Because of intelligence errors this time, Yongye (Eternal Night) directly lost an important resource star. The Zerg race also had armies in the hundreds of trillions perish and collapse in that moment. Most importantly, Yongye's face was damaged, its reputation severely tarnished, leaving it utterly disgraced. Once they free their hands in the future, they will inevitably settle this debt with Hydra.
To put it plainly, the Dark Saintess Dingdang had already passed down the information, but Hydra, trying to be clever, temporarily suppressed it, intending to wait and observe. In the midst of that hesitation, disaster struck. In the end, it was their Hydra faction that made the critical mistake.
Almost all responsibility now fell squarely upon Hydra.
The outcome could not possibly be good.
To die might even be considered a luxury.
Watching Xie Tian leave,
a ruthless expression appeared on the Red Robe's face. He said coldly:"Brothers, this time we've committed a grave mistake. If we cannot find a way to make amends, then I fear that in the future none of us will come to a good end. Now, let us all speak—how can we make this right?"
"The Great Yi has ascended to Immortal Court, guarded outwardly by the Iron-Blood Great Wall, inwardly equipped with Heavenly Eye detection, with the Star Net spread throughout. It has been forged into something like an iron barrel, truly watertight. Within Great Yi's borders, if we attempt any schemes, it will be harder than ascending the heavens. We have but a pitiful few dark seeds there. Great Yi has already risen. No matter how we plot or scheme, it is extremely difficult to shake them. The recent incident with the God-Demon Well was already a precedent. If we make any further moves, we must avoid targeting Great Yi."
The Green Robe spoke bitterly.
In facing Great Yi, they had never gained the slightest advantage. Only they themselves knew the taste of such failure.
"Indeed. We must shift our target and redefine our strategy. The Demon Calamity has already begun. This is our Hydra's best chance to act—absolutely not one we can afford to miss. To atone with merit may not be a bad path. If we can establish greater achievements through this, then perhaps Yongye, in recognition of those merits, will tolerate us."
The White Robe also nodded in agreement.
"What if we were to directly submit ourselves to Great Yi?"
Suddenly, Black Robe's eyes flashed with light, and without any warning, he voiced this shocking suggestion.
The words fell—and the entire grand hall went silent. All eyes fixed instantly upon him. The surrounding air seemed to freeze solid.
"Black Robe, what nonsense are you speaking? Take those words back!"
Red Robe rebuked him sharply.
"Such thoughts must never arise. Have you forgotten who we are? Moreover, this is a war between two worlds. Yongye still holds the upper hand. Do you truly believe the Eternal World can reverse defeat into victory before Yongye? Beware a single misguided thought becoming a regret for eternity."
Green Robe also spoke to stop him.
Such a dangerous notion could not be entertained. If betrayal truly occurred, then all of Hydra would be utterly annihilated by Yongye. Yongye was never benevolent—each of them brutal beyond measure. Their methods against traitors would be unimaginably cruel.
"You misunderstand. What I mean is—since we cannot infiltrate from the outside, then we should blend ourselves in and corrode them from within. I am not a fool. The Eternal World will ultimately fall, returning beneath Yongye's dominion. Even if my brain were broken, I would never choose the Eternal World over Yongye.
"My proposal is that we feign surrender to Great Yi. Of course, to avoid any mishaps, I alone will shoulder this risk. Apart from the nine of us, no one else will know. To betray, I must make it look like a true betrayal. Only thus might I win Great Yi's trust. Even if I cannot, in the face of my supposed submission, Great Yi will still have to think thrice. Even if they do not trust me, merely entering Great Yi itself would already be a form of success."
Black Robe's eyes gleamed.
His words, however, carried a righteous tone, placing himself upon a higher moral ground.
The others fell silent, sinking into deep thought.
If one could not shake them from the outside, then rot them from within. Sometimes, if one path fails, a different one might bring an entirely different result. From the outside, Great Yi might be impervious, but from the inside, perhaps not.
The prerequisite was being able to integrate into Great Yi's system.
"The chances of success seem slim."
White Robe said hesitantly.
"If I do not enter Hell, who will?"
Black Robe declared resolutely.
"Very well. In that case, perhaps we may attempt it. However, we must not place all our hopes on this. For the other realms of the Eternal World, we must also begin moving. We must seize the timing of this Demon Calamity, when fate itself favors us, and throw the Eternal World into chaos."
"The many dynasties within the Eternal World's realms must be thrown into disorder—whether human dynasties or foreign dynasties, they all must fall into chaos. Only then will they be unable to resist the Demon Calamity, only then will its destructive power be maximized. This time, we shall split our efforts into two goals. It is time for the Eternal World to learn that we Hydra are not to be trifled with."
Red Robe declared decisively.
Black Robe's proposal was one direction, but it could never be their sole reliance. You cannot put all your eggs in one basket.
In the Eternal World.
Not long after the God-Demon Well opened, countless images suddenly appeared in the void.
There were images of the God-Demon Well opening, with innumerable mushroom houses sprouting across Hive Star. There were scenes within the Well, where an Evil God seized the head of the Heavenly Poison Holy Mother, only to be struck by the remnant true spirit within the severed head, detonating its natal altar, perishing together.
These images made the meaning clear to all who saw them.
"Great Yi has opened the God-Demon Well and already waged war against Yongye. They have engaged in great battle with Yongye, and even a Dao-Proving expert such as the Heavenly Poison Holy Mother fell, destroying her true spirit at the cost of her life to drag down an Evil God of Yongye with her. Truly admirable and lamentable."
Within the Great Qin Sacred Court, Ying Zheng's deep eyes revealed no emotion as he looked at the scenes in the void, his gaze also turning toward Great Yi's direction.
Toward Great Yi, he did not feel they were unattainable or impossible to surpass. Great Yi merely stood at the crest of the era's wave.
Great Qin was not inferior. Moreover, Great Qin held no shortage of talent. Recently, he had even discovered a way to remedy their population shortage. He had obtained a most special treasure: the Mirror of Time. This mirror could alter the flow of time within a certain range.
By sparing no cost to cultivate it to the level of an Innate Spirit Treasure, its ability to control time flow became even more formidable.
Of course, this time manipulation could only occur within a limited area, not the entire Eternal World. Even Innate Supreme Treasures could not accomplish that. But it could alter the flow within a Small Thousand World.
For example, in a Small Thousand World, time could be accelerated by three thousandfold. Meaning that in one year of the Eternal World, three thousand years would pass within that Small Thousand World. Such a flow rate was utterly terrifying.
In one hundred years, at least three generations could be born and raised. Not to mention three thousand years. With three thousand years to breed and multiply, the population would explode exponentially.
Finding Small Thousand Worlds was not difficult in the Eternal World. Many realms contained secret realms attached to the Eternal World, connected yet relatively independent, effectively independent worlds. In the territory governed by Great Qin, naturally such a secret realm existed. They had even found one suitable for human survival and reproduction, named the Nine Provinces Secret Realm.
The realm was not too large, just a Small Thousand World, yet it was beautiful, fertile, and fit for life.
After obtaining the Mirror of Time, Ying Zheng immediately merged it with the Nine Provinces Secret Realm, taking control of its temporal flow. He quickly transferred a vast number of human civilians into it, along with capable officials of Great Qin to administer it.
The population sent inside exceeded ten billion, half male and half female.
Enormous amounts of grain and supplies were also transported in.
With time flowing so quickly, to gain adequate population would require enormous resources. Food and supplies could not be lacking in the slightest.
Most importantly, the secret realm had not yet been affected by the Demon Calamity. Those people sent in were not only meant to reproduce, but also to farm and cultivate vast amounts of grain. Great Qin had already begun to suffer from the Calamity's effects. According to the Agricultural School's investigations, decreased harvests were inevitable—and the reduction would not be small. Thus, preparing fallback options and storing food was already an urgent matter.
This secret realm had become one of Great Qin's greatest hidden cards.
Its location was the utmost secret, known only to a select few.
"Send orders to General Wu An, commanding the Killing God Army to march to the Great Yi Immortal Court. Deliver the national letter to Emperor Yi and enter the God-Demon Well. Proceed to the front lines and wage war against Yongye."
After pondering, Ying Zheng issued this decree decisively.
Opening the God-Demon Well—this was the first instance of the epoch, the first battle of counterattack against Yongye. No matter what, Great Qin could not lag behind. How could such a grand event lack Qin's presence?
Would they let themselves fade into obscurity?
The Killing God Army numbered only one million, but every soldier had crawled up from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. In Great Qin, their very name was enough to make others tremble.
In the Great Xia Sacred Court, an edict was issued:
"Transmit the order—command the Dragon Sparrow Army to march to the Great Yi Immortal Court, and proceed into the God-Demon Well."
In the Great Shang Sacred Court, Emperor Xin issued his decree:
"Order the Grand Preceptor to lead the Demon-Suppressing Army to the Great Yi Immortal Court, to resist Yongye's armies."
From among the human dynasties came decree after decree, all issuing commands. Facing this war, none hesitated to act. Perhaps Great Yi had never requested aid, but as fellow humans, as members of the Eternal World's side, how could they shrink back? Any retreat would be cowardice.
Moreover, participating in the war—its rewards would hardly be lacking.
So it was with the human race, and so it was with the other races as well.
(End of this chapter)