Like Yan Kingdom, the Frozen Plains was also in a state where the national machinery could continue to operate even if the emperor died.
With Ivan XVI being killed by Fang Yuan, the entire Frozen Plains was immersed in a national mourning atmosphere, while preparations for a grand imperial funeral were being made.
Under the support of Belobor, twelve-year-old Ivan XVII was selected as the new emperor of the Frozen Plains and would be crowned on an auspicious day.
At night in Yese Fortress, in a certain palace.
Belobor was sitting cross-legged on a large bed, his eyes tightly shut, and his brow furrowed, practicing to adjust his body's energy.
After forcibly opening the [Eternal Frozen Abyss], he was still in a weakened state, and he couldn't let anyone else notice, as it could lead to another invasion.
Since his duke's mansion was destroyed, Belobor had moved his office to the royal palace.
In reality, he had long become the true ruler of the Frozen Plains, and if he were not uninterested in the empty title, he would have already deposed the emperor and claimed the throne himself.
At that moment, Xiya and Zhuangyang Hou arrived at the palace gates. Both lowered their heads respectfully, and Xiya spoke:
"Lord, the intelligence about the invader has arrived. Would you like to review it now?"
"Naturally." Belobor replied calmly.
The two carefully entered the palace, and Xiya presented the intelligence.
Belobor took the intelligence, flipped it open, and quickly revealed a cold smile: "Half a year to break through Yan Kingdom? A fool at the start, and an empire at the end?"
"Which spy from Ke Bogge brought this absurd report? How could it be so ridiculous!"
"To try and deceive me with such intelligence is seeking death!"
However, the next second, his expression suddenly changed, his eyes widened, and he stared intensely at a portrait mixed in with the intelligence, his face filled with surprise and excitement: "A pleasant surprise, truly a pleasant surprise!"
Even though Belobor had a deep mind, he couldn't help but laugh aloud:
"Haha, Xiya, do you know? This invader is actually the emperor of Daxia!"
Upon hearing this, both Xiya and Zhuangyang Hou were stunned!
"The emperor of Daxia?" Xiya immediately asked, "Isn't he preparing for his coronation ceremony?"
"It seems it was just a smokescreen. This emperor of Daxia is very calculating... He made a huge show of holding the Taishan Fengshan ceremony, but in reality, it was all to catch us off guard!"
Belobor sneered: "Unfortunately, though he has great ambitions, he overestimated his own strength. He broke into Yese Fortress and was killed by me."
"In this way, it saved me quite a bit of effort!"
Upon learning the identity of the invader, Belobor's mood clearly improved. The Frozen Plains had long coveted the vast lands of Yan Kingdom but had never succeeded.
First, they sent people to fight with the Federal Masters and worked with Southeast small countries like Sang and Baiji, resulting in the deaths of Yeliena and two others. Then, they sent Namo to infiltrate Yan Kingdom's capital, but he also died.
These consecutive failures had caused Belobor to slow down his invasion, but who would have thought that the emperor of the other side would deliver himself to the door!
Although the first half of the intelligence was absurd, the portrait of this young man couldn't be wrong!
"That's truly a blessing for the Frozen Plains. Who would have thought that this internal threat would be eliminated like this!" Xiya also said excitedly.
"Yes, congratulations to our king…" Zhuangyang Hou also forced a smile, but behind that smile, the shock in his heart was like a surging tide, almost drowning him.
That young man was actually the new emperor of the Xia Kingdom, meaning... he was the emperor!
No wonder when he broke into Yese Fortress, he first killed Ivan XVI and then prepared to kill Xiya, but didn't touch him!
Looking at it this way, it seems the emperor had shown mercy!
The emperor was foolish. Why did he go in alone? He had been stable for thousands of years, but at this critical moment, he made such a mistake.
If the emperor had revealed his identity from the start, he would have immediately defected and spared no effort to assist the emperor.
Why must he make such a mystery of it, using that illusion technique to control him as well?
Now, everything was for nothing.
Thinking about this, Zhuangyang Hou felt his life had lost all direction and purpose. However, despite his inner turmoil, he still maintained an appearance of calmness.
As a spy, he was a professional, but now that the emperor was dead, he had to consider whether he should truly switch sides.
"Lord Black God, what should we do next?" Xiya stepped forward and asked, "Should we immediately launch a large-scale attack on Yan Kingdom?"
"No." Belobor shook his head, "Now that our emperor has just passed away, and we've lost a grandmaster, it's not suitable to go to war immediately."
"Send orders down to spread the news of the death of the Xia Kingdom's emperor at my hands across the entire Eastern Continent!"
"I want other countries to see what the consequences are for opposing the Frozen Plains!"
"Yes." Xiya immediately took the order.
...
As Frozen Plains proactively revealed this message, the high-level officials of the Xia Kingdom quickly received the intelligence that Fang Yuan had ventured into Frozen Plains alone and was killed by Black God Belobor.
At first, Jiang Tao and the other generals sneered, thinking that their emperor was busy preparing for the grand pilgrimage. How could he possibly be killed abroad?
But soon after, they realized that the emperor, who had been sitting in the imperial sedan, suddenly disappeared.
At the same time, Chong Wu Hou, who had been Fang Yuan's close guard, stepped forward and announced the temporary suspension of the Taishan Fengshan ceremony.
After Chong Wu Hou, having received a new body from Fang Yuan, joined the pilgrimage team, he was seen as the emperor's right-hand man. Upon hearing his announcement, the generals began to feel uneasy.
Because the current situation indeed seemed to match the rumors from Frozen Plains:
The emperor of Xia Kingdom was just a puppet, and the true emperor had already been killed in the Frozen Plains!