Forcing

The flames of war are about to break out.

The Amegakure, outnumbered and outgunned, realized it was unable to assassinate Emperor Gilkinef.

Immediately under Hanzo of the Salamander's instructions, they returned to their old ways, constantly Jonin and Special Jonin to assassinate high-ranking officials of the Imperial Army, in an attempt to break the morale of the Imperial Army.

A series of precise assassinations by Amegakure left the guardian deity Frueda, struggling to cope alone, and a large number of mid- to high-ranking military officers were killed in succession.

Three of the Knights Order ' commanders were killed in battle, Nimble, one of the Four Imperial Knights, was also killed. The last Leinas Knight, Renas, chose to defect when faced with a life-or-death situation.

A series of battle losses led Gilkinef to decide to settle the score with a decisive battle against Amegakure on the open plains.

But having tasted the sweetness of victory, Hanzo of the Salamander was unwilling to throw his precious Combat Ninja into the meat grinder of the battlefield. He abandoned the frontal battle, broke into smaller units, and adopted assassination and poisoning tactics, tormenting Gilkinef to the point of ecstasy.

The brilliant and ambitious [Blood Emperor] was no clay idol; with the help of Frueda's [Third Tier Magic - Astrology - Intelligence Magic], he quickly figured out the composition of the Amegakure ninja squad.

While having the Imperial Knights Order feign pursuit of Amegakure to draw Hanzo of the Salamander's attention, Gilkinef secretly ordered the Imperial Knights to launch a counterattack against Amegakure's assassination squad.

The Amegakure, which had been sailing smoothly from the start of the battle, tasted the bitter fruit of defeat at this moment. Due to carelessness, more than 30 Jonin squads were ambushed, and as many as 13 Jonin the battle.

The Chunin squads formed to expand the results of the battle also included many Combat Ninja from other villages. Nearly eighty squads were wiped out.

This sudden blow left the weak-willed Hanzo of the Salamander, as if he had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, making his face extremely pale.

"Damn natives!"

In just one day, a third of Jonin and one-ninth of the Chunin were lost. The three thousand Amegakure Combat Ninja went from being aggressive to being filled with fear in the blink of an eye.

"Staff Team! Staff Team!"

Hanzo of the Salamander a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Even with the poison gas mask on his mouth filtering it, a pale purple toxic gas filled the air, making the ninjas nearby feel a chill run down their spines.

Even a Jonin would be severely injured or killed if they Jonin this poisonous gas.

"Amekage, the most urgent task now is to regroup. The Imperial Army only caught us off guard; in terms of actual strength, we still have the upper hand."

Inside the tent, a strategist hired at great expense from Konoha and belonging to the Nara Clan, immediately spoke up when he met Hanzo of the Salamander's gaze.

Hanzo of the Salamander calmed his agitated heart, gazed at Nara the strategist, and asked softly, "Tell me, how should we regroup?"

Nara, feeling the intense pressure under his gaze, knew in his heart that this was a test that Amekage had given him.

If you survive, all will be well; if you don't, you'll most likely be marginalized and slink back to Konoha.

Not wanting to embarrass himself and bring shame to his clan and Konoha, Nara, the strategist, put on his best effort, carefully considering his words before speaking.

"Amekage, His Leader once spoke at the Military Affairs Department about the four levels of military strategy."

Upon hearing Nara's words, everyone in the tent, including Hanzo of the Salamander, sat up straight, showing expressions of rapt attention.

This made Nara's face light up with pride, and his voice became even more relaxed.

"The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; the next best is to attack their army; and the worst is to besiege their cities."

These sixteen characters are already a proverb that every village leader in the Ninja World must memorize. Hanzo of the Salamander pondered them for a while, and after comparing them with the current situation of Amegakure, he had an idea in mind.

At this moment, Nara, the strategist, continued, "Amekage avoided the two less effective strategies of attacking a city and conscripting soldiers, instead disrupting the enemy's morale through assassination. He truly lives up to the name Amekage; his battle strategies are all top-notch."

"You flatter me. Compared to His Leader, I am far inferior."

Nara, the strategist, first flattered Hanzo of the Salamander, noticing the smug look in his eyes, before proposing his own plan.

"Lord Amekage, the great mage of the native empire, Frueda, has already reached the strength of Kage Level in the Ninja World. Among us, only Lord Amekage is capable of opposing him and quickly defeating or killing him."

Nara, the strategist, said in a deep voice, "Now that things have come to this, the best way to break the deadlock is to follow the proper path. With our absolute strength, we should gather all the Jonin and launch a surprise attack on the Emperor's location in one fell swoop, completely annihilating him!"

"The Nara strategist is right, but it's difficult to do."

Another Amegakure spoke up, "Firstly, the Empire's Archmage Frueda possesses teleportation magic, and if we're not careful, the Emperor could escape. Secondly, due to the previous assassination attempt, the Emperor has strengthened his security around him, and his whereabouts are unpredictable; we can't even pinpoint his location."

"Killing the emperor directly is extremely difficult!"

The words of the Amegakure strategist reflected the sentiments of the Jonin.

Only Hanzo of the Salamander remained calm and collected, waiting for Nara's explanation.

"Spatial teleportation spells can naturally be broken. It doesn't matter where the emperor is. As long as we pinpoint the empire's weakness, the emperor and the archmage will naturally appear."

Nara, the strategist, slowly said, "Attack where they are not going, and strike where they must defend. Rather than letting the enemy lead us by the nose, we should seize their weakness, outnumber them, and intimidate them with our strength, forcing them to sign a humiliating treaty. This is the best strategy, the superior one, to completely dismantle the Empire's ability to resist!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. Then, Nara, the strategist, stood up, pointed to the map displayed in the center of the tent, and spoke.

"Gentlemen, please look around. The Empire has 70,000 troops stationed here, plus other auxiliary troops, bringing the total number of non-productive personnel to about 100,000. The daily food supply for these people and horses cannot be sustained by a single large city for more than a few days. The nearby granaries must be the key to the Empire's army."

"Once we control the food supply, the imperial army will either collapse without a fight and beg for our mercy, or it will erupt into civil war and lead its beasts to devour people!"

"In either case, the Emperor will inevitably appear. At that time, we will have the advantage, and the Empire will be the Re-Estize Kingdom of tomorrow!"

"Then let's do as Staff Officer Nara says."

Hanzo of the Salamander clapped his hands and said in an approving tone, "We cannot hold onto the Emperor's position, but the Emperor can hold onto ours."

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, so let's act with honor and righteousness. Either force the empire to divide its forces, or sit idly by and invite our own destruction!"