A cold wind swept across Shadow Gorge, carrying the smell of black iron and smoke. For weeks, the sound of hammers striking steel had filled the canyon. Now, the forges burned like suns, and the soldiers of my growing army trained day and night under Mo Han's fiery command.
But the day something unexpected happened, I was standing at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the valley and its new stronghold. Then a blue light flashed before me—the system's familiar signal.
"Ding! Incoming visitor—Loyal Subject Wen Zixing has entered Myth Barrier Zone."
I blinked. "Zixing? He's here?"
At that moment, a column of spiritual light rose beyond the barrier gate. When it faded, a familiar figure stepped through—the same weary scholar who had once defended me in the Imperial Court. His scholar's robe was dusty, but his eyes burned with steady fire.
"Your Highness," he said with a bow. "I hope this lowly servant may still call you that."
I smiled, walking forward. "You can call me Ling Chen now. Titles don't matter here."
Yue Zhilan appeared beside me, calm as ever, while Mo Han approached from the drill grounds, his armour still glowing faintly with the heat of training. The demon general eyed the scholar curiously. "So the man who tricked the court has come to our den."
Wen Zixing laughed lightly. "General Mo, your reputation travels faster than mine. The capital doesn't know you even exist, yet they're already suspicious."
"Then we move faster," I said firmly. "If we wait, suspicion will turn into soldiers."
He handed me a scroll—maps drawn by hand, each marked with red ink. "I studied the reports. Around the Northern Border are twenty abandoned cities—once small trade hubs crushed by war and beasts. The empire left them to rot, but they still have mines, river ports, and half‑ruined walls. If someone reclaimed them quietly, they could form an independent fief without the court's notice."
I traced a finger along the map. Twenty dots are spread like a necklace around the mountains.
"So," I said slowly, "you came because you already know what I want to do."
Wen Zixing smiled. "No one hides ambition from me. And you, my lord, were never a man who could stay buried forever."
I chuckled. "You're right. It's time to test the army we've built."
Mo Han slammed his halberd into the ground. "The Hellfire Legion stands ready. If you command it, twenty cities will fall within ten days."
"The goddess and the god‑beast will help when needed," Yue Zhilan said lightly, her silver hair glimmering under the torchlight. "But such a campaign must stay unseen. If heaven feels our power rising too soon, fate will twist against us."
"Agreed." I looked at them all. "No banners, no proclamations. We'll move as shadows. Once the twenty cities are taken, each will act outwardly as if they've simply 're-stabilised trade'. The empire will see rebuilding, not rebellion."
The scholar bowed deeply. "Your mind has sharpened, my lord. The boy they mocked in the palace would never have spoken with such calm."
I glanced at the map again. "The court forced me to learn. But this campaign isn't about revenge—it's survival. If we're going to change this world, we need ground to stand on."
That night, the Hidden Army began to prepare.
The first operation targeted Frostveil City, a half‑collapsed mining town a hundred miles east. The empire abandoned it ten years ago after beast attacks cut its trade lines. Now, only robbers and mutant wolves prowled there.
We rode at dawn—the Hellfire Legion in concealed armour that shimmered black under moonlight, mortal soldiers wearing plain leathers without insignia. Above us, clouds trembled with silver lightning as the Silver Thunder Drake circled silently high in the mist.
When we reached Frostveil's gates, Mo Han signalled with his halberd. "No prisoners. The beasts here are rank two and three—good for training."
I nodded. "Then begin."
The ground erupted in crimson flame as demonic warriors charged forward. Yue Zhilan leapt into the air, her spear forming arcs of moonlight that cut through the thick fog. The wolves scattered under waves of combined divine and demonic energy.
I stood at the centre, drawing the Shadow Breaker Sabre. For weeks, I'd trained with it, and now its power responded easily. Each swing sliced through air and rock alike.
Within hours, Frostveil City was ours.
The system chimed in my mind.
"Ding! First City Reclaimed. Dominion + 50. Resources gained: Spirit Ore mines × 3. Mortals recruited: 86. Hidden Reputation increased."
Zixing arrived beside me, panting from the ride. "Four hours. You retook a city in four hours," he said in disbelief.
Mo Han laughed. "That's because the lord's army is born of myth, not man."
I looked at the battered walls, the broken homes, and the surviving miners bowing as they realised what had happened.
"No," I said quietly. "They'll be men soon enough. We rebuild, protect, and feed them. Then they will fight beside us, not under us."
That sentence made even Yue Zhilan look twice. "Spoken like the man whose kindness nearly got him killed," she said softly, but there was the hint of approval in her smile.
By the end of the week, my Hidden Army had taken six more cities. Some surrendered outright after seeing the drake's shadow cross their skies. The rest fell under night raids that left no trace of open warfare.
Each victory added recruits, craftsmen, and stores of spirit ore. Wen Zixing managed the logistics, making sure that the empire saw only trade‑route stabilisation led by "regional mercenaries". His mind turned chaos into calculation, hiding rebellion beneath paperwork.
At the tenth city, the system's voice echoed again:
"Half the objective is complete—ten settlements secured. Hidden Stronghold Rank Up: Stage Two. Ability Unlocked: Shadow Teleport Gates, between cities."
Zixing nearly dropped his pen when I told him. "Teleportation? Even imperial sects can't do that without grand formations."
"The Myth System can," I said, smiling. "We'll move faster than they can even whisper about us."
On the twentieth day, the last flag burned over the final city—Ironmist Fort. Snow drifted down as we gathered at the rebuilt wall. Mo Han's Hellfire Legion stood in formation, Yue Zhilan hovered in the sky, and the Silver Thunder Drake roared triumphantly.
The people below knelt, shouting their thanks—not to a prince or a general, but to the nameless commander who saved them.
I looked at Wen Zixing. "Now that we've tested the army, what next?"
He smiled knowingly. "Now, my lord, we start building a nation within a nation. The empire will call you a ghost. Let them. Sometimes, ghosts move faster than kings."
The system chimed one final time that night.
"Ding! Hidden Quest Complete—'The First Reclamation'. Reward: Mythic Summon Token (High Grade) and Supreme Building Blueprint—Heaven's Fortress."
As the sound faded, I looked at the burning horizon of reclaimed cities, their lights glowing faintly beneath the stars.
The exiled prince in hiding had become a commander in the shadows. And soon, the shadows would spread across the empire.