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Catherine paused at this point before continuing, "The key lies right here!"

As she spoke, the Sword Saint's fair finger pointed to a large red dot on the map—the capital of the mercenary empire in the desert: Broken Star Abyss.

"Broken Star Abyss stands imposingly at the heart of the desert, with an inexhaustible elemental spring below and the Skyreach Tower (a super-artillery) guarding above, defended by over a million elite desert soldiers. It is famously impregnable, hailed as the continent's foremost fortress. Because of this, it plays an extremely critical role in humanity's defensive lines. The southeastern front, needless to say, relies on it as a stronghold. Meanwhile, the southwestern front's ability to continuously transport supplies and reinforcements via sea routes from the south also depends on the mercenary empire's support. Otherwise, we would have long since bypassed and severed their lifeline. As for the allied forces on the eastern front, their homeland is too distant, making large-scale logistical replenishment impossible without detouring through Broken Star Abyss. After the destruction of Sacred Dragon Mountain, nearly half of the eastern front's supplies were sourced from Broken Star Abyss. Thus, it can be said that Broken Star Abyss is now the heart of humanity's three battlefronts. Once this heart is shattered, the southeastern front will collapse, the southwestern front will lose all support and perish without a fight, and even the eastern front—deprived of supplies from Broken Star Abyss and Sacred Dragon Mountain—will have no choice but to retreat to the eastern continent to avoid starvation and exhaustion."

*A sharp collective gasp—* Catherine's words drew a sudden intake of breath from most of the assembled generals.

Broken Star Abyss—the title of the continent's foremost fortress was familiar to all. In the past, four of the Twelve Sages had clashed with the elves at the height of their magical prowess, unleashing forbidden spells and divine invocations that carved out the Starfall Canyon and the Green Corridor, two desert passages to the north and south. The epicenter of the explosion lay at their intersection, where residual chaotic magic formed an inexhaustible magical spring. Centuries later, the Mercenary King built the colossal city of Broken Star Abyss atop it. At its heart stood the Skyreach Tower (a super-artillery), powered by the magical spring, capable of endlessly bombarding foes with dragon-slaying firepower. Combined with its towering walls and vast desert legions, it was an absolute nightmare for any attacker.

Precisely because of this, none of the earlier discussions had even considered targeting the mercenary empire's capital.

Seeing the expressions of those present, Catherine understood their thoughts and explained with a smile, "Everyone knows the might of Broken Star Abyss, but don’t forget—its reputation is built solely on human warfare. The title of 'impregnable fortress' holds little intimidation against Saint-tier power, forbidden spells, or super-magic. Back when Master Leimen tested his skills across the world, he once infiltrated Broken Star Abyss and even had the chance to destroy the Skyreach Tower. However, at the time, our beastman alliance couldn’t even step beyond the War God’s Corridor, and our primary enemy was still Saint Spirit Mountain. Destroying the Skyreach Tower would only have strengthened the Light God's forces, so he refrained. Later, after Shamanda pacified the western continent, he also drafted plans to attack Broken Star Abyss. Had he not perished during his coronation, Broken Star Abyss might well have been part of his imperial achievements."

Beside her, Jin Luosa, who was less versed in military matters, asked, "Sister Catherine, are you saying that gathering our Saint-tier forces would allow us to easily take Broken Star Abyss?"

Catherine shook her head. "Not that simple. As the hub of humanity’s military, even if they don’t know our plans, Broken Star Abyss is still a heavily guarded stronghold teeming with troops. Moreover, once we make our move, the enemy won’t sit idle—their Sword Saints, Dragon Knights, and Grand Mages will surely rush to reinforce it. Add to that the new Pope of the Radiant Temple, the master of the Sword of the Hero, and the undead Sword Saint Leinster, whom Xuanfeng once encountered, and they’ll have enough to counter our Saint-tier forces. As for troop numbers, humanity has never lacked those."

Hearing this, Chen Xuanfeng knew his wife well enough to understand that if she pointed out the difficulties, she must already have a solution. "You must have a way to overcome this, right?" he said.

Instead of answering directly, Catherine traced an arc from the southwestern front southward, tapped two points on the eastern front, and finally knocked her fingertip against the southeastern front before looking at Chen Xuanfeng. "It’s nothing more than this."

After a brief moment of thought, Chen Xuanfeng grasped her meaning and nodded in admiration. "A brilliant plan—feint east, strike west; lure the tiger away and cross the sea undetected. Even if the enemy guesses our target, they’ll have no choice but to divide their forces to intercept. Otherwise, we can turn deception into reality at any moment and inflict heavy losses on them."

The stratagems of the *Thirty-Six Stratagems* originated from Chen Xuanfeng's previous world, and many of its allusions remained obscure even when translated into the common tongue of the Broken Star Continent. Only Catherine, having read Chen Xuanfeng's transcribed and translated military texts from his past life, understood their meaning. Hearing him reference them now, she knew her husband had fully grasped her plan and thus said no more, smiling as she sat back down.

Chen Xuanfeng weighed the pros and cons of the operation in his mind, recognizing that Catherine had left some implications unspoken: capturing Broken Star Abyss was not just a military maneuver but also a political tactic—eliminating humanity’s threat, consolidating his own position, and gaining greater prestige. The benefits were manifold.

Moreover, taking Broken Star Abyss wouldn’t mean the end of the mercenary empire, let alone the annihilation of the Kuta Tribe Alliance, which had been entangled with them for centuries. With the support of human nations from the southern continent, the desert would inevitably become a prolonged battleground. But unlike humans, beastmen lived for battle, and war on enemy soil—accompanied by slaughter and plunder—would only stoke their fighting spirit. Thus, the major clans would inevitably seek his favor, granting him more resources to wield while allowing him to gradually tighten his grip on military loyalty. It was a move with multiple advantages.

That said, truly capturing this fortress would be no easy feat. Catherine’s strategy could secure the greatest advantage, but humanity’s countermeasures would be no less formidable. Between the young commander who orchestrated Shamanda’s assassination, the new Pope capable of wielding eight elemental domains, and the former Sword Saint who had nearly slain Chen Xuanfeng himself—none were simple opponents. Thus, Catherine’s plan avoided overly risky gambits. Though the initial strike would be unexpected, the subsequent maneuvers relied on overwhelming momentum. Even if the enemy commanders were handed the battle plan, the outcome would remain unchanged.