Pei Yan chuckled as he instructed his companions, then he stood up and stepped towards Bailang, saying solemnly: "I'm entrusting my people to you. I don't care what you think, their safety is my top priority here! I hope you'll keep your promise and provide additional manpower to ensure their security."

In warfare, there's no avoiding casualties. Your subordinates are lives, and my subordinates are not lives? Bailang was slightly displeased with Pei Yan's almost rude demand, but he had no objection and expressed his intention to do his utmost to ensure their safety. After all, while these individuals may not be as formidable as Pei Yan, they play a crucial role in the smooth progression of the campaign.

Pei Yan watched the figures of his companions grow distant as they walked away with Bailang, then reclined back on the lounge chair, allowing the maid behind him to massage his forehead, and muttered softly: "I need a good rest, do not disturb me. Wake me up when everything is ready."

"Yes, sir!" A sweet voice replied, and Pei Yan slowly closed his eyes, forcing himself into a light sleep. He must seize the opportunity to rest and recover his energy, as the most significant battle is yet to come tonight.

While Pei Yan was resting, others were not idle. Leohard, without waiting for Bailang's orders, charged into the valley upon hearing that the Red Armored Warrior had been annihilated, and led his troops to swiftly breach Walton Disaster Territory. His mission was to clear the battlefield as quickly as possible to make way for the subsequent troops to establish camp.

Meanwhile, Du Le and Kodwen, leading their forces, converged with the investigators accompanying Bailang down the mountain, each heading to their respectively predetermined positions to carry out defensive and intercept tasks.

All battle plans proceeded in a tense yet orderly manner. As time gradually passed, Leohard systematically cleared all remaining enslavers within the Wolton Valley, effortlessly conquering the Disaster Territory, and ordered his men to clean up the corpses, establish camp, and await reinforcements. The recently war-torn battlefield plunged into a temporary silence, with only the occasional clashing of armor and sporadic shouting from officers audible amidst the pungent stench drifting through the air.

The acrid smell wrinkled Pei Yan's nose as he turned over and continued to sleep. Samikina, just arriving at the scene, stopped a maid from attempting to wake Pei Yan, taking out two censers from the Storage Necklace and instructing the maid to light them and place them beside Pei Yan, then wandered to the mountainside with his attendants, observing the craters left by the bombardment on the nearby battlefield and musing softly: "Did he do all these?"

Having concluded his tasks, Bailang accepted the handkerchief handed over by an Attendant to wipe the sweat from his forehead and responded: "Yes, although assisted by his subordinates, the majority of the attacks delivering fatal damage to the enemy were inflicted by him."

Upon hearing this, Samikina turned to gaze at Pei Yan, now snoring on the lounge chair, and remarked: "They truly are a bunch of enigmatic individuals. The power residing within him is extraordinarily mysterious. What astonishes me the most is how the abilities he exhibits do not match the energy contained within him. I can hardly imagine how someone whose magic power is at best that of a mid-rank top-tier Demon Race could consistently exert attacks that can only be unleashed by a high-rank one."

"Sir, there are always a handful of prodigies appearing in the world. Wasn't your brother also exceedingly remarkable back then? It's unfortunate that many talented young demons perished in this war before they could reach maturity. I haven't seen such a commendable youth like him for ages. If he were truly one of our Demon Race offspring, wouldn't that be wonderful!" Bailang glanced along with Samikina, concluding with a sorrowful feeling rising in his heart.

Upon hearing Bailang's words, Samikina suddenly recalled a rumor regarding Demon God within the Holy City, squinted and muttered aloud: "No, we Demons also have such successors. I roughly speculate what this child's true origin might be."

"What?" Bailang's eyes lit up upon hearing this and was about to inquire more, but was interrupted by a sudden string of explosions from afar, causing him to turn his gaze towards the night sky where plumes of black smoke rose skyward.

"Where! Where! Where's the cannon fire!" Pei Yan, hearing the artillery sound, jumped up from the lounge chair, knocking over the censers and looked around in confusion. After shaking his still foggy head and querying Suzi within, he angrily remarked: "It's not yet time for the full assault, who initiated the attack?"

"Calm down, I'll send someone to inquire immediately!" Just as Samikina approached, attempting to call for a messenger to investigate, Pei Yan waved him off, having just received a message from Xia and solemnly stated: "The battle at the juncture between Snow Peak Territory and Berniehu has erupted! The enemy's response was faster than anticipated, with the first wave of reinforcements already dispatched."

Talking while Pei Yan was rubbing his neck and pacing in place, Bern Lake Disaster Territory had completely discarded the previous slow advance strategy of activating the Disaster Pillar amid the expansion of Red Disaster. Upon learning of the total annihilation of Walton Valley's Disaster Legion, Bern Lake garrison decisively mobilized its troops to merge with the garrison at Snow Peak Territory. Just then, it was the advance scouting Magma Insects that triggered the first pre-laid defense line at the juncture, causing the explosion.

"Xia, how's the construction of the defense line over there? The initial perimeter defense line is completed, and the second and third defense lines are under construction? How much longer do they need! Hmm, hmm! What? Alright, I understand!" After concluding the call with Xia, Pei Yan approached Samikina and inquired: "Has the main force arrived?"

"Not yet, the rearguard led by Sifuer is still on the way. Currently, together with Leohard's troops, I've brought a total of seventy thousand people. But you must understand it's going to take half an hour for the entire army to pass through and deploy from this narrow valley entrance," Samikina said while raising the horsewhip, pointing towards the congested entrance below due to the influx of troops.

"Have your troops take over the Walton Disaster Territory's setup, and send Leohard to the frontline! Order Du Le to rush to Kodwen's direction for assistance. To welcome reinforcements from Bern Lake, Snow Peak Territory also dispatched a team. Kodwen's defense line is not yet fully constructed; being attacked from both sides will inevitably result in damages. We must secure time before the arrival of Bern Lake's Red Armor Knight Corps to eliminate concerns for our upcoming full-scale assault!" Pei Yan urged swiftly.

"Can't you use the spell you just unleashed to attack Bern Lake's forces? When this defense line was established, Kodwen was just a sacrificial pawn. Is it not against our conditions to expend manpower for a throwaway pawn now?" One sanctuary master standing nearby listened to his subordinates within Du Le's army and couldn't help but murmur at the mention of deploying to shield a group of old soldiers.