Chapter 355: Crisis

The Source of Darkness has gone mad and chaotic—entire Dark Moon City is in turmoil! It’s all because of the pro-war faction. Now, with armies pressing in, the entire city is surrounded.
The Wolf Clan, the pro-war faction, and the Mi Jiao Clan—these three factions’ combined attacks have left Dark Moon City struggling to breathe.
It is only at this moment that the people within the Source of Darkness realize their peaceful lives are gone, and they have entered an era of war.
This time, the pro-war faction, the Mi Jiao Clan, and the Wolf Clan have gathered thousands of strong warriors to blockade Dark Moon City. Though their numbers are small, the power they can exert together is unimaginable. Moreover, there are still hundreds of thousands of troops to come! Among them are many strong warriors—this is an army jointly formed by the Ice City, the Water Veil City, and two other major clans.
Everyone is shocked by this situation. Although they knew the pro-war faction and the opposition were always at odds, they were still part of the same clan. Who would have thought such trouble would arise? War is imminent, bringing bloodshed and death.
Even though the Black Phoenix Clan, the Dragon Clan, and even the Scorpion King Clan sent help, it still seems insignificant.
Dark Moon City appears weak—its population is the smallest among the four major cities. Even if it mobilizes all its forces, its combat strength amounts to only 30,000 troops. Compared to 100,000, that’s far too few. On top of that, there are thousands of strong warriors, all at or above the quasi-divine level, with many at the divine level, plus even stronger warriors who have advanced further.
People are in panic, and all attention in the Source of Darkness is drawn here.
At this moment, in the main hall of the city lord’s residence, the atmosphere is extremely tense. Everyone looks grim, their faces solemn—like the atmosphere itself has frozen.
“Damn those pro-war fools!” an old man curses fiercely. He is an elder of the opposition faction.
“It seems we have no choice but to fight!” Taking a deep breath, Aida says with a bitter smile. The day before yesterday—yes, just the day before yesterday, on the fourth day since he returned to Dark Moon City—the demon army finally arrived at its gates. Fortunately, the reinforcements from the Black Phoenix Clan and the Dragon Clan had already arrived in the city beforehand.

This time, the Black Phoenix clan sent a total of a hundred people to provide assistance. Fifty of them came from the Netherworld Villa under the leadership of Hei Yin, arriving one day later than the rest, while the others were members of the Black Phoenix clan in Dark Moon City—also fifty in number. In total, that was a hundred people. The Dragon clan had more members, as they were considered the leader among the four major clans, with two hundred people coming. The Scorpion King clan also sent over a hundred people, and all of them were highly skilled fighters.

Upon seeing these people, although the pro-war faction was displeased, they couldn’t shake their determination. Although discussions took place with the mediation of the major clans, the conditions proposed by the pro-war faction were too harsh, making it impossible to reach an agreement. Even if the opposition were willing, it wasn’t certain that the Black Phoenix clan and the Dragon clan would agree. Moreover, the opposition had no way of accepting those conditions at all.

Their demands were simple: the opposition should submit to the pro-war faction and hand over Dark Moon City to move to Water Curtain City! Such conditions were clearly meant to destroy the opposition outright—how could they possibly agree?

It was obvious that the pro-war faction had no real intention of negotiating. So, naturally, war became the only solution, with everything to be resolved on the battlefield.

Several clans also resented this situation. Indeed, the pro-war faction had gone too far.

“There’s nothing else to do. If war is to be fought, then let’s fight! We’re not afraid of them!” Sognar snapped angrily, pouting. He already disliked those guys, so how could he continue to tolerate them? If not for Lilith restraining him these past few days, he might have already rushed out to fight, even more impulsively than the opposition.

“Let’s fight!” Aida’s father said with a bitter smile after taking a deep breath. With the crisis at hand, the opposition’s perseverance over a thousand years hinged on this battle.

“They have a hundred thousand troops, while we only have thirty thousand. This battle will be extremely difficult!” Even though they were on the defensive side, the disparity in strength was too great, making the battle incredibly tough.

“Defend to the death! Even if we have to die, we’ll take as many of them with us. If they’re going to devour us this time, we’ll make the pro-war faction pay a heavy price!” A fierce look flashed in one of the middle-aged generals’ eyes. He was the commander of Dark Moon City, naturally displaying the demeanor of a soldier at that moment.

“But why haven’t they attacked yet? Are they waiting for something??” Frowning in confusion, Aida asked. Three days had passed since arriving outside Dark Moon City, and logically, they should have launched an attack by now. Yet no attack had been made—what could be their purpose? It was hard not to wonder.

“That’s something we need to be careful about. Everyone, stay vigilant during this time—don’t give those guys any chance! Hold Dark Moon City firmly. If we can be thorough, I believe even if they have any schemes, they won’t be able to do anything!” If the enemy doesn’t act, we won’t either. There’s no other choice, Lilith said gravely.

The atmosphere remained tense, unchanged throughout.

After discussing some detailed issues, the meeting came to an end. In fact, such meetings took place almost daily, sometimes even twice a day, without interruption these past few days. Since everything that needed to be said had been said, the next step was action. Execution would determine the outcome of this battle.

After the people left, the hall was left empty. Lilith looked at Heibin and Aida beside her—now, only the three of them remained in the hall.

“How’s the investigation going?” Lilith asked Aida after confirming no one else was around.

“Pretty well. No problems expected!” Aida replied confidently, understanding the implication in Lilith’s words.

“What about you?” Satisfied with Aida’s answer, Lilith nodded and didn’t press further. She trusted Aida fully, believing she could handle this well. She then turned to Heibin.

“The time is short; we can’t do much. I’ve only checked those close to our core group. A few of them are under control and can act at any time if needed!” Heibin said seriously, nodding.

“Keep these people under strict control. One mistake could have disastrous consequences. Also, speed up the investigation. Not a single spy from the pro-war faction should escape—control them all. At the same time, expand the search within the city. Don’t overlook any families or powerful factions! Time is running out—put those civilians aside for now!” After pondering for a while, Lilith gave orders, her eyes flashing with cold determination.

In a war between two armies, the greatest fear is internal problems. Internal strife often leads to one side’s collapse, leaving them unable to fight back.

After thousands of years, Lilith naturally wouldn’t believe that the opposition lacked pro-war elements among them—it was common sense. Similarly, the pro-war side also had members from the opposition; these things were simply understood unspoken. But now it was different. With war looming, the pretenses had been dropped. Troublemakers must be eliminated, otherwise they would push the opposition into an irreparable situation.

“As for Sognar…” Hekigin asked hesitantly, his dark silver eyes filled with complexity.

“Don’t worry about him; nothing will go wrong. He might seem careless, but he knows what’s at stake and won’t mess things up!” Lilith reassured him, knowing what he was worried about.

Before the great war even began, internal tensions were already surging wildly. In fact, the battle had already started—just one without gunpowder smoke.

“Alright, I’ll be leaving now. Time is pressing!” Hekigin said after giving Lilith a deep look.

“I’m leaving too!” Aida added from the side.

After the two left, only Lilith remained in the hall. She stood there, watching them go, her expression calm, though it was unclear what she was thinking.

“Haven’t you come out yet?” she said after a long while, her voice dark as she spoke toward a corner.

“Damn it, I knew I couldn’t hide from you!” A dissatisfied voice came through, followed by the appearance of a black figure in front of Lilith.

“Are you very idle? Have you finished your task?” Lilith asked coldly, frowning. No wonder Hekigin distrusted this guy—even she found it hard to believe in him.

“Nonsense! Who am I, Sognar? If I can’t handle such a simple task, then what’s the point of being here? Don’t worry!” Sognar assured her, slapping his chest.

“I just wonder when that kid Rod will show up. Damn it, things are so tense here, while he’s off hiding and being idle!” Sognar began to complain upon thinking of Rod.

“Do more work and talk less. Just do your job properly. You know the situation with Rod!” Lilith said angrily, her eyes narrowing.

“Hehe, got it. I was just joking. Why such a fuss? It seems like you…” Sognar approached her with a teasing smile, his expression ambiguous.

“If you don’t want to die, behave properly. I don’t have time to waste on you. I’m leaving!” With a frosty expression, Lilith glared at him and turned to leave, unwilling to waste time on this guy—talking to him was simply exhausting.

“Hehe, it seems the spring of the mother Tyrannosaurus has arrived!” Sognar muttered as he watched Lilith walk away. “It’s time to get to work!” He then stretched lazily, glanced briefly in the distance with a hint of disdain on his lips, and left the hall. Shortly after everyone had left, a figure suddenly appeared in the otherwise empty hall, gazed into the distance, and then disappeared again—as if it had never been there at all.