Lu Yin no longer needed the Karmic Flame Sable, but the creature was still strong and had a power level of over 700,000. “Can we subdue it?”
The Second Nightking shook his head. “It’s very tenacious. Unless it’s suppressed by illusions at all times, it will find a way to escape.”
“Keep it under control for now,” Lu Yin said.
Lu Yin asked the Second Nightking to step away, and he then raised his hand and accessed his gadget to call Xu Qing.
Xu Qing had tried to call Lu Yin twice during his seclusion.
“Commander Xu Qing, were you looking for me?” Lu Yin asked in a relaxed tone.
Xu Qing indifferently replied, “Alliance Leader Lu, how has your recovery progressed?”
Lu Yin had gone into seclusion by publicly stating that he was recuperating from injuries. “Much better now. I’ll have to ask you to take care of me in the future, General. You have my thanks for going easy on me.”
“You won’t be so lucky next time,” Xu Qing coldly stated.
Lu Yin frowned. “Did you call me just for this, Commander?”
Xu Qing remained silent for a while. “I’ll cut to the chase: give me the Ghost Monkey and the Karmic Flame Sable, and I can retreat from Forested and Eastly Weaves.”
Lu Yin’s gaze suddenly grew sharp. “Are you offering me a deal?”
“You can see it that way, or as a threat,” Xu Qing said.
“What if I refuse?” Lu Yin’s voice dropped low.
Xu Qing sneered. “You won’t. Will you really send the full strength of your Great Eastern Alliance here just to save the people in the eastern weaves? Both Forested and Eastly Weaves are also places that you’re trying to protect, so if you refuse, we will resume slaughtering the humans in those two weaves. You can’t afford to refuse.”
Lu Yin’s eyes chilled. From the time that he had first stepped onto the battlefield, every time he spoke to Xu Qing, he had avoided mentioning the other eastern weaves. As soon as those places were brought up, Lu Yin would be put at a disadvantage. He genuinely wanted to send people to drive the astral beasts out of those other two weaves, but it simply was not realistic. The only option that Lu Yin had was to face Xu Qing head on in an attempt to gain a superior position and force the other astral beasts in the Outerverse to move to the battlefield to support Xu Qing’s forces.
However, they had already fought several battles, but Lu Yin had not managed to gain a clear advantage yet. Both sides had celebrated victories and suffered defeats. It was very difficult to force things to a point where Xu Qing had to recall all the astral beasts in the Outerverse to fight on the main battlefield.
Fortunately, there had not been too many deaths in the other two weaves. Liu Ye and Fei Hua had unexpectedly appeared and blocked the giant praying mantis, which had relieved Lu Yin of a great deal of anxiety. It was unexpected for Xu Qing to suddenly threaten Lu Yin with the other two weaves, but if the astral beasts in those places really did resume their previous activities, the number of human casualties would be shocking.
“The Celestial Beast Empire’s majestic commander-in-chief is actually trying to intimidate me by threatening me with the lives of ordinary humans. Is this really how you do things?” Lu Yin asked as he suppressed his anger.
Xu Qing sneered. “It’s true that ordinary people shouldn’t be involved in a war, but the fact is that we are the invaders.”
The commander stared into Lu Yin’s eyes, giving off a menacing vibe. “Lu Yin, don’t forget that this is an invasion, not a war. You and us are two different species. While I can abide by the most basic rules of warfare, I will not fight you while crippling myself. This is how I fight a war. Shui Chuanxiao hasn’t taught you enough yet.”
Lu Yin lifted his head and icily stared at him.
Xu Qing averted his eyes and suddenly calmed down and spoke casually, “It’s clearly impossible for us to simply threaten you and leave you in peace as you retreat, but I can promise to leave your Great Eastern Alliance untouched as long as you return the Ghost Monkey and the Karmic Flame Sable to us. You can even shatter the sable’s stellular vortex and cripple it so that it’s no longer any threat to you.”
“So you really just want the Ghost Monkey,” Lu Yin commented softly.
Xu Qing nodded. “That’s right. The Celestial Ice Phoenixes have specifically requested the Ghost Monkey’s return, so as long as you send him to me, I will immediately call all the astral beasts in Forested and Eastly Weaves to pull out. Additionally, they will never attack those places again unless we win this war.”
These conditions were not actually excessive. If Lu Yin still had the Ghost Monkey and did not know about the monkey’s importance to Skymender, he would have readily handed the beast over, as doing so would not really affect Lu Yin. However, the Ghost Monkey was not with Lu Yin, but even if he revealed this, there was no way that Xu Qing would believe such a thing.
“Your request isn’t overboard.” Lu Yin let out a long breath as he replied.
Xu Qing’s expression froze. “Do you agree?”
Lu Yin shook his head. “I must refuse.”
Xu Qing frowned. “Alliance Leader Lu, are you willing to sacrifice countless lives just for the Ghost Monkey? Then why did you even come here and fight this war?”
Lu Yin shrugged. “Whether you believe me or not, the Ghost Monkey isn’t with me anymore.”
“What did you say? The Ghost Monkey isn’t with you?” Feng Lin suddenly shouted. She had been next to Xu Qing this entire time.
Xu Qing quietly asked, “The Ghost Monkey isn’t with you?”
Lu Yin replied, “If he were, I’d happily hand him over, as he holds no value to me. But unfortunately, he was taken from me.”
“Impossible! The Ghost Monkey is your tamed beast! There’s a brand on your arm! We know this very well! How could he be taken from you?” Feng Lin demanded.
Lu Yin explained, “I was once captured by the Neohuman Alliance, and they were the ones who took the Ghost Monkey from me.”
“Who was it?” Feng Lin asked. She did not believe a word that Lu Yin said.
“The Seven Skygods’ Shaman God.”
His gadget remained silent for a while, but eventually, Lu Yin heard Xu Qing’s voice again. “Shaman God? Were you attacked by Shaman God back then?”
Lu Yin indifferently replied, “The Hall of Honor is already fully aware of this matter. The Neohuman Alliance wanted to transform me into a corpse king, but unfortunately for them, they failed. Still, Shaman God took the Ghost Monkey from me, and I don’t have any idea where he might be. If you want him, you’re going to have to go check with the Neohuman Alliance.”
“Do you think we’ll believe this?” Xu Qing retorted.
Lu Yin shrugged. “Believe it or don’t. I’m ready to start fighting on a second battlefield. You should have already investigated my Great Eastern Alliance, which means that you know that we’ve unified both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Not all of our Envoys have appeared yet. If you’re going to order the astral beasts in the other eastern weaves to start a massacre, all I can do is send the rest of our Envoys to those weaves. There are always casualties in war, and since I don’t want the civilians to get involved, all I can do is my best to protect them.
“Commander Xu Qing, I’ll see you on the battlefield.” Lu Yin then hung up.
Xu Qing had not been bluffing, as he was completely willing to send out orders to slaughter the regular humans. The astral beasts saw absolutely no value in human life.
At this time, of the Great Eastern Alliance’s Envoys, Emperor Luo, the Sea King, Madam Yōu, and Elder Lianxin still had not stepped onto the battlefield. There were also a few hidden powerhouses that Lu Yin had not used yet, such as Yuan Shi and the Yōu family’s Elder Su.
Lu Yin sent Emperor Luo and Elder Lianxin to Eastly Weave. Elder Lianxin was still unwilling to obey Lu Yin’s orders, so he sent her someplace far away from him, which made her quite happy.
The Sea King and Madam Yōu were both standing guard in Northcastle Weave.
The fighting resumed a few days later, and this time, it was the Great Eastern Alliance that launched the attack. Lu Yin had no choice but to take action.
At Xu Qing’s orders, astral beasts were constantly being sent out from the asteroid field into the eastern weaves, and there were no attempts to try to hide these movements at all. The astral beasts were blatantly threatening Lu Yin, and so all he could do was quickly launch an attack to try to suppress the Astral Beast Domain’s forces.
Fighting erupted again, and the asteroid field was shattered. If one looked at the entire asteroid field, they would discover that half the asteroids had been shattered into fragments that drifted through space. With all of the dust and debris, the fleet was completely unable to move without using the light beams to clear a bath.
This battle lasted for half a month. The two sides understood each other quite well, and without any outside assistance, it would be difficult for either side to achieve victory.
Xu Qing was particularly wary of Lu Yin. The astral beasts’ general was not afraid of Liu Huang or the Second Nightking, but he did fear people like Lu Yin who did not follow common sense.
This was why every time Lu Yin stepped onto the battlefield, Xu Qing would personally interfere, and his arrival would immediately force Lu Yin to retreat.
Unsurprisingly, Eastly Weave became a second battlefield. Despite Emperor Luo and Elder Lianxin’s lacking strength, they were still enough to handle the situation.
In Forested Weave, the giant praying mantis was still locked in a stalemate with Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Their battle had already been going on for two months.
Lu Yin had not expected the two Envoys to be willing to fight in Forested Weave for so long. After all, they were from the Perennial World, not the Fifth Mainland, and they also did not care about the lives of ordinary humans. The only possibility that Lu Yin could think of was that the two had been intimidated by the Hall of Honor or that they had made some sort of promise when they were allowed to leave Mt. Microcosms.
Another half a month passed, and the fighting still had not stopped at this time. This was not what Lu Yin had wanted when he initiated the second wave of fights, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep fighting.
On a screen that showed the overall situation of the battlefield, nearly half of the human fleet had turned red. This meant that about 70,000 transport vessels and 3,000 warships had been damaged. The death toll was something that Lu Yin did not dare to even look at.
More and more people in the Innerverse were becoming upset with Lu Yin, especially those from the eight great flowzones. Fortunately, the Great Eastern Alliance had already suppressed every flowzone in the Innerverse.
As for the Sixth Mainland, Lu Yin had already reached out to them several times using his status as an overseer. He hoped to have them take over the battlefield, and while they did not refuse, they also did not make any moves. It was clear that they intended to leave the Great Eastern Alliance right where they were.
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. From the moment he had first started cultivating, this was his first time being used by others in such a manner. He did not allow himself to be used as a tool by others without being able to resist.
Beep beep beep beep!
His gadget alerted him to a call from Wei Rong.
“How are things?” Lu Yin asked softly.
Wei Rong sounded exhausted. “Not well, but we have to continue for a while.”
“Don’t worry, but don’t let the Sixth Mainland know,” Lu Yin said.
Wei Rong agreed and hung up.
Lu Yin punched the console of the ship, his eyes cold. If the Sixth Mainland wanted to use him, then they could not blame him for dropping the courtesies. They would see who used who in the end.
The war in the asteroid field had already lasted for almost three months when the Great Eastern Alliance lost its first Envoy: Emperor Luo.
Lu Yin’s expression twisted when he received this report.
Emperor Luo and Elder Lianxin had been fighting in Eastly Weave, and he had died from an attack from the giant praying mantis.
The mantis had been held up by Liu Ye and Fei Hua in Forested Weave, but it had suddenly fled the weave and retreated towards Xu Qing, killing Emperor Luo in passing.
Emperor Luo had not possessed the strength to mount any sort of resistance and had been sliced to pieces.
Lu Yin let out a long breath. War meant people died, but he had not expected Emperor Luo to be the first to die.
What a pity.
There was a roar outside the spacecraft, and Chen Huang’s huge body flew by, tumbling as it flew. Lu Yin froze for a moment before hurrying out.
He saw Chen Huang off in the distance, coughing up blood. The colossal giant’s battle force had been ripped through, as had his flesh. He looked terrible.
Further away, Lu Yin saw an astral beast that had the form of a praying mantis, and it brandished two blades as it rushed towards Chen Huang. The giant’s pupils constricted. It was impossible for him to stop the astral beast.
Lu Yin was nervous, and his pupils transformed into runes as he attempted to reduce the mantis’s speed, but the difference in strength was too great. Even if Lu Yin managed to weaken the beast a bit, it was not enough to affect anything.
“The sole of my foot!” Lu Yin shouted. He was very anxious, as Chen Huang was about to die.
Suddenly, the entire battlefield shook, and countless stars appeared. Everyone reflexively froze, and the giant praying mantis that was attacking Chen Huang was blown back by the stars that had appeared. It fled with a shocking speed, as it had sensed danger.
