Chapter Forty-Four: The Highest Art of War Is to Subdue the Enemy's Strategy

“Someone, dispose of this corpse…” The voice of the First Prince came from the machine, and the knight responsible for monitoring quickly recorded the series of words.

In a typical medieval society, not even knights would necessarily be literate, but in this world of supernatural powers, anyone with the slightest standing could read, especially those with extraordinary abilities. If you couldn’t read, you couldn’t comprehend the arcane knowledge.

Most knowledge in the open was recorded on ancient parchment; rarely would anyone transmit supernatural wisdom orally.

Beside the knight, a scholar from the Xuanly Army, also tasked with monitoring, slowly wrote down the conversation. For a language not yet fully mastered, the Xuanly agents, compared to the native kingdom’s knights, were much slower. Yet Xuanly had no intention of relying on them for the entire surveillance; their main task was to verify the accuracy of the transmitted information.

By comparing the two records, Xuanly could determine whether the information was genuine. This was a precaution, designed to prevent the Dawn Kingdom from deceiving Xuanly with some unspeakable secret.

Of course, the odds were exceedingly slim, but caution was always wise. The two sides were hardly kin, merely partners in cooperation at best.

Document after document was sent to the adjacent room, where rows of desks awaited scholars with thinning hair who swiftly reviewed the reports.

They weren’t needed for the initial exploration, but the research of novel items from the new world was their domain; now, at last, it was their turn to play at tactics.

Qin Le sat at the foremost seat, surveying the scene before him. He glanced sideways at Li Zhiyuan and said, “This sort of thing should be left to you. Why am I here, just to join the crowd?”

Xuanly’s intervention in the royal selection was ultimately to ensure the future king would stand with Xuanly, meaning to help Olina ascend the throne. Considering the king’s death might bring societal upheaval and a civil war that would drain Xuanly’s resources and future labor force, the strategy was altered to preserve the king’s life.

For now, Xuanly’s task was to find flaws in the other contenders, causing them all to lose eligibility.

Qin Le was not skilled at gathering evidence; his expertise lay in overturning tables, in direct action, in killing. Staying here would merely waste his time.

Li Zhiyuan smiled and said, “This operation is of great importance to us, and there are many uncertainties. The decision should be yours.”

Though Qin Le’s rank was only major, he held ultimate authority over all decisions concerning the new world, his priority surpassed only by the central government. Even the military was obliged to follow his lead.

This was a right granted by that person, a manifestation of matching responsibility with power, perhaps compensation for the past.

“Is this a form of revenge?” Qin Le asked.

Li Zhiyuan shrugged. “If you see it that way, there’s little I can do. Ah, the blessing of the Sword of Dawn truly is miraculous—it can restore the body in all respects, surpassing anything our technology can comprehend. I feel as though I could live decades longer.”

It ought to have been a joyful matter, yet from Li Zhiyuan’s lips, it sounded like he’d lost decades of life.

As they conversed, the think tank below had already swiftly analyzed the intelligence.

“From the initial chaotic sounds, it’s clear that Alex was in a state of extreme rage, his mind highly unstable. Later, he seemed to be speaking to someone, yet there was no audible voice from the other party. This could mean two things: the First Prince suffers from a mental disorder, or indeed someone was conversing with him, perhaps without vocalizing.” A psychologist in his thirties observed.

Another psychologist added, “Considering supernatural powers exist in this world, the likelihood of another person communicating with him is higher, perhaps via telepathic abilities. Given our current intelligence, they could be cultists.”

Picking up a sheet and examining the data, he continued, “At 13:23 in the new world’s time, Alex came out of his manic state. The first sentence suggests a cultist may have entered the room by some teleportation-like method. The subsequent dialogue shows they reached some agreement, and finally, the First Prince said, ‘How can it get chaotic?’”

“There’s clearly an issue here. The only way to throw the royal selection into chaos is the king’s death. Given the king’s previous state, it’s obvious the other party was prepared in advance.”

A think tank member raised a question: “Why didn’t the other party mention us? Our appearance is highly conspicuous in this world, and Major Qin Le has nominally taken over the entire Eastern Realm. With our displayed military power, it’s impossible they’re unaware of us.”

“Perhaps they believe we lack the means to heal the Dawn King, since the new world clearly has no treatment for tuberculosis.”

“But it’s unlikely they’d completely ignore us. Is it arrogance, or are they simply unable to obtain intelligence through normal channels?”

Within Xuanly’s think tank, composed of top talents from every field, the plans were dense and vast, covering every angle. Like an invisible net, it enveloped all.

Every conceivable event had a corresponding plan—for instance, if the newly established military base suffered catastrophic attack, subsequent strategies were already prepared.

Even potential betrayals by Olina and Emeya had plans and assigned personnel ready.

Before the immense machinery of state, all emotional considerations were cast aside; every possibility was anticipated. Xuanly could not predict everything, but through a multitude of meticulous plans, could respond promptly.

One member finished compiling the intelligence and placed it before Qin Le. “Sir, the analysis is complete. There’s a 90% likelihood Alex colluded with cultists, 5% that it’s a mental illness or a fraud group masquerading as cultists.”

Qin Le glanced over the report and asked, “And the remaining 5%?”

“The First Prince may himself be a cultist. From what we know, cultists, affected by mental magic, are highly unstable—what we’d call insane,” the representative explained.

“With only this intelligence, it’s impossible to expose the mastermind. Hand this over to the king and let them investigate—it’s not our responsibility. Xuanly has always respected the sovereignty of other nations; this should be resolved by them.” Qin Le looked at the report, a meaningful smile on his face.

The highest strategy is to defeat the enemy’s plans, next to break their alliances, next to attack their armies, and last to besiege their cities.

The Dawn King lacked great cunning, and hoped Olina would inherit the throne, leveraging their power to stabilize the realm; for now, their positions were aligned.

With a bit of guidance, the other side would follow Xuanly’s lead. Xuanly would openly hand all intelligence to the king, a straightforward strategy—they would have no choice but to act.

The highest strategy is to defeat the enemy’s plans, next to break their alliances, next to attack their armies, and last to besiege their cities.

Sometimes, the strongest power is not the overt display of planes and tanks, nor the sharpest blade a shell.

...

“As long as you let me become king, I’ll agree to anything!”

Listening to the voice emitted from the strange apparatus, the king could no longer contain himself. His face flushed with anger. “That fool!”

At his waist, the Sword of Dawn glimmered with a radiant red light.

“Mark, take your men and round up…” The king stopped halfway, forcibly restrained his anger, and turned to Qin Le, bowing slightly in gratitude.

“Sir, thank you for your warning. Later, I will have someone bring you the exclusive first and second-tier supernatural knowledge of the royal knight order.”

The king was shrewd enough to sweeten the deal—not only to express gratitude, but to strengthen the bond. Since Qin Le had shown great interest in arcane knowledge, he catered to that interest.

“This is our contractual duty.” Qin Le’s expression was calm, but inwardly he was delighted; he had long been intrigued by the knight order’s supernatural knowledge that enabled the linking of their energies.

Such abilities allowed knights to achieve a kind of telepathy. For the knight order, this was an incidental benefit; for modern infantry, it would be a godsend.

Modern armies depend on teamwork and coordination; synergy can make a unit perform several times, even tenfold, beyond its actual strength. Otherwise, they cannot reach their full potential.

Qin Le suppressed his joy and said, “Your Majesty, what do you plan to do next?”

“Seal the capital, round up the First Prince and the cultists!” the Dawn King replied without hesitation.

The king truly lacked strategic acumen.

Qin Le couldn’t help but remark inwardly: if not for the presence of supernatural powers, and the Sword of Dawn—a weapon akin to a nuclear bomb—the king would surely be sidelined.

But perhaps that was for the best; the duller the king, the easier to control.

“Your Majesty, I don’t think rounding up the First Prince now will solve the cultist problem.”

“What do you mean, sir?” The Dawn King frowned, his expression puzzled.

With the intelligence gathered by what was now known as the ‘listening device,’ it was clear the First Prince was colluding with cultists, who were presently with him.

Wasn’t this the perfect moment for a crackdown?

“Your Majesty, let us observe the situation further. We need more intelligence.” Qin Le handed the report of analyzed information to the king.

The king, puzzled, took the report and read the strangely phrased yet easily understood words.

Manic state, probability, humanity, interests, personality analysis and decisions…

The confusion on the Dawn King’s face slowly faded, replaced by gravity and a peculiar sense of dread.

The report connected subtle remarks and surrounding events, from the idle chatter of grand noble banquets to the daily tasks of servants, presenting a complete narrative of cause and effect.

None of this had yet been confirmed, but there were no apparent flaws. It seemed like a tale, yet felt like an account of reality—almost a prophetic ability!

Especially using the ‘listening device,’ by analyzing the daily conversations of servants, they could deduce everything that happened in the First Prince’s mansion in a single day—even how many times he visited the lavatory, meticulously recorded.

It was as if a ghost were shadowing the First Prince at all times!

The more the Dawn King read, the more unsettled he became, a faint terror rising within. Was his own situation similarly being completely understood by such means? Or was this just a façade, and in truth, the other side was observing him by some unknown method?

Perhaps the strange apparatus was merely a front, and the true power was a prophetic ability! Like that legendary portal spoken of only in myth.

“Sir, is this Xuanly’s prophecy technology?” the Dawn King asked, dazed.