Upon seeing this, the five leaders' faces darkened further, indicating that the situation was far more serious than they had imagined.
Aya's chest rose and fell slightly as she took a deep breath and directly stated her earth-shattering decision:
"We need to attack the central army, and then withdraw to the southern border."
"What? Holy Maiden, you must be joking!" Another hot-tempered leader stood up abruptly, his voice booming like thunder.
Ayado makes no roundabout introductions or preambles, stating the harsh reality directly:
"The Sixth Princess of Da Gan, along with two second-rank Tianyan Sect sorcerers, launched a surprise attack on the Protectorate Prefecture government office."
They rescued the Second Prince, Qin Jingheng, and then slaughtered everyone in the mansion where the four great families were gathered.
Her gaze swept over the five shocked faces, and she spoke slowly and deliberately.
"The two remaining second-rank guardians of the aristocratic family have both died at their hands, without any power to resist."
"What?!"
A collective gasp filled the tent, and the five leaders' expressions changed drastically, filled with shock and anger.
"They possess irresistible power. If we don't agree to their conditions for a full-scale attack..."
Ayado repeated Qin Zhaoyue's chilling threat of "slaughtering the entire southern border, leaving no one alive" verbatim.
The tent erupted in chaos!
A leader roared and slammed his fist on the table, which cracked instantly.
Some people paced back and forth anxiously, like trapped beasts;
The roars and doubts nearly lifted the tent roof off.
“We warriors of the Southern Frontier are never threatened. If she wants to fight, then let us fight!”
Even if it means death, I'll tear off a piece of her flesh!
"Yantuo, what are you yelling about! Your warriors are brave and fierce, but does that mean the people from other small villages should just die in vain?"
Didn't you hear me? Second-grade realm! Two second-grade realm cultivators have been killed, what do we have left to fight with?
"Yanla, I think you're a coward. You've been scared out of your wits by Da Gan!"
"What did you say? You want to fight?!"
"You think I'm afraid of you!"
Amidst the chaos and clamor, only Yan Meng maintained a depressing silence.
He is the most powerful of the five leaders, and among the eight thousand warriors from the southern border, his Black Stone tribe alone has produced eight hundred elites.
His deep gaze swept past the arguing crowd and locked firmly on Ayado's face.
"So, you've come here now only because you're threatened with death?"
“No,” Ayado met his gaze and shook her head, “we made a deal.”
The two talked as if no one else was around, as if the fierce argument around them was just insignificant background noise.
Gradually, the other four leaders also stopped arguing and focused their gazes on them with complicated expressions.
Ayaduo revealed all the promises Qin Zhaoyue had made.
The conditions included opening up trade markets, establishing checkpoints, allowing people from southern Xinjiang to relocate to designated prefectures and counties, establishing official examinations, and allowing people from southern Xinjiang to take examinations to become officials and govern their homeland.
This is naturally incomparable to the allure of direct land grants, official appointments, and shared power promised by the four great families.
All they received at that moment was a verbal promise from the princess, without any guarantee whatsoever.
What does she need us to do?
After listening, Yan Meng remained silent for a moment before asking the most crucial question.
The tent fell silent instantly, all eyes fixed on Ayado, awaiting her answer.
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