While Serena Feng and Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan Dongling were battling Lady Min and the Ghost King at Destiny Cliff, William Wang Jinling wasn't resting either. Even though he knew Nolan and Serena had appeared, he didn't change his plans.
After several days of searching, William Wang finally discovered that the people who abducted Vincent Su were connected to the Former Dynasty—and that Ghost Hall had a hand in it too.
William Wang is the type who either doesn't act at all, or, when he does, makes sure his enemies suffer for life.
The Former Dynasty crowd are like rats, always hiding in the shadows—not easy to find. William Wang didn't intend to hunt them down one by one. Since the Former Dynasty made a move, he'd target their closest ally: Liancastle.
Previously, Ninth Royal Uncle openly and secretly protected Liancastle, so no one dared touch it. But now things are different. Nolan deploying more troops to Liancastle signaled his displeasure, so William Wang didn't need to send any more forces.
Liancastle did have some resources, but no matter how strong its troops, it couldn't compete with Eastlyn. Ignoring all the officials' objections, William Wang publicly declared he'd take responsibility for any consequences, then ordered the army to surround Liancastle.
He surrounded but didn't attack, just to apply pressure. What he wanted was for Vincent Su to be returned safely. As for attacking Liancastle, there was no rush—they could strike any time.
Just as William Wang predicted, Liancastle was on edge, desperately trying to contact Lady Min and get her to hand over Vincent Su. Sacrificing Liancastle for one Vincent Su was simply not worth it. But...
They lost contact with Lady Min. She was busy scheming against Ninth Royal Uncle and had no time for Liancastle, leaving its people frantic with worry.
And as for Ghost Hall?
Ghost Hall, just like the Former Dynasty loyalists, excels at hiding in the shadows. Even when they cause trouble for Westlyn or Southlyn, they always strike when least expected—just like thieves.
William Wang Jinling has no intention of wasting manpower and resources to hunt down Ghost Hall. His goal is crystal clear: the overseas base where Ghost Hall is truly located.
If he wipes out Ghost Hall’s nest, the Ghost King and all his underlings will be forced to show themselves. William isn’t in any rush.
After failing to get Ghost Hall’s location out of Howard “Second” Lu, William turns his attention to Prince Damien of Southlyn. Eastlyn and Southlyn are at war, and Victor Phoenixfield has already seized three cities and two towns in Southlyn with lightning speed. By rights, Eastlyn should have stopped the fighting, but at this critical moment, Eastlyn’s Grand Empress Dowager was abducted.
Investigation revealed that the one who kidnapped the Grand Empress Dowager was none other than the Ghost King of Ghost Hall. Now she’s vanished without a trace. To find the Ghost King, they must first find Ghost Hall’s true base. Across the Nine Provinces Realm, the only person who knows Ghost Hall’s location—and isn’t one of their own—is Prince Damien of Southlyn.
Southlyn insists Prince Damien is dead, but Eastlyn refuses to believe it, demanding Southlyn hand him over. If Southlyn swears he’s dead, then hand over the corpse.
Naturally, Southlyn refuses. That refusal only proves Prince Damien is still alive. Eastlyn won’t let go, so William orders Victor Phoenixfield to keep fighting—fight until Southlyn gives up the man.
Not enough rations?
Not enough weapons?
Not enough warhorses?
No problem. William Wang Jinling will personally bankroll Eastlyn’s war effort. No matter what, he won’t let anyone slap Eastlyn’s face and walk away smug.
Right in front of the entire court, William declares, “I’m willing to pour out everything the Wang clan has to support Eastlyn in this battle.”
He only meant to silence the anti-war faction, but he didn’t expect a windfall. As soon as William spoke, officials eager to curry favor started donating silver and grain, all swearing they’d do their utmost for the country.
Some clever merchants saw a chance to cozy up to the top officials. They threw in huge donations—clothing, rations, supplies—flooding the front lines, sparing the court the hassle of sending its own convoys.
“Sometimes the best shade comes from an unplanned willow.” William never imagined such a small gesture would spark such a reaction. Smart as he is, he seized the opportunity.
He discussed with Fulin, Yu Wen Yuanhua, and several regent ministers about officially rewarding those ‘public-spirited’ merchants in the court’s name. Of course, the reward wasn’t material—just an imperial edict and a line praising them as a ‘house of accumulated virtue.’
Even so, it was enough to make wealthy but low-ranking merchants ecstatic. Their enthusiasm for donating soared. By the time Ninth Royal Uncle returned to the city, Eastlyn and Southlyn were fighting fiercely, pushing Southlyn to its limits.
“Vincent Su is dead. No need to wait for Liancastle to hand anyone over.” The first thing Ninth Royal Uncle did after returning was deliver Vincent Su’s body to the Su estate. His first words in the palace were ice-cold.
William Wang Jinling froze for a moment, then wiped away all traces of a smile and nodded slightly. “I know what I have to do.”
That night, a military order rushed eight hundred miles to the front lines. The order contained just three words: “Annihilate Liancastle.”
The commanding general took one look and knew those three words were written by Ninth Royal Uncle himself. The brushstrokes were powerful and sharp—so fierce on the last stroke it nearly tore the paper. It was clear how furious he was when he wrote it.
With a personal order from Ninth Royal Uncle to wipe out Liancastle, the general dared not hesitate. Seeing young talents like Zhai Dongming, Ouyang Doudou, and Si Cheng now wielding real power, he understood: as long as they broke Liancastle, promotion and glory were guaranteed.
That very night, the general launched the first wave of attacks on Liancastle: “Attack the city!”
The vanguard charged straight to the city walls. Liancastle had been besieged for dozens of days; everyone inside was jumpy as a startled bird. When Eastlyn’s army finally attacked, the city’s defenders went weak in the knees and collapsed to the ground. “Mother, Eastlyn’s finally attacking!”
After being surrounded by Eastlyn’s army for days, Liancastle’s soldiers were nearly driven mad. They wanted Eastlyn to hurry up and fight, get it over with and leave; but they also dreaded the attack. That kind of torment—they never wanted to live through it again.
Everyone in Liancastle kept their eyes on the city’s outskirts. As soon as Eastlyn attacked, the city lord got the news and, ignoring the late hour, summoned all officials to strategize.
But when faced with absolute power, no strategy mattered. The Liancastle officials debated endlessly, but came up empty. Finally, one elder couldn’t hold back and cursed, “Where’s Her Highness the Princess? Something this big is happening—where is she?”
The elder struggled to contain his anger. What he really wanted to say was: We accept the disaster she brought; we accept that we can’t fix it—she’s our master, after all. But just walking away like this—what is that supposed to mean?
“The young master is loyal—if Her Highness hadn’t gone too far this time, the young master wouldn’t have acted like this. All these years, if not for the young master’s protection, Liancastle would’ve been wiped out ages ago.” The old minister who sided with Ninth Royal Uncle called him ‘master’ again, but Ninth Royal Uncle couldn’t hear it—and wouldn’t be moved even if he did.
It’s him and Liancastle—fight to the bitter end!