Amidst the cacophony of war, where arrows fell like iron rain and Flying Chariot Crossbows rampaged through the lines, His Highness Eun advanced toward the slaughter with an unnerving calm. Warhorses kissed the earth and men screamed their last breaths, yet the Prince spoke as if strolling through a garden.

“Our Imperial Family possesses a myriad of extraordinary abilities,” His Highness Eun began, his gaze fixed on the distant figure of his sister. “Some, like her, are born with power capable of shattering the world. Others, however, possess insignificant, trivial knacks—understanding the language of mosquitoes or merely darkening one’s surroundings.”

“I see,” Jin Cheon-hee replied, keeping pace.

“Naturally, since such abilities are useless in combat and politics, those individuals are distanced from the fight for the throne early on,” His Highness Eun continued. “However, some abilities manifest completely different powers than initially perceived. Even my sister, when young, believed her talent was simply making spoons heavy. Yet she became stronger by developing it.”

“Training?”

“Some abilities grow through repetition. My sister once declared she would push a mountain. She spent her days thrusting her Serpent Spear into a cliff face. Honestly, she appeared utterly mad—a slight human, not even twenty years old, warring against unyielding stone.”

“It must have been a strange sight.”

“And her temper was foul,” His Highness Eun added with a wry smile. “On days when her hands were battered and bruised, she spread her irritation like a plague. That fiery nature remains unchanged. But one day, the cliff, which had not yielded an inch, began to shift.”

“She really pushed a mountain,” Jin Cheon-hee murmured, impressed.

“My brothers and I watched it unfold. On the day she moved the entire mountain, she left for the battlefield and became the God of War.”

Was that purely due to practice? Jin Cheon-hee wondered silently.

“Ah, but her level of Heat Control was awakened during the war. Initially, she only learned weight control.”

Wangya Ju’s Serpent Spear had moved a mountain; that was the foundation of the God of War’s pride.

“On the other hand, there are those who do not develop their given abilities at all.”

“I understand.”

“We know of a half-brother with the peculiar ability to ‘not grow.’ Considering the numerous siblings we have, referring to him as a brother is somewhat ambiguous, yet he and I are undeniably related by blood.”

Jin Cheon-hee felt a chill that had nothing to do with the wind. “A peculiar affliction. Does he remain trapped in the guise of a child?”

“Indeed. Moreover, it is possible that his intelligence halted its development as well. Since childhood, he was deemed an idiot and promptly removed from the succession. Of course, the report states he is a fool, but it could be an act. The Imperial Palace has terrible Feng Shui, does it not? Even a man with two good eyes might go blind there, only to regain his sight the moment he leaves the castle walls. That is the nature of that place.”

“The Imperial Castle is indeed a place where trouble often takes root.”

They were nearing the front lines. Ahead, they could see Wangya Ju leading the main unit, her presence commanding the vanguard with grandiose violence.

Rooooar!

Amidst the cries of war, the copper tang of blood, and the chaotic dance of life and death, His Highness Eun spoke softly, his voice cutting through the din.

“Strangely enough, that boy grew up and now roams the world. Even though his ability is simply ‘not growing.’ And yet, he pretends not to recognize me. Though I am not certain if it is truly amnesia.”

Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened slightly.

“…!”

“I decided to play along and pretend ignorance as well. Just to see how long he maintains this facade.”

Finally, His Highness Eun’s horse arrived at the designated location. As if waiting for this precise moment, the ranks parted—no, Wangya Ju had deliberately carved a path—and the Suksin Tribe surged forward like a raging tide.

“Finally, it is time for this Limited Great Sage Equal to Heaven to scatter his clones.”

“…Do you intend to pull out a hair and blow on it?”

“Well, the principle is similar.”

In that split second, His Highness Eun steadied his breath. When he opened his mouth, it was not the language of the Central Plains that emerged, but the guttural tongue of the Suksin Tribe.

“Qrwt re Qetxetn!”

[Horses. Rampage.]

It was Spiritual Speech, the Authority to control cognition through words. Combined with the Lion’s Roar, the command rippled outward, overriding the senses of the Suksin mounts.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the horses he controlled. The Suksin tribesmen, masters of riding, suddenly perceived their beasts as rampaging. They swung their reins incorrectly in panic, and the horses, startled by the battlefield’s hysteria and their masters’ erratic behavior, truly began to thrash wildly.

It created a momentary gap. Wherever the voice reached, chaos blossomed without exception.

Wangya Ju broke through that breach.

“Well done, my Eun.”

This is the Emperor’s court. Everyone, bow your heads. It’s fine. We will personally make those heads bow!

Slash—

The heads of the Suksin warriors fell like overripe fruit. Judging by their splendid armor, they were at least of general rank. In an instant, hundreds of charging cavalry were annihilated, and the black stones of the Suksin formation shifted.

“Ah… Insanely fast transition,” Wangya Ju clicked her tongue, realizing the enemy had already adapted.

The Suksin did not charge blindly. The moment the horses panicked, they immediately transitioned to a flanking maneuver while loosing arrows. This wasn’t the work of a distant strategist, but the sharp improvisation of veteran generals—men who had honed hunting tactics to the extreme on the grasslands.

They fired volleys and released a hawk.

Act first, report later.

Once the hawk reached their high command, the strategist would dictate the next move. If the Empire lost here, the entire nation would be in peril. If the Suksin were anything like the Mongol armies of old, they would grow stronger with every conquest, their supply lines fed by looting. Consequently, not a single inch of land could be surrendered.

Their arrows did not target Wangya Ju’s impregnable unit; instead, they rained death upon the softer targets. They employed a strategy of attacking the weak to isolate the strong. Abandoning the attempt to kill the God of War, who was clad in treasure armor and wielded supernatural might, they focused on capturing the general by killing his mount. The Suksin arrows concentrated on the soldiers surrounding Wangya Ju and His Highness Eun.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Hold on! Deploy the next Flying Chariot Crossbows!”

Despite the chaos, the formation held.

Great General Yuk Heon, the commander of the main unit, made a remarkable decision. Instead of fearing defeat or seeking to preserve his own life, he chose to offer his existence to the battlefield. He commanded the Eight Trigrams Formation with the fluidity of water, maneuvering it to surround the enemy with a thicker shield.

The Armored Flying Chariot Crossbows, which had survived the fire attack, advanced with renewed vigor.

Boom-boom-boom!

Jin Cheon-hee scanned the area for Noe-jin but saw no sign of the messenger. He switched to the Thousand Li Sound Transmission, a high-level martial art that consumed vast amounts of internal energy.

The biggest drawback was the agonizing headache it inflicted on both sender and receiver. Using such a technique while navigating the crossroads of life and death was perilous, yet given the urgency, Yuk Heon had to be listening. Cold sweat streamed down the General’s forehead as he commanded the Imperial Army, enduring the splitting pain to maintain the rapid command system needed to counter the Horse Spirit Art masters.

Then, with the resonant clang of a gong, the friendly main unit began a slow, disciplined retreat. The Left Wing and Right Wing armies peeled away, separating from one another.

The armies are distancing themselves. Is this Master’s stratagem? Or a gamble by the Imperial command?

Jin Cheon-hee could not be certain. However, immediately, the next white stone landed on the empty Tengen—the center point.

His Highness Eun shouted, his voice amplified by internal energy. “Imperial Army, listen! The God of War Pung Ju-ha is here! Fill your hearts with loyalty! Do not panic and follow orders—!”

As the Lion’s Roar echoed, a tangible fighting spirit rose from the ranks.

Rooooar—!

So this was the true application of His Highness Eun’s ability. Manipulating a few courtiers in the deep palace was a parlor trick compared to this mass inspiration. In game terms, it was a massive area-of-effect buff. Soldiers began to move with mechanical precision and soaring morale. Even as the Suksin charged fiercely to punish the retreating main unit, the formation remained unbroken.

“Block! Block them!”

“Wangya Ju is with us!”

“Glory to the Imperial Army!”

When the three armies had distanced themselves by nearly five li, a sudden change overtook the battlefield.

Fwhip!

A gigantic flag unfurled.

On a pole towering ten zhang into the air, a banner with an area over two zhang began to flutter in the exact center of the three corps. Simultaneously, hundreds of other flags, shorter but still imposing, soared skyward in unison.

Goosebumps raced across Jin Cheon-hee’s skin.

This world felt closer to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms than dry historical records. Here, the mystique of Zhuge Liang’s Stone Sentinel Maze was a tangible reality. It was a world where clans fought using Sword Formations, where the Founder retired to ascend as an Immortal rather than falling as a star at Wuzhang Plains. Yin-Yang and the Five Elements formed the foundation, and the Eight Trigrams unfolded martial arts upon it.

The opponent broke through like tanks using Horse Spiritual Art, and arrow rain pierced steel, kissing the blood-stained earth.

Then, a sound rang out, vibrating through the bones like a tuning fork struck by a giant.

Hummmmm—Kreeeeeeee—

The strange, oscillating noise assaulted the ears. Hearing it, Jin Cheon-hee felt his body seize, a slight paralysis taking hold. He knew what this was. It was one of the Zhuge Clan’s secret arts, a technique known only to Zhuge Rin and his disciple after the clan’s massacre.

True Eight Trigrams Formation—Bewildering Soul-Returning Formation.

Master has steeled his heart.

Bewildering Soul-Returning. To separate the soul was to bewilder, but the ear-ringing sound made it physically manifest. It caused friendly soldiers to feel heavy, struggling to maintain their posture. However, the true value of this art lay in defense. Everything within a radius of tens of li was affected, but it was infinitely more effective against beasts with sensitive hearing than against humans.

This was a trap—a snare designed specifically to slaughter the Suksin Tribe, a force composed entirely of cavalry.

Neigh—! Snort-snort!

All the Suksin horses began to rampage, their eyes rolling back in terror. The soldiers tried desperately to calm their mounts, but they were already trapped within the invisible walls of the sonic formation.

From this moment on, the side with superior numbers would hold the overwhelming advantage.

Was this Master’s stratagem all along?

If the enemy responded to the Eight Trigrams Formation by constantly transforming, Jin Cheon-hee’s master had done the same. Zhuge Rin’s goal was never to penetrate deep into the battle line to behead the Khan; if so, he wouldn’t have deployed the defensive Eight Trigrams from the start. Instead, his goal was to peel away the enemy numbers like the skin of an apple, forcing a ruinous exchange ratio.

Wangya Ju was merely the decoy.

Using the God of War as bait was a bold, terrifying move.