Night, a crescent moon hung high in the sky.

Iris sat in the tent, quietly lost in thought. Sui Liangfeng, who was beside her, closed his eyes, as if he was asleep, but in reality, he was secretly watching Iris.

He really couldn't understand why the Emperor would confine himself in a tent, and the confinement seemed too careless, without shackles or handcuffs, and without any defensive measures.

He could simply leave without any hindrance, but since the Emperor did not agree to his departure, he had no choice but to stay here obediently.

"Bloodline girl, the Night Phantom demon Sui Liangfeng is a loyal war general, he will never betray you. Do not misunderstand his loyalty," Chaos' voice suddenly appeared in Iris' mind.

"It's not you being betrayed, and it's not you being hurt. Why do you care?" Iris snorted coldly.

"Hehe..." Chaos' laughter carried a hint of embarrassment, "You're becoming less and less likable, little girl."

"Hmph!" Iris snorted again and ignored Chaos.

"Well, since you don't believe, I won't force it." Chaos said, and then disappeared from Iris' mind, without making any more sound, as if it had never existed.

The only war generals that Iris trusted the most were Qizhou, Shizhi, and Yar. Qizhou was the first war general Iris encountered, and he took good care of her when her wings were not yet fully grown.

Shizhi had saved Iris from the hands of the Shadow Guards once. If it weren't for Shizhi's rescue, Iris would have been captured by the Shadow Guards sent by Lilia long ago.

Yar was a fanatic admirer of the Demon Emperor, and she had been secretly in love with him. She was loyal and obedient to Iris. Coupled with Yar's excellent governance, Iris promoted her to the position of regent, and there was no indication of any rebellion. Yar's only flaw was that she had some dirty thoughts in her mind, such as wanting to be beaten and whipped by the Demon Emperor, or licking his toes and other indecent ideas.

Sometimes, when there was no one around, Yar suddenly declared her love to Iris, demanding rewards and favors, which made Iris flustered.

But in the end, Yar didn't get anything. Instead, she received a scolding from Iris and was forced to leave.

However, this was exactly what Yar wanted. To her, being berated was also a form of reward, but Iris was unaware of this.

Beezelbub and Ahri should be tested carefully. In any case, they should be cautious and take care.

At this moment, the sound of armor clashing came, and a black figure quietly appeared and landed in front of Iris.

"Your Majesty, I just received news that about ten thousand Winged Man soldiers are heading towards our base. They are expected to reach the border city and engage in battle with us soon." A deep, hoarse male voice sounded, rough and gravelly.

"Prepare the troops, be ready for combat at any moment!" Iris' gaze became filled with killing intent, and her tone became sharp.

"Yes!" One of the high-ranking Black Armor demons responded and quickly left the tent.

"Sui Liangfeng, you're really good at pretending to sleep!" Iris stared at Sui Liangfeng, her lips slightly curled.

Sui Liangfeng startled, abruptly opened his eyes, "Your Majesty..."

"Hehe..." Iris chuckled softly and said, "I'm curious to hear how you became the mayor of the winged man nation, Sui Liangfeng."

"Your Majesty," Sui Liangfeng replied, "at that time, we were fighting side by side with the angels against the Ruined Land barbarians. During the battle, I was severely injured. As you know, I have the ability to see into the future, and I saw that my future self would be killed by witchcraft. So, I created an illusion to die in my place, making the witch tribe believe that I was dead. During this time, my illusion encountered the Martial Angel. She was also critically wounded and eventually died in one of the eight passages. I created a tomb for her illusion. After my illusion died, I saw the Wisdom Angel and informed her of the relevant information. From then on, everyone believed that the night phantom demon, Sui Liangfeng, was dead. In reality, I was hiding in a secret place for healing. When my injuries were fully healed, I wanted to return to the Divinity and Demon's Continent. However, I discovered that the Gateway of Interactions had been completely closed, and there was no way for me to leave. So, I had to use illusions to make the winged man believe that I was one of them. Due to my knowledge and experience, the lower-class winged men elected me as their mayor." Sui Liangfeng recounted the events.

After listening to Sui Liangfeng's explanation, Iris treated it as a story without making any judgement or blame towards Sui Liangfeng. She simply said, "Interesting story!"

There was a hint of helplessness on Sui Liangfeng's face. She couldn't understand why the Majesty had become so suspicious. They had all gone through life and death tests together, so why was it like this now? This puzzled her deeply. Nonetheless, she respectfully said, "I have never had any intention of betraying the country. I have always been dutiful and faithfully performed what a subject should do. The plan I proposed earlier was carefully designed by me. If Your Majesty is willing, we can implement it at any time."

"Of course I think your plan is feasible, but the premise is that you have not betrayed me. Otherwise, the entire demon army would be destroyed because of my misjudgment. Loyalty is not just empty talk. Once I eliminate these ten thousand winged man soldiers, then I will test your loyalty." After Iris finished speaking, she ignored Sui Liangfeng, stood up, and walked outside. She stood on a high point, gazing at the distant border of the winged man territory.

The chilling wind blew against her robe, making her long hair dance in the air. She looked gallant and handsome.

Baixi, who was sitting on a tree branch, saw Iris coming out of the tent and immediately leaped down to her side.

She took off her own cloak and put it on Iris, her movements gentle, as if afraid of accidentally hurting her.

Iris's lips moved, but no words came out. She did not refuse Baixi's gesture either.

"Mother, it's cold at night. As Your Majesty going to battle, you should take care of yourself more." Baixi tightly held Iris's left hand and spoke softly.

Iris looked at Baixi, a faint smile appearing at the corners of her mouth. She said, "Hmm, I will be careful."

The two of them silently watched the scenery ahead.

Accidentally, Iris suddenly spoke up, "If one day, I die heroically on the battlefield, what would be the first thing you do?"

Baixi was taken aback, she never expected her mother to ask her such a question.

"Oh my, mother, why would you die on the battlefield! Stop talking nonsense!" Baixi shook Iris' arm.

"Don't change the subject." Iris raised an eyebrow and said, "I want to hear your answer."

Baixi blurted out without thinking, "Of course, I would avenge you and let the barbarians in the Ruined Land accompany you in death!"

Without hesitation, Iris gave Baixi a swift tap on the forehead, "No revenge allowed! If I die on the battlefield, the first thing you must do is escape! No matter what the reason, you cannot stay there! And you must not loot my body."

"Huh?" Baixi blinked, not understanding why Iris made such a decision.

Iris gave another tap on Baixi's forehead, "Do you not understand my words?!"

"Mother..." Baixi called out in a pitiful voice.

Iris coldly snorted, "Remember, no revenge! If you die because of me, it would break my heart. Can you bear to leave Baiying all alone in this world?"

Baixi straightened her back and said, "Of course not, so I will never let that happen."

"No one in war has any certainty of victory. If you refuse to listen, I will lock you up in the dungeons of the Shuowang Empire forever, never to let you out. Let's see if you still dare to defy my will!" Iris spoke in her most fierce tone yet, while saying the gentlest words, creating a contradictory impression.

Baixi shrunk in fear from Iris' words, she was most afraid of being locked in the dungeons, they were dark and damp, she definitely didn't want to stay there.

Although Baixi was dissatisfied, she could only lower her head and reluctantly agree, "I promise, alright? Why did you hit my head, mother!"

At that moment, Baixi could only verbally agree. If anything were to happen to her mother, she would do anything to save her.

"Because your answer didn't satisfy me, it was just a punishment." Iris rubbed Baixi's head, her eyes filled with doting, "Don't defy my orders, or you'll face the consequences!"

"Oh... I understand..." Baixi pouted, looking pitiful, but she could only obediently comply.

Mother and daughter stood there quietly, not saying a word, but the air was filled with warmth and affection.

After a while, Qizhou and Shizhi returned to the camp with a thousand black-armored demons. They both kneeled down and said, "Your Highness, all the barbarians from the Ruined Land near the Gate of Interchange have been cleared." (In the previous chapter, Beezelbub was mistakenly mentioned.)

Iris nodded and said, "Good job, rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Qizhou stood up while Shizhi stood beside him, looking serious.

At this moment, a black-armored demon hurriedly entered and kneeled down, saying, "Your Highness, there is news from the front. The Winged Man tribe is ten kilometers away from our camp. Please give orders."

"Follow me to face the enemy!" Iris spread her blood wings and took off into the sky, heading towards the front. Qizhou and Shizhi followed closely behind as they flew towards the frontline.

"Wait for me, Mother," Baixi transformed into a dragon and followed closely, chasing after Iris.

At the same time, Sui Liangfeng tried to step out of the tent, but as he reached the tent's exit, his hand touched an invisible barrier.

"What's going on? Why could that high-ranking Black Armor Demon come and go freely, but I can't?" Sui Liangfeng furrowed his brows and murmured to himself.

As he touched this invisible barrier, a burning sensation traveled from his right hand. He quickly pulled back his hand and looked down to see his arm turning red, emitting threads of green smoke. Clearly, the burn was severe.

"Hiss~" Sui Liangfeng inhaled sharply in pain, his face pale and terrifying. "Such a powerful formation, I can't even see how His Majesty set it up."

In the end, Sui Liangfeng sat quietly in his chair, circulating his Sequence Power to repair the burn on his arm.

"I'll just wait for His Majesty's test." Sui Liangfeng never intended to betray His Majesty, and he had a clear conscience.

...