Of course, Zain was not someone that could be easily fooled. He was well aware that his uncle must
have already set up a trap before his team arrived. Currently, both sides were almost equal in fighting
prowess. If they started a fight here, it would definitely be a battle of attrition. Therefore, Zain knew that
he could not recklessly start a fight without ensuring that he had high chances of winning. Right now, it
was clear to him that he could not fall into Enoch's provocation.
On the other hand, upon recognizing that Zain did not have the intention of crossing the bridge, Enoch
went back to the demoness and whispered to her, "Madam, I'm afraid that Zain will not take the bait.
Should we find another way to lure him and his team towards us?"
"There is no need to do that. If I am not mistaken, there is still another team that is yet to arrive. Am I
right? Let's wait for them first. Depending on what will happen next, we can just eliminate both teams at
the same time," the demoness said coldly. She knew that she needed more sacrificial offerings for the
ceremony to activate the demonic race's holy treasure, so she had to propose this suggestion. The
more people they had to turn into sacrifices, the better.
"Yes, madam. I understand." Enoch cupped his hands and returned to his men.
Upon seeing that Enoch would not take the initiative to attack, Zain discerned that his uncle was just
testing his patience. Therefore, he also took the opportunity and ordered his men to rest and be on
standby.
At the same time, Rocky, Valeria, and Anya were also waiting very patiently while they hid in the dark.
"They are not making a move against each other? Are they gauging each other's strength first? Or
maybe, Prince Enoch is also waiting for Princess Layla's team to arrive..." Rocky suddenly speculated.
"That demoness must have realized that they could catch Princess Layla and her team easily since
they are weaker than Zain's team. We cannot let her do that!"
"I can reveal myself to draw her away from the scene first. Afterward, you can also show up and stir
some chaos to let both teams begin killing each other. When both sides are heavily injured, we can
take advantage of the situation and finish them!" Anya suggested at once. She knew that the situation
was getting unfavorable at the moment, so she proposed the most logical thing that she could think of.
"But that is still a long shot. Why don't we tell Prince Zain about the traps that were set up by the
demonic race? Maybe he will retreat and even give up on this!" Valeria also proposed her own plan. It
was apparent that she did not want the more dangerous choice.
"We don't have any evidence to show him. I don't think he will believe mere words. I actually think that
Anya's idea is more feasible. At this point, it might be better to make things a little messy than let the
demonic race take charge of the situation. We may have higher chances of succeeding if things get
more chaotic. But of course, that demoness will not be easily fooled. So, I also think that there is no
need for us to take such a huge risk right away. If my hunch is correct, the demoness and Prince Enoch
will make a move soon enough. Once they take action, we can use that chance to create chaos."
Rocky surmised that if the three of them showed up first, things might not really go the way they
wanted, and they might just fall into a passive position. Hence, in the meantime, he decided that it
would be better to take action right after the demoness and Enoch's team made their move first.
As they waited for someone to make the first move, half a day already passed. At this time, they
noticed that another group of people was quickly approaching the Demon Sealing Palace. It turned out
to be Princess Layla's team.
Although she had lost some of her members, Layla still managed to lead her team all the way towards
the Demon Sealing Palace. At the same time, she had no idea that her team's arrival was what
everyone was waiting for to break the ongoing stalemate.
Zain's eyes narrowed upon seeing the arrival of Layla's team. He led his men and appeared before the
princess at first time.
"Layla, I see that your team made it. I know that it was not easy to overcome all the obstacles along the
way," Zain greeted, a bit impressed by the princess's tenacity.
"Yes. I sure am glad that we still made it," Layla responded rather calmly.
"By the way, where are the two Godly Geniuses? It seems that they are not with you." In fact, Zain was
surprised that Layla's team was reduced by more than half. Moreover, Rocky and Valeria were not with
them. He could just guess what happened with them while venturing inside the Ghostly Demon Land.
"They actually got separated from us, so I don't know where they are right now," Layla revealed without
hesitation. Right from the start, she already knew that her team was at a disadvantage, so she did not
feel the need to hide anything. At this point, she also thought of allying with another group. In her
opinion, it would be smarter to join forces with Zain, knowing that he had better chances of winning
than Enoch.
"Oh, I see... Then, I hope that they can still safely come here later on." Although Zain said these nice
words, he was secretly glad at what he heard. This way, he became more confident that Layla would
have no way of competing with him or Enoch. Moreover, he also thought that he could take this chance
to persuade her to take his side.
Apparently, both Zain and Layla had the thought of choosing each other in forming an alliance.
On the other hand, as Rocky saw the arrival of Layla's team, he could just shake his head. Now that all
of them were here, he knew that the situation would soon become quite unpredictable.
At the same time, Rocky saw that Enoch turned to the demoness again when Layla's team arrived. The
latter whispered some words to the prince as if ordering him something. Afterward, Enoch walked over
to the bridge alone.
"Layla, I am impressed that your team arrived not long after both our teams reached the palace.
Anyway, since we are all here, why don't we sit and talk for a while?" Enoch suggested with a calm and
kind face. It was obvious that he wanted the two to let down their guard.
"Oh? And what do you want to talk about?" Layla asked straightforwardly as her eyebrows raised. She
was certain that Enoch was up to something if he was proposing something like this.
"Of course, we are all here to get the power of Phillip's soul. Therefore, in order to do that, we must first
enter the Demon Sealing Palace. However, as we all know, it is surrounded by a powerful enchanted
barrier. We already tried breaking it earlier, but it was no use. It is so powerful that even if we gather
many peerless masters of the Shura Race, it might still be impossible for us to break it by force. But I
know that there is a method that is passed down among the rulers of each generation that can help us
bypass the barrier. However, even with its help, the number of people that can enter the palace is just
limited. And if I am not mistaken, Zain must know that method." Enoch then turned to Zain with a
cunning look.
"Ha-ha! What happened, uncle? Aren't you being so arrogant earlier? Now, are you saying that you
need my help so that you can enter the palace? Yes, I know how to break the barrier and enter the
palace. But what makes you think that I will tell you about that?" Zain replied with a mocking sneer.
"It doesn't really matter if you tell me or not. After all, do you think that you can easily get past me and
my team? Even you know how strong I am. So, how about we just make a deal? Open the barrier to
the palace and take me and Layla inside. Only the three of us will enter the palace. Once we are inside,
we'll only depend on our own abilities to accomplish the task given to us. What do you think? In this
way, we don't need to go through unnecessary bloodshed. After all, we have brought almost all the
elites of the Shura Race with us. If most of us get heavily injured, the Shura Race will suffer the
consequences. Think about it carefully," Enoch said in a very convincing manner.
After hearing this, Zain and Layla exchanged looks with each other. Although they knew that Enoch's
proposal was very reasonable, they were not dumb enough to believe that he wasn't planning
something else behind their backs.
"Of course, whatever I say, you will still have some misgivings. However, the Demon Sealing Palace is
already in front of us. If we don't come up with a decent strategy and continue to argue with each other,
no one will be able to enter the palace. Therefore, at some point, each of us needs to make a
compromise. I just think that it will be easier if we cooperate first so we could enter. Afterward, we can
fight to our hearts' content to obtain the power that we are looking for," Enoch continued to convince
the two using the most logical words. As long as Zain and Layla took the bait, everything would
eventually be under his control.
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