Once back at the holy land, Qianye summoned all of the elders and asked them about the war situation. Those gathered here right now weren’t only from the Monroe tribe; men from the Byrne and Sperger tribes were also present.

The Attawa were simple and primitive, but they weren’t dumb. They viewed Qianye as the messenger of the gods since he had communicated with the Holy Spirit before. They had also witnessed enough bloody battles to know that Qianye was the only one capable of stopping the black demons. No matter how brave the Attawa were, they could do nothing against the great dark monarchs. At most, they would be able to drag things out a little.

Hence, all the elders were cooperative during the assembly and no unexpected hiccups happened. Qianye slowly gained a clearer picture of the situation after listening to their reports.

This attack was a proactive effort by the Attawa to drive the Evernight people out for good—but they ended up losing the fight. The Attawa started off with their elites charging in to self-detonate while the ordinary soldiers followed up to restrain the enemy. The giant wargods came in last to deliver the final blow.

The problem was that their strategy was too old, and the Evernight faction wasn’t inflexible. Experts from the other side who managed to come into the inner world were the elites among the elites.

The Attawa assault was immediately discovered. Under Pentheus’ command, the Evernight experts assumed a defensive formation and turned the fight into a fort defense.

No primitive tribe could beat a high-tech civilization in fortified defenses. The Evernight side didn’t field their great dark monarchs at all. They merely relied on focused fire to mow down half of the incoming enemy.

The scattered self-detonations could do little against the Evernight defensive lines. All they did was leave the ordinary warriors behind exposed to the suppressive fire.

The battle became a slaughter from the very beginning.

The Attawa moved at lightning speed, but the Evernight warriors were counts at the very least. With an origin gun in hand, they could follow at least a dozen targets and hit three of them. Some of the Attawa jumped high up into the air and tried charging in from above, only to end up being blasted into sieves.

Even the giant wargods didn’t get the opportunity to charge into the enemy formation.

The offensive soon broke down. Fortunately, the Evernight side didn’t try too hard during the chase. It looked more like they were trying to drive the Attawa back home.

After learning of the situation, Qianye didn’t know what to do for the time being.

The Evernight side had fought this battle fair and square, relying only on their superior firepower to defeat the Attawa. Two of the three attacking tribes had been crippled at this point.

The only way out was to work with the Empire and borrow their heavenly monarchs to make up for the lack of top-tier experts. That would’ve been a perfect combination capable of stemming the Evernight assault and buying some time.

The Profundity Monarch was clearly around, yet he had chosen to only watch from the sidelines. It was clear that they intended to watch until the Attawa and Evernight had finished fighting to the bitter end.

Qianye felt a surge of anger. Was the Profundity Monarch so certain that he would stand on their side?

With a loud crack, Qianye’s chair shattered into several pieces and broke down into fine powder. Only then did he realize that his origin power had leaked out due to his emotions. Glancing at the shocked expression of the people around him, Qianye quickly recollected himself. Now that there was no longer a chair, he simply stood up and conjured a map of the holy land with a wave of his hand.

“We must not let the black demons taint the holy mountain, nor can we let them obtain the treasures left behind by the gods! However, the black demons are powerful and difficult to deal with. That’s why my suggestion is to issue a call to war, asking all the other tribes to assemble here. We will then lay down a defensive formation and stop the black demons before they can enter the area.”

The defensive line Qianye had settled on did not give them any special advantage. It was, however, close enough to the holy land that they could keep their defenses consolidated. The landscape advantage wasn’t going to do much against the experts of Evernight.

The elders did not have any experience with large-scale wars, much less against Evernight. All their fights against the dark races had ended in grave losses. They would’ve been utterly defeated if it weren’t for Qianye.

Fortunately, the Attawa elders didn’t crave power all that much. No one objected to Qianye’s suggestion.

Qianye knew that the plan was just a stopgap measure. Even with the battlefront contracted, the dark race experts could still field their dukes, princes, and great dark monarchs to whittle away at the defenses. In truth, Qianye would not be able to launch a surprise attack if the great dark monarchs remained on high alert.

Qianye decided that he would have to visit the Empire’s camp and discuss things with the Profundity Monarch. This was related to the survival of the entire human race, not something that could be decided rashly.

Having reached a decision, Qianye left the holy land and made for the Empire’s approximate location.

…

A small encampment had just appeared in the depths of a certain deep valley. From a distance, this place looked no different from any other part of the inner world. Only after closing in would one notice the clear aura at the center of the valley—the place was almost like an immortal paradise.

Eight unique and naturally formed stone pillars stood at the center of the camp. There was a different painting hanging from each of them—they depicted lush trees and natural scenery that almost blended in with the seams of the world itself. They were no doubt works of divine art.

Moreover, the eight stone pillars contained an origin array in each of them. The combination of all eight formed yet a bigger formation.

At this moment, a gush of springwater appeared out of nowhere, flowing down the pillars and into the small pond below. Lotus flowers danced in the wind, stirring up ripples on the clear water surface.

Two men could be seen playing chess near the pond.

On one side was the Profundity Monarch. He had been holding his piece for a fairly long time, lost in deep contemplation. Finally, he played the piece and glanced up at the Pointer Monarch.

The old man was surprised at the move. He then said with a frown, “Your move puts me in a difficult position. Should I respond or should I not respond… hm…”

The Profundity Monarch smiled. “This is how it goes when leading armies, the entire aim is to make it difficult for the enemy to decide.”

The Pointer Monarch picked up a piece. Instead of playing it, he asked, “Your move isn’t the best, though. There’s one other move that would have ensured your victory, and you probably know it. Why did you not play it?”

The Profundity Monarch stroked his beard. “That move is definitely the best under normal circumstances, but my current move is better in throwing the opponent off. It might just be enough to put him in a hopeless situation and draw out a wrong play. When that time comes, the best move from before might not be the best move after all.”

“But if I push back forcibly, you’ll be in a passive position.”

Profundity laughed. “How can a young kid possess your level of calmness? Besides, how will we know his bottom line if we don’t force him? If worse comes to worst, I’ll apologize to him. There’s nothing to lose for the Empire.”