Bailuo, a general of the Abyss Demon race, looked both puzzled and anxious. "My Lord, the opportunity is fleeting! Those Light Cruisers are swift; once they slip past our ambush perimeter, we lose the initiative. Moreover, if they successfully reinforce King Chixing, Commander Lei’s hard-won chance to annihilate the enemy will be completely wasted."

"That is precisely why I want them to reinforce King Chixing," Udis, the Lord of the Abyss, revealed a sinister smile. "That Commander Lei is no simple figure; his subordinate commanders are numerous and formidable."

"With his strength, he can not only successfully annihilate the ambushed King Chixing and King Liuyue, but he can also help us draw away the reinforcements coming from King Shengyao’s flank. We should let the capable shoulder more of the burden; why wouldn't we?"

Bailuo paused, thought for a moment, and then grasped Udis’s plan, chuckling as he offered flattery. "My Lord is brilliant. This way, that ambitious Lei Dong, even if he ultimately wins, will secure a Pyrrhic victory, leaving him nothing but meat on Your Lordship's chopping block, ready to be sliced as you please."

"Hmph, never underestimate this man surnamed Lei; he is extremely cunning. I guarantee he still holds back some power we haven't seen yet," Udis sneered wickedly. "To scheme against Udis? Not so easily done. Even if this brat survives this endeavor, he’ll lose a layer of skin. Heh, I'm teaching him a lesson; my Chaos Crystals are not something that can be taken or consumed so easily. It will probably take three or four days for those reinforcing cruisers to arrive. We should only give Lei a hint during the last half-day, lest the brat surnamed Lei gets obliterated outright—then it won't be 'worth it.' Furthermore, by then, he will be locked in the fiercest part of his battle with King Chixing and King Liuyue, making retreat extremely difficult."

Bailuo immediately launched into more praise. After a while, he asked, "Then, my Lord, when do we launch the general offensive against the Winged God race army? Those tens of thousands of cruisers that just left were the absolute weakest point of King Shengyao’s forces."

"No rush. Let's wait another three or four days, until the fighting over there heats up. We don't want that reinforcement army receiving news that their home base is under attack and immediately turning back to defend," Udis calculated with deep foresight.

Little did Udis know that Lei Dong and King Chixing, whom he believed to be engaged in a life-and-death struggle, were currently drinking and chatting amicably in a secret chamber within Chixing Main City.

"Commander Lei, originally, I thought that while King Chixing might not be the absolute strongest among the young generation in the world, I was at least ranked in the top three," King Chixing remarked, sipping the potent liquor Lei Dong had brought, a deep emotion stirring within him. "To think that Commander Lei, at such a young age—barely a few hundred years old—has already built such a formidable foundation, enough to contend with more than half the Bright Holy Domain. I am impressed, profoundly impressed."

As King Ciaojue had noted, King Chixing, despite his pride, was fundamentally a kind-hearted and sincere man. After King Ciaojue mediated and introduced them, coupled with Lei Dong’s subtle efforts, the two men quickly became bosom friends, lamenting that they hadn't met sooner.

"I, Lei, never expected to find a hero like King Chixing within the Bright Holy Domain. It has greatly changed my view of the Winged God race. I initially believed the Winged Gods were nothing but hypocritical wretches," Lei Dong laughed, draining his cup in one gulp.

"Lei Dong, what did you just say?" King Ciaojue, seated beside them, cast him a sidelong glance that held a hint of amusement.

"Heh heh, and King Ciaojue, your reputation is known throughout the realm—a true heroine," Lei Dong muttered, feeling a pang of guilt under her glare. He recalled the last time he had delivered an impassioned speech to her, only to be brutally put in his place under the guise of a sparring session. Even with his considerable strength and the support of Zhengyao, his Divine Transformation Puppet, Lei Dong had to admit that King Ciaojue was an exceptionally formidable and troublesome character. Especially her innate spiritual treasure, the Sword of Judgment, forged through soul refining—it was one of the Winged God race's ancient divine weapons, immensely powerful. Of course, given Lei Dong's individual strength and survivability, it would still be extremely difficult for King Ciaojue to kill him if she were truly determined.

In short, against a powerhouse like King Ciaojue, Lei Dong would only gain an advantage if he deployed the Netherworld Ghost Emperor or the Purgatory Demon King; otherwise, no one could expect to come out ahead against her. It was no wonder that King Shengyao, after capturing her, had tried every patience-testing, soft-spoken method to coerce her surrender rather than using brute force.

Unfortunately, in a massive battle of this scale, individual prowess is significantly limited. Facing Lei Dong's absolute dominance, no matter how strong King Ciaojue was individually, she couldn't reverse the tide single-handedly. Under these circumstances, she made a choice aligned with her principles: abandoning the lineage of King Shengyao, allying with Lei Dong, and striving instead to preserve the overall strength of the Winged God race.

After they chatted idly for some time, King Chixing received a report from a trusted subordinate: a message had just arrived from King Shengyao’s faction, stating that the Bright King, Ajiana, was leading a large army to rescue them, urging King Chixing to hold out until the reinforcements arrived...

Upon hearing this news, Lei Dong burst out laughing. "Bright King Ajiana, heh heh, a rather proud little girl."

"Lei Dong, what wicked scheme are you concocting now?" King Ciaojue glanced at him coolly, her smile turning sharp.

"How dare I, I was just thinking how pitiful it is for this girl. Her father was afflicted with the Heart-Seizing Demon by King Shengyao, and she, still ignorant, is fighting desperately for King Shengyao. Poor child, what will happen if she ever learns the truth?" Lei Dong narrowed his eyes, chuckling softly.

"Lei Dong, are you certain you want to do that? Won't it be too cruel to her?" King Ciaojue seemed to hold a very favorable impression of Ajiana as well and was reluctant to see her suffer too much harm.

"Cruel? The cruel one isn't us, it's her own uncle, King Shengyao," Lei Dong sneered repeatedly. "King Shengyao keeping Ajiana by his side—who knows what evil thoughts he harbors?"

"Commander Lei, I do not advise revealing this matter to Ajiana," King Chixing said solemnly while taking another drink. "Old dog Shengyao has mastered his tactics; he has charmed Ajiana into viewing him as her closest confidant. Under his influence, Ajiana has grown to dislike even her own father, King Guanghui. If we confront her with the truth, Ajiana will certainly not trust us. Even if, hypothetically, she did believe us, she would undoubtedly try to test that old dog Shengyao in secret. And how cunning is Old Dog Shengyao? The moment Ajiana shows the slightest flaw, we will be utterly annihilated."

"Fine, then we'll do as you say. Many truths are better revealed by oneself than by an outsider, who might only invite resentment," Lei Dong considered it and agreed, realizing the logic was sound. "Only she can solve this mystery herself."

"Alas, I only hope the child doesn't suffer too much psychological trauma," King Ciaojue sighed deeply, her dislike for King Shengyao deepening. That bastard had gone too far in his actions.

"Setbacks lead to growth," Lei Dong said cheerfully, raising his cup. "I believe Ajiana will eventually become one of the pillars of the Winged God race. Though the child is a bit too proud, her talent is undeniable."

"Child? She is much older than you," King Ciaojue gave him a look of distinct disapproval.

"Heh heh, we humans mature earlier," Lei Dong shrugged dismissively. "I was fighting in harsh environments since I was in my teens. When you Winged Folk are in your teens, aren't you still drinking milk?"

A glance was exchanged between King Chixing and King Ciaojue, both finding themselves unable to refute Lei Dong’s statement. The Winged Folk matured slowly; while those in their teens weren't strictly still nursing, they were essentially still naive youngsters.

Boom— A multitude of hideous, grey-black Abyss Cruisers clashed with the outwardly sacred and magnificent Light Cruisers. In terms of forging, array formations, and research capabilities, the fragmented Abyss Domain was clearly no match for the Winged God race. The overall performance metrics of the Abyss Cruisers were inconsistent and far inferior to the Light Cruisers.

However, the Abyss race had its own means of survival. Those Abyss Cruisers often carried extremely dangerous and vile tactics, such as mixing large quantities of corrosive toxins into their artillery fire. This could easily tarnish the hard light shields of the Light Cruisers and seep through to corrode the ship's hull.

As a result, those powerful and beautiful Light Cruisers quickly turned a ghastly green, pitted and scarred by corrosion, resembling mangy dogs covered in sores.

This battle, initiated under the pretense of King Chixing requesting aid to ambush King Liuyue, immediately escalated into a white-hot confrontation from the very start. Lei Dong’s elite (Hidden Dragon Army) directed the leaders of the various Abyss races and factions from the rear, forcing them to launch relentless, tidal waves of attacks upon King Liuyue’s Sky Cities using the strength they commanded.

The Abyss races were numerous and chaotic, encompassing all shapes and sizes of intelligent life (Book House).

This coalition of native Abyss forces, nominally commanded by Lei Dong, served as the perfect cannon fodder. Given Lei Dong's personality, he certainly made full use of them. Two months prior, upon arriving and taking command of this native army, Lei Dong had deployed several Divine Transformation-level entities, backed by a personal letter of appointment from the Lord of the Abyss Udis, to subdue all the disparate racial leaders and organization heads.

Through a mixture of command and coercion, this motley army became excellent expendable troops. The various leaders, whose lives were literally in Lei Dong’s hands, had no choice but to urge their subordinates to launch fierce assaults against the powerful King Liuyue’s forces.

Even though it was an ambush, and even though their total numbers far exceeded King Liuyue's, the battle was still intensely brutal. On average, at least seven or eight natives had to perish to account for the fall of a single Winged Man.