The actions of the Rock Drop kingdom came as a shock to Lin Mu and the others.
"They conquered the Ring Mist Kingdom? How's that even possible?" this time it was Crown Prince Feng Shun that asked.
He knew a bit about the Eight Kingdom alliance as well as where their relative strengths laid. Thus he knew that while the Ring mist Kingdom might have lost their powerhouse, it still didn't make sense for the Rock Drop Kingdom to be able to do that. At the very least, they wouldn't be able to do it silently. They might still have their own powerhouse, but that didn't mean that it would be enough to overwhelm an entire kingdom in one go. "It is still a mystery." Qiao De answered, shaking his head. "All the intelligence sources we had in the Ring Mist Kingdom as well as the Rock Drop Kingdom seem to have been eliminated. Because of this we don't know how it happened. But if they can erase the hidden intelligence agents like that, it does make sense that they could replicate the same for the Ring Mist Kingdom." He explained.
"What about the Royal family?" Crown Prince Feng Shun furrowed his brows.
"All gone." Qiao De answered. "Hmm… The information you got seems to be a bit more detailed than ours." Crown Prince Feng Shun replied, admitting that they were lacking in some aspects.
The Black Candle Pavilion was a widespread power and had established links all over the Rust Sky world and even on other worlds. As such, it was understandable that they were able to be on top of the other empires despite having lower power.
"I must admit I got a bit lucky with it." Qiao De replied. "The branches of the Black Candle Pavilion both the kingdoms sensed the danger and escaped beforehand. They also spread all the information they had about the situation to the other branches, which is why I had this report." He explained.
"I see… But still, for the Rock Drop kingdom to break the alliance… has it also decided to compete for the land of the Eight Kingdoms?" Lin Mu muttered.
"There is a chance… but it is quite suspicious as to how they managed to accomplish this. At the very least, their actions have made the Great Wave Kingdom wary too and now they will have to watch both sides. On the front they'll be fighting against the Purple Sparrow Kingdom while on the back they have the rising threat of the Rock Drop kingdom." Qiao De stated.
"Hmm… so this is why the war was officially declared now." Ziran said, thinking over it.
"What about the Dragon Plane Kingdom and the Dust Light Kingdom?" Crown Princess Shang questioned. "Since the Rock Drop Kingdom took over the Ring Mist kingdom, the alliance is gone right?" she wondered.
"Their situation is a bit ambiguous. The Rock Drop Kingdom has asked them to join them permanently, but they haven't responded yet. They are merely strengthening themselves for now." Qiao De replied. "From what we can tell, the two kingdoms will actually try to stay neutral. Thus, the actual war is only between the Great Wave Kingdom, the Rock Drop kingdom and the duo of Purple Sparrow and Cloud Fall kingdoms." He hypothesized.
"A three-way war…" Lin Mu muttered.
"That is a good option. Considering their background, it is better for them to wait it out and let the other fight and get weaker. They can then take the side of the winner or even choose to capture those powers themselves if they are daring enough." Lady Kang gave her own theory.
"Though now, the question is…" Qiao De said taking a look at Crown Prince Feng Shun. "What is the stance of the Dao Wind Empire on this?" he questioned.
The Dao Wind Empire was located east of the Eight Kingdom alliance and as such could be considered 'neighbor' in a way. It was certainly closer to the Eight Kingdom Alliance than the Holy Topaz Dynasty considering the span of ocean between them.
Then there was also the fact that the Dao Wind Empire was the largest continent on the Rust Sky World. Their actions often dictated how things would go and directed the flow of the world.
A war breaking out in one of the continents like this was certainly a matter of concern. Especially a major war like this that might result in the birth of an entirely new empire. If that happened, the overall balance of power in the Rust Sky World would change. After all, the Eight Kingdom Alliance Continent was the second biggest continent in the Rust Sky world. If they became an empire, they would thus be the second largest empire in the Rust Sky World, rising from the fourth position to the second directly.
"The Imperial court hasn't given a statement yet, but we've just been told to observe closely." Crown Prince Feng Shun said, before the jade slip in his hand hummed.
~humm~
"Huh?" The Crown Prince read the message on it and became a bit tense.
"What is it?" Daoist Chu asked, seeing his friend.
"The Imperial Court has confirmed the rumors are true… The three powerhouses were really killed." Feng Shun stated.
"How did they confirm this?" Lin Mu asked, wondering what kind of method they used.
~shua~
In response, the Crown Prince projected a formation screen from his jade slip, showing the information. Three faces appeared on it, all of which belonged to old elders.
"These are the three powerhouses that were killed. All of them were Peak Immortals at the Seventh Tribulation Stage and were quite close to reaching the Transcendent Immortal stage too." Crown Prince Feng Shun stated before pointing to one of the faces. "Ancestor Teo who belonged to the Purple Sparrow Kingdom was killed on the Final day of the Tournament of the Four Guardian beasts. This was witnessed personally by Emperor Feng." He revealed, surprising everyone.
"He witnessed it personally?" Qiao De hadn't expected that.
