Bitter Realm: Have the Four Realms been united today?

Chapter 43 Using a pretext to attack Guo, both sides are destroyed.

He picked up his purple brush and, with a few strokes, sketched the mountains and rivers on the spread-out Xuan paper.

"The Battle Hall and the Enchantress Cave are both located in a narrow valley, surrounded by mountains on the east and west sides, all of which are dangerous places, even birds cannot fly through them. Only a narrow path is left to the north and south for passage."

"The Battle Hall is located in the south, guarding the southern entrance; the Demon Cave is located in the north, occupying the northern gateway."

Both sides harbored ambitions of dominance and waged constant warfare against each other for decades, yet neither could gain the upper hand.

"There were no dangerous places outside the valley, so both sides set up their main cities in the heart of the valley, opposite the entrance, to keep an eye on each other."

After explaining the distribution, Yue Tianji put down his brush and continued to describe the comparison of the forces of the two and Huan Chenbuwu.

"The strength of the Battle Hall and the Enchantress Cave is not much different. Although Huan Chenbuwu's forces are the sum of the two, it will be time-consuming and laborious to break through the entrance due to the terrain, and a considerable price will be paid."

Xuanming looked at the terrain on the paper and pondered a way to break the deadlock.

"This terrain is typical of a stronghold where one man can hold off ten thousand; the pass can only accommodate a few hundred men for close combat at a time, so the numerical advantage is greatly diminished."

"No wonder the three parties in the Heavenly Pavilion believed that the Soul Emperor had no strength left to go north. This kind of terrain could not be breached in an instant unless all the troops stationed there betrayed them."

He paused, then shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh, "But that's almost impossible."

"Both leaders are no mediocre talents; they will surely station their trusted elite troops in key locations, leaving no chance for defection."

"Otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago in this chaotic world."

Xuanming pondered for a moment, but still had no clue. He looked up at Yue Tianji and asked, "Breaking through one side is already extremely difficult. What method did you use to swiftly annihilate both sides?"

Yue Tianji chuckled and offered a hint: "If this place is completely occupied by one side, there is nothing I can do."

"What difference does it make? With Huan Chenbu's army pressing in, the two sides will definitely unite if one falls and the other falls. Even if there were past grievances, they will surely put them aside for the time being."

"Huan Chenbu used the Battle Hall as a route, entered from the south, bypassed the Demon Cave's heavy defenses, and went straight to the empty main city to capture the kingpin."

"As long as Zhan Tang grants passage, once the mission is accomplished, he can share the Demon Cave with Huan Chen Bu Wu. And Zhan Tang..." Yue Tianji slowly uttered three words in Xuan Ming's incredulous gaze.

"I agreed."

"That's impossible," Xuanming blurted out. "How could Zhan Tang possibly agree to such an obvious 'borrowing a path to attack Guo' strategy?"

"I would rather believe that the army stationed at the pass was turned by you, sir, than believe that the master of the War Hall would be so stupid as not to see through this plan."

"Sir, you're definitely hiding something!" He looked intently at Yue Tianji, his eyes full of curiosity. "Sir, don't keep us in suspense!"

"That's the truth. I sent an envoy to propose an alliance, and the War Hall agreed." Yue Tianji said calmly, taking a sip of his tea, and then continued:

"The key to this is today's final test. I won't make it difficult for you; feel free to ask me anything you don't understand, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge!"

"What if I can't guess it today?" Xuanming asked tentatively.

"If you can't guess, you can't guess," Yue Tianji said calmly. "Just forget about this question."

"Forget?" Xuanming almost jumped up. "Sir, you're really talking without understanding the situation." His curiosity had been completely piqued, like a hundred claws scratching at his heart. It was not something that could be forgotten so easily.

Yue Tianji ignored Xuanming's complaints, clearly determined to let him figure out the mystery on his own.

Seeing this, Xuanming knew it would be difficult to get any more clues out of him. He was helpless but extremely unwilling to give up.

"Sir," he changed his tone, a hint of slyness in it, "if I'm truly right, would you be willing to give me a reward?"

Yue Tianji raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on his lips: "What do you want?"

"If I guess correctly," Xuanming carefully chose his words, "I will only assist you for two hours when you are handling government affairs in the future."

"I want to use the remaining time... for cultivation."

"Ha!" Yue Tianji chuckled, a knowing glint in his eyes. "It seems Jing Yunfeng truly knows everything."

"What's the matter, Brother Guan Jing?" Xuanming asked, feigning ignorance, having already prepared his explanation in his mind, determined not to implicate others.

"It was clearly you who said it yesterday that you and the strategist are the only ones who can handle the affairs of the world, and you are not up to the task."

"Could it be... there's some hidden story behind this?"

"No." Yue Tianji shook his head and chuckled, understanding Xuanming's reluctance to implicate Jing Yunfeng.

But Jing Yunfeng told the truth because he was acting on Jing Yunfeng's orders, so why would Jing Yunfeng be angry about it?

"If you can guess correctly, I will grant your request."

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond! You mustn't go back on your word then!"

Xuanming immediately perked up, his eyes sparkling with excitement, as if he had been injected with boundless energy.

It didn't seem like they were solving a difficult problem; it looked more like they were going to receive some enormous reward.

He picked up the purple brush and, while rapidly deducing the plan described by Yue Tianji in his mind, quickly wrote down the key points on the Xuan paper.

At this moment, he focused all his attention on this problem, and nothing else mattered to him.

This is not only about the outcome of a test, but also about his overall future plans.

He must win this game!

"Such an obvious scheme, the Master of the War Hall couldn't possibly be unaware of it. Why did he agree?"

The pen paused slightly, and the ink spread out in a small patch on the paper.

"However, no matter what schemes the War Hall may have, it will never allow Huan Chenbuwu's army to penetrate deep into its territory."

"And sir... will also not dispatch a large force, otherwise it would easily arouse the suspicion of the Succubus Cave, and the one carrying out this decapitation operation will definitely be a small elite force!"

Xuanming changed the subject and wrote the four characters "Four Great Radiant Generals" on the paper, pointing an arrow directly at the symbol representing the main city of the Demon Cave.

"If I were the lord of the Demon Cave, even if I allied with the War Hall, I would never be completely at ease and would certainly leave a large force to protect the main city."

This force is a major obstacle to the elite forces executing the plan.

"When you sent someone to discuss the alliance with the War Hall, did you deliberately conceal your whereabouts?" Xuanming suddenly looked up and asked.

"No," Yue Tianji replied calmly. "To gain the trust of the Demon Cave, Zhan Tang has already revealed in detail the matter of my envoy proposing an alliance."

"It must have been you, sir, who suggested that Zhan Tang act in this way?" A glint flashed in Xuan Ming's eyes. "Zhan Tang's reply to the Enchantress Cave must have been that they had seen through your scheme and vowed not to cooperate with Huan Chen Bu Wu."

"Ha! Absolutely perfect." Yue Tianji's eyes revealed undisguised admiration.

At this moment, Xuanming was full of vigor and ambition, showing his sharp edge and finally revealing the spirit that a young man should have.

Xuanming, however, did not notice the praise. After receiving the affirmative reply, he once again immersed himself in his own thoughts.