Unless... the Spartak Empire's forces suddenly surged, or this defeat was not a fault of war, but rather because traitors were eliminated from the Zenit legions at the front lines, defecting and causing the 'castle' to be destroyed from behind.
Whether either of these two things is true or not, it is definitely not a good omen for the Zenit Empire.
Sun Fei felt more and more certain that his decision to separate the Old Man Zola and Modrić to build an intelligence network for Chambord City was absolutely correct. Although this intelligence network was still very weak and could not help him much at the moment, as long as it was allowed to grow slowly, it would play a role at a critical moment in the future, so that he would not be like he was now, having to rely on rumors to make judgments about some things, and perhaps never knowing the truth.
The truth is always more valuable than the most accurate judgment.
Sun Fei was lost in thought, watching as the princess and her entourage disappeared into the vast, Black Torrent of troops on the training ground in the distance. He gradually withdrew his gaze, about to turn away, when he suddenly noticed that less than ten meters away, the Alluring Witch Paris, in a flowing white dress and with long, flowing hair, was looking at him with a strange smile.
"What? Your Majesty King of Chambord, the Crown Prince has just gained power, and you've already become a fence-sitter, rushing to flatter the Princess?" Paris walked gracefully over, her lotus-like steps light and airy, carrying a wisp of fragrance. A charming smile appeared on her peerless face, which had captivated countless nobles and royalty in the capital. Her almond-shaped eyes were full of allure, but her tone was quite unfriendly, clearly because she had witnessed the scene of Sun Fei giving away the potion earlier.
Sun Fei gestured to the chair beside him, indicating for the Alluring Witch to sit down, and said with a smile, "It's not flattery at all. Don't wrong me. The rise and fall of the empire is the responsibility of every citizen. Hehe, I was just doing what a King of a vassal state should do. You know, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. Once the situation in the south deteriorates, none of us will be able to escape."
"I won't sit in the chair Tanasha sat in." Paris glared at Sun Fei, pulled the chair behind Sun Fei over, sat down, and then pointed to another chair, saying, "You're not allowed to sit in the chair she sat in either."
Sun Fei curled his lip, sat down on the other side, glanced at the [ Alluring Witch ] who seemed to be throwing a tantrum like a child, and was genuinely a little afraid of this eccentric woman. He shook his head and said, "Who said the First Prince has gained power? Yes, many people do support him now, but unfortunately, these people cannot decide who will ultimately inherit the throne. He's currently leading an army abroad, his legitimacy is questionable, and naturally he can't attend to the changing situation in the capital. Meanwhile, the Second Prince still enjoys the favor of Emperor Yassin. Heh, perhaps when the First Prince returns in triumph, the one sitting on that golden throne of the empire will already be His Highness Dominguez."
In my previous life, too many similar things happened in ancient China history. Back then, Fusu, the eldest son of Qin Shi Huang, had the support of all the officials and the power of a million soldiers. What a hero he was! In the end, however, his brother Hu Hai, a good-for-nothing, usurped the throne. This shows that many times, the struggle for the throne took place in the treacherous court, not on the bloody battlefield.
Paris smiled at Sun Fei's words, suddenly becoming docile. She bent down and leaned close to Sun Fei 'Sun Fei face, looking at him with her large, alluring eyes, and asked softly, "So, Alexander, you still have your eye on Prince Dominguez?"
Sun Fei's gaze couldn't help but slide down Paris's cheek, glancing through the gap between her white dress's V-neck and her skin at her two breathtakingly full breasts. He then backed away slightly and chuckled, "Does it matter who I favor?"
"Important, extremely important." Paris, of course, noticed Sun Fei's little trick, but simply giggled smugly a few times before sitting back down in her seat. She said seriously, "With a single order from the Military Department, 244 vassal states will form a new legion. Only the top player in the Empire Ranking Competition will gain control of this new legion, and Alexander, you are the top contender for that Empire Ranking Competition. In other words, this new legion is very likely to end up in your hands. Tell me, how important are you now?"
"It seems really heavy, haha."
Sun Fei thought about it and realized that with the sudden change in the situation, his status within the empire was gradually changing. He had gone from a madman who relied solely on his personal strength to a powerful figure who was now qualified to truly influence the empire's situation.
"Hehehe, you're really getting cocky now that I've said you're fat. You should think about how to win the first place in the Empire Ranking Competition first. In this Martial Combat Competition, too many young masters have emerged from the vassal states. In previous years, these people would definitely be the top masters of the vassal states. Your opponent is not just [ One Sword ]."
"If I want to take first place, they'll all just be supporting characters." Sun Fei's words were filled with undeniable and powerful confidence, a confidence built upon Sun Fei formidable personal martial prowess.
"No matter what, it's always better to be cautious." Paris was taken aback by the young King's confidence, a strange glint flashing in her eyes before she giggled and tossed a finely crafted, thin booklet in front of Sun Fei Sun Fei: "Take a look, this might be useful to you."
"Predicted ranking and detailed analysis of the combat power of top fighters in the five major war zones?"
Sun Fei flipped through the booklet and found that it contained detailed records of the names, strength levels, Dou Qi techniques, and fighting habits of the fifty experts who had made it into the top ten of the five major war zones. His own name was listed first, followed by [ One Sword ], then Xindi Magic Princess of the Bulan Kingdom, Kanute and Hulk of the Kingdom of Gudong with their Wind and Fire Dual Supreme Staff, [ Bloody Twin Blades ], [ Silver-Armored Berserker ], and many other potential challengers to Sun Fei.
King of Byzantium Constantine ranked thirty-third on this list, which is considered average. Among the other Chambord masters besides Sun Fei, Petr, known as [ Heaven-Shattering One Finger ], Inzaghi the lowest, at forty-first.
Judging from the rankings of these individuals, the analysis in this list is quite reliable and has some reference value.
After reading the list, Sun Fei noticed a small line of text at the very end. "Compiled personally by Materazzi, the Empire's First Bard, limited to 100 copies, each priced at 10,000 gold coins."
Damn, it's that guy again.
Sun Fei immediately pictured Materazzi. This guy really was a stingy money-grubber. No wonder he was covered in gold and silver, and even his wine glass was made of pure gold. He was too good at doing business and making money.
However, Materazzi's insight and judgment were still very convincing, and Sun Fei was already seven or eight parts convinced of the reliability of this roster.
Just then, a series of deep horn sounds came from afar.
The two looked into the distance and saw that the imperial army's oath-taking ceremony had finally ended. Grand Knight Commander Roman Pavlyuchenko led three thousand cavalry as the vanguard and set off first. The sound of hooves thundered across the land, and the three thousand cavalry poured out of the training ground like a black torrent, quickly disappearing into the distant horizon.
Second update.