"What?!"

The ninja's pupils suddenly contracted, and he couldn't help but show fear on his face. His body trembled almost imperceptibly!

This was clearly an extremely important message for them.

They had heard about Zhou Zhenbei's expansion plan before, and it was a catastrophic disaster for their entire clan.

Rising sea levels not only swallowed up large amounts of their original land, but also, with the constant rampage of large deep-sea monsters, their entire race was forced to migrate towards the Central Plains.

Having already lost their foothold, they could only barely survive by staying close to the border of Zhongzhou.

If the Central Plains army really begins to forcibly expand and annex, it will never incorporate their people into its ranks and make them Central Plains people. Instead, it will definitely drive all their people away again, and their last refuge will be completely crushed!

Once Zhongzhou annexes all the surrounding forces, their people's fate will be even worse than that of the refugees.

Given the strength of the Awakened Ones of Central Continent and their hatred for them, I'm afraid the entire race will face annihilation.

Extermination of our race is imminent!

The face beneath the ninja mask turned deathly pale instantly.

Seeing the undisguised terror in the ninja's eyes, Zhou Zhenbei felt a twisted sense of pleasure and continued to throw out the 'bait' he had already prepared:

"As agreed, I have ordered all the heavy troops under the Northern Border to be transferred away from the defensive line! Abandon all key passes in the north."

His voice was icy, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him:

"If you really want to enter the Central Plains, go to the Northern Territory and try your luck. This is your only chance."

The ninja stood there dumbfounded, his eyes fixed on Zhou Zhenbei's figure. After the great shock, an uncontrollable joy ignited in his heart!

It's not a test! Nor is it a trap!

He couldn't believe that Zhou Zhenbei, a high-ranking and powerful general of Zhongzhou, had actually betrayed Zhongzhou and cooperated with the Japanese.

In his mind, the generals of Zhongzhou were proud to protect this land and had a deep loyalty to Zhongzhou. They would never say a word to the Japanese.

But now the situation has changed so quickly that he has even seen hope of invading Zhongzhou.

The northern defenses have been breached! The general of the Central Plains personally granted passage! This is nothing short of a miracle bestowed by Amaterasu!

"Hehehe...hahaha..." An uncontrollable, maniacal, and lewd laugh emanated from behind the ninja mask.

He could almost imagine how overjoyed the ambitious upper-class members would be when the news reached their clan!

It should be noted that even though the migration route was long, fraught with danger and littered with corpses, the remaining population of the Japanese tribe was still quite large.

Before them lay this vast and fertile land of Central China, which they had coveted for thousands of years.

Zhou Zhenbei actually pushed open a fatal crack in that tightly closed door!

Invading Zhongzhou! Seizing this coveted and fertile land—such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has been delivered to them so easily.

The ninja felt as if he had fallen into an absurd yet sweet dream.

Zhou Zhenbei stared intently at the ninja's pupils, which were flashing wildly with shock and ecstasy, knowing what his decision meant.

Colluding with the Japanese is tantamount to betraying the Central Plains; it's a path of no return, but he can't care about that anymore.

Zhou Zhenbei's emphasis, word by word, carried a final warning and a desire to distance himself from the situation:

"The message has been conveyed, and the conditions have been met. Whether you can seize this fleeting opportunity or break through the border is none of my business!"

After saying that, Zhou Zhenbei seemed to have exhausted all his strength, or as if he wanted to get rid of this dirty deal completely. He suddenly turned around, leaving behind only a cold, resolute, and self-loathing back view.

He wouldn't look at the ninja again, as if even glancing at him would tarnish his eyes.

"This news should be worth the price you pay, right?" Zhou Zhenbei stood with his hands behind his back, his voice low.

"Of course, it's definitely worth it, absolutely worth it!"

"General Zhou, you are truly a great benefactor to our Japanese people...hehehe..."

The ninja bowed deeply to Zhou Zhenbei's back, his tone filled with extreme excitement and ecstasy.

"Pleasant to cooperate, hehe."

The ninja chuckled lewdly. As long as his people could successfully enter Zhongzhou... what did everything else matter?

His body surged again, turning back into gray smoke, twisting eerily as it had come, and returned to the scroll.

Only at this moment did the energy fluctuations that had shielded everything completely dissipate.

Zhou Zhenbei was left all alone in the room.

His fists clenched so tightly they cracked, his nails digging deep into his palms.

The stinging pain in my palm was nothing compared to the shame of betrayal in my heart.

......

Not long ago, when the emerald green dragon vein above Jincheng flew into the sky.

The distant north of Zhongzhou.

On a plain covered by heavy rain, the rain curtain obscured the view.

The leaden sky hung low, and torrential rain poured down, as if to transform the vast plains into a watery land.

Amidst the deafening sound of rain, there was a faint, even more terrifying low-frequency roar.

Before the dragon's roar had even faded, another enormous chestnut-colored dragon pulsed into the sky from the same spot.

From the depths of the rain curtain below, a low-frequency vibration, like muffled thunder, gradually emerged.

At first, it sounded like thousands of hailstones hitting a tin roof, gradually condensing into a dense 'tap-tap' sound, each sound carrying the resolute determination of iron hooves crushing the rain, as if a thousand war drums were beating in unison behind the rain curtain.

Every twelve hours, a spectacular phenomenon called "Horse Soul Thunder" erupts on this plain—thousands of horse souls transform into a herd of ghostly horses galloping across the plain, and anyone who touches them is instantly killed and falls into a state of soullessness.

At this moment, at the very forefront of this torrent of countless horse souls, a young man clad in black iron armor rode a snow-white black horse at breakneck speed, leading the way.

Behind the herd of horses, a troop of black-armored cavalry followed closely.

The person on horseback was none other than Xiao Zhan, the Crown Prince of the Northern Territory, who had failed in his previous attempt to seize the Dragon Vein and had returned all the way to the north.

"drive!"

When Xiao Zhan defeated all the ghost horses and was the first to break through the rain, he finally couldn't contain his excitement. He stood up from his horse and raised his brand-new silver spear high, piercing straight into the sky.

We won!

The silver spear in his hand seemed to draw upon the boundless power of the horse's spirit as he galloped, its casual swings exuding the aura of ten thousand horses galloping.

At the same time, the thousands of horses behind them disappeared into the heavy rain amidst the rumbling thunder.

The black-armored cavalrymen who caught up from behind were equally excited and quickly surrounded them, shouting in unison:

Congratulations, Your Highness!

Xiao Zhan landed steadily on his horse, holding a brand-new, gleaming silver spear. He stood on his horse, exuding a chilling aura and faintly radiating the presence of a newly promoted Star Lord.

A brand new, vast power surged wildly within him.