From Yun Jing to the border shared by Tian Jun and the Hu Kingdom spanned over a thousand li. Even if Ye Jingyu’s entourage marched at a rapid pace of a hundred li a day, it would still take a solid fortnight. However, an army of over ten thousand was far more complicated than just a few people; provisions and logistics consumed an enormous amount of time.

Fortunately, news from the front indicated that Xiao Geng’s Cloud Army had secured the frontier, awaiting Ye Jingyu’s Iron Army to launch a surprise attack on the Hu Kingdom... Therefore, Ye Jingyu merely needed to reach the border within a month to fulfill his mission... For this expedition, Ye Jingyu brought everyone close to him: Chi Yi Xiu, Hu Yan Qi, and Hu Yan Meng were all top-tier experts.

Bi Li, Ye Long Yi, Yue You Qun, and Ying Xiao Xiao were all masters of the Xiantian realm. Although Zhuge Yi Shi appeared to possess no inner energy at all, Ye Jingyu was uncertain of his true strength. Only Lin Xiaoyi had just managed to cultivate a single thread of true energy, reaching the Martial Warrior realm...

Originally, Ye Jingyu hadn't intended to bring him along, but considering that once he left, he would be the only one remaining at the imposing Zhen Guo Mansion, which felt too desolate, he figured it was better to take him along... As for the Zhen Guo Mansion, the Third Young Master would naturally manage its affairs... Despite Lin Xiaoyi’s low cultivation, he possessed remarkable fortitude.

After more than ten days of forced marching, he never once complained, a fact that greatly satisfied Ye Jingyu... After another ten-plus days, the Iron Army finally crossed Tian Jun and arrived at the foot of the Tiangang Mountain Range. This was a colossal mountain range stretching for tens of thousands of li, running from the northernmost edge of the Dou Hun Continent down to the Southern Wilderness Forest, completely isolating the eastern side of the continent from the outside world.

Only at the current juncture where the Hu Kingdom bordered the Shu Yun Kingdom was there a gorge wide enough to accommodate ten thousand passing people... Beyond this point, only Storm City, situated in a gap within the Tiangang Mountains north of the Tian Yuan Empire, allowed an army passage. Other sections were simply too narrow for a host of ten thousand soldiers to navigate...

Now, Ye Jingyu and his company stood at the base of the Tiangang Mountains. Just one more day’s march to the northwest would bring them to the border between the Shu Yun Kingdom and the Hu Kingdom... Gazing at the cloud-piercing, seemingly endless mountain range, and the vast, undulating waves of autumn forest stretching out before them, Ye Jingyu immediately issued the order to encamp and rest...

The border was only a day away. According to Luo Xiao Feng’s instructions, he was to cooperate with Xiao Geng in attacking the Hu Kingdom. Although Ye Jingyu held little regard for Luo Xiao Feng, he still had to adhere to such orders.

However, he did not trust Xiao Geng. Furthermore, before setting out, Luo Xiao Feng had informed him that the primary objective this time was the complete annihilation of the Hu Kingdom’s Mastiff-Lion Battle Group—the Hu Kingdom's most elite contingent. Though numbering only five thousand, every single soldier had reached the Martial Warrior realm.

Compounding this, they rode Mastiff-Lions, a type of second-tier fierce beast from the Southern Wilderness Forest, comparable in size to warhorses, which vastly amplified their combat prowess. They were not something ordinary legions could withstand; even the Cloud Army would suffer heavy casualties to crush this single regiment... Luo Xiao Feng’s strategy was to use sheer numbers to grind this regiment down.

Once achieved, the million-strong Hu Kingdom would stand no chance against the Shu Yun Kingdom, allowing the Cloud Army to sweep through unhindered and crush the Hu Kingdom in one fell swoop... This was Luo Xiao Feng’s scheme of killing with a borrowed knife... Ye Jingyu naturally could not defy Luo Xiao Feng’s order, but he absolutely could not allow this army to be completely wiped out.

This was the first army he had accepted command of. According to his and Luo Ruo Feng’s vision, this force was to be molded into an elite unit capable of contending with the four great legions—Wind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning. How could he allow them to be squandered here?

If they were all consumed, wouldn't everything he had done up to this point be for naught... Under Zhuge Yi Shi’s direction, the more than ten thousand troops formed their camp into a Nine Palaces formation, ensuring they had ample time to react to any sudden emergencies... The command tent was pitched at the very center of the encampment.

Eighty warriors of the Chi Yi tribe and twenty archers from the Hu Yan tribe were divided into two shifts, guarding the tent so closely that not even a shadow could pass. Inside the command tent sat Ye Jingyu... Lin Xiaoyi stood behind him, attending to his tea and water...

Zhuge Yi Shi, clad in a white long robe, sat to his left, holding a folding fan, his eyes fixed on the map spread before them... Chen Qi, armored in black, sat to Ye Jingyu’s right. Although his cultivation was the lowest among them, his experience was the richest, and he was the oldest.

Aside from Zhuge Yi Shi, he held the highest standing in the tent, and Bi Li and the others held no resentment toward this arrangement... Over the past month of training, Chen Qi’s bearing and conduct had already earned the deep respect of Bi Li and the others, who now addressed him as ‘Elder Brother Chen’... Bi Li, wearing light purple armor, sat beside Ye Long Yi, who was clad in white armor.

Yue You Qun, in green armor, sat opposite Ying Xiao Xiao, who wore light blue armor... Every face in the tent was etched with solemnity... “Gentlemen, this is the Sovereign Lord’s order.

What are your thoughts?” Now far from Yun Jing, and surrounded only by his trusted people, with Chi Yi Xiu and others guarding the exterior, Ye Jingyu felt no need to guard his words and relayed Luo Xiao Feng’s command directly... “Killing with a borrowed knife… killing two birds with one stone…” Zhuge Yi Shi blurted out without hesitation... Upon hearing this, Ye Jingyu was instantly filled with admiration.

Even he, without Luo Ruo Feng’s prior warning, would have struggled to grasp that implication immediately... “Mr. Zhuge suggests the Sovereign Lord intends to use the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group to destroy our Iron Army?” Bi Li and the others were not fools; upon hearing Zhuge Yi Shi’s statement, they cried out in alarm...

“Precisely. The composition of the Iron Army is far too complex; this is absolutely not a faction a monarch desires to see. This invasion of the Hu Kingdom, I suspect, has as its primary goal the elimination of the Iron Army,” Zhuge Yi Shi affirmed, speaking plainly without concern for what Luo Xiao Feng might do if he heard such words...

“Then what should we do? Are we supposed to march to our deaths?” Ying Xiao Xiao immediately clamored, being the most averse to risking his life among the four... “Whether it is marching to our deaths depends on ourselves.

While the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group is formidable, most of their soldiers are merely Martial Warriors; few have reached the Martial Master realm—perhaps fewer than we have in the Iron Army. However, their greatest strength lies in their mounts. Although they are only second-tier fierce beasts, when paired with Martial Warrior experts, they can exhibit power surpassing a Martial Master, especially on the battlefield where intricate martial arts and techniques become secondary.

When they charge, martial arts play very little role,” Zhuge Yi Shi stated calmly, as the strategist of the Iron Army, resource management and planning were his inherent duties...