoil.
He even had to.
Keep an eye on developments in Northcloud Prefecture.
With things as they were, there