Watching from the Shadows

The moment he landed, His Highness Mang Jun eagerly left the wooden frame and stepped onto the ground, wanting to feel the sense of solidity beneath his feet. Never before had he wanted so badly to stand on the earth.

Before he could steady himself, he stumbled and fell.

"Your Highness, careful!"

The Strategist reacted quickly and caught His Highness Mang Jun, asking worriedly at the same time.

"What is wrong?"

"My heart is unsettled. This is the first time in my life I have flown. Could this have offended Heaven?"

His Highness Mang Jun gestured for the Strategist not to worry about him. Once he had regained his footing, he turned his gaze toward the landed flying lantern.

"No. Heaven and Earth are indifferent; they do not care about insects like us."

The Strategist answered with certainty, explaining his speculation about the Tide Army's so-called "descent of heavenly beasts."

"The Tide Army likely has flying lanterns even larger and more numerous than this. They hauled those evil things into the sky, then dropped them during battle, creating the heavenly beast descent we witnessed. This was the Tide Army's scheme. First, it intimidated our army and shook morale. Second, it boosted their own soldiers' spirits, making them believe the Tide Army was protected by Heaven."

"More critically, if an informant had not warned us in time, the Tide Army's forced assault would certainly have succeeded. With our provisions destroyed, morale shaken, and heavenly beasts descending, our army's fighting spirit would have completely collapsed."

Having personally experienced flight, His Highness Mang Jun naturally believed his Strategist. Besides, this explanation seemed far more reasonable to him. If Heaven truly stood with the Tide Army, how could the Mang Army possibly have fought them to this point?

"Hmph! Damn Tide Army! Even I