Chapter 267

The excitement of the initial victory, like a stone tossed into a lake, sent ripples through Chen Wen's main camp, but soon settled, transforming into firmer confidence and a solemn, battle-ready atmosphere.

The camp's fortifications were now solid, with deep moats dug and abatis densely laid.

The soldiers seized this rare lull to wipe their weapons, repair armor, and silently restore their strength.

Inside the commander's tent, Chen Wen dismissed his aides and sat alone cross-legged.

He was savoring, he was digesting.

He savored the recent crushing victory and digested the extraordinary perception he had captured in that moment of extreme focus.

When he exerted his internal power to the fullest to bestow "grace" upon the three hundred guards, a smoothness unlike before subtly flowed through his heart.

Ascending the throne and proclaiming emperor bears the fortune of a nation; a great victory in the northern borders consolidates the hearts of army and people.

These seemingly intangible things are in fact subtly nourishing his foundation.

The Fortune Momentum vortex active deep in his sea of consciousness, though still unable to be actively summoned, its very existence is like an ever-expanding energy source, making the mental and physical expenditure when he uses Ability Granting feel slightly lighter than expected, and the former sense of stagnation, as if touching a ceiling, has quietly loosened a bit.

This is not a direct increase in quantity, but rather akin to a blessing of status, making the operation of power more efficient and more resilient.

Of course, granting sixteenfold efficiency to three hundred people simultaneously remains an extremely heavy burden, by no means trivial.

Now his face is slightly pale, his breathing a little short, clear evidence of excessive consumption.

But compared to the extreme overdraft at the Battle of Gaoping, his current state is already relatively composed.

More importantly, he needs to clarify that sudden, profoundly mysterious perception he experienced on the battlefield.

When the cavalry of both sides, like two steel torrents, collided with a roar;

He not only 'saw' the blood-and-flesh carnage on the battlefield, but also seemed to 'see' something else.

In his perceptual world, the entire battlefield was shrouded in two utterly different 'colors'.

Our main camp, and the distant Jizhou City, though suppressed, still stubbornly emitted a warm, vibrant, pale gold luster like that of the early morning sun.

This is the collective convergence of military and civilian belief, dynastic legitimacy, and his own existence—Fortune Momentum.

Meanwhile, the vast Northern Han allied camp on the opposite side was shrouded in a massive, icy, lifeless dark-blue energy.

That is the 'dark energy' field brought by the Iron Crow Army, filled with the aura of chaos, slaughter, and destruction.

These two energies are not static.

They behave like living things, fiercely opposing, eroding, and wearing each other down on an intangible level.

Before this, Chen Wen could only vaguely sense this macroscopic opposition.

But just now, in that instant of extreme focus when his own power and the dynasty's Fortune Momentum produced a subtle resonance, his 'vision' seemed to be suddenly pulled closer and magnified!

He clearly 'saw' that, within that vast, suffocating dark-blue energy field, there existed dozens of exceptionally bright, glaring 'light points'!

These 'light points', like ghost fires burning on a dark-blue icy plain, emitted cold and turbulent fluctuations far surpassing the surrounding area.

Their positions are not fixed, but slowly shift within the allied camp.

Most are concentrated in the areas where deep-blue banners flutter;

But a few are scattered in the core positions of the Northern Han army, and one is extremely furtively hidden in the direction near Jizhou City!

""Those……are they the key nodes?""

Chen Wen murmured to himself, his breathing long and steady, striving to capture and consolidate that strange perceptual state.

He recalled Zhao Lao'nian's theory about the mutual repulsion of Fortune Momentum and 'dark energy', as well as the principle of the 'resonant wide-area disturbance crystal tower'.

Zhao Lao'nian stimulates and amplifies this repulsion through external frequencies.

And he himself, it seems, because he is an important vessel and amplifier of Fortune Momentum, and has deeply participated in the direct confrontation of the two forces, can thus more intuitively 'see' the source of this repulsion—the highly condensed cores of 'dark energy'!

""If……if we could precisely uproot these 'light points'……""

A thought flashed like lightning across Chen Wen's mind.

No matter how mysterious the Iron Crow Army, the manifestation of its power necessarily depends on specific individuals or devices.

These high-brightness 'light points' are very likely the locations of command nodes, elite squads, or similar 'dark fire' launching devices!

If they could be destroyed first, there is no doubt it would greatly weaken the threat of the Iron Crow Army, possibly even throwing its entire deployment into disarray!

He slowly opened his eyes, the light within them inwardly gathered; the previous fatigue, under the swift recovery and the impact of his sudden realization, had already mostly dissipated.

Although his mental strength had not yet fully recovered, the exhilaration of grasping the key clue to defeating the enemy made his spirit surge.

""Come here.""

""Your Majesty." The guard outside the tent responded and entered.

""Summon Li Wu and the chief artisan of the Works Bureau."

""Yes!"

Moments later, Li Wu entered the tent together with an elderly man wearing the attire of the Works Bureau, his face showing the fatigue of a long journey but his eyes blazing with excitement.

""Your Majesty." The two bowed and paid their respects.

Chen Wen's gaze first fell on Li Wu.

""Li Wu, in that battle just now, our army's momentum has been established."

""Yet the enemy forces are formidable, the cause lying in the strangeness of the Iron Crow Army."

""I need your scouts to cease conducting wide-area reconnaissance."

He walked to the makeshift sand table, his finger pointing toward a few spots he had just sensed, roughly indicating the direction of the 'dark energy' 'light points' situated in the forward zone of the Northern Han army.

""Concentrate all elite scouts, equip them with the strongest crossbows and the 'disturbance crystal disc'."

""Focus monitoring on these few areas!"

""I need to know what troops are stationed there, their numbers, any abnormalities, and especially……whether there are people frequently coming and going who wear dark-blue attire or behave strangely!"

""Remember, only observe and record; unless absolutely necessary, do not engage in combat!"

Although Li Wu did not understand why His Majesty could delineate the range so precisely, out of absolute trust he clenched his fists without hesitation.

""I, the subordinate, will obey! I will not disgrace the command!"

Chen Wen nodded slightly, looking toward the Chief Artisan of the Ministry of Works.

"Master Artisan Wang, how is the assembly progress of the 'Wide-area Disturbing Crystal Tower'?"

"Answering Your Majesty!"

Master Artisan Wang's voice carried excitement and tension.

The main bodies of three prototype machines have been completed, and they are now testing the internal resonance mechanism and energy circuit.

"At the latest by tomorrow noon, preliminary testing should be completed, meeting the conditions for activation!"

But... Your Majesty, this device consumes enormous energy; once activated, its 'Fortune Momentum' core may not last long, and its coverage and effect still need battlefield verification...

I understand.

Chen Wen interrupted him.

"No need to pursue perfection; just needs to be usable."

"After testing is complete, report to me immediately."

"Furthermore, prioritize distribution of all 'Second-generation Disturbing Crystal Disks' from the inventory to the scouts selected by General Li Wu and to my Imperial Guard Battalion."

"This old subject obeys the order!" Master Artisan Wang bowed and accepted the command.

The two accepted the order and departed.

The Grand Tent fell silent once again.

Chen Wen paced to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and gazed at the enemy camp shrouded in a deep blue force field across the way.

His gaze seemed to pierce the fortifications and distance, landing on those few slowly moving, icy 'light points'.

A hunter's icy lock-on onto prey condensed in his eyes.

The sense of Fortune Momentum pointed out the direction for him.

The subtle growth of his own ability, coupled with the dynasty's blessing, gave him greater confidence.

What remained was how to wield this blade that cuts the malignant tumor.

He lightly clenched his fist, feeling within him the ever richer, ever more tightly bound to Great Chen's fortune the 'Fortune Momentum' vortex.

"Soon."

He muttered softly; this time his voice carried an unquestionable certainty.

"I can feel that the moment of the decisive battle is right before our eyes."