In the following days, calm prevailed, and Blackflow City continued to flourish as usual. The construction of Wolf City was nearing its end, with several newly established mines beginning to produce large quantities of ore. The massive airship fleets that regularly traveled to and from Blackflow City had increased their frequency from once a month to three times a month.
Near the former territory of the werewolves, not only blackstone and black crystal were discovered, but also several veins of metal, including high-strength alloys for weapons-grade metals and various strategically valuable rare elements.
With these resources, it was even possible to set up a workshop dedicated to producing force gun barrels on-site. And Song Zining was exactly planning to do so. Over the past ten days, numerous large-scale pieces of equipment had been sent to Wolf City, including four power towers.
During these days, besides reviewing battle reports in his office, Song Zining found himself with nothing much to do. He spent his days sipping tea, reading books, and occasionally playing chess with Nan Hua, enjoying a life of leisure and ease, almost like that of an immortal. Perhaps because of the easygoing days, Song Zining’s complexion had notably improved, and his handsome face once again glowed with a luminous sheen.
Nan Hua almost always accompanied Song Zining, reading books, playing chess, and even trimming the flowers and plants in the courtyard. When the time came, she would personally cook, preparing a few simple yet exquisite dishes. Although she was a princess, her culinary skills were clearly not exceptional. However, Song Zining, who was accustomed to the delicious food of the empire, did not criticize her. Instead, he enthusiastically ate everything, and they would often discuss how to make the porridge more fragrant and the pickles tastier.
For Nan Hua, these days were like a dream.
Several times, Nan Hua seemed to have something on her mind but held back. When Song Zining noticed and inquired, she would change the subject, diverting the conversation. This kind of situation was not new to Song Zining. The libertine Seventh Young Master was always surrounded by beautiful women. It was rare for him to spend several days and nights with any one girl, let alone a full night. It was well-known among noble ladies that the Seventh Young Master preferred to sleep alone.
So, whenever the Seventh Young Master was especially kind to a girl, that girl would become uncomfortable, and Nan Hua was no exception. Therefore, the Seventh Young Master didn’t pay too much attention to it.
After a few more days, Song Zining finally packed his things and left for two days, then returned to Blackflow City to continue waiting.
During these two days, he felt a bit uneasy and checked all the arrangements again, confirming that everything was in place before returning to Blackflow City. With his usual meticulousness, he didn’t need to recheck, and doing so might even risk revealing secrets. But Song Zining felt restless for some inexplicable reason and couldn’t help but double-check.
Back at his residence, Nan Hua quickly prepared some tea and snacks for him. Song Zining sat under a tree, sipping his tea slowly, his mind already far away on the Twilight Continent.
“What are you thinking about?” Nan Hua asked.
Song Zining smiled slightly and said, “Nothing much. Just that the tea is a bit overcooked.”
“Oh, I’ll go brew another pot then.”
Song Zining raised his hand to stop her, smiling, “No need, this is just fine.”
Nan Hua looked at him, her gaze complicated, hesitating to speak, and finally sighed softly.
Song Zining smiled reassuringly at her, but his thoughts were already on the Twilight Continent. In his mind, a virtual map of the Twilight Continent formed, with Ye Ningtang just emerging from the central dark zone, followed by a massive number of pursuers, including many strong fighters.
Ye Ningtang was fleeing along the predetermined route, with aid from hidden allies pre-arranged along the way, setting up obstacles, misleading, and diverting the pursuers, ensuring her escape to the edge of the continent where she would board a high-speed airship to flee the Twilight Continent.
Over these days, this plan had run through Song Zining’s mind countless times, every detail, down to the movements of each hidden ally and various contingencies, were clearly etched in his heart. In this tedious process, Song Zining meticulously addressed all potential loopholes, envisioned all possible scenarios, and devised contingency plans for each one.
This was the reality behind the future military god’s infallible strategy. Since his time in the Underworld Training Camp, Song Zining understood that talent provided a ladder, but how far one could climb still depended on oneself.
As the Night of Everlasting Darkness remained peaceful, the floating landmass was once again engulfed in war. After a long period of regrouping, the dark races had finally completed their mobilization. Their army marched through the vast wasteland, formally advancing into the Zhao Clan’s territory, setting up camp 100 miles away from the Indestructible City, and began constructing fortresses, facing off against the empire’s fortifications.
As both sides continuously deployed their forces, over a million troops had gathered around the Indestructible City.
On the other side of the floating landmass, the dark races, having freed up their hands, turned their attention to the Moonview Plain. In one battle, they crushed the Song Clan’s main force, driving them out of the Moonview Plain and chasing the remnants all the way to the Indestructible City.
At this point, apart from the Indestructible City, only the Li Clan was left holding out in the Misty Forest. For some reason, Aden’s combat frequency had suddenly decreased during this period, allowing the beleaguered Li Clan and the aristocratic battalions a chance to catch their breath. However, the Li Clan could not find solace, as Aden’s reduced activity likely meant he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
The original Aden had already caused the clans great suffering, and if he broke through, what would happen then?
As the major battle on the floating landmass approached, the void was already filled with the remnants of battles, with giant warships burning and falling from the sky daily.
To ensure supplies for the Indestructible City and prevent the dark races from further reinforcing the floating landmass, the imperial fleet went all out. The first Imperial Guard Fleet, directly under the emperor, finally entered the fray, engaging in a decisive battle in the void with the Evernight Council’s fleet, achieving a kill ratio of two to one in the first engagement.
Inspired by this victory, the imperial fleets and the joint fleets of the aristocratic families intensified their efforts, constantly delivering classic victories, gradually tilting the balance in the void in favor of the empire.
Void fleet battles were always the precursor to ground wars. As the final battle on the floating landmass loomed, countless intelligence reports flew into the capital like snowflakes, then were divided into three streams, entering the military department, the imperial palace, and the assembly hall representing the joint forces of the aristocratic families.
Within the imperial military department, intelligence and reports flowed in like a tide, then were distributed according to their importance, flowing to various large and small departments, maintaining a well-organized system. However, if someone could see the big picture, they would notice that most of the reports from the floating landmass were directed to the executive departments of the military, rather than the real decision-makers, except for those concerning the void battlefield.
This pattern could only mean one thing: in the eyes of the high-ranking officials in charge of the military, the battle on the floating landmass was not the most important conflict at the moment.
At this very moment, in a meeting room on the top floor of the military department, the air was thick with the mingled smell of tobacco and tea, creating a strange atmosphere.
There were thirteen seats in the room, but only seven were occupied. Most of the people present were in their twilight years, and one old man’s skin was so wrinkled and marked with age spots that he exuded an aura of decay. His half-closed, cloudy eyes seemed like two stagnant pools, making one wonder if he was awake or asleep.
But this old man, with one foot already in the grave, sat in the center. In the center of the room, there were three seats, and though the old man was sitting on the side, the other two seats were empty. This meant that, at this moment, he was the core figure of the meeting.
However, upon closer inspection, the other six individuals were also influential figures. When they gathered, they could essentially decide the direction of the imperial military.
Each person had a thin file in front of them, no more than two pages. Yet, these pages were covered with scribbles and dense annotations. For these mere two pages, these true heavyweights of the imperial military had debated for a day and night, even amidst the urgency of the ongoing war.
The content of the document was simple, just a list of names. Behind each name, there were annotations indicating age, gender, martial arts achievements, and family background—nothing more, nothing less.
Each person expressed their opinions, with supporters on both sides. As the discussion progressed, some names were crossed out, while others were marked with emphasis. But as the number of emphasized names grew, the atmosphere in the room became increasingly tense, and arguments began to flare up, even leading to a heated dispute.
Once the first dispute started, more followed. A second argument soon broke out, escalating quickly, and the high-ranking officials split into two factions, exchanging heated words, with some even threatening war. But the other side was not to be intimidated and stood their ground, with the situation looking like it might come to blows.
At this moment, the old man in the center, who had been dozing off, raised his hand and lightly tapped the table. The sound was soft, but it silenced the entire room. The two arguing men, still glaring at each other, sat down.
The old man finally spoke, “The number of spots for the Great Vortex is twice what we expected, thanks to the good work of our young ones. With so many spots, you can still argue like this. If we had only the originally expected few, or even fewer, would you really resort to war to decide who gets to go?”
The room fell silent. After a moment, another elderly man, well into his sixties, coughed. Dressed in an imperial uniform but without any rank insignia, he had been smoking continuously during the argument, one cigarette after another, clearly addicted.
He spoke slowly, “This is a rare opportunity, coinciding with the empire’s resurgence. Each family wants to use this chance to develop and contribute to the empire. This is understandable. But the spots are limited, and not everyone who wants to go to the Great Vortex can. We must consider the sincerity and commitment of each family.”
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