Forefather Celestial perked up.
As long as Jiang Chen was out of the picture, Winterdraw wouldn’t be able to withstand the demonic army, no matter how resilient their defenses were.
The human race was able to survive to this day only because of Jiang Chen. Without him, the human domain would be still as weak as they’d been a hundred years ago.
Their intelligence reports painted a clear enough picture.
Forefather Celestial felt the key to conquering the Divine Abyss Continent wasn’t the territories they claimed, but the pivotal human leaders they took out.
That was where the demons had gone wrong in the ancient war.
Since their invasion, they’d allowed greed to get the better of them when they glimpsed the wealth of the continent.
They’d formulated the wrong strategies, concentrating on expanding their territory as much as possible. The enlarged battlefield resulted in insufficient manpower and control.
Troubles followed in turn.
The continent was too vast for them to take over with their limited forces. Their focus in the ancient war had been wrong from the beginning. They couldn’t repeat the same mistake this time.
There was no need to expand the battlefield, nor did they need to occupy too many regions.
They simply had to seize key human strongholds and conquer the race step by step.
Without their leader, the human race would end up destroying itself. The demons wouldn’t even have to do anything then.
That was the conclusion that Forefather Celestial had come to while he’d been sealed over the past three hundred thousand years. Rather than pitting all of their forces and resources into attacking the human domain, it was better to eliminate the domain’s leader - Jiang Chen.
With him dead, the human domain would fall apart without a fight. Of that, the forefather was certain of.
There might be a few stragglers refusing to give up the fight, but they wouldn’t be able to achieve much without Jiang Chen.
Forefather Celestial’s brain flitted rapidly between thoughts.
He swept his solemn gaze over everyone in attendance and proclaimed slowly, “It is unlikely for Jiang Chen to have returned to the human domain in such a short period of time. This is our best opportunity to eliminate him. If we allow him to return to the human domain, our fight against the humans will drag on, which is something we don’t want given our lack of numbers.”
They were the invaders. They had no roots on the continent. Their remaining forces were limited to begin with after the ancient war. It wouldn’t be easy for them to complete their conquest.
If they fought the human domain with no regards for casualties, what were they going to do afterwards even if they did take over the domain? Would the remaining demons be enough to reign over the entire continent?
Highly unlikely!
That was why they had to minimize casualties.
“Please give the order, Forefather Celestial. I volunteer to lead the charge against the Eternal Sacred Land!” Forefather Goldenhowl was the first to speak up.
His hatred for Jiang Chen ran bone-deep. The young man had tricked him into allowing the total annihilation of the golden tribe. This was the worst possible humiliation he could’ve suffered!
He would never be able to hold his head high if he didn’t take his revenge. He had to kill Jiang Chen himself to resolve the knot in his heart.
“Count me in.” The remaining divine forefather from the t.i.tan tribe stood up as well.
“Count the winged tribe in!”
“The fire tribe too!”
The volunteers were the main troops who had come from the desolate wastelands. Their comrades had been taken out after entering Myriad Abyss. Naturally, they had more personal grievances against Jiang Chen.
Soon, eight divine forefathers had taken a stand, eager to join the fight. It was clear from their grit teeth how deep their hatred for Jiang Chen ran.
Pleased, Forefather Celestial nodded. “The young man is cunning. You might be strong enough to overpower him, but I’m still worried. Ole Third, accompany them on this mission. You’re the leader of this skirmish.”
Forefather Celestial turned to one of the celestial demon forefathers behind him. The demon ranked third among the forefathers in the tribe, which gave him the t.i.tle “the third forefather”.
The third forefather served as Forefather Celestial’s tactician. He was intelligent and cunning, and a good judge of situations. He was also adept at formulating battle plans.
Among the demonic race, he was one of the few clear-headed individuals. With him spearheading the team, the demons would be even more difficult to deal with.
The third forefather cupped his hands. “Understood.”
No one other than Goldenhowl had any objections to the third forefather being a.s.signed to lead the charge. He was displeased, but also wasn’t strong enough to oppose the celestial tribe. He could only put aside his grievances after considering his own level of strength.
At the moment, what mattered to him the most was revenge. Everything else came second.
Eight divine cultivators, the third forefather included, set out with tens of thousands of elites for Myriad Abyss via four demonic airboats.
With the third celestial demon forefather’s leaders.h.i.+p, this troop of demons was not to be underestimated.
The celestial forefather unfolded a map and surveyed Myriad Abyss. After a while, he spoke up, “Pa.s.s down my orders. Tell the other three airboats to halt. I have some words for our men.”
He was in charge of the mission. The others dared not defy him.
The four airboats gathered together once again. The eight divine forefathers convened again.
“After studying the map, it’s clear to me that Jiang Chen will have to pa.s.s through the Bluesmoke Isles on his way back to Winterdraw. Why should we travel all the way to the sacred land if there’s a closer target?”
“He has to pa.s.s Bluesmoke? Is there no other route back to Winterdraw?”
“There is, but it’ll be a long detour,” the third forefather said gravely. “I wouldn’t waste the time if I were Jiang Chen.”
“What do you propose?” Goldenhowl asked nonchalantly. He wouldn’t listen to the celestial demon’s nonsense if not for his revenge.
“We may not be able to find him if we go to the Eternal Sacred Land now. Accidents may happen that will result in us missing him. It’s better to wait for him to come than us making the long journey.” The third forefather made a reasonable speculation.
However, Goldenhowl snorted. “What if he doesn’t show up?”
“Then that tells us he’s returned to the human domain, or he hasn’t departed. As long as he’s going to return to Winterdraw, he will pa.s.s through Bluesmoke.”