The weather today is becoming increasingly strange, with dark clouds looming overhead.
It seemed that everyone in the empire was feeling overwhelmed by the pressure.
Although the palace was lit, it was quite bright.
But the atmosphere felt somewhat gloomy, a gloom that the lighting couldn't dispel.
"Report!"
A division commander rushed toward the main hall of the palace, but was stopped by the guards standing outside.
Commander Liu hurriedly shouted, "Battle reports have arrived from the front! I must see the Emperor now!"
"Please wait a moment, sir, we will go and inform the Emperor immediately."
He waited anxiously outside the palace, and it wasn't until several minutes later that the guard who had gone to report returned.
A sound also came from inside the palace.
"Summon Lord Liu to the palace."
Upon receiving the reply, he didn't dare to delay for a moment and hurriedly headed into the palace.
When Xu Tianran, who was sitting on the throne, saw him enter, his expression became somewhat strained.
He was eager to know the message that Commander Liu had brought back, but Xu Tianran also knew that he couldn't lose his composure.
Otherwise, all the civil and military officials in the court would also be thrown into chaos.
The officials in the court were all sizing each other up. Seeing Lord Liu's hurried appearance, they guessed that he probably hadn't brought back any good news.
Many officials were also whispering among themselves, "Hey, Lord Li, what do you think His Majesty will do if this is bad news?"
" Lord Yuan, in my opinion, this is most likely to fall through," a second-rank official replied, his expression showing considerable helplessness.
A rather stout first-rank official spoke up in a low voice, "I don't think so. After all, everyone understands the Emperor's intentions to some extent. I reckon the Emperor will continue to stand his ground."
After thinking about it carefully, everyone felt that there was some truth to it.
After all, they had all witnessed Xu Tianran's ambition; he hadn't been in power long before he was eager to start a war.
This shows just how ambitious Xu Tianran is. It's likely that their newly enthroned emperor won't let this go unless absolutely necessary.
While everyone was discussing, Commander Liu had already entered the main hall and was standing not far from Xu Tianran.
He merely bowed slightly; after all, someone of his rank as a division commander was no longer required to kneel in obeisance.
"Your Majesty, I have returned with both good and bad news."
At this moment, Xu Tianran, sitting on the throne, finally couldn't hold back any longer, but he still tried to remain calm and said:
"Minister Liu, just tell me the good news and the bad news."
As Xu Tianran finished speaking, everyone in the hall turned their attention to Commander Liu.
"Your Majesty, one piece of good news is that our army has already captured the capitals of both the Heaven Soul and the Dou Ling Empires."
"But the bad news is that early this morning, more than 500,000 strangely-looking taxi soldiers appeared behind our lines."
"They have formed an encirclement with the Star Luo Empire at the front lines; our entire army is now surrounded."
These soldiers resembled skeletons, some even as large as hills, and were terrifyingly frightening.
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this news, and the officials in the court were trembling with fear.
This is completely over!
Heaven is determined to destroy our Sun Moon Empire; this is inevitable!
Several people couldn't control their expressions, some even collapsing to their knees in terror, as if the Sun Moon Empire had been defeated.
From now on, they will have no chance to wear official hats or receive high salaries.
"How did you manage to outflank our army with over 500,000 troops?! Ah!"
Xu Tianran could no longer maintain his composure. He gritted his teeth and roared angrily. His right hand gripped the handle of the throne tightly, and then he gave it a violent jerk, instantly turning the handle into fragments that flew everywhere.
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your health is of utmost importance!"
Two or three first-rank officials stepped forward and hurriedly tried to dissuade them.
"Report!"
Before everyone could recover from the shock, another official hurriedly entered the hall.
He prostrated himself on the ground, his voice filled with panic, and said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
"What is it now?" Xu Tianran's eyes were bloodshot. Unable to move his legs, he could only sit on the throne, sullenly fuming with anger.
"Your Majesty, the entire army of the State Preceptor Sect has been wiped out!"
"What! This is impossible! Where are the Imperial Preceptor and Long Xiaoyao? With them around, how could the State Preceptor Sect have been destroyed?"
Xu Tianran felt a chill run down his spine, but he still couldn't believe the news was true, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Your Majesty, there are more than a dozen Titled Douluo here, and five of them are Limit Douluo. Senior Long Xiaoyao and the others simply cannot withstand them!"
"They launched a surprise attack while all the troops stationed in Sunrise City were deployed to the front lines. Your Majesty, this is clearly a premeditated act!"
"And... and..."
The official in charge of the briefing stammered, and judging from his expression, he was indeed extremely terrified.
"Speak quickly!" Enraged, Xu Tianran had no patience to wait any longer.
"Furthermore, not long ago, the Hall Master Hongchen disappeared after a fierce battle with two mysterious figures."
"You bastards, get out of here!"
This time, Xu Tianran used his left hand to strike hard, and the other armrest on the throne also turned into dust.
The officials in the court all stepped forward to comfort him, saying that Xu Tianran was truly pitiful, having only recently ascended the throne and already facing this problem.
And these civil and military officials would also suffer along with them; at this moment, everyone was filled with sorrow and speechless.
But after all, everyone had always followed the old king, and were naturally loyal to the Sun Moon Empire without any objections.
So when disaster struck, they didn't think about hiding or escaping.
"Report!"
Hearing another announcement from outside the main hall, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
"What bad thing has happened this time?"
Several elderly officials, unable to withstand the shock, stumbled and fell backward.
Fortunately, officials nearby quickly protected them; otherwise, they would have hit the back of their heads on the floor and suffered at least a concussion.
Some people even started pinching the philtrum (the area between the nose and upper lip) and then used their hands to calm the breathing of these people.
"Hey! Wake up, wake up!"
After being swayed from side to side, these people finally woke up, though their breathing was still a little rapid.
In no time at all, the person outside ran in with some papers.
"Your Majesty, three extremely fast flying machines suddenly appeared in the sky above Sunrise City. They dropped a large amount of paper downwards before taking off and escaping. Our men couldn't catch up with them at all."
"Can't catch up? How is that possible!" At this moment, the civil and military officials standing to the side looked at him in astonishment, their eyes filled with disbelief.
The official in charge of the report nodded in agreement and said, "Even our most advanced Flying Soul Tool cannot keep up with their speed, and their flight altitude has already left us far behind."
Xu Tianran tremblingly stretched out his hands and said, "Let me see these papers."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
(End of this chapter)