I listened quietly as The Engineer recounted this part of the story.
At that time, Yuna Ji's nation had a total military force of no more than sixty thousand, while the enemy's numbers were ten times greater. Their fate of destruction was sealed from the very beginning.
Even Yuna Ji's father died in battle, and the nation was on the verge of falling into enemy hands. At that time, Yuna Ji herself was already at the brink of collapse.
The people were too exhausted to fight anymore. Yet, as if fate gave Yuna Ji and her people one last chance, a heavy snowfall sealed the mountains for several months. The enemy was forced to retreat, unable to maintain their supply lines, and the frontlines still faced sporadic resistance.
It was then that Yuna Ji's fighting spirit reignited. The nation was leaderless, and Yuna Ji knew clearly that once the country fell, both the people and the soldiers would become slaves. She began to rally the remaining military forces.
She kept searching for solutions, and over those months, established effective defenses. Her actions gradually reignited the people's fighting spirit. Bit by bit, they began to follow her, and Yuna Ji successfully ascended the throne, becoming empress.
"Why didn’t she just run away back then?"
I thought of history—Liu Bei of the Shu Kingdom in the Three Kingdoms era kept fleeing, and in doing so, carved out his own power.
"Heh, the situation was different back then. Besides the invading enemy, even the allied nations were watching, hoping to get a share of the spoils instead of lending a hand. For the sake of appearances, the allies waited until the invaders had nearly destroyed the country before sending troops."
I slammed my fist against the car and let out a bitter sigh.
It was under this intense pressure that Yuna Ji began to lead the people of the entire nation in resistance. When spring came and the snow melted, the enemy resumed their offensive with swagger, but to their surprise, they encountered fierce resistance. In the first battle, Yuna Ji and her forces achieved a resounding victory.
I nodded excitedly.
But the good times didn’t last. The enemy, their morale restored, soon invaded deep into Yuna Ji’s country. Training soldiers capable of fighting on the battlefield couldn’t be done in just a few months. With no other choice, Yuna Ji had to turn to the allied nations for help.
The allied nations set a condition: Yuna Ji must marry their crown prince. In the end, Yuna Ji agreed, promising to marry him once the war was over.
"Isn’t that just a legitimate way to steal a country?"
I looked at The Engineer in surprise. Yuna Ji would be married off, but she was the empress—if she married, wouldn’t the whole nation become part of her dowry?
"So ruthless, these allies."
Though the allied nations did send troops to help Yuna Ji resist the enemy a few times, achieving good results, their armies always stayed in the rear, refusing to advance.
"Those bastards knew the occupied lands were still prosperous and rich in resources, so they started pressuring Yuna Ji to marry as soon as possible."
"Isn’t that a disaster?"
The Engineer smiled.
"Not exactly. Remember the agreement from the start? After the war, the condition was to reclaim lost territory and free the people suffering under occupation. So Yuna Ji used this as leverage, putting the allied nations in a difficult position."
In the years that followed, Yuna Ji relied on her alliance to gradually recover lost lands. During this time, a general emerged—a high-ranking commander from the allied nations who had a close relationship with Yuna Ji.
Suddenly, I remembered—Yuna Ji once said the person she loved was already dead and she would never fall for anyone else. Could it have been that general?
"Did that general have feelings for Yuna Ji?"
The Engineer nodded.
"They were deeply in love. That general defied his own country's orders to keep helping Yuna Ji, but all of this eventually caught the attention of the allied leadership."
Because that general held high status and had an influential family background in the allied nation, the royal family grew anxious. The general’s relationship with Yuna Ji became widely known.
After several years, Yuna Ji’s country finally caught its breath, driving the enemy back to the borders and reclaiming two-thirds of its territory.
But at that moment, the royal family feared that once the war ended, the general might switch sides and help Yuna Ji, putting their own nation at risk. So they betrayed Yuna Ji, selling her intelligence to the enemy.
"Those bastards... how could they do that..."
"That’s why people’s hearts are unpredictable, Xiao Zhang. Later, when there was an ambush during a battle, both Yuna Ji’s and the general’s positions were exposed. Yuna Ji was surrounded on all sides. When the general found out, he ignored his own safety and rushed to save her. In the end, he managed to rescue Yuna Ji, but he died on the battlefield."
A wave of bitterness welled up in my heart. The more I learned about Yuna Ji, the more I understood how much pain was hidden in her tears.
After that, Yuna Ji seemed to become a different person. Her gentleness vanished. She knew the allied nations had stabbed her in the back, but she kept silent, enduring it all, and outwardly maintained harmony with them.
From that time on, aside from eating and sleeping, Yuna Ji lived every day in war. The troops she led instilled fear in the enemy. Her method was simple: after winning, she slaughtered every enemy soldier, leaving none alive, and displayed their heads and bodies before the enemy.
The enemy grew increasingly terrified, knowing that failure meant certain death. Over time, they stopped invading. By then, Yuna Ji seemed possessed by a vengeful spirit, endlessly hunting and killing the enemy—if she found them, she would kill them without exception.
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"All she could see was war. Even the allied nations started to fear Yuna Ji. The enemy tried to negotiate peace by withdrawing their troops, but Yuna Ji killed the visiting envoys and every single soldier—none were left alive."
I swallowed hard, staring blankly at The Engineer.
"But the war was already over."
A vague realization dawned on me—perhaps it was Yuna Ji’s later actions that led to her country’s destruction.
Afterwards, the entire nation seemed to change. The people grew bloodthirsty, craving war. Several of Yuna Ji’s generals led nine divisions into battle against both the enemy and the allied nations.
Eventually, the enemy and the allied nations joined forces to destroy Yuna Ji and her now uncontrollable war machine. The fighting was brutally intense and dragged on for years, until they called on other countries for help.
"In the end, just as you’ve heard, Yuna Ji’s country was wiped out—completely destroyed. She finally fell before the overwhelming army."
I nodded.
"So Yuna Ji’s Battle Instinct was born out of these circumstances?"
The Engineer nodded and said,
"Battle Instinct is something very special. It only arises when someone has an extremely strong desire, obsession, and conviction about something. That’s all I know for now. You can’t touch it, but you can feel it—even see it. It’s born from illusion, and that’s exactly what it is."
For a moment, neither The Engineer nor I spoke. I needed time to process everything I’d heard. The word ‘cruelty’ floated before my eyes as I thought about Yuna Ji. As a woman in such a patriarchal ancient society, what she endured must have been unimaginable.
Our car returned to the lakeside. Looking out over the vast realm of Netherhell, so immense, I realized Yuna Ji could control everything here. Even with the rebel army present, sooner or later, these problems would have to be faced and resolved.
At first, I thought maybe Yuna Ji had lost her passion for ruling this country over time, that she simply couldn’t manage it. But I was wrong—completely wrong. It was absurd, just like the paradox The Engineer described.
Yuna Ji possessed such incredible willpower that she could dig through the Nether River with her bare hands. In ancient times, as a woman, she shouldered the burden of an entire nation alone. It took immense courage and determination to accomplish these feats—each page of her story is a miracle, turning decay into wonder.
Thinking about it, I realized I’d never had a proper conversation with Yuna Ji. She was always laughing and joking. I decided to go to the capital and talk to her seriously.
"Mr. Engineer, when we get there, I want to have a proper talk with Yuna Ji about all this..."
"No problem, Xiao Zhang. Your physical issues can wait—they’re not too serious. Honestly, I really admire a woman like her."
But there were still many days left on the road, so I planned to keep discussing my corpse situation with The Engineer.
"Yuna Ji’s Battle Instinct—after it awakened, she suffered greatly. To suppress her instinct and the madness that spilled out, she struggled immensely. That’s why she never formed a Ghost Domain: once it opened, her instinct would awaken, and she’d be forced to fight. Her will to battle would consume her, turning her back into a frenzied war machine."
Now I fully understood—Yuna Ji’s Battle Instinct was forged in nearly twenty years of brutal war. None of it was what she truly wanted. The only time I saw her unleash her instinct was during her fight with Tantan, but now I finally understood why she kept defending rather than attacking.
Battle Instinct would destroy Yuna Ji, just as the war did in its final days—fighting until death.