After watching for a while, Sheng Yuanyao suddenly said, “Hey, hit me.”

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

The demon general: “…”

“Hurry up, what are you dawdling for? I need to confirm if I’m dreaming or if some illusion is at play.”

Lu Xingzhou understood and, with a wry smile, reached out to pinch her cheeks and pull them sideways. “Yes, yes, yes, you’re dreaming.”

Sheng Yuanyao’s face was distorted, but her eyes were like spring water, joyfully pulling his sleeve. “Come with me for a moment.”

Lu Xingzhou was confused as she dragged him behind a merlon. When they were alone, Sheng Yuanyao said, “Your pinch didn’t hurt, which means it’s a dream.”

Lu Xingzhou knew she was playing around and asked helplessly, “Then what? What are you doing?”

Sheng Yuanyao grabbed his collar and pulled his head towards her. “Since it’s a dream, let your brother have some fun.”

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

The next moment, Sheng Yuanyao fiercely kissed him, her grip on his collar shifting to a hold around his neck, kissing him into a daze.

Sheng Yuanyao was very tall, with excellent long legs, possibly the tallest woman Lu Xingzhou knew apart from Long Qinghuang. Pulling him down like that, she didn’t even need to stand on tiptoes. Her feet were firmly planted, allowing her to apply force easily, and for a moment, Lu Xingzhou couldn’t break free from her embrace.

Her tongue probed inside wantonly, her almond eyes hazy.

Lu Xingzhou stopped pretending and fiercely reciprocated, his hands wandering mischievously.

Unfortunately, Sheng Yuanyao was in armor at the moment, leaving little to touch. After his hands roamed for a while, unable to find a suitable spot, Lu Xingzhou simply moved down to her long legs.

Her skirt armor couldn’t hide his pervasive hands, and she was clearly enjoying it.

Thus, Sheng Yuanyao’s almond eyes became even hazier.

Actually, Sheng Yuanyao was covered in blood after three days of intense fighting, and the smell of blood on her was not pleasant. Yet, somehow, it had become like an aphrodisiac, making the experience feel even more thrilling.

Yes, the thrill of surviving a near-death experience, the intoxicating feeling of her beloved descending like a divine soldier.

Sheng Yuanyao truly had no other way to vent the surging emotions in her heart at that moment. She wished she could melt him into her body and was already doing her best to restrain herself from openly displaying affection in public.

In reality, hiding behind the merlon was akin to burying one’s head in the sand. For experts like Si Han, the sounds of their passionate kissing were almost as clear as if they were shouting in their ears.

A group of top experts exchanged glances, unable to comprehend what they were doing there.

Were they specifically there to guard the prisoners for this young couple?

No, seriously, aren’t you afraid we’ll tell the Saint Lord and the Ice Lord? Oh, it’s just for their personal enjoyment, is it?

After a long while, Sheng Yuanyao slowly calmed down from her excited state.

Their lips parted, and Sheng Yuanyao gently caressed his lips, which were somewhat swollen from her sucking. She whispered, “They can still swell, so it’s not a dream. Hey, stop moving your hand, it tickles.”

Lu Xingzhou stopped his mischievous hand and pinched her face again. “How did you become the main general?”

“Don’t even ask,” Sheng Yuanyao rested her head gently on his chest. “I’m so tired, let me lean on you for a bit.”

Lu Xingzhou took her pulse and frowned slightly, then took out a pill. “This will do for now. For your condition, I’ll need to specially formulate a specific antidote later.”

Sheng Yuanyao craned her head, took the pill with her mouth, and let out a comfortable “hmm.”

“What’s the situation now?” Lu Xingzhou asked. “Do you know the battle situation elsewhere?”

Sheng Yuanyao lazily replied, “How could I know? But the captives surely do. Just ask them. Oh, it’s so annoying, having to separate in front of people, just when I was finally comfortable holding you…”

Despite her words, Sheng Yuanyao still gently pushed his chest, moving away slightly. She then looked up, scrutinized him for a moment, and smiled faintly. “Still so handsome.”

After saying that, she turned and left from behind the wall. As she turned, her high ponytail bounced, indicating her extremely good mood.

A large group of experts escorted the demon general, and another group outside the city guarded the prisoners. Everyone watched the young woman emerge, her vibrant youthfulness and the stark contrast to her earlier brave and death-defying demeanor made people wonder if someone else had temporarily replaced her—it no longer seemed like the same person.

Sheng Yuanyao grinned at the demon general. “Alright, you’ve been trying to persuade me to surrender for three days. Now it’s my turn to persuade you. Will you surrender?”

The demon general turned his head away. “If I surrender, my entire family will be gone.”

Sheng Yuanyao sighed. “So will mine, so what have you been doing for the past three days?”

The demon general was speechless. “But when I tried to persuade you, it was certain you would be used by His Majesty. When you try to persuade me, what authority do you have? Do you rely on your position, which even required you to seize power to defend the city? Can you guarantee me that once I surrender, your emperor won’t chop off my head?”

Sheng Yuanyao’s smile froze on her face.

Not to mention her, even her father wouldn’t dare make such a guarantee. She could only stubbornly say, “Then what makes you think you can guarantee for your Demon Empress?”

“His Majesty is a woman,” the demon general drew out his words, “Empresses naturally prefer to employ female officials, especially capable and attractive ones like you, which aligns with His Majesty’s aesthetic preferences.”

“Is that so?” Sheng Yuanyao said. “Shouldn’t an empress prefer handsome male concubines?”

“Those are two different things! Besides, our empress isn’t that kind of person! Her Majesty maintains her integrity, has been solemn for a thousand years, and hasn’t even had a single scandal to this day!”

Lu Xingzhou subconsciously tilted his head.

The people of Tianyao Holy Land also thought their Saint Lord wasn’t that kind of person.

“Not even a single scandal?” Sheng Yuanyao extended her finger. “You can insult my combat power, but you cannot insult my professionalism! The gossip about the Demon Empress and the Saint Lord fighting over a man—do you dare say it’s false? Lord Si, were you there at the time? Tell him!”

Si Han also tilted his head away.

The demon general’s confident expression also froze. After a long pause, he said, “That’s just baseless talk. The Demon Empress wanted to snatch someone, but it was for his abilities, not related to ‘that kind of thing.'”

“Oh, you know a lot.” Sheng Yuanyao said curiously, “I heard that person was Chen Yu?”

“Chen my ass, a fake name. That person’s name is Lu Xingzhou! Lord Si must know!”

The atmosphere suddenly became very quiet.

Si Han’s head was tilted so far that his neck almost twisted, unwilling to face Sheng Yuanyao’s foolishly clear gaze.

Regarding the fact that the Demon Empress and the Saint Lord were fighting over Lu Xingzhou, Sheng Qingfeng had already known since the news came from the sea. Unfortunately, Sheng Yuanyao had been on the frontier for a long time and hadn’t heard this big gossip yet. At this moment, she was completely bewildered, foolishly turning to glance at Lu Xingzhou, who was looking up at the sky.

The demon general’s heart skipped a beat, and he also reacted. “Your expressions… do they mean this person is Lu Xingzhou?”

So, was Lu Xingzhou just now kissing this girl behind the merlon with loud smacks? …And the opponent I’ve been besieging for three days is very likely His Majesty’s love rival?

Feeling a huge fortune slipping through his fingers, the demon general almost wanted to die.

This Lu Xingzhou doesn’t look that great, not robust enough. Does His Majesty like this type?

The demon general completely forgot that he had just said His Majesty was chaste and not that kind of person.

“Ahem.” Lu Xingzhou cleared his throat twice. “Let’s talk about the situation elsewhere.”

The demon general shut his mouth and did not answer.

Lu Xingzhou sighed. “Given your respect for Yuanyao, and your desire to bring her to serve Long Qinghuang… I can’t bring myself to perform soul-searching or spirit-extraction on you. But you have subordinates, your vice-generals should be very clear about the battle situation, and this isn’t some secret.”

The demon general: “…”

“Brother Demon, you wouldn’t want me to search your vice-generals, would you?”

The demon general said, “Lu Xingzhou, His Majesty has always… always held you in high regard, and yet you treat her direct tribe like this?”

You just wanted to say “deeply in love,” didn’t you? Sheng Yuanyao’s eyes widened.

It seems this gossip is already well-known within the demon race… What exactly happened in the few months I’ve been in the Northern Frontier? How did my opponents go from Shen Tang, Pei Chuyun, and Dugu Qingli to the Demon Empress and the Saint Lord?

“You are Long Qinghuang’s direct tribe?” Lu Xingzhou was startled. I couldn’t tell you were a dragon; an亚种, perhaps?

After a thought, he said, “Lord Si, please guard the captives for now. I’d like to speak with this Brother Dragon privately for a few words.”

Si Han nodded. He naturally knew that he was invited not to actually fight Long Qinghuang. Anyway, the favor was there; how Lu Xingzhou chose to use it was his business. Clearly, it was best not to directly confront Long Qinghuang. Si Han still felt a lingering fear from the battle of Dongyue Hanchuan, where they almost lost even with the help of the bone dragons.

Lu Xingzhou helped the demon general, whose cultivation was sealed, and turned to Sheng Yuanyao. “Find a quiet place.”

Huo Zhang hesitated to speak but ultimately said nothing, watching Lu Xingzhou leave with the demon general.

The three went directly to the city lord’s mansion and found a quiet wing room.

Lu Xingzhou poured the demon general a cup of tea and said directly, “I am not here to fight Long Qinghuang.”

The demon general was startled and remained silent.

“Based on my analysis, Long Qinghuang and Gu Zhanting haven’t truly engaged in battle yet. Long Qinghuang is besieging but not attacking, which is why we have this situation. She had you conquer the rear cities because she wants to turn the main front-line city into an isolated one, completely severing their mutual support. This not only cuts off reinforcements but also severs the connection to earth veins and formations. That’s when she’ll launch a full-scale assault on Gu Zhanting.”

The demon general finally said, “You also call Gu Zhanting by his given name?”

“So what?” Lu Xingzhou said. “I’m not finished. During this process, Long Qinghuang must know that Huo Xingyuan will lead troops to reinforce. She probably intends to fight Huo Xingyuan, who, in her mind, is the hateful minion who caused her to lose a lot of territory in the past decade.”

The demon general remained silent. Long Qinghuang’s strategy was indeed like this; besieging a point to draw out reinforcements was an easily predictable move. Presumably, Huo Xingyuan, as a veteran general, also had his own assessment, but no matter how well he assessed, he couldn’t not come, for how could he react when the emperor was besieged?

“So, the question is, how does Long Qinghuang plan to fight? She needs to suppress Gu Zhanting herself, so she definitely can’t act personally. Presumably, she will have other powerful tribes deal with Huo Xingyuan,” Lu Xingzhou said. “Tell me, if this tribe loses in this battle, and Long Qinghuang is currently in a decisive battle with Gu Zhanting, what will be the result if her defeated forces return?”

“Impossible!” the demon general blurted out. “Aside from Guiyuan City, these rear cities have all been captured by us. Connected vertically and horizontally, they have become our home ground. Huo Xingyuan will only fall into a quagmire upon arrival. In this situation, we are waiting at ease; how could we lose?”

“What if you lose?”

“That won’t matter either! Within that time, His Majesty will have enough time to take Gu Zhanting’s head!”

“You’re quite confident,” Lu Xingzhou dropped the remark, then also frowned in thought.

Given the premise that there must be a mole by Long Qinghuang’s side, there could be two scenarios for the current situation.

One scenario is that the tribe sent to intercept Huo Xingyuan is Long Qinghuang’s trusted subordinate. In this case, Huo Xingyuan’s defeat is predictable, but it would mean Long Qinghuang has fewer reliable people by her side, leaving a malevolent demon with ulterior motives who would stab her in the back during her confrontation with Gu Zhanting.

The outcome of this scenario would be heavy casualties among Huo Xingyuan’s elite capital army in exchange for Long Qinghuang’s potential severe injury.

With someone disloyal by her side, such a severe injury could be fatal.

Another scenario is that the tribe sent to intercept is the malicious demon tribe itself, which is colluding with Huo Xingyuan or, more broadly, with Gu Zhanting. In this case, they would most likely “retreat in defeat,” shaking Long Qinghuang’s morale and fighting spirit when her battle with Gu Zhanting is most intense, and also be able to launch an attack.

However, such an attack would not be sudden enough, and Long Qinghuang might be prepared. At most, it would lead to Long Qinghuang’s defeat and the “reclamation of lost territories,” with the benefit that Huo Xingyuan’s elite capital army could be preserved.

This would bolster Gu Zhanting’s reputation of “achieving a great victory against the demon race even without a national preceptor,” which should also be very important for Gu Zhanting’s mindset. The consequence is that Gu Zhanting himself would be very dangerous during the period when the colluding malicious demon leaves to stage a show with Huo Xingyuan; he might be utterly defeated by Long Qinghuang in that time.

Gu Zhanting can no longer decide which of these two scenarios to choose; he cannot determine who Long Qinghuang will send to intercept. But no matter which scenario, he benefits, and also has to bear certain consequences and risks.

However, both scenarios are based on the premise that Long Qinghuang does not know there is a mole by her side.

Once she knows, or even just suspects, things might not be as favorable as Gu Zhanting imagines. Her active offense this time should be a calculated move, and the strategic significance from beginning to end might only be to ferret out the hidden danger by her side, rather than targeting Gu Zhanting.

The game between the two sides is quite interesting, but Long Qinghuang seems to be missing one piece of information.

That is, does Long Qinghuang account for the ancient realm force that Gu Zhanting wants to form an alliance with through marriage?

Thinking of this, Lu Xingzhou decisively said, “Brother Dragon, I’ll let you go back and deliver a message to Long Qinghuang.”

The demon general was stunned. “You’re letting me go back?”

“Yes. Of course, your army will temporarily stay here.”

The demon general: “…”

“Don’t worry, your empress will only thank you, she definitely won’t blame you.”

If it were a love letter, then maybe… but the demon general couldn’t imagine that what he was being asked to deliver at this moment would be a love letter. He felt it was most likely a message to discourage her, and he’d be lucky if His Majesty didn’t chop off his head.

But circumstances were stronger than his will, and however unwilling, he could only comply. The demon general carefully put away the item, not knowing if it was a love letter or a declaration of war, and left with a bitter face.

Sheng Yuanyao personally escorted the demon general out of the city, then turned back and stared silently at Lu Xingzhou, her gaze like a badger in a melon patch.