Lei Liheng insisted on taking the main assault, his motivation transparent: greed.

The coalition had agreed beforehand that the vanguard hitting the main target would face the stiffest resistance. In exchange for shouldering that risk, they would receive an extra ten percent of the spoils and the right of first refusal on all captured treasures.

Moreover, once they breached the Gu Clan’s stronghold, who would know exactly what they found? Skimming off the top was inevitable. By controlling the battlefield at Red Maple Lake, the Lei Clan would undoubtedly walk away with far more resources than anyone else.

So, Lei Liheng led the Zhao and Cheng families toward the Gu Clan’s headquarters at Red Maple Lake. The Wang and Li families were assigned the scraps: the two subsidiary Second-Order Spirit Veins.

While Red Maple Lake was the main nest, splitting it three ways diluted the profit. In contrast, the Wang and Li families had two peaks to themselves.

However, Li Yaozu didn’t see it that way.

“This is madness,” Li Yaozu muttered, his brow furrowed. “Convention dictates only one Foundation Establishment cultivator guards a resource point, but is it an early-stage or a late-stage expert? Plus, they have defensive formations and swarms of Qi Refining disciples. My Li family only has twelve people here. If we hit a hard nail…”

He turned to Lei Liheng, raising his voice. “Fellow Daoist Lei, our goal is to weaken the Gu Clan. Why not concentrate our entire force on Red Maple Lake? We can sweep the subsidiary peaks after the main threat is neutralized.”

Wang Longyou backed him up, his voice grave. “The Gu Clan possesses a heritage of formation arts. Their defenses will not be paper-thin. Splitting our forces is unwise.”

Lei Liheng waved his hand dismissively. “Why are you two boosting the enemy’s morale and extinguishing your own? My Lei family isn’t made of glass, and neither are you.”

He flipped his hand, producing two Spirit Weapons. They radiated the aura of Second-Order High-Grade artifacts, but their spiritual light was unstable, and cracks ran along their surfaces.

“These are self-detonating Spirit Weapons,” Lei Liheng said, tossing them toward the two elders as if discarding trash. “Their explosive power rivals an Array Breaking Talisman. Take them. They should be enough to crack whatever shell they’re hiding under.”

Wang Longyou opened his mouth to argue, but Wang Hao placed a hand on his arm, shaking his head slightly.

Lei Liheng had made his stance clear. He wanted the Gu Clan’s formation heritage for himself and was terrified the Wang or Li families might snatch it if they were present at the main assault. When it came to distributing benefits, alliances were always fragile.

Wang Hao smiled, his expression unreadable. “In that case, we will take Clear Dew Peak.”

“Good. We move tomorrow after dark.”

Leaving that command hanging in the air, Lei Liheng signaled the Cheng and Zhao patriarchs, and they departed for Red Maple Lake without a backward glance.

Wang Hao watched them disappear, then shook his head. He turned to Li Yaozu and Li Derong.

“With our current numbers, attacking a fortified mountain is feasible, but splitting up to hit two at once is asking for disaster. My proposal is simple: we combine our forces. We take Clear Dew Peak first, then move on to Black Wind Mountain together. We split the spoils fifty-fifty.”

Li Derong blinked, surprised. The Wang family had three Foundation Establishment cultivators present to the Li family’s two. A fifty-fifty split was incredibly generous.

She hesitated, feeling they were taking advantage, but Li Yaozu was quicker.

“Young Friend Wang truly understands the greater picture!” Li Yaozu exclaimed, shooting a glare in the direction Lei Liheng had vanished. “Hmph. At a time like this, those three families are still scheming for pennies.”

He slapped his storage bag and produced a thick stack of talismans. “I will not let the Wang family suffer a loss. The Li family will provide the offensive talismans for this battle!”

Wang Longyou nodded in approval. “Then let us depart.”

The two families had calculated meticulously, planning to crush Clear Dew Peak with overwhelming force. But as the saying goes, man proposes, heaven disposes.

When they arrived near the base of Clear Dew Peak, concealed within the tree line, they froze.

A procession of cultivators was winding its way up the mountain path. Judging by their yellow robes, they were unmistakably members of the Gu Clan.

The news struck them like a physical blow. The atmosphere in the brush grew instantly tense.

“Did the Gu Clan receive intelligence?” Li Yaozu whispered, his face pale. “Did they strengthen their defenses in advance?”

“It doesn’t look like it,” Wang Hao murmured, eyes narrowed as he analyzed the distant figures. “They aren’t moving with panic. They don’t look like emergency reinforcements… Wait.”

He paused, his mind racing. “They were originally planning to attack us. Could they be gathering their forces? Is Clear Dew Peak a staging ground?”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“It makes sense,” Wang Longyou realized, suppressing the rising panic in his chest. “That group came from the west. The west… that is where Black Wind Mountain is located.”

Li Yaozu let out a long breath. “Then this actually saves us trouble. If we take Clear Dew Peak, Black Wind Mountain will be empty. We kill two birds with one stone.”

“But the difficulty of taking the peak has just skyrocketed,” Li Derong pointed out, frowning. “We have five Foundation Establishment experts, but they now have nearly a hundred Qi Refining disciples gathered up there. Relying on the defensive formation, they could bleed us dry.”

Wang Hao stared at the misty silhouette of Clear Dew Peak. A cold light flickered in his eyes.

“Why attack the mountain at all?”

He turned to the group. “If these people are gathering, they aren’t planning to stay on the peak. They are preparing to march—either to Red Maple Lake or to join the Ye family at Double Dragon Mountain. Why don’t we wait? We set an ambush on the road. Wiping them out in the open is infinitely easier than sieging a fortress.”

The elders’ eyes lit up.

“Furthermore,” Wang Hao added, a ruthless smile touching his lips, “Lei Liheng is attacking Red Maple Lake tonight. Once the attack starts, the Gu Clan will send distress signals. These troops at Clear Dew Peak will be forced to mobilize to save their headquarters. We won’t have to wait long.”

“But… won’t we be breaking our agreement?” Li Derong asked hesitantly. “We promised Lei Liheng we would attack tonight.”

Wang Hao scoffed. “As long as we don’t let a single reinforcement reach Red Maple Lake, we have fulfilled our duty. If they don’t leave the peak, we attack the next night. What is one night of waiting compared to the lives of our clansmen?”

The logic was irrefutable.

The plan was set. The five Foundation Establishment experts and their elite squads melted into the dense forest along the main road connecting Clear Dew Peak to Red Maple Lake. They deployed scouts in every direction, ensuring no surprises.

The wait was not long.

In the dead of night, a streak of sword light cut through the darkness in the distance.

“Wenhao, Fellow Daoist Li,” Wang Longyou whispered via telepathy. As the cultivator with the highest cultivation base, he was monitoring the perimeter. “Targets incoming. Two Foundation Establishment cultivators, over seventy Qi Refining disciples.”

The group turned to Wang Hao. Without anyone explicitly saying it, he had become the de facto commander of the operation.

“Do we charge them?” Li Derong asked, a tremor of nervousness in her voice.

“No need for recklessness,” Wang Hao said, his voice calm and icy. “Prepare for battle. Their strength is inferior to ours. The moment they stepped out of that turtle shell, their fate was sealed.”

He began issuing orders with rapid-fire precision.

“Uncle Yanzhi, your cultivation is lower; lead the Qi Refining team and slaughter their disciples. Senior Li, you and Sixth Granduncle take the mid-stage Foundation Establishment leader. Fellow Daoist Derong, you and I will kill the other one.”

Wang Hao’s eyes swept over the ambush site. “Everyone, hide inside the illusion array. Do not move until I give the signal. When we strike, I want full power. Unleash everything. We need to break their morale in the first second.”

The forest fell silent as the cultivators vanished into the magical cover.

Moments later, the Gu Clan procession entered the kill zone.

They wore yellow robes embroidered with maple leaves. Two Foundation Establishment cultivators flew low overhead, scanning the surroundings, while seventy Qi Refining disciples hurried along the ground using Light Body Techniques. A dozen riders on First-Order spirit horses galloped in the center.

They looked anxious. Wang Hao guessed they had just received the distress call from Red Maple Lake. The distance was only ten thousand li; a high-grade transmission talisman would have reached them instantly.

Focus, Wang Hao told himself. Cull the weak first to relieve pressure on our kin. Then gang up on the leaders.

The enemy rushed forward, completely unaware of the death waiting in the shadows of the trees.

“DO IT!”

Wang Hao’s shout shattered the night.

The illusion array dissolved, and the forest erupted.

Dozens of artifacts, fireballs, and ice spikes screamed through the air, slamming into the tightly packed column of Gu Clan disciples.

There was no time to scream. The initial volley was a meat grinder. Over twenty cultivators were cut down instantly. Heads exploded like ripe melons; limbs were severed by flying blades. The road was painted red in a heartbeat.

Wang Hao watched a group of young female cultivators—faces pale and terrified—get shredded by a wind blade array. He felt a brief, sharp pang in his chest.

This wasn’t his first kill. But in the past, he had always been the defender, fighting for his life against those who hunted him. Even against the Pill Cauldron Sect, Qin Hu had struck first.

This was different. This was war. He was the aggressor, the ambusher, the executioner.

He gritted his teeth, shoving the hesitation into the darkest corner of his mind. There was no room for pity here.