Desperation birthed the coalition's final strike. Wu's emperor, Huang's warlords, and Freeport's admirals met in shadowed tents, faces gaunt from lost trade. "The taxless plague spreads," Wu spat. "Realms beg his waggons. Armies now—crush the invitations before continents kneel!"
A hundred thousand blades massed borders—Wu spears gleaming, Huang arrays humming, Freeport void ships blotting skies. Drums thundered war. Spies whispered, "Shadow Gorge falls at dawn."
But North stirred not to panic. Waggons rolled instead.
Lu Din watched the maps glowing, smile faint. "They attack trade. We defend with it."
I nodded in the throne hall. "Unity holds. Voluntary realms fight their own."
Yue Zhilan gripped the spear. Mo Han's flames roared eagerly. Elowen touched soil—vines stirring, ready.
Dawn broke bloody. The coalition vanguard hit Verdant Plains first—the queen's new groves were targeted. But plains weren't empty. Farmers-turned-soldiers manned walls, qi from Elowen's fruits fuelling strikes. Ironridge miners swung Vulcan hammers from ridges, crushing Huang's flanks. Stormcoast sailors turned fields to traps—nets woven with qi, snaring Wu spears.
"No conquest here!" Plains Queen shouted, leading the charge. "We chose north!"
Coalition captains yelled confusedly, "Traitors beg to join?"
Huang arrays fired—only to meet Hellfire walls. Mo Han's demons erupted past, five hundred infernos melting saint shields. "For waggons, not thrones!" mortals roared beside.
Freeport ships bombarded coasts—Stormcoast fleets countered, Silver Drake diving lightning. Moon Shadows struck unseen: Silent Hands gutting captains mid-deck, Mist Eyes blinding navigators.
Lu Din directed flawlessly: "Trade routes hold. Waggons through lines."
Caravans rolled mid-battle—escorts guarding crates of spirit fruits and steel blades. Coalition soldiers gaped: merchants waving cheerfully past dying comrades. "Safe passage?" one called.
General Huang raged, "Fight the wagons!"
But soldiers faltered. Qi sickness from poor grain weakened them. Northern fruits healed mid-fight—voluntary realms shared baskets. "Join or starve," Plains farmers yelled.
The coalition crumbled. Wu's lines broke first—spears dropping for offered rice. Huang mages surrendered arrays for cores. Freeport crews mutinied, begging for escorts.
By dusk, kings knelt in fields—armies scattered, waggons rolling unbroken.
The Wu emperor crawled forward, crown muddied. "Mercy... trade?"
The Huang warlord bowed deeply. "Our realms starve without you."
The Freeport admiral kissed the north banners. "Seas yours eternal."
I met them simply. Eternal Sovereign's Fang sheathed. "No blood price. Waggons resume. Loyalty is voluntary."
Lu Din marked the maps: "Seven more invitations pending."
Taxless unity proved unbreakable. Voluntary realms fought fiercer—homes defended, not conquered. Mortals led demons; farmers flanked gods. Waggons mocked swords.
Rivals watched defeated. The coalition dissolved down to two. Kings returned tribute waggons triple—begging invitations themselves.
Elowen's groves bloomed richer post-battle, healing wounded trees. Mo Han clasped the Plains queen's hand: "You lead demons next."
Yue Zhilan smiled faintly. "Trade conquered armies."
Wen Zixing tallied vaults ecstatically. "Revenue peaks eternal."
Vulcan hammered captured blades, laughing. "My steel breaks fools!"
The system chimed victoriously.
"Ding! Counterattack Crumbled. Voluntary Victory Achieved. Unity maxed. Reward: Realm Cascade—10 Realms Invite Auto. Trade Supremacy Eternal. New Title: Unconquerable Sovereign.
Night fell peacefully. Battlefields quieted—wagons rumbling past surrendered tents. Coalition spies reported shame: "They fought with food."
Rivals plotted no more. Invited instead.
Taxless might not have crushed. It fed.
North borders were enlarged by voluntary realms—unity spreading wagons, not chains.
The road-building king won without a crown.
To trade winds, empires fell.
One failed attack sealed the golden age forever.