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

Yun Jin stood guard outside the tent.

She didn't go in to disturb Su Che's cultivation; she simply sat quietly at the tent entrance, like a silent guardian.

Su Che saw her back through the gap in the tent and felt a slight warmth in his heart.

A few days later, the team arrived at the northern front.

The vampire army camp in the North was built on a hill, backed by cliffs and facing the plains.

The camp walls were constructed from a mixture of spirit stones and earth and wood; they were not very sturdy, but they were still usable.

The garrison commander, Xueyan, greeted them at the camp gate.

Xueyan was a burly man in his forties, at the early stage of the Void Breaking Realm. He had a square face with sharp features and an old scar on his chin.

He was clearly taken aback when he saw Su Che.

"The young clan leader has arrived?"

"Hmm, let's check the situation."

Blood Rock opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Su Che could almost guess what he wanted to say.

It would probably be something like, "What are you doing here?" or "Can you fight?"

"Young clan leader, you must be tired from your journey. Accommodation has been prepared in the camp; please come in!"

"No rush," Su Che waved his hand. "Tell me about the current situation."

Xueyan glanced at Yun Jin behind Su Che, then at the five hundred Jingwei.

His expression was somewhat complicated.

"Reporting to the young clan leader. The vanguard of the demon race, numbering three thousand, is encamped at the edge of the dense forest in the northern wilderness."

They clashed with our army three days ago and were repelled.

But instead of retreating, they stayed at the edge of the dense forest.

The subordinates sent scouts deep into the dense forest to investigate, and they discovered that there were even more demon soldiers in the forest.

The exact number is uncertain, but it is at least between eight and ten thousand.

"Ten thousand?" Xue Feng was taken aback.

"Yes, at least that many." Blood Rock's expression was solemn.

"Furthermore, the scouts discovered the aura of a high-level demon deep within the dense forest; at least one demon general at the peak of the Void Breaking Realm is inside."

Su Che nodded after listening.

"So what do you think the demon race will do next?"

Xueyan hesitated for a moment: "I think they will wait."

Once more troops have assembled, launch a general offensive.

With our current troop strength, if the enemy attacks with 10,000 demon soldiers at the same time, plus their demon generals...

He shook his head.

"We most likely won't be able to hold out."

Su Che looked around the military camp.

There are many traces of battle left on the camp wall; cracks and bloodstains have not yet been cleaned up.

The soldiers had various expressions when they saw the young chieftain arrive.

Some were curious, some were disdainful, and some were indifferent.

Su Che walked to the camp wall and looked at the dense forest of the northern wilderness opposite.

The dense forest stretched out at the edge of the field of vision, its dark canopy resembling a solidified sea of ​​ink.

There was nothing unusual to be seen with the naked eye, but Su Che could feel a faint sense of oppression in the air.

If his Dark Eye Technique were still intact, he could see clearly what was happening deep within the dense forest.

But now he can only rely on his naked eye and ordinary senses.

"The forest is eerily quiet," Su Che said.

Xueyan followed: "Young clan leader, you've noticed too?"

Logically speaking, the dense forests of the Northern Wilderness are teeming with monsters and are usually very noisy.

But in the past few days, scouts have reported that the edge of the dense forest is unusually quiet, and not even low-level demonic beasts can be seen.

"The demon race has cleared out all the surrounding demonic beasts."

"What?"

"When the demon army gathers, it will drive away the low-level demon beasts in the surrounding area to prevent them from interfering with military operations."

The dense forest was quiet, indicating that the demon race wasn't just a vanguard of three thousand; there really was a large force behind them.

Xueyan glanced at Su Che, the contempt in his eyes lessening slightly.

"The young clan leader actually knows about troop deployment..."

"I was just looking around," Su Che waved his hand. "By the way, were there any traces of the Ghost Clan in the dense forest?"

Xueyan was taken aback: "The Ghost Clan? What's the connection between the Northern Territory and the Ghost Clan?"

"When you sent your scouts deep into the forest, did you find any traces of soul-manipulation techniques? For example, unusual fluctuations in spiritual energy, or abnormal behavior from the demon soldiers?"

Xueyan thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Nothing was found. The scouts didn't pay particular attention to it either."

Su Che did not ask any further questions.

Mingyuan asked, "You suspect the Ghost Clan is manipulating the Demon Clan?"

"It's not just doubt."

Xue Li colluded with the Ghost Clan, and the Ghost Clan was the driving force behind the four-clan alliance.

The demon race wouldn't attack the vampire race's northern border without a reason; someone must be pushing them from behind.

The demon race excels at controlling others using soul manipulation techniques.

"But you can't verify it right now."

"So I need to wait. When the demon race launches its attack, the demon soldiers controlled by the ghost race's soul magic will reveal their abnormalities, and then I'll assess the situation."

Su Che climbed down from the camp wall and took a walk around the military camp.

He went among the soldiers and chatted with them.

"How long have you been guarding this place?"

"We've been staying here the whole time."

"When did the demon race begin to gather?"

"About two weeks ago, small groups of demon soldiers first appeared at the edge of the dense forest, and then their numbers gradually increased. They launched their first attack three days ago."

"During the battle, did you notice anything unusual about the demon soldiers?"

The soldier thought for a moment and said, "If anything, those demon soldiers don't seem to be afraid of death."

Normally, demon soldiers at the Spirit Sea Realm would scatter after being repelled, but this one immediately regrouped, seemingly unafraid.

Su Che's heart skipped a beat.

They don't know fear.

The demon soldiers in the Spirit Sea Realm should have a certain level of intelligence, knowing that fear and fleeing are instinctive.

However, if they are controlled by the Oni Clan's soul-soul techniques, their souls will be suppressed, causing them to lose their instinctive reactions and become puppets that only know how to execute commands.

But these are all speculations.