The situation at the border of the Immortal Realm had suddenly grown tense in recent days. With the Western Buddhist Realm washing its hands of the matter, the pressure on the Immortal Realm had intensified dramatically.
Facing the four Demon Lords who had amassed five hundred thousand troops in four cities along the Immortal Realm's border, glaring menacingly, the Jade Emperor had been continuously deploying forces. Over the past few days, waves of Immortal Realm armies had been steadily marching toward the frontier.
At the junction of the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm, the four cities in the east, south, west, and north were already bristling with banners and fully armed, sleeping on their spears. The four marshals—Zhao Gongming, Ma Yuanjun, Wen Qiong, and Guan Yu—had gathered in Kuishui City and were now seated in the general's tent, deliberating.
"Damn it all! Those demon bastards are out there cursing at the city gates every day, driving us all crazy. I want to charge out right now and slaughter them all!"
Zhao Gongming, the defender of Kuishui City, slammed his fist onto the table before him with a loud bang, his face twisted with fury as he cursed.
Ever since the Jade Emperor had ordered them to hold their ground and not engage, he and the soldiers of Kuishui City had been forced to endure the vile insults hurled by those from the Demon Realm day after day. It was utterly infuriating to the extreme!
"Brother Gongming, you must not act rashly. His Majesty has commanded us to hold fast, and there must be a reason for it."
Marshal Wen Qiong, seated below, quickly offered him a smile and tried to soothe him. In recent days, the Yimu City he was tasked with defending had faced the same relentless provocations and abuse from the Demon Clan. The soldiers beneath him were all simmering with rage, just waiting for his order to charge out and have a good fight!
"Brother Wen is right. Those petty Demon Clan scum always resort to such underhanded tricks. Brother Gongming, just ignore them!"
Guan Yu, with his red face and long beard, took a sip from his wine cup and chimed in to persuade him.
"In my view, we should first focus on studying how to prevent a sudden attack from the Demon Clan. Someone, hang up the map!"
Marshal Ma, with his square-shaped face, ordered his subordinates to display the layout map of the four border cities inside the tent.
Meanwhile, in a valley two hundred miles from Gengjin City, tents had sprung up one after another. This was the encampment of the hundred-thousand-strong army led by East Demon Lord Han Xiaotian.
Inside one of the large tents, the four Demon Lords, who stood at the pinnacle of the Demon Realm, were also seated together. However, they kept a considerable distance from one another, and each Demon Lord had two generals standing behind them like bodyguards.
"Old Ghost Han, what did you call us here for? Spit it out quickly and stop wasting time."
North Demon Lord Chi Zhong asked impatiently. As a descendant of the ancient demon Chi You from ten thousand years ago, his bloodline was noble, and he commanded great prestige in the Demon Realm.
"I want to catch the Immortal Realm off guard, and I need the cooperation of the three lords."
Han Xiaotian stood up, made a sweeping bow to the North, West, and South Demon Lords, and smiled faintly, looking utterly confident.
"Everyone in the Demon Realm knows you're full of clever tricks, Brother Han. Spill your good idea and let's hear it, haha."
The South Demon Lord, who had a good relationship with Han Xiaotian, chuckled and said.
"I want to stage a grand play of 'feigning one move while secretly making another.' I hope the three brothers will leave a small force to feign an attack, then secretly move the bulk of your armies to my position. Under my unified command, we'll take Yimu City by surprise in one fell swoop."
After speaking, Han Xiaotian ordered his men to bring out a map and hang it up. Pointing to the location of Yimu City, he explained, "Once Yimu City is taken, we can use it as a base. From there, we can advance in three prongs or retreat openly back to the Demon Realm, with no one able to stop us!"
"Brilliant! What Brother Han says is spot on. As long as we take Yimu City, we just need to set up ambushes on the mountains on both sides outside the city, forming a pincer formation. Even if troops from the other three cities attack, we'll still rout them completely, haha!"
Han Xiaotian's proposal immediately won the support of the South Demon Lord, who voiced his agreement. However, the other two Demon Lords showed signs of concern on their faces.
"Old Ghost Han, your proposal is tempting, but if I hand over my troops to you, what's to stop you from pocketing them for yourself?"
West Demon Lord Li Wuji snorted coldly, offering a fake smile as he spoke to Han Xiaotian.
In the Demon Realm, controlling an army meant having enough say in matters. Moreover, it was no easy feat to train a fierce and battle-hardened force. If they handed over most of their troops to Han Xiaotian and he took them over, they would lose their leverage for unifying the Demon Realm when they returned.
"Brother Li is right. There's no way we're handing our armies over to you!"
North Demon Lord, alerted by West Demon Lord's reminder, immediately grew wary and flatly rejected Han Xiaotian's proposal.
"Brother Han, what Chi Zhong and Brother Li said makes some sense. How about this: we each lead our forces to rendezvous here and attack Yimu City together with you? What do you think?"
Though the South Demon Lord had a closer relationship with the East Demon Lord, he was also secretly on guard, afraid that Han Xiaotian might truly swallow up his troops.
"The three lords must each lead their forces to feign attacks on the other three cities. Otherwise, the enemy will see through our plan, and this strategy won't work."
Han Xiaotian shook his head. His plan relied on "catching the enemy off guard," emphasizing the element of surprise. If the three lords appeared at Yimu City, the marshals of the other three cities would also send reinforcements to Yimu City. Thus, Han Xiaotian refused.
"If that's the case, then there's nothing to discuss. I'm heading back to rally my men and prepare to attack!"
North Demon Lord Chi Zhong, being straightforward, waved his hand and stood up to leave, but Han Xiaotian stopped him again.
"Three lords, if you agree to lend me fifty thousand troops to attack Yimu City, I won't take a single piece of the spoils inside the city when it falls. I'll leave it all to you. What do you say?"
Han Xiaotian blocked the North Demon Lord, glanced at the other two, and made his promise.
"Old Ghost Han, are you serious?"
West Demon Lord Li Wuji, always greedy, narrowed his eyes and asked after hearing Han Xiaotian's guarantee.
"Serious. Not just Yimu City—I won't take a single piece of the spoils from the other three cities either."
Han Xiaotian looked at the West Demon Lord, nodded, and affirmed.
"I have one condition too. If you agree, Old Ghost Han, this deal can go through!"
West Demon Lord looked at Han Xiaotian and said.
"Speak, West Demon."
"My troops can be sent to assist you, but they will only follow your command flag. You have no authority to directly command my army. Do you agree?"
The West Demon Lord still didn't trust his troops to Han Xiaotian, so he was unwilling to hand over full command.
"Fine! But let me make this clear: if your West Demon troops see the command flag and don't move, don't blame me for enforcing military law on the battlefield. Agreed?"
Han Xiaotian nodded and added a condition.
"Old Ghost Han, rest assured. If any of my men disobey the command flag, I'll personally kill them myself!"
The West Demon Lord nodded. He was confident in his troops' discipline.
"Since Brother Li has agreed, I'll have the same terms—only follow the command flag. Brother Han, remember your promise!"
Seeing the West Demon Lord agree, the North Demon Lord naturally didn't want to miss out on Yimu City's resources and promptly gave his consent.
"Good, thank you both, brothers. Now let me lay out the specific steps."
Han Xiaotian gestured for the North and West Demon Lords to sit down and began explaining his strategic plan.