New Yu Era, January 6, 1333, early morning

Pingcheng King, Wanyan Jun stood on the city wall of Jiuhua Dao City with four grandly dressed and powerful individuals. He gazed towards the wilderness and Official Road to the south, his expression gradually becoming grim.

On the fifteenth of last month, his two million troops had reached the junction of Jiuhua and Dongyuan. Without any pause, they marched directly to Jiuhua Dao City to set up camp. Scouts were deployed along the way, just waiting for the allied forces of the three families to enter the territory, ready to intercept at any moment.

Of course, the two million under him were not enough. He had called upon Yingtian, Yongguan, Qingyan, and Shouguang Marquis from the Capital Region Path, each leading five hundred thousand troops to station at Jiuhua Dao City.

The battle in Dongyuan Path had already proven that having too many troops for a battle wasn't suitable for splitting forces. This time, he learned his lesson, gathering all four million troops together, placing scouts across Jiuhua Dao's territory, only waiting to confirm the movements of the allied forces to respond accordingly. Brought to you by the folks at MV|LEMPYR.

But as they waited and waited, something seemed amiss.

Twenty days ago, the scouts returned with news that the allied forces had reached the junction of Jiuhua Dao and Wangchuan Road, yet, so much time had passed, and there was still no sign of the allied forces within Jiuhua Dao.

Initially, he thought it was because the allied forces were too numerous, slowing down their march. But as more time passed, he realized something was wrong.

Suddenly, a general in armor, accompanied by thirty-eight men in black, approached him from behind, kneeling down together.

"Your Majesty, all the returning scouts have been brought here."

Wanyan Jun turned to look at the thirty-nine scouts on the ground and asked in a deep voice, "The information you brought back is that the Red Flame Army has already entered Jiuhua Dao, and the three-family coalition of eleven million strong is about to reach the junction of Wangchuan and Jiuhua Dao, correct?"

Seeing all the scouts nod, Wanyan Jun immediately showed a trace of anger on his face and reprimanded, "Twenty days, even a turtle would have arrived by now. Where is the Hou Clan's Red Flame Army? Where is the three-family coalition?"

The terrifying aura of Wanyan Jun fell upon them, and the thirty-eight scouts immediately lowered their heads and began to tremble on their knees.

"Reporting, Your Majesty, we indeed saw with our own eyes that the allied forces and the Red Flame Army were heading towards Jiuhua Dao. The information from the first wave might have been premature, but the men from our fourth wave have confirmed that they reached the south of Jiuhua Dao. It's absolutely true!"

"Yes, I also came back with the fourth wave. Their army has indeed reached the south of Jiuhua Dao, I witnessed it with my own eyes."

...

"Then why is there no trace of them throughout Jiuhua Dao?"

Wanyan Jun's face showed rage, not because he doubted these scouts, but because he hadn't seen the allied forces yet, and he didn't dare go personally to investigate, causing inevitable irritability.

"Your Majesty dispatched a total of five waves of scouts; isn't there one wave that hasn't returned yet? Could it be that the three-family coalition stopped at their original location and hasn't moved?"

Hearing Yingtang Marquis Tuoba Yu's words, Wanyan Jun furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, then quickly shook his head, saying, "No reason, the Retired Emperor's troops are engaging with the coalition, and the allied forces of the three families are here to support the coalition. Their only target is Dongyuan Path. If they stayed put, the coalition would be at odds with us."

Marquis of Yongguan, Wanyan Ping, suggested with clasped hands, "To reach Dongyuan Path, they must pass through Jiuhua. The absence of the coalition only indicates they haven't moved these past days. Why not personally check the situation, Your Majesty? A coalition of over ten million people can't simply hide."

Wanyan Jun's face darkened, recalling that he hadn't yet informed the four about certain incidents, he truthfully shared his previous encounters, being ambushed by Hou Yuxiao, Chu Kuangren, and Lu Kangping while scouting the coalition.

Upon hearing this, the four furrowed their brows slightly. With three people working together, Wanyan Jun approaching the direction of the coalition indeed carried significant risk, which explained his use of scouts. However, the delay in scouts returning, coupled with the apparent situation, indicated that the coalition had discovered their surveillance and responded deliberately.

Suddenly, Yingtang Marquis looked up with a start, exclaiming:

"No, it's unusual! Your Majesty, Hou Yuxiao's strict defense preventing you from scouting the coalition, there's a problem there!"

There's a problem?

Wanyan Jun's expression solidified in confusion, "I considered that too, but no matter what, the coalition of the three families intends to support Dongyuan Path, that's certain. I presumed before that Hou Yuxiao was concealing his march routes, perhaps to play some tricks, minimizing the loss of their eleven million heavenly army, ensuring enough troops reach Dongyuan Path. What do you mean by saying it's problematic?"

This statement resolved everyone's doubts.

Indeed, regardless of the situation, the allied forces of the three families must support the coalition at Dongyuan Path. As long as this can be confirmed, whichever way Hou Yuxiao marches, he can't avoid Jiuhua Dao.

"What I am concerned about most is Hou Clan's two hundred thousand Red Flame Army. The Sacred Army's vitality far exceeds the heavenly army. I have already stationed demons under my command to watch in the wilderness. For twenty consecutive days, none have found a trace of the Red Flame Army, so most likely, the total thirteen million coalition of the three families now remains unmoved to the north of Wangchuan Road. What does this Hou Yuxiao intend?"

Wanyan Jun's brows tightened as he looked southward. Suddenly, he turned to see the scouts behind him, seemingly just realizing, he asked in shock: "Didn't I send out five waves, totaling fifty men? The fifth wave of scouts hasn't returned, the previous four waves should account for forty men, why are there only thirty-eight?"