A day later, Ren Ye had successfully returned to Qingliang Prefecture with his swarm of "locusts."
Chijin City had plunged into chaos, and the Southern Border had suddenly dispatched troops. Big Fat Dragon marched north with 250,000 soldiers, using a feint along the central route as bait while making the southeastern army his main force. A hundred thousand troops circled Four-Sided Mountain and advanced into Bei County, one of the three passes and five counties. They seized two passes in succession and slaughtered through the night, killing over fifty thousand people and plundering countless riches, military supplies, and provisions.
Without question, this was a great victory that allowed them to vent all their pent-up resentment. It was also the Wuyao Kingdom's only successful offensive since the war between the two countries began.
When Ren Ye and the others broke out of Chijin and were struggling to escape, they saw a great banner bearing the character for benevolence fluttering in the wind, with sixteen Super Grade fighters from the Wuyao Kingdom charging toward them. Thus, the latter half of their escape went very smoothly. Soon after crossing Four-Sided Mountain, they returned to Bin Prefecture.
Their trip to Chijin had been richly rewarding and a tremendous success, but amid his happiness, Ren Ye felt somewhat "unsettled."
It was already late at night when they returned to Qingliang Prefecture. While everyone was celebrating, he went up Qingliang Mountain alone, facing the night wind as he gazed at the magnificent, still-unfinished Four-Sided Destiny-Bearing Terrace blessed land.
Ren Ye walked alone through the half-finished halls, stroking the thick golden pillars and looking at the stone walls carved with dragons and phoenixes. For no apparent reason, his eyes grew unfocused.
Now, no matter how he looked at this palace, into which all Qingliang Prefecture's officials and