Wei Liao Battlefield.
"Lord, the situation is becoming dire. It seems we've been trapped inside a formation."
The Black Ice Platform, Net Trap, and Shadow Secret Guard forces were engaged in a fierce battle with a strange army.
Suddenly, everyone felt a jolt throughout their bodies, immediately sensing a change in the surrounding environment.
Wei Liao's expression changed as well.
He could actually sense a deadly threat from within the formation.
There was indeed a great secret hidden in this mountain range.
Guo Jia's previous actions were not without purpose.
However, the secret here seemed extremely terrifying.
Even someone of his God Demon Realm level was finding it difficult to handle.
The danger here was no less than that of those Forbidden Lands.
Could this place be one of the unexposed Forbidden Lands among the top ten?
So far, a few of the top ten Forbidden Lands had still not been located.
Could this be one of them?
If so, then that would be troublesome.
Even though he was in the God Demon Realm, he still held deep fear toward such forbidden places.
There was no time to consider anything else. He had to leave this dangerous place as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, a bad thought flashed through Wei Liao's mind.
Could it be that Guo Jia deliberately allowed them to sense the anomaly and lured them into this "Forbidden Land" to use the formation here to trap and wipe them out?
So that he could reap the benefits without lifting a finger?
If he succeeded in eliminating them, then no other imperial dynasty would be able to stop Guo Jia's plans in the Song Dynasty.
This idea made Wei Liao even more convinced.
His heart trembled.
He had been careless.
As expected of the Advisor ranked Rank 2.
His schemes were truly subtle and invisible.
Even someone like him had fallen into the trap.
This was a calculated use of their greed and desire.
"What a brilliant Guo Jia. This time, I'll admit your skill!"
Although it was just a guess, the probability was very high.
Once he got out, he only needed to verify whether Guo Jia had left or not.
If he hadn't left, then his speculation was wrong.
But if Guo Jia had already left, then it would prove that everything had been a setup planned by Guo Jia to eliminate them.
"Stop entangling with them. Retreat immediately. Leave this strange mountain range!"
Wei Liao shouted coldly, killing an enemy with one strike.
Breaking out of the battle, he led the remaining forces and fled into the distance.
As for those strange soldiers, he no longer cared.
What Wei Liao wanted to know most now was whether Guo Jia had really set a trap.
Compared to the great secret here, the overall interest of the Song Dynasty was far more important.
==========
Outer perimeter of the mountain range.
At this moment, the entire mountain was still tightly surrounded by a Song Army.
Especially at the entrance.
Layer after layer of troops, tens of thousands in total, were eyeing the place like tigers watching prey.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
At that moment, several figures flew out from inside.
The surrounding Song Dynasty soldiers screamed in agony.
Compared to the strange army inside the formation, this Song Army was much weaker despite its numbers.
Killing them was extremely easy.
At the front, Wei Liao moved swiftly and appeared directly in front of the army tent.
With a wave of his hand.
Wu Jie from inside the tent was immediately pulled into his grip, unable to resist at all.
"Speak! Did you see Guo Jia from the Ming Dynasty come out?"
Wei Liao asked coldly.
He slightly tightened his grip.
As if he could take his life at any moment.
In the hands of someone in the God Demon Realm, even a general was utterly weak.
Wu Jie had initially still held some pride, but at this moment where his life was at stake, how could he afford to act tough?
"I-I saw him. Several hours ago, he led nearly a hundred men away!"
"Were they injured?"
"No, they were not injured at all. In fact, each one of them was incredibly strong!"
Hearing this, Wei Liao instantly realized he had truly been "played"!
Guo Jia's goal was not some so-called "great secret" but to scheme against them and secure benefits for the Song Dynasty.
He should have seen it coming!
Wei Liao forcibly suppressed his anger and took a deep breath.
He quickly calmed down.
From this moment on, he would raise his level of caution toward Guo Jia to the highest.
From now on, whenever he dealt with Guo Jia, he would use all of his mental focus.
He could no longer let himself be swayed by mere benefits or desire.
Otherwise, the price he would pay in the future would be even greater.
His eyes swept across the Wu Jie in his hand.
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
This Wu Jie had considerable ability.
In the Song Imperial Court, he was a rare talent.
Although he couldn't be compared to the likes of Monarch Wu'an, Wang Jian, Wang Ben, or Meng Tian of the Qin Dynasty, he was still a top-tier general.
Worth recruiting.
Perhaps, even this surrounding army could be brought under his command.
"Surrender, or die?"
"Never! I will never betray the Song Dynasty. Give up already!"
Hearing this, Wu Jie could no longer hold back. Even if it cost his life, he would firmly refuse.
"Not afraid of death? Heh, then what about them?"
"I don't mind wiping out every soldier under your command!"
"With just the few of you? I admit that in single combat, we are no match for you."
"But as long as I form a proper military formation, all of you will still fall here!"
"Hmph, do you still have that chance now?"
At that moment.
==========
A series of new screams echoed through the area.
From the other two directions.
Yuwen Tuo's forces and Yuan Tiangang's group quickly charged in.
Anyone who tried to stop them was killed on the spot.
"With our forces combined, can we wipe out this army?"
Yuan Tiangang's cold voice echoed.
With his intelligence, he quickly realized the trap.
He had also heard Wu Jie's words when stepping out of the mountain range.
"Bad Marshal, Supreme Master Yuwen, perfect timing. This army, how about the three of us divide it evenly?"
Wei Liao smiled faintly.
Perhaps an alliance with Yuan Tiangang and Yuwen Tuo would be even more beneficial to him.
"No need. The Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty will never cooperate!"
"It's getting late. I'll take my leave!"
"As for how to deal with this army, you can decide for yourselves!"
Yuwen Tuo's expression changed.
==========
His tone was cold, and he refused directly.
Then he led his powerful Supreme Master's forces away.
Cooperating with Wei Liao and Yuan Tiangang seemed profitable, but the benefits were ordinary at best.
They weren't what he truly wanted.
More importantly.
This time, coming to the Song Dynasty, gaining benefits was one goal, but weakening the Tang Dynasty was a much larger one.
In fact, compared to gaining great benefits, wiping out the Tang Dynasty's Bad Marshal and the Bad People was even more important to him.
Cutting off one of Li Shimin's arms would greatly increase the Sui Dynasty's chances of winning in the future final battle against the Tang Dynasty.
Forming an alliance with Wei Liao and Yuan Tiangang was less beneficial than cooperating with Guo Jia or Jia Xu.
Moreover, he also needed time to carefully sort through everything that had happened.
He had a feeling that things were not as simple as they seemed.
Schemes? Plots?
Was it really just to set them up?
Then why did Northern Song Emperor Zhao Ji dispatch Huang Shang to lead an army to completely surround the mountain range?
There was definitely a secret here he didn't yet know!
Even though he had always looked down on Northern Song Emperor Zhao Ji.
He had never underestimated the emperors of the dynasties.
No matter how useless an emperor might be, he would always take them seriously.
Zhao Ji's actions must have a purpose!
At the very least, in Emperor Zhao Ji's mind, guarding the secret in this mountain was more important than conquering an entire nation.
It seemed he needed to speak with Guo Jia directly.
If possible, he wouldn't mind forming an alliance.
Even though in the future, the Ming Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty would be enemies.
But for now, the Tang Dynasty was the true enemy of the Sui Dynasty.
All other dynasties could wait their turn!
If the Sui Dynasty managed to eliminate the Tang Dynasty, then he could consider how to deal with the other dynasties later.
However, if the Sui Dynasty was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, then there would be no need to worry about those relations any longer.