Chapter173

"Let me see that letter. That tiny speck of a place called Plumera dares to attack my vassal Youdan? Ha, could it be General Qi's doing? But from what we heard earlier, isn't General Qi already sent into the palace of that princess, made into some pet general? Hahaha!"

The Inferno Emperor sneered as he took the letter from the attendant. But as he gradually finished reading it, the wild, mocking grin on his face faded away completely.

His eyebrows furrowed. Suddenly, he shoved aside the beauty in his arms. The soft, delicate woman hit the corner of the table and curled up in pain, crying out in misery.

The Inferno Emperor acted as if he had tossed away an object. He didn't even glance at her. He clutched the letter tightly until another attendant rushed in with even greater urgency.

"Urgent report, Your Majesty! Another living puppet has returned. There seems to be movement from Dahlia's military! Their direction appears to be heading our way!"

Before he had even finished digesting the content of the letter, the Inferno Emperor suddenly kicked over the wine table in front of him.

The nearby beauties suffered even more and hurriedly knelt down and withdrew in panic. Once the hall fell into silence, the Inferno Emperor finally spoke with a dark face and a cold laugh.

"I was wondering how a tiny place like Plumera dared to strike Youdan. So they've secretly allied with Dahlia."

The Inferno Emperor had managed to turn the southeast part of the continent into the second most powerful third-tier independent nation. He was a man of deep calculation and ambition.

Youdan had been his vassal and had dealt directly with the Puppet Sect.

The Puppet Sect traded their living puppet magic for Inferno's protection. Because of this, the Inferno Emperor also had his own puppets. That had been one of his key advantages in winning countless battles over the years. After all, using these puppets to gather reliable intelligence before combat was invaluable.

To know the enemy and oneself is to never lose. The Inferno Emperor understood this well.

After receiving these two reports, it didn't take long for him to figure out the reason behind them based on the feedback from the puppets.

He held the letter in silence for a long time, then gave a sinister smile.

"Go. Inform the Three Dukes to write two letters for me."

"The first, send it to the Gold Nation. Tell them to monitor Dahlia closely. If there's anything unusual, they are to join forces with us immediately to guard against a sudden attack from Dahlia."

"The second, send it to Plumera's capital and give it to Lord Gregory. Tell him that if he sends his troops south within a month and attacks Marigold County, I'll also send my troops to help him take the entire southern region of Plumera and help him become emperor. Let's change Plumera's dynasty entirely."

After speaking, the Inferno Emperor's smile grew colder. "That princess of Plumera and General Qi, I'll soon let them understand what it means to seek their own death."

After leaving Zhaiyun Pavilion, Elara finally had time to focus on the current state of Marigold County.

She had to admit that during the days she was gone, Marigold County had developed very well under Scholar Fu and Kristof's management.

The citizens looked much more spirited than before. They were all dressed in proper clothing now, and there were fewer beggars on the streets. Many of the previously abandoned shops, due to confiscations, had reopened. Many citizens had started renting shops and going into business. Clearly, the recent war hadn't affected them much, which showed how well Scholar Fu and Kristof had stabilized and reassured the public.

Besides the people's improved lives, many buildings around Marigold County that needed repairs had already been rebuilt. The whole city had taken on a new look, thriving more than before. Elara's sixth task—burning a million bricks—had now reached [467,000/1,000,000], nearly halfway there.

After walking around the city, Elara didn't go straight back to the county's main residence. She went to the Military Medical Office first.

It was the facility she had ordered the construction department to build specifically for Oswyn and the team of doctors he led. It was the largest military medical center in Marigold County.

The recent battle in Youdan had just ended. With so many rescued victims from within Youdan, Oswyn had gone straight to the medical hall after returning and hadn't been seen since.

When Elara entered the hall, many doctors were hurrying back and forth inside.

She waved off the attendant who tried to announce her arrival and went straight to the room where Oswyn was. She leaned against the doorframe and looked at the tall figure inside, sleeves rolled up, mixing medicine.

"Oswyn, do you still have any of that medicine to repel living puppets? Give me some more."

Oswyn paused while preparing the medicine and turned to look at her. "You used up the whole batch I gave you earlier?"

"No, but I just gave the rest to Dahlia's prince."

Since Inferno was the ruling nation over Youdan, and Youdan had previously been under the Puppet Sect's control, it was easy to guess what kind of deals they'd made. After Elara finished her conversation with the Dahlia prince, she gave him all the remaining medicine she had that could block puppet surveillance to prevent any incidents.

The prince accepted it with thanks and said that back when they dealt with Inferno, they had indeed been monitored by non-human beings. Even if they killed those they noticed, some always slipped through.

Now with the medicine, their future plans would surely go more smoothly.

After hearing this, Oswyn stared at her for a long while, clearly unhappy that she had given his medicine away.

But he didn't say anything more. He just grabbed two jade boxes from the nearby shelf and stuffed them into her arms.

"This is the last batch. After this, there's none left. Hmph. Go ahead and give it away. Now move. Don't block my path."

Elara smiled slightly. After getting the medicine, she looked around the room one last time before turning to leave.

"Oswyn, thank you for your hard work. If you need anything, come to me directly."

"Alright, go on now."

After putting the ointment into her sleeve, Elara left the military medical hall and finally returned to her residence.

But before she could enter and relax, just as she stepped into the courtyard, a figure suddenly rushed toward her. Two arms wrapped around her tightly, and a sweet, slightly sticky voice sounded beside her ear.

"Sis, you're finally back. I missed you so much."