The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

When Xiao Jingchen's royal decree, carried by the messenger of the "Hive," crossed the wind and snow to reach the depths of the grassland, Ulu and Huyan Zhuo were arguing heatedly over the ownership of a lush pasture.

"Huyan Zhuo! Don't push your luck! That 'Crescent Lake' pasture was seized from the Northern Barbarians by our brave warriors, sword by sword! Why should we give you half of it?"

Uru stared with eyes as big as a bull, spitting almost onto Huyan Zhuo's face. He was now a rising star on the grasslands, commanding 100,000 Canglang soldiers, and his confidence was many times greater than before.

Huyan Zhuo, however, wore a forced smile and said slowly, "Chief Wulu, you can't say that. The Prince said that after conquering the Northern Barbarians, the land and wealth would be divided equally between our two families. What, you want to take it all for yourself now?"

"Equal distribution? Bah! When we were fighting the Northern Barbarians, who was at the forefront? It was our Canglang Army! You barbarians were just scavenging from behind! Now that it's time to divide the spoils, you're the first to run away!"

"Heh, war requires strategy. Do you expect us to resort to human sacrifice like you do?"

Just as the two were about to escalate their verbal duel into a physical one, a loud shout suddenly came from outside the tent: "The Prince's messenger has arrived!"

"A messenger from the Prince?"

Both Ulu and Huyan Zhuo felt a chill run down their spines, their arrogance vanishing instantly. They exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of nervousness in each other's eyes, quickly straightened their clothes, and hurried out of the royal tent.

A "Hive" messenger, clad in a black cloak and with a weathered face, stood silently outside the tent. Behind him were only two guards, but the chilling aura emanating from him kept the hundreds of grassland warriors around him at bay.

"Greetings, messenger!"

Ulu and Huyan Zhuo, two important figures who could cause a stir on the grasslands with a stomp of their feet, were now like two children who had made a mistake, bowing respectfully to the messenger.

Their hearts were pounding; they wondered what the prince's messenger had come for. Had the prince learned of their earlier argument?

Without further ado, the messenger took out a parchment scroll sealed with sealing wax from his robes and coldly said, "The Prince's order!"

U-Lu and Huyanzhuo immediately knelt down.

"By order of Heaven, Ulu, leader of the Canglang Army, and Huyan Zhuo, King of the Wildlings, each must muster your troops. Ulu will contribute 100,000, and Huyan Zhuo 200,000. Within three days, they will be assembled and march south to join the Prince's army to jointly punish the traitor!"

The messenger's voice was not loud, but every word was like a heavy hammer, striking hard into the hearts of Uru and Huyan Zhuo.

send troops?

Heading south?

Should we jointly condemn the traitors to our country?

Both of them were stunned.

They thought they had misheard.

But it's winter!

In winter on the grasslands, even wolves are reluctant to venture out. Why would the prince launch such a large-scale war at this time? And why would he want to fight all the way to the south?

Is this...is this madness?

Uru was the first to react. He looked up and stammered, "Your... Your Excellency, you're not mistaken, are you? Now... heading south?"

The messenger's gaze swept over him, his eyes as if looking at a dead man: "Are you questioning the Prince's orders?"

Uru shuddered, burying his head even lower in fear: "No... I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare! It's just... it's just that in this freezing weather, for a large army to march, provisions... I'm afraid..."

"His Highness has his own arrangements," the messenger interrupted him coldly. "All you need to do is one thing: carry out the orders."

Huyan Zhuo's mind was much more agile than Wulu's.

After his initial shock, he immediately thought of something deeper.

Why did the prince choose to take action in winter?

It's obvious that this is to create a time difference!

The southern army would never have expected the northern border to send troops at this time. By the time they realized what was happening, the prince's army would probably already be at their gates!

What a grand gesture! What incredible boldness!

This Prince Xiao is indeed no ordinary man!

He made a decision in his mind instantly.

This is a huge gamble, but also a tremendous opportunity!

If they win this gamble, the future status and wealth of these "loyal ministers" who were the first to follow the prince will be limitless!

Thinking of this, Huyan Zhuo's heart burned with excitement.

Without further hesitation, he kowtowed heavily and declared loudly, "Your subordinate, Huyan Zhuo, obeys! Within three days, the allied army of two hundred thousand barbarian warriors will be fully assembled and await Your Highness's command!"

Seeing that Huyan Zhuo had expressed his opinion, Ulu dared not hesitate any longer. Although he wasn't as quick-witted as Huyan Zhuo, he understood the simplest truth: listen to the prince, and you'll get something to eat.

"Your subordinate, Uru, obeys! The 100,000-strong Canglang Army is ready to depart at any time!"

"Very good." The messenger nodded and tossed them the parchment scroll. "This contains the specific marching route and rendezvous point. Remember, you only have three days."

After saying that, he turned around, and with his guards, disappeared back into the wind and snow, as if he had never been there.

Ulu and Huyanzhuo got up from the ground, looked at each other, and their expressions became extremely complicated.

They were fighting tooth and nail over a small ranch just moments ago, but now, a much larger game, one that could even determine their future, is unfolding before them.

"Huyan Zhuo, what... what do you think the prince's chances of winning this time?" Ulu was still a little unsure and asked in a low voice.

Hu Yanzhuo glanced at the distant Shuobei City, which represented Xiao Jingchen's supreme authority, his eyes filled with awe.

"I don't know what the chances of winning are."

He paused, then said, word by word, "All I know is that from the moment His Highness decided to do something, he has never lost."

"The wolf clan was stronger than us, wasn't it? Ashina Xiong was more powerful than us, wasn't he? And what happened? Now the grass on their graves is almost as tall as a person."

"Everything we have now was given to us by the prince. If he wants it back, it's just a matter of a word."

"So, don't overthink it, Uru. What we need to do now is to do the task the Prince has entrusted to us perfectly. As for the odds of winning, that's a question for the Prince to consider, not for us."

After listening, Uru remained silent for a long time before finally nodding heavily.

"You're right. Forget about it!" He slapped his thigh. "Let's go! Back to muster the troops! Damn it, so what if we're going south to fight? Back when I couldn't even get enough to eat, I dared to fight to the death. Now we have wine and meat, what are we afraid of!"

The two no longer cared about arguing over the pasture and hurriedly returned to their respective tribes.

Soon, the mournful sound of horns echoed throughout the grasslands.

Countless herdsmen took off their robes, put on armor, picked up weapons, and stepped out of their warm tents.

There was no fear on their faces, only a fanatical fervor, as if summoned by destiny.

three days later.

Three hundred thousand cavalrymen from the grasslands, forming a massive torrent of steel, left the grasslands where they had lived for generations, trudging through the thick snow, and rolled toward the unfamiliar south.

They had only one goal: to follow their one and only master and conquer a wider world.

At this moment, the grassland revealed its sharpest fangs.