Ye Chuxue fell to the ground, and Wang Xiaole followed suit, their faces coming extremely close due to their posture.

"I'm sorry," Wang Xiaole said the three words expressing apology from his mouth, but his right hand did not stop there. He picked up the magical spear that he had knocked to the ground and claimed it as his own in a snatching manner.

Although he couldn't directly return to Dibiles with this item, at least he could shorten the time spent on the road. Seeing this scene, Ye Chuxue lying on the ground couldn't help but move. She wanted to stand up; more than losing the weapon, she was concerned about the fate awaiting the young man before her return.

He's going to die! She felt he would die! Anyone who appeared in the country of destruction at the time of its demise, regardless of who it was, would probably not escape the fate of "being torn to pieces."

"You little thief, you can't..." Before the struggling body could get up, a strong hand pressed down from the knee area, stopping the young man in front of the girl. He raised the magical spear in front of her, aimed the muzzle at the target, and then pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang! The bullet pierced through flesh, and in the moment the shell passed through the body, it spurred a splash of blood arrows, the falling crimson shining brightly like flowers. Having not shed a drop of blood in the previous battles, he now voluntarily pierced his left arm.

"I owe you a little something, Xiao Ye. Since there are still some matters to attend to, I'll use this arm to repay for now..." Wang Xiaole dragged his crimson steps forward through the extending blood under his feet, and soon turned his back to her.

"The next time we meet, I'll return this gun to Xiao Ye. At that time, you can use it to aim at me, this rotten person." This insignificant compensation was the last thing he could do now. As his footsteps gradually faded away, the sound of the teleportation array being activated followed.

If she remained silent, she would miss the last chance. In a moment of impulse in her heart, she could no longer control her emotions, letting her sensibility shatter her reasoning, using all the remaining strength to shout out loud:

"Xiaojun!" The moment she called out that name, Ye Chuxue's entire disguise she had on herself shattered with that voice. He knew exactly what she was thinking in her heart.

Though she would often express dislike and manipulation with her words, she had always been doing things for him, and even now, she had not taken off the fox mask from her face. The two caring individuals headed towards opposing fates.

If he wasn't from Dibiles... if she wasn't from Inran... "If" ultimately could not be true. The only viable option was for one person to go to the other's camp, or for both to choose betrayal. But neither he nor she could do it! Inran's Knight of Qi, Dibiles' royal husband, the two had different identities and couldn't abandon their positions.

Wang Xiaole couldn't forget his disciple; Ye Chuxue couldn't bring herself to be enemies with her sister; From the moment these two stubborn people chose to adhere to their positions, the inevitable result of crossing swords was unavoidable, and the word "capriciousness" had become a luxury.

"Goodbye, Xiao Ye." The voice that blended into the lonely night sky was quickly swallowed up by the rising teleportation light.

The noisy night belonging to the kingdom ended; the unrestful night belonging to the principality had just started due to the sudden appearance of an unexpected guest.

The location was the capital city of the Murin principality, and the person involved was the captured Marshal of the Southern Yuan, Le Song, who still maintained his prisoner status.

Even though it was approaching dawn, he hadn't slept this night, his eyes open as if waiting for someone to appear.

His wait had started three hours ago, luckily without extending another three hours.

Thud, thud! With the sound of two heavy objects falling, he eagerly sat up from the bed and rushed to the bed. "You finally came," he said, expecting someone to come. But to his disappointment, the voice that followed began with a displeased tone, "Tsk, you haven't died yet?"

After knocking down the two guards at the door, a young man in full-body armor walked in. The exposed features were only a pair of eyes that slightly glittered with red light and the black hair tips peeking out from behind the helmet.

His identity was that of the Northern Marshal, on par with Le Song.

The Northern Marshal didn't want to be in front of Le Song, and his disdain towards the latter was widely known within the country; however, for the sake of his own objectives, he had to endure for the time being. He had little loyalty towards the empire and was temporarily loyal to the Empress for the convenience of achieving his personal plans.

Even though their objectives differed, their interests in the Inran Empire were currently aligned. Hence, in the current unfavorable situation of the war, he had to ask Le Song in front of him: "The opponent you captured, are their abilities superior to yours? Can you not defeat that person?"

Because he was facing his own people, Le Song didn't need to hide anything and directly admitted, "I believe I have some unique insights in tactics, but I'm slightly inferior to that lady."

"You actually admit that your strategies are inferior to someone else... You're ready to admit defeat?"

"It's not about being inferior. I'm just saying I was defeated on the 'tactical level,' not the 'strategic level.'"

The attitude of the Northern Marshal worsened, and his tone became impatient, "I don't want to hear such complicated matters. Anyway, in one sentence: Do you think you can turn the tide?"

"Quite easily! That lady thinks by maintaining the current position, she can trap our main forces, but she doesn't realize her own thoughts are too naive."

Le Song dared to say this for a reason. In his eyes as someone familiar with war, regardless of how the opponent gained the tactical advantage, it didn't change the fact that Dibiles had fallen into a strategic deadlock.

Firstly, due to Ledux, and the showdown with Karusha, who stood by the demon tribe and initiated a war with the home country, ruling the Mesai principality with an army capable of disrupting the balance of war. Ledux's thought process was not something Le Song could understand.

However, not understanding was fine for Le Song as long as he knew who his enemies and allies were. The Mesai principality, due to the ruler's reasons, had recently declared joining the Inran camp.

During the time when she was still neutral, Le Song had suggested to Karusha to wait and not take action temporarily to wait for the right moment. This ruling lady did not need to be given special instructions; at critical junctures, she would lead her army into the war.

With the help of her army, it wouldn't be an issue for Inran to conquer the affiliated countries supporting Dibiles. To maximize weakening the enemy forces, Le Song set traps. According to Le Song's intelligence, the Elder's Chief of the demon tribe had disappeared from Dibiles after the failed marriage contest, either dead or scattered.

Le Song didn't believe the demon tribe's nature of seeking revenge would suddenly diminish. Considering their own interests or simply letting off steam, this grand war between the two empires was something the demon tribe couldn't miss!

Another point to note was the Northern Marshal's absence during the initial stages of the war. He had gone to communicate with the chiefs of the monsters' habitat. By utilizing his inherent advantages, the Northern Marshal had closed the distance with the chieftains and successfully convinced them. Previously in the war, the Inran army had introduced monsters into battle. The ferocious beasts served as a vanguard dispatched by the chieftain at his testing stage of commitment; now that the chieftain had fully committed, it was clear he would lead his savage followers into the battlefield.

Seizing the opportunity, Le Song shared the planned military operation time with the Northern Marshal, entrusting him to relay this information to the chieftains. Additionally, there was a widespread misconception across the continent that Inran and Dibiles once had a history of jointly battling against the Holy Kingdom, making people assume that the former wouldn't have any connection with the holy empire.

This understanding was entirely wrong! Shortly after Xing announced the war against their past allies, they swiftly formed a new alliance with the Holy Kingdom through negotiations; this diplomatic fact had not been disclosed to the public yet; neither the Empress nor the Pope had revealed this secret to outsiders.

The confidentiality persisted until today and had finally borne fruit. Prior to the battle, Xing informed Le Song: "On the first day of next month (tomorrow), the Pope will send the Grand Inquisitor to lead the army to attack Dibiles; to ensure the elite crusaders thoroughly defeat the reserve troops in the capital, you must hold off the main enemy forces!" In the current situation, Le Song had met this requirement; although it could also be understood that Dibiles' army had held off Inran's main forces, the difference wouldn't be much.

Lastly, one of the most significant contributions Le Song made in the current war was successfully binding the power of the blood clans to his own country's chariot. Dibiles possessed the best land in the western continent, coveted by other races.

Previously, the beastkin kingdom launched the war to seize this territory, tearing the alliance apart unilaterally for territorial gains. Similarly, the living place of the blood clans wasn't a desirable fertile ground. If the land was too barren, the livestock couldn't reproduce in large numbers, impacting the blood's daily diet of blood. For the ambitious clan leaders in need of improving the quality of life, external expansion was imperative.

As the saying goes, "The wall collapses when everyone pushes." During peaceful times, the power of a single clan wasn't enough to overpower an empire. But in wartime, the perilous situation faced by Dibiles was unprecedented.