Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

He turned, his black cloak drawing a sharp arc through the gloomy passage. "Send a message to Meng Zhi: Slaughter all three tribes of ants. Hang their remains... on the beacon towers at the border."

"Here." Ying Qi's figure flashed and merged into the shadows.

Outside the Black Wind Mouth Canyon, there are Eagle Sorrow Stream, Ghost Crying Gorge, and Broken Soul Slope.

The killing is almost over.

The Tiele tribe's wolf riders were trapped in the narrow Yingchou Gorge. Black-armored archers occupied the cliffs on either side, raining down arrows like locusts, piercing the air with shrill cries! Iron armor was like paper beneath the armor-piercing arrows! Warhorses wailed! Knights fell dead! Baturu brandished his massive scimitar, roaring like a trapped beast, his body riddled with arrows until a heavy crossbow pierced his chest, pinning him to the icy rock face! Three thousand wolf riders, reduced to twisted corpses at the bottom of the ravine!

A poisonous miasma permeated the Devil's Crying Gorge. Wusuli's Blackwater poison arrowmen were cornered before they even reached Qin Ming's main camp. The lurking poisonous insects and the pervasive hallucinogenic miasma were more deadly than their own arrows! Soldiers slaughtered each other in a frenzy, their skin ulcerated and oozing with pus, turning to dry bones amidst their shrill howls! Wusuli attempted to use antidote powder, but a lurking rot-heart worm burrowed into his ear, causing him to convulse and bleed from all seven orifices until he died! Two thousand poison arrowmen, buried in the poison den!

On the Slope of Broken Souls, Helu's Shatuo heavy armor became the biggest joke. The steep slope, the jagged rocks, and the heavy armor became a death warrant. The Black Armor Army only needed to roll down the rolling logs and rocks from the heights. The heavy crash mixed with the crisp sound of shattering bones was the melody of death! Helu's fat body was crushed by a huge rock, leaving only a blur of flesh! A thousand heavy armored men, all destroyed!

The three allied armies melted like snowflakes thrown into a furnace. Corpses were dragged roughly and hung high atop the shattered beacon towers along the border, swaying in the biting wind like offerings to the god of death. The intense smell of blood and burnt flesh drifted for dozens of miles, becoming the cruelest boundary marker.

The news spread like a winged crow, flying to the royal courts of Beimang, Nanzhao, and Xiliang, and also flying back to the ruins of the Bone Burial Cliff.

Buried bone cliff, sacred tree king tent.

Hua Yunhong ripped the bronze ghost mask off his face and slammed it to the ground! The mask hit the stone ground with a sharp crack! The muscles on his withered face were twisted, and his narrow eyes were bloodshot, like a venomous snake choosing its prey! The wound on his arm, scratched by the poison arrow, was covered with sticky black ointment, but it still sent waves of piercing burning pain and numbness.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!" Hua Yunhong's roar was hoarse and cracked, echoing in the empty royal tent, filled with deep resentment. "Three cities! Sharing the northern border! And it can't be exchanged for a bunch of biting dogs!"

Helian Tieshu's massive figure knelt on one knee, his armor shattered, his face charred black, his silence as that of an iron statue. The few remaining Rot Heart Willow Guards within the tent, their bodies scarred by burns and erosion from the poisonous miasma, stood in silence with their heads bowed, a dead expression on their faces.

"Your Majesty..." an aide said tremblingly, "Although the three tribes have been destroyed, but...but the envoys of the three kingdoms are still waiting and watching. Tuoba Hong of the Northern Mang, Duan Siming of the Southern Zhao, Helian Bobo of the Western Liang...they..."

"Wait and see?" Hua Yunhong turned abruptly, his withered fingers almost poking the staffer's nose. His voice was filled with crazy sarcasm, "They are waiting! Waiting for Qin Ming to grind me into dust! So that they can share the remains of the sacred tree!"

He panted heavily, his chest rising and falling like a worn bellows. The shame of defeat, the pain of losing his elite troops, and the anger of being manipulated by the Three Kingdoms burned his mind like a poisonous fire.

"Qin Ming..." Hua Yunhong squeezed out the name through gritted teeth, each syllable laced with poisonous hatred. "Did you think... that destroying the Bone Burial Cliff and slaughtering three tribes meant you were guaranteed victory?"

On his withered face, he slowly forced himself into an extremely cold smile, as cold as a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.

"This king... has one last move."

He turned abruptly and walked over to the massive sheepskin map. On it, the Shenmu territory resembled a wound torn by sharp claws. His cold finger pointed fiercely toward the northwest—the vast, desolate territory marked "Northern Wilderness."

"Helian!"

"I'm here!" Helian Tieshu suddenly looked up.

"You go in person!" Hua Yunhong's voice was firm and decisive, filled with desperate madness, "Take... the last three fragments of the 'Heart of the Sacred Tree' from the Toruhan secret vault!"

Helian Tieshu's pupils suddenly shrank! The fragment of the sacred tree's heart! That was the last remnant of the Toruhan Holy Land! It contained the power of the sacred tree's origin! And it was also... the source of the deadly poison!

"Tell Tuoba Hong!" Hua Yunhong's narrow eyes blazed with poisonous flames. "These three fragments are this king's... gift to the Northern Mang Wolf Lord! As long as the Northern Mang cavalry marches south and deploys on Qin Ming's flank to tie down his forces... and once I take Qin Ming's head, Shenmu... is willing to cede... five cities west of Jackdaw Valley! No! Ten cities!"

He paused, his voice filled with even deeper allure and venom. "Tell him! In Qin Ming's camp, the 'vessel' Liu Yueli... has been fused with the power of the divine tree's origin! If we can capture her alive... her value... will far exceed ten cities!"

"And more!" Hua Yunhong's withered finger suddenly moved towards the south of the map. "Send someone! Go to Nanzhao! Tell Duan Siming! I am willing to open all trade routes in Shenmu! All tariffs will be waived! And we can even help him... suppress Xiliang!"

"Go to Xiliang! Tell Helian Bobo! I'm willing to hand over the formula for 'Heart-Eroding Willow Miasma'... as long as he... holds his troops still!"

"Sow discord! Bribery! Intimidation!" Hua Yunhong's voice was like a poisoned ice spike, slamming fiercely onto the map. "I want these three countries... to be suspicious of each other! To check each other! I also want to let the Northern Wilderness... the most greedy wolf... bite Qin Ming for me!"

"This king... wants Qin Ming... to be attacked from both sides! It's hard to protect both ends!"

"This king...will give him a fatal blow...when he is at his most proud!"

A fierce light flashed in Helian Tieshu's eyes! He kowtowed heavily: "I obey your orders!"

Hua Yunhong's withered body swayed slightly, and he barely managed to steady himself by holding onto the edge of the map. He watched Helian Tieshu's retreating back, then slowly turned southeast, toward the sky shrouded in darkness. That was the direction of Qin Ming's camp.

"Qin Ming..." He murmured softly, his voice filled with deep fatigue and even deeper madness, "Your iron bucket formation... can defend against direct attacks... but can it defend against... this hidden arrow from behind?"

"This king... is waiting to see how you... will deal with this... chaos in the North!"

Qin Ming’s main camp, the imperial tent.

The candlelight blazed brightly, yet it couldn't dispel the invisible air of solemnity and killing intent. Meng Zhi, blood-soaked, his armor still stained with shredded flesh, rested his mighty axe on the ground, his voice thundering with rage: "Your Majesty! The three tribes of ants have been slaughtered! Their bodies hang from the beacon towers! The scouts of the three kingdoms' envoys... were spying a hundred miles away, but I have driven them away!"