On the throne, Oli the Third questioned sternly, "What nonsense are you spouting, Baili, my daughter? Since when has your father been foolish?"

Baili replied, "The invaders from the Center had circled around Poplar Valley, sated their horses’ thirst at White Horse River, and had been surrounding our White Horse City for three days and nights. Now, the outer walls have fallen, the inner walls have been destroyed, and some of their men are inside the palace already. But even after everything that has happened, you are still wallowing in wine and women without a care for the world. Do you really care so little for the hundreds and thousands of lives residing in White Horse City?"

"What?"

Oli the Third abruptly rose to his feet in anger. "Heaven’s murder, how did the invaders get in this quickly? Deputy General Dioro, why haven’t you spoken to me about this? And why did Baili’s Redstone Legion fail to stop the enemy?"

A general with a lean figure immediately dropped to one knee and said, "My king, I… I had underestimated the invaders’ strength. I wasn’t expecting them to defeat our defenders as quickly as they did,...