However, after weighing the pros and cons, Octavian did not stop Bai Qiang's rash actions. Instead, he let her mobilize the army and found an excuse to leave.
After leaving the flagship, Octavian immediately contacted Dao Long and Wu, and told them about Bai Qiang's plan.
"How can this be? It's too hasty. What if the opponent has already laid a trap!"
Both of them frowned when they learned of Bai Qiang's plan.
Indeed, since the other party dared to appear so brazenly, they must have made all the preparations. You could launch a decapitation strike, and they could also employ a 'lure the enemy into the trap' strategy.
"No, Bai Qiang must be stopped. We cannot let her bury the entire army like this."
Facing Dao Long, who wanted to stop Bai Qiang, Wu obviously thought more deeply and said, "No, Bai Qiang needs a great defeat."
"What do you mean?"
Wu organized his thoughts and said, "Princess Bai Qiang has had too smooth a life these past few years. She got whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Now she's also the chief of the Earth Alliance. Although it's just a game, too much applause and praise can make people conceited, arrogant, and condescending. Therefore..."
"So you're going to use the lives of so many soldiers to teach the princess a lesson?"
Octavian said, "Princess Bai Qiang is destined to become the guardian god of the main world. These people died for a worthy cause."
"You guys... forget it."
Dao Long understood this logic as well, and sighed helplessly, asking, "Then how will this be resolved afterward?"
"His Majesty had already anticipated the invasion of the ancient gods and, of course, prepared a countermeasure in advance. We only need to act according to the plan."
Soon, Bai Qiang led the army to the vicinity of the castle. As expected, after discovering Bai Qiang and her forces approaching, a large number of dragons flew out of the castle again.
Unlike the flying dragons that attacked the Earth Alliance fleet earlier, the dragons that flew out now were significantly larger, their scales were harder, and they had a certain resistance to magic. More importantly, these dragons could now breathe fire.
Although it was a far cry from the dragon's breath that Bai Qiang possessed, it was undeniable that for other creatures, the dragon's breath was a formidable weapon.
When the two forces collided, even when facing dragons that could breathe fire, the heavily armed demon army was not intimidated. If one was not enough, then two, or three would do.
On average, each dragon had to contend with three heavily armed elite demons simultaneously, coupled with the long-range fire support from the fleet, and for a time, the outcome was undecided.
Logically, in such a situation, with Bai Qiang's strength, actively joining the battle would help to quickly decide the outcome and allow the army to push forward. This was the most prudent course of action. Even if some accident occurred, Bai Qiang could safely withdraw from the battlefield with the army providing cover.
However, the proud Bai Qiang clearly did not consider the possibility of failure. In her eyes, if her father could do it, she could too. Delaying the battle here would be giving the ancient gods in the castle time. What if they knew they were outmatched and fled?
With this thought, Bai Qiang directly abandoned her army, killed several dragons herself, and rushed into the castle.
Facing Bai Qiang's reckless charge, dragons initially tried to block her. However, soon these dragons gave up pursuing Bai Qiang. As if they had a tacit understanding, they allowed her to pass without interference and focused on fighting the army led by Bai Qiang.
Upon entering the castle, the environment can only be described as wretched.
The scene inside the castle was completely different from the outside. The castle, which looked fine from the exterior, was a ruin inside, with a large hole dug out in the center. A massive tornado swirled, surrounded by broken walls and rubble floating in the air due to the airflow.
Upon closer inspection, one would notice many murals on the castle walls. Although many of them were damaged, their contents could still be clearly discerned upon careful examination. They depicted dragons of various sizes, some exquisitely detailed and lifelike, while others were drawn with just a few strokes.
If Bai Qiang had taken the time to stop and observe, she would have noticed that the dragons in these murals were disappearing, one by one, as if being erased by an invisible hand.
Unfortunately, Bai Qiang was unaware of these details and did not care. At this moment, she was solely focused on defeating the ancient gods within the castle as quickly as possible, and had no time to pay attention to such things.
As Bai Qiang pressed on, a colossal wall appeared before her. On the wall was a lifelike dragon. This dragon was entirely white, and its body was entwined with red lightning. Its enormous dragon eyes were filled with killing intent.
Just as Bai Qiang approached, the dragon on the wall suddenly came to life. It flapped its wings and flew out of the mural. After soaring in the air for a moment, it landed heavily in front of Bai Qiang, and bolts of red lightning struck directly at her. If Bai Qiang had not reacted quickly, she would have suffered a great loss.
Looking at the white dragon roaring at her, Bai Qiang curled her lips.
"So you are the ancient god they speak of. You don't seem like much. Take this."
Bai Qiang, much like Bai Qi, had a similar temper. Despite having potent ranged attack options during combat, she insisted on engaging in close-quarters combat.
As soon as the battle began, Bai Qiang teleported in front of the dragon and landed several punches on its head, followed by a flying knee kick that sent the dragon's head soaring dozens of meters into the air. She then capped it off with a blast of dragon's breath.
The series of attacks did inflict considerable damage, but for the dragon with an extremely high health pool, this damage was insignificant. With a massive tail swipe, if Bai Qiang had not dodged in time, she would have taken a direct hit.
After dodging, Bai Qiang continued to unleash dragon's breath without pause, engaging in ranged combat. The dragon, in turn, met her dragon's breath with its own.
However, Bai Qiang clearly had the upper hand in terms of dragon's breath. Seeing that she was at a disadvantage, the dragon unleashed its lightning strikes again, forcefully interrupting Bai Qiang's assault.
Then, it leaped up abruptly. As its massive body spun in the air, its dragon claws condensed two colossal spears made of red lightning, which it hurled at Bai Qiang.
Bai Qiang attempted to dodge by blinking, but the devastating shockwave generated by the two lightning spears was too widespread. Even with all her might, Bai Qiang could not completely evade them.
In the subsequent battle, although Bai Qiang held a slight advantage, the fight remained extremely arduous. Fortunately, Bai Qiang was strong enough to ultimately slay the dragon. However, after killing the dragon, Bai Qiang was covered in wounds and was both physically and mentally exhausted.
Yet, looking at the dead dragon before her, Bai Qiang's face showed a hint of joy.