169: The Elder's Decision

The Ratman Slave Owner excitedly brandished the human-skin whip he had just finished, lashing a Slave rat beside him until its flesh was torn open.

"Whips made of human skin really do feel the best!"

The Slave Owner looked at the long whip in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.

"How is the scouting going?"

"Where is the human settlement?"

A pitch-black Spy Ratman presented the gathered intelligence with both hands.

"The human settlement isn't far from here. Well done, go and receive your reward!"

"Have the Burrowing Rats dig an underground passage into the human settlement as quickly as possible. Gather more Slaves and warriors; we are going to hunt more humans."

"Her Majesty the Queen is still waiting for the joyful news of our victory!"

With an order from the Ratman Slave Owner, a tide of rats surged frantically both above and below ground. A large number of Ratmen continuously devoured the scattered villages of the Eagle Tribe and rapidly approached Eagle City, the center of the Eagle Tribe.

Wherever the Ratman tide passed, all life was extinguished and not a blade of grass remained. The Ratman Slave Owner thought they would catch the humans off guard, but the Ratmen failed to notice that the soaring Eagles in the sky had already brought information about everything happening on the ground back to Eagle City.

At this time, Eagle City had already begun a full-tribe mobilization. The entire population of the surrounding villages and towns had retreated into Eagle City, and all adult men were issued weapons to become warriors defending their home.

Because the Chief of the Eagle Tribe had taken most of the tribe's warriors away, the tribal leaders left behind in Eagle City felt uncertain in the face of the suddenly appearing Ratmen.

A large number of messengers seeking help were sent out. To the Holy Mountain, the other two major tribes, and their own Great Chief—the leaders of the Eagle Tribe sent messengers to every possible source of aid.

As the Eagles brought back more intelligence, the terrifying numbers of Ratmen repeatedly shattered the psychological limits of the Eagle Tribe's leaders.

"Where on earth did these monsters come from? How can there be so many?"

"I don't know if we can hold out until the Chief rushes back. The Chief must return as soon as possible!"

The soaring Eagles carried the hopes of the Eagle Tribe and spread the news of the Ratman invasion.

Upon receiving the news, the White Wolf Tribe immediately sent this intelligence to Renn. Renn was only slightly surprised by the newly appeared Ratmen, then he accelerated his own plans and ignored it further.

On the other side, the Wind Riding Tribe was barely holding itself together. The Wind Riding Tribe, which had just been plundered by Renn, was also waiting for news of their own Chief and was completely unable to aid the Eagle Tribe.

After the Holy Mountain received the Eagle Tribe's request for help, the already chaotic situation became even more disorganized. Some people wanted to support the Eagle Tribe but could only shout about it since they had no troops.

Some people were still furious over Renn's raid not long ago, clamoring for revenge against the invaders.

Only a few with slightly clearer heads hurriedly reported the current situation to the Grand Elder, who was out on a campaign.

Wave after wave of messengers eventually converged on the battlefield where the fighting was taking place at the eastern border.

In just a few days, the Grand Elder of the Holy Mountain received one piece of bad news after another, each making him more irritable.

"The White Wolf Tribe isn't coming; they've found their own future. Lord of the White Wolves? What is that?"

"The Wind Riding Tribe was attacked by the Lord of the White Wolves, the wind spirit sacred tree was stolen, and the tribe was plundered."

"The Holy Mountain was attacked by the Lord of the White Wolves, and the Holy Lord's Herb Garden was ransacked!"

"Suddenly appearing Ratmen have attacked the Eagle Tribe, and the Eagle Tribe is in imminent danger."

The Grand Elder rubbed his throbbing head; he had not yet recovered from the just-concluded high-intensity battle.

"The Lord of the White Wolves and the Ratmen should both be people from other worlds who crossed over from those two newly appeared Plane Passages. It seems each of their strengths is not to be underestimated."

"And these monsters!"

The Grand Elder could see monsters beginning to gather again several kilometers away. They didn't care at all about their previous losses and were already preparing for the next battle.

Meanwhile, the army under his command had fallen into a slump; now, even wanting to withdraw was a luxury.

"Lord Holy Lord, what should I do?"

"If only you were here. If you were here, how could these otherworldly creatures be so arrogant?"

The Grand Elder looked at the gray sky with great bitterness in his heart. The world that had been stable for hundreds of years had undergone earth-shaking changes in just one month, and he simply didn't have the ability to lead the Holy Mountain in dealing with this drastic upheaval.

"Grand Elder, my clansmen are in imminent danger. I cannot sit idly by."

The Chief of the Eagle Tribe was anxious and restless; he now desperately wanted to return to the tribe to lead his people in resisting the foreign enemy.

"Grand Elder, the Wind Riding Tribe was also attacked, and the lives of my clansmen are similarly threatened. How should we respond now?"

The Chief of the Wind Riding Tribe also stepped forward, voicing his concerns.

After gazing at the sky for a moment, the Grand Elder turned back to look at the somewhat disheveled crowd.

"What to do? You tell me, what should be done?"

"Our world will be destroyed in a few days. If we don't find a way out, everyone will die. It's just a matter of a few days earlier or later."

The cruel reality spoken by the Grand Elder made the originally restless crowd immediately realize what their biggest problem was right now.

After several days of bloody battle with the Chaos Demons and receiving one unexpected piece of news after another, the continuous blows had made them forget this most fatal crisis.

The originally urgent Eagle Chief was no longer so hurried now.

"Grand Elder, then what do we do?"

The Grand Elder's bloodshot eyes stared at everyone present, and his somewhat raspy voice slowly emerged from his mouth.

The Eagle Chief will lead the Eagle Knights back to defend Eagle City and block those Ratmen. Everyone else will stay here with me to block the monsters in front of us.

All Flying Eagle Messengers are to be released. Send messages to all settlements of the Holy Mountain, the Wind Riding Tribe, and the Eagle Tribe, telling them to surrender to that Lord of the White Wolves and lead their clansmen to migrate immediately to that Plane Passage in the west.

Hearing the Grand Elder's arrangement, some people became anxious.

"Grand Elder, how can this be? We don't even know what kind of person that Lord of the White Wolves is. Will it work to have the clansmen turn to him?"

"No matter what kind of person he is, at least he is human."

The Grand Elder glared at the person who stood up to object.

"He is human, not these monsters. That is enough. If our clansmen turn to him, they can continue their bloodline, and there is still hope for the future."

"Do we have any other choice now?"

"We can't seize the Plane Passage in front of us. Even if we could, the world behind it wouldn't be a good place; going there would basically be equivalent to seeking death."

"The Ratmen came out of the Plane Passage to the south. Can we go to a world occupied by those monsters?"

"There are only three Plane Passages, and right now we don't have the ability to seize any of them. The same goes for the passage occupied by the Lord of the White Wolves in the west; we can't seize it."

"To be able to easily subdue the White Wolf Tribe, that Lord of the White Wolves' strength is not at all weaker than mine, and he might even be stronger than me."

The Grand Elder's voice grew even lower.

"If the Holy Lord were still here, we would still have hope. Now, we have no choice."

"Originally, I wanted to risk everything for a glimmer of life, but I failed. In the end, we only have a dozen or so days left, maybe not even that."

"Even if we could occupy a Plane Passage now, we wouldn't be able to migrate all our clansmen in a dozen days, let alone now when we have nothing."

"Write down my order and all of you sign your names. This is our last hope. Let the clansmen go find that Lord of the White Wolves!"

"Since he could make Montoya submit, I don't think that Lord of the White Wolves is a person who is too tyrannical. The words he left at the Wind Riding Tribe and the Holy Mountain were signals. Go to him to seek that glimmer of life."

"The longer we hold out here, the more of our clansmen will gain the hope of living."