The sun had barely risen, and the first blush of dawn revealed that the morning air in the north was significantly colder than the central regions of Hmagol. During this time of year, the towering peaks of Whitefang Peak were completely covered in a thick layer of pristine white.
As the sun first rose in the west, its light caught the frozen landscape. The thick layer of ice clinging to certain sheer faces and ridges of Whitefang Peaks shone like sparkling diamonds against the new light, creating a dazzling spectacle of natural grandeur and unforgiving cold.
Walking among the Northern soldiers, with the black iron shackles on her wrists, Chinua could see her own condensation flowing in front of her with every exhale. The air was bitterly cold.
When she looked up at Dzhambul and his captains, who were seated high upon their horses, the condensation created by their breaths was like a thin, hazy fog that partially blocked her view of the rising morning sun, a chilling symbol of the cloud of deceit and hostility surrounding her.
"Why aren't we on horseback like them?" Hye demanded, turning his head sharply to look at Chinua, a flash of indignant frustration in his eyes. "Hmagol law states that we are to be treated with respect until proven guilty in the eyes of the law." He raised both of his shackled hands high to his waist, subtly testing the iron with a calculated frown. "Besides, it's not like we are going to run away anywhere, so why shackle us?"
"It's to show everyone that we are the prisoners," Chinua replied simply, her tone utterly devoid of self-pity, just factual and cold.
She turned to look at Hye, who was intensely studying the shackles locked on his wrists, his mind visibly working. Chinua knew that the longer those shackles were on Hye's wrists, the sooner he would find a way to pick them free.
"So," Chinua said, lowering her voice, a challenging curiosity entering her gaze. "Why did you choose to surrender yourself when you didn't have to?"
"What do you mean?" Hye asked, his voice suddenly defensive, an air of hasty regret clouding his expression as he tried to protest his heat-of-the-moment decision.
"Even if you had chosen not to surrender, the Second Royal Brother would not have attacked Nue-Li City," Chinua asserted, her voice carrying absolute conviction. "His words are true, and he would threaten to attack, but Batzorig would not let that happen." She looked at Dzhambul's retreating back. "He knows that without Batzorig's help, his Northern soldiers would not be able to defeat us. Being you, you should have already figured this out. Why did you still surrender yourself?"
Hye chuckled embarrassedly and admitted with a guilty smile on his face, "You surely know me like the worm inside my guts." He sighed heavily. "I guess my surrender was the same reason as yours, but I kind of regret it now." He looked down at the chain shackles on his wrists with a frustrated shake of his head. "Next time, I won't act this impulsive." He gave Chinua a big, forced smile. "Promise."
Hye looked at Chinua's expression and knew that she didn't entirely like the answer to her question; her face remained unmoved and skeptical.
He cleared his throat, coughing a few times to regain his composure. "To be honest, I know that without Batzorig's help, he can't beat us, but let's be real here: before Batzorig could make such a decision, how many lives of our soldiers and the innocent citizens inside the city would die for a senseless cause?" His voice took on a tone of pragmatic sorrow.
"So, why gamble, when all I had to do is walk out of that gate? My walking out has prevented a war that shouldn't happen in the first place, besides..." He looked around at the Northern soldiers walking beside them and realized that their conversation was being carefully listened to, making him lower his voice further. "Besides, I thought we would be on a prisoner wagon, but I would have liked to know that we will be walking for the next month. If I had known, I would not have walked out of that door and let you guys kill each other until the last man standing!" He finished with mock outrage, trying to lighten the serious mood.
Hye moved closer to Chinua, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Hey, will they let us starve and whip our backs?"
"They dare not," Chinua said firmly, her voice radiating cold certainty. "We are high-ranking prisoners of war, and I am a Princess and the Eastern General. The King's reputation, and the Second Royal Brother's image, rely on our treatment being strictly according to law—at least until we stand before the King. The Second Royal Brother will not risk giving us any legitimate grievance that can be used against him in Ntsua-Ntu."
Hye patted gently on his chest, showing a sigh of genuine relief and said with a satisfied smile, "Oh, that's good. That's very good to know. Because I don't think well when I am in pain or being threatened." He purposely said it loud enough so the soldiers walking beside him could hear him.
As he looked at the soldiers' eyes, which were briefly gazing at him before snapping straight forward, he couldn't help but think back to the final hours before he left Nue-Li City, and the corner of his left lips curved up in a knowing, cold smirk, realizing his greater plan was already in motion.
(Flashback)
Hye, standing among the soldiers on the city wall, listened to the devastating news, his expression hardening with grim determination. He knew his calculated surrender was the key to unlocking a far grander, more perilous strategy.
He turned to look at Drystan and asked, his voice low and intensely focused, "So you say that the person who hired you to kill Chinua at Scorching Grave Desert is Dzhambul's personal assistant?"
"Even if burned to charcoal, I will remember his feminine look," Drystan confirmed, a malicious smirk accompanying his words.
Hye turned around and found all of Chinua's captains standing behind him, their faces etched with anxiety and readiness.
"I must step out to prevent deaths," Hye said, his eyes carrying the heavy burden of his choice.
"You know that without Batzorig, Prince Dzhambul and his soldiers will not win against us," Zhi insisted, his tone a mix of disbelief and worry.
"I know that, but what is the point of losing lives, when the bigger picture is still ahead?" Hye countered, his voice steadying into a general's command.
"What is it that you are planning to do?" Khunbish asked, his voice tight with mounting dread.
"We will unroot the source that we were not able to reach in the south," Hye declared, his eyes flashing with sudden, cold brilliance. "Listen to me very carefully because I am running out of time."
"Speak," Naksh urged, leaning forward, gripped by urgency.
"If Dzhambul is planning to get rid of Chinua, it means that he must have something planned for the Crown Prince in Pojin," Hye reasoned, his thoughts racing. "Jeet, you take your fastest rider and ride out to intercept Azad and Captain Hibo, through the secret passageway over Whitefang Peak. Before I left Pojin, I met with Chief Behrouz. Once you arrive, tell Chief Behrouz that you are there because of the one promise he had made. He will know exactly what to do."
Hye's eyes were sharp, calculating the myriad threats simultaneously. He spoke with urgent, precise command.
"Drystan, you ride south all the way to Lao-Da Pass and tell General Mönkhbat that no matter what happens in the capital, he is not to move his soldiers."
Hye paused, his voice dropping slightly, stressing the gravity of the intelligence. "Because the moment his soldiers are called back to the capital, Xin Jianping will declare himself as King of the West, and Xin Xiyan will lead the Tanggolian soldiers to attack Lao-Da Pass."
He did not stop there, outlining the final, devastating foreign threat. "Also, Kooursh and the Razaasia soldiers will attack the southeast of Hmagol."
Drystan nodded, his eyes wide with the magnitude of the task. "I got it," he said, a surge of adrenaline replacing his usual weariness.
"Tell Haitao that after Dzhambul and his soldiers leave, he is to bring all the remaining soldiers into Nue-Li City."
"I promised Chinua that I will fight for the city, and trust me that I will not go back on my word; there is no need to bring all the soldiers in here," Chong argued, his commitment to his promise unwavering. "I am a man of my words."
"General," Hye said, meeting Chong's gaze with respect. "Don't get me wrong. The reason why I want all of the soldiers in here is for precaution, if something went wrong and Batzorig suddenly decided to attack the city. Besides, tomorrow morning, all of the soldiers inside the city now will be gone, and the only remaining soldiers in the city will be those that Captain Haitao will bring in after I leave."
"Tell Haitao that as soon as Batzorig's army begins to retreat and leave the Northeast Military camp, three days after Batzorig leaves, he will gather all the remaining soldiers and follow Chinua and I back to Ntsua-Ntu and merge with Chief Behrouz."
Chong looked at Hye, his heart shocked by the sheer scale of the planning Hye had accomplished. The general's face was pale with disbelief.
"Strategist Hye, the plan you just told us now is an all-four-side attack of Ntsua-Ntu," Chong whispered, barely believing the words leaving his mouth. "With such an attack, this will be a civil war—not just any civil war, but the deadliest, a complete annihilation civil war."
"He wants Chinua to be the cause of Hmagol's first civil war, then let's turn the table around and have him be the cause of Hmagol's first and deadliest civil war, in his own home." Hye scoffed and wore a chilling, vindicative smirk.
Hye turned and walked towards the stairwell, his face a mask of calculated control. As he walked past Khunbish, he grabbed onto his arm and leaned in, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper laced with deadly seriousness.
"Tell Haitao, if Chong ever goes back on his words and tries to take back Nue-Li City while we are away, kill him and anyone who is trying to attack us."