The capital of the Chen Kingdom, Source Wood City.
Inside the palace's command center, Chen Mu and dozens of rune masters from the Rune Research Institute were in charge, while Chen Hongjie sat next to Chen Mu's workbench, communicating with him about the current battle situation.
In the center of the command room, a huge 3D battle map floated in the air. From the flag markings on the map, it was clear that the Chen Kingdom had lost over a hundred cities in just a few months, a truly devastating battle.
" Chen Mu, have you finished collecting your data?"
If we let Haotian Empire continue fighting like this, I'm worried that morale will drop within our ranks.
After news of the God-Slaying God Clan spread, the prestige of the Chen Kingdom Kingdom's royal family suffered a blow. Now, with the war against the Haotian Empire at a disadvantage, Chen Hongjie's pressure has increased even more.
If he hadn't known that the Rune Research Institute still had many trump cards up its sleeve, it probably wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer.
"Don't rush! As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Our war with the Haotian Empire won't end anytime soon. While we still don't know enough about them, I can gather more data on them.
Every day we delay increases our chances of future victory.
After Chen Mu rose to a high position, he focused more on the overall picture when considering issues, but he also became less humane.
From their conversation, it is clear that the Chen Kingdom is currently feigning weakness to the enemy.
Chen Mu did this in order to collect data on the Haotian Empire's army's combat operations. This data, after being analyzed and organized by the Chen Kingdom's big data system, would be of great significance to subsequent strategic deployments, far more important than the current short-term victory.
Although the Chen Kingdom had previously engaged in covert struggles with the Haotian Empire, those were all small-scale battles. Now, the formal decisive battle will undoubtedly expose more of the Haotian Empire's military problems.
Chen Kingdom has extensive combat experience against the Abyss Devil Race, but he is not as adept at fighting against human legions, which is the main area that Chen Mu currently wants to improve.
Hearing Chen Mu's resolute tone, Chen Hongjie didn't say anything more and nodded.
"Alright then! I'll go back and think of something."
Just then, Chen Mu received a communication request from White Turtle. He immediately beamed with joy and answered the signal.
" Chen Mu, the Starry Sky Passage here is complete; only the final ritual to reach the heavens remains."
The projection of the White Turtle appeared before Chen Mu, looking somewhat tired.
"Okay, Grandpa Turtle, you go and rest now! I'll take care of the rest."
Chen Mu nodded.
"In addition, Gu Ningbi contacted me and said she would come to the Chen Kingdom to see you in a few days."
I reckon your war with the Haotian Empire needs to be accelerated; you have more important matters to attend to."
After leaving the Tomb of the Gods, Gu Ningbi returned to the Soul Clan plane alone. I didn't expect her to be able to come out so quickly.
She clearly didn't want outsiders to know about her relationship with the Chen Kingdom, which is why she chose to contact the White Turtle in outer space.
"It's much faster than I expected. Okay then! I know what to do."
After severing his connection with the White Turtle, Chen Mu pondered for a moment before turning to Chen Hongjie and speaking.
"Third Uncle, as the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes."
I have urgent business to attend to later, so it seems I can't stay in the Chen Kingdom to oversee things indefinitely.
Therefore, starting tomorrow, I will have my subordinates launch a counterattack against the Haotian Empire.
This should relieve a lot of your stress.
Hearing Chen Mu say this, Chen Hongjie couldn't be happy at all.
"You're leaving? Where are you going?"
Chen Mu is arguably the only person in the Chen Kingdom who can directly confront the gods. If he leaves, the war pressure on the Chen Kingdom will undoubtedly be even greater.
Go find my father!
Don't worry, Uncle, I will stabilize the current situation before leaving.
Chen Mu said solemnly.
"Your father? You've heard news of your second brother?"
Chen Hongjie said excitedly.
"Yes! I met one of the wives of our Chen Clan ancestor in the Tomb of the Gods. She said she has a way to take me to him."
Chen Hongjie was deeply shocked upon hearing this, and after thinking about it for a long time, he also supported his decision.
"Then go ahead and do it! I support your decision."
It has been three months since Flying Dragon Pass fell.
In three months, Wen Dao led the Tiger Vanguard Royal Cavalry with unstoppable momentum, advancing more than 10,000 li into the territory of the Chen Kingdom.
If it weren't for clearing out Chen Kingdom's spirit magnetic base stations along the way, their advance would definitely have been faster. However, Wen Dao wasn't in a hurry; he had enough confidence in the army he had trained.
"Halt! All troops take a rest."
Wen Dao rode in a fine gold chariot pulled by eight King Level demonic beasts, swaggering towards the heart of the Chen Kingdom, seemingly completely disregarding the Chen Kingdom's attack.
During these three months of fighting, although Chen Kingdom did not use any new weapons, he used almost all the methods he had used against the Abyss Devil Race against the Haotian Empire's army, such as Robot Corps, Demon Spirit Missile, rune warships, and so on.
However, the Haotian Empire's army has found ways to deal with these problems, such as the Divine Arrow Legion, which is specifically designed to intercept Demon Spirit Missile; the Heavenly Dragon Cavalry, which can fight against Rune Warships; and the Yimu Heavenly Soldiers, who have great endurance.
The Yimu Heavenly Soldiers are composed of warriors from the Heavenly Realm Wood People Clan. They possess incredibly powerful regenerative abilities, making them perfectly capable of countering the human wave tactics used by Robot Corps.
" Wen Dao, according to our scouts, there have been frequent military movements in the Chen Kingdom this morning."
In my humble opinion, the Chen Kingdom is likely still hiding its strength, so I urge you to be cautious, my lord.
A military staff officer approached Wen Dao and offered his advice.
"I understand! You may leave."
Wen Dao, signaling the staff officer to leave.
He was well aware that the Chen Kingdom had been lying low for so many years, and it was impossible that they only had the strength they had now. But so what? Their Haotian Empire had been preparing for this battle for a long time, and he did not believe that the Chen Kingdom could withstand it.
Two hours later, the army finished resting, and Wen Dao led the army to take down a capital city a dozen miles ahead.
"Report! Sir, something terrible has happened!"
Just as the army was marching forward, Wen Dao suddenly heard bad news, which forced him to stop the army.
"My lord, a large number of soldiers have suddenly appeared in various parts of the Chen Kingdom. The number of soldiers is secondary; what is more important is that there are many strange legions among them that we have never seen before."
Those strange legions employ extremely cunning and bizarre tactics, which our army is completely unable to counter, resulting in exceptionally heavy losses. Now, people from all over are asking you, sir, whether we can temporarily withdraw our troops."