485: Deploy troops, 3,000 imperial guards.

The World Tree is the jianmu… Qin Yang carefully examined the “jianmu branch” in his hand, his thoughts in turmoil.

He increasingly felt that the beastmen’s invasion of the Elf World was not simple.

If the beastmen were merely coveting the power of the jianmu, that would be one thing.

But what if they had a deeper purpose?

For example… slaughtering elves to help the jianmu grow!

Qin Yang’s conjecture had a basis.

That was, the jianmu could grow by absorbing Elf Souls.

In this century-long War of invasion, countless elves died, and their Souls were all absorbed by the jianmu.

Salaman also said that the “jianmu branch” had only recently unlocked its third and fourth entries.

This was enough to show that the jianmu had been growing robustly throughout this War.

Thinking of this, Qin Yang took a deep breath, his lungs feeling a chill.

If the beastmen’s purpose was to help the jianmu grow, then it meant… the Divine Authority behind them was very likely one of the people on the list.

“Who could he be?”

“If he’s one of the people on the list, then why does he have a similar aura to the Omniscient Eye?”

“Could it be that the Omniscient Eye and the people on the list are connected?”

Qin Yang’s pupils trembled, startled by his own conjecture.

He sat back in his chair, looking out of the Kunning Palace, lost in thought.

The others nearby, seeing this, dared not speak.

Even when the three disasters descended and the gods were in the sky, the Divine Emperor had never shown such a solemn expression.

Judging by his appearance, there was probably something more troublesome than the descent of the Omniscient Eye.

After a moment of silence, Qin Yang suddenly spoke to Lin Xiaoer: “The Expeditionary Force must set off as soon as possible; we don’t have much time to prepare.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoer’s delicate brows furrowed, her gaze solemn.

The Annihilation Sea was turbulent, and a cross-spatial ocean voyage without drills would definitely be dangerous.

But Lin Xiaoer could see Qin Yang’s anxiety and knew his character.

Qin Yang would not take risks unless it was a critical moment.

After a moment of silence, Lin Xiaoer also nodded and said, “Then we’ll conduct one last drill; I will do my best to ensure everything is foolproof.”

After receiving a positive reply from Lin Xiaoer, Qin Yang looked at Salaman and Yekaterina and said, “Have the elves completely avoid War from now on and preserve their last remaining forces.”

“Completely avoid War?”

Hearing Qin Yang’s words, Salaman and Yekaterina exchanged glances, their expressions surprised.

After a moment of silence, Salaman still mustered the courage to say to Qin Yang:

“Divine Emperor, the beastmen army has already penetrated deep into the Elf World and is about to reach the Elven Royal City where the World Tree is located. Once both the Elven Royal City and the World Tree fall, the Elf Civilization will be declared annihilated.”

After Salaman finished speaking, Yekaterina, who was beside her, also said anxiously, “We have already retreated to the last pass. If we don’t resist, the beastmen will directly capture the Elven Royal City, and there are 8 million civilians there…”

Qin Yang’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “Are all 8 million civilians elves?”

“Of course,” Yekaterina affirmed.

Qin Yang thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want the elves to suffer large-scale casualties anymore. Have the Professionals lead the civilians to migrate to other places.”

Salaman was stunned.

Listening to the Divine Emperor, did this mean he was going to abandon the World Tree and the Elven Royal City?

That wouldn’t do.

The Elven Royal City carried the Divine Authority of Nature.

Salaman could not lose the Elven Royal City, just as Elebella could not lose the Holy City.

Moreover, the World Tree was also the heart of the Elf World.

If the beastmen defiled the World Tree, no one could predict what changes would occur in the Elf World.

Salaman looked at Qin Yang, her dark green eyes filled with anxiety.

Qin Yang saw her concerns and said, “The beastmen’s goal is not the Elven Royal City, and even less the elves’ land.”

“Then what is their goal?” Salaman asked.

Qin Yang looked at the jianmu branch in his hand again and said in a deep voice, “Their goal is to kill as many elves as possible.”

“Why… why!?”

Salaman was abruptly stunned.

She had always thought that the beastmen coveted the elves’ land and had always guided the elves to resist.

War would always have casualties.

By now, the casualty figures in this War had long become a cold string of numbers for Salaman.

Hearing Qin Yang say this, Salaman realized that this century-long War had wiped out two generations of elves, with casualties numbering in the tens of millions.

For a race with low reproductive capacity, this was absolutely an unbearable burden.

At this moment, that cold string of numbers turned blood-red in Salaman’s heart.

She felt difficulty breathing and immense heartache.

But she couldn’t understand what deep-seated hatred the beastmen and elves had, invading the world just to slaughter the aboriginals?

Qin Yang could feel Salaman’s emotions, but he couldn’t explain further.

The most important thing now was to avoid more Elf deaths as much as possible and prevent the jianmu from continuing to grow.

Of course, he also had to quickly get the jianmu under his control.

The jianmu branch already had the ability to communicate with immortals and gods; the jianmu should also possess it.

The beastmen might not have ideas about the jianmu, but what about the “gods” behind them?

Could his goal be to use the jianmu to open the passage to the Heavenly Court?

Thinking of this, Qin Yang felt a rush of panic.

He couldn’t delay any longer; he had to intervene in the Elf World in advance.

“Through Majesty Suspended in the Sky, I can transport a batch of Tiance Imperial Guards over,” Qin Yang said in his heart.

He had already thought of a way to support the Elf World before this.

The third entry of the shangfang sword, named Majesty Suspended in the Sky, could suspend the shangfang sword above an area.

Within a thousand li radius below the shangfang sword, Qin Yang could remotely cast all skills without distance restrictions and across space.

This was Qin Yang’s confidence in letting Lin Xiaoer advance into the Elf World.

Even if the Expeditionary Force encountered insurmountable trouble, he could still take action.

However, remote casting could ignore distance, but not consumption.

The farther the casting range was from Qin Yang, the more Imperial Power was consumed.

The Elf World was not far from the Human World, but it still crossed space, and the consumption was ten thousand times that of normal circumstances.

Even if Qin Yang had accumulated hundreds of millions of Imperial Power, he couldn’t go all out under such consumption.

Qin Yang originally intended not to act unless necessary.

But given the current situation, this Imperial Power could not be saved.

The elves were avoiding War, and the Expeditionary Force wouldn’t enter the Elf World so quickly.

Qin Yang could only first deploy the Tiance Imperial Guards to prevent the beastmen from approaching the jianmu.

“Looking solely at the attributes of the Tiance Imperial Guards, they are already bare-bones Professionals who have undergone transformation, just without the rich skills and equipment entries of Professionals.”

“Their individual combat strength can definitely rival human monarchs, and they would be even stronger when fighting in formation.”

“Deploying 3,000 of them should be enough to change the tide of the War.”

Qin Yang pondered, planning to first spend ninety million Imperial Power to summon three thousand Tiance Imperial Guards to support the Elf World.

2,000 people would ensure the safety of the jianmu, and 1,000 people would ensure the safety of the elves.