If one couldn’t even cross a single bridge, how could one hope to defeat the enemy and reclaim the kingdom?

Xuanyuan Lige’s words carried not a trace of arrogance — they were, in fact, perfectly reasonable. Minhan Mudeer laughed heartily, said nothing further, and gestured for Xuanyuan Lige to continue on ahead.

He’d come at Xuanyuan Lige’s invitation today for two reasons: first, to inspect the completed tunnel through the Innocent Abyss, and second, to discuss the matter of their joint military campaign with him!

Their partnership wasn’t merely about expanding territory — the more important goal was retaliation against Jun Beiyue, forming an alliance to strike back at the hegemony he’d built across the Longyuan continent these past years!

Da Zhou’s military strength, Jun Beiyue’s strategic mind — both were beyond measure. Apart from South Zhao, no nation on the Longyuan continent was willing to stand against him alone.

But if two nations suddenly formed an alliance, that was an entirely different matter!

Once past the Innocent Abyss, Xuanyuan Lige personally opened a stone door set into the cliff face — this door marked the entrance to the western cliff tunnel, wide enough to fit four people through at once.

Minhan Mudeer gauged the size of the tunnel, and though he said nothing, he couldn’t hide his astonishment.

Such a massive, secretive undertaking, completed in so short a time — no small feat indeed.

The two men walked on in silence, unable to reach the end no matter how far they went. Still, Minhan Mudeer understood well enough — west of the Innocent Abyss lay West Chu’s territory.

At this moment, they were, in fact, already within West Chu’s borders — just underground.

“How long is it?”

Minhan Mudeer stopped, walking to what he estimated was still some distance from the end, deciding not to go any further.

“Southeastern West Chu,” Xuanyuan Lige answered flatly.

Minhan Mudeer immediately gave a cold laugh. “Southeastern? Near the Three Realms Territory? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Do you really think Jun Beiyue would station his main forces somewhere everyone already knows to watch — the Three Realms Territory?” Xuanyuan Lige shot back.

Minhan Mudeer froze slightly, unable to answer. He genuinely didn’t understand the strategic thinking of the Central Plains people.

“Mi’er, bring the map,” Xuanyuan Lige ordered flatly.

Mi’er, who had been following closely by his side this whole time, immediately produced a map and hung it on the stone wall — a comprehensive map of all Longyuan, extraordinarily detailed.

Minhan Mudeer was astonished all over again. “Xuanyuan Lige, you actually have something this valuable!”

Maps of Longyuan were easy enough to come by, but a map this detailed — he’d genuinely never seen one before.

For Xuanyuan Lige, traveling the entire Longyuan continent under the guise of a musician, drawing up such a map hadn’t been especially difficult.

How could one wage war without even a proper map?

He noted Minhan Mudeer’s ignorance, filing it away in his mind — the more brash and reckless a man like this was, the more useful he’d prove to be.

“My Sound-Killing Army can reach southeastern West Chu within ten days…”

Before Xuanyuan Lige could finish, Minhan Mudeer cut him off. “Ten days? We’re moving in ten days?”

Xuanyuan Lige ignored the interruption, continuing coldly, “Your slave army will surround the northern side of West Chu. Remember — keep half your forces in reserve to guard against Mobei town.”

Minhan Mudeer nodded repeatedly as he listened, understanding what needed to be done, though not entirely why.

He murmured, puzzled, “Mobei town?”

“That’s certainly where Jun Beiyue has stationed his troops!” Xuanyuan Lige said with certainty.

At this, realization dawned on Minhan Mudeer, and he immediately gave Xuanyuan Lige a thumbs up. “You really are clever! In ten days, we’ll catch Jun Beiyue completely off guard!”

But Xuanyuan Lige only smiled. “Do you know where Jun Beiyue is right now?”

The question left Minhan Mudeer a little dazed. “In… in Da Zhou… I’d guess!”

A flicker of everything that had happened beneath the boundless deep sea crossed Xuanyuan Lige’s mind, and he smiled. “I don’t know where he is either.”

Minhan Mudeer, puzzled, felt something was off about this man but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He decided to simply stay quiet.

Xuanyuan Lige’s hand returned to the map, settling on West Liang’s territory.

“West Liang?” Minhan Mudeer asked, confused.

“Count West Liang’s Wanyan Lie in on our alliance too,” Xuanyuan Lige said flatly.

Minhan Mudeer was genuinely startled. “What exactly are you planning? You want to destroy West Chu — what does West Liang have to do with any of that?”

“Do you really think your slave army and my Sound-Killing Army alone would be enough to tie down Jun Beiyue?” Xuanyuan Lige’s tone suddenly turned cold. “West Jing’s unrest has left it in shambles after the fighting, badly in need of rebuilding — once it exhausts itself further, it’ll have no defensive forces left at all. In three months, I want West Liang, the Xiongnu, and East Qin to launch simultaneous attacks. Let’s see how Jun Beiyue handles fighting fires on three fronts at once!”

So that was it!

That was Xuanyuan Lige’s plan — and it was even more ruthless than expected!

His alliance wasn’t just the Xiongnu — it included West Liang too! Once war broke out, it would trigger an entirely new round of chaos across all of Longyuan!

No matter how powerful Jun Beiyue’s military might be, defending against threats on every front simultaneously would be no easy task.

And this time, their forces would strike as a surprise attack, moving with unexpected, overwhelming speed!

West Liang, the Xiongnu, and East Qin sat to the west, north, and east of the Longyuan continent respectively, encircling West Jing and West Chu at the center, with Da Zhou to the south.

If the three-nation alliance of West Liang, Xiongnu, and East Qin managed to seize the initiative and swallow up both West Jing and West Chu, it would create a situation where every other nation encircled Da Zhou!

Minhan Mudeer’s heart pounded with alarm as he listened — this strategy sounded formidable indeed, but could it actually be executed?

“Wanyan Lie agreed to this?” Minhan Mudeer asked quietly. At the peace summit, Jun Beiyue had held leverage over every nation present — West Liang, in particular, had a general’s son held hostage in the Da Zhou capital!

“I gave him two people. He was more than happy to agree,” Xuanyuan Lige said, almost entirely without emotion. Minhan Mudeer, though, was genuinely shocked — even a fool would know exactly who the two people Wanyan Lie hated most in this life were!

“So that means we simply wait for West Jing’s unrest to run its course, and then all three of us strike together?” Minhan Mudeer said, growing excited, realizing his choice to partner with Xuanyuan Lige hadn’t been a mistake after all.

Xuanyuan Lige nodded, answering with absolute certainty, “In exactly three months.”

“How can you be so certain?”

It wasn’t that Minhan Mudeer enjoyed asking so many questions — he genuinely couldn’t wrap his head around it, quietly marveling at how the Central Plains people waged war on more than just the battlefield alone.

“Because West Jing’s Eighth Prince told me so,” Xuanyuan Lige said with a cold smile, turning to walk away.

Minhan Mudeer stood stunned for a long moment before finally snapping out of it. Heavens, what exactly had this man done to West Jing?

“Xuanyuan Lige, wait!”

He quickly caught up, a faint premonition stirring within him — that in three months’ time, Longyuan was about to become very lively indeed.

Beneath the calm on the surface, a violent storm lay hidden. At this moment, Jun Beiyue’s group had already reached the Three Realms Territory.

As with their trip to the capital, this journey remained entirely undisclosed.

They hadn’t come to the Three Realms Territory to stay long — merely passing through.

The moment they arrived, Jun Beiyue convened a military council with the Three Tiger Generals, of such high classification that even Ziqing wasn’t permitted to attend. All she knew was that it concerned the unrest in West Jing. With no time to ask further questions, she busied herself restocking provisions and water, preparing to head west toward Mobei town at first light.

Their time was running very short…

…