"In the last war, the Frost Silkworm Race seized nearly half of our territory in the Northern Border. Even we in the Western Border were forced to cede a fifth of our land. It is deeply troubling."

Wu Tao had the appearance of a burly lizard man, standing over five meters tall.

His profound cultivation of Body Techniques through the Contemplation Method was evident in his physique.

"Who wouldn't be worried?"

"It seems the Frost Silkworm Race has fully capitalized on their victory from the last war, and now they're showing signs of aggression again."

"To say nothing of their recent provocations, those detestable Frost Silkworms have built their Witch God Hall on a mountain peak less than fifty miles from here."

"Our skirmishes with them in recent years have resulted in considerable casualties."

"If this goes on, things will be manageable as long as the Blazing God recovers his Divine Power in time. We could then draw upon his full power to deal with the Frost Silkworm Race."

"But if he can't, we will likely be forced to cede even more of our territory to the Frost Silkworm Race."

Witch Spirit, the only female Great Witch in the Western Realm, also had a worried expression.

As she spoke, she suddenly turned to the Great Witch, Witch Slaughter, and asked:

"Tu, have you still been unable to perceive the Blazing God's presence through contemplation?"

"You haven't received even the faintest Oracle?"

As the strongest Great Witch of the West Border Witch God Hall, Witch Slaughter was also considered the one closest to the Deities. In Witch Spirit's eyes, if their Deity's injuries had healed or at least significantly improved, he should be one of the few Great Witches to know immediately.

Witch Slaughter's expression turned helpless upon hearing her words.

'Never mind perceiving the Deity's true presence.'

'He hadn't received even the slightest Oracle in thirty years.'

'In fact, he was now just like the other Great Witches.'

'The Divine Power he could draw upon in battle had long since fallen to less than a quarter of what it was thirty years ago.'

'From this alone, it was clear that the Deity their race worshiped was likely still in a poor state.'

'Besides, when Deities are injured, don't they all require centuries, even millennia, to recover?'

'The Witches of every race in this world had records of such things; it was hardly a secret.'

'So, if their Deity couldn't recover anytime soon, the Flame Race would likely be reduced to a minor tribe.'

'As for maintaining their current vast territory?'

'That was simply impossible.'

'Not with the Frost Silkworm Race, their great enemy, watching them like a tiger stalking its prey.'

'Even some of the smaller neighboring tribes had already grown restless.'

'If there was one silver lining from the divine war thirty years ago, it was just one thing.'

'At least their Deity had not fallen.'

'If he had fallen…'

'Such an event was not unheard of in the long history of this world.'

'When a Deity falls, the tribe's very name becomes a thing of the past.'

'And as for them, the Witches…'

'Witches like them, who drew Power from contemplating their Deity, would naturally become motes of dust in the river of time, vanishing without a trace.'

'As for the tribe?'

'They would, of course, be enslaved by other races, or worse, become sacrificial offerings to other Deities.'

'Thirty years ago, the mighty Flame Race had a population of over three hundred million.'

'And now?'

'In that war, to say nothing of the Witches who were lost, nearly one hundred million ordinary clansmen were enslaved by the Frost Silkworm Race or used as blood sacrifices for their Alien Gods.'

'In short, the Flame Race was grievously wounded in that war.'

'The only reason they still held such a large territory was the simple fact that a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.'

'Whether it was the Frost Silkworm Race or the smaller neighboring tribes eyeing them greedily, they all had to weigh the cost of trying to annihilate the Flame Race in one fell swoop. They also had to guard against others taking advantage of the conflict to reap the rewards.'

'Besides, destroying the Flame Race completely was impossible for now.'

'After all, the Flame Race's Deity was only gravely wounded, not dead.'

'So, many tribes, like the Frost Silkworm Race, planned to use a war of attrition—a slow, grinding process like a frog boiled in slowly heating water—to completely swallow up the majority of the Flame Race's territory.'

'Moreover, the Frost Silkworm Race had also suffered heavy losses back then.'

'While thirty years of recovery hadn't fully restored their strength, as the victors, their situation was still far better than that of the Flame Race.'

'Furthermore, when a Deity is weak or gravely injured, the cultivation speed of Witches who rely on the Contemplation Method to advance slows considerably.'

'Thus, as one side waned, the other waxed.'

'The Frost Silkworm Race was in no hurry at all.'

Witch Slaughter was also deeply concerned that the Frost Silkworm Race's current strategy of gradual encroachment was primarily aimed at forcing their gravely wounded and hidden Deity, Blazing, to reveal himself.

In this world, the faith of mortals had a significant impact on Deities.

As for the specifics of that impact, no Witch, let alone a mortal, dared to pry into or study the matter.

But from time immemorial, Deities would never sit idly by while their Witches and mortal followers were slowly crushed, let alone annihilated, by another tribe.

Therefore, in Witch Slaughter's view, it was better for their Deity, Blazing, not to appear if his injuries hadn't fully healed.

If he did, it would no longer be a question of their tribe being reduced to a minor Vassal of some other great race.

The entire Flame Race would likely be doomed.

The common people of the Flame Race, of course, knew nothing of their Deity's true condition.

They all simply believed that thirty years ago, their tribe had suffered a defeat due to a conspiracy.

But to the Witches, what happened thirty years ago was no secret at all.

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