Over the course of two days, the Thirteenth Prince and the Seventeenth Prince tried every means to change Shi Cong's tactics, but to no avail. Shi Cong insisted on a frontal attack and refused to compromise.

Thirteenth Prince was worried that if the stalemate continued, Shi Cong would become complacent, so he turned to persuade Seventeenth Prince.

Shi Cong repeatedly assured the Thirteenth and Seventeenth Princes that he would definitely wipe out the White Lotus Sect. Seeing Shi Cong's confident and determined appearance, the Seventeenth Prince had no choice but to compromise.

They decided to launch the attack and annihilation operation on the morning of the next day, and even asked the Seventeenth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince to hand over command to him. Although the Thirteenth Prince was very unwilling, he had no choice but to tell himself that Shi Cong was the son of General Shi and would never let the Fourth Prince and himself down.

The next day, early morning.

Shi Cong met with the Thirteenth and Seventeenth Masters at the dock. Shi Cong let the Thirteenth and Seventeenth Masters each command a ship, while he led the remaining five ships and seven thousand sailors to sail into the deep sea.

Looking at Shi Cong leading the charge, Seventeenth Master cursed inwardly with resentment: "Arrogant and conceited! If it weren't for General Shi, I would have brought him to justice long ago..."

Thirteenth Prince straightened his armor and said with a helpless smile, "Alright, perhaps the master has his own way of fighting. Since Fourth Brother sent him to support us, let's trust him this once... Trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust!"

Seventeenth Master glared at him and said angrily, "Thirteenth Brother certainly knows how to comfort himself. I still feel something's not right..."

Thirteenth Prince patted Seventeenth Prince's arm, comforting him, "On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes; take care!" After saying this, he boarded the ship and followed Shi Cong with his sailors. Seventeenth Prince was uneasy, shaking his head to try to dispel the ominous premonition in his mind, and shouted loudly as he led his men onto the ship and left the shore.

On the other side, at the highest sentry post on the island, the guards were the first to spot several dark spots on the distant sea. They immediately switched to binoculars and were shocked to find that they were several ships.

The guard broke out in a cold sweat. Without waiting for the report to be relayed through the ranks, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Something terrible has happened! A ship is coming at sea... Something terrible has happened! Go and inform the leader immediately!"

The alarm bells on the island rang incessantly. Zhu Wanqing, without even changing her clothes, rushed to the council hall. The hall was already full of people, each with an expression of facing a formidable enemy and ready to die. They all turned their gazes toward Zhu Wanqing's arrival.

Zhu Wanqing had a premonition, but she didn't expect the Qing army to arrive so suddenly. There was no time to analyze how the Qing army knew the location of the island or to discuss specific battle plans. Zhu Wanqing directly pointed to someone and said, "Blue-robed Hall Master, listen to my order, immediately guard all entrances to the island."

"yes!"

"Red-Clad Hall Master, listen to my command! Gather all the weapons and tools on the island that can be used to fight the enemy, for emergency use!"

"yes!"

"Yellow-robed Hall Master and Black-robed Hall Master, listen to my command! Take your men and maneuver the existing ships on the island, and do everything in your power to prevent the official ships from approaching the sea..."

"yes!"

"Green-robed Hall Master and White-robed Hall Master, listen to my command! Organize all personnel on the island to begin defense..."

"yes!"

"Purple-robed Hall Master, listen to my command: complete all the resettlement work and ensure everyone's safe evacuation..."

"yes!"

After arranging all the battle plans, Zhu Wanqing turned to the maid beside her and said, "Go and fetch my battle armor!" Upon hearing this, everyone became anxious and urged, "Master? What are you doing, Master?"

Zhu Wanqing took a deep breath and said resolutely, "Since the White Lotus Sect is in trouble, how can I, as the sect leader, live a life of cowardice? I will fight alongside you all!"

Several hall masters stepped forward to stop Zhu Wanqing, saying urgently, "Sect Leader, you are pregnant now. Even if not for yourself, you should think of the child in your womb..."

Zhu Wanqing hesitated as she looked at her stomach, her heart pounding wildly. She didn't know if the baby sensed the danger to its mother or if Zhu Wanqing was just too nervous. She felt her stomach shrink and a slight stinging pain.

The purple-robed hall master cried, "Master, rest assured! We will definitely protect the island. You should stay on the island in peace. You are the only leader of the White Lotus Sect, and the hope of all of us. You cannot be in any danger!"

Zhu Wanqing looked at everyone with emotion, and everyone nodded in agreement. Zhu Wanqing burst into tears and hugged several of the ladies-in-waiting, crying her heart out!