"Protect the Fourth Prince! Retreat now!"

The captain of the guards barked an order, and his men swiftly drew out their treasures, hurling them at the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon. Some even unleashed ferocious beasts in a desperate attempt to stall the monstrous creature.

Liu Yunheng was utterly shaken by the sudden appearance of the demonic forces and the overwhelming aura of the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon. Shielded by a squad of guards, he immediately fell back, all the while commanding soldiers to charge forward and block the pursuing demonic troops.

Liu Yunfei fled alongside Liu Yunheng, panting as he ran. Between ragged breaths, he whispered to the prince, revealing that he still had a hidden faction within the city—and that there was a traitor lurking close to Liu Yunyao.

Liu Yunheng had initially planned to dispose of this useless fool on the spot, but the revelation made him reconsider. Perhaps the wretch still had some value. Killing him could wait.

Seeing their prey slip away, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon let out a deafening roar, summoning more demonic warriors to join the chase. The guards Lin Yuan’an had assigned to Liu Yunheng were swiftly slaughtered, torn apart by the demonic onslaught.

"All troops, charge! Slay these monsters!" Liu Yunheng bellowed before turning tail and fleeing the camp without a second glance.

Liu Yunyao, however, made no move to pursue. Instead, she stood calmly, watching as the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and the demonic soldiers decimated Liu Yunheng’s forces.

The newly conscripted soldiers were no match for the demons. Unprepared for such a formidable enemy, they quickly dissolved into chaos the moment their commanders fell, scattering in panic.

But the demons encircled them, cutting off any escape. These men were nothing more than prey—food and cultivation resources. Mercy was not an option. The battlefield echoed with agonized screams as the demons slaughtered indiscriminately, sparing none—not even Liu Yunfei’s elite axe-wielding unit.

The Nine-Headed Demon Dragon abandoned the chase for Liu Yunheng, joining the massacre instead. Within an hour, fifty thousand soldiers lay dead, their blood staining the earth.

Once the demons finished scavenging the battlefield, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon recalled them into its spatial realm before following Liu Yunyao to hunt down Liu Yunheng.

Meanwhile, Liu Yunheng, now with only thirty-some guards in tow, fled like a rat with its tail on fire. Only when they were far from the carnage did they dare pause to catch their breath.

Yet, unbeknownst to them, Ye Liuyun had already pinpointed their location through the slave mark on Liu Yunfei.

Seizing the moment to ingratiate himself, Liu Yunfei wheezed, "Don’t worry, Your Highness. Once the city gates open, we can slip inside. This isn’t over yet!"

Liu Yunheng wanted to curse Liu Yunfei out, but he bit his tongue. Right now, he had no choice but to rely on him. Suppressing his anger, he simply reported the situation to Lin Yuan’an.

"What? Demon soldiers? Fifty thousand troops defeated?" Lin Yuan’an felt a headache coming on upon hearing the news. He could only advise Liu Yunheng to hide well and avoid being caught by Liu Yunyao.

Without delay, Liu Yunheng took refuge in a nearby forest.

Back in the royal capital, Lin Fengzhi and all the major factions had witnessed the battle, utterly awestruck by Liu Yunyao’s power.

"No wonder the princess was so confident. A thousand demon soldiers—each one formidable—yet they annihilated fifty thousand troops with such ease!" Lin Fengzhi was both shocked and relieved that he had pledged allegiance to Liu Yunyao. Otherwise, he and his entire family would have been doomed.

The other factions were equally impressed.

"Such strength, deployed at the critical moment—the princess truly hides her prowess well! None of the princes can compare to her!"

"It seems the throne belongs to none other than the princess! Princes like Liu Yunheng stand no chance now."

"Thank heavens we sided with her earlier. Otherwise, when the reckoning comes, we’d have been finished too!"

Amid the chorus of admiration, Lin Fengzhi announced the lifting of the city gate blockade, reopening them fully. With no army threatening the capital, it was now safe. Liu Yunyao had already secured victory, making the lockdown unnecessary.

Soon, Liu Yunyao located the coordinates Ye Liuyun had provided. Activating her crimson pupils, she pinpointed Liu Yunheng’s hiding place.

This time, she wouldn’t let him escape again.

"Deploy a hundred demon soldiers and surround this area. Under no circumstances are Liu Yunheng and Liu Yunfei to slip away!" she commanded the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon.

"Understood!" The beast immediately dispatched a hundred demon soldiers, encircling the forest.

The demonic aura and oppressive presence of the soldiers instantly alerted Liu Yunheng.

"They caught up so quickly!"

Liu Yunheng’s heart skipped a beat. With no other choice, he swiftly pulled out a defensive formation disk, hoping to buy himself some time with the array.

Liu Yunyao, accompanied by the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, appeared before the formation. After a brief glance, she commanded the beast to strike at the formation’s core.

A flash of white light erupted from the dragon’s maw, instantly melting the core and shattering the formation.

"Protect the Fourth Prince!" His thirty-odd guards surged forward, charging at Liu Yunyao and the Devil Beast.

The Nine-Headed Dragon lunged into action, intercepting most of them. The few who slipped past were swiftly cut down by Xuanwu’s lethal strikes—not a single one survived. Liu Yunyao didn’t even need to lift a finger.

"Since you insist on pushing me to the brink, don’t blame me for what comes next!" Realizing escape was impossible, Liu Yunyao steeled herself for a desperate fight. With a flick of her wrist, she unleashed over a dozen ferocious beasts.

Among them was a Dominator-tier magical beast, level two. Though Liu Yunheng hadn’t fully tamed all the creatures, he had struck a deal with them—fight with everything they had, and they’d earn their freedom.

Thus, every beast fought with reckless abandon.

The Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, spotting the Dominator-tier beast, roared with excitement. It revealed its true form and clashed with the monstrous adversary in a whirlwind of fangs and fury.

Meanwhile, Xuanwu and Liu Yunyao worked in tandem, systematically eliminating the remaining beasts.

"Let’s go!" Liu Yunheng signaled to Liu Yunfei, seizing the moment to flee.

But the instant he turned his back, Liu Yunfei drove a dagger straight through his heart.

"You—" Liu Yunheng staggered, his breath hitching as he glanced down at the blade protruding from his chest. Slowly, he turned to face Liu Yunfei, disbelief etched across his face.

By the time Liu Yunyao arrived, Ye Liuyun had already relayed his final orders through the slave mark—Liu Yunfei’s true mission was to strike when Liu Yunheng least expected it, eliminate him, and then surrender to Liu Yunyao’s judgment.

"Why?" Liu Yunfei was utterly baffled at first.

"Because she’s mine!" Ye Liuyun wanted him to understand before he died, so there was no point in hiding the truth anymore.

From that moment on, every move Liu Yunfei made was under Ye Liuyun’s control, merely following his orders.

He never imagined that all his efforts had secretly been playing right into Liu Yunyao’s hands. And Liu Yunyao—she was actually Ye Liuyun’s woman!

He didn’t know whether Yunyao had known Ye Liuyun from the start, setting him up from the very beginning, or if they had met later. Ye Liuyun certainly wasn’t going to explain. All he knew was that he had been used, left with nothing—and that his life now rested in Liu Yunyao’s hands.