On the floating battlefield, apart from the Zhao family’s defense zone, the only remaining territory of the Empire was a small piece of land in the Misty Forest under the Li family. However, the situation at the Li family base wasn’t good; the dark races had once pushed to the outer defenses of the base, and fighting could break out right outside the base’s gate.
Since Qian Ye’s departure, no one in the Li family could counter Edon, making this demon noble almost an unsolvable problem in the Misty Forest. It wasn’t until Li Kuanglan arrived that he was somewhat contained, but it was extremely strenuous.
Li Kuanglan’s status was special, and if anything happened to her, the entire base would be in for a hard time. As such, the position of the base commander became a hot potato, with no one willing to take it. In the end, the Li family’s patriarch personally appointed an elder who needed to make amends for his sins, solving the problem. Even so, every time Li Kuanglan went into battle, everyone in the base was on tenterhooks.
Those well-informed knew how much Empress Li cherished Li Kuanglan and were well aware of her fierce methods when angered.
At this point, everyone in the Misty Forest warzone began to deeply miss Qian Ye. After all, Li Kuanglan wasn’t as adept in the Misty Forest as Qian Ye, and she often lost more battles than she won against Edon, needing to be extremely cautious. When Qian Ye was around, he nearly overwhelmed Edon, and people didn’t realize how critical he was until he left, understanding the impact of one person turning the tide of war.
Fortunately, the Great Maelstrom was about to open, and the young geniuses of the Evernight faction began to conserve their strength, preparing for the Great Maelstrom, reducing the frequency of battles. Edon was also rumored to be on the list to go to the Great Maelstrom, which brought a sigh of relief to the Li family.
The overall situation on the floating battlefield was at a stalemate. Originally, Jun Du Zhao’s defense zone was one of the most dangerous areas, but in a critical battle, Jun Du Zhao struck with all his might, combining his famous guns and infallible power, killing an enemy general—a marquis of the demon race—thousands of meters away!
This defeat was a heavy blow to the dark races, who relinquished many occupied positions. Afterward, the dark races became extremely cautious in the face of Jun Du Zhao, and even marquises hesitated to show themselves in front of him, even if they were shielded by armies.
The Evernight faction revered strength, and with the main generals not daring to show their faces, the morale of the troops plummeted, making it difficult to break the stalemate.
Moreover, Jun Du Zhao was still part of the younger generation, and in this crucial battleground, none of the powerful dukes were willing to lower their pride and face Jun Du Zhao in a direct confrontation.
What truly maintained the overall situation on the floating land was the space battle. The Empire’s fleet poured out, and even the Imperial Guard Fleet was deployed, defeating the Evernight fleet multiple times, preventing the dark races from reinforcing the floating land at will.
Several bloody battles resulted in heavy losses for both fleets, and neither side had the strength for a decisive battle, leading to another stalemate in space, but with the Empire taking the initiative.
The floating land battles were now trending towards a final showdown between the two factions. However, the situation bizarrely remained balanced, not as perilous as it seemed, because the top-tier powerhouses of both sides had yet to engage in combat.
The number of Imperial Emperors was limited, and they often adopted a defensive stance, which was understandable. But the movements of the Evernight faction were baffling; despite repeated setbacks, no Grand Duke had emerged to salvage the situation, leaving many puzzled.
Furthermore, on the front lines, only the Spider Demon Marshal occasionally appeared to signify his presence before vanishing. Other Grand Dukes did not appear, as if they had all returned deep into the Evernight continent for some unknown purpose.
In this situation, the Duke of You became even more cautious, advancing step by step, testing the limits of the dark races. During this period, a group of officers in the military clamored daily for a decisive victory, but the Duke of You ignored them, forcefully suppressing any unrest.
Under the previous strategy of “opening the gates to let the dogs out” by the Zhao family, the faction led by Li Fengshui suffered severe losses, nearly crippled, with no strength to independently face the dark races. They resorted to repeatedly submitting reports to the court, accusing the Zhao family of various offenses.
At their peak, these reports numbered over a dozen per day, continuously sent to the Imperial capital, but they all vanished without a trace, seemingly ignored by the Imperial court and key figures in the military.
On the edge of the floating land, a levitating boat flew like a ghost, bypassing the space patrol lines of both sides and landing on the outskirts of the Zhao family’s defense zone. This boat was excellent in speed and stealth, designed for long-distance communication and transport.
It landed in the designated area, and a thirty-something officer jumped out. He looked around with a grim expression, saying, “Can we only land here? I have urgent military information!”
The colonel from the military who came to greet him said, “There’s no other way. The Zhao family has issued an air restriction order, prohibiting all levitating boats from flying over the city and fortresses. Any violation will result in immediate destruction.”
A lieutenant colonel snorted, gritting his teeth, “The Zhao family’s own boats come and go freely, don’t they?”
The colonel replied with a wry smile, “They claim it’s for defense and to inspect violations.”
The lieutenant colonel was even more indignant, “Levitating boats from the Zhang, Bai, and Song families also come and go, why aren’t they intercepted? Even some smaller families’ boats have been seen coming and going.”
“Those boats carry important figures, and the Zhao family lets them pass. What can we say about that?”
The officer who had just disembarked understood the situation, his face darkening, “So, the Zhao family is specifically targeting us in the military?”
The colonel, unwilling to worsen the relationship, smiled apologetically, “Some smaller families are also affected.”
“The military cannot be compared to those lesser families! Even the four major families should be ranked after the military! These families are a scourge to the Empire. One day, I, Mi Yong, will uproot all these families and return a clear sky to His Majesty!” the officer raged.
Despite being young and only at level eleven, Mi Yong’s potential and origin power rank were promising, making him a rising star in the military. The colonel, seeing his anger, did not dare to say much, even though his words were clearly over the line.
The lieutenant colonel, also part of the radical faction, agreed with Mi Yong, “General Mi is right! These families don’t respect us, or the military. In their eyes, the court probably doesn’t count either.”
Mi Yong nodded. Only the colonel grumbled internally, thinking that in the eyes of the families, they might not even represent the military, merely a faction within it.
Mi Yong checked the time, asking, “How far is it to the military garrison?”
The colonel responded, “About 300 kilometers, it will take four hours.”
“Let’s go, no delays.”
Mi Yong refused to stay a minute longer, immediately getting into the off-road vehicle. Soon, a convoy of three off-road vehicles sped away from the landing field.
To be fair, the Zhao family had done an excellent job maintaining the defense zone. The road was wide and smooth, allowing the off-road vehicles to travel at high speed, slightly improving Mi Yong’s mood.
However, the convoy hadn’t gone far when a loud engine noise came from the sky. Several dazzling white light beams descended, directly illuminating the convoy.
The three off-road vehicles nearly flipped off the road, but the skilled drivers managed to stabilize the vehicles after a brief skid, sending up clouds of dust.
The lead vehicle made an emergency stop, almost causing the two trailing vehicles to collide.
Mi Yong, disoriented, hit his head on the roof. His strong origin power caused the roof to bulge, but his head was unharmed. Though he was physically fine, the humiliation was immense, and he immediately became furious. Looking ahead, he saw a floating warship blocking the road, its hull completely obstructing the path. The lead vehicle had almost collided with it.
Mi Yong got out of the vehicle, his face grim, shouting, “Who dares to block the road!? Do you know who I am? Delaying important military information will bring consequences!”
From the floating warship, several people walked down, all smirking at Mi Yong’s words. One of them pointed to the prominent Zhao family emblem on the ship, saying, “Are you blind? Can’t you see this huge symbol?”
The colonel, also out of the vehicle, quickly tried to mediate, “A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Who’s in charge of the ship? We might know each other.”
But Mi Yong was unwilling to back down, coldly saying, “You stopped our levitating boat, I’ll let that slide. Now, we’re heading to the military garrison, and you’re blocking us? What’s the meaning of this? Are you trying to bully the military?”
His voice grew harsher as he spoke.
A strikingly handsome young man from the Zhao family stepped forward, calmly saying, “You have urgent military information? Show it to me.”
“Urgent military information is not something anyone can see… you!!” Mi Yong started to speak but suddenly saw everything blur, and the document bag containing the military information somehow ended up in the young man’s hands.
Shocked, Mi Yong tried to grab it back, but felt as if he was bound by chains, unable to move despite his efforts to use his origin power.
The young man casually opened the seal, removed the letter, and began to read.
Mi Yong felt a chill run through him, both angry and frightened, yelling, “Daring to tamper with military documents is a crime punishable by the extermination of your entire family!!”
The young man finished reading, a shadow passing over his face, glancing at Mi Yong, and sneering, “I knew nothing good would come from the neutral zone. Yet, you still pursue this matter, hmm!”
Someone asked, “What do we do with these people?”
The young man replied indifferently, “They never existed.”
The Zhao family members immediately showed murderous intent, saying, “Understood, my lord.”
Mi Yong, terrified, shouted, “You dare to kill important military personnel?”
The young man smiled faintly, saying, “What importance do you have? I, Jun Du Zhao, can kill you, and what can you do about it?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage