Seated on the Nine Dragons Throne, Lin Qian sat at the very center of the temporary tactical hall, his gaze fixed on the tactical map floating in the lower right corner.
The tactical map layered itself in detailed strata as Lin Qian gently tapped and lifted it towards himself, causing the entire terrain of the Ancient Forest World to unfold before him.
At this moment, the map was dotted with numerous lights—green representing the forces of the Huaxia Empire, and red for the enemy. The single golden point on the map marked Lin Qian's own position.
However, a large gray area loomed ahead on the map, an unknown expanse where details were still obscured. Yet, as the Windbreakers pushed forward, this grayness gradually brightened, revealing more of the landscape.
Lin Qian spread his hands and made a swift motion upward, and an illusory scene materialized in front of him.
The Huaxia Empire's lower-class aerial warships appeared close enough to touch, with Wang Qiongxing's figure aboard them clearly visible.
As Lin Qian manipulated the scene, it shifted frequently, allowing him to review each warship before his hands pushed forward, returning the view to the tactical map.
Scattered green points ahead maintained a swift advance, continuously scouting the terrain and relaying information back. Knowing the enemy and oneself is the key to winning every battle, and the Windbreakers served as Lin Qian's eyes.
Outside the mountain city, four more aerial warships stood ready, filled with scholars and some of the Imperial Army.
Once the front-line forces captured certain cities, these ships would move out.
The Huaxia Empire on Fantasy Star had steadily developed, increasing the number of scholars, so Lin Qian was never short of personnel.
Lin Qian flexed his fingers and cracked his neck, a look of excitement crossing his face. "It's been a long time since I last commanded a national war. I hope I haven't grown rusty."
With those words, Lin Qian's hands extended slightly before he began moving them rapidly, dozens of system interfaces shifting and rearranging before him, displaying the positions of the advancing Imperial Army and various other data.
Using the tactical map and these data points, Lin Qian meticulously arranged his forces, with virtual scenarios providing him real-time battlefield updates, enabling him to make informed decisions.
Meanwhile, Yue Liqiong was busy contacting the elders of the Rebellion Palace, those who had once followed the former palace lord but had been ousted by Shen Zhixing.
Yue Liqiong sought their help in spreading the word about the poisoned military liquor, urging the Blackhorn Clan to flee before engaging in battle.
These elders still held some influence within the Blackhorn Clan, and their words would carry credibility.
The warships' rapid advance was short-lived, soon slowing as they spread out into a horizontal formation.
The underground world was evidently far larger than just the Ancient Forest World, though its boundaries were marked by a hazy barrier that seemed impossible to penetrate, as if an invisible wall separated them.
Thus, the hundred aerial warships of the Huaxia Empire formed a line that spanned the entire width of the Ancient Forest World, steadily pushing deeper into the Blackhorn Kingdom.
"Conquering such a vast territory needs to be done quickly; otherwise, the southern nine provinces of the Southern Domain won't be able to hold out for long," Lin Qian muttered as he observed the slowly stretching battle line. Dissatisfied with the pace, he snapped his fingers.
In an instant, another hundred aerial warships appeared in the sky above the mountain city, filled with Imperial soldiers.
Boom!
At that moment, Lin Qian's mind suddenly buzzed, his body shuddering as he collapsed back into the Nine Dragons Throne.
It took a while for him to recover. "Zhuge Ming, what's going on?"
"Your Majesty, in the national war mode, your mind is linked to all the soldiers. Summoning too many units could overwhelm you," Zhuge Ming's voice responded, advising him, "Unless you disengage the national war mode, summoning more people to assist you will be too much to bear."
Lin Qian nodded to himself, then withdrew fifty of the newly summoned warships, sending the remaining ones to reinforce the front lines.
Disengaging the national war mode was clearly not an option. Only in this mode could Lin Qian capture the Blackhorn Kingdom at the fastest possible speed.
The Huaxia Empire was also facing a looming crisis of insufficient soul crystals; each time Lin Qian summoned people from the empire, Tianhen consumed a vast amount of soul crystals.
Therefore, if a task could be accomplished with ten thousand soldiers, there was no need to use fifty thousand.
Back during the battles across the Four Realms, Lin Qian had been forced by circumstances to use sheer numbers to overwhelm the enemy.
"We need to economize," Lin Qian muttered, rubbing his temples before sitting up straight, focusing once more on the familiar system interfaces around him, and resuming his control.
The greatest advantage of the national war mode was the complete control it provided.
As the warships slowed, Wang Qiongxing and the others exchanged puzzled glances, wondering why the ships, which had just accelerated so suddenly, were now slowing down again.
But soon they saw teams of 1,200 soldiers suddenly flying out from the warships.
After boarding the warships, they had gradually noticed that the Imperial Army consisted of twelve different types of troops, each led by one of the twelve powerful figures aboard.
Each unit comprised one hundred soldiers, and twelve units made up a force of 1,200, repeatedly leaving the warships to carry out missions.
After about half a day, the troops returned, their bodies stained with blood, yet without a single casualty.
Expanding his soul sense, Wang Qiongxing discovered that the soldiers had been attacking the villages below.
Upon leaving the warships, the 1,200 Imperial soldiers split into ten teams, sweeping through the mountain villages near the warships and capturing them all.
Any Blackhorn Clan member with even a trace of blood-colored aura was killed without mercy. The rest were offered a cure if they swore allegiance to the Huaxia Empire.
Recordings of the military liquor experiments served as the best evidence to persuade them.
Had anyone been able to view a tactical map like Lin Qian's, they would have seen that the 150 aerial warships were lined up in a straight formation.
The warships formed a battle line that slowly advanced across the tactical map, erasing the red dots in their path.
Nothing was left untouched in their wake.
Inside the temporary tactical hall, Lin Qian frowned as he observed the results. "This is too slow!"
With that thought, Lin Qian momentarily paused his control of the national war, summoning the Nine Dragons Seal into his open right hand.
"Imperial Dominance, Command the Battlefield."