The Great Khan used a dagger to slice the lamb and said lightly:

"The noble daughter does not sit where beams might fall. Everyone thinks you, Chen Dingye, are already a decaying life waiting for death. But I know you, just like a wolf on the grassland, are most dangerous when its legs are broken."

"Going to Zhenbei City?"

"Hahaha, I believe you, Chen Dingye, would set up thousands of archers in ambush, shower me with arrows like rain before discussing anything else."

Chen Dingye said, "If I were to enter your Central Army camp, you would also seize me directly."

"No matter what, having the king of Chen Country in your hands would mean you gain great fame. A pawn in hand is easier to control than so-called allies, isn’t it?"

The Turkic Khan and the Emperor of the Central Plains, at this moment, in this worn-out Mountain God Temple, raised their wine cups to each other in a distant toast. If it weren’t for the Great Khan, they would have perished with regret in Zhenbei City long ago.

If replaced by someone else, like the methods of the Dangxiang king, they would have already fallen into the Turkic Iron Futu’s Central Army and become a puppet.

Words were smiling, but blades were cold.

The Great Khan temporarily chose this place as both sides found each other wary, a compromise was made to barely maintain a unique balance.

The massive armies faced each other, and within this Mountain God Temple, they confronted each other, each level’s combat power reaching a delicate balance.

Beyond this mountain, the two hundred thousand troops of Zhenbei City.

And the grassland’s Iron Futu and Light Cavalry were facing each other from afar.

Only when both sides have similar strength and foundations can they talk about negotiation and alliance. If the Great Khan disregarded everything, he could rally his army to attack Zhenbei City, but that would be time-consuming, laborious, and overly conspicuous.

The Great Khan, at this time, was still wary of that young Prince Qin.

This year, that Prince Qin was twenty-one years old.

At the prime of his youth, full of vigor and blood, and in a rising phase of formidable strength—if the Central Plains hadn’t shown faint signs of the Unification of the World, the Great Khan would not take such a risky action at this age.

The Great Khan raised his hand, and a loyal retainer handed over a scroll of sheepskin parchment.

He looked through it and flicked his wrist.

The sheepskin parchment scroll shot towards Chen Dingye like an arrow.

Chen Dingye was drinking, while Chen Tianqi, clutching a spear with closed eyes in thought, suddenly opened his eyes. In the void, a ripple of energy seemed to stir, and the arrow-like sheepskin parchment stayed suspended before smoothly landing on the table.

Chen Dingye swept his sleeve, picking up the sheepskin scroll.

This was indeed a very remote Mountain God Temple, with the head of the deity statue long gone as if cut by a sharp blade, leaving a clean, straight neck. The ground was covered in fallen leaves and dust, a scene of decay.

Just like Chen at this moment, in the midst of silent desolation, Chen Dingye finished reading the sheepskin scroll, placing it on the table. The Great Khan said: "So, Chen Dingye, any dissatisfaction?"

"You can speak freely."

Chen Dingye said: "The Great Khan is very sincere."

"In this alliance, one might say, [each takes what they need]."

Chen Tianqi reached out his hand, his fingers closing to capture the sheepskin scroll with an invisible Jin Qi. As his gaze swept over the text, even this Divine General of Chen from a hundred and eighty years ago had no objections to the terms.

No tricks, no deliberate traps.

In fact, one might say it’s fair.

Even the Turkic’s own objectives weren’t concealed at all.

It was simply to support Chen Country, so that Chen might rise in power again, thus maintaining the current state of Central Plains, preventing unification, to sustain a more favorable situation for the Turks.

Chen Tianqi was the grandson of Emperor Chen Wu.

The world he was born into was one where the Red Emperor’s hegemony was gradually declining, where Chen and Ying fought for dominance, a time of Tuyuhun, and thus chaos in the world was just normal for him.

It’s an expected reality.

Viewed purely strategically, this alliance could be described as generous.

Though its purpose was the Turkic desire to intervene in the Central Plains and prevent unification.

However, for Great Chen, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Leveraging the terrain of Zhenbei City, and the power of the Turkic, along with the current state of nations at odds, even if unable to restore to its peak, at least regaining footing and re-establishing legitimacy is possible.

The Great Khan said lightly: "My offer is like that."

"Chen Dingye, will you cooperate with me to preserve some of the lineage of Chen Country, or will you linger in Zhenbei City only to be obliterated by Prince Qin’s military might? The choice is yours."

Chen Dingye looked at the sheepskin scroll, without any pretense.

He simply extended his hand, causing ripples, with Inner Qi flowing in his palm.

Flames ignited on the sheepskin scroll.

Without hesitation.

Just like eight years ago in the palace of Chen Country, when a magician who replaced Hou Zhongyu claimed he could refine the Immortality Elixir using the hearts and livers of boys and girls, he drew his sword and killed the magician.

The Great Khan said: "You are not tempted."