The Alliance Was Sealed, and Song and Dance Filled the Night!

Night slowly fell. Stars appeared, and midnight quietly drew near.

In Yue Province, where all was still, an unbroken line of torches coiled around High Sparrow Tower like a long dragon.

Tuoba Hongyan felt no urge to sleep. He gazed at the brilliant dragon of fire outside.

This was no small matter. The rise or fall of North Wind hung in the balance.

Gao Wenxiao, proud as he usually was, had grown solemn too.

He understood the struggle among the four states. Any rash move could set off a chain reaction with consequences beyond reckoning.

The Prince of Yan now held power that could tip the scales.

A heavy gloom blanketed High Plains City that night.

Sleep would not come!

The soldiers in the city felt the same. If no agreement was reached tonight, three hundred thousand iron cavalry from Northern Yan would come surging toward them tomorrow, enough to shake mountains and rivers.

The smoke of war from fifteen years ago had long since faded, but its scars remained carved deep in the hearts of every soldier who had lived through that battle.

They tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Their dreams were filled with clashing blades, armored horses, and heaps of war dead.

No one wanted to go through that again!

In the first-floor hall, candlelight flickered across Tuoba Hongyan's face.

He sat upright, glancing now and then toward the second floor, hope and tension tangled within him.

Gao Wenxiao sat down as well, hiding his face in the shadows beyond the lamplight.

Upstairs, in a private room, the air was tense and heavy.

Every gaze turned toward you.

You smiled and said,

"I, Lu Chen, accept on behalf of the Northern Region!"

The words sent a jolt through the room.

Beneath Wu Ying's ghost mask, her eyes