Chapter 1306: Situation Reversal

The Foreign Tribe also discovered that their army had halted.

Tuomu Hai, upon learning the news, immediately issued an order.

"Have the army begin the encirclement right now! They must have discovered something; we can't delay any longer, lest they escape."

Then he produced a Transmission Talisman and sent a message: "The army has begun the encirclement; coordinate on your side!"

"Yes!" The Transmission Talisman replied with a single simple word.

Soon, Tuomu Hai also learned that Ye Liuyun was behind, intercepting the two reserve units he had earmarked for sealing off. Yet he had already prepared.

The sealing point had the heaviest deployment. Even if the two armies encountered mishaps, it would not greatly affect his overall layout.

Nevertheless, he still dispatched two more squads to reinforce.

The Foreign Tribe, Ye Liuyun, Zuo Mu, and the Fourth Prince's various units were all racing against time.

Only Cheng Gang's army, aside from a few cautious Leaders who set up defensive positions, mostly let the soldiers rest and prepare for the upcoming assault.

Cheng Gang simply did not care about the Foreign Tribe's encirclement.

"What does the encirclement matter? With this Kuailei army, no siege can be broken!"

His thinking was indeed shared by most Leaders.

Before long, scouts reported that the Foreign Tribe was indeed encircling.

"Huh? It really turned out Ye Liuyun guessed right!" Cheng Gang laughed.

But being experienced, he still alerted the outer army to prepare defenses.

Although a bit rushed, it was still better than having no defense.

At the same time, he began moving the Kuailei army, preparing to push forward and tear a hole in the siege.

Since they were surrounded anyway, breaking out from any direction was the same. So they might as well keep charging toward the Foreign Tribe's stronghold.

Cheng Gang's main combat force still readied to assault together with the Kuailei units.

Emperor Xia, upon learning Cheng Gang's actions, thought his reasoning not without merit, so he did not intervene and watched the situation.

Ahead of the main army, the Kuailei unit, Ghost Hand Alchemist Ling Haokun, was inspecting the puppets' condition.

"How are the puppets?" the Soul Cultivator Leader with him asked.

"No problem at all. These puppets are forged with top‑quality materials; their frames are solid!" Ghost Hand replied while busy.

"Good then!" the Soul Cultivator Leader said, then fell silent.

Ling Haokun busied himself for a while, then noticed silence behind him; as he turned to look, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

"Do you know who I am?" the Leader's voice sounded again.

"Lord Fan!" Ghost Hand exclaimed, quickly bowing to the Leader, his expression oddly strange.

"Hmm, just adapt slowly!" the Leader said after observing his expression, nodding approvingly.

In fact, this Leader had a notable background. He was named Song Fanjun, a relatively famous Soul Master within the Imperial Family, and many called him Soul Master Fan.

Song Fanjun excelled at controlling people's souls, Soul Search, and other soul‑based attacks.

Emperor Xia assigned him as Leader originally to guard against Ling Haokun's betrayal of the empire.

At this moment Ling Haokun had not betrayed the empire, but Song Fanjun acted early.

"Deploy the puppets to attack the empire's army!" Song Fanjun ordered Ling Haokun.

Although Ling Haokun excelled at alchemy, his soul abilities lagged far behind Song Fanjun's.

He was now controlled by Song Fanjun, yet he understood everything in his heart. He could only obey Song Fanjun's orders involuntarily.

Thus his facial expression appeared very odd, and his speech was stiff.

"All puppets, turn around and attack the Great Summer Empire's forces."

These puppets, though each possessed its own soul, fully obeyed Ling Haokun's commands.

When he originally crafted these puppets, he intended that after the war they would serve him.

However, mortal plans cannot match heaven's. He never imagined that the Leader who had always been by his side would betray the empire.

"Don't be surprised; I already defected to the Foreign Tribe. If I hadn't found these puppets useful, you'd be dead already! The day has finally come! Ha ha, the Great Summer Empire is destined to perish!"

Song Fanjun looked at Ling Haokun's puzzled eyes and burst into laughter.

Although Ling Haokun now knew the truth, he could not defy Song Fanjun's orders and could only stay by his side, awaiting deployment.

The Puppet Army at this moment also reversed its formation, charging toward the empire's forces.

This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard.

Cheng Gang and the others, seeing the Puppet Corps turn around, thought they were merely reshaping their formation.

"Huh? Why are they coming back?"

It wasn't until the Puppet Corps surged toward them that they realized the corps had malfunctioned and were completely unprepared.

The Puppet Corps smoothly broke into the central army and began slaughtering. The Great Summer Empire's troops instantly fell into chaos.

At that moment, the Foreign Tribe units surrounding them arrived, and without delay launched an attack.

"What's happening? Where are Song Fanjun and Ling Haokun?"

Cheng Gang still wanted to find someone to ask about the situation.

"Bad news, the Puppet Corps has mutinied!" a soldier shouted, scattering in panic.

Cheng Gang was completely stunned.

He never expected the spear he relied on would turn against him.

"Emperor Xia, something's happened—the Puppet Corps has mutinied and is attacking us from the rear, already reaching the central army. Our forces are also surrounded by the Foreign Tribe and are under attack…"

Fortunately, being experienced, he quickly regained composure despite the initial panic and reported the information to Emperor Xia.

Emperor Xia was also awaiting his report. Upon hearing the news, his mind buzzed.

Who could have imagined that the Trump Card he had painstakingly crafted would become a weapon in the enemy's hand!

"What about Song Fanjun and Ling Haokun?" Emperor Xia immediately realized the problem lay with those two; either Ling Haokun had eliminated Song Fanjun, or Song Fanjun had taken control of Ling Haokun…

Thinking of this, Emperor Xia broke out in cold sweat: "It must be that Song Fanjun controlled Ling Haokun!"

The reason he was certain it was Song Fanjun's betrayal was that Song Fanjun was extremely cautious, and his realm and Divine Soul Power far exceeded Ling Haokun's.

He immediately used a Transmission Talisman to contact Song Fanjun for verification.

"Why betray the imperial court?" Emperor Xia asked directly.

Within the Transmission Talisman, Song Fanjun's voice came back: "That is your imperial court, not mine! I'm not betraying; I'm carving out a realm for myself. Lord Tuomu Hai had already promised me that in the future the name of this empire should be changed to the Great Song Empire, and I will be the first Song Emperor!"