War was much easier when your enemy was hungry.
I highly recommend it.
The morning after we burnt the supply lines, the northern border felt lighter.
Not because the snow had stopped.
It hadn't.
The north still looked like winter had personally declared ownership.
But because somewhere to the south—
Fifty thousand elite soldiers were waking up to discover their breakfast had been replaced by regret.
Beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.
I stood on the outpost wall with a cup of hot tea, watching smoke rise faintly from the southern mountains.
Beside me, Hu Mei was eating fruit that definitely belonged to someone else.
"Master."
I sighed.
"Yes."
"If General Xu surrenders peacefully, can I still bully him a little?"
I considered it.
"Professionally?"
She nodded seriously.
"Of course."
I took a sip of tea.
"Then yes."
She smiled.
"This is why loyalty matters."
Fair.
Very fair.
Below us, the outpost was alive with preparation.
Phoenix Guards rotated patrols.
The Ghost Legion remained stationed beneath the snow like a terrible surprise waiting to happen.
Villagers delivered winter supplies.
The Frost Wolves were somehow stealing meat again.
Honestly, leadership was mostly preventing chaos from becoming paperwork.
Yue Lian approached, carrying fresh reports and the expression of a woman forced to manage too many disasters.
My favourite kind.
"The Black Iron Army has halted their advance."
Good.
She continued,
"They are reorganising near Broken Cliff Pass. Supply losses were heavier than expected."
Even better.
I smiled.
"And morale?"
Yue Lian's lips curved slightly.
"Hungry."
Perfect.
That was exactly the kind of military term I liked.
She placed the report in my hand.
General Xu had split his forces.
Main camp at Broken Cliff Pass.
Smaller groups are searching for alternate supply routes.
Trying to restore movement.
Predictable.
Disciplined.
Annoyingly competent.
I respected him.
Which made ruining his life more satisfying.
I turned toward the command hall.
"War council."
Because nothing improved a morning like organised violence.
—
Inside, everyone was already there.
Feng Yuehuang sat by the window, drinking tea like divine judgement with perfect posture.
Chen Yao stood beside the strategy map.
Old Master Zhao and Lord Xue were arguing politely about cavalry.
Mo Jianli was asleep in a chair.
Fa Yun was probably questioning every life decision that led him here.
Very healthy leadership.
I placed the report on the table.
"They stopped."
Chen Yao nodded.
"Of course."
She pointed at Broken Cliff Pass.
"General Xu is not foolish. He'll stabilise first."
I agreed.
"Yes. Which means now we make stabilisation impossible."
I pointed toward the side roads.
"They need food."
Then toward the frozen western ridge.
"They need movement."
Then at the centre.
"They need confidence."
I smiled.
"So we destroy all three."
Hu Mei clapped.
"I love when Master sounds like a villain."
I raised a brow.
"Only sounds like?"
She nodded.
"Emotionally, definitely a villain."
Reasonable.
I turned to Bai Wuchen.
"General."
The undead commander stepped forward.
Blue soul flames are steady.
"My Lord."
"The Ghost Legion moves tonight."
Silence.
Even Mo Jianli opened one eye.
Good.
Everyone understood what that meant.
The first ambush was a strategy.
This—
was fear.
Bai Wuchen nodded once.
"Understood."
I looked at the map.
"Not the main camp."
Everyone paused.
Old Master Zhao frowned.
"Why not strike the commander?"
Because killing was easy.
Fear lasted longer.
I tapped three smaller military camps behind the main force.
"These."
Supply camps.
Messenger stations.
Night patrol routes.
Places soldiers thought were safe.
I smiled slowly.
"We teach the Black Iron Army that nowhere is safe after sunset."
Hu Mei looked genuinely proud.
"Master is growing beautifully."
Thank you, I thought.
Trauma builds character.
Feng Yuehuang finally spoke.
"Ghost soldiers by night. Burnt roads by day."
Her golden eyes met mine.
"You want panic."
I nodded.
"Yes."
Not a battle.
Collapse.
Let soldiers imagine monsters in every shadow.
Let commanders lose sleep.
Let fear do half the work.
War was expensive.
Terror was efficient.
Chen Yao folded her arms.
"And when they panic?"
I looked south.
"Then General Xu makes a mistake."
And disciplined men breaking discipline—
That was where kingdoms were won.
By evening, preparations were complete.
Ghost Legion is hidden.
Phoenix Guards ready.
Scouts moving like shadows.
Even the villagers understood.
Tonight—
The north would remind the empire why old wars were buried.
Before sunset, I walked alone along the inner wall.
Just for a moment.
Quiet.
No reports.
No politics.
Just cold wind and the sound of distant wolves.
Feng Yuehuang found me there.
Of course she did.
She always did.
She stood beside me without asking.
For a while, we watched the red sky fade behind the mountains.
Then she asked,
"Do you enjoy this?"
Interesting question.
I thought about it honestly.
"The war?"
She nodded.
I smiled faintly.
"No."
I looked at the villages below.
"At best, I enjoy winning."
Silence.
Then I added quietly,
"I enjoy the idea that after enough victories… maybe people stop needing wars like this."
That was the truth.
Not glory.
Not conquest.
Control.
Enough power that no one could casually decide entire villages deserved suffering.
She looked at me for a long time.
Then—
very softly—
"That is why I stay."
Ah.
There it was again.
The dangerous honesty.
This woman attacked with feelings like other people used swords.
Completely unfair.
I laughed quietly.
"You know, for someone called a Phoenix Goddess, you're very bad at simple flirting."
Her lips curved.
"And you are very bad at surviving it."
Correct.
Completely correct.
Before I could recover, a horn sounded from below.
Night.
Time.
Bai Wuchen was moving.
The Ghost Legion was marching.
War resumed.
I looked south one last time.
In the darkness.
At the empire, waiting there.
At the men who thought numbers meant victory.
Fifty thousand soldiers.
Imperial authority.
Royal decrees.
All of it.
And still—
They were marching into my winter.
I smiled.
Let them starve.
Let them fear the night.
Let them learn what exile becomes when it stops asking permission.
Tonight—
The Black Iron Army would meet ghosts.
And tomorrow—
They would pray hunger was their worst problem.