"Hero Li, where did you obtain such an abundance of military supplies?"

Qu Sheng could no longer suppress his curiosity.

"Bought them."

Li Mo replied absentmindedly while maintaining the portal to his pocket dimension.

Well, he wasn’t exactly absentminded.

The constant stream of system notifications ringing in his ears—multiple alerts chiming every second—was making his head buzz.

There was simply too much to sort through, let alone inspect properly.

"B...bought?"

The great commander nearly choked on his own spit.

"Rest assured, Commander, I’ve done nothing illegal. Everything was acquired through legitimate means."

Li Mo paused before adding,

"Oh, and besides the supplies, there’s more."

"Some items require careful handling—gentle transport, no rough movements."

As soon as the words left his mouth—

Thud!

A cloud of dust erupted from the compacted earth as massive, intricately inscribed ballistae landed, their cold metallic glint under the torchlight sending shivers down the spines of onlookers.

Then came crates lined with iron, exuding an explosive aura—no one could guess what lay inside.

But Qu Sheng, a master of the Inner Realm, took one glance, and his instincts screamed danger.

Whatever was in those boxes was anything but harmless.

There were also thunderbeast hide drums, towering thrice the height of a man... formation stones carved with mountain-suppressing glyphs...

"......"

Qu Sheng stared at this arsenal of weapons—each strictly prohibited by imperial law—and fell into deep contemplation.

Legitimate means?

What kind of legitimate means could procure military-grade hardware like this?

Even the elite forces of the Greenwood Barracks didn’t have gear this refined!

"Brother Li, what’s this?"

Huang Donglai’s eyes lit up—he had a particular fondness for lethally efficient "external tools."

"That’s the Rongyuan Military Ballista. Even Inner Realm experts wouldn’t dare take a direct hit. If powered by mystic crystals, the force is even greater—though it’ll break after a few shots."

"And this?"

"Thunderfire Pellets—wait! Handle those gently! One spark, and the whole batch goes off. One wrong move, and the entire camp gets blown sky-high."

"Tsk... mind if I borrow one for research?"

"Just be careful."

"Come on, Brother Li, you know me."

Li Mo continued carefully unloading the arsenal.

As the warehouse filled with provisions and an increasingly staggering array of heavy weaponry, Qu Sheng’s initial shock gave way to exhilaration, then finally numb disbelief.

There was just... too much.

So much that even earth-shattering surprises became routine.

And Hero Li had mentioned this was only the first batch—more was coming.

After a long silence, Qu Sheng stopped asking where Li Mo got these things or how he delivered them.

"Hero Li... why are you doing this?"

The commander couldn’t fathom the young man’s motives.

The value of these items was incalculable.

Enough to establish a sect. Enough to live lavishly for ten lifetimes.

Li Mo could have left—vanished without a trace, taking Ying Bing with him.

Yet here he was, risking everything to bring back not just supplies, but contraband weapons that defied imperial decree.

Qu Sheng had countless questions, but he asked none of them.

Before long, the camp blazed with torchlight.

Mounted messengers galloped through the barracks, relaying orders:

"By the Commander’s decree—Hero Li’s generosity funds a feast for the entire army!"

Before battle, filling the soldiers’ bellies was the surest way to boost morale.

Tents flapped open as soldiers paused their duties, turning in surprise and delight toward the messengers.

A feast for the army?

It had been so long since those words were last heard. The camp had gone stretches where even meager compensation for the fallen was scarce. Only strict discipline had prevented mutiny.

Many had whispered that, if things continued this way, the Greenwood Barracks wouldn’t survive as a fighting force.

Now, the name shouted by those messengers was like a lantern in the darkness.

"Thank you, Hero Li!"

The roar of gratitude shook the heavens.

Meanwhile, three figures made their way to the central command tent.

Listening to the waves of cheers, Qu Sheng clasped his hands and bowed deeply.

"This salute is on behalf of the troops."

"The soldiers of Greenwood Barracks haven’t received full pay in years."

Li Mo didn’t refuse the gesture, smiling instead. "Feasting the entire army—that’s too grand a credit."

"The men need faith. They need to know who stands with them." Qu Sheng shook his head.

After a brief silence, Li Mo chuckled.

"Commander Qu, how much has your confidence in victory grown now?"

"Somehow, looking at you... I’d say our chances are tenfold."

As they spoke, the trio entered the command tent.

With provisions secured, the gathered officers—who had waited impatiently—launched into strategizing based on the latest reports.

"With our rear secured, we need only hold Greenwood City until the prince sends reinforcements."

"But the southern tribes—their numbers aren’t overwhelming, yet they have those cursed disaster beasts. Can we really hold?"

Defenders typically held the advantage, even against superior forces.

But this time, the human conscripts were the least concern. The real threat was the so-called "Witch Spirits"—the disaster beasts.

Greenwood City had repelled small beast tides before.

Yet this time, the creatures moved with alarming coordination and purpose, more like an enemy army than mindless monsters.

"This doesn’t feel like a beast tide," Li Mo mused aloud.

"It’s more like... fighting a rival kingdom."

"That’s not far off," Qu Sheng said grimly from the head seat.

"Many of the approaching clans are remnants of the Great Shang Dynasty. There are also experts from the Demon Calling Sect involved. And one named Han Zhen—his cultivation level is unknown, but his methods are bizarre. The disaster beasts seem to obey him."

"Han Zhen..."

Hearing the familiar name, Li Mo scanned the room before saying,

"He was once a seventh-realm Dao Sovereign. Used forbidden arts to cling to life."

"Seventh realm?!"

The tent fell deathly silent. The officers exchanged grim glances; some opened their mouths but found no words.

The seventh realm stood at the pinnacle of known power in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.

Even the prestigious Heaven and Earth Rankings stopped recording their standings, for each had mastered their own "Dao."

There was no hierarchy among Dao Sovereigns—each wielded abilities beyond mortal comprehension, impossible to compare.

Sensing the tension, Li Mo lightened the mood with a grin.

"Then again, Han Zhen was defeated by me and Ying Bing."

Privately, he wasn’t so sure.

Han Zhen couldn’t be measured by ordinary standards—he wasn’t their contemporary, but an ancient monster.

What if he had some method to temporarily regain his peak strength, no matter the cost?

No one could say.

But Li Mo wouldn’t dampen morale. Victory required belief in victory.

"Hero Li speaks true! If he and the Frost Fairy defeated Han Zhen once, they can do it again!"

"That withered corpse is just borrowing a body!"

"Still, we can’t ignore Helian Wu of the Duoyue Tribe either..."

The generals encouraged one another and began deliberating once more.

Meanwhile, Li Mo silently assessed his own capabilities.

In his current state, he could harness the power of the military formation. If he further amplified it with the World's Essence in that condition, even a single strike of his Heaven-Overturning Hammer would likely overwhelm an Outer Realm expert.

Not to mention his mastery of the Somersault Cloud, Indestructible Diamond Body, and the Seventy-Two Transformations.

And there was more.

He still had one thing left undone.

The "Monkey King's Path to Enlightenment" diagram was now ready for further refinement. Once completed, his strength would reach even greater heights.

Moreover, as everyone knew, Li Mo—the paragon of virtue—was a genius.

Though not necessarily a scholar of military strategy, he possessed a profound understanding of the "Art of the Brawl King," which contained numerous methods for overcoming stronger opponents.

War, after all, was just a large-scale brawl—so this made perfect sense.

His mind brimmed with ingenious ideas, though their practicality remained untested.

"We must win."

Li Mo clenched his fist.

Beyond other reasons, he had never forgotten the true cause of this war's premature arrival.

The Jade Phoenix God.

And the Jade Phoenix God had already merged with the Icebound One.

.....