Chapter 467: Certain Defeat

It was another morning court session in the Imperial Capital of the Ten Thousand Demon Country, and most people were in an exceptionally good mood today.

She Qiqi had already been away from the Demon Capital for a month.

During this past month or so,

many people felt much more comfortable without She Qiqi’s presence.

Especially those princes within the Yao Race royal family.

Once She Qiqi was no longer there to compete with them, they had celebrated by getting completely drunk that very night.

She Qiqi’s departure made them even happier than if they were getting married themselves.

Everyone felt that today’s morning court would be a pleasant experience for most.

And with the next day being a rest day, there was simply nothing more delightful than this.

However, halfway through the morning court session,

an urgent message arrived from Xuejiang Prefecture on the borders of the Ten Thousand Demon Country, plunging everyone into a long silence… Looking at the contents of the letter, the Demon Emperor, sitting high upon his throne, began to tremble in his limbs.

He could not believe everything written in the letter.

But… the events described in black and white were so complete and so vivid.

Furthermore, the Demon Emperor knew that those people would never dare to lie to him.

Otherwise, it would not only be a false military report but also the crime of deceiving the emperor.

The news must have been fully verified before being sent to the Demon Capital.

But the question was, how did She Qiqi actually dare to do this?

Why was she so decisive?

She clearly still had many other things she could have done; why was she in such a hurry to take this step?

Regardless of the underlying reasons and the truth,

and regardless of what She Qiqi was actually thinking,

in short, She Qiqi had indeed raised an army in rebellion.

Now, She Qiqi’s army was already massing in her fief.

And it wasn’t just She Qiqi’s army.

In the Giant Country, under the leadership of that Giant Country princess, they had already begun advancing their troops toward the Ten Thousand Demon Country.

Beyond that, it was as if She Qiqi’s uprising was merely the sounding of a horn.

In other prefectures of the Ten Thousand Demon Country, whether they were feudal lords or city-guarding generals,

She Qiqi’s people responded one after another by raising their own armies.

Even some who appeared to support other princes on the surface also rose up, pressing toward the palace of the Ten Thousand Demon Country together.

It seemed that inexplicably and quietly, She Qiqi had activated all her people at their roots.

She Qiqi had brought all her people to the surface.

She Qiqi no longer wanted these people to hide; she intended to use absolute military force to crush everything.

Of course, it was also entirely possible that what She Qiqi had hidden was more than just what was shown on the surface.

She Qiqi might still have hidden chess pieces, watching everyone else from the shadows.

However, no matter what, the Demon Emperor had to face the challenge.

The Ten Thousand Demon Country had fifteen prefectures in total; She Qiqi had swiftly seized control of two, while another was in Chu Yaoyao’s hands.

What was most fatal was that the two prefectures controlled by She Qiqi and the one controlled by Chu Yaoyao formed a pincer position.

Meaning if they joined forces, they could hold a significant geographical advantage.

At that time, no matter how the Ten Thousand Demon Country tried to suppress them, they would pay a heavy price.

As for that remnant of the previous dynasty, Chu Yaoyao, the Ten Thousand Demon Country hadn’t actually taken her to heart.

But regarding She Qiqi, they absolutely had to take her seriously.

Soon, the routine court session ended.

The Demon Emperor summoned those ministers and several of his princes to the Imperial Study.

Inside the Imperial Study, the Demon Emperor discussed countermeasures with everyone.

Only then did the Demon Emperor realize that the positions She Qiqi had resigned from… were actually inconsequential to her.

Because even though She Qiqi no longer held those positions,

everything she controlled remained unchanged.

For example, the largest intelligence agency in the Ten Thousand Demon Country—the Hidden Butterfly Pavilion… The Hidden Butterfly Pavilion was built by She Qiqi herself, cultivated with great effort.

So even though She Qiqi had ostensibly handed over the Hidden Butterfly Pavilion,

in reality, the Hidden Butterfly Pavilion still only recognized She Qiqi.

With just one command from She Qiqi, the Hidden Butterfly Pavilion would follow her lead!

For instance, on the day She Qiqi raised her army in rebellion,

before the news had even reached the Imperial Capital,

the new leader of the Hidden Butterfly Pavilion, who was also a confidant of the Demon Emperor, had already died suddenly.

But everyone still thought the new leader of the Hidden Butterfly Pavilion was alive.

And just now, an attendant reported that his head had appeared in front of the palace gates.

And now, the Hidden Butterfly Pavilion had all quietly left the Imperial Capital.

It was as if they had known this day would come and were well-prepared.

“What do you ministers think should be done now?”

Sitting on a cushioned couch, the Demon Emperor looked at the ministers and his other princes in the court.

“As things stand, since the Seventh Princess has already rebelled, we can only suppress her.”

The Minister of War stepped forward and said.

“And although the Seventh Princess occupies the land of nine prefectures and has tens of thousands of soldiers, it’s still not enough to challenge our Ten Thousand Demon Country.

Even if the Seventh Princess joins forces with Chu Yaoyao, they cannot possibly be a match for our Ten Thousand Demon Country!”

“Then, my dear ministers, is there anyone who can share my burdens?”

The Demon Emperor scanned the crowd.

“This official is willing to share Your Majesty’s burdens…”

The Minister of War took another step forward and bowed.

“This son is also willing to lead troops to solve Father’s problems!”

“This son is also willing to go!”

In an instant, four or five princes all stepped forward, expressing their desire to lead troops to suppress She Qiqi.

“Good!”

The Demon Emperor slapped his thigh and stood up!

“In that case, Crown Prince, you shall lead three hundred thousand troops; Second Prince, you shall lead two hundred thousand.

Minister Chen, you shall lead one hundred and fifty thousand!

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Princes, you will each lead one hundred thousand troops to surround and intercept She Qiqi. I want her alive; you must bring her back alive!

I want to see exactly what She Qiqi is thinking!

To actually commit such a treasonous act!

Have I mistreated her in some way?”

“Yes!”

As everyone responded, they all withdrew to lead their respective armies against She Qiqi.

Everyone knew the reason for She Qiqi’s rebellion.

But as for the Demon Emperor’s final feigned ignorance, that didn’t matter.

After all, on the surface, such an act of rebellion is very scandalous.

After everyone left, only the State Preceptor of the Ten Thousand Demon Country remained in the Imperial Study.

The Demon Emperor glanced at the State Preceptor: “Old State Preceptor, what do you think?”

The Old State Preceptor shook his head and said quite bluntly: “In a battle between the princes and the Seventh Princess, they will surely lose…”