So, taking advantage of the strong momentum from General Qi and Francis's army, Elara and the ministers decided to continue marching south. They would only stop after taking the southernmost territories near the sea, including Gujinhai and its two medium-sized subordinate states, then study the situation carefully.
Plumera Kingdom's strength had already quietly surpassed that of a second-tier medium country. Over the past few months, the nation had developed rapidly in all aspects, and its overall national power was growing at an astonishing pace.
Take the neighboring Dahlia Kingdom as an example. Under the leadership of Prince Yu, inspired by Plumera Kingdom, it also developed quickly.
However, even so, Dahlia's pace was still far behind. Plumera Kingdom had already started to match or surpass Dahlia in many areas. In terms of national power, Plumera was already slightly stronger and was approaching Gladiolus Kingdom, which had always been the strongest among the three countries.
At this point, Plumera Kingdom's overall power was very dominant. Under normal circumstances, there was no longer any need to worry about third-tier nations.
But since General Qi and Francis wanted to eliminate the third-tier Gujinhai and its two medium-sized subordinate nations, and those countries might hold secrets about the source of the Puppet Soldiers, Elara decided after consulting with the military to send General He and Senior General Duanmu with 200,000 fully armed troops to support the southern campaign.
At the same time, after over a year, the war elephant unit Elara had sent to train in Carnation under beast tamers had basically completed their training.
Taking this opportunity, she sent 300 of the most battle-ready elephants, equipped with armor and able to carry giant crossbows and turrets, into actual combat for the first time.
With these mobile turret war elephants and Senior General Duanmu and General He's 200,000 reinforcements, more than 400,000 fully armed troops, under General Qi and Francis's coordination, broke through the gates of Jingguang and Zhoumu within just two months. Like a swarm of locusts, they swept through the two medium subordinate states, wiping out all Puppet Soldiers and raising the Plumera Kingdom's flag over every city reclaimed, then continued pushing toward Gujinhai.
Another half month passed, and the entire territory of Gujinhai was also completely conquered by the Plumera army.
Plumera Kingdom's flag was now planted along the southernmost coastline. The country's territory had expanded massively again. The land of seven nations added over 1.5 million square kilometers to Plumera Kingdom's domain, bringing the total area to more than 3.68 million square kilometers.
This surprisingly large number had already surpassed the scope of second-tier large countries and was nearing that of first-tier major powers.
And within just five months, General Qi and Francis and the soldiers had conquered the seven nations from Marigold City to the southern coast. Their achievements could no longer be described as simply remarkable.
At this point, after five months of wartime development, the major cities and counties of Plumera Kingdom had been equipped with stronger weapons made by the Ministry of Works. Both the defense and attack capabilities of these cities had significantly improved again.
After taking all the southern territories of the seven nations, General Qi and Francis did not rush back to the capital.
Instead, he selected several elite units of a thousand men each to stay with the accompanying medical officers and search throughout Gujinhai and its two subordinate nations for anything related to the Puppet Soldiers.
Unfortunately, even after more than half a month of searching, no evidence was found explaining the origin of the Puppet Soldiers in Gujinhai or its two subordinate nations.
These strange Puppet Soldiers who went mad and whose physical conditions changed mysteriously seemed to appear out of nowhere, without any trace of origin found in Gujin Sea or the two affiliated countries.
After getting this result, Elara felt a bit disappointed. The uneasy feeling that had been lingering in her heart grew even stronger for no clear reason.
However, with the threat in the southern region completely wiped out, the southern part of Plumera Kingdom no longer needed much worry, which allowed her to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
But just as she relaxed a little, an urgent request for help suddenly came from the Carnation Envoy, along with a new discovery from Oswyn of the medical division, which made Elara tense up again.
"Your Majesty, a few months ago, our country's army went south and fought back against Shanping Country. That included Prince Ying, who personally led the army. But not long ago, they all suddenly fell ill. Some soldiers are even showing signs similar to those Puppet Soldiers."
The Carnation Envoy was so anxious he knelt to the ground. "Your Majesty, our Empress of Carnation has already ordered all royal physicians to try to cure them, but not one could figure out the cause of this bizarre illness."
"Prince Ying of Carnation is the Empress's own sister. And our army of several hundred thousand must not be harmed. Please, Your Majesty, if there is a way, help save Prince Ying and our army again."
As soon as the envoy finished speaking, Oswyn from the medical division, who had been working for months, rushed in holding his findings to see Elara.
When he saw Elara, he went straight to the point.
"I've figured out part of what's going on inside those Puppet Soldiers. Their odd physical changes are caused by something that's neither poison nor parasite, but is very bizarre and hard to identify."
"This thing is invisible to the naked eye. Almost all medicine and even strong poisons have no effect on it. But it's alive. Even though I can't clearly see its shape, I'm certain those Puppet Soldiers are almost entirely filled with it, which is why they are so inhuman."
"Normal soldiers, when fighting these Puppet Soldiers, if they have any wounds on them, there's a very high chance this thing will unknowingly invade and live inside them."
"After it enters, it won't immediately change the soldier's body. It stays hidden for months or even longer, then suddenly spreads rapidly inside the person and takes over the body, eventually completely changing and controlling them."
After hearing Oswyn's words, Uno and Damon, who were standing behind Elara, couldn't help but show shocked expressions.
If that's true, then Plumera Kingdom's 400,000 troops that swept south, along with Francis, Senior General Duanmu, and General He, doesn't that mean there's a high chance they've all been infected?
Elara narrowed her eyes, her face growing even calmer and colder in this moment of danger.
After thinking for a few seconds, she raised her hand and grabbed her earring, preparing to pass this information to Francis and tell him to immediately isolate all the wounded soldiers.
But just as she grabbed the earring, sudden shouts came from the other end.
"General, General?"
"General, what's happening to you?"
"General, someone, medical division, get someone now, General Francis suddenly collapsed. Blood is coming from his mouth and nose. Someone come quick. Hurry."