But the outcome of this duel—six dead and three grievously wounded from the Flame Race—cast yet another shadow over their West Border Witch God Hall.

"How long can this go on!"

"It's obvious the Frost Silkworm Race intends to use these duels to devour our Western Border territory, step by step."

"We lose a minor tribe in a duel today, and we'll lose a major one tomorrow."

"Or maybe today, a few newly-ascended junior Witches die, and tomorrow, it's some of the Little Witches from our various tribes."

"At this rate, in less than a century, even if the Frost Silkworm Race never launches a full-scale invasion, our West Border Witch God Hall will probably run out of suitable people to perform the Witch conversion ritual."

"..."

Inside the Witch God Hall, the expressions of many Little Witches were grim.

"Heh, so what? We can still last a hundred years, can't we?"

"The Witch King has given repeated orders: no one in the Five Directions Territory is to provoke a war before the Witch God recovers. What, are you planning to defy him and go get yourself killed by the Frost Silkworm Race?"

"Avoiding a war doesn't mean we have to let this happen."

"At this rate, it won't just be the Frost Silkworm Race. Even the minor surrounding races will eventually dare to cause trouble for us."

"If you ask me, instead of this slow death, we should gather all the Little Witches and Great Witches stationed throughout the Western Border, and even our Vassal tribes, and fight the Frost Silkworm Race head-on!"

"If you're all too scared for a direct confrontation, we don't have to fight the Frost Silkworm Race. We can raid some of their Vassal tribes instead. That would be enough to intimidate the other opportunistic races, wouldn't it?"

So spoke one of the more hot-tempered Witches.

However, his words earned him a slew of eye-rolls from the other Witches.

"Annihilate their Vassal tribes? That's tantamount to declaring war on the Frost Silkworm Race!"

"Setting aside everything else, even if the Frost Silkworm Race tried to downplay it, there would still be a battle."

"On the battlefield of Little Witches, we can barely hold our own by leveraging our numerical advantage."

"But what about the Great Witches? Theirs can perfectly channel Divine Power, while our own Great Witches—like Lord Witch Slaughter and the others—are lucky if they can call upon even thirty percent of the Divine Power they once wielded."

"Besides, even if Lord Witch Slaughter and the others are personally powerful enough to compensate for some of the disparity in Divine Power, it would be nearly impossible for them to protect the rest of our people on a chaotic battlefield."

"We may not fear death, but there's no point in dying so senselessly. Forget it!"

"For now, it's just as the Witch King said. Our race must endure this humiliation and bide our time. We just have to wait for the Blazing God to recover and return. Then, everything we've lost can be reclaimed!"

"..."

Inside the Witch God Hall, the Witches devolved into a cacophony of arguments. frⅇe

This had become the norm.

Such scenes were inevitable after every duel with the Frost Silkworm Race.

After all, understanding the reality of their situation was one thing, but who could truly stand by and emotionlessly watch their own people die?

Who could ignore the fate of their mortal tribes—to become slaves and fodder for blood sacrifices after a lost duel?

Even in this barbaric era, this was just human nature.

"Alright, that's enough! Stop arguing."

"All you lot do is argue day in and day out. Does arguing solve anything?"

"Or what, you think you can argue the Frost Silkworm Race to death? Or perhaps argue the Blazing God back into existence?"

"All of you, get out of here! If you have this much time to waste, you'd be better off thinking about how to improve your own Power!"

"...."

Finally, Wu Tao couldn't take it anymore.

With a furious tirade, he drove the entire crowd of Witches—regardless of age or seniority—out of the Divine Hall.

Once the Witch God Hall had returned to its usual tranquility,

Wu Tao turned to Witch Slaughter, who sat at the front of the hall. He had remained perfectly composed through it all, as if in deep Meditation.

"Tu, this can't go on. It's no solution."

"Hasn't the Witch King thought of any way to break this deadlock?"

"Honestly, this situation... it's just so hard to stomach!"

"Others may not know this, but you and I do. There's no precedent for a major Race that's been reduced to a minor one ever rising to prominence again."

"Our Race might not fall so far as to become a minor one, but even if we're only reduced to a mid-sized tribe, clawing our way back to being a major Race would be incredibly difficult. We might even end up as a Vassal to another major Race just to survive."

"If it comes to that... I'd rather be dead. I can't bear the thought of such a fate."

Wu Tao was clearly emotional now. He plopped down cross-legged beside Witch Slaughter, his frustration palpable.

On Witch Slaughter's other side, Witch Spirit said nothing, but their eyes held a trace of helplessness and a deep, unspoken sigh.

Witch Slaughter didn't open his eyes.

He didn't even answer Wu Tao right away.

But after a moment of silence, he began to speak, his eyes still closed.

"We all know that the Third Heaven is in the Celestial Realm."

"But do you know how many Deities there are in the Third Heaven?"

Witch Slaughter's sudden question stunned both Wu Tao and Witch Spirit.

"I don't know... but there must be several dozen, right?" Wu Tao guessed, confused by the question.

Upon hearing this, Witch Slaughter suddenly opened his eyes.

He looked at Wu Tao and shook his head with a resigned air.

"The world is vast. Even a Great Witch cannot possibly know its full extent."

"Your estimate of a few dozen is based on the fact that there are only a few dozen Deity-worshipping tribes on this continent where our Flame Race resides."

"There are archipelagos overseas, great islands even farther away, and even entire Earth Realms that rival the size of our own continent."

???

Wu Tao was baffled, and Witch Spirit likely felt the same.

They knew of islands, but they couldn't comprehend the idea of a landmass overseas as vast as the one the Flame Race inhabited.

After all, the Flame Race had only risen to prominence, formed its own culture, and developed its racial identity just over two thousand years ago.

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