Published at 17th of December 2025 8:38 am

Chapter 1348: Day One

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Inside a meeting room within the Kurogane Pass, a group of Mana Vortex Magi of the Tiesha Tang had gathered.

Sitting at the head of the table was the mighty General of the Tiesha Tang’s army that was guarding the Wall.

The Mana Vortex Magus, Han Xun.

He had a deep scar that ran over his nose bridge, and another one that ran over his eye, giving him a highly intimidating appearance.

He glanced at all the men present in the room. At last, his piercing gaze settled on his Vice General.

"Zhou Liang," he began, his voice deep. "Seeing that our guests have arrived unscathed, I take it that the ambush team has failed."

"Yes, Boss." Zhou Liang sighed. "A minor setback, I assure you."

Han Xun scoffed. He then turned to his intelligence director and asked, "What of the Tsuitsui spies? Have you dealt with them?"

Yin Caishen, the intelligence and espionage chief of the army, displayed a wicked smile. "Of course, Boss. I’ve been taking good care of them. They will be ready soon."

"Good." Han Xun nodded. "How many do the Tsuitsui bastards think we have?"

Yin Caishen’s smile widened. "About a thousand."

The room burst into laughter, thier eyes full of glee.

Intelligence and counterintelligence were the invisible backbone of warfare.

Good intelligence gave commanders the information they must have, such as enemy numbers, supply lines, morale, terrain advantages, hidden weak points, etc.

Counterintelligence, on the other hand, protected one’s own secrets while feeding the enemy false information.

Deception could move an entire battlefield before a single soldier even moved. If one misled the enemy about their location, their strength, or their intentions, they force them to make the wrong decisions.

Armies have won wars by appearing weaker than they were, stronger than they were, or somewhere they never actually were.

In the end, wars were not only fought with swords and siege engines, but also with misinformation, misdirection, and the manipulation of perception.

"Have their spies ready for display before the sun rises," Han Xun muttered, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

"Yes, Boss." Yin Caishen cupped his fists and bowed.

Han Xun rose to his feet, then solemnly declared. "Not a single Tsuitsui should be left alive. We must annihilate every last one of them, especially the Venom Dragon!"

Speaking of Goro Tsuitsui, Han Xun felt the cross-scars on his face throb. His eyes gleamed with a mad light of vengeance.

He swung his hand and ordered in a dignified voice:

"Prepare for battle! At dawn, we strike first!"

***

The first light slowly crept over the jagged peaks, washing the Kurogane Pass in a pale, cold glow. The air was still, the kind of silence that came only before the violence.

The shadows that had blanketed the valley started to gradually thin, revealing ranks of Tsuitsui soldiers already in formation. All of them had grim looks on their faces, for they saw something they had not expected.

Standing near the command post at the back of the army formation, Goro, too, had a dark look on his face as he witnessed the sight before him.

Dozens of bodies hung from the stone parapet, swaying slightly in the morning wind. The nooses bit into their necks, their skin pale and stiff, and their clothes soaked with dried blood. Even from a distance, the stab wounds were unmistakable.

These were familiar figures. Every man in Goro’s army knew it the moment they saw them.

"Tsk!" Goro clicked his tongue in deep displeasure, his heart ablaze with wrath.

These were his men. His spies. Every single one of them exposed, captured, and butchered. The enemy had not just discovered their infiltrators, they had displayed them in a brutal manner.

The life of a spy came with immense risks, and everyone knew that. Still, to witness one’s own clan members reduced to such states caused the Tsuitsui soldiers’ blood to boil in fury.

But there was more...

A heavy weight settled over the army. And then, the truth struck like ice.

Their information had been wrong. Completely wrong.

Standing beside Goro, the Chief of Intelligence of the Tsuitsui army, Kagenami Tsuitsui, had a grim look on his face. "We have been deceived."

The field below the pass was flooded with enemy soldiers, row after row. Not the thousand they had prepared for, but closer to three thousand! And above them, lining the Wall, stood hundreds more!

It was as Kagenami had said...

They had all been deceived. And the battle ahead would be far bloodier than most had anticipated.

And who knew how many more men the Tiesha Tang had in their reserves beyond the Wall?

Goro’s eyes narrowed. He was undeterred by this seemingly unexpected development. As the General of the army, naturally, he had prepared for all kinds of variables.

Being deceived by the enemy and being evenly matched by them also happened to be one of them.

Even if they were outnumbered by the enemy, he was still confident that the poison arts of the Tsuitsui Clan would ultimately reign supreme.

There was a reason why the Tsuitsui Clan was feared in the realm.

And there was most certainly a reason why he was given the epithet of the Venom Dragon!

"Give the orders," he commanded. "Prepare for battle."

Messengers sprinted from the command tent, their boots kicking up cold dust as they relayed Goro’s orders. Horns bellowed across the camp, and drum beats echoed inside the narrow pass.

Soldiers tightened their armor straps, checked their magical components, and formed into their assigned ranks with practiced discipline.

They were unperturbed at the sight of the enemy numbers, which happened to be more than they had expected. They were also unfazed at the sight of the towering Wall that had never been conquered before.

Every man knew the moment of battle had arrived.

On the enemy side, archers lined the battlements, each taking their designated position along the stone parapets. They adjusted their stances and lifted their bows in perfect unison.

"Steady..." Han Xun calmly walked across the battlement, hands clasped behind his back. His lips curled into a vicious grin, and his eyes gleamed with cruelty.

No one spoke. No one shifted unless necessary. They simply waited with their arrows nocked, ready to unleash death at their General’s command.

As the sun finally rose above the horizon, the General of the Tiesha Tang’s army, Han Xun, raised his arm, his grin widening.

And then, he roared:

"Fire!"

In the same instant the sun’s rays struck the battlefield, a storm of arrows was unleashed over the Tsuitsui army.

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