The newly appeared woman was, of course, Liu Ruolan, the Wang Clan's principal wife.
Her clear eyes swept intently over the entire battlefield at Jinsha Beach. Her expression was grave, and a trace of solemnity lay in her gaze.
Today's operation was a grand scheme her husband, Wang Shouzhe, had plotted for a long time. It concerned a reshaping of the entire Changning Guard's landscape, as well as the twists and turns in the fates of its aristocratic clans.
Although everything had proceeded according to plan so far, the stakes were too great to allow even the slightest mistake. Naturally, layers upon layers of arrangements had been made.
Meanwhile, at Boulder Shoal, Huangfu Jinyuan, the founding ancestor of the Qianma Huangfu Clan, wielded the Dragon-Tiger Demon-Subduing Ruler and held back Ancestor Beichen of the Changning Xu Clan, along with his Dragon Suppressing Stele.
Crimson flames burned around his body. Though the Dragon Suppressing Stele bore down with towering might until the veins all over his body bulged, he did not retreat even half a step.
"Kangping, if you do not leave now, when will you leave?!"
Seeing his grandson standing still, he ground his teeth and rebuked him in a low voice.
"Grandfather!"
Huangfu Kangping's eyes reddened, grief flooding his heart.
He wished he could stay behind and cover the retreat himself, yet he knew this was not the time for sentimentality.
What had happened today had clearly fallen into the enemy's trap. The tide was already lost.
If he, the clan's second ancestor, were lost here as well, the Qianma Huangfu Clan would plummet from its heights. It might even lose all chance of ever rising again.
Suppressing the grief in his heart, Huangfu Kangping immediately mounted the Crimson Blood Dove. Stroking its head, he said, "Old friend, old