C.4583 - – Stalemate
Chapter 4583 – Stalemate
Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Currently, all of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the nearby Great Territories, with the exception of a few with powerful backgrounds, had been recruited by Zuo Quan Hui, greatly increasing the number of Open Heaven Realm Masters he had under his command. For the time being, they were still inferior to Void Land, but it was difficult to say if this would remain the case as time passed.
Although every battle ended in Void Land’s victory, there were inevitably some casualties, and the surviving Open Heaven Realm Masters were quite exhausted, requiring them to expend a great deal of resources to restore their strength.
It had become a battle of attrition and resources. Without enough resources to restore themselves, Open Heaven Realm Masters would not be able to maintain their full strength at all times, and if they were to fight again, it would be harder for them to hold on. If this continued for a long time, Void Land would eventually be unable to hold on, and at that time, it would become a decisive battle.
When Luan Bai Feng sent this message over, even though Yang Kai was already mentally prepared, he couldn’t help cursing the old dog’s cunning.
Before this, Void Land had been sealed off for three or four years and had already used up countless supplies. Now that the war had broken out, the consumption of resources had become even more severe. If it weren’t for the rich accumulation of the Star City’s resources in the early years, they would not have been able to hold on for this long.
Even so, they wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
In order to coordinate with this strategy, from the second battle onwards, the Open Heaven Realm Masters dispatched by Heavenly Sword Union did not even wear Space Rings. Obviously, it was to prevent Void Land from having the chance to collect spoils of war from the corpses.
After more than a dozen large and small battles, Void Land still held the decisive advantage thanks to their numbers, but they had not been able to collect any supplies from the enemy corpses all this time.
Zuo Quan Hui’s intentions were obvious, and he was not even trying to hide them anymore. He kept sending out his Open Heaven Realm subordinates one after another, leaving Void Land no choice but to fight back.
Usually, every battle was followed by a few days of peace, which was ultimately followed by another battle.
While voices of discontent rose on Heavenly Sword Union’s side, the Open Heaven Realm Masters on Void Land’s side were exhausted.
Both sides had fought countless times in a short span of a year. The number of Open Heaven Realm Masters Void Land had lost had almost broken through the 200 mark. Although the numbers were replenished steadily by the Headquarters, it was still not enough to make up for their losses.
Heavenly Sword Union’s losses were even greater. Their losses were at least three times their enemy’s. The void was filled with blood of Open Heaven Realm Masters within a million kilometers of the Territory Gate.
Such heavy losses had angered Yang Kai. Several times, he wished he could lead all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to fight Zuo Quan Hui to the death, but after having personally experienced the might of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had no choice but to give up on this idea. Any rash action on his part without absolute confidence could lead to even worse consequences.
Meanwhile, Zuo Quan Hui on Heavenly Sword Union’s side was also extremely annoyed.
Such a long battle had almost exhausted his patience, and Yang Kai hadn’t even shown up once, denying him the slightest opportunity to exact his revenge.
Inside the Heavenly Sword Palace’s main hall, many Sixth-Order Masters were gathered, while Zuo Quan Hui sat above with a gloomy expression.
An Open Heaven Realm Master dressed in Heavenly Sword Union’s uniform rushed in and cupped his fist, “Reporting to Union Master, Yellow Spring Heavenly Monarch’s forces have been surrounded by Void Land and are outnumbered. Heavenly Monarch requests to withdraw and reorganize!”
This kind of battle report would appear almost every time a fight broke out. Although Heavenly Sword Union had gathered a large number of Open Heaven Realm Masters below the Sixth-Order because of Zuo Quan Hui’s prestige, their numbers were still inferior to Void Land. And since the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to determine the victor, the side with the greatest number of Open Heaven Realm Master below Sixth-Order naturally held the absolute advantage.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters present couldn’t understand one thing, Void Land was clearly a newly rising force, so where did so many Open Heaven Realm Masters come from?
Zuo Quan Hui picked up a nearby teacup and threw it at the messenger. The cultivator who had sent the message did not dare to move and was hit in the head, which caused him to bleed.
“Wastes! Retreating at the slightest setback? Tell Huang Quan that anyone who dares to retreat without my command will suffer a fate worse than death!”
The messenger trembled with fear and quickly replied, “Yes, Sir!”
He quickly left the hall to relay the message to Huang Quan.
Not to mention how Huang Quan angrily cursed when he heard this order, the group of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the hall were also angry, they just didn’t dare to even breathe loudly.
After a long silence, Luan Bai Feng stood up, picked up the teacup, and placed it next to Zuo Quan Hui’s hand, gently consoling him, “Sir, please calm your anger. Void Land’s forces are strong, and Senior Brother Huang Quan is not a timid person. I’m afraid that the situation must be truly difficult to handle, so he requested to withdraw.”
How could Zuo Quan Hui not know this? Only, he had not been able to avenge his two Disciples for such a long time and was now trapped in a fierce battle with Void Land. He had nowhere to vent his anger, which was very frustrating for him. He let out a cold snort and shouted, “A bunch of trash, you can’t take down a mere Void Land even after such a long time?!”
Luan Bai Feng took the initiative to volunteer, “This Mistress is willing to lead a group of people to assist Senior Brother Huang Quan, I hope Sir will agree.”
As Yang Kai’s spy in Heavenly Sword Union, Luan Bai Feng had done a good job of secretly sending messages to the former about Heavenly Sword Union’s situation. With her inside intelligence, Yang Kai knew Heavenly Sword Union’s forces like the back of his hand.
She had even led the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Heavenly Sword Union to fight against Void Land many times, allowing for many of them to be killed.
Zuo Quan Hui’s expression relaxed slightly, “Warden Luan is too thoughtful, then…”
Before he could finish speaking, Pei Wen Xuan stood up and added, “Martial Uncle Zuo, the momentum of Void Land’s forces is overwhelming. Even if Warden Luan goes to support them, I’m afraid she won’t be able to gain any advantage, rather it will cause more casualties. Why don’t we call back Huang Quan and preserve our strength and deliberate over what to do next?”
Zuo Quan Hui looked up at him and knew he was right. In his anger just now, he had not thought things through properly, so he immediately nodded and agreed, “Do as you suggested.”
Once Zuo Quan Hui’s order was relayed, Huang Quan troops who were fighting at the front retreated, one by one.
Inside the main hall, Pei Wen Xuan smiled warmly at Luan Bai Feng, who smiled back while cursing in her heart that this brat had ruined her good deed. Otherwise, if she brought her people out, Heavenly Sword Union would definitely suffer even more casualties.
Huang Quan returned not long after, though he was completely unharmed. The one who had fought with him just now was Profound Yang Mountain’s Head Mountain Lord, Mao Zhe. The two of them had fought countless battles and were completely familiar with each other’s tactics by now. Neither of them could do anything to the other unless someone interfered.
However, after having fought for over a year, both sides had formed a tacit understanding. Each of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had their own opponent, so no matter how many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters one side sent out, the other side would send out their corresponding foe.
After returning, Huang Quan begged for forgiveness and received a scolding from Zuo Quan Hui.
After cursing for a while, Zuo Quan Hui calmed down and swept his gaze around, “The situation is quite tense right now, do any of you have any good ideas on how to defeat them?”
The ten Sixth-Order Masters in the hall glanced at each other blankly.
Although everyone knew that as long as Zuo Quan Hui personally took action, he would definitely be able to break this stalemate and even salvage the situation, yet he never did. He had only been sitting in the Heavenly Sword Palace with the Territory Gate at his back. Everyone knew that he was afraid of the Divine Spirit of Void Land.
By remaining here, he could retreat to Flying Smoke Territory to hide the moment anything went wrong. If he really went out and was targeted by the Divine Spirit, Zuo Quan Hui couldn’t guarantee he could escape unscathed.
Everyone understood this, but none of them said anything, lest Zuo Quan Hui lose face.
“Are you all mute?” Seeing everyone fall silent, Zuo Quan Hui coldly snorted, clearly displeased.
Pei Wen Xuan coughed lightly, “Martial Uncle Zuo, it’s actually quite simple to break the current situation.”
Hearing this, Zuo Quan Hui raised his brow, “What does Nephew Pei have in mind?”
Pei Wen Xuan smiled lightly, “At the end of the day, Void Territory is still the enemy’s home ground. As foreigners, it is natural we suffer losses when we fight. If we can move the battlefield out of Void Territory, it will naturally be easier to deal with Void Land.”
Zuo Quan Hui stroked his beard and nodded slightly in agreement, “You’re right.”
The reason why he hadn’t made a move yet was because he was afraid of Zhu Jiu Yin, who could be hiding in the shadows. If he could move the battlefield out of Void Territory, although he couldn’t guarantee that Zhu Jiu Yin wouldn’t follow him, at the very least, when they passed through the Territory Gate, Zhu Jiu Yin wouldn’t be able to hide and would be exposed. He could be prepared then.
However, if they wanted to move the battlefield out of Void Land, it was easier said than done. Although they could retreat to Flying Smoke Territory, if Void Land’s people didn’t follow them, there was nothing they could do.
“What is Nephew’s plan?” Zuo Quan Hui asked.
Pei Wen Xuan shook his head, “I just had this idea, but no way to implement it.”
Zuo Quan Hui couldn’t help but have a look of disappointment appear on his face.
Pei Wen Xuan added, “But other than that, there is another way.”
“Oh?” Zuo Quan Hui raised his brow.
Pei Wen Xuan continued with a smile, “Right now, both sides are on par when it comes to Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters while Void Land holds the absolute advantage when it comes to Masters below Sixth-Order. If we want to break this stalemate, we must start with the Sixth-Order Masters.”
Zuo Quan Hui’s expression changed slightly, “Nephew Pei means…”
“If we could obtain more Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, even if it’s just one, it would be enough to make Void Land suffer!”
They would be able to fight two against one with one more Sixth-Order Master. If they cooperated well, they might even be able to kill a Sixth-Order Void Land Master, increasing their advantage further.
How could Zuo Quan Hui not know this? His heart ached even more for his dead Disciple Zhou Ti just thinking about it. If Zhou Ti were still alive, how could he have so many troubles now? He would have killed Yang Kai and retreated ages ago.
“It’s easier said than done, it’s not so simple to find a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.” Zuo Quan Hui sighed. Although he had used his prestige and connections to recruit many helpers, none of them were Sixth-Order Masters. There were many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Thousand Cranes Paradise, but it was impossible for them to support him openly.
Pei Wen Xuan smiled calmly, “If Martial Uncle Zuo trusts me, you can leave this matter to me.”
Zuo Quan Hui was stunned for a moment before asking, “Martial Nephew, are you thinking of getting support from your Sect?”
If Myriad Demons Heaven was willing to intervene, that would naturally be for the best, but Myriad Demons Heaven was one of the 36 Cave Heavens, so how could it interfere in the struggle between ‘lower’ Sects? Pei Wen Xuan had come here because he had a personal grudge with Yang Kai, giving him a reasonable excuse, but if Myriad Demons Heaven really interfered, Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s side would definitely not sit back and do nothing. At that time, it might lead to the two Cave Heavens engaging in battle, blowing the situation up multiple times over.
