Socially anxious people transmigrate to another world; living in seclusion is too difficult.

After the royal envoy finished speaking, Harold seemed to realize something and swallowed back the words he was about to say, remaining silent. The royal envoy did not wait for a reply and immediately turned and left the deliberation court after conveying Vera's words.

After the royal envoy left, Marsh stepped forward and said, "Chief Councilor, the little girl is still young and doesn't know how to speak properly. Please don't take it to heart."

Harold smiled bitterly, waved his hand, and said, "How could an old man like me argue with a little girl like her? Hehehe, but this time, I'm afraid we really will have no place in her heart. Oh well, after we get through this crisis, we old guys should just hand the Demon Kingdom back to her."

After hearing Harold's words, the remaining people looked at each other in bewilderment. Ana wanted to say something, but Xu Benran pulled him back, signaling him not to say anything more, so Ana stopped.

Harold stood by the table for a long time before speaking again: "You all heard what I just said. Now let's decide which nobles to draw troops from, and from which ranks of nobles to start?"

Marsh suggested, "Why don't we start by drawing troops from the marquis level? This would maintain a balance between the royal family and the nobility, and also help us deal with any crisis."

Anna objected, saying, "With the troops of the marquises, can they save the situation? Don't forget we still have the southern front. Now that the eastern front has failed, the southern front will probably be breached soon as well. I think we should start with the earls."

The two then began to argue. Harold looked at Xu Benran, who had been silent, and asked slowly, "Old Xu, what do you think?"

When called upon to answer, Xu Benran knew he couldn't avoid it, so he sighed helplessly and slowly said, "Neither Marsh nor Ana's suggestions hit the nail on the head."

"Why?" Marsh and Ana asked in unison, puzzled.

"The Demon Kingdom is in danger of destruction, and the royal family is facing a generational change. Although the Demon King is a young girl, her ambition and wisdom are no less than any previous Demon King. I'm afraid that this time, the nobility will completely disappear from the Demon Kingdom. Why don't we go with the flow and still gain a good reputation after stepping down? I propose that we start by drawing from the lowest-ranking baron."

After hearing Xu Benran's suggestion, Marsh and Ana were dumbfounded. They turned to look at Harold, who suddenly nodded. Ana couldn't sit still: "Wh...what, Chief Councilor, do we really have to go this far?"

Harold stared at Ana with a grave expression, and retorted in an unusually cold tone, "What? Shouldn't we take responsibility for the defeat? Do you really want to betray the late king's trust?!"

Hearing this, Ana fell silent. Harold, seeing that he was not speaking, continued, "Let's do as Xu Benran suggested. Issue the order to the Extermination Bureau now, and complete the mobilization within seven days. Anyone who disobeys the order, regardless of rank, will be punished as a traitor!"

The order was quickly sent to the Extinction Palace. Palace Chief Lei Cixin, having just received the royal envoy's message, understood immediately: "It seems the system established by the late king is ultimately unsuitable for the current Demon Kingdom." She summoned Yuan Long and Gillie, circulated the deliberation court's order to them, and said:

"The deliberation court's order has been issued. Yuan Long, you should immediately lead the Extermination Officers to carry out the order. Gillette, you should also lead the Demon Administration Officers to take immediate action and monitor all nobles. Remember, if you find any unusual activity, report it directly to the Demon King. Do not come to me to report anymore."

Yuan Long's instructions were easy to understand; he only needed to carry them out by force. Gillette, however, was puzzled by his own instructions: "Chief, am I supposed to bypass you and the Council of Deliberation and report the intelligence directly to the Demon King...?"

"Are you trying to say it's not suitable?" Lei Cixin smiled and said, "There's nothing unsuitable about it. As long as you get through this ordeal, the two of you will be the Demon King's right and left arms. The task that the late King gave me is over, but your task has just begun."

While the other countries were bewildered upon receiving the notification from the Heavenly Fortune Empire, they became restless upon hearing the news of the Demon Kingdom's defeat. As a result, the main forces of each country were on their way to converge. However, news of the Black Tide's retreat reached the other countries, which stirred up the already divided nations.

At this moment, inside the royal palace of the Kingdom of Delin, Huangfu Yan looked at the Prime Minister Shangguan Wang and the Minister of War Nie Congwu and asked in confusion, "Have you found out that the force that dispersed the erosion really came from the imperial palace of the Tianyun Empire?"

"Your Majesty, we have dispatched a large number of spies. Although the officials of the Tianyun Empire have not explicitly stated it, investigations by the common people have revealed that the force does indeed originate from the Tianyun Empire's imperial palace," Nie Congwu replied.

"Hiss..." Upon hearing this, Huangfu Yan felt a deep sense of dread: "So, Chu Jingwu actually has such a powerful trump card. What exactly is it?"

"It's unclear at the moment. Our people are investigating along the residual elemental reactions, but they can only sense something around the palace. I suspect that the power may not be coming from the palace, but from underground."

"Underground? What do you mean?"

“Outside, we sensed residual elements underground. We then tried to dig down, but the reaction didn’t disappear even after digging several meters. Given the tight security around the palace, we didn’t dare to dig any deeper, but we can be certain that the power must have come from underground.”

"Minister Nie, is it possible that the source of that power is an elemental magic array?" Shangguan Wang also asked.

Nie Congwu shook his head: "It's not clear yet, but it's possible. However, activating such a magic array would definitely consume a large amount of crystals. It is said that there were no signs of crystals being transported inside or outside the palace during those days."

"What's the deal with the black tide in the Lingluo Great Forest?" Huangfu Yan asked, changing the subject.

"This... has not yet been investigated. Creatures are not allowed to enter the eroded areas of the Spiritfall Great Forest. Anyone who ventures in will die within seconds. Therefore, the cause has not yet been determined."

Huangfu Yan wanted to lash out, but then he realized that neither of the two matters could be investigated so easily, so he said, "Continue the investigation, and at the same time order the front-line troops to immediately slow down the offensive if any problems are found. We cannot allow the Demon Kingdom to fall into the hands of the Heavenly Fortune Empire and the Holy Beast Kingdom. If necessary, we must also protect the Demon Kingdom."

Emperor Eric of the Slivia Empire was far less concerned about state affairs than Huangfu Yan and Chu Jingwu. Although he had also received the news, only ministers such as Hayden, Hunter, and Jacob were anxious. Eric was not interested in their discussion at all, and even almost fell asleep on his throne.

Only after the ministers had come up with a plan and reported it to him did he wave his hand dismissively, saying, "Do as you say." Then he left the hall and disappeared. Jacob and the others were utterly helpless in the face of their emperor's attitude. It seemed that nothing in the world could attract his attention except for his own brother.

His elder brother, Emperor Dakrons of the Holy Beast Kingdom, was in a similar situation to Eric. Although he knew about the changes in the Heavenly Fortune Empire, he did not take it to heart. Although he longed to fight against the strong, only the war with the Demon Kingdom could attract his attention at the moment. Therefore, he only gave a rather interested "Oh" when the regent Lati reported the information, and then there was no further news.

The current situation is quite clear: the Demon Kingdom is facing a power reorganization, completely abolishing the nobility on one hand and actively preparing for war on the other. The Heavenly Fortune Empire is only interested in recovering lost territory and seeking revenge. The Holy Beast Kingdom only wants the bloodiest and most frenzied battle to crush the Demon Kingdom's army on the southern front. The other three kingdoms each have their own ulterior motives and their own plans. The Second Human-Demon War is also coming to an end.