Though Zhen Country was a tiny state, it was still a proper country, with its own National Border Barrier—and a fairly strong one at that.
That was all thanks to Zhen Country's Sovereign being afraid to die.
For years, he had struggled to survive between the cracks, often jolting awake at midnight to strange sounds. What he feared most was opening his eyes to find his land gone. To preserve his life and position, he had racked his brains to curry favor with powerful neighbors, while also devoting what little National Fortune he had to reinforcing the National Border Barrier.
After more than twenty years, the National Border Barrier had become quite sturdy.
It was the greatest masterpiece of Zhen Country's Sovereign's life!
He wouldn't go so far as to call it impregnable, but it certainly couldn't be shattered by an invader in just a few blows. The Heroic Spirits guarding the National Border Barrier were also strong and battle-ready.
He had never imagined his pride and joy would prove so utterly useless!
"Could it be—" Zhen Country's Sovereign was both shocked and furious. He clenched the gold-inlaid, engraved armrests of his chair so tightly that his knuckles trembled uncontrollably. Terrifying red veins filled his eyes as a chilling suspicion formed in his mind. "Did the general guarding the pass surrender?"
It was the only explanation for the fall of the border stronghold.
He would rather believe that one of his own had betrayed him than that the enemy was simply too powerful! At the Sovereign's accusation, the exhausted infantryman who had risked his life to deliver the message glared furiously, sprang to his feet, and cursed him with such venom that he tore the Sovereign to shreds with his words.
The infantryman was the general's trusted aide. He had