Chapter 1239: Chapter 1239

While Du You was engaged in battle here, the Fox People Kingdom in the north also initiated a similar battle. Like Du You, they pressed on with a large number of troops. Of course, as the Holy Fox Kingdom was newly established, it didn’t have as many high-tier forces accumulated.

Thus, Du You covertly supported them with a group of griffins, allowing the tier-five forces of the Fox People Kingdom to swiftly amass to four thousand in number, which was twice that of the eldest prince’s side, and then they struck all at once.

The result was the same as here; they had completely not expected that during the probing phase, the other side would launch a full-scale attack like madmen, initiating a decisive battle. During the combat, Elsa had also personally participated but had slightly concealed her identity. Elsa certainly did not want to be recognized and surrounded; that would not have boded well.

Because she was a Professional, she had many special pieces of equipment. In terms of means, Elsa was not afraid of those noble experts.

After one sweeping attack, the eldest prince was killed on the spot and his body was sent back, while the enemy’s two thousand tier-five experts were nearly all annihilated. The price Elsa paid was nearly two thousand of her own people lost.

There was no helping it, as the northern eldest prince had already suffered a setback once; therefore, the experts here were even more vigilant and had set up many traps around. So although it was a surprise attack, it wasn’t much of an advantage on enemy soil.

Du You still had the advantage of various auras and the opening of the Resentful Souls Domain on his side, greatly weakening the opponents. Elsa’s side was different, only having the enhancement from rituals, which was far from sufficient.

With the enemy’s various countermeasures, the two sides almost swapped casualties, essentially resolving the battle at a one-to-one ratio.

After two battles, Du You had lost nearly six thousand of his tier-five forces, and the Divine Flame Empire had not gained any benefit either. Their losses were even greater, with close to ten thousand tier-five experts lost in both battles.

Even for a huge empire like the Divine Flame Empire, losing so many tier-five experts exceeded half the internal tier-five experts of the nation. In fact, the loss of these tier-five experts was even more than their public tally.

When the news from both the north and south reached them, Emperor Tru of the Divine Flame Empire was utterly dumbfounded. He had never expected things to turn out this way. Shenghai Kingdom and Holy Fox Kingdom not only dared to confront them directly but even dared to fight them desperately. By the time they realized it, it was already too late, the losses were too great.

These losses, even the royal family itself couldn’t bear, let alone the great nobles. In fact, many noble families, because their tier-four and tier-five members had been wiped out, found their family power greatly weakened and didn’t know if they could maintain their family’s interests.

Looking at this report, Emperor Tru’s gaze flickered, and his fingers continuously tapped on the table, his mood very sour.

It wasn’t long before several princes arrived in the study room, standing respectfully by the side. After some time, the king finally came back to his senses, his expression complex as he looked at his sons.

"Look at this report," said Emperor Tru wearily. His voice seemed to have aged decades, and his expression was full of exhaustion. The people next to him passed the report around for others to see.

"Since I took control of the Divine Flame Empire, every decision I made has significantly benefited our nation, with its power constantly increasing. Even among the emperors over the millennia, very few could compare to me. I originally thought I would be handing over a powerful, intact nation to you."

The king’s face was filled with gloom: "I didn’t expect that without making any mistakes myself, we would encounter such a formidable enemy. Now the nation is in a crisis, and I don’t know what will happen in the future..."

The Third Prince saw the report stating that the eldest prince was dead, and his eyes briefly flickered a trace of joy; his investment had indeed paid off. However, seeing the subsequent situation, the Third Prince’s expression turned somber.

Because he was certain, the information he had given to Du You hadn’t been utilized much since the process did not involve any special combat tactics or leadership arts; it was completely straightforward brute force.

The overwhelming force directly eradicated their military strength. Not even the experts had a chance to escape, which was problematic. Although the Third Prince desired the throne, he did not want to inherit a nation full of holes. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩

If the noble families’ experts were all eradicated, then controlling the entire nation would be very difficult. Even with his own abilities, he couldn’t manage such a nearly fractured empire.

With enemies eyeing them covetously from both sides, it simply wouldn’t do; this matter had to be resolved quickly. The Third Prince realized that Du You probably wasn’t sincerely cooperating with him, and perhaps his ambitions were even greater than his own. Fortunately, he had a trump card. Facing such an adversary, he still might be able to turn things around.

If he succeeded, his position would be instantly elevated, even more stable than his now deceased elder brother.

The other princes were also internally relieved, several fools, like the Second Prince, even laughing out loud. Hearing this, Emperor Tru’s gaze turned icy.

Observing the unperturbed Third Prince, Emperor Tru’s gaze became exceedingly complex.

Just then, the Third Prince stepped forward: "Father, the nobility has suffered too greatly; this matter must be resolved for them. Otherwise, I fear the nation may become unstable, and the Shenghai Kingdom must be decisively dealt with."

"What do you have in mind?" It seemed this son might have a plan the king was unaware of.

"Father, leave the south and the Shenghai Kingdom’s matter to me. After this battle, we have suffered heavy losses; they will certainly have lost more. Just give me a portion of the troops, and I will take them down."

Those who had escaped did not know how many high-tier experts Du You still had left. If they knew that even after involving seven thousand people, three thousand tier-five experts remained, they definitely wouldn’t dare to speak .

Emperor Tru closed his eyes, pondering for a while. After a long time, he finally nodded: "Get whatever you need and discuss with the others. This time I only want results. If we fail again, explaining it domestically will be difficult." Even Emperor Tru knew that getting the nobles to act this time might be impossible; the royal experts had to handle everything upon themselves.

An immensely powerful empire had become weak overnight, internal conflicts nearly bursting forth. The nobles suffered terrible losses, but were their losses any less? This battle they could only win, not lose.