At the mention of that name, Night Pupil did not remain indifferent; her reaction was merely unexpected. She calmly asked, “What does this name have to do with me?”
“How could it not…?” The Duke instantly realized his mistake, his expression changing.
Night Pupil glanced at him and said, “Do you think just because you are a Duke, my rules no longer apply to you?”
The Duke’s forehead broke out in cold sweat, and he immediately knelt on one knee, bowing his head and saying, “I was only overcome by emotion, Your Majesty. Please forgive me!”
Seeing his humble posture, the ice in Night Pupil’s eyes slightly thawed. “How is Ralgo? Is he still alive?”
The Duke hesitated, thinking that while the blood races and the demonic lineage had always been at odds, Night Pupil’s curse seemed a bit too harsh.
However, at this moment, Night Pupil’s prestige was extremely high, not only because of her brilliant military achievements but also due to her ruthless methods. Once, a vice-duke who had disrespected her had his limbs severed by her. Since then, no one dared to challenge her authority.
Since Night Pupil had asked, he had to answer. The Duke said, “Ralgo is severely injured, even affecting his magic core. It’s likely his rank will drop after recovery. Moreover, there’s only a 60% chance he’ll survive this ordeal. The new world’s environment is too hostile for us.”
Night Pupil seemed lost in thought, pondering something. After a while, she said, “That person’s strikes are lethal. Ralgo, this piece of trash, is still alive and managed to return. Perhaps he had other matters to attend to and didn’t bother to finish him off.”
The Duke hurriedly added, “The three armies under Ralgo’s command have all gone silent. With that person’s talent and vision, having already struck Ralgo once, I doubt he’d bother with such a dying waste.”
The Duke spoke tactfully, elevating Qian Ye to an incredibly high position. His words indeed had an effect, as the ice in Night Pupil’s eyes melted further. She said, “Probably busy capturing prisoners.”
Seeing the effect, the Duke pressed on, “But now that that person has arrived, we need to prepare countermeasures. This battle alone has cost us sixty to seventy thousand warriors. We can’t afford to lose more.”
Night Pupil said, “Merge the existing forces into pairs, each led by a Duke. As long as they don’t foolishly challenge him, they should survive. Now that he’s here, the humans will likely initiate a fight. You just need to deplete their numbers. They can’t last as long as we can, and neither can he.”
The Duke hesitated, “But this will result in heavy casualties.”
“They’re all going to die anyway.”
The Duke, speechless, said, “Your Majesty, this…”
“Are you questioning me?”
“I wouldn’t dare! But, Your Majesty, you must consider the morale of your subordinates. With Ralgo’s condition, all the Dukes might be hesitant to fight.”
After a moment of silence, Night Pupil said, “What do you suggest?”
“Fearfully, only you can handle him. Of course, it would be best if you could convince him to return. The upper echelons of the Eternal Night Council would certainly reserve a place for him.”
Night Pupil responded coolly, “Do you think that’s possible?”
“If he refuses to return, perhaps only you can ensure victory by personally engaging him.”
“I am tired.”
“But… Your Majesty…”
Night Pupil conjured a storm and threw it to the Duke, saying, “Use this tempest. With it, you shouldn’t lose again. Also, if you lose the tempest, you can go to the Wolf Lord and await your fate.”
The Duke caught the tempest, his hands trembling, whether from excitement or fear. He gritted his teeth and said, “Your Majesty, I am ready to die for you, but I must know why you won’t engage personally.”
Night Pupil replied coolly, “We still owe two Dukes to the new world. Do you understand?”
The Duke felt a chill, followed by the weight of the tempest in his hands. He knelt on one knee, saying, “From now on, I will never hesitate to carry out Your Majesty’s orders, even if it means death!”
“Very well, go.”
The Duke rose, holding the tempest, and hurried away.
Night Pupil returned to the balcony, gazing at the faint pillar of black fire in the distance, lost in thought.
In the imperial army, Qian Ye was holding a war council, but the atmosphere in the meeting room was strange. On one side of the long table were three god generals and several empire generals, while on the other side were the glorious Marquises Tatum and Margot, along with several other marquises and counts. This formation looked nothing like an imperial pre-battle meeting.
In the millennia-long war between the Empire and the Eternal Night Council, initially, there were no captives—only total annihilation. Later, as the Empire occupied four continents and human society stabilized, the mutual slaughter diminished, and ransoms for captives became possible.
However, defection had never occurred. Perhaps in the lower regions of the Eternal Night Continent or in some long-disputed areas, but never openly.
Qian Ye seemed oblivious to the strange looks from the Empire’s generals, focusing instead on the large map hanging on the wall. No one dared to speak until Kaminami, relying on his seniority, said, “Lord Qian Ye, the enemy’s initial offensive has been defeated, a truly glorious victory! But what should our next move be, Your Excellency?”
Qian Ye remained silent.
“Your Excellency, Your Excellency?”
Kaminami called twice before Qian Ye, as if waking from a dream, replied, “What were you saying just now?”
Kaminami, with his deep-seated composure, smiled and said, “While we have achieved a great victory, we face many issues that need your decision, Your Excellency.”
“What issues?”
“Well, one issue is the large number of captives. You ordered that no prisoner be killed, and now we have forty thousand captives, almost outnumbering our own forces. We can’t accommodate more.”
Margot and Tatum’s faces showed discomfort. This was a subtle hint to Qian Ye: either deal with the captives or stop taking them in the future.
Initially, the war in the new world was fought at a national scale, with no captives. The Empire lacked the capacity to house them, and the dark races, due to early losses and blood feuds, went berserk, uncontrolled by their leaders.
The war had become so brutal it was beyond description.
But Qian Ye’s arrival and subsequent victory, especially his single-handed defeat of the dark race reinforcements, elevated his prestige to unprecedented levels. No one dared to defy his strategy. Even a god general like Kaminami could only hint subtly.
Qian Ye said, “The imperial decree states that all battles in the new world are to be decided by me, and all spoils of war are to be distributed by me.”
The three god generals nodded. Qian Ye’s authority was unprecedented, partly due to the Empire’s desperate situation in Black Sun Valley. Qian Ye’s willingness to come, at any cost, was worth it. Moreover, spoils of war only exist if you win. If you lose, there’s nothing.
Qian Ye said coolly, “Given this, all the captives are my property. I will send them to Yong Continent, to be incorporated into my domain. Any objections?”
The three god generals exchanged glances, surprised. These were several tens of thousands of the Eternal Night’s elite, plus many strong warriors. If they rebelled, the destruction would be catastrophic. Qian Ye’s boldness was commendable. Fortunately, these captives were going to Yong Continent, not the Empire’s homeland. If they rebelled, it would be Qian Ye’s problem.
Tatum stood up and said, “Rest assured, Your Excellency. I will supervise them closely, ensuring none of them dare to cause trouble!”
Qian Ye thought for a moment and said, “Not all of them need to stay. In Yong Continent, those who wish to leave can pay a ransom and be released, as per usual.”
“Understood, Your Excellency. I will handle it properly.”
Qian Ye turned to the Eternal Night’s strong ones and said, “You, too, have one last chance to leave. Pay the ransom and you can go back.”
Kaminami and General Liu Chengyun exchanged a look, feeling that Qian Ye was cunning, allowing the restless ones to show themselves and be dealt with. However, the method was a bit too obvious, lacking subtlety.
Yet, some dark races were unimaginably straightforward. Two spider demon counts immediately stood up, saying, “We can pay double, no, triple the ransom!”
“Pay up then.”
One spider demon placed a short dagger on the table, saying, “This is my family’s heirloom. After I return, the ransom will be sent to Yong Continent in exchange for it.”
The other spider demon took off a bracelet, saying, “This is a spatial item. Though small, it should be enough for my ransom.”
Qian Ye gestured, and his guards collected the items.
“Good, you may go.”
The two spider demon counts, barely believing it was so easy, glanced at each other and slowly left the tent, running away. Only after they were far from the camp, confirming no other changes, did they sprint, vanishing into the distance.
Throughout this, Qian Ye remained seated, motionless.
The three god generals were stunned, while the Eternal Night’s strong ones breathed a sigh of relief.
Qian Ye fell into deep thought, then said, “Margot.”
“Yes, Your Excellency? What do you command?” Margot fully considered himself Qian Ye’s vassal.
“Go back and tell her to choose a suitable time and place for a duel with me!”
Not only the three god generals, but even Margot was shocked, “Your Excellency, you want me to… go back?”
Qian Ye nodded, “Once the message is delivered, if you wish to return, you can. If not, send the ransom over.”
Margot’s expression became complex, obviously conflicted.
Kaminami couldn’t hold back, “Your Excellency, this is like releasing a tiger back into the wild! Besides, the dark races are notoriously untrustworthy. What if he doesn’t pay the ransom after returning?”
Qian Ye said, “He knows that the upper echelons of the Eternal Night Council have a place reserved for me. If he doesn’t pay, and I ever take that position, he’ll pay more than just a few times the ransom. As for trustworthiness, hmm.”
The meaning was clear without further explanation.
Kaminami advised, “Your Excellency, this Margot… brother, is quite powerful. Letting him go could be a serious threat to the Empire. We can’t let him go!”
Due to Margot’s special status, Kaminami didn’t know how to address him, resulting in a clumsy form of address. Margot shot him a glare.
Qian Ye glanced at Margot and said, “Releasing a tiger back into the wild? Even if more like him come… hmm, if seven or eight of them come together, it would still be troublesome to kill them.”
Margot’s face flushed with shame.
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