Kenzal Clan.
"Clan Head, the Senzal Clan seems to be in trouble. I think we should initiate an attack and help the Senzal Clan now." Ethan, sitting in front of Kenzal, advised his Clan Head.
The two people were in Kenzal's study and Ethan made the proposal after a long discussion with Kenzal.
"Yes, you're right. I think we need to change our plans. Send a small portion to harass the Sect and some people to aid the Senzal Clan. As for the rest, have them be on guard and prepare for defense." Kenzal instructed after having given the proposal a long thought.
Ethan nodded and left after bowing to Kenzal.
The Kenzal Clan was finally making its move after lying dormant for a while in the war. They not only were going to attack the Shadow River Sect but they were also going to help the Senzal Clan.
The battle in the Senzal Clan grew intense as more and more squads of the Shadow River Sect came to reinforce Lith and his squad.
The situation was tilted heavily in the Sect's favor for a while as the Senzal Clan didn't have enough power to push them back. Just when the battle seemed lost, the Elven Army arrived and helped the Senzal Clan balance the situation.
The elven army not only had a King Rank available, but there was also a Half King present along with many Half Saints and a few Saint Ranks.
It was a very powerful army. The squads sent by Shadow River Sect could only prolong their survival because people above Saint Ranks had not entered the fight. Due to this, the battlefield was still ringing with clash of weapons and screams of victims.
The elven army was trying to use as minimal people as possible to cause the maximum damage. Judging from how many high level people were sent here, it was evident to everyone how much the Elven Viscount loved the Duram Tea.
The Duram Tea had to be protected at all costs and the elven army was sent here just for this purpose.
A few hours into the battle, the Kenzal Clan's members started appearing near the battlefield. The Shadow River Sect received this news very quickly.
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Administration building, Shadow River Sect.
"It seems we have to make a move, dear." Ling had a frown on her face as she looked at the battle through her tablet.
Wan nodded his head in response. "Yes. We cannot stay behind the lines like this anymore and have to take part in the battle."
Ling got up from her seat and walked towards the windows present in the building and looked outside, at the Shadow River Sect's territory. "It really is time to give our all to this, isn't it?"
The previously calm atmosphere became heavy and gloomy after Ling said these words.
Wan looked at his wife's back as he heard those words and could understand why she was feeling this way.
"It is, dear." Wan said calmly.
After years of hard work, they had created an empire in this city of the Neutral Continent. They had gathered people and raised them together, creating this sect from a scratch. Along the way, the couple had dealt with constant attacks and attempts of assassinations from the two clans over the years.
Everything was now going to end with this war. The situation now was a make or break one. Either the Shadow River Sect or the two clans would be wiped off from the Neutral Continent after this battle.
These two people would either regain everything they've lost or lose everything they've gained over the years. There was no in between and such was the fate of those that went to war.
Neither Ling nor Wan could prevent such a thing from happening. The arrow had been shot from the bow and there was no coming back from it.
Ling was feeling slightly melancholic for this very reason. She might end up losing everything this time, including her own husband. But this was something she couldn't prevent.
Wan got up from his seat and walked towards Ling. He hugged her from behind and placed his chin on her shoulder breathing in her flowery scent. While looking at scenery in distance, Wan said,
"Stay strong, dear. Now is not the time to brood over things like this. Trust me, we will win this war."
Ling turned around and held Wan's face with both her hands. There were tears threatening to come out of her eyes as she held him like that.
"I am fine with losing everything I have. I am just not fine with losing you."
Wan kissed Ling's hand and said with a small smile, "You are not losing anyone or anything. Have faith. Now let's go, we've got to take care of things."
Wan didn't let Ling mull over things gloomily. He decided to have her work so that she would be distracted and not become paranoid or glum over things beyond their control.
These two knew very well of the consequences when they went all out and started this war. They also had the resources that would help win them the war.
They only lacked external support and connections but that too was taken care of when Lith, or more correctly Ray, the assassin, joined them.
Lith provided great help to them by breaking the barrier and starting the attack on the Senzal Clan. Breaking that barrier alone would have cost the Sect lives of many of their people. Thanks to Lith, these lives were saved.
Also, it was not the only reason they had to be grateful to Lith. The Sect members were only able to attack the Senzal Clan directly from the inside, and harm the core because of Lith.
The Shadow River Sect's roots were near the Shadow River. It was the foundation of their sect and any damage that may happen to it or its surroundings would have a big impact on the sect.
The same was for the two clans. They had their own foundations and due to Lith's help, the Sect managed to send just a few squads and ended up hurting the foundation of the Senzal Clan.
After Wan's words of encouragement, Ling became calmer and composed her thoughts. She was able to think things through with clarity. She was the better strategist of the two and all plans were made or coordinated via her.
Ling shared her plans with Wan and finally, they decided that it would be best for them to enter the battlefield themselves.
Some high ranking sect members were left behind in the sect and the teleportation circles inside were well protected.
Some of the people who have been sent out had an emergency teleportation slip with them. It allowed them to come back to the sect in case of an emergency like a sneak attack on the Sect.
This slip was given only to a select few squads and this was done to ensure the safety of the people back in the sect.
The Sect was large and had enough members to attack both the clans. Since the battle was more heated in the Senzal Clan, a big portion of their members were dispatched there.
Meanwhile Ling, along with the remaining people, charged towards the Kenzal Clan.
A few hours later.
The two sect masters had made their moves and news of this reached to the heads of the two clans. They readied themselves as well and prepared to join the war.
The war was approaching its climax and it was time to decide the victor.
—--
While such major changes took place, there were some things that hadn't changed.
Lith was still circling above the battlefield, searching for the assassin all this while. Yet, he was not able to find this person.
He very much wanted to use Luna's help to find this rat hiding somewhere on the battlefield but he refrained from doing so. He didn't want to rely on her and instead wanted to use his own brain and ability in this war.
"The assassin definitely is still here, in the Senzal Clan." Lith thought with surety. There was a reason Lith thought this way.
The Clan Head of the Senzal Clan was sitting in his study and letting his army fight without much worry. This meant he had some trump card he had not revealed so far. One could only remain calm if one had the assurance of not being killed or things going wrong.
If there was a King Rank in this battle, it was definitely going to tilt in the two clan's favor. Seeing the Clan Head Senzal so relaxed only strengthened Lith's suspicions.
While Lith's search went on, Ralph and Dennis, who were retreating and were on their way back to the sect, encountered a few unknown people.
The two boys put their guards up and were ready to attack when the other party immediately bowed and greeted:
"Konnichiwa!"
"Anime language?" Dennis couldn't help but blurt as he heard the greeting.
The people in front of them were none other than the beastkins. The males were wearing samurai robes while the females had a kimono on. They all bowed politely in show of respect and let Ralph and Dennis know that they were friendly.
Ralph couldn't help but look at Dennis with furrowed eyebrows as he heard what he said. Can this guy stop embarrassing himself and others by saying weird things like that?
The beastkins heard Dennis's reply and they coughed and corrected him, saying:
"The language is the official beastkin language and yes, it is used in anime."
The beastkins didn't want to cause misunderstandings or appear hostile in any form or way and so they were very polite to Dennis.
"Right, right." Dennis nodded his head.
Ralph ignored this conversation and asked, "what do you people want?"
He was more level headed than Dennis and got straight to the point.
The beastkins brought out a table and some chairs from their space rings and put them in front of Ralph and Dennis and the disciples of the Shadow River Sect.
"Please, have a seat. We'll explain briefly about why we suddenly met you." The beastkins said politely.
Ralph nodded. "Alright. But we won't be having anything you offer."
Ralph was still suspicious of them.
"It's not a problem." A man with the face of a tiger said.
The people sat down on the chairs and finally, the beastkins began with their explanation.
"So it's like this…"
😉