We’ve fallen into a trap.

Everyone felt a sudden heaviness in their hearts.

By now, how could they not understand?

From the moment they entered the Secret Realm, they had been under the enemy’s surveillance.

They thought Caludia’s mobilization was actually to lure the Master of the Secret Realm to appear... which was the correct tactic.

Otherwise, the Holy Cross Army alone wouldn’t have been enough to put substantial pressure on the Secret Realm.

Little did they realize that the enemy was also waiting for them to disperse.

Currently, Caludia has been teleported to an unknown location, but wherever it is, one can imagine that it’s filled with thorny traps on the other side, along with the Master of the Secret Realm following closely...

Even though Uther and Caludia shared a close friendship, he had to silently admit in his heart that Caludia was too aggressive and had fallen into the enemy’s trap, facing grim prospects.

What they needed to do now was to ensure that Caludia’s sacrifice wasn’t wasted.

They had lost a Grandmaster.

But the intelligence gained was also crucial... this Secret Realm was not capable of dealing with four Grandmasters at once. Otherwise, they would already have stormed the enemy’s headquarters; there’d be no reason for such a divide-and-conquer tactic.

Now that the King of the Secret Realm was away, the current Secret Realm must be poorly defended.

They must take this opportunity to gamble... gamble on whether Caludia would fall first, or whether they could reach the enemy’s headquarters sooner.

Uther was confident that such spatial teleportation technology surely had significant limitations. Killing someone and then returning easily was absolutely impossible.

Otherwise, wouldn’t it be easy to just use spatial technology to rush into the Baoxue Empire, kill Anduin, and then leave?

It was a battle of time now...

Unfortunately, the dangers within the Secret Realm were far greater than they imagined.

They hadn’t pursued for long before completely losing the enemy’s trail.

They couldn’t even see their footsteps.

Moreover, along the pursuit path, vines would suddenly wrap around them like venomous snakes, choking some soldiers and snapping their necks.

The grass beneath their feet would unexpectedly harden like steel, piercing through the feet of the careless ones, blood gushing as they fell to the ground, only to be impaled through bloodied holes by the grass.

Yet if they carefully avoided the grass to tread on the ground, the ground would suddenly turn into a swamp.

Though just a seemingly ordinary Mysterious Jungle, at this moment, the entire forest held the deadliest hostility against them. It transformed into a lethal ancient beast, not only failing to catch their enemy but also costing them hundreds of lives.

These hundreds of lives should not be underestimated; they were all seasoned warriors who could rank among the top in the Academy and Martial Mansion.

Losing even one was a great pain for Caesar.

And now, lives were lost every moment.

He had no time to feel sorrow, as any inadvertent move might lead to more deaths.

What infuriated them most was...

"General, the enemy is fleeing quickly, and we’ve completely lost track of them. Shall we continue our pursuit?!"

Caesar looked at Uther.

Clearly, since Uther’s arrival... Caesar had lost his authority to make decisions.

Nothing could be done; that’s how the Baoxue Empire was. Seniority, position, and rank; any one of these could suppress a person.

"We can’t give up!"

Uther said coldly, "The opportunity gained from Caludia sacrificing his life cannot be easily abandoned, or our mission will truly be in vain!"

"I do have a suggestion!"

Aemon suddenly spoke up.

Uther asked, "What is it?!"

"Isn’t it obvious? The Secret Realm People clearly have ways to manipulate these plants."

Aemon said, "The enemy walks through without leaving a trace... yet we are hindered when we follow. I even suspect that under the interference of these plants, we might unknowingly be going around in circles."

"Indeed."

Uther felt it too; although they were diligently moving straight ahead, in fact, the gaps between the plants seemed pathless yet vaguely present... If the enemy truly had the power to manipulate plants, they might be forced unknowingly into circuits.

"What should we do then?"

"The three of us should fly over!"

Aemon suggested, "With low power, it is useless; the forest below is enemy territory, so we should bypass this area. With the strength of the three of us, we can easily handle any attacks from above."

Renault was silent for a moment, then said, "The three of us can’t be separated again, or we might follow in Caludia’s footsteps!"

Uther nodded and said, "Caesar, you lead the troops to camp here, cut down all surrounding trees and plants, and watch your steps. If you receive our signal, join us immediately!"

Caesar replied, "Understood!"

The three exchanged a glance and then shot up into the sky, flying swiftly towards the horizon.

Plans can never keep up with changes.

Previously, it was decided that the Creation Realm Grandmasters would remain behind the scenes. Now, however, they had no choice but to take the lead.

The very first battle resulted in the loss of a Creation Realm Grandmaster... A loss so great, the Baoxue Empire was deeply wounded.