Lin Feng finished reading word by word, his brow furrowing slightly as he went through it all once more from start to finish.

He repeatedly mulled over the second article, and suddenly, his eyes flickered.

"Wait..."

He muttered to himself, his finger sliding across the communicator as he looked back at Article 2, Clause 1.

Clause 1 explicitly stated: Any high-level territory, under any circumstances, shall not initiate war against a low-level territory.

There was a subtle blank space here; it did not specify whether a low-level territory actively initiating war against a high-level territory required reporting to the state.

Because Clause 1 only prohibited the high-level from attacking the low-level, but what about the low-level attacking the high-level? The convention didn't mention it.

Lin Feng stared at the screen, a smile gradually curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Interesting..."

He quickly flipped to the signature page at the end of the convention, seeing the names of representatives from various countries on Blue Star and the date.

The convention was formulated twenty years ago. At that time, the primary concern of # Nоvеlight # various countries was high-level territories bullying low-level ones, triggering international disputes.

Who could have imagined that a low-level lord would take the initiative to provoke a high-level one?

In everyone's view, low-level territories couldn't hide from high-level ones fast enough; how could they possibly take the initiative to attack? That would be pure suicide.

Therefore, the convention left this logical loophole: a low-level territory can actively initiate a Lord War against a high-level territory without needing to report to the state, as long as the other party agrees.

Lin Feng leaned back on the bench, looking at the blue sky as several thoughts flashed quickly through his mind.

This loophole was currently of no use to him. For a tiny town-level like him to challenge a county-level would be seeking his own death.

Sakura Country, Osaka Castle.

One of the two major city-level territories in Sakura Country, it was situated on the plains to the west of Tianji Mountain. It was adjacent to Zhenyue, with a straight-line distance of no more than five hundred li.

But unlike the orderly atmosphere of Zhenyue City, the atmosphere of Osaka Castle exuded a sense of oppressive coldness.

On the city streets, patrolling soldiers wore black armor with Rising Sun flag armbands, their sharp gazes scanning the passing pedestrians.

On the lanterns hanging at shop entrances, emblems of various right-wing groups were printed. Occasionally, pedestrians spoke in low voices, but they immediately fell silent and bowed their heads when they saw a patrol passing by.

This place was a city-level territory completely controlled by the right-wing forces of Sakura Country.

Osaka Castle Tenshu, third-floor conference room.

Heavy curtains blocked the sunlight from outside, leaving only a few dim wall lamps that cast a gloomy and dark shadow over the conference room.

Five people sat on either side of a long table.

Sitting at the head was a middle-aged man in his early fifties, with a thin face, high cheekbones, and a pair of triangular eyes gleaming with malice.

His name was Yamamoto Ichiro, one of the actual controllers of Osaka Castle and a core figure of the Sakura Country right-wing group "Yamato Spirit."

On the left were two people: one was an elderly man with gray hair and gold-rimmed glasses named Watanabe Jun, responsible for intelligence;

The other was a burly, bald man with a face full of scars named Tanaka Go, in charge of military affairs.

On the right were two people: one was a middle-aged man with a feminine face and flickering eyes named Inoue Ken, in charge of diplomacy;

The other was an elderly man wearing a black kimono who remained expressionless throughout, named Onodera. His identity was mysterious, and he was said to be the "consultant" of Osaka Castle.

"Gentlemen," Yamamoto Ichiro spoke, his voice low and raspy, "tell me, what is going on with that Beacon Fire Town?"

Watanabe Jun pushed up his glasses and opened the file in front of him.

"Six days ago, a new town-level territory appeared in Great Xia, named Beacon Fire Town. The lord is Lin Feng, eighteen years old, of commoner origin. The location of this territory is at the old site of Qingshi County." (PS: This is happening in the future. On the protagonist's side, it's still the first day)

As his voice fell, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly turned solemn.

Tanaka Go slammed the table and said angrily, "Qingshi County? How could a territory be established in that place!

Aren't the Great Qin Elite Soldiers entrenched there? Tens of thousands of Great Qin Elite Soldiers! We sent three batches of scouts, and only one came back alive!"

Watanabe Jun glanced at him and said calmly, "The latest intelligence is that those Great Qin Elite Soldiers have all disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Tanaka Go's eyes widened. "What do you mean? An army of tens of thousands, just vanished?"

"The cause is unknown," Watanabe Jun shook his head. "It could be a change in the rules of the Nightmare World, it could be that some hidden condition was triggered, or it could be... they were summoned away by some power. In short, there isn't a single Qin soldier left at the old site of Qingshi County."

A brief silence fell over the conference room.

Then, Inoue Ken spoke, his voice feminine and carrying a hint of an eerie smile:

"Gentlemen, do you remember? A year ago, we discussed something here."

He looked at Yamamoto Ichiro: "About that... large-scale Mithril Mine."

Everyone's gaze fell on him in unison.

Inoue Ken said slowly, "A year ago, an Awakened in Osaka Castle with a high-level 'Ore Prospecting' talent detected a large-scale Mithril Mine eight li north of Qingshi County, buried deep underground. Ordinary prospecting professionals simply couldn't find it.

Mithril—it is an indispensable strategic resource for upgrading from county-level to city-level, from city-level to main city, for building wonders, and for crafting equipment of purple grade and above."

"Our Sakura Country does not have a single Mithril Mine to this day. All Mithril depends on purchases from Great Xia; the price is exorbitant, and we are subject to their whims."

"And that mine is within the exclusive economic zone of Qingshi County."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "At that time, we were worried; the mine was right before our eyes, yet we couldn't get it.

Behind Qingshi County is Great Xia. Our Sakura Country's overall strength is far inferior to Great Xia's; taking it by force is impossible."

"So..." He looked at Yamamoto Ichiro.

Yamamoto Ichiro took over expressionlessly: "So we used a gold-grade consumable item—the 'Seed of Calamity'.

That item has an anti-divination function, making it impossible for Great Xia to trace the source."

"We used it to increase the level of the Nightmare Tide in Qingshi County from Level 3 to Level 4."

Tanaka Go grinned, a savage smile on his face. "A Level 4 Nightmare Tide wiped out Qingshi County overnight.

Great Xia investigated for half a year and finally concluded it was an 'accident.' They will never know that the tide was a gift from us."

Inoue Ken continued, "The original plan was to wait half a year for the heat to die down, then send our people over to establish a territory near the Mithril Mine and seize it."

"But half a year later, when our people approached Qingshi County, what they saw was..."

He paused, his smile fading. "Tens of thousands of Great Qin Elite Soldiers, lined up and waiting. In short, our people were shot full of holes as soon as they approached." (PS: In this situation, territories cannot be established nearby; even a low-level Nightmare Tide could attract the Qin army.)