In the turbulent world of Battle Through the Heavens (斗破苍穹), an alliance between sworn enemies is never just a partnership. It is a razor's edge walked over a chasm of mutual destruction. The decision by the three rebellious Dragon Kings of the Tai Xu Gu Long (太虚古龙) clan to seek help from their ancestral rivals, the Tian Yao Huang (天妖凰) tribe, appears at first glance to be an act of sheer madness. This move, born from a bitter civil war for the dragon throne, seems to ignore generations of spilled blood and deep-seated hatred.
The offered bait—the legendary Dragon-Phoenix bloodline—is a treasure beyond measure. Yet, this entire arrangement was less a treaty and more a trap being set by all parties involved, each believing they could outmaneuver the other. It was a dangerous gambit that revealed not strength, but the precarious desperation at the heart of the conflict.
A Calculated Risk
The three Dragon Kings were not fools. Their invitation to the Tian Yao Huang was a cold, strategic calculation. Their primary and immediate threat was not the external rival, but the internal legitimist force: the Eastern Dragon Island and its true heir, Zi Yan (紫妍). Eliminating this challenge was their sole objective, and any tool, even a hated one, was deemed usable. They operated from a position of perceived absolute superiority. Assessing that the strongest envoys their rivals could send would be no match for their own power, they saw the alliance as a temporary, disposable convenience.
Their plan was brutally straightforward in two phases. First, combine forces to crush the Eastern Dragon Island. Second, immediately turn on their temporary Tian Yao Huang allies and eliminate them. This would achieve a double victory: securing the throne and crippling the high-tier combat power of their ancient foe in one stroke. The promise of surrendering Zi Yan's bloodline was a hollow gesture from the start, a piece of bait they never intended to release.
This logic was personified by the Bei Long Wang (北龙王), the most ruthless of the three. A tyrant who consumed his own kin to increase his power, the very idea of him willingly handing over the ultimate bloodline was laughable. For him, the Dragon-Phoenix essence was the ultimate prize, the key to uncontested dominance. The alliance was merely the quickest shovel to dig the graves of all his enemies, old and new.
Mutual Manipulation
The Tian Yao Huang tribe was under no illusion about receiving a genuine offer. They accepted not as allies, but as opportunists seeking to exploit the dragon clan's weakness. Their goal mirrored that of the Dragon Kings in its cynicism: to exacerbate the internal strife and ensure the Tai Xu Gu Long bled itself dry. By sending a contingent just strong enough to influence the battle's balance, they hoped to prolong the conflict, maximizing the drain on their rival's overall strength.
Their strategy relied on a delicate equilibrium. They needed the Eastern Dragon Island and the three kings' forces to remain locked in a near-stalemate, grinding each other down. They positioned themselves not as saviors, but as vultures waiting for the right moment to scavenge. This plan, however, presumed a level of control over chaotic events that they did not possess.
Their designs collapsed before they even reached the battlefield. The intended envoys, the Tian Yao San Huang (天妖三凰), were intercepted by the story's protagonist, Xiao Yan, and his ally Yao Ming. Captured and neutralized, their scheme to play both sides ended before it began. This premature failure highlighted a critical flaw in overcomplicated plots: they often cannot survive contact with unpredictable external forces.
The Illusion of Control
The entire fiasco served as a stark lesson about the limits of treachery in a world ruled by raw power. Each faction believed itself the master manipulator, the smartest player moving pieces on the board. The Dragon Kings viewed the Tian Yao Huang as useful idiots. The Tian Yao Huang saw the dragons as gullible foes blinded by civil war. In reality, they were all pieces on a larger, more chaotic board, their intricate plans rendered fragile by simple, overwhelming force.
The ultimate truth was demonstrated by the Bei Long Wang's final transformation. After consuming his fellow kings, his power soared to terrifying heights. At this level, the schemes of the Tian Yao Huang became irrelevant. Even their clan leader would have struggled to gain advantage, proving that when one combatant reaches a certain threshold of strength, diplomatic machinations and temporary alliances shatter like glass.
This failed coalition, built on a foundation of bad faith, was doomed from its first whispered proposal. In a game where no party honors their word, where trust is the first casualty, the only guaranteed outcomes are mutual devastation and wasted effort. The three Dragon Kings, the Tian Yao Huang, and all who engage in such brittle pacts ultimately learn that the most dangerous enemy in a web of betrayal is often the reflection staring back from the mirror of their own ambition.
