Inside Lin Mo's main camp at Beirui Mountain, south of Daxia Mountain.

The lack of any movement from Huo Tong made Lin Mo suspicious. "Could this guy have betrayed me?" he wondered anxiously.

In truth, he had never fully trusted anyone who worked for Huo Minggao.

Before leaving the capital, Lin Mo deliberately left behind nearly 20,000 men, partly to prevent enemies and partly to guard against Huo Minggao.

That King of Xiliang is very dishonest!

"Where are you waiting? Haven't you come back yet?" Lin Mo asked loudly. "And Tang Feng, why did he disappear after the fight started?"

The subordinate shook his head. "Your Highness, none of them have returned! Should we send another scout team?"

They've already sent out two scout teams; unless something unexpected happens, they can't possibly not reply.

The battlefield is ever-changing, and every general is well aware of the importance of information.

Suddenly, an ominous premonition came over me.

Just then, a subordinate rushed in, shouting, "Your Highness, a letter has arrived! A letter has arrived!"

"Quick, bring it here!" Lin Mo strode forward. "Is it a reply from Huo Tong?"

The person took a deep breath and, after composing himself, replied, "No, it's a letter from the capital!"

"The capital? At a time like this?" Lin Mo was quite surprised. "Whose is it?"

"Your Highness, it is said to be the Princess Consort's!" the subordinate replied. "The daughter of the Huo family!"

"Huo Churan?" Lin Mo was even more incredulous.

My impression of this daughter-in-law, whom I only met twice, is already very vague.

The only thing I can remember is the allure of her wet body that night, and those pitiful, innocent eyes.

Why did she write to me?

Lin Mo frowned as he opened the envelope. "What's going on this time?"

Inside was a cloth bag, the two ends of which were tightly sealed with needle and thread, making it impossible to open.

Lin Mo subconsciously pinched it with his hand, "Ouch! That hurts, what's inside?"

He cut open the bag with a knife and found two broken branches and thorny brambles inside.

Upon seeing this, Lin Mo was completely dumbfounded.

"What does Huo Churan mean by sending me this?" he asked, puzzled.

Looking around, no one could answer.

Lin Mo frowned and stared at the cloth bag for a long time.

Suddenly, he realized something.

"A tree branch is wood, two tree branches..."

"Two trees make a forest, referring to me, Lin Mo!"

"The bag is sealed at both ends, which is a veiled reference to me, Lin Mo, being attacked from both sides!"

"So? Huo Minggao has rebelled? He's colluding with Dong Pan Ge to stab me in the back!"

"This explains why, despite having the upper hand, Huo Tong's side didn't launch the attack as planned and suddenly lost contact!"

"Because he is highly likely to rebel!!!"

But here's the problem.

Why would Huo Churan, whom I've only met twice, secretly tell me such an important matter?

Although we are husband and wife in name, we are not husband and wife in reality!

Is this news true or false?

Thinking of this, Lin Mo's expression changed drastically.

At this moment, Lin Mo suddenly thought of another important detail, "Who delivered the letter?" he asked his subordinate.

"It's... a personal guard sent by Her Highness the Princess!"

"What? Zhao Zhilan?" Lin Mo trembled. "Thorn Flower? Xuanhua Palace? A flower with thorns? The vanished Tang Dynasty style?"

"He Xiao has rebelled too?"

The reason is simple: the disciples of Xuanhua Palace are so skilled, if they had discovered that Huo Minggao had rebellious intentions, why didn't they send anyone to inform me? Instead, they sent Zhao Zhilan's personal guards.

These two speculations turned Lin Mo's face ashen.

If Xuanhua Palace betrays me, then what about Ruoxi, Qing'er, and Mother...?

With the protection of He Xiao and others, there would have been absolutely no chance of anything going wrong.

And now...

His prediction was soon confirmed.

Another subordinate rushed in, "Reporting, Your Highness Regent, Huo Tong... has rebelled!" The man said, "This man is leading troops from Liangzhou and attacking General Xiang's troops without provocation!"

Lin Mo's eyes turned cold, revealing a fierce killing intent. "That damned Huo Tong has really rebelled!"

Huo Churan didn't lie to me. Between her father and her "husband," she chose to be loyal to her husband!

At this moment, Lin Mo suddenly had an indescribable feeling towards Huo Churan.

"Your Highness, how should we respond?" his subordinate general asked.

"Don't panic!" Lin Mo said calmly. "Xiang Yu is not so easily defeated!"

If Huo Tong can defeat Xiang Yu, I'll cut off my head and let him kick it around like a ball.

Lin Mo spent a total of 200,000 points to exchange for 2,000 Tang Dynasty Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry.

"Damn it, you all turn against me?" At this moment, Lin Mo felt an inexplicable rage surge up in his heart. "I'll grind all of you scum to dust!"

Grass!

Grass!

Grass!

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Mo's vision went black and white again, just like when he killed Wei Maozhen.

"here we go again!"

Soon after, that eerie sound returned.

"Host, you've lost!"

Lin Mo frowned. "What do you want to do?" he asked angrily.

"Would you like to go into the illusory realm to talk?"

"I don't have time right now!"

"No time? No, you have plenty of time!" the voice continued. "As long as you accept the bet and admit defeat, I will return all the rewards you received in Tyrant Mode!"

Haha, the mythical Xiang Yu, the Nightmare Cavalry, the Imperial Guards!

What Huo Minggao, what Dong Pan Ge, what Uesugi Kenshin?

To tear them apart by five horses, all you need is one order!

"Fuck you! You didn't even say what we were betting on in the first place, and I didn't agree to it!" Lin Mo roared.

"You really don't know, host? I bet you'll choose the predetermined path, choose slaughter, choose tyranny!" the voice continued. "If you lose, you should agree to do me a favor!"

"So where did I go wrong?" Lin Mo asked. "Did I reactivate Tyrant Mode?"

"Oh? So, host, you intend to completely abandon the tyrant mode? Abandon killing? Then may I ask, host, what are you doing right now? Aren't Dongpango's troops human? Are your subordinates trying to reform them?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo's expression darkened. "The bet is to choose the path analyzed by the system's big data, right?" he asked. "I am indeed still carrying out the killings, not just today, but there will be more in the future."

But I won't activate Tyrant Mode!

Therefore, I did not lose!

"Hahaha! Host, you're really stubborn!" the voice said. "You could have taken a shortcut, but you insisted on being headstrong."

"I choose my own path!" Lin Mo said sternly. "Also, don't call me host. I suspect you're not a system at all!"

After these words were spoken, the voice remained silent for a long time.

"You've hit the nail on the head, haven't you?" Lin Mo continued, "I have reason to believe that you are not only not the system, but more likely a host trapped by the system, the former owner of this system!"