Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian, hand in hand, fought their way through the enemy, valiant and unrelenting, pressing ever forward!

Their troops might not have been the strongest, but their morale was absolutely at its peak — even higher, perhaps, than Jun Beiyue and Ziqing’s own forces!

They pressed forward relentlessly, driving deep into enemy territory!

Meanwhile, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing were also cutting their way forward from another strategic pass leading toward the capital.

Though they’d started later, their pace was no slower than Situ Haonan’s group.

The two armies together had pushed Wanyan Lie to the very brink of madness.

This time, Wanyan Lie didn’t personally take to the battlefield, instead remaining in the military camp on the western outskirts of the capital, personally guarding the very last line of defense!

“Still no word?”

Within the camp, another furious roar erupted, and an entire large table was violently overturned, shattering into pieces on the floor!

Wanyan Lie had been waiting, waiting for word from Xuanyuan Lige, yet that man seemed to have forgotten his existence entirely — no matter how many letters he sent, not a single one had been answered.

Not only that, but the envoys he’d dispatched, whether to Dongqin or to the Xiongnu, had all been turned away at the door!

“Xuanyuan Lige! Minhan Mudeer! This crown prince will make you pay!”

“You despicable scoundrels!”

…

There was no denying it — Xuanyuan Lige was simply too clever. Of course, if he hadn’t used Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan to draw Xiliang in, Wanyan Lie would never have agreed to cooperate with him in the first place!

Wanyan Lie wasn’t foolish enough to let himself be used this way — but Xuanyuan Lige had seized upon his life’s greatest humiliation, delivering the two people he despised most in the entire world right into his hands!

To capture Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan, he’d once thrown everything aside, committing his entire nation’s military might to attacking Xijing!

These two people had always robbed him of any peace of mind!

But now, Wanyan Lie’s hindsight had come too late, filled with regret, yet with nothing left to be done!

Throughout the entire camp, everyone — attendants and soldiers alike — knelt on the ground. Wanyan Lie stood at the center, hands at his sides, looking utterly deranged; no one could guess what he might do next.

But just then, a guard burst in, shouting with excitement, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, good news! Good news!”

Hearing this, Wanyan Lie started violently, all his fury draining away as he stared, dumbstruck, at the guard rushing in.

“Your Highness, Dongqin and the Xiongnu have mobilized troops — they’ve moved!”

“Where did this news come from!” Wanyan Lie exclaimed in shock.

“From our scouts. The Xiongnu have deployed troops to the northern desert, tens of thousands of slave soldiers strong. Dongqin has attacked Xichu, striking straight into its central territory overnight!” the guard reported eagerly.

“Impossible! How could Dongqin possibly attack Xichu?” Wanyan Lie finally regained his composure. Dongqin and Xichu were separated by the Wuxie Ravine — unless Dongqin could somehow route through the Xiongnu, or through Da Zhou’s Three Realms territory.

But neither the Xiongnu nor Da Zhou’s Three Realms territory would allow such a thing, because both regions were densely covered with Jun Beiyue’s own network of spies and informants!

To be precise, Xuanyuan Lige shouldn’t have been able to successfully push his way into Xichu territory at all!

“Your Highness, this humble servant will stake his own head on it — Dongqin’s troops are already inside Xichu territory. Word has already spread throughout the Central Plains, all saying that Xuanyuan Lige’s forces are sound-killing troops, capable of leaping across the Wuxie Ravine!” the guard explained eagerly.

Wanyan Lie still found it hard to believe, but a nearby general exclaimed with delight, “Your Highness, whatever the case, we’re saved!”

After all, this time Jun Beiyue had brought virtually every last soldier stationed in the northern desert westward, and Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan had likewise concentrated all their forces toward the west!

Right now, Xijing’s northern desert region stood completely empty!

Once the Xiongnu committed their full force to seizing the northern desert, they could drive straight through unopposed and strike at Xijing itself — and once Xijing came under attack, it would surely force Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan to divide their forces!

Xuanyuan Lige had said from the very start that this time, his sole objective was to seize Xichu!

Now it seemed he hadn’t been lying at all! He’d simply used Xiliang to tie down Jun Beiyue!

“How despicable!” Wanyan Lie scoffed coldly, and amid his bitter resentment toward Xuanyuan Lige, found himself grudgingly impressed as well.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together for this crown prince!”

Wanyan Lie himself had indeed found his resolve renewed. Unable to break out of the camp, he intended to personally go meet Situ Haonan in battle.

With chaos erupting both in the west and now in the east, word of it naturally reached Wanyan Lie’s ears — and just as naturally, it had already reached Jun Beiyue’s ears long before.

That night, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing rested in a city they had just captured, with only the two of them, husband and wife, alone in the command tent.

Spread across the table lay a large map, the region of Xiliang set aside for now, with the area of the northern desert laid out before them instead.

“The Xiongnu’s target is to cut off our supply lines,” Ziqing murmured to herself as she studied the map.

Meanwhile, Jun Beiyue sat quietly to the side, writing a sealed dispatch — he had long since committed this map to memory and had no need to look at it at all.

“Dongqin wants Xichu. The Xiongnu…” Ziqing continued murmuring to herself. “Beiyue, stationing troops in the northern desert really was a wise decision on your part!”

Given how long Xuanyuan Lige had lived in the northern desert, how could Jun Beiyue not have taken precautions?

To this day, the people of the northern desert still had no idea exactly how many garrison posts Jun Beiyue had established, nor how many troops he’d stationed there!

Xuanyuan Lige had hoped to use the Xiongnu to cut off their supply lines, seize Xijing, and buy himself time to conquer Xichu — the entire plan had been well conceived indeed. But in the end, he had still underestimated the depth of Jun Beiyue’s foresight.

Jun Beiyue’s lips curved into a faint smile as he remained focused on the letter, finishing it before looking up. “Xuanyuan Lige’s refusal to attend the peace summit was his greatest mistake!”

Ziqing frowned, not understanding.

“At the peace summit, I spoke privately with the Emperor of Xijing for a full three hours. He isn’t a man of few connections,” Jun Beiyue said flatly.

At these words, Ziqing was startled. “Xijing has troops!”

For a private conversation to run that long, what else could it have concerned besides military matters?

Clearly, Jun Beiyue hadn’t just stationed forces in the northern desert — he’d also secretly garrisoned troops within Xijing’s own territory!

“As long as the garrisons in Xijing and the northern desert can hold out against the Xiongnu for half a month, by the time we fight our way back, this king will make absolutely certain the Xiongnu never rises again,” Jun Beiyue said coldly — clearly, he meant to wipe out the Xiongnu entirely.

Yet Ziqing said worriedly, “With the Xiongnu committing everything, I’m afraid… should we use the gunpowder?”

Ziqing meant this seriously — back when she’d dealt with the slave soldiers, it had been the gunpowder that had given her the edge. Unfortunately, they had far too little of it left; every time they used it, they had to save it for only the most critical moments, or she’d feel the loss too keenly.

Besides, the gunpowder had always been reserved specifically for use against Nanzhao!

To them, Nanzhao remained by far the greatest danger.

“No need. Gu Nanny is far more useful than gunpowder,” Jun Beiyue said with a cold smile.

At these words, Ziqing’s eyes went wide, staring at her husband in disbelief.

“Did you think the person this king has imprisoned would be so easy to abduct?” Jun Beiyue said, affectionately pinching Ziqing’s nose, smiling as he turned the question back on her.

Who said Xuanyuan Lige was the treacherous one? When it came to scheming, no one has ever outmaneuvered Jun Beiyue.