"Do you have anything to say?" General Tang asked him annoyedly, yet the man continued to ignore everything and everyone around him. This caused General Tang's mood to further sour. The fact that such a man was appointed the general of the Shui Family's army, a position equal to his own, felt like an insult. What were they thinking? He snubbed General Songlin and trotted forward. Just then, there was a rumble and the convoy screeched to a halt. "What happened? Is it an attack?" General Tang shouted, his voice shaking.
"There's been a small avalanche and it blocked the road ahead. From the looks of it, it might delay our march by up to two hours… Should we send people to help clear the way?" his officer said.
"No…" He recomposed himself. "You shan't."
"General?"
"General Goumeng should reap what he sowed," he sneered. "When Unit Commander Haea comes to ask, we can pin this on him. She'll finally learn how wrong it was to give him command."
The aide sighed to herself. Having served under General Tang for some time now, she knew exactly how petty he could be. She expected this. As he wished, she ordered their army to stand down. They would not lift a finger to help.
An officer also approached General Songlin's side and asked, "What are your orders, general?"
"Hmm? What did you say?" he replied distractedly, too absorbed in his own world to notice.
"I said what are your orders, general?"
"Hmm… Nothing."
"I'm sorry?"
"Nothing. We'll do nothing too."
"But this… This will annoy the Jun Family."
"Hmm… but this will satisfy the Jian Family. You can do as I say."
"Understood."
"Hmm… You know this area doesn't have avalanches usually." His originally dull and lackluster eyes glanced up the mountains with shocking ferocity and sharpness that matched a hawk's! The officer shared his gaze, but aside from the serene snowy landscape, there was nothing else. Thinking it was another one of the general's unusual quirks, the officer moved on. Little did they know, General Songlin's instincts were right! That avalanche was a ploy!
Up in the mountains, amidst the endless sea of snow, the scenery shimmered and warped as a large curtain of water appeared. It was a magic spell! Incredibly, it bent light in such a way that it hid everything behind it and created a natural illusion that blended in with its surroundings. Even Perception Realms might be fooled by it! However, it was a hard spell to perform and those that could could be counted on one hand alone. Moreover, the current spell's scale and flexibility was a league above what others could create. The caster was none other than Ten Dawn Rosemary, fully recovered from the Battle of Liguang. Next to her was Ten Dawn Yvonne and Iris. Although Ten Dawn Iris was a Half-Condensed Drop Arcanist now, she remained one of the strongest Arcanists in the human world. She and Ten Dawn Yvonne had used their spells to trigger the avalanche. It was a simple trick, yet it caused devastation. As the saying goes, it was not the tool that mattered, but the person who wielded it!
"Is it done yet? I'll be removing my spell."
"Go ahead," Ten Dawn Yvonne replied. The water curtain gradually vanished, and with it, returned the frigid wind and snow. The three women instinctively huddled up.
"Excellent work as usual, Ten Dawn Rosemary," Ten Dawn Iris said.
"We're both Ten Dawns. You can just call me Lady Rosemary."
"This…"
"Enough. We don't have time for needless chitchat. We need to be at the next point before their army recovers," Ten Dawn Yvonne stated. "Let's go."
Elsewhere in the southern front, far from where this was happening, the Alzar Kingdom had set up camp. Interestingly, this camp was quite small, a mere fraction of the one in the central front, despite having a similar number of soldiers present. In the main tent, several uniformed people stood around a table with a map of the area on it. The first was Legion General Stefan, who commanded the entire southern front, followed by his Brigade Commanders.
He said, "It looks like the enemy encountered some trouble and they'll be delayed again."
"The heavens must be blessing us from above," a Brigade Commander laughed.
"Who would've thought they'd struggle this much just to reach us?" another snickered.
"Even then, we can't let them get too discouraged and retreat. That could impede our plans in the other fronts," the third one quelled the excitement.
"That's right," Legion General Stefan added. "We need to lure them deeper into the southern front and delay them as much as possible. Are our welcoming parties in position?"
"Yes. They should encounter our forces in less than six hours."
"Good. I want them ready. Tell them not to engage unless absolutely necessary."
"Understood."
"Brigade Commander Christina, is there anything you want to add?" the Legion General directed the conversation over. He knew that General Petra gave the woman special instructions, so she could act independently. Under certain circumstances, her authority was even higher than his! He had to treat her with due respect.
"There's nothing I need to add, except that we need to stay vigilant and covert. Our enemy outnumbers us five-to-one, so the slightest mistake could be our downfall. The other fronts are depending on us," she stated, much to the agreement of everyone else. They knew exactly what was at stake here.
She sighed and hoped the Ten Dawns could complete their mission without issue. No one else knew that they were alive, much less present, except for her. That was why the Legion General and other Brigade Commanders attributed it to a force of nature. It was part of her secret mission from General Petra. And as it turned out, their magic was instrumental in delaying the enemy forces. The main army might not have prepared in time had they not intervened. The woman then looked to the central front and prayed inwardly because they had the arduous task of fooling Unit Commander Haea. Everything hinged on their success! But she soon admonished herself. She was biased towards the central front since Elizabeth was there, but every front was equally important. Instead, she prayed for everyone's success and survival.
***
Simultaneously, in the northern front, the Imperial Council's main army led by Unit Commander Duan marched through the Huang Wu Steppe with ease. It was flatter than the terrain the southern front faced, the weather was more forgiving, and the army was unified, allowing them to travel at a much faster speed. The difference was practically night and day! Unit Commander Duan regarded the end of the steppe hungrily. To him, the Alzar Kingdom was like a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. He could not wait to attack them!
He shouted to his officer, "Any updates from Guanhuang?"
"No, we haven't heard anything since yesterday."
"No news is good news. We'll proceed as planned!"
"Understood."
"Sirs, we've spotted a large enemy force approaching from the front. They should encounter our forces in less than thirty minutes. What are your orders?" a scout interrupted.
"They want to meet us on the field? What are the estimates on their numbers?" the officer asked.
"Ten thousand and growing."
"Just ten thousand? That sounds a trap to me. What do you think, commander?"
"Of course, it's a trap, but so what? We know their main forces are in the central front fighting over Guanhuang, so they can only send a smaller army to the northern front. That means their only option is to ambush or trick us for any chance at victory. It's a delaying tactic. If we play it cautiously and delay our advance, we would be playing right into their hands," Unit Commander Duan analyzed calmly. "Unit Commander Haea gave us one mission: to break through the northern front! Tell the soldiers to prepare for combat. We'll smash right through them, trap or no trap!"
"Understood!"
In the kingdom's camp for the northern front, Imperian Qiang said, "It looks like they fell for the trap. The kingdom's plan must be working."
"A lot of people are about to die, aren't they?" Princess Xiuying murmured. She was downcast since she heard the plan but seeing it about to unfold made her feel that much worse. She felt ill.
"Breath. Calm down, sister," Princess Ming stroked her sister's back gently. "I know you don't want to hear this, but this is the only way forward… for the kingdom and us."
"I know… but still…"
"If things go well, then this war won't last much longer. Let's be strong, okay?"
"Alright…"
"Has the battle started yet?" Imperian Qiang asked Lady Mingyu and Cardinal Hui. They were Perception Realm Masters, so they could eavesdrop on conversations around the kingdom's camp without anyone the wiser.
"It's starting now," Cardinal Hui answered.