In the war hall, generals from Tai Long Guard, Golden Armor, Silver Armor, and Cyan Armor, along with military advisors and other figures, all the leaders from the Half-Steep Star Domain gathered here.
The Purple Armor Marshal stood above the hall, his brows tightly knitted, while a silence pervaded below, and everyone wore a worried expression.
"Marshal, should we give the order?" The elder holding a scepter approached; he was the military advisor of the National Guard of the Half-Steep Star Domain, only at the White Hole Level in strength, but having assisted the Purple Armor Marshal for tens of millions of years, his status in everyone’s mind was on par with the Purple Armor Marshal.
"Heshi, is there no way?" The Purple Armor Marshal looked at the elder with a hopeful gaze.
The elder shook his head, letting out a long sigh: "The White Hole Level battlefield has already suffered its third defeat. Losses on the Wind Forest side are only one-tenth of ours. After three wars, the strength on the White Hole Level battlefield has been greatly diminished... We can only abandon it."
The timeline traces back to two years ago when the previously peaceful war suddenly became turbulent. First, mysterious powerhouses appeared on the Mixed Universe Realm battlefield, incredibly powerful, and continuously drove back the Mixed Universe Realm forces of Tai Long Cosmic Country.
Wars between the Mixed Axias Realm are grand, but rarely deadly. Each person in the Mixed Universe Realm has risked their lives over long ages to eventually reach that realm, naturally possessing many life-preserving means. Although Tai Long’s Mixed Universe Realm forces were repeatedly beaten back, they did not suffer significant casualties.
However, once suppressed and the starry regions occupied, the area where the Mixed Universe Realm could operate became notably smaller, and the enemy organized into a unified Mixed Universe Realm army, not scattered, led by several powerhouses, attacking with well-ordered commands.
Most importantly, the enemy seemed to know every move of Tai Long’s Mixed Universe Realm forces, clearly understanding their locations and actions. Several Tai Long Mixed Universe Realm powerhouses were thus pursued to the outskirts of a temporary town and were killed, completely falling.
This act provoked the anger of the Tai Long Cosmic Country, leading to fierce battles. However, whether in terms of intelligence or strength, Tai Long Cosmic Country was far inferior to Wind Forest Cosmic Country. In the end, after several wars, they were forced to withdraw from the temporary town, return to the war headquarters, and announce the defeat of the Mixed Universe Realm battlefield.
The portal to the four battlefields, the one belonging to the Mixed Universe Realm, quietly disappeared, never to be the same again.
Losing a battlefield of one level cannot decide the final outcome; there are still three other battlefields: the Void Level, Black Hole Level, and White Hole Level.
Yet the situation for Tai Long Cosmic Country was particularly dire.
In only a year, the White Hole Level battlefield was in crisis.
Like the Mixed Universe Realm battlefield, mysterious people also appeared on the White Hole Level battlefield. This time, the Purple Armor Marshal personally deployed, going to the White Hole Level battlefield to oversee and command the war, where he also encountered these mysterious figures.
They were clothed in black robes, surrounded by black mist, wielding black giant hammers, black giant axes, black scythes, black chains... Everything was black.
There were only eleven of them, some short, some brawny, some giant-like, some the size of ordinary humans, but each one was shrouded in the black robe, concealing their faces.
The Purple Armor Marshal sent people to investigate their origins, only to find that they seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, with no trace or clue to investigate.
The black-robed figures seemed to sense the Purple Armor Marshal’s probing, establishing a Shield Array to block his spiritual sense, which alarmed the Purple Armor Marshal.
With mastery over all Tai Long’s powerhouses’ movements, capable of deploying arrays to block spiritual consciousness, mysterious origins... All these things made the Purple Armor Marshal uneasy.
Soon, the Purple Armor Marshal’s concerns were confirmed.
In three consecutive wars, the Purple Armor Marshal directed operations brilliantly, nearly crushing the enemy each time, but, surprisingly, Wind Forest Cosmic Country always managed, at the crucial moment, to send out an elite group of White Hole Level powerhouses, forcing Tai Long Cosmic Country to retreat, disheartened.
Once could be a mistake, twice a coincidence, but thrice was anything but ordinary.
After three wars, Tai Long Cosmic Country suffered heavy White Hole Level losses, unable to continue the fight, which is why so many leaders were gathered in this war hall to make a decision.
To abandon or to hold firm.
To abandon would mean losing both the White Hole and Mixed Universe Realm battlefields, putting Tai Long Cosmic Country in an extremely passive position. If another battlefield were declared lost, the war headquarters would have to immediately withdraw from the Half-Steep Star Domain, and it would henceforth belong to Wind Forest Cosmic Country!
"Gentlemen, do you... also choose to abandon?" On the hall, the Purple Armor Marshal asked heavily.
Everyone was silent, no one answered.
No one wants to abandon the war; to do so would mean losing territory, ceding star domains, which concerns not just a star domain but the face of a nation.
Yet the situation of this war has become very clear; aside from abandoning it, there truly is no second path.
Seeing this, the Purple Armor Marshal already knew their answer.
Taking a deep breath, the Purple Armor Marshal’s face was solemn as he said each word clearly: "Announce it, abandon the White Hole Level battlefield, all troops to withdraw from the White Hole Level battlefield, the order takes effect immediately!"
With these words, the hall was filled only with soft sighs.
Soon, all of Tai Long’s White Hole Level personnel withdrew, and the portal to the four battlefields disappeared once again.
"Alas, the outcome is determined, Half-Steep cannot be defended."
"Wind Forest came prepared, they’re too powerful. Pray, hoping they will pause the war after capturing Half-Steep."
The soldiers who witnessed this scene shook their heads in disappointment, sighed softly, and some even started praying that the Wind Forest Cosmic Country would stop the war.
The conclusion of a border war often symbolizes the onset of another, as for neighboring cosmic countries, competing for the star domain’s territory is necessary, and so is war.
But now the Wind Forest Cosmic Country holds absolute dominance. If the war in the Half-Steep Star Domain ends, with Wind Forest residing there and launching another war on the next star domain, what can the current Tai Long Cosmic Country use to resist?
However, sometimes the victorious cosmic country won’t continue the war, because it’s a considerable drain on their national strength. Moreover, having just occupied the star domain and without stable development, everything is still in the initial stages, launching another war at this time could sometimes lead to defeat.
The defeat on the White Hole Level battlefield had just concluded not long ago, the Purple Armored Marshal was focusing on the Black Hole Level battlefield when suddenly a subordinate reported, the Purple Armored Marshal waved his hand, "Enter."
"Marshal, the Void Level battlefield was lost." As soon as the subordinate entered, he just said one sentence, and the Purple Armored Marshal stood up abruptly.
"What?" The Purple Armored Marshal was shocked; the Void Level battlefield had always been very peaceful, without any true large-scale war in recent years. How could it be a defeat?
"Just now, the temporary town was uprooted, the defending Golden Armor soldiers suffered a ’Godslaying Pearl’ attack, severely wounded, and the teleportation array was directly erased."
Upon hearing this, the Purple Armored Marshal was stunned.
Erased teleportation array?
Thinking of this, his face immediately darkened: "Bring those two Golden Armor soldiers here."
Soon, two Golden Armor soldiers with pale faces who had just recovered their bodies walked in.
The two knelt on one knee respectfully, but their eyes still held the terrified expression of having narrowly escaped death.
"Tell me what happened," the Purple Armored Marshal said solemnly.
One Golden Armor soldier spoke: "Marshal, this war was extraordinarily bizarre."
"One year ago, Sha Wu and I noticed that the number of Void Level individuals in the temporary town began to decrease, but we didn’t pay attention to it."
"Half a year ago, a Void Level soldier of Tai Long was chased to the outskirts of the temporary town by the enemy. Sha Wu saved him; such incidents often happen and didn’t seem suspicious."
"But just recently, tens of thousands of enemy Void Level individuals suddenly surged outside the temporary town, a blatant provocation. Naturally, Tai Long soldiers couldn’t ignore such arrogance at their doorsteps, and all charged out immediately."
"We had a hundred thousand soldiers in Tai Long’s temporary town, holding an absolute advantage in numbers. When war broke out, chaos ensued. Sha Wu and I guarded the entrance of the temporary town, watching the war."
"At that moment, a Tai Long soldier, covered in blood and heavily injured, approached. We immediately activated the Energy Barrier to let him in, but just then, his face suddenly revealed a strange smile. As he got closer, we discovered he was holding a black pearl in his hand... it was this Black Pearl that unleashed a terrifying thunderstorm, sweeping through. Sha Wu and I suffered serious injuries trying to resist it."
"Later, we realized it was a ’Godslaying Pearl’, and the enemy dared to use such a means, using the Godslaying Pearl against us. The strangest thing was that the one attacking us was actually a Tai Long soldier!"
By this point, the Purple Armored Marshal understood the whole incident.
He frowned deeply; even after so many years of fierce battles, he had never seen such a method.
The Godslaying Pearl is an extremely expensive mass destructive item, capable of harming White Hole Level individuals.
But the Godslaying Pearl is also extremely impractical. Not to mention it requires a long period to initiate, even if thrown, Void Level individuals can quickly evacuate its thunderstorm range, only suffering minor injuries, posing no threat whatsoever to Black Hole Level or White Hole Level individuals.
In wars, some have attempted to use the Godslaying Pearl, resulting in nothing — no one was killed by it.
But this time was different, using human lives to trigger the Godslaying Pearl, and the key point was, that this person turned out to be a Tai Long soldier!
In border wars, to prevent betrayal, oaths had been inscribed on the Iron Token long ago. To attempt a defection among soldiers, one would need to bypass the Cosmic Law, which only Celestial God Realm individuals could achieve.
Now, such a situation occurring on the Void Level battlefield left the Purple Armored Marshal utterly puzzled.