Chapter 1234: Chapter 1234

After the battle, the eldest prince erupted in fury. Despite his orders that they remain vigilant, the experts hadn’t listened, and their slow reaction had led to the ambush.

This time, no one rebutted, for the truth was as it was. Although they were indifferent towards the eldest prince, whose strength was too weak, it was normal for fifth-tier experts to ignore his commands, as it was in all major powers.

Usually, if nothing went wrong, it went unnoticed, but when something did go wrong, they only had themselves to blame.

Who would have thought that the Fox People Clan could organize so many experts to launch a direct ambush? They dared to do such a reckless thing. Nearly one third of the attackers died, resulting in massive losses.

Since the bodies of the Fox People remained on the battlefield, it was possible to tally the opponent’s losses.

It should be noted, though Suicide Squads existed, this was the first appearance of a fifth-tier Suicide Squad. Even fourth-tier squads were rare and had only been recorded a few times in history.

This was an unwarranted calamity. All those who survived felt lucky, but thinking of those mad Fox People, they were also filled with fear, dreading that they might attack again.

Elsewhere, Elsa looked at the report, a curve forming at the corner of her mouth.

"Humph, they wanted a swift victory, but now they’re stuck here," Elsa planned to keep these empire soldiers tied down here, creating as much chaos as possible.

Even Du You hadn’t anticipated Elsa would be so bold as to launch a direct ambush.

"Hmm, several problems have surfaced and must be solved. Although the Fox People can train close-combat troops, their talent isn’t suited for melee, and even high-level human fighters surpass them. But the Magical Beasts performed well. In the future, we must strengthen our cycle of melee Magical Beasts or find suitable forts."

While reviewing the report, Elsa continued her analysis, "Also, concerning magic, our shamans are indeed magic experts, but most of their magic is used to enhance themselves or weaken the enemy; direct attack magic is still not strong enough."

"Human Mages are too strong. A large portion of our losses were killed by their large-scale attack magic." Even though we retreated quickly, many details were accurately reported by those who accompanied us.

Elsa, looking at the report, roughly knew what the specifics of the battle were. Killing more humans, especially fifth-tier ones, held the promise of treasure chests, which were eagerly anticipated. Perhaps, the designs she desired might even be among them.

"It’s a pity I couldn’t be on the battlefield; the yield would’ve been greater."

Elsa was somewhat frustrated; she was not extraordinary like Du You and his sisters. On the battlefield, despite her decent strength, she would not be much stronger than those soldiers, and she would easily draw enemy fire.

With insufficient personal strength, joining the battlefield was akin to seeking death. Elsa could only hide behind. Otherwise, if she had gone herself, the Crystal Coins and items dropped by those spheres would definitely have greatly enhanced her own strength.

Forget it, why think so much? Better to keep stalling these fellows. If it’s a small-scale operation, maybe I could join the battle. Those White Fox citizens surely wouldn’t advise me against it.

Back in the Divine Flame Empire, when the news arrived, both the king and the nobles were infuriated.

"Damn Fox People, breaking the rules. Since when could fifth-tier experts be used as regular soldiers?"

"But there’s no rule against it," another noble coldly commented. "Who would’ve thought that the White Fox Clan had such strong unity that so many would join such a suicidal mission?"

Fortunately, his family’s experts hadn’t been involved, or they would have suffered terrible losses.

Although they knew that the eldest prince wasn’t directly responsible, he had led the troops, so his prestige had inevitably suffered, and there would always be some who resented him.

The other princes exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with schadenfreude. Attacking their eldest brother brought them closer to the throne.

Especially the Third Prince, the most likely candidate, was pleased, though he did not show it outwardly.

"Enough, let’s not talk about that. Regarding the situation in the north, what should we do next? We are already outnumbered by the fifth-tier experts in the north. If we continue fighting, we’ll need to send reinforcements."

Emperor Tru spoke expressionlessly, though he was secretly pleased. Although they had suffered considerable losses, most were from rival nobles.

Especially the northern nobles suffered greatly. As their experts perished, it effectively weakened their power, which was beneficial to his rule, thus indirectly a good thing for the state.

Being a king, however, he couldn’t show this too openly.

"No, we can’t continue the attack, or our losses will only grow," he declared. "After all, it doesn’t really matter if we just leave them be; it’s only the Fox People Kingdom, and they aren’t aggressively inclined."

"Who says? They are now a kingdom, adopting our human ways of development. Do you understand the implications of this? Beastmen have never been our match because they lacked logistical resources. Once their logistics catch up, their combat power will surge, posing a huge threat to us."

The debate below erupted into a commotion, undetermined for how long, until Emperor Tru finally spoke again. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥

"We must not underestimate the Northern Fox People Kingdom, yet we don’t need to rush. Just stall them for now. Once the Lion People settle their internal matters, we can pincer them. The south now requires our focus."

The conversation finally shifted; this would naturally justify increasing troops in the north later. Of course, the augmented forces couldn’t simply continue the offensive, as the nobility who had suffered losses absolutely wouldn’t allow it.

Just as the king said, they would wait for the Lion People to handle it. The races opposed to the Lion People, facing various emerging issues, would soon experience the collapse of the first independent state. Those races, never coordinating production with state affairs, hastily pursued independence on their own—an outcome they could not bear.

Were it not for the continuous support of the Fox People, they couldn’t even have lasted till now, let alone avoid collapse.