Time flows like water.
In the blink of an eye, five days have passed since the Yan Huang Army set out.
This night.
Yan Huang Imperial Palace.
In the ancient and classical Imperial Study Room.
Lin Shanshan, dressed in a gold chiffon dress, elegantly and lazily leaned back in the large chair, her long, slender legs wrapped in sheer stockings resting on the table, her exquisite crystal high heels dangling softly from her toes, while holding a cup of aromatic Imperial Marrow Brew in her hand.
She toyed with her wine glass, her beautiful eyes fixed thoughtfully on the square Spiritual Power Screen in the void ahead.
Guan Feng stood quietly beside her, occasionally stepping forward to refill her drink and change the glass.
"Your Majesty, if your period has arrived, you shouldn't drink."
Guan Feng gently reminded her, but didn't stop refilling her drink.
Lin Shanshan, afraid she would seize the wine, simply finished it in one gulp and said, "Just like my mother, whenever my period comes, she forbids me from touching alcohol."
Guan Feng chuckled, "As Your Majesty's close Imperial Order Lady Officer, naturally, I must also be concerned about Your Majesty's health."
Lin Shanshan sighed, "It's so annoying, entering the Emperor Realm but still having a period."
Guan Feng smiled and asked, "What is Your Majesty thinking about?"
Lin Shanshan stared at the Spiritual Power Screen, "What else could I be thinking? I'm wondering if I've overplayed it this time, suddenly going to deal with the Heavenly Qing Empire without any prior preparation. Now thinking about it, this battle might be quite tricky."
"..."
During the expedition against the Heavenly Qing Empire, Lin Shanshan did not choose to personally lead because everyone dissuaded her.
Moreover, she had reached a critical point of breakthrough and truly could not spare the time.
In the silent room.
Guan Feng suddenly glanced at Lin Shanshan's swathed legs and cautioned, "Your Majesty, maintain your image; the Empress Dowager has arrived."
"Oh my!"
Lin Shanshan jumped in fright, quickly withdrawing her legs, sitting properly, and swiftly tidying herself.
"Quick, quick, quick, swap the wine for tea, don't let my mom see, otherwise I'll get scolded again."
Soon, footsteps were heard outside the study room door.
It was the sound of a man and a woman walking.
The woman wore high heels, her steps were swift, and the sound of her high heels was crisp.
The man's pace was slow, appearing unhurried.
They were Lin Xiyue and Guan Zhongbao.
Upon entering the study room, seeing Lin Shanshan still busy with state affairs so late, Lin Xiyue suddenly felt a bit distressed.
"Mom, how is Xuanji Mountain?"
Lin Shanshan, like a little baby, happily snuggled into Lin Xiyue's arms.
Lin Xiyue reached out to gently rub her forehead, tidying her messy locks, softly saying, "Master Ping and Lin Tong Bumie are guarding your dad. I came back to check on you."
"There's nothing much on my end, Mom, you don't need to worry."
Lin Xiyue's face suddenly darkened, "Did you drink?"
Lin Shanshan replied without hesitation, "No, it was Guan Feng drinking. If you don't believe me, ask her!"
Guan Feng wore a gloomy expression, thinking this tease of an Empress really had no peers.
Lin Xiyue said, "Do you believe I'll punish you?"
Lin Shanshan playfully stuck out her pink tongue, "If you punish me, dad will feel bad."
"He'll only help me punish you together."
Lin Shanshan rolled her eyes, "Definitely not, I'm his little sweetheart from a past life; he'd be reluctant to hit me."
Lin Xiyue, annoyed, poked her forehead, asking, "How are things on this side?"
Lin Shanshan turned to look at the Spiritual Power Screen and said, "This morning, Commander Guan has arrived at Guang Yu State, joining forces with Mei Ji and Liu Sha."
Lin Xiyue gazed at the map displayed on the screen, pondering for a moment before speaking, "Although the Three Thousand Alliance led by the Heavenly Qing Empire suffered heavy losses because of your dad, their great foundation remains unharmed."
Further saying, "Comparatively, our current forces are still somewhat inferior to the Heavenly Qing Empire."
Lin Shanshan asked, "Then does the Empress have any clever plan to lead us to success?"
Lin Xiyue glared at her, "As an Emperor, can't you speak seriously? You truly are like your father, speaking and acting without any decorum."
Lin Shanshan stuck her tongue out at her.
Lin Xiyue said, "Although our forces are lacking, our high-end combat abilities are superior, and we even have Lao Ba as a trump card."
Lin Shanshan nodded, "So my thought is to not attack using encirclement."
"After merging at Guang Yu State, directly use the Teleportation Array to send the army to Tongtian Plains, the closest to the Lingtian Plateau, thus controlling the battlefield at Tongtian Plains."
At this time, Guan Zhongbao spoke up, "Tongtian Plains serves as the gateway to the Lingtian Plateau. Once conquered, the army can proceed directly to strike the core."
Further adding, "But Your Majesty, if our forces are placed in one spot all at once, unless absolute strength wins quickly, if we become entangled with the enemy, it will be disadvantageous to us."
Lin Xiyue nodded, "Minister Guan is right. In this scenario, our forces might be encircled. If I were Gu Yuelong, I'd deploy elite forces at Tongtian Plains to keep our army at bay."
Lin Shanshan instantly understood Lin Xiyue's point, frowned, "And at this moment, Yan Huang Star's forces are weak; he will likely choose to use most of his forces to attack Yan Huang Star, forcing us to retreat for defense."
Guan Zhongbao said, "Precisely. In such a situation, our forces, advancing and retreating, will face significant consumption, while the enemy could use a pincer movement to surround our forces midway."
Just then, footsteps sounded again from outside.
Zuo Qianhuang, accompanied by a dozen civil and military officials, entered the study room, uniformly bowing in salute.
"Your Majesty, this is the city defense deployment document!"
Lin Shanshan gently nodded, then returned to her desk and sat down.
Guan Feng stepped forward to take the documents from Zuo Qianhuang, signaling them to stand aside for now.
Lin Shanshan glanced at the civil and military ministers, then continued with the previous topic in a soft voice: "It's like we are advancing straight through the middle, planning to have a final showdown on high ground, and then destroy the enemy's crystal."
"But the enemy didn't choose to group together for a face-off; instead, they let the best-developed top and bottom lanes defend the tower, while sending the mid-laner and jungler to stealthily sneak through the jungle to steal our crystal."
Upon hearing this, Guan Zhongbao was stunned and exchanged a look with Guan Feng, indicating they were completely lost.
However, father and daughter were used to it, as Her Majesty the Empress often spoke in strange and witty words.
At this moment, the civil and military ministers were all equally bewildered.
But Lin Xiyue completely understood what Lin Shanshan was expressing, and she knew why Lin Shanshan suddenly chose to narrate in this manner.
Because Lin Shanshan didn't fully trust all the civil and military ministers present.
Lin Xiyue asked, "So how do you plan to handle this situation?"
Lin Shanshan suddenly sighed, "I'm tired, let's talk about this tomorrow. Mom, you go home first."
Lin Xiyue gently nodded, turned around, and left.
Guan Zhongbao bowed and said, "Then I shall take my leave as well."
A short while later.
After Lin Xiyue and Guan Zhongbao left, Lin Shanshan looked up at the civil and military ministers still waiting in the study and asked, "I wonder if you gentlemen have any important matters to report?"
...
Late at night.
Lin Shanshan wearily returned to Luo's Courtyard and found Lin Xiyue in the kitchen boiling ginger water with brown sugar, adding several rare spiritual medicines.
"Mom..."
Lin Shanshan, full of happiness, hugged Lin Xiyue's waist from behind.
Lin Xiyue twisted her body, "Aren't you too old to be acting like a child?"
"With you, I'm always a child."
Lin Xiyue said, "Hurry up and find someone to marry. I don't want to be up late at night cooking ginger water with brown sugar for you."
Lin Shanshan curiously asked, "Did Dad treat you this well before?"
Lin Xiyue said, "Back then... I wanted to hit him all the time. Never met someone so dense."
Lin Shanshan covered her mouth and giggled, "But love can tolerate all a person's flaws, right?"
Lin Xiyue gave her a sideways glance, "You're just a child, what do you know about love?"
Lin Shanshan put on a wronged face, "You just said I was an adult."
Lin Xiyue changed the subject by asking, "What do you plan to do about the previous issue?"
Lin Shanshan knew what she was asking about and said, "I can only abandon the previous strategy, and slowly sneak through the jungle to the enemy's high ground, forcing them to gather for a fight."
"Because I can't gamble on who can tear down the crystal first. If the battle reaches a point where I have to rely on gambling to decide the outcome, it means I've already lost."
She continued, "But this approach will definitely make it a prolonged battle. I worry that our resources can't sustain the consumption."
"Our objective is to breach the Lingtian Plateau in the shortest possible time and cut the Star Sky Corridor."
Lin Xiyue said, "But the enemy will also face consumption. As for cutting the Star Sky Corridor, we can send a special operation unit led by Lao Ba to forcefully breach the Lingtian Plateau and cut the corridor."
"That's what I was thinking too."
Lin Xiyue asked, "What about the Demon Domain?"
Lin Shanshan shook her head, "The Demon Domain will not intervene, but they will provide material support."
Lin Xiyue asked again, "What about Wutongzhou?"
Lin Shanshan said, "Considering the current situation, I don't plan to let Wutongzhou intervene either, because there's another battle afterwards."
Lin Xiyue asked, "Should we recall Qian Qing and Yueyue?"
Lin Shanshan said, "It's better not to. They're currently in closed-door cultivation in the Divine Oracle Cave Heaven, preparing for the catastrophe that could come at any time. And if my aunt knew I was attacking Heaven Azure Empire... she'd probably be upset."
Hearing this, Lin Xiyue couldn't help but think of Luo Xian and sighed softly.
"..."
The two talked until dawn, then mother and daughter fell asleep in each other's arms.
Back when they were on Earth, Lin Xiyue and Lin Shanshan both had military experience, and Lin Xiyue even took over Lin Jianlong's position, serving as the commander for a while.
Therefore, in leading troops into battle, both mother and daughter had quite a rich experience.
...
...
Celestial Realm.
Cosmic Great Wall.
Guijian Chou stood silently at the city head, gazing into the deep, pitch-black starry sky with eyes full of weary and aged wisdom.
The great terror hidden deep within the stars had been watching this universe for ages, so he could not leave the Cosmic Great Wall for even a moment.
A sudden breeze arose.
A graceful figure seemed to step out of The Void, standing by his side as if out of nowhere.
Guijian Chou turned his head to look at that beautiful profile, his eyes showing a hint of tenderness.
"Hongye, long time no see."
"..."