At the same time, five miles outside the east gate of Osaka Castle.

The orc encampment spread out across a grey-brown wilderness, with tents packed densely together, and the war banners of the Cangshi Clan fluttering wildly above the camp.

Patrolling Orc Infantry carried iron axes, walking back and forth along the edge of the camp with heavy footsteps that made the gravel crunch.

Inside the large tent at the center of the camp, the charcoal in the brazier had burned out, leaving only dark red embers flickering in the morning breeze.

The chief of the Cangshi Clan—Chief Bloodaxe Gorong—sat upright in the main seat, his three-meter-tall dark green body filling the entire mammoth-hide chair.

The Bone-Crusher great axe leaned against the side of the chair, the bloodstains on its blade already dried.

His fingers tapped slowly on the armrest—one, two, three—with a dull, rhythmic beat.

The Orc Prophet sat at his right hand, his hunched body wrapped in tattered grey robes, with a withered wooden staff leaning against the chair.

His face was painted with white war markings, and his eyes glowed with a ghostly green light; he was currently sitting with his eyes closed, fingers tapping lightly on his knees as if silently calculating something.

"How is the progress of the blood sacrifice for the teleportation array?"

Chief Bloodaxe Gorong spoke, his voice low.

His dark red eyes stared at the Orc Prophet, like two smoldering fires dancing in their sockets.

The Orc Prophet opened his eyes, ghostly green light flickering deep within their sockets.

The corners of his mouth slowly spread apart to reveal a mouthful of broken, yellow teeth, and his voice was hoarse: "Based on the scale of the past few days, it will be completed by noon today."

Chief Bloodaxe Gorong slammed his hand onto the armrest, causing the heavy mammoth-hide chair to emit a dull thud.

His voice rose by half a pitch, carrying long-suppressed excitement: "Good! Once the blood sacrifice is finished, according to the plan, the entire army will abandon the attack on Osaka Castle, head north, leave the South Pole Region, and rendezvous with Lord Saruk."

The Orc Prophet laughed, his laughter sounding like wind blowing over dry leaves, rustling.

"The main force of the humans will be drawn north by us. Once their troops and high-end combat power have been diverted, we will directly use the teleportation array to launch a sneak attack and take Osaka Castle."

His finger drew a circle on his knee, as if sketching out a perfect plan.

Chief Bloodaxe Gorong nodded heavily, a flash of cruel light passing through his dark red eyes.

He stood up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the tent flap, and gazed at the silhouette of Osaka Castle to the southwest.

The garrison on the city walls was changing shifts; figures moved in the morning light, and banners fluttered wildly in the wind.

"I'll let you live a little longer."

He said in a low voice, his words scattered by the morning breeze.

An hour later, the sunlight shone obliquely from the due south, gilding the fully prepared troops in a layer of pale gold.

Lin Feng stood on the open ground outside the west gate, facing the troops that had already formed up.

Over two thousand three hundred Great Qin Elite Soldiers were arranged in five phalanxes, their black armor like iron and their halberds like a forest.

One battalion each from the Night Whisper Legion and the New Moon Legion were deployed on both sides.

Su Yurou stood in the center of the Army Formation, the bone healing staff grasped in her hand, the emerald green runes on the staff pulsating slightly in the sunlight.

Tied across her forehead was that pure white spiritual consciousness headband, its pale gold runes shimmering in the sunlight.

A layer of semi-transparent light blue shield surrounded her, like a thin eggshell, enveloping her entirely.

That was the passive shield of the Shield Mage, capable of absorbing one thousand points of damage; combined with the Spell Deflection effect from breaking through 60 Intelligence, her survivability had more than doubled.

Lin Feng walked up to her and looked her up and down: "How do you feel? Has your Intelligence reached sixty?"

Su Yurou smiled and nodded, her voice soft but carrying an uncontrollable hint of joy: "It has. The spiritual consciousness headband added ten points of Intelligence, the Class Change Book added forty percent, and with my original base, it has just broken through sixty."

She paused and added, "Spell Deflection can already be used, and I feel... much more at ease than before."

Lin Feng nodded, not asking any further questions.

He turned around, faced west, and pointed forward: "Move out."

The troops departed from the west gate of Nha Trang County and set foot on the road leading to Huian County.

This area of Annan Country was known as the Green Vine Plain, and the landmark of the Green Vine Plain was a creeping plant called green vine.

Its vines were slender and flexible, pale green in color, and never crawled on the ground; instead, they clung to low shrubs or rocks, or formed clusters themselves, winding into fluffy, ball-like shapes.

Green vine did not bear fruit, but when its vines were cut, they would secrete a transparent sap. If collected and left to sit overnight, it would congeal into a semi-transparent gel, which the Annan people called "vine jelly."

Vine jelly was cool and slightly sweet, and with a little wild honey, it made an excellent refreshing drink for the summer heat.

In addition, dried green vine stems could be twisted into fine threads, and the fabric woven from them was light, translucent, and carried a natural herbal fragrance, which was quite favored by merchants from afar.

It should have been a vibrant plain, but less than ten miles after the army left Nha Trang County, the scenery changed.

The green vines had withered, winding around dead shrubs like grey-white ropes.

The farmland along the road was desolate; the ridges had collapsed, the irrigation ditches were dried up, and the crops had long since been trampled into nothingness.

Occasionally, one could see a few collapsed farmhouses, their earthen walls half-fallen, the thatch on the roofs scattered by the wind, and the door frames crooked, like open mouths.

There ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) was no poultry, no livestock; even rats and snakes were nowhere to be seen.

The air was filled with a faint, putrid stench—not the smell of corpses, but the aura left behind by death.

Feng Qingyan rode her Great-Horned Deer, looking around, and muttered: "This place is even creepier than the Brown Earth Plain. At least the Brown Earth Plain has a few vultures; here, there aren't even any flies."

Feng Qingshuang followed by her side, her gaze sweeping over the ruins along the road, and she said in a low voice: "Wherever the Undead Army passes, all living things die, and the dead are transformed. It would be strange if there were flies."

The troops marched for nine hours. The sun rose from the east to the zenith, then slid from the zenith to the west.

The clouds on the horizon were dyed dark red by the setting sun, like congealed blood.

The army stretched out into a long black line across the Green Vine Plain, the sounds of footsteps, the clashing of armor plates, and the sound of wheels rolling over gravel blending together and carrying far into the twilight.

When they were about twenty miles away from Huian County, Lin Feng raised his right fist, and the troops halted.

Lin Feng looked up at the sky; the sun had already shifted west, likely around five or six in the afternoon.

He dismounted from the deer, scanned his surroundings, and said: "Rest for half an hour."

The Great Qin Elite Soldiers immediately dispersed; some drank water, some ate dry rations, and some leaned against their halberds to close their eyes and rest.

The people from the Night Whisper Legion and the New Moon Legion also found places to sit down; no one made noise, and no one wandered around.

Lin Feng turned around and looked at Jiang Yelan: "Ye Lan, go scout the situation of the Undead Army near Huian County. Stay safe, and don't alert the enemy."

Jiang Yelan pressed her right fist to her chest, kicked off the ground, and her body soared into the air.

Her black leather armor was almost indistinguishable in the twilight, the shadow moon blade swayed gently at her waist, and her figure quickly vanished into the twilight, like a drop of ink melting into water.