The fierce beasts had botched their plan and suffered heavy losses.
They had intended to launch a surprise attack on humanity, but ended up losing both troops and prestige.
One wrong move, and they became a laughingstock.
Meanwhile, humanity was ecstatic. Upon receiving the news, the Elder laughed heartily.
"These beasts indeed had a bit of quick wit. Too bad they failed to achieve their objective and became a joke."
In his view, the enemy's plan to detour and attack was an open strategy, designed to lure them out directly.
It wasn't a sophisticated tactic, but it was effective.
Unfortunately, they underestimated the Sword God's power and overlooked Lin Yu as a variable.
Chiyu stood by, arms crossed, recalling the Sword God's might.
He exclaimed, "The Sword God has actually reached this stage!"
The Elder glanced at him, feeling the same.
In the past, the three of them were hailed as humanity's strongest trio: the Sword God for offense, he for defense, and Chiyu for his vast and mysterious skills, possessing endless trump cards.
They were universally recognized as the top three human powerhouses, often considered equals.
Indeed, their strength was comparable back then.
However, after so many years, no one knew how many hidden trump cards they each possessed.
Moreover, the Sword God was different from the other two.
The Sword God, who guarded the Return to the Void, fought ferocious beasts daily. Whether low-level or ninth-tier, countless had fallen by his hand.
Having killed so many beasts and faced so many dangers, his strength had quietly surpassed theirs.
It was just that they were unwilling to believe it, only realizing it today.
A mere residual phantom of the Sword God could slay a top-tier ninth-tier fierce beast. One could imagine the power of his true form.
While they could achieve similar feats, it required their physical presence.
Chiyu said, "That beastly spirit wanted to expand the space channel back then, and the Sword God repelled it with a single sword strike. I should have realized sooner, how could beings without divinity truly harm a god?"
Gods were a transcendence and transformation of mortal life.
Mortals and gods were already two different species.
If mortals were dirt, then gods were diamonds.
No matter how much dirt there was, it couldn't pierce a diamond. But if the dirt contained grains of diamond sand, then even diamonds wouldn't be invincible.
Similarly, only the divine power possessed by gods could harm gods.
And the Sword God already possessed this kind of power, even imbuing his residual phantom with it. This showed how unfathomably deep his strength was.
They even speculated that if not for the world's rules preventing deification, the Sword God would have become a god long ago.
The Sword God would have become a true divine being!
The Controller, teasing the White Tiger, chuckled, "That Sword God fellow can't be judged by ordinary standards. We should focus on ourselves."
The Monk chanted a Buddhist invocation, "Amitabha, this monk agrees with the Controller's view. For now, the priority is to find a way to repel the fierce beasts."
Someone suggested, "Why not invite Lord Sword God to guard us?"
As soon as he spoke, everyone looked at him with displeased eyes.
He looked puzzled, then awkwardly touched his nose before saying, "Did I say something wrong?"
Just as everyone was about to speak, the Elder silenced them.
The Elder looked into the distance and sighed, "The Sword God repelled the beastly spirit, but he was also severely wounded and is currently in seclusion recuperating. Let's not mention asking the Sword God for support anymore. He will come once his injuries heal; no one values humanity more than he does."
The man, hearing this, felt ashamed and quickly bowed his head in apology, "My apologies, I was rash. I accept my punishment."
The Controller waved his hand, "You deserve to be punished, young man. Your punishment will be to scout for enemy intelligence."
The man's face lit up with joy, "Thank you for giving me a chance to atone. I will go immediately!"
He then looked at the Elder, who nodded, and he headed outside.
This was a young ninth-tier powerhouse, only in his fifties. He was considered one of the younger generation among them, hence his somewhat reserved demeanor.
After he left, the Elder said, "The fierce beasts have suffered a minor defeat, and they will surely devise more schemes. We cannot let our guard down. Controller, please go and scout for their information."
The Controller nodded solemnly, "It is my duty and what I should do."
Then, he summoned hundreds of invisible birds and ordered them to disperse in various directions to gather intelligence.
However, this was not enough to completely ease his mind; he had other preparations.
Just as arrangements were being made here, space flickered slightly, and a void gate appeared before them.
Upon seeing the void gate, everyone's faces lit up with joy.
Fuyao Zi had returned!
Indeed, after a while, the void gate stabilized, and the human army slowly emerged.
Fuyao Zi and Yan Jun walked at the forefront. As soon as they appeared, the Controller gave them a bear hug.
"It's truly wonderful that you two are safe. I haven't eaten or slept well these past few days!" the Controller exclaimed dramatically.
The Elder rolled his eyes at him, knowing full well that the Controller had been eating very well, even consuming twice his usual amount of snacks these past few days.
"I will grant you a great merit, a reward of ten million battle merits each!" the Elder declared generously.
Ten million battle merits could purchase a rare ninth-tier skill crystal.
Lin Yu's ancient Buddha leg skill had also cost only ten million battle merits.
Even Yan Jun and Fuyao Zi's breathing quickened upon hearing about ten million battle merits.
As high-ranking officials, they received battle merit rewards daily, which was like a basic salary. However, to earn more, they had to participate in battles.
Given the great victory this time, the Elder was not stingy, directly using his authority to reward each of them with ten million battle merits.
Then, he looked at the numerous soldiers behind them.
"All you soldiers shall be rewarded! Someone will calculate your battle merits from this campaign shortly!"
"Thank you, Elder!"
The crowd dispersed amidst cheers.
As Lin Yu was quietly blending into the crowd, preparing to leave, he was suddenly called out.
"Lin Yu, stay for a moment!"
Lin Yu paused, struggling internally for a moment, before turning around with a smile.
"Haha, senior, what do you need me for?" Lin Yu asked the Controller, grinning.
He knew that this Controller fellow enjoyed playing games, and being called over by him might not be a good thing.
As expected, the Controller coughed, put his hands behind his back, exuding an air of senior arrogance, and said, "I intend to scout the front-line intelligence. Your talent for creating clones is very suitable for espionage. Are you interested in accompanying me?"
The Elder and the others twitched at the corners of their mouths seeing his demeanor, giving him a collective eye-roll and thinking of many unspoken complaints.
"Senior, I...." Lin Yu, not seeing any benefit in this, was about to refuse when.
The Controller smiled, "Your brother, Lin Fan, has good talent, but his talent level is only A-class. However, his comprehension is excellent. If you accompany me, I will give Lin Fan a treasure. What do you say?"
A treasure?
What kind of treasure?
Lin Yu's attention was immediately captured.