"He left just like that? And here I thought we were going to have a fight."

Mephit sighed at the sight. "If that had happened, I could have joined the fight against a Celestial God’s Shadow. Tsk, tsk... now that would have been interesting."

"I suppose so. But that one is probably a bit stronger than the Master of Decay—not an easy opponent."

Westheid shrugged as he gazed at the Master of Blazing Flames’s retreating back. "There was no need for a fight. Just as this Demon said, the war for the Land of Rhythm is, in essence, a battle for the nodes of the Thousand Laws Ceremony. Whoever controls the nodes has the absolute advantage."

Besides, the situation was very unfavorable for the Royal Court. The Demons could choose not to attack them, but the Royal Court couldn’t just sit back and wait for the various Demons to fight it out amongst themselves. The Elves couldn’t afford to wait; they simply couldn’t.

They had to retake the City in the Lake as quickly as possible and correct the Grand Ensemble. Otherwise, the Celestial God’s Shadows would sooner or later usurp the Thousand Laws Ceremony entirely. After all, these were shadows stripped from Emperor Qianlu himself; they were naturally more attuned to the Thousand Laws Ceremony than any mortal subjects.

"Your Excellency, Grand Law Officer, if I’m to go it alone, I can slowly conquer the adjacent Demon Realms, but I can’t make any guarantees about my speed."

Westheid glanced at Eilvette’s grim expression and said, "It would be for the best if I had some help."

The corner of Eilvette’s mouth twitched at Duke Qinghui’s hint. She replied, "...That won’t be necessary. We still have time. This operation was a great success; we reclaimed the territory occupied by the Master of Decay in a single battle. It went even more smoothly than my best-case scenario. We’ll proceed cautiously from here on out, sticking to the strategy we used this time."

’Tsk, is she really that reluctant? They always say to choose the lesser of two evils. In the Grand Law Officer’s eyes, could the infiltration of an outside legion really be worse than the Celestial God’s Shadows running rampant?’

’Or is she just pinning her hopes on luck?’

Eilvette’s next words to Westheid confirmed his suspicions.

"Duke Qinghui, what are your thoughts? I don’t believe the Demons are likely to team up. None of them is willing to submit to another. If I’m not mistaken, you’ll only be facing a single enemy at a time for the most part."

Westheid replied coolly, "I have no objections. After all, I’m only here as an ally to assist in the war. The Royal Court can decide how to plan our next moves."

He yielded the decision-making power to the Royal Court, lulling Eilvette into a false sense of security. In his heart, however, he was already plotting how to force her to accept Reiya and the others.

The Grand Law Officer looked back at the grand army behind her. "The entire Royal Court will give its all. Once we’ve replenished our recent losses, we will launch an attack on the Master of Blazing Flames’s realm."

Although the battle had been short, lasting only a few days, its intensity had far surpassed anything the Royal Court had experienced since its founding. They had conquered several Cities in the Lake without regard for cost or casualties. Nearly half the fleet was severely damaged, and with over a third of their forces lost, the casualties were more than any ordinary army could bear. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Only Warriors filled with fanatical faith, who fought as if their lives meant nothing, could withstand combat of such intensity.

Of course, the main force in the decisive battle had been Westheid’s legions, which was why Eilvette’s attitude toward him had noticeably softened.

’For now, Duke Qinghui is far too crucial an ally. Without him and his forces, I can’t imagine the horrific casualties we would have suffered to liberate a City in the Lake garrisoned by a Celestial God’s Shadow. Even this smooth conquest resulted in such losses... If we didn’t have his reinforcements...’ Eilvette truly didn’t dare to imagine it.

"For the Thousand Laws Royal Court, which has been away from the battlefield for so long, they fought quite well."

Westheid paid the Royal Court’s legions a polite compliment. It seemed that their relationship had grown much more amicable after fighting side-by-side in this battle.

This wasn’t entirely untrue. The Qinghui Guards had indeed forged a life-and-death bond with the Stringed Swordsmen, and the might of the Yonglan Knights had earned the respect and admiration of the Royal Court Elves.

But among the high command, things weren’t nearly so sincere.

The subsequent consolidation efforts wouldn’t require Westheid’s long-term presence. As long as the Tuners could maintain the Thousand Laws Ceremony, it would be difficult for even a Celestial God’s Shadow to conquer them in an instant. They could definitely hold out until reinforcements arrived.

So, Eilvette would temporarily focus on repairing and fortifying the reclaimed territory, while Westheid would leave behind a contingent of troops to establish the Punishment Camp. The Grand Law Officer would exile to the camp any citizen of the Royal Court that he deemed a loyalty risk.

As for the management of the Punishment Camp, Eilvette stated she would leave it entirely in Westheid’s hands, with no restrictions or oversight. The Royal Court would provide all supplies and logistics. Her only hope was that Westheid could make good use of these condemned souls, so they could give their all for the liberation of the Royal Court.

Westheid didn’t know what to make of this arrangement. ’Just keep them coming,’ he could only think. The more combat power he amassed under his command, the more influence he would have in the Royal Court.

As for Duke Qinghui himself, he would of course lead his troops back to the Central Royal Court to rest and regroup, there to await Eilvette’s call for the next campaign.

On the journey back, Wan Qi’s voice echoed in his mind, bringing good news.

"My love, the extraction of the Divinity is complete. The finished product is ready. Do you need it?"

"Hm? So soon? Thank you for your hard work."

Westheid’s consciousness immediately sank into the Imaginary Space, where he received the purified and refined concentration of Divinity from the white-haired girl in red.