Battle for Northern Frontier: The game begins with the grassland woman buying him.

When the soldiers kicked open the main gate of the Prince's Palace, they found it in complete disarray.

The once magnificent and powerful royal palace, which symbolized supreme authority, is now in complete chaos.

Gold and silver were scattered everywhere, and servants were trying to escape.

The Iron-Capped King himself, dressed in royal robes, sat behind the throne.

Several of his personal guards lay dead beside him, each clutching a jeweled dagger, its tip pressed against their hearts. Their eyes were vacant as they gazed at the palace rooftops, as if reminiscing about past glories.

He heard footsteps, slowly turned his head, and looked at the Stone City soldiers pouring in, as well as the general at the head who was still fighting hard.

His voice was hoarse, devoid of fear, filled only with endless resentment and bitterness: "You've won, but this world will not tolerate you, it will not tolerate you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he plunged the short sword into his own chest, and blood instantly stained his magnificent royal robes.

This once illustrious prince ultimately chose to end his life in a resolute manner.

With the death of the Iron-Capped King, the last spark of resistance in Rock City was extinguished.

Su Zhan stared silently at the body of the Iron-Capped King. The enemy's suicide brought him little pleasure; instead, it made him feel more clearly the cruelty of the power transition.

He stepped over the corpses and walked to the center of the hall, his gaze sweeping over the broken throne that symbolized royal power and the cold palace.

Then he said to those around him, "Clean up the Prince's Palace. All documents, maps, and account books of all people should be sealed and taken away. The Prince's Palace warehouse should be inventoried and cataloged."

Su Zhan's voice echoed in the hall. He continued, "Send word to the entire army: Panshi City has been captured, the Iron-Capped King has been executed, post notices to reassure the people, and take control of the entire city. Anyone who dares to take advantage of the chaos to loot will be killed without mercy."

He paused, then added, "Give the body of the Iron-Capped King a grand burial, with the rites due to a prince." He felt that this was not an act of benevolence, but a gesture, a victor's last shred of dignity for the old order, and also a psychological suggestion to potential observers: those who obey me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish.

The order was quickly relayed, and the soldiers of Stone City demonstrated highly efficient execution.

One group cleared out the remaining enemy and maintained order; another group took over the warehouses and inventoried the spoils of war; and yet another group began to appease the panicked citizens of the city. Order was being rebuilt at an astonishing speed.

Shortly afterward, Arutai, covered in blood but in high spirits, strode into the main hall of the palace and knelt on one knee: "General, I have successfully completed my mission; the remaining enemy forces at the west gate have been completely wiped out!"

Su Zhan stepped forward and personally helped him up: "General Arutai, you deserve the greatest credit for breaking through the city in this battle."

From this day forward, you are the first garrison commander of Rockstone City, in charge of all military affairs, reorganizing surrendered soldiers, and restoring the livelihood of the people.

This is fulfilling a promise, and also a reward for the first important general to defect.

Arutai trembled with emotion, his voice choked with sobs: "Thank you, General! This humble general swears to serve Stone City and to serve you to the death!"

He knew he had made the right gamble; from then on, his status would be completely changed, and he would become a new tycoon in Stone City.

Although Stone City is not as powerful as the Royal Court, even the Royal Court can no longer do anything to Stone City now, and even the Iron-Capped Kings have been completely wiped out by Stone City.

Why not join Stone City? Although betrayal is shameful, survival is the most important thing.

So he now stood respectfully beside Su Zhan.

Su Zhan didn't say anything more, because more good news came to him: Halbala had completely wiped out the remaining enemy in Yingchoujian and firmly held this dangerous pass;

Wild Chicken Neck not only burned down the Xiping beacon tower, but also cooperated with the follow-up troops to completely control the two cities of Xiping and Heshuo;

The battles between Blackrock City and Heshuo City have ended completely, the resistance forces have been thoroughly suppressed, and order is being restored in both cities.

The twelve cities meticulously managed by the Iron-Hat King have now completely fallen under the control of Stone City.

Su Zhan handed everything over to Arutai and Harbala, then led the rest of his soldiers back to Stone City.

The battle was quite intense, and now he and Bai Zhanqiu were planning other things.

Traveling day and night, two days later, Su Zhan finally saw the shadow of Stone City.

He was completely calm, having not slept for several days and nights.

He returned to the city, which was still very peaceful, but it was completely different from before.

Stone City is now powerful, and no one dares to underestimate the Han people there anymore.

Those grassland people here just focused on doing business and dared not cause any trouble. Su Zhan did not go to the Fierce Dragon Gang's base, but went straight home.

Lin Yuer had been eagerly waiting at home for a long time.

When she saw Su Zhan return, she was overjoyed and rushed forward to hug him tightly.

Su Zhan patted her shoulder and said, "It's alright, it's all over now."

Lin Yu'er said with worried eyes, "Husband, you've been gone for too long this time. I'm really scared."

Su Zhan chuckled: "It's alright, really, I was just telling the truth."

Now we can relax for a bit.

Lin Yuer pulled Su Zhan home; the meal she had prepared was already ready.

When Lin Qingshan heard that Su Zhan had returned, he hurried home. When he saw that Su Zhan was safe and sound, he was very happy and immediately patted Su Zhan on the shoulder and said, "Well done, Su Zhan! You deserve a lot of credit for our great victory this time."

Su Zhan chuckled: "It was thanks to the valiant fighting of the soldiers of Stone City that we were able to capture the Iron-Capped King."

Our next step is to take action against the royal court.

Lin Qingshan nodded: "But the royal court is not easy to deal with. Those grassland people have managed the royal court very well. Over the years, nothing else has happened except for the change of the throne and the killing of the grassland king by us. This time, the royal court is still a united front."

Su Zhan chuckled: "The fire is already big enough; they can't stop it. Next, we'll unify the grasslands."

Although Lin Qingshan still had some worry in his eyes, he had nothing more to say since Su Zhan had already said so.

The family ate their meal peacefully.

Early the next morning, Su Zhan went to the headquarters of the Fierce Dragon Gang.

At this moment, Bai Zhanqiu and several managers were discussing the next steps.

The stewards were naturally very happy, after all, Su Zhan had eliminated the Iron-Capped Kings this time, and their territory and population had been further expanded. Now they were the undisputed kings of this region.

Even the princes of the grasslands have been killed, so what else is there to fear? The most important thing now is to see if the other Han Chinese tribes are capable of taking down the other grassland peoples, because Stone City has only dealt with the enemies on our side; the real trouble is elsewhere.

Bai Zhanqiu was quite calm at this moment, because he was waiting for Ye Xibozi's information.

He has already sent out all his spies to gather intelligence on other Han Chinese tribes.

The next step is to see if those Han Chinese tribes have actually defeated those grassland people.

If they can take it, that would be best; if they can't, they'll step in to help.

When Bai Zhanqiu saw Su Zhan return, he happily walked up to him, patted Su Zhan on the shoulder, and said, "Su Zhan, you did a great job this time. If it weren't for you, it would have been impossible to take down the Iron-Capped Prince so easily."

Su Zhan chuckled: "It's because that guy mismanaged the business and only knew how to indulge in pleasure every day. He never thought that he would be defeated by us one day. It was all because they underestimated us."

Bai Zhanqiu nodded: "In any case, we now have a certain strength. Next, let's see if other Han Chinese tribes have this opportunity."

The group listened attentively to Su Zhan's account of his role in the battle against the Iron-Capped King, carefully recording the account books and all related matters he brought back from the king. This was all thanks to Su Zhan, and fundamental to Stone City's growing strength.

Just as everyone started discussing, a spy suddenly ran in.

He knelt on one knee in the middle of the field and shouted to Bai Zhanqiu and Su Zhan: "Report! Second Master, Third Master, Master Wild Chicken Neck has sent back a battle report from the Wild Valley Gang in the east."

The Han Chinese tribes there are being attacked by other nomadic tribes. Their ruler acted before us, and the Han Chinese tribes are in dire straits. They have sent people to us for help.

Then, the spy handed over the secret letter.

Bai Zhanqiu and Su Zhan took it, and after looking at it together, their expressions changed drastically.

They had thought that other Han Chinese tribes could easily deal with these grassland people, but now it seemed that they were not as lucky as those in Stone City, and had already been targeted by those grassland people.

Once they launch an attack, the steppe people will swarm back at them.

Those grassland people were not like the Iron-Capped Kings, who were useless. Their king was called Snow Wolf, a young king who was brave, resourceful, and decisive in killing.

He had long wanted to deal with these Han people, and he seized this opportunity.

After receiving intelligence about Stone City, the Han Chinese tribes immediately began to mobilize their troops and prepare to launch a counterattack against the grassland people.

But before they could prepare, Xue Tianlang suddenly mobilized an army of 100,000 and surrounded their city.

This time they were completely surrounded in the city, and the letter they risked their lives to send out ended up in the hands of the pheasant's neck.

The letter contained what Su Zhan and Bai Zhanqiu were seeing. It clearly stated that they were requesting Stone City to send troops to support them, and that if Stone City remained indifferent, they would be completely defeated.

Their strength was not as great as that of the Snow Wolf, so naturally they could not defeat it.

Without external assistance, they would definitely be completely wiped out by the Snow Wolf.

At that time, the power of the Han people will be reduced by one point, which is very important for the entire grassland.

If they want slaves, they must work together to deal with these princes of the grasslands.

But now that a tribe has been attacked, they cannot sit idly by and wait to die.

Bai Zhanqiu's eyes flashed with golden light, and then he said to everyone present, "What do you all think we should do?"

One of the stewards suddenly stood up and said, "That's our ally; of course we can't just stand by and watch him die."

"Second Master, give the order, and I'll lead men to rescue them immediately."

Han Zhan, standing to the side, shook his head and said, "Things are probably not that simple. We must be careful."

The fact that the Snow Wolves were able to besiege an entire Han Chinese tribe means they must have a backup plan, and they certainly aren't afraid of other Han Chinese tribes attacking them.

If other Han Chinese tribes come, they will definitely surround and attack our reinforcements, and then we will all be dragged into this mess.

Therefore, I must immediately take the soldiers back to check on things. Please grant me permission, Second Commander.

Bai Zhanqiu gave Han Zhan a deep look and said, "Han Zhan, can your body still hold up? You've already fought one battle after another. We're not in a hurry."

Bai Zhanqiu's words made Han Zhan shake his head. He said, "The situation is quite urgent. We must take action. Every minute of delay could lead to unforeseen changes. We cannot let the power we have painstakingly built up go to waste."

If the fall of one Han Chinese tribe leads to the rebellion of other Han Chinese tribes, then everything we've done will be for nothing.

Finally, Su Zhan continued, "This time, Yegubang is the only 'homeland' that Han Chinese have left in the eastern border. I believe everyone understands the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'."

If we stand idly by and watch them perish, firstly, we will lose the hearts of the Han people, and the alliance will inevitably develop rifts; secondly, after the Snow Wolf annexes the Wild Ancient State, their next target will surely be our Stone City. At that time, we will face an even stronger and more unscrupulous grassland wolf, and no one will be able to stop it.”

He suddenly stood up and slammed his palm heavily on the spot marked with the sign for Nokobang: "We must take this risk, we must participate in this battle."

Bai Zhanqiu stared at Su Zhan, knowing that his mind was made up. He sighed and stopped trying to stop him: "In that case, we need to quickly decide on a strategy."

Once provisions, military equipment, clothing, and oil supplies are prepared, the army can set off.

Finally, he turned to the scout leader beside him and said, "Use all your spies in the eastern region, at all costs, to find out the location, strength, and commander information of the Snow Wolf ambush as quickly as possible. I need to know exactly where that encirclement and reinforcement trap is set up."

The spy leader immediately accepted the order and then slipped out of the hall.

Meanwhile, Su Zhan on the other side began to muster his troops.

He ordered his general Li Ergou to lead his two thousand most resilient cavalrymen, each with three horses, to immediately prepare for battle.

They were the spearhead of this battle, tasked with probing the true strength of the Snow Wolf main force.

Then he ordered a thousand archers and other skilled archers in the city to carry all the fire arrows and oil.

This was to prepare for an ambush by the Snow Wolf.

If these ambushes are hidden in dense forest passes or windy slopes, these things should be used to disrupt their formation.

Then, Su Zhan glanced at the other generals in the hall and said, "All officers, follow me as I personally lead the main force of the central army, a mixed force of infantry and cavalry, close behind. Our target is the Wild Dog Gang."

He then issued a decree to the entire army: "We must arrive as soon as possible, or everything will change."

Under the arrangement of Su Zhan and Bai Zhanqiu, the entire Stone City was once again turned upside down.

This time, they pooled all their strength, not to pick up stray sheep, but to help their brothers and absolutely not allow them to fall into the hands of the snow wolves of the grasslands.