Chapter185

Thank you to @garima_bhardwaj, @Jisha_Bhardwaj, @Saleh_Omar, and @Madeline_Green_1777 for the stone points. I appreciate your support.

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After finishing those, she casually pulled out a few new sheets of paper and began scribbling on them.

The messy lines she drew were tangled and unclear. It was impossible to tell what she was drawing, as if she were just doodling randomly.

But if someone had seen the totem she had taken from the Imperial Temple, they would realize that these random lines actually contained many of the same patterns.

She was extremely careful as she drew, almost like she was afraid someone would notice. Each time she added a few lines from the totem, she would randomly draw others on top to disguise them, trying to make sure no one could tell.

And so she continued drawing.

When the night outside had grown deep, Elara finally stuffed over twenty sheets of these strange drawings, along with the plans and strategies she had just written, into a small iron box specially made for her by the forge. She silently sprinkled in the colorless, tasteless powder Oswyn had once given her.

Then she placed the small iron box into a bigger one.

And that bigger one into an even larger one.

Only after confirming everything was secure and nothing could go wrong did she finally hide the final iron box under the desk, covering it with the desk curtain.

After doing all this, Elara finally relaxed and let Uno help her wash up and go to bed.

The bait had been set. Now she just had to see what it would catch.

Elsewhere, in the Edelweiss Imperial Palace,

After receiving news from the southwest, learning that both the main army camp and supply depot had been ambushed and badly damaged without any warning,

the Edelweiss Emperor was furious. His eyes were bloodshot with disbelief.

"What?!!"

He kicked the table full of wine and food in front of him so hard it cracked. The beauties surrounding him also suffered from his rage.

The Emperor's hand gripping the letter nearly crushed the parchment.

When he could finally breathe a little easier, he immediately ordered the attendants to bring out the map of the southwestern region of Edelweiss for closer inspection.

He had never taken Pulmera seriously. He didn't even care about the so-called princess who had suddenly taken Belladonna. So naturally, he hadn't bothered to consider how she had managed to do it or whether she had mastered the Puppet Sect's secret Gu techniques.

But now, everything had gone against his expectations. To be able to slip past his Puppet Soldiers without being noticed and strike both his army and supply depot—

the things that princess gained in Belladonna must have been far beyond what he had imagined.

"Pulmera! Elara!"

Gritting his teeth, the Emperor couldn't remember how many years it had been since he had suffered such a humiliating defeat since taking the throne.

Pulmera, such a small nation!

Even if she had taken Belladonna and mastered the Gu techniques, how could she be so bold?!

The Edelweiss Emperor hadn't felt this close to a heart attack in years.

It was utter humiliation. A blatant insult to his face.

After taking several deep breaths, he prepared to immediately order his southwest forces to launch a counterattack on Marigold.

Even though he was still in a standoff with Dahlia at Qian'an Ridge and couldn't use too many troops, his remaining forces in the southwest would surely be enough to punish anyone daring to act so wildly.

He wanted to break down the gates of Marigold.

He would make that so-called Pulmera princess kneel at his feet and beg for forgiveness.

But what he didn't expect was that just one hour after issuing the order, another urgent message arrived from the direction of Qian'an Ridge:

"Report! Your Majesty! It's bad!"

"The Dahlia army at Qian'an Ridge has begun advancing into our territory!"

"What?!"

The Edelweiss Emperor had just sent out the military order and was waiting for news of the southwest army breaking through the city so he could vent his anger. But when he heard the news of Dahlia suddenly launching an attack, he almost jumped to his feet.

Luckily, he still held onto his reason. He forcefully suppressed his anger and thought for a moment, then quickly realized the situation. His grip on the armrest tightened more and more. "Heh, I was wondering why Dahlia's crown prince would associate with such a weak third-class kingdom. So this was the plan. They want to use Pulmera to divert my attention so that Dahlia can seize Dryridge Mountain. Hah! No way!"

"You're underestimating me and overestimating that petty Pulmera!"

The Edelweiss Emperor gave a cold laugh, suppressing his displeasure at not being able to crush Pulmera right away. He called a messenger. "Send word to the southwest army. Tell them to retreat temporarily. The priority is to crush Marigold City. Let that tiny place live a little longer."

"Notify the main forces in the southwest to march toward Dryridge Mountain immediately. Stop Dahlia's sudden attack at all costs!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Emperor turned to another messenger. His face darkened. "You! Send someone to notify Belladonna Kingdom at once. Tell them the opportunity has come. Dahlia's troops at Dryridge Mountain are weakened. They must strike from behind immediately. If Dahlia's army is badly damaged, I will attack together with Belladonna Kingdom. We will attack Dahlia together!"

Dahlia and Edelweiss Kingdom had been locked in a stalemate at Dryridge Mountain for a long time.

Now Dahlia was trying to break this balance. Then they cannot blame Edelweiss and Belladonna for attacking from behind.

However, the confident Edelweiss Emperor did not expect that only three hours later, a desperate message would arrive from Dryridge Mountain:

"Your Majesty, disaster! Dahlia's crown prince somehow discovered our secret contact point with Belladonna Kingdom. He sent people to secretly break through the hidden formation and clear the base quietly. They replaced our men with their own!"

"Our messengers rushed to send news to the base, but one after another disappeared. By the time we realized something was wrong, we lost three messengers!"

"Not only that base, but Dahlia has taken control of all our contact points with Belladonna Kingdom nearby!"

"Your Majesty, we cannot communicate with Belladonna Kingdom anymore. We don't even know how they will respond after their base was suddenly attacked by Dahlia!"

The Edelweiss Emperor kicked the table in front of him and stood up angrily. His voice was full of rage. "What did you say?!"

Although Edelweiss Kingdom and Belladonna Kingdom had an alliance to oppose Dahlia at Dryridge Mountain, their borders did not fully connect.

Between them was another third-class kingdom with a second-class religious sect. Because it had a divine ritual inheritance and protection from the second-class kingdom, it looked down on independent countries like Edelweiss and Belladonna. Their relationship was very cold.

So Edelweiss and Belladonna had no secret contact anywhere else.

They only had a small border near Dryridge Mountain. Because this mountain was close to Dahlia's border, it was very dangerous.

Luckily, a few years ago, they got a secret divine hidden art from one second-class kingdom.

With this divine technique and the Emperor's live guardians, they managed to avoid Dahlia's discovery and maintain secret contact for years.

But now, how long has it been? Just yesterday everything was fine, but today, in a few hours, all contact points have been cleared by Dahlia's crown prince?

The Emperor was furious but sweat also dripped down his forehead.

To be able to sweep all bases precisely and silently in such a short time meant Dahlia's crown prince had known and planned this long ago.

But how did he do it?

Dahlia is an independent third-class kingdom. Its land has not had secret divine inheritance for thousands of years. It is abandoned by divine veins like Edelweiss, Belladonna, and most independent kingdoms.

If it were not for Dahlia's crown prince, Dahlia would only be a mid-sized third-class kingdom, not worth their attention.

But now, without secret divine inheritance to match divine art, how did Dahlia's crown prince break the secret divine hidden formation that Edelweiss and Belladonna paid a high price to get from the second-class kingdom?

Could Dahlia have made a deal with some second-class kingdom these years?

But their spies in Dahlia never reported anything. And those second-class kingdoms that possess divine vein blessings always look down on others. Dahlia's crown prince is strong, but he cannot compare to those big powers. It is impossible they traded divine vein blessings with a small third-class kingdom.

Edelweiss and Belladonna only got the secret hidden formation by accident, after learning divine vein secrets from the second-class kingdom, who generously gave the formation.

Even if Dahlia's crown prince is strong, he is still only the crown prince of a third-class kingdom. The chance to get divine vein blessings is very low.

Besides, neither Edelweiss nor Belladonna has heard of any divine secret inheritance that can break the divine hidden formation.

So how did Dahlia's crown prince do it? Does he hide some secret about divine veins?

The Emperor lowered his head deeply into thought, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier.