Since it is a national war, it is impossible for it to end swiftly.

As time goes by, Yan Daiqing looks grimly at the increasing battle reports, the growing population, and the lurking threats. Only the gold and silver from the nobles on the grasslands manage to lighten his mood somewhat.

The scorching summer sun, under the murderous aura stirred by swords and blades, gradually loses its glare and heat. A chill begins to seep into the wind, and the Great Khan’s numerous counterattacks become less fierce.

However, there seems to be a tacit understanding among these forces.

If he attacks the allied forces of Chen and Qin, then Xiyi City would take action.

Attacking the Ying Country’s Military God Jiang Su...

No one would choose the toughest nut to crack.

And if one attacks the Xiyi City troops primarily responsible for migration and land occupation, they would face combined retaliation from Jiang Su and Prince Qin. The Great Khan tried several times, yet all attempts ended in failure.

The most basic One-Character Long Snake Formation of the Military School.

Strike the head, and the tail responds; strike the tail, and the head responds.

Strike the middle, and both the head and tail respond.

The Central Plains generals, presiding over this battlefield, have integrated such a simple, basic formation into their strategy. Though originally foes, they now display astounding tacit understanding.

The Great Khan continues to resist, continues to wage war, yet finds his people dwindling, his options narrowing, and his supporters dwindling with each passing moment.

Like a trapped beast.

The Central Plains generals excel in the most forthright and honest combat skill.

Attack and conquer the major forces.

The essence of the Military School in the Central Plains, thoroughly showcased in this strategic cooperation. The so-called [pursuing the deer together], and the dignified Great Khan of the Turkic, in this campaign, seems to have become the [deer] pursued by the Central Plains Divine Generals.

Another winter arrives, with fierce snow and wind, even Jiangnan is shrouded in a cold winter atmosphere. The sun is thin, and the New Year is approaching. Though the Northern Border is fiercely engaged in battle, in the Central Plains and Jiangnan, people do not feel the war’s reality.

Xue Changqing, who joined the Qilin Army as he wished, yawns.

He hugs his Battle Halberd, pondering recent changes.

It is just... the prices of beef and mutton seem to have dropped again, as have the prices of cattle and sheep hides. Aside from this, life remains the same, with people in the Central Plains and Jiangnan still immersed in everyday trivial matters, talking about things that ease the heart.

However, he knows that the battlefield is still grim, where the bravest people of the Central Plains strangle the enemy’s fangs far beyond the borders, thereby protecting the child on the roadside frowning, unwilling to attend private school, protecting the duck blood noodle soup that costs ten wen per big bowl, and safeguarding this lazy, peaceful, yet somewhat mundane daily life.

Nonetheless, he expresses dissatisfaction with how mundane his daily life has become.

The young man bites a twig, furrowing his eyebrows, watching the quiet writing girl over there. Her skin is not very fair, but her eyes sparkle, her hair is simply tied up, and her countenance bears the resilience of the Western Regions’ wind and sand.

"Damn it, I’m willing to start as a common soldier, but why."

"Do I have to stand guard and protect a woman from the Western Regions?"

"It seems, she’s called... Saatanati?"

Xue Changqing is displeased, as a new recruit of the Qilin Army in the Third Layer Heaven, he has been assigned the task of protecting the youngest female Historian in Jiangnan. Hugging his Battle Halberd, he watches the girl, who supports her chin with her hand and suddenly mutters: "...it’s about to start." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Huh?? A fight? Where is the fight?!

Xue Changqing, almost mentored by Chen Chengbi, lights up with anticipation.

"What?"

Saatanati glances at this unruly Jiangnan youth. Her stubborn nature often conflicts with the perception of this evidently spoiled young man, yet she still explains:

"Look, Tianshu’s front line is advancing, moving overall to the north."

"Ying Country’s Military God is occupying the eastern grasslands, advancing north along the rivers."

Saatanati effortlessly sketches a rough map on the falling snow and outlines the general military movement positions based on the situation. In her youth, she followed the Qilin Army in the Western Regions and later learned many things.

Mystical Skills, Stargazing Skills, Divination.

The situation map is very clear and bright.

Xue Changqing softens his defiance, carefully observing until he finally sees something. As the various forces advance, they continuously slice, reducing the Great Khan’s maneuvering space. Eventually, the grassland overlord, that formidable Third Divine General, like an arrogant but powerless wolf pack, gets driven to a position.

"Xiyi City, Tianshu, and that Ying Country Grandmaster."

"Are about to [converge]."

"To engage in the final——"

"Decisive battle."

Xue Changqing’s eyes widen, staring at the strategy map as if witnessing the vast grasslands where armies from various sides converge, with different armors and flags surging between heaven and earth.

In the spring of the eighteenth year of the Tianqi era, Prince Qin was twenty-two years old.

Just three days past the New Year, the air still has a joyous, festive mood, mingled with a sense of laziness flavored with fireworks. Military God Jiang Su, Xiyi City’s City Lord Li Zhaowen, Prince Qin Li Guanyi, Chen Wenmian, and Chen Dingye, assemble an army of five hundred thousand, claiming a million.

Together, they hunt down the Great Khan, the final showdown outside the [Five Great Lotus Pond Volcanoes].

The "Chen History" records: Plowing courtyards and sweeping caves.

The "Ying History" records: Pursuing the fleeing north, a million corpses left behind.

"Historical Chronicles·First Annals": The upper class gains a million households, ultimately does not kill civilians, Ashina kowtows with pleas, slices his palm with a dagger, tears streaming down, willing to sacrifice for the upper, wishing to be buried beside the upper’s mausoleum.

The eighteenth year of Tianqi, the dragon raises its head.

The three armies converge, a nation-destruction battle.