Chapter 1362: Phase Two (Part 2)

At dawn, the Imperial relay station.

Song Zining rose at first light and headed toward the military department. Considering the seventh young master’s status, his office was fairly big despite the scarcity of space in the military department.

Holding office in the military came with one perk at least. He was able to see every battle report immediately and grasp the overall situation of the fight against Evernight.

Song Zining hadn’t even taken his seat when his aide announced that a guest was here to see him.

Song Zining instructed the man to lead the guests to the conference room, to which he headed only after reading the morning’s reports.

There was a young but capable-looking general, seemingly in his thirties, seated in the meeting room. He first bowed at Song Zining before speaking, “This subordinate is Zhang Zhao, I work under the command of the Profundity Monarch.”

It turned out to be one of the Profundity Monarch’s men. Song Zining gestured for the man to sit while he himself took the main seat.

Zhang Zhao said, “The prince has some military affairs that require your help.”

“Whatever that has caught the prince’s attention must be an important issue. Please speak freely.”

Zhang Zhao said, “This matter is of the utmost importance. The prince didn’t issue any written documents, only an appointment letter for me. Here it is, please take a look.”

With that, Zhang Zhao produced an official letter and passed it to Song Zining.

Seeing that the seal was intact, Song Zining opened the letter and fished out a paper from within. After going through the contents in detail, he said, “The prince must trust you to pen a letter of appointment personally. Very well, what does the prince need?”

Zhang Zhao said, “This matter is related to Qianye. Despite him ending his life in mutual destruction with Nighteye, there are a lot of things that need… cleaning up.”

“What are you implying?”

Zhang Zhao continued after confirming that Song Zining’s expression was normal. “The prince said that Qianye was highly capable, he had built up such a force and foundation within a short period. He might be gone, but his power remains and that power cannot fall into Evernight hands. The first matter of business is the Martyr’s Palace. This guardian national treasure must be retaken.”

Song Zining said, “The Martyr’s Place has always been mysterious and no one can tell where it is. The vessel disappeared immediately after Qianye’s departure. How do we even find it?”

Zhang Zhao replied, “The palace might be partially sentient, but it’s still under human control. From what I know, there are tens of thousands of soldiers garrisoned in the palace. These people have to return to the ground at one point, and the most likely place for them to land is Cerulean Jade City.”

He paused to observe Song Zining for a bit, only continuing after seeing no change in his composure. “According to our investigations, there are three groups on the Martyr’s Palace, the humans of Fort Continent, the werewolves of the Jade Sea, and the backbone forces from Dark Flame. The overseeing expert on the Martyr’s Palace is Caroline of the Thunderfrost Temple. That’s why the prince believes you have the natural advantage in taking back the airship. Please accept this important task and do not refuse it.”

“Are you telling me to head back to Fort Continent, kill my old subordinates, and take over the Martyr’s Palace?”

Zhang Zhao noticed something wrong in Song Zining’s tone. “Of course you don’t necessarily need to kill them. It would be best if they’re willing to see the light and work for the Empire. We can also give them sufficient rewards.”

Song Zining’s expression darkened. “Is this the prince’s intention or your opinion? If the Profundity Monarch sent you to tell me this, please go back. I will talk to the prince personally at a later date! I’m not that easy to bully!”

A shocked Zhang Zhao stood up and bowed deeply. “Please, curb your anger. I don’t know how I offended you, but I know you’re a magnanimous person, please forgive me.”

Song Zining looked down. “There’s nothing to say, let’s end this discussion here.”

After a while of hesitation, Zhang Zhao said, “There are some things the prince instructed me to tell you only after you’ve agreed. I can reveal it in advance, but please do not mention that to the prince or my life will be in danger.”

“Speak.”

“The prince said that you’ll be the main contributor in this operation. He’ll arrange a new army corps designation for you and your old subordinates from the neutral lands. All human mercenaries will be granted an official identity in the prince’s territory and become a citizen of the Empire. You will be given half of Qianye’s territory on Fort Continent and half of the profits that came from it. To deal with the forces on Fort Continent, the prince can dispatch his trusted subordinates and even take action himself if needed.”

Qianye’s territory on Fort Continent was nothing to scoff at; it was far bigger than an ordinary vassal state. Even half of that was several provinces worth of territory, not to mention how prosperous Cerulean Jade City was. The land would return to its divided state sooner or later if there was no leader to take the reins. With the Summit of Peaks around, the humans might be driven out very soon. Taking over that land would be much faster with the Profundity Monarch’s promise.

Song Zining’s expression eased up. “Now that’s more reasonable. What else?”

Zhang Zhao cursed inwardly—this Song Zining might be famous, but his attitude had changed immediately after seeing the benefits. The man was all smiles as he said in a hushed voice, “The prince has a small condition.”

Song Zining’s expression darkened again. “What condition, speak.”

Zhang Zhao laughed. “It’s not a big burden. You see, the prince has some granddaughters. The eldest and second princesses have always received his favor. They are also famed beauties in the territory. Since Marshal Song isn’t married yet, why not pick one to be your wife? It’ll be a fine thing if two families can become one.”

Song Zining was lost in thought. He seemed attracted by the idea, but he finally shook his head, saying, “I’m only back in the Empire to recuperate for a few days, I’ll be heading back to the new world tomorrow. There’s no time for these things.”

“There won’t be any wars in Blacksun Valley for a while. You’ll be able to return before long. It’s fine to start working on this case at that time.”

Song Zining stood up and paced about. “There are more than just werewolves and natives on Fort Continent. The Summit of Peaks is also there, so I’m expecting things to be difficult. I won’t have any soldier on my hand to deal with the situation once things go in an unexpected direction.”

Seeing that Song Zining was moved, Zhang Zhao said hurriedly, “Rest assured, the prince has already made arrangements for this matter.

Song Zining nodded slowly. “That will be great! It’s just that those men must head to Fort Continent first and remain hidden there. That way, we’ll be able to operate when the time comes. We’ll become a big target if they operate with me. Also, this mission must be kept completely secret! The Summit of Peaks has a powerful military presence there. We’ll be in trouble if they discover us.”

Zhang Zhao became spirited. “Of course! Don’t worry, Marshal Song, I’ll make all the necessary arrangements after reporting back to the prince! Everything will be ready once you return from the new world, waiting for you to set out!”

“I’ll trouble you then.” Song Zining saw the guest off with cupped fists.

Zhang Zhao understood that this scheme had deep implications, so the less he interacted with Song Zining before its success, the better. Now that he had accomplished his objective, he decided to leave as quickly as possible.

After seeing Zhang Zhao off, Song Zining continued reading the battle reports as usual. He also ordered his men to bring a series of documents related to Qianye, including regional battle reports and several documents related to the aristocratic families.

The documents he had gone through only proved that Song Zining was preparing for his position in the military. Any marshal would have to familiarize himself with the military affairs of the entire country.

After going through the documents, Song Zining instructed his men to prepare a car for him and made ready to head out.

…

Evernight Council.

There were still thirteen seats at the roundtable conference.

Unlike the past meetings where the powerhouses’ surging aura would fill the entire hall, no one released their power this time despite it being a full house.

The members overseeing the meeting were also different. Apart from the Lightless Monarch Medanzo of the vampires and the Moorland Overlord Sousa, the rest were all demonkin.

The bronze throne that belonged to the chairman was now occupied by a mass of pure darkness. Although one could hardly sense any aura from it, whoever paid attention to it would feel a chill down their spine. It was as though they had been baptized by pure darkness.

To the left of the Demon King was the Eternal Flame, Klaus, and down the line were famous clan lords such as Masefield, the Dark Abyss, and Jeruson.

To the right of the Demon King was a young warlock with light blonde hair. Down the line were the cloaked chairman and some of Evernight’s famous prophets.

No one objected to such an unusual seating arrangement, not even Medanzo and Sousa who would usually pay attention to their status.

A demonkin prince stood up, bowed toward the Demon King, and began presenting the recent war reports.

Unlike the usual reports, it was split into two parts—one of them was a total death toll encompassing all races.

The other section was categorized into regions with detailed analyses into the casualty rates of different races. There was also a standard deviation that had never appeared in any other report. From the conclusion of that report, over ninety percent of regions had already met the criteria. The new world had reached a hundred and twenty percent.

After the prince concluded his report, the chairman’s muffled voice emerged from under his hood. “We can begin phase two of the operation. Set up observation stations according to the plan. For the regions that haven’t met the criteria, increase troop strength by thirty percent. The Jeruson and Wallace families will be in charge of the transportation and installation of survey facilities. We ask Master Melia to coordinate all prophets.”

“Additionally, please be careful not to let the new world exceed a hundred again.” With that, the chairman looked up at the Masefield clan.

Progia hadn’t forgotten the pain of losing their promising young duke, Freyr. He couldn’t help but glare at Medanzo, saying, “It’s all because of those scheming vampires. Our losses are always heavy when they’re in charge of the warzone.”

Medanzo didn’t even look up at him. “Reynold is the commander of the vampires, and you’ve already complained to him I believe.”

Progia didn’t have the time to reply before the chairman cut him short. “Arrangements have been made on the Azure King’s side, no need to bring it up again. Lightless Monarch, how is the progress on your end?”

Medanzo said, “The Queen of the Night has returned to her slumber. If there are no accidents, like someone with authority waking her up, things outside of the Perth clan’s territory won’t catch her attention.”

Those with authority were, of course, referring to the existing second-generation primogenitors. There were four of them in total operating in the outside world at the moment—the Azure King Reynold, the Lightless Monarch Medanzo, Habsburg of the Flaming Crown, and the Dark Gospel Howard.

Howard and Medanzo were archenemies. After his awakening, the former only appeared once in public before fading away from sight. The only confirmed news was that he hadn’t left the Twilight Continent.

After some thought, the chairman looked up at the Demon King. “The Flaming Crown...”

The Demon King said, “I’ll handle his case, you avoid the Sperger clan’s castle.”

The council chairman was surprised because this went against the original plan, but he immediately replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Medanzo didn’t seem any different on the surface, but his fingers tightened under his sleeves. Immediately, a wave of consciousness swept over him. Medanzo didn’t move a muscle, and even his blood core stopped beating as he knew that this was a warning from the Demon King.

“Lastly, the Eye of Control and Eye of Destruction.” The council chairman paused briefly.

The Great Demonkin Prophet Melia stood up and bowed toward the Demon King. “I apologize, Your Majesty. I simply cannot see their whereabouts.” He glanced at Predica who was standing to the right of the supreme. “Perhaps the young highness of the Dark Nightmare can...”

The Demon King said, “Predica will not join any factional activity.”

His words were decisive and firm. Melia immediately replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. Then I will discuss a plan with my colleagues.”

The Demon King said, “Let it be. It’s only normal that you can’t see through a combination of human divination and vampire secret arts.”

Naturally, no one doubted the Demon King’s words. Many eyes fell upon Medanzo, who kept his eyes lowered and his sleeves drawn together, almost as though he didn’t hear anything.

Predica said after some thought, “Your Majesty, do you mean after all that has gone down in Blacksun Valley, some humans want to save Qianye and some vampires want to save Nighteye? This game of trading pieces is quite interesting.”

The Demon King said, “The short-lived races have always been full of conflicts, and the vampires are quite similar to them.”

Predica seemed raring to have a go. “Perhaps I could give it a try.”

The Demon King said, “You better stay away from touching the daybreak side until the effects of Lin Xitang’s divination are entirely gone from this world.”

The round table fell utterly silent. This was the first time Lin Xitang’s name had been brought up at the council’s round table since the void continent war.

As the overseer of the entire operation, Habsburg had cited injuries and refused to be debriefed. The sheer amount of complaints the Evernight Council had received regarding the miserable loss of sword-bearers and the sudden withdrawal of the fleet was enough to bury him.

However, no one was able to bring these complaints up for discussion mainly because of the Demon King’s suppression. This supreme had made it clear that he didn’t want to listen to anyone talking about that war. Yet, he had brought it up himself today.

The chairman coughed for attention. “Actually, we’ve already made some hypothetical plans after Marshal Lin passed away.”

“One is to strike at the heart of the Great Qin. From our current intelligence, it’s very possible that we can stir up a conflict between their Emperor and his important ministers. This method is a bit more difficult because we need to find a good entry point, otherwise, it’s possible that the entire operation will fail to mobilize. The good thing is that we won’t need to invest too much afterward; all we need to do is watch as their internal dispute unfolds. Of course, the outcome will also be beyond our control. It might bring about another transformation in fate or it might fail just like the previous Operation Blueblood.”

“The other solution is to begin from the Western Continent warzone where he was once posted, that is, Fire Beacon Continent. The power balance there is complicated—the Zhao clan, the military, and two provinces controlled by rebels. This method will be easier since there are already people who are in opposition, all we need to do is provide some fuel, and those with a brain will know how to make use of it. The Western Continent is the farthest from the heart of the Empire, so we have more time and space to turn rumors into opposing voices.”

At this point, the council chairman shot the Demon King a glance. Seeing no response from the supreme, he continued, “The first method will require an inside asset. How are your men over there?”

Medanzo said, “The Empire went through a major cleanup after the Sanguine Burial. I don’t have any assets left, even the peripheral spies have been exiled to remote lands.”

The chairman nodded. “Actually, we’ve already done a pressure test on the second route. We passed some ambiguous words about the marshal to the relevant people in the Qin Empire. Their upper echelons are fairly cautious, so much so that our envoy couldn’t figure out if they had sensed the problem or if they’re already under pressure. The response among the opposition is fairly good; they seem quite happy to hear bad news about those suppressing them.”

The chairman finally received a reply from the Demon King.

“We’ll leave that here for now. Continue your tests while setting up the observation posts on the Fire Beacon Continent.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The chairman scanned everyone at the table. “If no one has any questions, we shall enter phase two of the plan after we go back.”

Sousa, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, “What do we do about Fort Continent?”

The chairman said, “That place is not within our survey plans.”

The werewolf said, “That means, I can do what I want?”

The Demon King butted in all of a sudden, “The Summit of Peaks no longer owns the Tempest’s advantage. I hope you don’t cause a ruckus in unimportant places.”

Sousa nodded. “Of course, as you wish.”

As the meeting came to an end, everyone bowed toward the Demon King and left in succession. Only the chairman, Predica, and Melia remained in the end.

The chairman said after gathering his thoughts, “Your Majesty, what do we do about the previous plan where we follow a part of Marshal Lin’s traces?” He was still quite respectful of Lin Xitang.

The Demon King said slowly, “That’s just to obtain a control group in the daybreak system. Just clear out a few human settlement zones and you’ll get your numbers.”

The other three stopped speaking. It would take a lot more than a small number if they were to use ordinary people here, and what’s more, Lin Xitang wasn’t just a control group. However, no one spoke words of objection.

Master Melia said, “I must report the changes in the plan to His Highness Anwen and hasten the modifications.”

The chairman nodded. “Then I’ll work on the war preparations.”

After Melia and the chairman had left, the Demon King chuckled softly. “Only he would care about those ants. It’ll be worth it if we can clear away more of them in exchange for giving him peace, isn’t that right?”

Predica leaned back in his chair and put a hand over his eyes. “Only under the assumption that the man didn’t leave any backup plans.”

The matter thus returned to the starting point. The answers to Lin Xitang’s thread of fate could only be found on Lin Xitang’s body.

The Demon King’s tone was always gentle. “Then I hope Habsburg will realize this sooner.”

Predica’s heart skipped a beat and his hands turned cold. However, he maintained his lazy posture without making a single movement.