The White Stork Empire.

The armies of the Ruined Land Alliance have assembled and are ready to march towards the Shuowang Empire, awaiting only the command of their leader.

"Report!" Suddenly, a messenger rushed in.

Blood Howl asked coldly, "What is it?"

The messenger replied, gasping for breath, "Lord Blood Howl, in seven days, reinforcements from the Ruined Land will arrive here. Please be prepared to receive them."

"Understood. You may leave."

The messenger immediately saluted respectfully and departed.

"Leave the arrangements to the Black Magic and Faceless. I really want to meet the vampire girl with the aura of her father," Night Demon said, admiring her freshly painted black nail polish, her tone filled with expectation and excitement.

Blood Howl looked at her enchanting and beautiful face and muttered, "Can’t you stop playing with human things, Elder Sister?"

"I like it," Night Demon casually replied, continuing to apply a transparent, fragrant liquid to her face. As she rubbed it in, she sighed, "These items that humans study are so useful. The skin becomes smooth and delicate."

Blood Howl raised his forehead, unable to bear looking at Night Demon any longer. "As long as you're happy, Elder Sister."

"In this life, it's important to live happily," Night Demon said with a teasing smile. "I want to capture more humans with research capabilities and have them develop better... what was it?"

"Cosmetics!" Blood Howl replied calmly.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot," Night Demon suddenly realized, "Human cosmetics are so captivating. They can change a person's appearance and temperament. It's really fascinating."

Night Demon looked at herself in the mirror, carefully drawing her eyebrows. Her deep and dark eyes sparkled with a strange red light. She put down the eyebrow pencil, twisted her neck, shook her long hair, and smirked.

"Prepare to march."

As Night Demon gave the order, Blood Howl left the tent and instructed the deployment of the army. "Inform everyone, we depart for the Shuowang Empire in five minutes."

Five minutes later, tens of thousands of elite soldiers stood in formation on the empty wilderness. Blood Howl raised his arm and shouted, "March!"

The mighty army surged towards the Shuowang Empire like a torrent.

Night Demon rode on a black horse, dressed in armor, and wore a silver helmet, exuding a heroic aura. She galloped at the forefront of the troops, while Blood Howl flew beside her in silence.

Night Demon's true form was that of a giant bat, possessing the ability to fly, but she insisted on riding a horse, leaving Blood Howl puzzled.

"Elder Sister, you can fly, right? Then why do you still ride a horse?" Blood Howl asked in confusion.

Night Demon glanced at him and couldn't help but curse, "Use your brain more. Otherwise, you'll die stupidly on the battlefield. If you find yourself in danger due to your stupidity, I won't save you."

Hearing this, Blood Howl felt speechless and dared not argue with Night Demon. After all, Night Demon was the leader among the four of them, and as the youngest of the four, Blood Howl could only silently endure Night Demon's verbal attacks.

Night Demon saw Blood Howl still had doubts and explained, "If we travel at high speed, the alliance forces will inevitably be split apart. The Bimong tribe will be the last to arrive, followed by the Incubus tribe and the winged man who cannot fly, as well as the witch tribe who cannot use wind magic. The only ones who can keep up with our speed are the winged man and the witch tribe who can use wind magic. Understand?"

Blood Howl furrowed his brow, still not quite understanding Night Demon's point. "If we can't keep up, then we can't, with just you, me, the winged man, and some of the Witch Tribe, we can break through the borders of the Shuowang Empire."

"Fool!" Night Demon said with annoyance, "Think about it, if our Ruined Land Alliance warriors were divided into three teams, wouldn't that just help the vampires share the attacking pressure? Besides, vampires should know about our march, their spies should be everywhere. I suspect they will have ambushes set up on the way to intercept us, so we cannot afford to divide our forces."

After hearing Night Demon's words, Blood Howl suddenly understood, amazed by Night Demon's thoughtfulness. "So, sister, you have thought about this so thoroughly. It's my carelessness."

"Enough with the flattery." Night Demon glared at him, "Stay alert, be wary of vampire ambushes. Vampires are stronger than humans, we must not underestimate them."

Blood Howl nodded, solemnly responding, "Understood!"

...

Shuowang Empire.

Aria approached Iris and said, "Your Majesty, Merice has awakened and is currently resting. Do you want to go see her?"

"Of course." Iris smiled gently, folded her hands, and began walking towards the medical room where Merice was recuperating.

Aria followed closely by Iris's side and asked with concern, "Your Majesty, is your Blood Wing feeling better? Do you need me to check on it?"

"I have already recovered." Iris stopped in her tracks, turned to look at her, and said, "Let's not tell Merice about this."

"Understood." Aria nodded.

In the medical room, Merice leaned against a pillow, resting quietly. Her complexion was rosy, her breathing steady, indicating she had regained her health.

Beside her own bed, Iris sat down and gently caressed Merice's shoulder, asking tenderly, "Feeling better? Does it still hurt?"

Merice shook her head slightly, smiling faintly. "No more pain, just a little itchy."

"You'll be fully recovered in a few days."

Iris held Merice's hand and said, "You've been through a lot during this time."

"It's nothing." Merice shook her head slightly, "Where's Lessi and Xue Youyue? Why haven't they come?"

Upon hearing this, Iris's expression turned serious, "They have both been dismissed from their positions and are being escorted to the Prison of Criminal Punishment for dereliction of duty."

"It's not their fault, it was me who told them to lead the troops and leave first." Merice quickly explained, "At that time, I thought sacrificing my life for the lives of vampire warriors was worth it. It would minimize the damage to the Shuowang Empire, and you would have enough forces to wage wars externally. Besides, I'm just a mixed-blood royal, not a big loss. Iris, you are the pure-blood, the future of the Shuowang Empire. As long as you can bear offspring, the vampires will still stand strong even after a thousand years."

Hearing Merice's sincere words, Iris felt somewhat dissatisfied, "Firstly, it is the duty of Lessi and Xue Youyue as bodyguards to protect you. Even if you wanted to stay behind, both of them should have been by your side. In terms of bearing offspring, I have not yet considered it. Besides, the vampire pure-blood royal family is not just me."

"The hideous creature you are battling is called Bloodhowl, and he has currently killed two angels..."

At that moment, an intelligence officer knocked on the door, interrupting their conversation. "Your Majesty, a confidential letter."

The officer took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Iris.

"Cousin, I have some matters to attend to. I will come back to keep you company later." Iris controlled her expression, got up and left.

As she reached the door, Iris suddenly stopped. "Cousin, tell Lessi and Xue Youyue not to plead for mercy for them anymore. Negligence is negligence, and they need to be punished to set an example."

"I understand, Iris." Merice sighed.

"Inform Violet to bring the 'Firefly' troops and launch an attack on the Ruined Land barbarians. Each soldier should be equipped with twenty armor-piercing rounds and withdraw after finishing."

"Understood! Your Majesty." The vampire soldier by her side spread his blood wings and left.

"You go inform Qizhou and let him cover the bottom line."

"Understood, Your Majesty." The demon soldier received the order and left.

After that person left, Iris took a deep look at Merice in the sickroom and decisively turned away.