Chapter 425: Chapter 283 Various Responses

Nezha still felt resentful, always believing that if he just persisted a bit longer, he could definitely turn the tide of defeat around.

Li Jing, however, sighed and said, "In the end, the big picture of the battle must fall on the shoulders of those myriad Heavenly Soldiers. They’ve already lost the strength to charge. Even if you fought back the Great Sage of the Demon Race, what then? The Demon Clan isn’t just this one Great Sage."

"Yet, to retreat like this will dampen morale," Nezha argued.

"Today, we were only caught off guard by the opponent, leading to a lack of strategy in advancing or retreating. Moreover, the enemy has been plotting for a long time. If we persist, I’m afraid there will be too many casualties. It would be better to regroup afterward. Our grand army, mighty and vast, will be enough to wipe them out," said Li Jing with confidence.

"Fighting a war is like playing cards. When facing an opponent like the Demon Clan, it’s a process of seeing who shows their hand first. Whoever reveals their hand first loses the initiative."

Upon hearing this, Nezha no longer insisted and, with a word of leave, departed, his face still showing his dissatisfaction. Ever since arriving in Luzhou in the North, he felt he hadn’t fought a truly exhilarating battle.

It was as if he was constantly being led by the nose by the enemy, exhaustingly pursued and yet inadvertently causing the deaths of numerous Heavenly Soldiers and Generals—this sight made the renowned war marshal of the Three Realms feel extremely dejected.

As the sun set and the moon rose, the land that had echoed with cries of killing gradually returned to calm, with both sides returning to their respective positions, silently licking their wounds.

The day’s fierce battle caused heavy casualties on both sides. The densely packed bodies lay strewn across the ground, and a silver moon rose from the horizon, casting a layer of halos on these corpses, desolate yet tragically beautiful.

Shituo King and Peng Demon King, accompanied by a host of Demon Kings, inspected their domain. Seeing the scene not far off, they couldn’t help but sigh deeply, "Such fine young men. They should have been enjoying their lives, not having their precious lives buried here."

They were Demon Kings who had lived through countless years, witnessing the rise and fall of the Demon Race, and had grown accustomed to life and death. Yet, faced with such a fierce battle, they still felt a chill.

"Our warriors were impressive. Facing the attack of so many from the Heavenly Court, they managed to hold the line," said Peng Demon King with pride on his face.

This was the resiliency of the reborn Demon Clan, with the courage to face death head-on and the resolve to persist to the end. They were a race on the rise, and even the powerful Heavenly Court could not make them bow.

"But tomorrow is likely to be even harder!"

Everyone knew that although the Heavenly Court had suffered many deaths and injuries, for a mighty force that had ruled the Three Realms for many years, it had enough resources to persist in such a war. No one knew how much the Heavenly Court had accumulated over the years, but what was certain was that it was only the tip of the iceberg.

Yet, just this tip of the iceberg was already putting such immense pressure on the Demon Clan; they did not know where the future would lead them.

Everyone fell silent at once. Unbeknownst to them, a song began to drift from the Demon Clan’s encampment in Luzhou in the North—a song unique to the local Demon Clan, celebrating the preciousness of freedom.

Peng Demon King and Shituo King suddenly stood frozen. They did not speak, only listened quietly to the song that filled the land.

The song echoed throughout the encampment, soothing the shadows cast by the day’s fighting and gradually relaxing the strained hearts of the warriors. They needed to make the most of the time to rest, because an even more brutal battle awaited them the next day.

At the same time, the details of the day’s battle also reached the hands of the leaders on both sides.

"They have suffered greatly," Feng Jiu sighed softly.

Even without being on the battlefield herself, she could imagine the brutality of the front line, the grueling nature of battling a million Heavenly Soldiers.

Demon Master said softly, "The power of grenades is beyond our imagination. If possible, we should produce more at the Military Armament Department to alleviate the pressure on the battlefield as much as we can."

"I underestimated the depth of the Heavenly Court’s resources. If I hadn’t listened to your advice and that of Lin Fang, I’m afraid the Demon Clan of Luzhou in the North might have repeated the same mistakes of the past," Feng Jiu’s voice carried a trace of dread.

Only now did she realize that over the years, the Heavenly Court had grown into a colossal entity. It was somewhat difficult for the Demon Clan, which was still in need of restoration, to contend with it.

"It seems that it’s time to schedule an alliance with the Buddhist Sect," Feng Jiu resolved quietly.

She had always refused to cooperate with the Buddhist Sect because they didn’t always represent benevolence. Over the years, the number of monsters that they had enlightened was countless.

However, under the pressure from the Heavenly Court, she had to set aside these prejudices.

"Find an opportunity to meet with the Guanyin Bodhisattva to see what the Buddhist Sect proposes. After all, their situation is a mess too. Ever since Marx escaped, he has been causing trouble in Xiniu Continent," the Demon Master reminded.

That day, Guanyin, who had been travelling through Luzhou in the North, quietly entered the Demon Court. She had a long talk with the Demon Emperor and then secretly returned to Mount Ling, leaving no one any wiser about the agreement the two sides might have reached.

Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor quietly perused the reports submitted by Li Jing, which detailed the course of the battle, along with some of Li Jing’s views on the war.

As he read on, the Jade Emperor’s brow furrowed.

He set the report down gently and rubbed his forehead, speaking softly, "The battlefield up front is not going well, and the losses are heavy. Li Jing frankly said that the quick eradication of the Demon Clan is now impossible."

The Exorcist Great Saint, clothed in black, heard this and spoke with a complex tone, "After years of blood and fire, the Demon Clan has finally awakened."

Facing such circumstances, he didn’t know whether to feel joy or sorrow. Born into the Demon Clan, he had certain sentiments for them and naturally felt some joy seeing them rise. However, he had also formed a deep bond with the Jade Emperor, one of life and death loyalty, which inevitably put him in opposition to the Demon Clan.

"Yes, this race has finally stood up. The war this time might be difficult. Our strategic deployment must change. Contact some of All Demon Kings in secret. Tell them I can offer them the status and resources they desire, as long as they choose to stand with the Heavenly Court," the Jade Emperor instructed.

As opposed to his previous plan to sweep through Luzhou in the North with a thunderous force to completely crush the Demon Clan, he now decided to make some concessions to gain some internal assistance from their ranks.

The Demon Clan was no longer an entity the Heavenly Court could easily dominate. The best way forwards was to start from within, fragmenting the Demon Clan’s power, to maintain suppression.

"The sleeper agents I left within the Demon Clan have been thoroughly eliminated by the Demon Master, and it will be difficult to achieve that in the short term."

"Don’t worry, the duration of this war will exceed your imagination. You have plenty of time to plan," the Jade Emperor reassured.