After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

The capital of Sirius City has towering walls that reach into the clouds.

This wolf clan royal city, which has stood for thousands of years, is now shrouded in layers of light curtains, and the city's protective array has already been fully activated.

The wolf flags on the city wall were even denser than those at Zhenguo Pass, and behind the crenellations were countless armored warriors, the arrows on the crossbows gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light in the sunlight.

Duan Linyuan withdrew all the troops that could be withdrawn back to the capital.

Nearly 300,000 demon soldiers guarded this last fortress.

With the city's protective array and the defenses continuously reinforced by successive Sirius Kings over thousands of years, this is a true war fortress.

Tu Shan Jing stood on the makeshift watchtower, gazing silently at the distant city wall.

Behind him stretched a military camp for more than ten miles. The main force of Tushan, plus Jiang Yan's Northern Expeditionary Army, numbered less than 200,000 at most.

The attacking side is already at a disadvantage. Just to take down this well-defended capital with its overwhelming military force, they would need at least several times the enemy's strength.

He turned and walked into the central command tent.

Several attendants were already waiting in front of the map, while Jiang Yan stood on the other side, looking down at the city defense markings of the Heavenly Wolf Capital.

"Duan Linyuan has piled all his forces on the front line." Tu Shan Jing pointed his finger at the map. "Three hundred thousand against two hundred thousand, the defenders have the advantage, and a direct assault would result in too many casualties."

"We're surrounding them without attacking," an old general said.

"We can't surround them." Jiang Yan raised his head. "They have a city-protecting formation, and their food reserves can last at least a year and a half. Our supply lines are too long; we can't outlast them."

Tu Shan Jing remained silent for a while.

Then he sat down, spread out the paper, and dipped his brush in ink.

"We need to ask His Majesty to send reinforcements." His pen moved across the paper, his handwriting steady and powerful. "A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is right before us. If we can achieve victory in one battle, the Sirius Dynasty will no longer be a threat. If we win this battle, the northern border can enjoy peace for thousands of years."

The letter was written, sealed with sealing wax, and handed to the falcon demon messenger.

The falcon demon spread its wings, transformed into a gray shadow, and flew out of the tent, heading swiftly towards the southern horizon.

Tu Shan Jing gazed in the direction where the messenger had disappeared, then turned back to face the map, tapping lightly on the location of the Tu Shan capital with his finger.

But what he didn't know was that when the letter arrived in the capital, the recipient was no longer Tu Shanlie.

……

The main hall of the royal palace in Tushan capital.

Tu Shanlie sat on the throne, his face pale and his breathing visibly disordered.

Just half an hour ago, a restriction that had been set up at some unknown time suddenly activated, suppressing his cultivation within his body. His limbs and bones felt as if they were bound by chains, rendering him unable to move.

The guards who should have been obeying orders were nowhere to be seen.

The palace doors were pushed open from the outside, and a group of people filed in.

Tu Shan Yao was walking at the very front.

The eldest prince, who should have been confined in the forbidden area, now stood in the center of the hall, clad in black armor, the candlelight reflecting in his eyes.

Behind him followed a man wearing a dark cloak embroidered with dark gold patterns, whose steps were as steady as a mountain.

The Heavenly Wolf National Preceptor, the most powerful cultivator in the Heavenly Wolf Dynasty, had an ordinary appearance, but his aura was as deep and unfathomable as an invisible mountain pressing down on the palace—a Mahayana stage cultivator.

Further back were five Nascent Soul stage cultivators, whose auras were slightly weaker than the Imperial Preceptor's, standing in a row in the hall.

Finally, several high-ranking officials of the Tushan Dynasty and clan elders entered the main hall.

These people haven't yet managed to make Tu Shanlie change his expression.

However, the person at the end of the line made his pupils suddenly contract.

It was a tall, slender figure, none other than the long-absent Grand Preceptor of the Tushan Dynasty, who was also the most powerful cultivator in the Tushan Dynasty, at the same Mahayana stage.

Tu Shanlie sat on the throne, looking at these people, at his son, at the elders and colleagues who should have stood shoulder to shoulder with him, and remained silent for a long time.

"You've joined forces with Tianlang." Tu Shanlie's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with disappointment and frustration. "Tu Shanyao, do you know what you're doing? This is treason."

Tu Shanyao's lips twitched, then he smiled.

"Treason?" His voice suddenly rose, echoing in the empty hall. "Who forced me to this? It was you! You never respected me from the bottom of your heart, nor did you ever like my mother. You only liked that human woman, only liked that half-human, half-demon Ruoshui."

His breathing became rapid, and his eyes held something that had been suppressed for too long and was finally bursting forth.

"You never intended to pass the throne to me. In your plan, am I destined to spend my entire life in the forbidden area? You probably won't even shed a tear when I die."

"But I don't blame you, Father." Tu Shan Yao's voice suddenly lowered, as if it were squeezed out from the depths of his throat.

"Before my mother died, she told me that this is the law of survival in this world: if you don't strike first and eat others, you'll be eaten by others. So, don't blame me."

Tu Shanlie opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Tu Shan Yao's birth mother was a noblewoman from the fox clan with whom he was betrothed, a woman he had never loved and never truly understood.

She later died of illness, while he himself was busy with court affairs.

He couldn't refute the fact that he had never liked anyone.

"but--"

Before he could speak, Tu Shanyao raised his hand to interrupt him: "Don't worry, I'm not stupid. In the Heavenly Dao Contract I made with Tianlang, only the ceasefire and the return of the original cities will remain unchanged. Nothing else will change."

His eyes lit up, a light that was a mixture of ambition and obsession.

"Tushan is still Tushan, and in my hands, it will be even stronger than before."

Tu Shanlie looked at Tu Shanyao, and the anger in his eyes gradually cooled, replaced by deep disappointment and exhaustion.

He slowly swept his gaze over the high-ranking officials and clan elders of the Tu Shan Dynasty behind Tu Shan Yao. Some of them looked away, some lowered their heads, and some stared at him expressionlessly.

Then someone stepped forward.

"Your Majesty," said Tu Shanyao's uncle, bowing slightly and speaking calmly, "this matter is indeed against the rules, but we were forced into it."

He looked up at Tu Shanlie, his gaze surprisingly self-righteous.

"Jiang Yan, at the tender age of sixteen, has already been granted a title and land, commanding tens of thousands of troops. Moreover, his prestige within the Tushan region is growing ever higher. The human race has never had such power in Tushan for thousands of years."

"We are all aware of the relationship between Princess Ruoshui and Jiang Yan. If this continues, and Princess Ruoshui ascends to the throne... we ask you, does this Tushan Dynasty belong to our Tushan clan, or to their human Jiang family?"

His tone softened somewhat, as if he were stating an undeniable fact.

"Your Majesty, we will not harm you, nor will we touch the Empress or Princess Ruoshui. But we ask that you stay in the forbidden area for a few years. Once things have calmed down, Prince Yao will grant you mercy."

Looking at these people, Tu Shanlie suddenly found it all ridiculous.

They would rather unite with their sworn enemy, the Heavenly Wolf, than trust their own judgment.

No, it's not that they don't believe it, it's that they simply cannot accept that humans can be on equal footing with them.

Tu Shanlie leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and his lips moved, letting out a very soft and hoarse sigh.

"I was wrong."

……

Many things happened in the capital that night.

Some officials loyal to Tu Shanlie disappeared without a trace.

No one made a fuss, and no one questioned it.

Their names were crossed out of the court register.

The next day, news spread from the palace: His Majesty was severely injured by a backlash during his cultivation breakthrough and needs to immediately go into seclusion to recuperate. The affairs of state will be temporarily taken over by the eldest prince, Tu Shanyao.

No one in the Tu Shan leadership raised any questions.

Because all those who dared to question had already been transferred, placed under house arrest, or disappeared long before that.

Meanwhile, on the front lines.

The lights were still on in the main tent.

Jiang Yan and Tu Shan Jing were studying the map and planning their attack route, discussing how to break through the first barrier of the city's defensive formation with minimal casualties.