Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Lin Chen stared at the map for a while and said, "They're planning to coordinate an attack from within and without, so let's play along."

Jiang Chen looked up at him.

Lin Chen continued, "On the surface, we participated in the joint training as planned, making the Wang family think we were still in the dark. In reality, we moved our main force to the vicinity of the evil formation in advance, setting up a larger encirclement. When they detonated the evil formation, we surrounded them from all sides and wiped them out in one fell swoop."

"Great idea!" Jiang Chen's eyes lit up, and he turned around to gesture on the map. "I'll leave a regiment here in Tianlan City to cooperate with the Su family's guards and protect the Martial Arts Association and the military headquarters. If Wang Xiaotian dares to make a move, surround and annihilate him immediately."

Su Zhennan said, "In the Northwest Forest Area, I will personally lead all the elites of the Su family to ambush around the evil formation in advance. Qingyue will lead the Evil-Breaking Assault Team to kill the evil warriors. Muyue, you will lead the formation team, prepare the formation-breaking flags and anti-evil magic weapons, and be ready to break the formation at any time."

He looked at Lin Chen with a serious expression: "Young friend Lin Chen, the most crucial task is entrusted to you. You must pretend to fall into Wang Hao's trap, enter the center of the evil formation, and draw all their attention to it. Once we surround you, you should seize control of the evil formation and cooperate with Mu Yue to break it."

"Don't worry." Lin Chen nodded. "I will definitely complete the mission."

Jiang Chen added, "Keep the matter of the traitor quiet for now. We'll deliberately leak some false information so the traitor can pass it on to the Wang family, making them think we're still proceeding according to plan. At the same time, I've sent people to secretly investigate Li Ming and Xiao Cui, gathering evidence."

"Alright." Su Zhennan stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "It's settled then. Everyone, go back and prepare immediately. The joint training exercise will officially begin in three days. This battle is one we can only win, we cannot afford to lose!"

"We can only win, we can't afford to lose!"

The four of them spoke in unison. Their voices weren't loud, but they bumped around a few times in the enclosed conference room before finally disappearing into the shadows in the corner.

When I came out of the military headquarters, it was already dawn.

The eastern sky was tinged with the pale light of dawn, and the outlines of buildings were faintly visible. The streets were deserted, with only the occasional taxi passing by. The first rays of sunlight peeked out from behind the clouds, illuminating the pavement and making the raindrops from the previous night gleam.

But Lin Chen felt no warmth in his heart.

The traitor is like a time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. They don't know who the traitor is, or how much information he has already leaked. This battle is fraught with uncertainty.

"Lin Chen." Su Muyue grabbed his hand.

Her hands were still a little cold, but she held them tightly. She looked at him, her eyes filled with worry: "Are you really going to go into the center of the evil formation alone? It's too dangerous. What if Wang Hao has set an even more dangerous trap…?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Lin Chen smiled and patted the back of her hand. "I'm now at the early stage of the Meridian Opening Realm, and I also have the Star Pattern Jade Pendant and Chen Feng's cultivation notes. Wang Hao is no match for me. Besides, you're all outside waiting for me."

"But..." Su Muyue wanted to say something more.

"No buts." Lin Chen looked into her eyes, his tone serious. "This is the only way. I'll go in and distract Wang Hao, buying you time to surround him. For the sake of the millions of people in Qingyang City, I must go."

Su Muyue looked at him, her lips moved a few times, and finally she nodded gently. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried her best to hold them back.

"Then you must be careful." Her voice was a little hoarse. "No matter what happens, I'll be waiting for you outside."

"I will." Lin Chen smiled and reached out to wipe the corner of her eye.

Su Qingyue stood to the side, watching the two of them with a complex expression. She sighed softly and said, "Alright, enough with the sentimentality. Let's go back and prepare. There are still three days left, and so much to do."

Lin Chen and Su Muyue exchanged a glance and smiled.

The three of them walked side by side toward the school.

As the sun slowly rose, its golden light bathed them, casting long, long shadows.

In the distance, towards the northwest forest region, the dark clouds had not yet dispersed. A major battle that would determine the fate of Qingyang City was about to begin.