Zhang Nu's prophecy was undoubtedly crucial. Han Kexin fully understood the arrival time and composition of the latest wave of Heroes and the demon slayer army. Armed with this valuable intelligence, she could begin making preparations well in advance.
The Chaos Forest was now united and solidified. With ample resources, the recruitment and training process had progressed remarkably. Currently, the Abyssal Dragon Legion boasted a total strength of around eight thousand true dragons, with eight hundred Dragon Elders, fifty Level 5 Dragon Kings, and twenty Level 6 Dragon Kings.
Additionally, the Gloom City's Demon Overlord Legion had grown to nearly two thousand, including twenty Level 5 Demon Monarchs and eight Level 6 Demon Monarchs. Within the Gloom City, two demons of high status next to Han Kexin, Han Dongxue and Han Qiuyue, had also been elevated to mythic-class great demons with the help of mythic crystals.
Coupled with the Chaos Forest's top-tier fighters, led by Nancilia, the assembled force was formidable. Even among the most powerful empire-level forces, few could rival such a lineup. It was a force to be reckoned with, one that could even be described as terrifying.
Even so, Han Kexin dared not be careless. From Zhang Nu's shared vision, she saw the formidable strength of the enemy. Several top ten-ranked Heroes formed a luxurious lineup that was no less powerful than the coalition of strong fighters in the Chaos Forest. Most importantly, the enemy possessed a divine artifact. Given this situation, without Zhang Nu personally stepping in, Han Kexin wasn't confident in facing them head-on. Therefore, she needed to take some targeted measures to resist this highly perilous challenge.
In addition to fortifying the main camp, further enhancing defensive facilities, and increasing the size of elite troops, it was also necessary to finalize the consolidation of the Thunder Empire. Although Darkness City had effectively conquered the empire, the vastness of its territory meant that some local areas still had rebellious factions declaring independence or insurgents establishing their own control. As a result, there had been no notification of complete occupation.
According to Zhang Nu's prediction, the empire and the federation had at least five days to sort this mess out. Over the past days, Empress Ophelia and the federation's elite fighters had already wiped out a significant portion of the rebels. Five days, though very short, should be sufficient if utilized well. Han Kexin believed it was enough time to prepare adequately.
Han Kexin used the teleportation tower to travel to the Thunder Imperial Capital and meet with Empress Ophelia, informing her about the impending threat the Federation was facing.
"The Radiant Church is preparing to attack Darkness City?" Ophelia had recently fought alongside Han Kexin against the Radiant Church's Pope, Saint Delores. The Church preparing to attack the Demon King wasn't surprising, but Ophelia hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
Han Kexin, with a serious expression, said, "The current Pope, Delores, is too young to be a real threat, but the former Pope will be personally leading the assault. The Church will be putting all its resources into this attack and will even utilize their ultimate artifact. In such a situation, only the city lord can stand against them."
After a pause, she continued, "However, the city lord is undergoing a critical breakthrough and will be in seclusion for at least seven days. Our task is to hold off all external threats until he emerges."
"This time, the Church will directly attack Darkness City, so I need to draw on the Empire's forces for reinforcement. But to do that, we must first stabilize the internal situation within the Empire. How is the suppression of the rebels going?"
Ophelia promptly responded, "Most rebels are not a significant concern, but there is a particularly stubborn rebel force in the western territory. According to the intelligence and evidence I've gathered, the Sunset Empire is involved."
After understanding the situation, Han Kexin grasped the overall picture. The Thunder Empire was divided into five major regions: the imperial district and the four duchies. After Ophelia successfully ascended to the throne, the imperial core region, the northern territory, and the southern territory were the first to be pacified.
The imperial district was directly governed by the capital, the northern territory was Ophelia's ducal fiefdom, and the southern territory had long been under Darkness City's control. Therefore, more than 80% of the rebels were concentrated in the eastern and western territories. In the eastern territory, rebel forces had been almost entirely wiped out by the combined efforts of the empire and the Chaos Forest.
Only the Western Territory continued to see waves of rebellion, seemingly endless like wildfire. Ophelia discovered that the reason the Western Territory rebels were so difficult to eradicate was likely due to external forces infiltrating the region. Part of the western territory borders the Sunset Empire, which definitely did not want the Thunder Empire to restore order, especially not when it had fully allied with the Demon King's forces.
As a result, the Sunset Empire was likely providing significant support to western territory marquises, counts, and other feudal lords, as well as organizations like mage towers and mercenary groups. This made it impossible to completely extinguish the rebellion.
Han Kexin frowned, feeling very frustrated. If it weren't for the setbacks in the western territory, Darkness City would have already completed its total conquest of the empire.
Ophelia quickly said, "I've already mobilized the empire's intelligence agencies. I believe it won't take long to locate the masterminds behind this."
"There's no time! I'll head there personally!" Han Kexin made a decisive choice.
The empire had teleportation stations in the main cities of the four duchies. Han Kexin issued her orders, and within an hour, Han Qiuyue and Han Dongxue, two mythic-class demons, arrived along with eight high-level Demon Monarchs from the succubus race and over a thousand Level 5 greater demons.
Han Kexin led this demonic force to teleport to the main city of the western territory. Using the draconian priest's teleportation barrier, she quickly deployed her subordinates. When it came to gathering intelligence, succubi, with their abilities in manipulation, mind reading, bewitching, and charming, were absolutely effective. In reality, it wasn't that difficult to investigate. The Sunset Empire was simply supporting local old nobility, using their resources and influence to incite trouble.
With this in mind, they just needed to capture more nobles and use psychic techniques to forcibly extract information from their minds. After compiling various pieces of intelligence, Han Kexin quickly uncovered the masterminds' plans, identities, and locations.
Han Qiuyue immediately came to report after organizing the information.
"Vice City Lord, we've uncovered the truth! The mastermind is indeed the Sunset Empire. To create chaos in the Thunder Empire and prevent Darkness City from controlling it, the crown prince of the Sunset Empire has personally come to the western territory and has been secretly persuading and mobilizing forces."
Han Qiuyue continued, "All the recent events were orchestrated by this crown prince and the Sunset Empire. If it weren't for their interference, the western territory would have been pacified long ago."
With the intelligence in hand, Han Kexin breathed a sigh of relief. She sneered, "Good, very good. So it is the Sunset Empire. Now that we know, resolving this issue won't be difficult."