A few days later, Marcia and the others arrived at the Magic Phoenix Empire's capital city. Bryant and
Lance, who had already gathered fifty thousand troops, had been waiting for her in the city.
Felicia was delighted to see Marcia. Her request for help had been a shot in the dark as she hadn't
expected Marcia to come.
"Master." Erica's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Felicia.
"How have you been?" Felicia's eyes glimmered as she asked.
Erica nodded to convey that she was all right.
"Preceptor Felicia, I have something to ask Her Majesty," Marcia faced Felicia as she spoke.
With a subtle nod, Felicia led Marcia and Bryant to meet the Magic Phoenix Empire's queen.
"We are very grateful that General Marcia and the other two Generals have decided to help us again in
our time of need." The queen fixed her gaze on Marcia. Despite her honeyed tone, she felt a pity that
she couldn't have such an outstanding woman work for her empire.
"Your Majesty, please don't thank me just yet. I have some conditions that I'd like to put forward,"
Marcia said calmly. She placed her hands behind her and stared at the queen expectantly.
"Conditions?" The queen was initially stunned, but then she added, "Well, that's how it normally is.
Favors typically come at a cost. So, what do you want in exchange for your cooperation with our Magic
Phoenix Empire?"
"We request that the Magic Phoenix Empire frees itself from the control of the Phoenix Master Clan and
merges with our United Army," Marcia's tone and expression were solemn as she spoke to the queen.
The queen and Felicia were so surprised that they exchanged astonished glances. They didn't expect
Marcia to propose such an unexpected condition.
"General Marcia, are you kidding? Even if we want to, the Phoenix Master Clan won't agree." The
queen was a little reluctant and hoped to dissuade Marcia.
"I will persuade the Phoenix Master Clan. For now, I need Your Majesty to agree," Marcia persisted.
Her tone seemed so final that it appeared unlikely that anyone could convince her otherwise.
Embarrassment coursed through the queen, and she couldn't help but look at Felicia. Several
agonizingly silent moments ticked past.
"General Marcia, can you explain your reasons? As you know, a country can't gain a foothold in the
Wild Spirit Land without the support of the spiritual race." Felicia's gentle voice broke the silence.
"Now that the spiritual race no longer dominates the Wild Spirit Land, we humans have to rely on
ourselves. It is prudent to break free of their control. We can still survive without the spiritual race's
support. Our United Army is a good example. I'll explain everything to you later. But, for now, I need
Your Majesty to agree to my said condition," Marcia said firmly.
The queen and Felicia glanced at each other. They understood that Marcia would not help them unless
they agreed. Fortunately, Marcia valued her honor and reputation and was not known to lie and
deceive.
"Okay, I will agree to it." The queen deliberated for a moment before announcing her decision. She
realized that she had no choice. After all, if the Phoenix Master Clan were destroyed, the Magic
Phoenix Empire would also fall.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. And please rest easy as I only have good intentions. You will understand in
the future." Before anyone could question her further, Marcia turned and left.
The next day, a hundred thousand forces from the Magic Phoenix Empire led by Felicia and the United
Army marshaled by Marcia, including the Dragon Master Clan's troops, began their march to the
Phoenix Cloud Mountain.
Meanwhile, the battle between Alston's Glory Army and the Phoenix Master Clan continued on Phoenix
Cloud Mountain. Even though the Glory Army bombarded them, the Phoenix Master Clan, an
advanced clan of the spiritual race, managed to protect their strongholds for over half a month. Despite
the natural advantage they gained from the Phoenix Cloud Mountain's topography, the clan's troops
were tired, mentally and physically, from having to defend against the attacks for over half a month.
At that moment, Jill, several elders and the spiritual masters gathered in the Phoenix Master Clan's
hall, and all of them looked grim.
"Matriarch, I'm afraid that we can't hang on much longer. We have no choice but to retreat from
Phoenix Cloud Mountain," an elder suggested.
"Haven't the reinforcements from the Magic Phoenix Empire arrived yet?" Jill turned to the elder and
asked.
"We have received no news from them. But it doesn't matter. As humans, they are no match for the
spiritual race," another spiritual master replied with a shake of his head.
In that instant, a member of the Phoenix Master Clan rushed in and reported, "Matriarch, something is
wrong. The defensive line in the southwest has been breached."
"What?" Jill's complexion paled. She gathered herself and immediately ordered two elders of the
Phoenix Master Clan to head for the southwest side for immediate support.
More and more bad news came as the day wore on. It seemed as though the Phoenix Master Clan's
defensive line was beginning to crumble under constant siege.
A few days later, the Phoenix Master Clan's defensive line had shrunk to the point where they were in a
perilous position. Although the Phoenix Master Clan was very powerful among the advanced spiritual
race clans, they only had a few thousand members. With over two thousand casualties, they were
bound to find themselves in a desperate situation. What made matters worse was that some of their
members were old, weak women and children who could not fight. Therefore, the large number of
casualties coupled with the non-stop battle had pushed the Phoenix Master Clan to its limit.
Meanwhile, Alston, the patriarch of the Giants Clan, a few elders, and the spiritual masters discussed
how to give the Phoenix Master Clan a fatal blow.
"Your Majesty, the Phoenix Master Clan is an arrow at the end of its flight. It's not dark yet. Why don't
we attack them with our complete might? We might defeat them by sunset," the patriarch of the Giants
Clan offered.
"That might not be the best strategy. If we continue to attack the Phoenix Master Clan, they will be
forced into a corner. We can't underestimate them as they may fight against us with all their might,"
another elder advised.
"Well, we should let the Phoenix Master Clan rest for the night. After several consecutive days and
nights of fighting, they must be tired. However, in their perpetual state of excitement, they can
guarantee a certain combat effectiveness. If they rest, their adrenalin will reduce, and exhaustion will
set in. If we launch a new offense, we should be able to defeat the Phoenix Master Clan," Alston
proposed.
"That sounds reasonable. We will follow your advice, Your Majesty." The patriarch of the Giants Clan
and the others nodded in agreement.
As soon as the sun set, the Glory Army stopped attacking, and deathly silence descended on the
Phoenix Cloud Mountain. However, the mountain's surroundings were already full of ruins and war
flames. Many corpses of the spiritual race beings and the guardian beasts were scattered around,
becoming the dinner of some wild supernatural beasts.
The Phoenix Master Clan breathed a sigh of relief when the attacks from their enemy stopped. They
took the opportunity to adjust their defensive line and build up their strength.
However, the Phoenix Master Clan did not know that this was only the calm before a huge storm.
In the blink of an eye, dawn broke, ushered in by screams of astonishment as Alston's army besieged
the southeast and northwest corners of the Phoenix Cloud Mountain in unison. After resting for a night,
the Phoenix Master Clan's exhausted members could not react quickly enough. Within a short span,
they were beaten back one after another.
Even though Jill personally arrived at the Phoenix Cloud Mountain's southeast side to command the
troops, the situation continued to deteriorate. Soon, Alston's troops destroyed the defensive lines in the
west and north, and a large number of spiritual race beings from the Glory Army poured through their
defensive line.
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