“Wait…” the Little Rakshasa King suddenly said.
Lan Ling and Princess Sha Yan stopped.
The Little Rakshasa King said, “Lan Ling, go back first. Let Sha Yan stay for two more days. Father has sent an envoy here to ask whether Sha Yan is willing to divorce you. Tell her firmly that she is willing to marry you as your wife.”
The Little Rakshasa King was clearly making careful arrangements. He wanted to strengthen Lan Ling and Princess Sha Yan’s marriage in the eyes of the Rakshasa King. That way, when Lan Ling launched the war, the consequences might be slightly reduced.
If Lan Ling simply took Princess Sha Yan away like this, it might be portrayed as coercion or kidnapping.
The Little Rakshasa King said, “Sha Yan, clearly tell Father’s envoy what Black Veil and Gu Tu and his mother did to you. That way, Lan Ling will have a reason for launching the war, giving Father enough time to psychologically adjust to it.”
Princess Sha Yan thought for a while, then looked at Lan Ling.
“Husband, I will listen to you.”
The Little Rakshasa King said, “Lan Ling, after meeting Father’s envoy, I will personally send Shadow Warriors to escort Sha Yan to Flame Demon City.”
Lan Ling said, “Your Highness, this is pointless.”
“It will be somewhat useful,” the Little Rakshasa King said. “At the very least, in Father’s eyes, this will be revenge rather than rebellion.”
Lan Ling nodded and was about to leave.
“Wait…” Princess Sha Yan said. “Husband, wait another hour. Let me serve you once, fulfil my duty as your wife, and let me enjoy it once…”
Then Princess Sha Yan turned to the Little Rakshasa King.
“Brother, lend me a room!”
She then took Lan Ling by the hand and entered the room.
Afterwards, they spent some private time together.
Princess Sha Yan was more intense and proactive than ever before.
The entire time, she was the one taking the initiative.
What was supposed to last one hour ended up taking two.
Afterwards, Princess Sha Yan lay in Lan Ling’s arms.
“Husband, you are actually willing to go to war with the Heavenly Demon Banner because of me. It really fascinates me…” Princess Sha Yan said in a charming voice.
Lan Ling said, “I am doing this for myself, not for you.”
“No, it is for me!” Princess Sha Yan said. “Ever since I was young, I have wanted the strongest, most outstanding and most captivating husband, someone with overwhelming authority, someone who could crush everyone and disregard everyone, even my father. You have done it!”
Lan Ling said, “What I am doing will harm the interests of the Rakshasa royal family. Do you not care? You should care very much about your status as a member of the Rakshasa royal family. Otherwise, when you faced me before, you would not have repeatedly backed away.”
Princess Sha Yan said, “That was because at the time, the only thing I had left was my status as a Rakshasa royal princess. If the glory I gain by following you surpasses that of being a Rakshasa princess, then why should I care?”
Lan Ling was stunned.
Princess Sha Yan really was remarkably direct, so direct that it was difficult even to call her materialistic.
After all, a woman who chose a man entirely according to his energy aura and appearance could hardly be described simply as vain or calculating.
“All right, I am going back,” Lan Ling said.
Princess Sha Yan tightened her hands slightly and said, “Husband, do not worry. I will also put on a good show for you.”
A quarter of an hour later, Lan Ling rode a three-headed chimera beast back to Flame Demon City!
After Lan Ling left, Princess Sha Yan did not remain in Rakshasa City. Instead, she asked the Little Rakshasa King for three Shadow Warriors and rode the fastest Ghost Ray towards the Yun’e Clan.
She intended to personally complain to her father, the Rakshasa King, laying the groundwork for Lan Ling’s war.
That way, when Lan Ling launched the war, the danger to the Flame Demon Banner would be reduced as much as possible, while the shock it caused would be pushed to its absolute maximum.
……
Several hours later, Lan Ling landed in Flame Demon City and immediately summoned the members of the Flame Demon Council for an emergency meeting.
“There is only one matter for this meeting. We are declaring war on the Heavenly Demon Banner!”
Lan Ling’s first sentence was earth-shattering!
At present, the Flame Demon Banner had only just been stabilised and was at the height of its construction period. Once war began, however, everything would have to serve the war effort, and construction would stop.
Yet it was precisely this construction that was making the Flame Demon Banner stronger every day. Once construction stopped and the territory turned towards war, the existing rhythm would be completely disrupted, and the original construction plan would be ruined. The first-year plan would certainly not be completed.
After hesitating for a moment, Black Curse, the former Black Demon Banner Lord and current Black Demon City Lord, said, “My Lord, our Flame Demon Banner has just gone through a major war. We lost more than six hundred thousand troops, and our military strength is still being replenished. Therefore, our main army currently numbers only six hundred thousand, which is far smaller than the two million troops of the Heavenly Demon Banner.”
Black Demon City Elder Yuan Tan said, “My Lord, the Flame Demon Banner and Black Demon Banner do not even border each other. The distance is more than 3,700 li. For an expedition of this scale, with our current strength, even if we mobilised the entire banner, we could only send three hundred thousand troops on an expedition against the Heavenly Demon Banner.”
Indeed, the Heavenly Demon Banner was north of the Flame Demon Banner, more than 3,000 to 4,000 li away, with the Blood Demon Banner lying between them.
Suo Mo, leader of the Flame Demon Council, said, “My Lord, may I ask how far you intend to take this war? Is it a war of revenge, or something on an even greater scale?”
“A war of destruction!” Lan Ling said. “The Heavenly Demon family must be completely wiped out!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present shuddered.
Suo Mo said, “But I believe the construction of the Flame Demon Banner is more important right now. This is the foundation upon which we will establish the Flame Demon Empire.”
Lan Ling said, “The construction of the Flame Demon Banner will continue. For this war, I will only take the Death Warrior Corps, twenty thousand Centaur troops and one thousand Mammoth troops. We will advance north along the barren lands beside the sea. We will only kill, not occupy territory!”
Black Curse, the former Black Demon Banner Lord, said, “My Lord, may I ask why?”
Lan Ling said, “Gu Tu, the young lord of the Heavenly Demon Banner, wanted to marry Princess Sha Yan. He intended to humiliate me in front of her and tried to violate my principal wife, Princess Sha Yan, before my eyes. I was not his match and was forced to self-destruct, reducing my body to nothing.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire bodies of Khan Xie Li and Khan Chi Yan erupted with overwhelming killing intent.
“Kill, kill, kill…” Khan Chi Yan roared furiously. “Your Majesty, a humiliation like this can only be washed away with the blood of millions from the entire Heavenly Demon Banner. Only by wiping out the Heavenly Demon family can this humiliation be washed away. Otherwise, my Centaurs would not deserve to become Your Majesty’s whip of destruction, and Your Majesty’s crown would remain stained forever!”
Black Curse said, “Good. Then this battle is unavoidable! This is a battle for His Majesty’s dignity!”
Suo Mo said, “For His Majesty’s dignity, this battle must be fought. The Heavenly Demon family must be completely destroyed to restore His Majesty’s dignity. For this goal, the Flame Demon Banner is willing to pay any price, even if many more people have to die.”
In the eyes of others, Lan Ling was merely a banner lord who had just successfully seized power.
But in the hearts of the members of the Flame Demon Council, Lan Ling was the Demon Emperor, the supreme ruler.
Although he was not yet powerful enough, this identity would not change.
The dignity of the Demon Emperor surpassed everything. Otherwise, he would not deserve to be the Demon Emperor.
The tone was immediately established. This war had to be fought, and it would not be a war of revenge, but a war of annihilation!
Black Demon City Lord Black Curse said, “My great master, if this were merely a war of revenge, the twenty thousand Centaurs, one thousand Mammoths and the Death Warrior Corps you are sending would be enough. But if this is a war of destruction, this force is insufficient. The Heavenly Demon Banner also possesses a powerful ground cavalry force, the Demon Leopard Legion!”
The Demon Leopard Legion was not only the Heavenly Demon Banner’s elite cavalry, it was also one of the elite legions of the entire Rakshasa race.
Why could the Heavenly Demon Banner become the foremost of the thirteen Demon Banners? Why could the Heavenly Demon Banner Lord become a member of the Rakshasa Elders’ Council?
Half of the reason was the Demon Leopard Legion, while the other half was the Ghost Ray Legion.
Of course, the Ghost Ray Legion was not exclusive to the Heavenly Demon Banner, but the Ghost Ray Legion within the Heavenly Demon Banner’s territory accounted for one-third of the entire Rakshasa race’s Ghost Ray Legion.
There was a reason why the Heavenly Demon Banner stood above all the other Demon Banners, and why the Heavenly Demon family had become the greatest power beneath the Rakshasa royal family.
There was also a reason why Gu Tu had been so arrogant and had often bullied Princess Sha Yan when they were young. After growing up, he even attempted to force himself upon Princess Sha Yan.
His confidence came from the more than two million elite main troops under the Heavenly Demon Banner, more than two hundred thousand Demon Leopard troops, and more than twenty thousand aerial troops, including over fifteen thousand Ghost Ray troops.
Therefore, Black Curse was right. Lan Ling’s force of twenty thousand Centaurs, one thousand Mammoths and a little over two hundred Death Warriors would be enough for a war of revenge, but it was absolutely insufficient for a war of destruction.
And Lan Ling had already defined the nature of this war. It was a war of destruction!
Lan Ling was unwilling to stop construction in the Flame Demon Banner territory, while at the same time wanting to completely destroy the Heavenly Demon family.
This force was obviously nowhere near enough.
Suddenly, the voice of the Mirror Demon King rang out.
“Master, you actually have another extremely powerful army!”
Lan Ling said, “The army of the Ghost King Empire?”
“Yes!” the Mirror Demon King said. “After the Ghost King died, the immensely powerful Ghost King Empire fell apart. Most of the senior officials of the Ghost King Empire betrayed him, but there was one force that remained absolutely loyal to the Ghost King and could never betray him.”
Lan Ling remembered.
Before the Ghost King’s spiritual puppet was destroyed, it had once said that four Ghost Generals and a Rakshasa Ghost Mother were absolutely loyal to the Ghost King.
After the Ghost King Empire collapsed, these five figures led a powerful army and disappeared completely. This army numbered more than one million!
The Mirror Demon King said, “Master, this missing army was the Ghost King’s most powerful and most loyal force. It was known as the Ghost King Empire’s Imperial Guard!”
Lan Ling said, “But so many years have already passed. Even the most elite army would have been reduced to bones and ashes by now.”
The Mirror Demon King said, “They may have died, but they may also still be alive!”
Lan Ling said, “What makes you say that?”
The Mirror Demon King said, “After the Ghost King died, the Ghost King Empire fell apart. Several of the people most loyal to the Ghost King refused to accept defeat. Therefore, they led the Ghost King Empire’s Imperial Guard out to sea in search of the Immortality Curse.”
“The Immortality Curse?” Lan Ling asked.
“Yes, the Immortality Curse,” the Mirror Demon King said. “As long as they find the Immortality Curse, this army can live forever. They intend to wait for the Ghost King to descend once again and rebuild the Ghost King Empire!”
The Mirror Demon King continued, “According to legend, the Immortality Curse is in the Sea of Hell. Therefore, the Rakshasa Ghost Mother and the four Ghost Generals led the million-strong Ghost King Empire Imperial Guard out to sea towards the legendary Sea of Hell to search for the Immortality Curse. Once they find it, this army will become immortal. Without a doubt, this million-strong army belongs to you!”
The Ghost King’s Ring was currently worn by Gou Li.
If this million-strong Imperial Guard of the Ghost King Empire still existed, then without a doubt, this army belonged to Lan Ling!