That afternoon, battle reports from the front lines poured into the Military Department in the southern part of the capital like snowflakes. It was said that the Military Department leaders were being sternly reprimanded by Emperor Yassin, who was heavily armed, and were already overwhelmed with work. Because of the defeat at the front, countless nobles were implicated and imprisoned in the Knights' Hall prison. Even the old Marshal Zhang Bolun, though fighting to the death, had his entire family placed under strict surveillance...
As the number of scouts entering and leaving the capital increased, warhorses continued to die on the mainland, causing widespread panic.
Some say the Spartak Empire's army is about to storm the capital; others say Marshal Zhang Bolun has betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy after being captured; still others say Emperor Yassin has long since died, and the Zenit Empire is beyond saving. Among the many private rumors, some nobles in the capital are desperate about the future war and have begun to prepare to evacuate the capital and migrate north in order to avoid the Spartak Empire's advance. All sorts of rumors are flying around.
When the news arrived, chaos erupted even more within the state-owned district.
The King and soldiers of the more than thirty vassal states in the Southern Theater were the first to panic.
Their countries were mostly in the south, and many of their vassal states had already been occupied by the Spartak Empire. The flames of war had reached their lands, their homes were burned by the enemy, and their lovers and relatives were ravaged by the enemy. The Spartak Empire soldiers were notoriously brutal and cold-blooded, having massacred hundreds of thousands of Zenit civilians. Coupled with the deep-seated hatred between the two countries, wherever the Spartak went, only scorched earth remained, leaving behind only piles of corpses and endless blood.
Under these circumstances, the King of some southern vassal states were extremely worried and lost all interest in participating in the competition. They had begun to secretly gather their troops. The Military Department of the Xiang Empire made a request, asking that they be allowed to prepare to withdraw from the Martial Combat Competition, lead their troops back to their homelands, fight for their country, and rescue their relatives and children.
Many more people were waiting for the Imperial Military Department's statement. Some King of vassal states jointly expressed their opinions, strongly demanding that the Empire immediately send reinforcements to the three southern provinces and drive the evil Spartak invaders out of the Empire's territory with overwhelming force.
At this time, a name began to be mentioned by countless people.
Andrei Arshavin, the Imperial [ God of War ].
With Emperor Yassin gravely ill and unable to personally lead the army into battle, countless people placed their hopes on this legendary God of War who had once slaughtered Spartak soldiers on the border between the two countries. Although Arshavin was only thirty-five years old, he already had nearly twenty years of military experience. His Iron-Blooded Camp was said to be invincible with ten thousand men, and his formidable reputation instilled fear and terror in the Spartak. He had never been defeated in a hundred battles and was the absolute nemesis of the Spartak army.
To put it dramatically, for many Zenit and Spartak, the name Arshavin possessed a magical power.
In a short time, the number of supporters for Crown Prince Arshavin increased dramatically.
Meanwhile, the situation in the struggle for the imperial throne also changed.
The original situation of the two princes being evenly matched seemed to be undergoing an unexpected and rapid change following the defeat on the southern front of the empire. Many people began to side with the " God of War," whom they believed could bring victory to the empire.
Compared to the invincible Crown Prince Arshavin, the Second Prince Dominguez was merely an illegitimate child. Before entering the capital, he was unknown and had no achievements to speak of. After entering the capital, he only gained the support of some investment groups and powerful nobles who were seeking legitimate profits, thanks to the emperor's favor. Now, with Emperor Yassin growing increasingly ill and declining, the empire is facing a serious crisis, and the Second Prince, nicknamed " Mad Dog," is in danger of losing power.
Amidst the chaos, the Chambord camp maintained a rare tranquility.
On the one hand, it was because Chambord City was located in the northernmost part of the Zenit Empire. Even if the imperial capital Saint Petersburg was captured by Spartak, Chambord City would not be in danger of war for a while. This was one of the advantages of being in a remote and impoverished area. The nobles who usually regarded the people of Chambord as country bumpkins wished they could become such country bumpkins so that they could temporarily escape the scourge of war.
Of course, another reason is that the guys in the Chambord City camp are a bunch of warmongers.
The two Heng and Ha Generals, along with the Bootlicker prison guard Oleg, were already eager to volunteer for battle and rush to the front lines. Even an honest man like Petr Čech thought that if the opportunity arose, they could consider leading the Saint and the Urban Management into a real war, unlike the previous skirmishes with a few subordinate forces, allowing the warriors to grow stronger amidst iron and fire.
This reflects a surge in confidence following a dramatic increase in the strength of a group of hammer users.
It also reflects their boundless and blind trust in their King.
Sun Fei directly kicked the generals of Chambord City out of the King's tent. He hated war the most, and besides, even if there were to be a war, it would definitely not be Chambord City's turn for the time being.
In fact, Sun Fei's guess was correct.
Just as chaos reigned throughout the capital and the Twenty Mile Auxiliary State's military camp, with panic spreading everywhere, before Sun that day, orders came from the capital from Emperor Yassin and the Military Department: Crown Prince Andrei Arshavin would personally lead nearly 50,000 troops, including the Iron-Blooded Camp and the two major legions of the Empire's Ten Main Battle Legions, the Thunder God's Whip and the Fire God's Wrath, to the front lines in three days.
This order immediately calmed the restless hearts of the people.
Soon, another order came from the capital.
The Military Department rejected the requests of the King of the various southern vassal states to withdraw from the Martial Combat Competition and return to their respective countries to fight, and strictly ordered all countries to remain in the vassal state's camp area within twenty miles and continue to participate in the Martial Combat Competition.
Meanwhile, due to the outbreak of war, the schedule of the Imperial Martial Combat Competition was also adjusted. The second phase of the war zone challenge was canceled. After the war zone ranking competition ended, the top ten masters and the top five combat teams from the five war zones will directly participate in the Empire Ranking Competition.
After the Martial Combat Competition concludes, 244 vassal states will form a new legion to march to the southern war zone and participate in the battle against the Spartak Empire's army. The top ten masters from the Empire Ranking Competition will be granted the title of First-Class Nobles of the Empire and will also gain command of the new legion.
The battle achievements of each vassal state in the southern battlefield will be used as the basis for the vassal state's promotion.
The top ten vassal states with the highest accumulated military achievements will directly obtain the status of first-class vassal states, and so on, keeping the existing number of vassal states of different levels unchanged, and ranking and bestowing vassal states with different levels according to the size of their military achievements.
This decision, to some extent, made up for the shortcomings caused by the cancellation of the war zone challenge, and at the same time, it also meant that an era that drove all the vassal states crazy had arrived.
If the previous method of determining the level of vassal states through war zone challenges gave high-level vassal states a significant advantage due to their accumulated expertise, numerous skilled warriors, and close ties with major powers in the capital, then the current method of re-determining vassal state levels through war merits means that lower-level vassal states now have a chance to rise.
The advantages accumulated by the superior vassal states were reduced to negligible levels on the ever-changing battlefield between the two great empires. War is a devastating disaster that leaves countless lives lost, but it is also an excellent stage for creating heroes. As long as one seizes the opportunity, even an ordinary person can become a world-shaking hero.
For many inferior vassal states, seizing a fleeting moment could be a glorious turnaround.
Compared to the arduous process of fighting ten consecutive battles in the war zone rankings, battlefield combat is obviously full of more randomness and more opportunities.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the 250 vassal state camps changed from one of panic to one of bloodshed and radicalism, with many vassal King eager to participate in the empire's southern war.
Meanwhile, some top players and nations with the strength to compete for a top-ten spot in the Empire Ranking Competition have begun a frantic preparation and sprint. What attracts them is not only the status of the Imperial's high-ranking nobles, but also the leadership of the newly formed legion as outlined in the Military Department order.
Chambord City is clearly one of the favorites to compete for the top ten masters and the top five in team battles.
Amidst the clamor of the outside world, Sun Fei did something.
He summoned the Old Man Zola and the young Modrić to his King tent, where they talked in private for two hours. Afterward, Zola and Modrić left the Chambord camp with their belongings. From then on, the two, one old and one young, who had joined the expeditionary force on its way to the capital Saint Petersburg, disappeared from the sight of many and never appeared in the Chambord camp again. No one knew where they went.
Not long after, an organization with a strange name, the " Letters and Visits Office," became active near the capital.
No one knew who the [ Letters and Visits Office ] belonged to, only that this organization was extremely mysterious, constantly gathering all sorts of seemingly useless information and people with various skills. Such a mysterious organization attracted the attention of some other forces, and some probing was inevitable. Soon, only a few people saw the three true controllers behind the [Heaven] organization. These three were inseparable, always together, never separated. One was an old man and the other a young man, both very ordinary people with not very high martial arts skills. But there was also Five-Colored Masked Man always wore a mask, had a tall and imposing figure, never spoke, but whose strength was unfathomable.
The Old Man and the boy are in charge of the operation of the [ Letters and Visits Office ], while the Five-Colored Masked Man acts like a Sharp Sword, responsible for the safety of the two.
This is the second update. I hope everyone has a happy Chinese New Year!