"Your Highness, this subordinate dares not speak rashly. Please go and see for yourself, and you’ll understand!"

Ye Luo’s brow furrowed slightly. It seems things are not so simple, so Ye Luo has to see what’s happening!

Letting the guards take Mo Lu and the three-tailed wolf to rest, Ye Luo carried Shi Wei and Ao Long, heading towards the main tent.

However, before even reaching the main tent.

From afar, Ye Luo could already hear the sounds of quarrel coming from within!

"Your Highness, aren’t you being unreasonable? Even if you are the eldest prince, the Southern Territory is currently under the command of the Third Prince. On what basis do you take away military command? Moreover, you say you want to withdraw one hundred thousand men; how will our Southern Territory resist the enemy then?"

This voice?

Ye Luo recognized it; it should be the voice of a Wolf Clan commander of ten thousand!

Ye Luo had transferred a total of fifty thousand men from the Western Frontier, naturally accompanied by five commanders of ten thousand. These five had followed Ye Luo to the Southern Territory and had indeed achieved significant meritorious service, so they usually attended military strategy meetings!

"Shut up, this is no place for a mere commander of ten thousand to speak. What the prince wants to do, how dare you question! Hmph, since my royal brother could organize the Southern Territory with fifty thousand men from the Western Frontier, even if I withdraw one hundred thousand men, doesn’t he still have over a hundred thousand? Defending the Southern Territory surely poses no problem! Enough, it’s decided. You, yes, you, go make arrangements immediately. Tomorrow, I shall leave with the people!"

Ye Luo frowned deeply; though he hadn’t heard the entire conversation, from just what he heard, Ye Luo already understood the gist of the situation.

This eldest prince seems to want to take a bite out of Ye Luo’s territory!

The eldest prince?

Ye Luo did have some impression; he was not born of the Demon Queen. In fact, the Demon King and Demon Queen had only one biological son, the Third Prince. This is why the Third Prince, despite his indolent reputation, was never punished and is still the most favored candidate to inherit the throne of the Da Yue Empire domestically!

As for the other princes?

The Da Yue Empire, like the Great Tang Empire, is not much different. Nobility, especially the royal family, finds it impossible to refuse marrying several women, as the Demon King needs to maintain the balance among many tribes, and marriage is a common strategy!

The Third Prince is still fairly young, hence he hasn’t yet been engaged by a major clan.

But the Demon King is different. Even when he was a prince, he had several wives; after becoming the Demon King, naturally even more.

The eldest prince’s maternal family is the traditional Mad Lion Tribe of the Da Yue Empire!

The Mad Lion Tribe is not numerous; their entire population barely reaches two hundred thousand!

However, the Mad Lion Tribe is undoubtedly the largest tribe in the Da Yue Empire, with considerable strength, particularly numerous strong individuals!

It is said that about one-third of the middle to senior officers in the Da Yue military come from the Mad Lion Tribe!

This shows just how authoritative the Mad Lion Tribe is!

It seems that the Da Yue Empire is not as peaceful as Ye Luo imagined!

Although due to bloodline, only the biological Third Prince of the Demon King and Demon Queen is eligible to inherit the throne, as the royal bloodline must remain pure.

But practically speaking, if princes from other nations can seize power, why can’t the eldest prince?

And if he succeeds, the Mad Lion Tribe could become the new royal family; surely, they would support the eldest prince unconditionally!

The situation is quite complicated!

Ye Luo knew in his heart that this time, he must look beyond appearances!

After all, since the eldest prince dared to come, he must have preparations; it is unlikely otherwise. Moreover, for him to brazenly come to Ye Luo’s turf to take people might mean the Mad Lion Tribe has publicly backed him!

Who knows what the current situation of the Demon King and Demon Queen is!

Ye Luo frowned lightly, but now he couldn’t afford to retreat; only he was qualified to handle this matter.

Neither Princess Yu nor the Saintess of the Sacred Temple has the authority to make decisions for Ye Luo.

It seems the Three Stone City has long been infiltrated by the eldest prince; otherwise, how could he appear so opportunely!

Usually, taming beasts in the mountains takes at least ten days!

If Ye Luo hadn’t come out early this time, by the time he returned as usual, the eldest prince might have already taken away a large number of soldiers from Three Stone City!

Even within Three Stone City, aside from the Wolf Clan forces, other troops also have many Mad Lion Tribe officers commanding them!

The Wolf Clan, relying on its vast population, formidable combat capabilities, and steadfast loyalty, which never bows, kept the Wolf Clan army in the Western Frontier free from external interference, thereby avoiding many troubles.

But the Southern Territory is different; its military isn’t composed of a single tribe, inevitably requiring Mad Lion Tribe strongmen to command!

What a ploy by the Mad Lion Tribe, thinking to strike at Ye Luo!

...

"Who dares to have such courage as to take people from me!"

A faint voice came through, sending a tremor through the eldest prince and his several advisors behind him!

If they previously underestimated the Third Prince, now they dare not, for the Third Prince, always deemed idle, had not only married the Saintess but also subdued the Wolf Clan!

All of these demonstrated the Third Prince was not simple!

Originally, they planned to come after Ye Luo went into the mountains for beast taming, intending to avoid direct conflict with Ye Luo. Unexpectedly, Ye Luo returned early!

Upon hearing Ye Lu’s voice, the generals in the main tent of Three Stone City collectively exhaled.

For they knew full well, without Ye Luo to suppress again, though it might not reach the level of the eldest prince taking a hundred thousand, taking away forty to fifty thousand was still feasible. After all, those truly commanding the army were those mid-level officers!

And those mid-level officers were from the Mad Lion Tribe!

Forty to fifty thousand? It might not seem much, but given the current circumstances of the Southern Territory, even four to five thousand men were extremely precious!

Why did Ye Luo organize everyone to tame beasts, if not to compensate for the insufficient manpower!

If indeed forty to fifty thousand were taken by the eldest prince, the entire Southern Territory would be incapable of launching a counterattack in the short term!

Hence, hearing Ye Luo’s voice gave everyone a sigh of relief!

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

As Ye Luo entered the main tent, everyone knelt in respect; even those from the Mad Lion Tribe had no choice but to oblige, for officially, Ye Luo was still the supreme commander and still the future candidate for Demon King!