The battlefield stretched endlessly beneath a crimson sky.
Mountains.
Rivers.
Ancient fortresses.
One hundred thousand soldiers stood behind each commander.
Above the battlefield, the Forgotten Sovereign floated with his hands behind his back.
"This trial..."
"...tests wisdom."
"No cultivation."
"No bloodlines."
"No spiritual techniques."
"The only thing that matters..."
"...is strategy."
With a wave of his sleeve, three command platforms appeared.
Lin Tian stepped onto the first.
Sylvia onto the second.
Lucien onto the last.
Each army saluted its commander.
• Each commander possesses 100,000 soldiers.
• Soldiers cannot be revived.
• The last surviving commander wins.
• Outside strength is forbidden.
Lin Tian immediately studied the terrain.
"The mountains protect my flanks..."
"I'll advance through the valley."
His army began marching.
Sylvia chose a cautious approach.
She divided her forces into three balanced divisions.
Attack.
Defense.
Reserve.
The Forgotten Sovereign nodded in approval.
"Steady."
"But predictable."
Finally...
His gaze shifted toward Lucien.
The Crown Prince hadn't moved.
Not a single soldier.
Not a single general.
Nothing.
Five minutes passed.
Ten.
Twenty.
The Forgotten Sovereign frowned.
"Why aren't you issuing orders?"
Lucien calmly replied,
"I'm waiting."
"For what?"
"My enemy."
Outside the battlefield...
Arcturus smiled.
"He has already begun."
Elena looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Arcturus pointed toward the map.
"Look carefully."
She widened her eyes.
Lucien wasn't looking at his own army.
He was watching the movements of everyone else.
Every formation.
Every supply route.
Every habit.
Every hesitation.
He was gathering information.
Meanwhile...
Lin Tian's army captured three forts in rapid succession.
His morale soared.
"We're winning!"
His generals cheered.
Sylvia successfully defended a river crossing.
Everything appeared normal.
Exactly...
Too normal.
Lucien finally spoke.
"General Marcus."
One armored commander stepped forward.
"Your Highness."
"Send five thousand cavalry."
Marcus blinked.
"To reinforce the center?"
Lucien smiled.
"No."
"Burn our food supplies."
"..."
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Even the Forgotten Sovereign stared at him.
"Repeat your order."
Lucien answered calmly.
"Destroy every warehouse."
"Leave nothing behind."
Marcus hesitated.
"But... we'll starve."
Lucien looked at him.
"If I give an order..."
"You obey."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The cavalry rode off.
Minutes later...
Huge pillars of smoke rose behind Lucien's own army.
Every grain store...
Every supply cart...
Every warehouse...
Burned to ashes.
Lin Tian laughed.
"Has he gone mad?"
Sylvia couldn't understand either.
Without supplies...
No army could survive.
Even the Forgotten Sovereign narrowed his eyes.
"What are you planning, Crown Prince?"
Lucien merely smiled.
Night fell.
As expected...
Lin Tian ordered his scouts forward.
They quickly returned.
"Commander!"
"The Crown Prince's army has no supplies!"
Lin Tian laughed.
"So he's desperate."
"Tomorrow..."
"We attack."
He had no idea...
That this was exactly what Lucien wanted.
At dawn...
Lin Tian's army marched confidently into the central plains.
Halfway across—
Boom!
The earth collapsed.
Hidden trenches swallowed thousands of soldiers.
Explosions echoed across the valley.
Bridges collapsed behind them.
The roads they had used...
Were gone.
Lin Tian's smile disappeared.
"What...?"
Then another report arrived.
"Commander!"
"Our supply convoy has vanished!"
"What?!"
"The roads were destroyed during the night!"
"And..."
"...someone burned the nearby forests."
"No food remains within three hundred kilometers."
Lin Tian's face turned pale.
He finally understood.
Lucien had never intended to protect his own supplies.
He had destroyed every resource...
So that his enemies would have nothing to seize.
The battlefield had become a wasteland.
No food.
No shelter.
No escape.
Lucien had sacrificed a small advantage...
To deny every advantage to his opponents.
Above the battlefield...
The Forgotten Sovereign slowly smiled.
"So..."
"You were never fighting for victory."
"You were deciding..."
"...the conditions under which the battle would be fought."
Lucien finally looked up.
His crimson eyes were calm.
"A true ruler doesn't win by reacting."
"He wins..."
"...by forcing everyone else to play his game."
For the first time in ten thousand years...
The Forgotten Sovereign felt a chill.
The young man before him wasn't merely intelligent.
He thought like an emperor.
And emperors...
Did not play fair.