The Empress has abandoned me? I'll support a new emperor and destroy your kingdom!

"Was this arranged by the Grand Elder?"

Su Che asked the messenger beside him.

"Yes, the Grand Elder said that Bloodblade Centurion is experienced and suitable for escorting troops."

Su Che sneered inwardly.

Xue Ming couldn't possibly be unaware that Xue Feng was one of Xue Li's men.

Appointing Xue Feng as the captain of the guard team was either a test by Xue Ming or an arrangement by Xue Li.

As for what the arrangements will be, we'll see.

Su Che mounted his horse.

Yun Jin rode a pure white spirit horse, her posture as dignified as a jade statue.

"Set off."

Five hundred elite guards filed out and set off towards the northern border.

On the way, Su Che rode his horse in the middle of the group.

Yun Jin rode alongside him on his right, at a leisurely pace.

Xue Feng led the way, glancing back at Su Che every now and then.

His expression was complex, showing both wariness and guilt.

Su Che pretended not to see it.

He rode his horse while munching on dried spirit fruit, occasionally chatting with Yun Jin about random things.

"Madam, what delicious food do you think is available in the North?"

"I really don't know."

"I think I've seen something about it in the vampire's books. It says there's a kind of spirit beast in the North called the Snowhorn Deer, whose meat is exceptionally tender."

"When we get there, let my husband have a taste."

"Would you like to bake it for me, madam?"

"Absolutely."

......

Xue Feng, who was ahead, heard these conversations and his lips twitched.

Is this young clan chief going to war or going on vacation?

Everything went smoothly on the first day of the march.

When they set up camp that night, Su Che sat by the campfire roasting sweet potatoes.

Yun Jin sat quietly beside him, holding a book in her hand.

"Netherworld." Su Che called out in his mind.

"Um?"

What are your thoughts on the demon race's offensive in the northern border?

"The vanguard of three thousand consists entirely of low-ranking demon soldiers; there are no high-ranking demon generals. This isn't a real attack, but a probe. The demon race is probing the blood race's defensive deployment in the northern border."

"That's what I thought, but who do you think is pulling the strings behind the scenes?"

"It's most likely the Ghost Clan. The Demon Clan just started fighting the Human Clan, so there's no reason for them to attack the Blood Clan alone."

Besides, their interests lie deep within the Northern Wilderness Forest, not in the vampire territory, unless someone pushes them from behind.

What are the benefits of pushing them?

"This will tie down the vampire forces, drawing their attention to the north, while the undead attack from the west. The undead will provide support from the south, creating a pincer movement."

Su Che nodded; this was consistent with his previous assessment.

"There's another possibility," Mingyuan said.

"The demon race's attack is not merely a probe at the border; it could also be a signal to the entire alien race. The Demon Emperor is telling the four-race alliance that the demon race stands with the ghost and demon races."

"So this trip to the North isn't just about fighting."

"Yes. We also need to see exactly how many low-level demon soldiers the demons have deployed. If it's only three thousand, it means the demons are still observing. If they send reinforcements, it means the demons have made up their minds."

"It seems you're becoming more and more like a strategist!"

......

The next day, the group entered the northern territory.

The landscape began to change, with flat grasslands gradually being replaced by undulating hills, and the air became dry and cold.

In the distance, you can see the edge of the dense forest in the northern wilderness, a dark, overwhelming expanse.

Su Che rode on his horse, observing the surrounding terrain.

Without the Dark Eye Technique, he could only rely on his naked eyes and ordinary spiritual power to judge his surroundings.

This made him very uncomfortable.

When he had the Dark Eye Technique, he knew everything within a radius of 500 feet.

Now his perception range has shrunk to about a hundred feet, and he can only sense targets with obvious spiritual energy fluctuations.

In the afternoon, a scout from the front reported back.

"Report! A small force of demons, approximately two hundred soldiers, all at the Spirit Sea Realm, has been spotted twenty miles ahead. No high-ranking demon generals have been detected."

Xue Feng glanced at Su Che, waiting for his instructions.

"Go around it," Su Che said. "We're going to the Northern Frontier to provide support, not to fight in the wild. There's no need to get entangled with a small group of enemies."

Xuefeng nodded and ordered them to take a detour.

The group changed course, bypassing the activity range of the small demon clan forces.

But Su Che noticed a detail.

When the scouts reported the location of the small demon force, Xue Feng reacted too quickly.

He ordered a detour almost immediately after the scout finished speaking, as if he already knew there were enemies there.

Or rather, he received the news in advance.

Su Che kept this detail in mind and didn't make a fuss about it.

at night.

Su Che meditated and cultivated inside the tent.

After sealing the Emperor's Vein and the Ranking of Calamities, his cultivation returned to its most basic state.

The spiritual energy circulated slowly through the meridians, much slower than before.

The bloodline of the Blood Demon God pulsated slightly within his body.

Su Che tried to guide the power of his bloodline, but apart from strengthening his physical body, he did not unleash any other abilities.

"What exactly are the abilities of the Bloodthirsty Demon God's bloodline in the Netherworld?"

"The Blood Demon God is a mutated being, and the power sealed in its bloodline is of a very high level."

Because it possesses the power of the divine realm.

After all, it was something Yun Yu obtained from the Burial Heaven Divine Realm.

You have only awakened basic physical enhancements; deeper abilities require extreme conditions to trigger.

"What extreme conditions?"

"For example, a life-or-death crisis, massive blood loss, or being trapped in a desperate situation."

The battle path of the Blood Demon God is different from that of the Emperor's lineage.

The Emperor's lineage grows stronger with each battle, while the Bloodthirsty Demon God is born from the brink of death.

The closer one gets to death, the easier it is for the power sealed within one's bloodline to be released.

"So I have to push myself to the brink to unleash new abilities?"

"That's true in theory, but don't actually kill yourself."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."