Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Chapter 2687 The Beginning of the Yuan Clan's Decline
The departure of the divine deer left the generals who had besieged it helpless, and they could only watch it disappear.

Huang Zhong was the first to attack the divine deer and was not affected. When he saw the divine deer leave, he was the first to leave as well. He transformed into a golden ray of light and arrived at the altar in an instant, standing below where Lin Mu was.

As the golden light faded, Huang Zhong's resolute face was revealed to the world.

This scene caused many lords to change their expressions. The Nine-Yuan Divine General was actually a fierce general under Lin Mu's command!

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's expressions changed slightly upon seeing Huang Zhong. Even without the three brothers being present and using special techniques, they were no match for the Nine-Element Divine General.

Huang Zhong seemed to sense something, looked at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and nodded slightly as a greeting.

Although they were at odds with their lord Lin Mu, he still valued them highly and respected them. They had no personal grudge against Lin Mu; their relationship was solely due to their loyalty to Liu Bei.

Zhang Fei and Guan Yu also nodded slightly in response to Huang Zhong.

"Buzz!!!" The other generals who attacked the divine deer also came to the foot of the altar and to the bottom of the various lords.

Lin Mu glanced around and recognized many familiar faces, such as Ma Chao, who stood below Ma Teng. He hadn't expected Ma Chao to have come with his father to fight against Dong Zhuo. Ma Chao hadn't appeared in his previous life.

Based on past experience, Ma Teng did not play a significant role in the campaign against Dong Zhuo; he was merely a minor character who came to make an appearance and be listed among the feudal lords.

And then there's Sun Ce, who stands below Sun Jian.

The three brothers, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Ren, were all standing below Cao Cao.

The aura of the five men was powerful and robust. Although they could not compare to Huang Zhong, they were the most numerous.

In fact, Cao Cao in his previous life had even more fierce generals, including the three brothers Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Ren, as well as Li Dian, Yu Jin, Dian Wei, and so on. Their momentum was extremely strong, and even Yuan Shao almost couldn't suppress Cao Cao's momentum.

In the beginning, Cao Cao had a lot of influence, and Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu both listened to his words.

In his previous life, Liu Bei was merely a junior officer under Gongsun Zan and had no right to sit at the table. Yuan Shu did not have a good impression of the three who were trying so hard to make a name for themselves and kept targeting them. Cao Cao, on the other hand, was always acting as a peacemaker, which shows that the warlords still gave Cao Cao face.

"I wonder if Xu Chu has come yet..." Lin Mu thought to himself as he looked at Xiahou Dun and the others.

At this moment, Lin Mu's gaze fell upon Wei Zhongdao. He spotted two rather familiar figures: Fang Yue and Mu Shun!

Why are they familiar? Because these two were quite famous among players in their previous lives; they were among the first historical generals to come into the players' view.

Fang Yue was a general under Wang Kuang, and Mu Shun was a general under Zhang Yang. Now that Wang Kuang and Zhang Yang have been imprisoned by Lin Mu, it is only natural that they have come under Wei Zhongdao's command!

Beside the two men stood Ding Feng, with whom they had clashed once before!

The Wei family still has some resources.

Beside him is Pan Feng, the peerless general who is also famous in the player community and currently serves under Han Fu!
"Woo-woo!~~~" At this moment, the sound of horns resounded throughout the heavens and earth, ending the sacrificial ceremony. What followed was the start of the real war!

As the rousing bugle calls echoed, the armies of the various lords began to move slowly, the war drums beat, and their morale soared.

Standing atop the altar, Yuan Shao's gaze swept across the assembled lords below, a sense of dominance rising within him. He knew that this battle was not only crucial to the fate of the lords, but also to the subsequent struggle for the throne, and a true test of the Yuan family's path to dominating the world.

"Swear a blood oath to punish Dong Zhuo. Sun Jian, Prefect of Changsha, obey my command!" Yuan Shao raised his head slightly, his face solemn and resolute as he shouted.

"Your humble servant is here!" Sun Jian knelt on one knee and shouted in a deep voice. Since Yuan Shao had been recognized as the leader of the alliance, then he was indeed his humble servant.

"You are known as the Tiger of Jiangdong and are a veteran of the battlefield. I, the leader of the alliance, hereby appoint you as the vanguard general, to lead your troops and set off on a chosen day to attack Sishui Pass!" This was Yuan Shao's first order after becoming the leader of the alliance.

"Yes, sir!!!" Sun Jian shouted loudly.

The two voices were incredibly loud and clear, and with the added blessing of the altar, they could be heard even by the countless soldiers and players stationed outside the arena.

The war against Dong Zhuo has begun!

However, the players thought the chosen date would be tomorrow or the day after, but they didn't expect it to be delayed for almost another month.

This left many eagerly anticipating players feeling quite frustrated.

War is not about speed. They've already sworn an oath of brotherhood and appointed vanguard generals, so why not immediately send troops to attack Dong Zhuo? Instead, they've dragged it out for so long, allowing Dong Zhuo's camp to prepare for the defense of their cities.
That's really strange...

However, what the players didn't know was that the feudal lords didn't want to delay either, but an army cannot march without supplies, and much of the supplies hadn't arrived yet...

Most importantly, much of the grain gathered in Suanzao City was transported from Luoyang, all thanks to the silent support of various powerful families.

It took more than a month before Sun Jian's troops finally broke camp and marched away, their banners fluttering in the wind.

The first city to be captured is not Sishui Pass, but the fortified city of Liang County, Henan Province, right in front of it! ...

By swearing a blood oath, Yuan Shao secured his position as the leader of the alliance, further fueling Dong Zhuo's already raging hatred.

Did Yuan really think he was unaware that those old guys were secretly channeling resources to Suanzao City?!

Although he intercepted some, most of it was transported to Suanzao City.

He verbally professed loyalty to the Han Dynasty and to Dong Zhuo, but secretly engaged in underhanded tactics...

"Let you keep jumping. Once I'm ready, I'll use you as a sacrifice!" After reading the intelligence, Dong Zhuo gave a sinister sneer.

"My lord, has the Yongzhou Cauldron successfully recognized its master?" Li Ru asked expectantly, looking travel-worn.

"The recognition of the master has been successful. Including the territory and other things, we have newly acquired the Twelve Dragon Fortunes." When Dong Zhuo heard Li Ru ask about the Yongzhou Cauldron, the anger on his face immediately disappeared, and an undisguised smile appeared.

"My lord, what are the attributes of authority?" Li Ru asked in a deep voice.

"The Yongzhou Cauldron is too damaged; only one of its authority attributes is usable! The attributes are as follows..." Dong Zhuo sighed softly, then beckoned Li Ru to come closer and whispered the attributes in Li Ru's ear.

Dong Zhuo trusted Li Ru completely, and did not hide the true nature of the Yongzhou Cauldron.

The Yongzhou Cauldron was one of Dong Zhuo's most important trump cards, and only his most trusted confidants could know about it. His adopted son Lü Bu, his trusted general Hua Xiong, and even his son-in-law Niu Fu and relative Dong Min were not qualified to know.

Upon hearing this, Li Ru and the others' expressions changed slightly. The Yongzhou Cauldron had already been damaged to such an extent…

"Besides the obvious attribute of authority, there are other attributes that are not obvious but exist. One of them is what we need—protecting the path of fortune."

"I will not be affected by most of the consequences of subsequent actions!" Dong Zhuo said meaningfully.

“Alright, the follow-up actions can begin…” Li Ru said meaningfully.

Dong Zhuo nodded and asked softly, "Is there still no news regarding the national treasury?"

“No… It’s too well hidden… I suspect it might be related to the fate of the nation. We haven’t established a nation yet, so we don’t know the specific attributes of the national treasury and can’t search for it specifically. Even the several array masters we’ve invited are at a loss.” Li Ru shook his head and said.

"Helpless, heh... They're afraid to get involved in karma, aren't they..." Dong Zhuo sneered as if he had just thought of something.

"Wenyou, go and summon all the generals to the mansion for a meeting," Dong Zhuo then instructed.

"My lord, do you believe that once the alliance leader and vanguard general are appointed, the Kwantung Army will immediately set off to attack?" Li Ru asked with a smile.

"Yes... has something changed?" Dong Zhuo asked in confusion.

“The Kwantung Army has rushed here, with their troops and supplies gone before their own. Their numbers are enormous, and they consume a huge amount of provisions every day. The provisions in Suanzao City are simply insufficient for their needs. Therefore, I believe they dare not act rashly,” Li Ru analyzed.

"So, according to your suggestion, what should we do next?" Dong Zhuo nodded thoughtfully and asked.

"Plot against the Yuan family!!!" Li Ru's expression hardened, and a strong killing intent emanated from him, chilling everyone to the bone.

"To quell the world with slaughter!"

Faced with the allied forces of twenty warlords attacking from all sides, Dong Zhuo killed several clamorers in the court, temporarily intimidating the officials on the surface.

With external troubles raging, we cannot allow internal strife to erupt as well. Therefore, he used execution to quell the unrest, temporarily restraining the officials and preventing them from acting rashly.

However, that's not enough. If we can eliminate the pillars of the Yuan family, who would dare to act rashly? Even the Yang family would have to obey!

"The Yuan family... after much planning, it's time to reap the rewards. This time, Yuan Shao is the leader of the alliance again, hehehe... it's all perfectly legitimate!" Dong Zhuo chuckled sinisterly.

"With the Dragon Seal to suppress the Yuan clan's fate, with the Heavenly and Earthly Dragon Minister List to annihilate their souls, with the boundless karmic force to sever the protection of Heaven and Earth, and with the Yongzhou Cauldron to avoid the invasion of karmic force, the Yuan clan can be destroyed!" Li Ru said forcefully.

"In addition..." Li Ru spoke righteously for a while, then changed his tone.

“This process can allow… the national guardian beast to take action. Doesn’t it need incense offerings? The Yuan family’s incense offerings are extremely prosperous and can satisfy it. Moreover… it contains that karmic force… which can be controlled and prevented!” Li Ru whispered meaningfully in Dong Zhuo’s ear.

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo's tiger-like eyes flashed with a sharp light. Li Ruzhi's suggestion was exactly what he wanted. Lately, the Heavenly Black Dragon had become a bit arrogant…

"You'll be in charge of planning and arranging everything," Dong Zhuo said, patting Li Ru on the shoulder with trust.

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)