You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

So she immediately shifted her gaze to a city-state in Nanqiu, a newly discovered map region that the Great Qian Empire had only recently explored through scouts. Even without detailed information, she could see the surrounding clans.

A dark mass rushed towards the city-state, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.

They roamed and advanced across the plains, their numbers increasing by several hundred since the beginning, and some entirely new signs emerged:

out of control.

"Damn it, I didn't tell you to go that way. That's the direction of Daqian. Don't mess with them."

The takin tribe leader tried to control the tribe, but found that a small group of its members were completely out of control, scattering at will and disobeying orders, displaying a free-spirited and reckless nature.

He was gradually losing his strength, and even if he wanted to strengthen control, he couldn't do it. It was really troublesome.

Xia He saw this and shook her head.

This NPC is utterly incompetent; the more there are, the harder it is to command. Of course, not everyone has the ability to lead "the more the merrier."

Besides, the monster clans are much harder to command than humans; they're just a bunch of lunatics.

There's no point in talking to a madman.

She then thought, "This pollution is related to knowledge, so could the knowledge about me also pollute it?"

This might be a way to curb the spread of the monsters. So Xia He used her authority to leak some information, and sure enough, the monsters that were spreading froze on the spot, and even began to disintegrate...

The people of Terra say that the Heavenly Dao has purifying power, and that's not wrong.

However, despite the purification process, the dying members of the clan were uttering incomprehensible words:

"Hakimi Hakimi".

"So what? How can these be the same? What does it matter?"

"Great! It's an evil god! We're saved!"

"I just arrived, which side has the bad guys?"

Xia He frowned as she watched. Wasn't this a case of using one form of pollution to cover up another? Another set of knowledge about the evil god was squeezed out, and then her own knowledge went in.

Now the Heavenly Dao is starting to feel more and more like an evil god.

After testing the waters, she stopped interfering to avoid any system errors; ultimately, humanity had to bear the brunt of everything.

Moreover, the difficulty has already been reduced; it remains to be seen whether the Southern Hill City-State can withstand it.

We'll talk about it if we can't hold on any longer.

If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.

If Nanqiu is easily defeated and becomes a breeding ground for the expansion of its clans, then Daqian will also be affected.

The world of Terra should unite in the face of a warp invasion.

Therefore, Xia He was paying close attention to the battlefield situation to prevent any unforeseen events from escalating into unmanageable consequences. Moreover, as the first report of a "large-scale pollution incident," she, as the administrator, couldn't afford to overlook it.

This is typical.

Her perspective zoomed out further, eventually focusing on the interior of South Hill.

This city-state served as a bridgehead for the southern city-state region, facilitating trade between the north and south for many years. Like twins of the southern plateau, it enjoyed economic prosperity and vast arable land.

The population has reached 4.

Its location offers sufficient advantages and it has considerable potential; its existing base is already comparable to that of a major town. Therefore, the people within the city understand that it cannot be easily captured, otherwise everyone around it will suffer.

Soldiers walked continuously across the city wall, carrying various materials such as bows and crossbows, rocks, and wood.

"We must treat this as a defensive siege, and not let them get in."

"Focus on defending the city gates; no one is allowed to leave their posts without authorization."

"All paperwork-related work is suspended; do not give them a chance to contaminate the work."

Xia He's eyes lit up.

The people of Nanqiu have done a good job with their contingency plans; in fact, we don't need to be so vigilant anymore, because they conducted a small-scale cleanup and contained the spread. Of course, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

The regions that developed into large city-states at the forefront of the classical era were no pushovers.

Perhaps it was also due to the radiating effect of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Upon closer observation, she discovered that these people had already adopted charts, sign language, flag signals, and efficient military orders, and that all standards were in accordance with the Daqian system.

No wonder.

Nanqiu has always been within Xia He's so-called "cultural influence sphere," and has been inspired to some extent. Its basic organizational level is much stronger than that of ordinary city-states. Moreover, it has received some missionaries and blessing tokens from the Great Qian Dynasty, giving it a certain degree of self-protection.

It is now unleashing all the advanced knowledge it has learned over the years.

This is a trial.

The people of Nanqiu moved with orderly efficiency, distributing weapons and armor in turn, standing gracefully on the city wall. Meanwhile, Xia He noticed that even the passwords, ranks, and terminology were exactly the same as in the Great Qian Dynasty—she had learned them all perfectly.

Moreover, it's not imitation, but applying what you've learned.

At this moment, the chieftain of the takin tribe led a large force of his tribe to attack, charging straight at the city wall.

"Something has changed!"

They were no longer as clueless as before; instead, they climbed the city wall with incredible speed, using both hands and feet. They didn't need ladders; they practically flew over walls and scaled rooftops.

Have you guys transformed into Spider-Man?

Xia He took a closer look and discovered that this batch was rather special; they were individuals who had undergone short-term psionic enhancement and had been specially selected by the leader.

The surprise attack was very effective; the monsters had already scaled the city walls and were engaged in fierce fighting.

"Form ranks quickly."

However, the defenders of Nanqiu were numerous and powerful. After a brief moment of surprise, they quickly organized an encirclement. After suffering some casualties, they killed all the dependents who had reached the city walls, leaving no one alive. They even lit a fire and threw it down to burn.

The monster, also tainted by flames, roared and howled.

Although they looked somewhat frightened, the thought of their families in the city needing protection forced them to grit their teeth and fight on. They had no way to retreat, so they might as well fight to the bitter end.

"Hold on, we have reinforcements."

"I have already asked the Southern Plains City-State for help. The city lord there is a man of great principle and will help us."

"Don't be afraid, these guys are just a bunch of brainless idiots."

"Nanqiu will stand strong."

The morale of the defenders, united in their hatred of the enemy, soared, and they once again repelled a wave of monsters climbing the city walls, preventing them from crossing the line.

Xia He learned that in the fast-forwarded time of the past few days, the two city-states had decided to support each other.

She zoomed out on the map and saw clearly that Nan Yuan and Nan Qiu were actually flanking the clans from the front and back. If they wanted to assimilate their kind and expand their power, they would have no choice but to go through this route, and a battle was inevitable.

Although the two cities received support from their rear, it was not fast enough.

Why not form an alliance?

Only by uniting against the enemy's kin could they possibly defeat it; everyone understood this. Of course, the leader of the takin tribe, who had also intercepted some intelligence, was also aware that the enemy was forming an alliance.

"You wish! I will utterly crush you and turn Nanqiu into a sacrificial site."

Before he finished speaking, he raised his hands, and saw another army of kin rising on the horizon. They were quite numerous, with bared fangs and an aggressive look.

They seemed to be smiling, yearning for flesh and blood.

It’s over.

Nanqiu felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing the enemy's hidden reserve forces.

Ultimately, our military capabilities and preparedness were lacking. As a city-state focused on trade, where would we get so many troops? We thought that defending the city walls would be enough, but the enemy was numerous, powerful, and monstrous. Our chances of survival are slim.

The leader laughed wildly and pointed at the city wall. The next moment, a large number of his followers rushed over.

“You are all dead.”

Xia He also focused her attention on this local area, but not on the clan's hidden forces, but on the rear.

The Great Qianlong Banner fluttered high, stirring up dust and causing the earth to rumble.

"Charge!"

City Lord Cheng Feng personally led a cavalry force to the scene. Their objective was not to reinforce the main city wall, but rather to strike at the rear of the clan's reserve forces. The vulnerable rear naturally crumbled at the first touch and began to scatter.

He charged bravely, leading from the front, and with a single swing of his long spear, he killed several of his clansmen, turning them to dust.

That was a weapon imbued with psychic blessings.

Xia He, who had originally planned to intervene, remained calm and collected, but she did not expect Nan Yuan's support to be so decisive, and she also understood the principle of mutual dependence.

boom!

The Great Qian cavalry's charge was less of a charge and more of a smashing of the monsters, leaving them scattered and disorganized. In fact, it wasn't really a formation to begin with; it was basically a "spring outing army" setup.

Therefore, unlike tactics used against humans, it's not enough to simply break up their formation; you must actually kill them.

When humans get chaotic, they trample; when they get chaotic, they just run around randomly.

"Deploy tanks in pursuit."

Cheng Feng decisively ordered that after the cavalry had torn the enemy apart and broken them up, the heavy chariots should be handed over to sweep through the enemy lines and amplify the damage. In an instant, the entire plain was filled with the dust of the pursuit, and the enemy forces were completely overwhelmed.

At the same time, Xia He also saw a series of buffs such as "Soaring Morale", "Cavalry Legion", and "Elite Army".

With its combined combat strength, it is quite capable of undertaking important tasks.

The city lord knew the secret to asymmetric warfare: only attack the unprepared rear guards and their families, avoiding direct confrontation with the main force attacking the city. This maintained a deterrent effect while preserving strength; ultimately, he couldn't afford to lose too many of the Great Qian's troops. His decision to defend the city against the established plan, which he had already taken on independently, now needed to consider the political implications.

However, Nanqiu was very grateful for the support she received.

—Counterattack!

Amidst the deafening shouts of battle, the garrison of Nanqiu pushed back, ruthlessly clearing away the families from the city walls.

They held the high ground and unleashed a rain of arrows, which slammed down on the monsters. These mindless creatures naturally fell in droves, and without their interference with the city walls, they were exposed to the full force of the enemy's fire.

High-level attacks are for idiots, low-level attacks are for idiots.

Having implemented this principle, the Nanqiu garrison began to expand their gains.

Xia He could even see that the legion on the Familia side also had a bunch of status descriptions:

[Fearless], [Incompetent in Command], [Madness], and other mixed attributes...