"…Perhaps, what Ren was talking about is what peace should look like," Elizabeth muttered to herself absentmindedly. Surrendering their grievances, cleansing the heart, and moving forward bravely, while abandoning the past. People might call it heartless, but it might be the only path forward. It was the only way to change the tides! Suddenly, she recalled the Imperial Princesses' letter. Was it really the right choice to ignore it?
As if reading her thoughts, Shirley hesitated to say, "Talking with Little Wu's family… I've changed my mind about the empire."
Elizabeth, Benedict, and Freon were surprised. Out of the four of them, Shirley had arguably the worst experience with the Xingyuu Empire. Benedict needed no explanation. He never lost any family members, and his only loss was Isabella. From an objective point of view, he did not lose much at all. As for Freon, the Invasion of Aereon took his parents from him and forced him and his sister into the streets. They struggled to fend for themselves in a war-torn Zino Kingdom. Despite that, Freon still had his sister with him. Elizabeth was a step-up since New Havens was destroyed beyond recognition and her family was buried deep in the dirt. If not for her true heritage lying with the Royal Family, she would be thoroughly alone in this world.
That said, Shirley's circumstances were still worse. Lour Island was plundered and ruined, her father was killed, her mother fell into a long coma, and she was captured. For the Xingyuu soldiers, there was nothing more enjoyable than having a young pretty girl in their company. It was for this abhorrent reason that she was kidnapped. As the saying goes, you can kill a person, but not their pride! In many ways, having a person's dignity trampled on was worse than death. And Shirley endured countless humiliating, shameful, and downright disgusting hardships. There were still lingering scars on her body from her time. Therefore, it only came naturally that her hatred of the Xingyuu Empire was the strongest out of the four. So how could her friends not be surprised when the girl suddenly changed her mind about the empire?
"Why did you change your mind?" Freon asked curiously. He could not understand.
"Originally, I thought that the empire was evil and that they all deserved to die, but after witnessing what the kingdom did to the Yunyun Stronghold as well as hearing about Little Wu's family… It's hard to remain unmoved. Perhaps it's just like what Elizabeth said, that we're two sides of the same coin. There's no difference between the Alzar Kingdom or the Xingyuu Empire," Shirley explained dejectedly.
Something in Benedict and Freon stirred. They had the same nagging feeling inside their chests since they saw the slaughter of the Yunyun Stronghold firsthand. Unlike the leaders that looked down with cold eyes, they could sympathize with the common person. The deeply rooted prejudice against the Xingyuu Empire chipped away, while the run-in with Little Wu's family was the earthquake that sent boulders tumbling. Although it was not enough to completely upend the years of resentment, it was enough to sway their thoughts. They could not help but feel Shirley's words were reasonable. Whether they admitted it or not, their hatred had weakened considerably.
On the side, Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised to see her friends changing their perspectives. One had to know that the villainy of the Xingyuu Empire was ingrained into the Alzar Kingdom and the Zino Kingdom. With the help of the crown, one could call it a cultural legacy. Everyone despised the Xingyuu Empire to some degree! It was not easy for someone to challenge the norm and go against the crowd. Elizabeth was a special case because she came from New Havens. That allowed her to broaden her horizons, despite what happened to her family. However, for Benedict, Shirley, and Freon, it was challenging everything that knew and believed in! Elizabeth smiled. It might be a small step forward, but it was a step toward peace!
***
Time passed quickly. With the Yunyun Stronghold under the control of the Alzar Kingdom, the ocean route was secured from the mainland. They would have no problems in transporting soldiers across the Maelstrom Gulf. Because of this, the campaign schedule was moved up and everything was expected to move at a faster pace! At the same time, the warfront was heating up. The Li Family understood the dangers in allowing the kingdom to develop freely. Like inviting the wolf into the sheep's den, they could not allow the 'sheep' to turn into a 'wolf'. They had no choice but to maneuver two of their armies away from the south to attack the east. However, this was exactly what the Imperial Council wanted. The Li Family was forced to face two fronts at once!
The Li Family might stand proudly above the Four Great Nobility Families, and it might be hailed as the strongest nobility family in the human world too. Yet, in the end, no matter how peerless and heaven-defying the Li Family appeared to be with their vast financial resources, military prowess, and political control, there was still a limit. They were a nobility family, not a full-fledged civilization. They were fundamentally below the other powerhouses such as the Alzar Kingdom, and there was nothing they could do to bridge that gap. Looking at it generously, the Li Family accounted for half of the Xingyuu Empire's might, while the Imperial Council took the other half. The Li Family facing the Imperial Council and the Alzar Kingdom was like facing one and a half civilizations simultaneously. It was obvious they would come up short!
September 27th, seven hundred soldiers from the Alzar Kingdom successfully captured a settlement south of the Chenfu Mountains, forcing the three hundred defenders to retreat. Two hundred people from the Li Family were captured.
September 31st, the Imperial Council pushed the southern battlefront line into the Xixiang Rice Fields with an army of two thousand. Five hundred soldiers from the Li Family were killed, one hundred were captured, while the rest deserted. Their whereabouts are unknown.
October 2nd, two hundred from the Li Family successfully ambushed an Alzar logistic convoy, killed seventy soldiers and stole vital supplies. The Alzar Kingdom deployed a quick response team, but the supplies were already destroyed.
October 4th, near the Quiton Gates, five thousand from the Imperial Council battled against seven thousand from the Li Family in a surprise skirmish. Both sides were forced to retreat due to the poor weather and suffered light casualties.
October 5th, the Li Family scorched a large portion of the woodlands west of the Yunyun Stronghold to push the Alzar Kingdom back. Because of the high winds, the fire quickly engulfed the nearby camp, killing four hundred Alzar soldiers.
October 7th, six thousand soldiers from the Imperial Council laid siege on a fortress near the Quiton Gates. The defending Division General of the Li Family was assassinated, and the Imperial Council forces successfully breached the walls to capture the fortress. There were no survivors.
October 10th, the Alzar Kingdom deployed ten thousand soldiers to the frontlines, clashing with the army from the Li Family. Over the course of two days, fifteen hundred from the Alzar Kingdom and twenty-five hundred from the Li Family were killed. The Alzar Kingdom forced the Li Family to retreat.
At Chongdu, the provincial capital of the Qianwing Province, business went on as usual. The city was far enough from the frontlines and deep enough in the Li Family territory that it was peaceful here. If not for the constant stream of news from the warfront, the people would have never realized that something was wrong. Since it was happening so far away, it was only news to them. They never once considered the dangers.
In the Li Family's main estate, it was a different story. The tranquil serene gardens did not lessen the heavy mood swirling in the sky above. It was suffocating! The Li Family could barely fight the Imperial Council to a draw, so adding the Alzar Kingdom into the equation, the scales tipped against them. They could still defend through guerilla attacks, self-destructive scorched earth strategies, or other defensive means, and coupled with the strong territorial advantage, it was definitely difficult for their enemies to penetrate into the Li Family's territory. But even a small stream can split mountains given enough time. The Li Family would inevitably fall against this two-pronged attack.
Hence, a meeting was being conducted in one of the largest lakeside pavilions in the estate. There were ten people here, ten people who held the highest authority in the Li Family! Interestingly enough, Imperian Qiang Li, the current patriarch, was not present and neither were the Imperial Princesses. The ten were part of the previous generation before Imperian Qiang. In terms of seniority, they were a step above and that granted them significant sway over the Li Family's internal politics. Although they were in their fifties to seventies, they were respectfully called the elder council. Lady Hong-Lan Li, the woman who rebuked Princess Ming previously, was one of them.