When emperors fight, they never need a reason.

Wang Hao was just about to take a hot bath and get a good night's sleep. He had barely taken off half of his imperial robe when Wei Zhongxian burst in like a cat with its tail on fire.

"Your Majesty! Urgent report from the South Sea!"

"What's the panic about?" Wang Hao slowly tied his robe's belt. "Did the South Sea Dragon Clan come begging again? Tell the Holy King Canglong—terms unchanged."

"No!" Wei Zhongxian's voice trembled. "The Zhennan Pass received a blood-light transmission—there isn't just one South Sea aberration, there are nine ninth-grade aberrations! And among them, one is halfway to the tenth rank! The Great Xia navy's five hundred warships are evacuating the South Sea Dragon Clan's fleet of the old and weak. Governor Han and General He are already engaging the aberrations."

Wang Hao's fingers paused on his belt.

Half a breath later, he spoke calmly, "Old Wei, are you sure you didn't misread? Nine ninth-grade aberrations? Half-step tenth rank?"

"A thousand times true! The blood-light transmission was personally signed by He Lanyue, the garrison commander at Zhennan Pass. The handwriting is indeed his—"

"I know it's his handwriting." Wang Hao walked over to Wei Zhongxian, took the jade slip from his hands, read it over and over again, then placed it back. He said one sentence.

"Damnit. That old bastard Li Cangming—he dismantled the Suppression Array. He wanted to lure these nine ghostly things into the Eastern Wastelands."

His voice remained calm, but beneath it lay a chill that made Wei Zhongxian's spine crawl.

"Transmit the edicts."

Wang Hao walked to the imperial desk, picked up a stack of blank edicts, and began writing with swift strokes.

"First edict—The Capital Guard and the thirty battalions of the Metropolitan Army, commanded by Duke Wei Jing, are to break camp immediately. They must be on the march by noon tomorrow, destination: Southern Frontier Province. Add a line: For every day of delay, the battalion commanders shall remove their own hats."

"Second edict—The forty local battalions stationed in the southern provinces are to enter full combat readiness. All coastal cities are to activate their city-guardian arrays. Spirit stone reserves are to be supplied without limit. Add a line: If He Lanyue and Han Shanyue die, I will hold you accountable."

"Third edict—The plan to disband and rest the Western Expedition Army is canceled. Order Zhang Jing to select thirty elite battalions from the Western Expedition Army and immediately establish the Western Region Group Army. They are to monitor the border between the Eastern Wastelands and the Central Continent."

"Fourth edict—Notify the Demon Lord. Have his Dark Legion dispatch one hundred thousand elite troops from the Dark City and take the fastest route to the Southern Frontier. Tell the Demon Lord that his Ten Thousand Demon Bloodburn Art can still be saved, but he must first help me hold this battle."

"Fifth edict—Order the East Sea Fleet and the South Sea Fleet. All warships are to assemble in the waters off Zhennan Pass. Deplete all reserves of runic cannon ammunition. Do not be stingy with spirit stones. Do not be stingy with money."

"Sixth edict—" Wang Hao paused, a cold smile curling at his lips. "Tell the Holy King Canglong. I no longer require him to come to the capital and kowtow. He is to bring the elite forces of the Yao Clan and fly directly to Zhennan Pass immediately. Whether the South Sea Dragon Clan survives depends on his performance this time. If he plays any more tricks—after I finish off the aberrations, the first clan I will annihilate is his North Sea Canglong Tribe. Also, inform the South Sea Dragon King: He may enter Great Xia territory, but he must lead the South Sea Dragon Clan's elite forces to the Southern Frontier City, where they will integrate with the imperial army and fight the enemy together."

"Seventh edict—Notify all Martial God-level experts across the Eastern Wastelands, whether in service or in hiding. No matter the method, they must report to the Southern Frontier within a month. This is a national war, not a private vendetta. Anyone who evades—I will personally pay them a visit."

Wei Zhongxian's brush was nearly smoking from the speed.

Seven edicts. Each one could shake the Eastern Wasteland court. Together, they were nothing short of a total war mobilization—not a local war against the Yao, not a border skirmish with the Central Continent, but a true, nation-exhausting war of survival.

"And one more." Wang Hao put down his last brush and picked up a specially encrypted jade slip. "This edict goes to every governor, prefect, and county magistrate in Great Xia: From this moment, the nation enters a state of war. All grain, spirit stones, and elixirs in every city are to be rationed. Anyone hoarding? Seize their property. Anyone spreading rumors? Kill them. Anyone causing chaos? Kill their entire family."

"Tell Yu Huatian and Pei Jingzhe: The Western Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are to spread their full strength across all of Great Xia for surveillance. Old Wei, your Eastern Depot's elites are to head straight to the Southern Frontier and focus solely on tracking the aberrations' movements."

He threw the jade slip to Wei Zhongxian, then walked to the palace entrance and gazed southward.

Though it was noon, the southern sky had already darkened.

A faint layer of black mist hovered along the southern horizon. It was the South Sea aberration tide, thousands of miles away, yet its effect on heaven and earth's spirit energy had already reached the capital.

"Nine ninth-grade aberrations, one half-step tenth rank." Wang Hao muttered to himself. "Li Cangming, this time you've really sent me a grand gift. Once I finish this battle, you and I will have a serious settling of accounts."

He turned back to the imperial desk and picked up the Heavenly Emperor Sword.

The sword hummed in his hand, its blade faintly warming.

"Wang Hao," the sword-bitch's voice rang in his mind, more excited than ever. "Nine ninth-grade aberrations! One half-step tenth! I want to devour them! I can feel I'm not just restoring my strength—I'm going to evolve."

"This time, you'll get to feast," Wang Hao said, hanging the sword at his waist. "But you will listen to me—this enemy isn't some scheming old bastard like Li Cangming. This is a half-step tenth-rank aberration. You, ranked only a hundred and twenty-sixth among spirit artifacts, charging at it would just give it something to pick from its teeth."

"Then what do we do?"

"First, eat. Then, get moving." Wang Hao patted the scabbard. "I'm not returning to the capital this time. I'm heading directly to the Southern Frontier. After the Western Expedition Army receives its rewards—except for the thirty battalions I've ordered—the rest shall be disbanded on the spot. The border troops are all to return to their posts and monitor the Northern Desert. Tell Duke Xu Chengzuo: If any Northern Desert tribe shows disloyalty, no need to seek permission—exterminate them directly."

"I'm only taking thirty Perfection-level Transcendents to fly ahead. The four hundred thousand troops of the Capital Guard and Metropolitan Army will use the Western Region's newly built teleportation arrays. Even if each array can only send five thousand at a time, they should all arrive within a month."

"How do you plan to fight?"

"I don't know," Wang Hao admitted frankly. "I've fought plenty of battles in my life, killed two or three ninth-grade aberrations too. But a half-step tenth-rank aberration? That's a first. I'll assess the situation once I reach the Southern Frontier. If we can fight, we fight. If we can't, we retreat. We must fortify the coastline."

"Retreat?" The sword-bitch's voice was full of disbelief. "You, retreat?"

"When did I ever say I wouldn't?" Wang Hao raised an eyebrow. "I'm formidable, but I'm not an idiot. Half-step tenth rank is stronger than even a half-step Transcendent like Li Cangming. Fighting head-on would be suicide. But I won't fight head-on—I'll set a trap."

When he said "set a trap," his tone was light and casual, but the sword-bitch inexplicably shivered.

Because he remembered, last time when Wang Hao said “set a trap,” it resulted in the deaths of twenty-nine Martial Gods and eight hundred Sky Soar experts.

This time, what he planned to trap were eight ninth-rank Aberrants and one half-tenth-rank Aberrant.

Southern Frontier Province, Zhennan Pass.

Three days later, Wang Hao arrived at Zhennan Pass with thirty Sky Soar elders.

He didn’t ride the dragon carriage—he flew directly.

The flight speed of thirty-one experts outran any teleportation formation. In three days, they covered nearly eighty thousand miles. By the time they reached Zhennan Pass, the spiritual energy of the thirty elders was nearly depleted, but Wang Hao still looked as energetic as ever.

On the city wall of Zhennan Pass, He Lanyue lay covered in wounds on a hastily set-up chair. His left arm had been pierced by the Bone General of the Devouring Dragon, the entire limb wrapped in blood-soaked bandages;

most of his chest armor was shattered, revealing dozens of wounds of varying depth beneath. But when he saw Wang Hao, he still struggled to stand.

“Lie down.” Wang Hao pressed his shoulder, glanced at his injuries, then looked at the other wounded soldiers on the wall—at least three thousand naval troops were receiving treatment on the wall, lightly wounded lying down, the severely injured groaning, and the bodies of the fallen lined up in rows under white cloth.

“What’s the situation?” Wang Hao asked directly.

“Very bad.” He Lanyue’s voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

“The navy lost nearly two hundred out of five hundred warships. Governor Han’s right leg was shattered by the impact wave of the Skull Ball—he’s being treated in the rear. Out of the three hundred newly promoted first-rank Sky Soar commanders, we lost forty-two. The remains of the fallen were probably devoured.”

“The nine ninth-rank Aberrants are now lurking at the edge of the southernmost sea of the Great Xia, as if waiting for something—they haven’t directly attacked Zhennan Pass, but their black fog keeps spreading.”

“What about the old and weak fleet of the South Sea Dragon’s Maw?”

“We brought them back. Two million four hundred thousand elderly, weak, women, and children of the dragon race—but only one million nine hundred thousand actually made it.” He Lanyue’s voice dropped.

“The other thirty-odd thousand were devoured by the Aberrants on the way. Ao Yue’s handmaiden was among them, along with Ao Yue’s two younger sisters, four dragon race elders, and three hundred disabled old veterans—all gone.”

Wang Hao was silent for three breaths.

Then he asked, “Where is Ao Yue?”

“In the temporary shelter. She fed all her essence blood to the infant in her arms. Her own cultivation dropped an entire major realm, and her hair has turned completely white.”

Wang Hao stood up, looked toward the direction of the temporary shelter, then glanced at the increasingly thick black fog over the southern sea.

“He Lanyue.”

“Your Majesty’s subordinate is here.”

“You did well.” Wang Hao patted his shoulder. He didn’t mention the matter of “acting first and reporting later,” but simply repeated, “You did well.”

He Lanyue froze for a moment, and then this veteran general—who had never flinched even when cut by a blade on the northern battlefield—suddenly had red-rimmed eyes.

Wang Hao turned and walked to the edge of the city wall, gazing at the sea shrouded in black fog to the south.

In the fog, the silhouettes of nine ninth-rank Aberrants loomed faintly. They hadn’t launched an attack, but their very presence was draining Zhennan Pass’s defenses—the consumption rate of spirit stones for the city’s defensive formation was ten times normal, the barrels of rune cannons needed replacing every three hours to maintain continuous fire, and the soldiers on the wall were under constant strain, on the verge of collapse at any moment.

Above the black fog, the enormous black palm still hung in the air. The fist-sized eye in its palm slowly rotated, its pupil reflecting the walls of Zhennan Pass and the figure in black dragon robes standing on them.

Wang Hao stared back at that eye.

Man and eye, across ten thousand miles of sea and layers of black fog, gazed at each other from afar.

Then Wang Hao said something that left every general around him stunned.

“Damn, this eye is even more arrogant than Li Cangming.”

He turned to look at Wei Zhongxian: “Old Wei, send an edict to all the troops that have already set out—speed up the march. Whoever reaches Zhennan Pass first, I’ll make them a legion commander.”

Then he drew his sword.

The moment the Imperial Sword left its scabbard, it let out a piercing, cloud-shattering ring.

“Sword-bitch, are you ready?”

“Ready!” The Imperial Sword’s voice was brimming with barely contained excitement. “Who do we eat first?”

“We’ll eat the smallest one first.” Wang Hao pointed the sword’s tip at the eye in the palm of the giant hand above the black fog. “I can’t beat a half-tenth-rank thing, but I can gouge out one of its eyes first.”

As his voice fell, his figure vanished from the city wall.

In the next moment, a golden sword light exploded in the black fog.

One man, one sword, charging headlong into the deathly black fog formed by nine ninth-rank Aberrants and one half-tenth-rank Aberrant.

Everyone on the wall was stunned.

“Your Majesty—” He Lanyue struggled to rise, but a withered hand pressed down on his shoulder.

It was Wei Zhongxian.

The old eunuch, expressionless, watched the golden sword light vanish into the black fog and said in a voice only He Lanyue could hear:

“General He, did you just meet His Majesty? When His Majesty fights, he never needs a reason.”

He paused, then added: “And of course, he never loses out.”