Natural Fortress and Zero Battle-Loss Record

Prince Jason raised his army, and Prince Evan responded; Northlyn sent troops, Tyre City massed its forces; Liancastle and Southlyn watched like tigers from the sidelines, and the other cities were sharpening their blades, just waiting for Eastlyn to fall into chaos so they could snatch a share when others feasted.

The situation in Eastlyn, while not yet a total collapse, is definitely one of internal and external troubles, with endless problems. If not handled properly, things will only get worse.

With things so dire, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan naturally cannot remain in Westlyn and must return to Eastlyn to take charge.

Of course, such major events could not be kept from Westlyn; the Westlyn Brocade Guard received the news immediately. However...

For various reasons, the news was delayed for two days before reaching the Emperor. By the time he learned, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan and Serena Feng were long gone. Sending people after them was already unrealistic.

Such a great opportunity was missed; the Emperor was so angry he nearly coughed blood again. He was absolutely certain that the Westlyn turmoil had Ninth Royal Uncle's hand in it, and the Westlyn Emperor truly wished he could eat Ninth Royal Uncle alive.

After leaving the Westlyn capital, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan and Serena Feng did not travel day and night, but accelerated as much as Serena’s body could bear. When they reached the Westlyn–Eastlyn border, it was not the border garrison who greeted them, but Nolan’s private army—the Black Riders.

“The Black Riders are finally unsheathing their swords,” Serena Feng said, feeling a special excitement. Every time she saw the Black Riders, her blood would boil, and she thought of them as a special forces unit that made enemies tremble on the battlefield.

The Black Riders are a highly conspicuous force, radiating intense battle spirit from head to toe. They seem born for the battlefield.

“Northlyn is nothing to fear; Chu City must be taken at once. If Prince Jason dares to crown himself king, I dare to destroy him. I’ll make the world understand: those who follow me will prosper; those who oppose me will perish!”

His tone remained low and slow, but it sent chills down everyone’s spine. Standing close, Serena Feng could clearly sense the wild arrogance and domineering air of Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan, as if he had the whole world beneath his feet.

"March on Chu City!"

After joining up with the Black Riders, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan and Serena Feng led them toward Chu City. Meanwhile, far away in Night City, Young Marshal Colin Si received the news: he split his forces into three columns—Doudou led one hundred thousand troops to Chu City to rendezvous with Nolan, while Colin himself stationed one hundred thousand in Southlyn, and another deputy led one hundred thousand to reinforce Northlyn.

Previously, most of the troops stationed in Southlyn had been transferred north by Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan. Although Southlyn still had some forces, only thirty thousand remained. If Southlyn attacked Eastlyn, Eastlyn would not be able to hold out, so Nolan naturally had to reinforce the Southlyn border to prevent disaster.

Apart from the one hundred thousand troops stationed in Westlyn who could not be moved, and the armies in Jiangnan and the Capital that had not yet been mobilized, almost all of Eastlyn’s forces were now marching toward Northlyn, Southlyn, Chu City, and Liancastle.

As for Tyre City?

Nolan entrusted it to Victor Phoenixfield, feeling completely at ease.

"Ready the troops, move out…" Doudou was thrilled to finally receive command, but remembering his lessons from Northlyn, he acted with utmost caution and consulted with his staff on many matters.

It was Doudou’s luck. With his honest, simple nature, he caught the eye of Warren Yu, who, before leaving camp, handed over several of his trusted staff to Doudou.

“If you trust me, take these men; if not, return them. Once you accept them, they’re yours alone—live or die, they’ll follow only your orders.” Warren Yu left with only his diehard guards, giving all other staff to Doudou.

Fine… Warren Yu admitted that leaving his staff to Doudou was not just because Doudou was simple-minded, but mainly to annoy Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan.

If Ninth Royal Uncle wanted his troop command, Warren Yu would hand it over. But anything else? Sorry—even if he was willing to give, he would never do it Nolan’s way. What belonged to the state, he could surrender, but the Yu clan’s command expertise, he’d give at his own discretion, to whomever he pleased.

Doudou happily picked up a bargain and took another step toward his dream of becoming a great general.

Long ago, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan had worked out the best marching routes. Thanks to Serena Feng’s advice to blast mountains, build roads, and throw bridges over rivers, Eastlyn’s armies now moved twice as fast. Before others could react, Eastlyn’s troops were already in position.

“Chu City is easy to defend and hard to attack. To assault Chu City, we must go through Heaven-Maiden Peak, which has only a narrow path flanked by steep mountains—ideal for ambush. Any large army passing through would be walking into a trap. No wonder Prince Jason chose Chu City to proclaim himself emperor.” Serena Feng studied the map and confirmed that any attack must pass through Heaven-Maiden Peak.

Heaven-Maiden Peak lives up to its name: from afar, it resembles a young woman’s body. The only road passes between her twin peaks, and crossing it is extremely dangerous.

“That’s why I called the Black Riders.” Without them leading the way, Eastlyn would pay a horrific price to break through Heaven-Maiden Peak. With the current shortage of trained soldiers, they cannot afford heavy losses.

“Even with the Black Riders, we’ll only reduce casualties.” In modern times, you could just air-drop troops, but in this ancient world, Heaven-Maiden Peak is a natural fortress—crossing it without bloodshed is almost impossible.

“There’s always casualties in war. If we keep losses to a minimum, we win.” Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan was as cold as ever—even if it meant sacrificing the Black Riders he had personally trained, he didn’t blink.

The Black Riders were trained to be a battlefield trump card, meant to decide critical moments and secure victory. Nolan would not hold them back just because they were outstanding, nor would he shy from sacrificing them if the larger war demanded it.

There’s no such thing as a battle without bloodshed or sacrifice—the key is whether the sacrifice is worthwhile.

Serena Feng understood this well, but training a team of elite soldiers like the Black Riders was no easy task. For Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan, forming a second unit of such caliber was nearly impossible—the circumstances and time simply didn’t allow it.

With the realm at war, all able-bodied men had been conscripted. For Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan, picking ten out of ten thousand was now just a fantasy.

Even if he could gather the right people, countries like Southlyn and Northlyn would never give Nolan so much time. Training the Black Riders had taken him decades; another few decades, and it would be too late.

“Let me think. Heaven-Maiden Peak is dangerous, but there are other roads like this. We can research how previous commanders crossed such terrain and borrow their experience to find a way to minimize casualties.”

Serena Feng stared at the map, mind racing through classic campaigns from The Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems, searching for a perfect plan—determined to keep the Black Riders’ flawless zero-battle-loss record intact!