In the New World, outside the Empire’s forward base, countless floating ships were descending, unloading supplies and troops continuously. Inside the main building of the base, Wei Po Tian whistled at the sight of the soldiers being reorganized, saying, “Big move! When did the old men in the military start spending so lavishly?”
Beside him, Song Zi Ning was hunched over a desk, studying a map. Hearing Wei Po Tian’s words, he asked casually, “What big move?”
“Come and see for yourself. This time, they’ve mobilized dozens of floating ships.”
Song Zi Ning didn’t look up, simply saying, “Oh, that. It’s not much. The Evernight side has also started using airships to deploy resources and troops. Although our ships can only last seven days in the New World, I heard it’s worse on their side; their transport ships will be scrap after five days. So, in terms of endurance, we still have the upper hand.”
“Not the ships, but the people. This time, they’ve sent at least two, no, three thousand reinforcements!”
“What?” Song Zi Ning was shocked, rising to look out the window. His face changed as he said, “How could there be so many? That doesn’t make sense!”
Wei Po Tian was a bit puzzled, asking, “Isn’t more reinforcement a good thing? We can finally make up for the losses from the previous battles, with even some left over!”
Song Zi Ning’s face darkened, “It’s not that simple. The amount of Holy Tree sap we have determines how many troops we can maintain in the New World.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Song Zi Ning glared at him, “Don’t just think about fighting all the time. Sometimes you need to use your brain! Have you thought about where the Holy Tree sap comes from?”
“We have some here, Qian Ye gives us some, and other places…”
“There are no other places. The Holy Tree sap comes from Qin Continent and Yong Continent. How could it suddenly increase? The Empire sending in so many reinforcements at once can only mean one thing: they withheld the medicine meant for Qian Ye.”
Wei Po Tian was stunned, scratching his head, “Is that so? But… it’s all against the dark races anyway. Does it matter which side has more troops?”
Song Zi Ning’s face remained grim, “If that were the case, it would be fine, since more troops are always better. But if they indeed cut off Qian Ye’s share, the number of reinforcements should be far greater.”
“Is this still too little?” Wei Po Tian was still confused.
“Of course it is! Qian Ye has already sent hundreds of thousands of troops into the New World!”
Wei Po Tian was taken aback, “Has he become so powerful now?”
Song Zi Ning sighed, “If my guess is right, it’s because he’s developing too fast, and he’s now being targeted.”
Wei Po Tian’s brows furrowed in anger, “Who has the nerve to do that? I’ll beat him to a pulp!”
Song Zi Ning retorted, “Think about it. With Qian Ye’s background and strength, who would dare to go against him and be afraid of someone like you, the Marquis of Broken Sky?”
Wei Po Tian smiled, “You finally remembered my title!”
“Your damn title! Who came up with such a ridiculous title?” Song Zi Ning cursed, “Go pack your things, we’re leaving!”
“Leaving? What for?”
“The reinforcements are here, so we’re going to fight. We’re heading to Jun Du to continue our advance into the heart of the dark races!”
Seeing Song Zi Ning’s anger, Wei Po Tian became a bit uneasy, muttering, “Fighting is just fighting. But what if Qian Ye gets hurt? Will we just leave him to fend for himself?”
Song Zi Ning turned back, “We’ll keep pushing forward. The harder we hit the dark races, the more we help Qian Ye.”
“Why?” Wei Po Tian truly didn’t understand.
Song Zi Ning said calmly, “The few people in the Empire who can stop Qian Ye, I have a pretty good idea. No matter if I’m right or wrong, if we hit the dark races hard enough, those people will be forced to act. In the New World, the human race faces less hostility than the dark races. If we can’t even fight under such circumstances, then we might as well give up our reputation.”
Wei Po Tian finally understood, exclaiming, “You mean the Emperor…”
“Shut up!” Song Zi Ning stopped him, walking away. Wei Po Tian scratched his head, feeling annoyed, and stomped his foot, “So what? When I become a Divine General, let’s see what you can do to me!”
While grumbling, he moved quickly, rushing away.
Half a day later, the large army at the forward base began to assemble, boarding the floating ships and forming a massive transport fleet, heading towards the distant horizon.
When the floating fleet crossed the vast distance and arrived at the entrance of the Meisfield clan, Zhao Jun Du was commanding the construction of a temporary fortress. The fortress was built very close to the gate, covering the entire range within its cannon range. He was determined to block the Meisfield clan back to their lair.
In front of the temporary fortress, there were signs of battle everywhere, with many corpses of Meisfield warriors yet to be cleaned up. In the center of the battlefield, the wreckage of several floating ships was still burning.
Song Zi Ning disembarked from the floating ship and went to the fortress wall, standing next to Zhao Jun Du. Glancing forward, he said, “They seem to want to use the wreckage of the floating ships to build a defense line. It looks like they’re not giving up easily!”
Zhao Jun Du looked at him, saying flatly, “Why are you here?”
“If I don’t come, how can I help you?”
“Help me with what?”
Song Zi Ning said, “Why are you so angry?”
Zhao Jun Du looked into the distance, saying, “I heard someone did something underhanded, making Xiao Wu provoke someone he shouldn’t have. Now, trouble is coming. What should I do?”
Song Zi Ning was silent for a moment before saying, “I did plan something, but it was for his good. In the end, the result isn’t bad.”
“You call this a good result?”
“If not for my planning, things would be worse.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
Song Zi Ning spread his hands, “There’s no choice, you have to believe me. There are some things you will never hear from me.”
Zhao Jun Du stared at Song Zi Ning, his pupils faintly glowing a strange, dark red. However, the killing intent soon subsided, and his gaze softened, “I’ll trust you this once.”
Song Zi Ning smiled, “When it comes to my brothers, I’ve never let anyone down.”
Zhao Jun Du exhaled, “What do we do now?”
Song Zi Ning glanced at the silent gate, “Abandon this place.”
“Abandon it?” Zhao Jun Du was puzzled.
“Can the Meisfields really break through?”
Zhao Jun Du raised an eyebrow, “I’m just waiting for them to come!”
“But why would they force themselves here? The Evernight controls multiple continents, meaning there are multiple gates. Just the Meisfields alone have at least four. Why insist on this one?”
Zhao Jun Du said coolly, “If we don’t reclaim this gate, the Meisfields will lose face completely.”
“Logically, yes. But the benefits of the New World are enormous. If the reward is significant enough, they might not care about their reputation.”
Seeing Zhao Jun Du frown, Song Zi Ning added, “They’re pinning us here with the cost of a continent while advancing further. If we stay, the dark races will take the New World, and we’ll lose more than we gain.”
“What are the dark races looking for in the New World?”
Song Zi Ning shook his head, “The New World is too vast. My divination skills can only hint at a vague notion. But one thing is certain: the New World’s gates were opened by the Three Holy Mountain Overlords, and that’s why the world holds such intense malice towards the Overlords of Evernight.”
“In other words, there’s something hidden in this world that the dark races desperately want to obtain.”
Song Zi Ning said, “No matter what they’re looking for, we must stop them. Qian Ye is alone, and the gate in Yong Continent is far from us. Just the Mossar werewolves alone will be a challenge. Therefore, concentrating our forces here isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The harder we hit the dark races, the less attention they’ll pay to Qian Ye.”
Zhao Jun Du took out a map, drawing an arc, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s continue. If we follow this direction, we’re likely to find another gate of the dark races.”
Song Zi Ning shook his head, “That’s too slow.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“Whatever is hidden in this world, it’s probably in the central region. The focal point of this arc is the center of the world. We don’t need to worry about the dark races. If we advance in this direction, they’ll likely find us.”
“Good idea! Do you want to die?”
Song Zi Ning said, “I’m more afraid of death than anyone.”
“Then consider, what will we encounter in this direction? Royal Dukes, perhaps even the Overlords, like the Spider Empress of the Demons.”
Song Zi Ning pointed upwards, “They’ll have someone to deal with them. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Zhao Jun Du said coolly, “I used to be confident, but now, I’m not so sure.”
This was a clear reference to the unreliability of the Emperors. Song Zi Ning understood.
He didn’t push it, simply saying, “If it were before, it’d be uncertain. But now, the one below the New World is clearly enraged. Under such circumstances, the Overlords of Evernight should be even more cautious. Unless they’re more fearless than us.”
Zhao Jun Du snorted, “I’ve never heard of a fearless Overlord.”
“There was one, King An’duria, the Black Wing. He dared to challenge the Queen of the Night.”
“So he died,” Zhao Jun Du said succinctly.
Song Zi Ning laughed, “True. So, are we fighting or not?”
“Of course, but before we do, we need to report our battle plan, and send multiple copies.”
Song Zi Ning looked at him, clucking his tongue, “Looks like the fire hasn’t burnt you to ashes yet!”
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