Xue Chi was indeed anxious. He and his army had been trapped in this weird dense fog for two days and all their attempts to extricate themselves from it had failed.

This spooky thick mist was fraught with deadly traps of all descriptions. Also, enemies had been showing up on occasions. What with those traps and occasional encounters with enemies, Xue Chi had lost a lot of men. Worse still, they had no water or food. His army had been drained from panic for quite some time.

Xue Chi had been in the army for decades and fought numerous battles, but never once had he ever seen such eerie dense mist or such varied tactics, which was why his army suffered particularly heavy casualties on the first day. It had been on the second day that he had found something out about the current situation.

Not all those traps were real. In fact, most of them were hallucinations! Even those enemies were non-existent. Those so-called enemies were none other than his own men!

The fog was like some kind of demonic creature capable of manipulating people's minds, and they had all fallen victim to it.

Clenching his teeth, Xue Chi was so furious he was on the verge of vomiting blood. It was not until he gave his men strict orders not to attack when encountering enemies that the tragic fratricidal killings stopped reoccurring.

As time ticked away, Xue Chi, who was still observant, discovered that the thick fog was gradually lifting and commanded his men to be on full alert.

On the ramparts, Ling Zhang slightly frowned. He had thought that the large-scale Formation would last three or four days, but it had now been merely two days, and the fog was beginning to disperse already. It would seem having the Formation cover an unduly large area would compromise its stability and sustainability. This Formation had been pushed to the limit. Still, it had served its purpose pretty well in the sense that Xue Chi and his men had been trapped in it for two days. Considering they hadn't drunk for two days, there was no doubt they were all spent, no matter how hard they tried to pretend otherwise.

"Get ready to make our move," said Ling Zhang, looking at Jiang Ke.

Jiang Ke inclined his head, descended the ramparts and opened the gates of Shengzhou Pass as planned, preparing to lead his army out there to engage Xue Chi's men frontally.

The army had just marched through the gates when the dense fog enveloping the whole battleground and Xue Chi's men finally cleared.

The moment the thick mist dispersed, Xue Chi caught sight of the North-western Army of the Great Wen in battle formation, his heart sinking. His men were exhausted after being trapped for two days, while the enemy was at full strength! To make things worse, as the fog lifted, he looked around and found that the battlefield was strewn with dead bodies of his men, and the surviving ones were no longer in formation of any kind. At the sight of this, his heart sank even further.

Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi, naturally, wouldn't let this opportunity slip away. While the Wan army were still in the trance caused by the disappearance of the thick fog and were still hesitating about attacking the army of the Great Wen, the two of them decisively gave the order to attack. Because of the disorganization of the Wan army, the North-western Army's fierce offensive crushed them as easily as smashing rotten wood. The fighting turned into a slaughter almost from the very beginning.

Xue Chi made an attempt to get his men into battle formation again but only managed to have one third of them do his bidding. The remainder were utterly unable to follow his orders, what with the attack of the enemy.

...

The intense fighting lasted almost four hours. Xue Chi, who had quick reactions, decided promptly and opportunely to retreat so that the rest of his men could survive instead of being massacred. However, the moment he and those men fell back, the Wan soldiers at the front were reduced to cannon fodder, serving as human shields to buy time for their fellow soldiers to escape, and they all ended up dead.

The Wan army took a heavy blow. Even Shan Congyi narrowly avoided being killed on the battleground.

Every member of the army was badly bruised by the defeat. The morale was dropping to the bottom and there seemed to be no way to stop it.

The defense of Shengzhou Pass was as strong as always, but the Wan army Xue Chi had brought to this place had lost more than half of its men. Thinking about this, Xue Chi was furious but there was nothing he could do that would make a difference. He regretted not having seized the opportunity, and he also regretted having led the army into this war. He had thought that without Yuwen Tong being in command, he would definitely be able to take Shengzhou Pass without much difficulty, but the fact had proved him terribly wrong. His hair grayed overnight as though he had aged ten years, his face covered with wrinkles, making him look senile.

In Shengzhou Pass.

"Pity it's getting late. Otherwise we'll pursue them to their encampment and wipe them out!" said Jiang Xi, a regretful look on his face.

Ling Zhang gave a smile but made no reply. Jiang Ke cast Jiang Xi a glance and sniffed, "Stop nagging. There will be plenty of chances for that. Have you cleared the battlefield? Have you got the injured settled in? Have you done the post-fight pep talk?"

Although the Wan army had suffered heavy casualties, they still had tens of thousands men left, and it wouldn't be easy to wipe them out. It was inadvisable to rush into things when it came to fighting a war. Of course, Jiang Xi was also aware of it. He was just feeling anger smoldering inside him, and it struck him that wiping out the Wan army at one fell swoop was the only way to vent it.

"Be patient. The time is not ripe yet," said Ling Zhang.

Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi both looked at him.

"The Luohai army encamped outside Youzhou Pass is a great threat. Though Nian Feng is absent, his lieutenants are no fools. They would sure as hell take action once the Wan army is exterminated. Only when the news of Mu Hengtian's death and the chaos in their capital reaches their ears will they be too panic-stricken to give these things any more thought," continued Ling Zhang.

"Is Mu Hengtian really going to die?" Jiang Xi looked at him expectantly.

A gleam flashed across Ling Zhang's eyes and with that he replied, "It won't be long before he dies, from illness or otherwise."

The Luohai Kingdom must not make trouble for the Great Wen at this point in time. The South-western Army had sallied out in full strength. The North-western Army had split into two groups, most of the troops in Shengzhou Pass defending against attack from the Wan army, those under Shao Feng's command relatively small in number. The Great Wen had been gradually restored to its former prosperity in the past five years, but it would take more than five years to fill the demographic gap caused by the deaths of young and middle-aged men during the many years of war. The number of troops of the Great Wen was also limited. The small number of garrisons stationed in the capital city and provincial prefectures must stay where they were. If the Luohai Kingdom took a hard line and waded in in these circumstances, the Great Wen would be under great pressure. Therefore, on no account should they allow Mu Hengtian to continue to live. Also, they couldn't let him die too easily...

In the Luohai capital.

The capital had become quiet and listless compared with the prosperous and busy city it had been a month ago. All residents were staying indoors, and the security was quite tight, with city patrols marching along the streets from time to time.

Nian Feng had secretly returned to the capital, covertly offered help to the prince he was in support of, and orchestrated several mass murders. All the victims had been members of the faction led by Mu Rongfeng the crown prince. When the blood had been flowing on the ground, everybody in the city had seemed to smell blood.

Beside himself with rage, Mu Rongfeng fought tooth and nail against the prince supported by Nian Feng. The Dugu family took advantage of the opportunity and muscled in with the intention to help the prince he had aligned himself with profit from the strife between the other two sides. However, both Mu Rongfeng and Nian Feng had been keeping a weather eye on the Dugu family. Nobody knew whether it had been conducted consciously or unconsciously, but the two of them had laid a trap for the Dugu family together, which the target had fallen victim to. The Dugu family had lost a lot of them, taking a heavy blow.

Mu Hengtian the monarch had suddenly deteriorated and was still confined to bed and suffering from occasional coma. The court physicians were all using euphemistic terms when asked about his condition, implying that he didn't have much time left.

The news had added much fuel to the already heated debate in the court. Mu Rongfeng wanted to succeed to the throne, but Nian Feng and Dugu Shan disagreed. The latter two were wary of each other and fighting each other, resorting to all kinds of dirty tricks. The court had descended into utter chaos, and people were dying every day.

In a rare lucid moment, Mu Hengtian, after being informed of the situation in the court, spat out another mouthful of blood and passed out again. Before fainting, he felt lucky that he had granted Ling Zhang's request and stayed out of the war between the other two countries. The Luohai Kingdom still had a chance to settle its issues. No matter which one of the princes ascended the throne, the Luohai Kingdom would at least have some time to knock the court into shape again while the Great Wen and the Wan Kingdom were fighting at outrance. However, Mu Hengtian, who was now comatose, was unaware that an army led by Yuwen Tong had stormed almost half of the Wan Kingdom! Xue Chi's men still hadn't taken Shengzhou Pass. The Wan Kingdom was hanging by a thread...

"Your Lordship, His Highness sent someone to buy..."

In the Abode of Prime Minister, a man sent by Lian Hai secretly informed Dugu Shan of what medicines Mu Rongfeng had had his henchman order at a high price.

"Father, what do you think Mu Rongfeng is planning to do?" Dugu Miao inquired of Dugu Shan, looking at the list of medicines, frowning.

The Dugu family had lost a lot of allies recently, and their influence on the court had been weakened somewhat. Had Jiahe Chamber of Commerce not been offering them intelligence from time to time, they wouldn't have kept abreast of the movements of the other two sides.

"He wants His Majesty to live for a while longer," replied Dugu Shan, unsurprised at Mu Rongfeng's decision. The current situation was not favorable for Mu Rongfeng. Only by prolonging Mu Hengtian's life would Mu Rongfeng be able to buy himself more time to deal with Nian Feng and the Dugu family.

In fact, Dugu Shan also wanted the monarch to live for a while longer. The monarch had taken a bad turn so suddenly that the arrangements they had made hadn't fully served their purpose yet when all of them had been upset. Nian Feng was probably the only person who wanted Mu Hengtian to die as soon as possible, for he had a large army under his command, and once Mu Hengtian died, he could totally just take over the country by force, or directly kill Mu Rongfeng and enthrone the prince he supported. Therefore, presently, the biggest enemy of the Dugu family was not Mu Rongfeng but Nian Feng.

"Father, should we take Lian Hai's suggestion?" said Dugu Miao anxiously.

Nian Feng's army was so strong that the Dugu family wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of winning if they fought him head-on. Lian Hai had suggested a method to trick Nian Feng and Mu Rongfeng into fighting each other, allowing the Dugu family to benefit from their duel. Dugu Shan was still hesitating.

"Nian Feng's army is still stationed outside Youzhou Pass. We still have a chance," said Dugu Shan.

"But His Majesty has no intention whatsoever to go to war with the Great Wen. God knows whether or not Nian Feng has really stationed all his men outside Youzhou Pass. Didn't Lian Hai say that he saw some soldiers hiding in a wood in eastern suburbs?" said Dugu Miao.

"Maybe it's just a game of bluff," said Dugu Shan, fighting an inner battle.

"Father!" Dugu Miao raised his voice. "This opportunity would be lost if you don't seize it immediately!"

Dugu Shan pondered for a long moment. Eventually he said, "Send for Lian Hai."

Dugu Miao was overjoyed. "Yes, Father!"

In the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, Lian Hai, after being told that Dugu Shan wanted to set a meeting with him, gave a sneer, turned on his heel and talked with Han Shu in private for a while. Eventually, he rearranged his clothes, walked through the front gates of the chamber of commerce and got into his carriage which then drove towards the Abode of Prime Minister.

"I'm honored to bow before you, Your Lordship." Lian Hai paid his respects to Dugu Shan, making a bow with his hands folded in front.

"How's everything going in the eastern suburbs?" Dugu Shan asked directly.

"It's been confirmed there are soldiers hiding in that wood. In addition, I've just been informed that half of the tents in the encampment outside Youzhou Pass are empty," answered Lian Hai.

Dugu Shan looked at him with penetrating eyes. "How did you come to get intelligence about the encampment?"

"Your Lordship, this time around, sixty percent of the food supplies for the army are provided by the Ministry of Revenue, but the rest of them are purchased from food suppliers. That is also the case for medicines. The other day, a medicine merchant of our chamber of commerce went to the encampment to deliver the medicines ordered by the army. He talked with an army physician there, slipped him some money and was told that the army was not short of medicines at all. The physician also disclosed that half of the tents there were empty. The accountant of the infirmary, without even opening any of the packages, resold the medicines to the merchant and got some kickbacks."

The look in Dugu Shan's eyes became alarmingly piercing. "Are you sure your source is reliable?!"

Lian Hai averred, "I'm sure."

Dugu Shan smacked his hand down onto the teapoy. "Humph! Now that Nian Feng has gone so far as to stealthily deploy half of his men in the suburbs, I shall show him no mercy."

Dugu Shan immediately decided to adopt the plan suggested by Lian Hai, which was to have Nian Feng deal with Mu Rongfeng first. He himself would, taking advantage of the setback and heavy loss he had just suffered, deliberately show the other two sides some of his minor vulnerabilities and slowly pull out of the melee to delude Mu Rongfeng and Nian Feng into believing that he lost his competitiveness and had to quit the rat race, but when Nian Feng took care of Mu Rongfeng, the Dugu family would make its move and eliminate Nian Feng! In order for things to go on that way, the monarch's life must not be prolonged, which meant that the Dugu family had to stop Mu Rongfeng from giving his father any life-saving medical treatment.

"Is it your chamber of commerce that is buying those medicines for Mu Rongfeng as his purchasing agent?" Dugu Shan inquired of Lian Hai.

"Yes, we're buying seventy percent of them for him," answered Lian Hai.

"Suspend the purchase!" instructed Dugu Shan.

"Yes, Your Lordship," answered Lian Hai, keeping his head down. Nobody noticed that a derisive gleam flitted across his eyes.

...

Mu Rongfeng wanted to save Mu Hengtian but was unable to have the prescription filled, no matter how hard he tried. He was consumed with anxiety and casting around for a solution when someone from the palace showed up and told him that the monarch wanted to see him. The man also disclosed that the monarch's illness had got even worse.

Mu Rongfeng's heart sank. Not daring delay, he went to the palace with all haste.

When entering the palace, he chanced upon his two brothers, the two princes supported by Nian Feng and the Dugu family respectively. Naturally, they all had hostility glinting in their eyes as they saw each other.

After walking into the royal bedchamber, Mu Rongfeng, at the sight of Mu Hengtian whose breathing was barely perceptible, felt his heart do a somersault with a thrill of foreboding.

"Feng," called Mu Hengtian in a weak voice as his eyes struggled open and alighted on Mu Rongfeng.

Mu Rongfeng hurried over and got on his knees at Mu Hengtian's bedside. "I'm here, Father!"

"How's everything going out there?" asked Mu Hengtian jerkily, exerting himself to finish his sentence.

Mu Rongfeng's heart felt as though it were getting heavier. He quickly filled his father in on the situation in the royal court and the war between the other two countries.

The look on Mu Hengtian's face grew increasingly ugly as he listened. When hearing that an army led by Yuwen Tong had occupied the south of the Wan Kingdom, he almost blacked out with intense agitation.

"Feng, Yuwen Tong fooled me. If the Wan Kingdom falls, our country will be in dire danger," said Mu Hengtian in a broken voice.

Mu Rongfeng's eyes dilated at these words. He was just about to say something when Mu Hengtian raised his hand signaling him to listen quietly. Then Mu Hengtian continued, "You must put an end to the infighting as soon as possible. Nian Feng is the biggest danger you're faced with on your path to the throne. Now there's not much I can do, but it's within my power to do one last thing for you – I'll recall Nian Feng to this city, summon him to my bedside, and then..."

Mu Hengtian offered to summon Nian Feng to his bedchamber, so that Mu Rongfeng could have his men surround the bedchamber and kill Nian Feng, though he himself would have to die with Nian Feng.

"Father, that's...No, I can't let you..." Mu Rongfeng disagreed.

Mu Hengtian abruptly gripped his son's hand. "You have to. This is your last chance, Feng. My illness will take my life in a couple of days, anyway. Accede to the throne immediately after Nian Feng is taken care of, then mass all the troops and attack the Great Wen!"

Mu Rongfeng was stupefied. After a long moment, he said through clenched teeth with a head bob, "Yes, Father!"

...

Mu Rongfeng knew that Nian Feng was not in the encampment outside Youzhou Pass but in the capital city. With some finesse, he managed to send Nian Feng a message saying that the monarch requested his presence in the royal bedchamber.

...

In the Abode of General-in-chief.

Nian Feng didn't want to see Mu Hengtian at all, because Mu Hengtian's death was now certain, and all he had to do was force Mu Rongfeng into giving up his heirship, and then enthrone the prince he supported.

However, he had failed to keep it secret that he was in the capital city instead of the encampment outside Youzhou Pass, and the Dugu family had covertly waded in, so he had no alternative but to follow the order, but he had secretly taken adequate precautions.

"I'm honored to kneel before you, Sire!" Nian Feng showed up in Mu Hengtian's bedchamber wearing armor.