Although the coalition of gods held a slight advantage in the battle, no one felt satisfied. What they truly wanted wasn't just the upper hand, but a decisive, overwhelming victory—one that came at minimal cost.
After all, this was only a plane exploration. If they lost too many troops here, the consequences for their future development would be disastrous.
Population was the greatest bottleneck for any player at this stage.
To sustain the growth of their tribes, they couldn't afford to turn too many civilians into soldiers. Even if they wanted to, training a seasoned veteran wasn't something that could be rushed.
Cultivation resources were secondary. The battlefield itself was the real trial.
The system-provided barracks could teach basic skills, but without experiencing real combat, a soldier would never become truly battle-hardened.
Everyone knew that the battlefield was the most unpredictable place of all. You never knew what the enemy would do in the next second.
And finding a suitable battlefield for training? Incredibly rare.
Rewards were important, but so were the soldiers. Now, hesitation crept into every heart.
Should they keep fighting? Or was it better to retreat?
"Damn it, what kind of monster tribe is this? How can they be so powerful!" Mo Kongwu cursed, still shaken by the brutal tactics the ogres had unleashed just moments before.
Fang Xingchen let out a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, we wiped out their vassal tribes earlier. Otherwise, we wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Maybe we should retreat," Zhang Kexin suggested, her voice tight. "If we keep fighting like this, we'll be crushed. Too many more losses and we won't recover." She was already regretting accepting Fang Xingchen's invitation to join this venture. It was less an exploration and more a clash of gods.
Why would such a terrifying tribal force emerge from a simple plane?
In the previous battle, the enemy had launched tens of thousands of fireballs into the sky. Tens of thousands of dragon-blooded kobold warriors had charged like a tidal wave, and she had nearly collapsed under the pressure.
And yet somehow, their side had held the line, counterattacked, and even won.
From beginning to end, Zhang Kexin had felt like a spectator—just along for the ride, dragged forward by the strength of the others.
It was a miserable feeling, knowing her fate was entirely out of her control.
She felt like a small sailboat adrift in a stormy sea, never knowing when the next wave would tip her over.
"But I'm not willing to back down now that we've come this far."
Lin Ye ignored her and turned toward Su Xingyu. "Yong Ye, what's your take?"
"It's not going to be easy."
Su Xingyu spoke seriously. "With just our current numbers, even if we win, the losses will be heavy. Those kobolds aren't ordinary monsters. They've got a complete military system, and their warriors are incredibly strong. Whether it's physical power or will to fight, they're far above your average tribe."
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the Kobold Tribe was the most dangerous enemy Su Xingyu had ever faced.
Lin Ye gritted his teeth. "Then we'll reinforce. I can send in another twenty thousand light warriors."
He looked at Su Xingyu and Mo Kongwu. "What about you?"
"I can send in thirty thousand," Su Xingyu replied after a quick mental calculation.
Mo Kongwu stared at them, stunned. "How did you two develop so fast that you still have so many soldiers?"
He did his own math. "I can send five thousand tauren and fifteen thousand pigmen. Any more than that, and my tribe will suffer."
Mo Kongwu's tribe had plenty of warriors—he was, after all, the god of orcs. Orcs weren't known for their development skills, but when it came to war, they were second to none.
Every orc was a potential soldier.
But he knew full well that ordinary soldiers would be slaughtered. Against the ogre elites, sending untrained troops would just increase the body count. Worse, they might even become a weak point that the enemy could exploit.
Only elite warriors stood a chance. Only they could hold the line.
After some thought, Mo Kongwu concluded that among all his forces, only the tauren and pigmen were strong enough to stand against the dragon-blooded kobolds.
Once the two agreed to send reinforcements, Lin Ye finally relaxed. He turned his gaze to the last two commanders.
Under his silent pressure, the other two hesitated, then made their decision. They would send another group of priests and archers to support the front lines.
With that, the coalition of gods swelled to three hundred thousand strong.
But with that surge came a new problem.
"I've got a question," Su Xingyu said bluntly. "Can you command this many troops?"
"I can't," Lin Ye admitted without hesitation.
"So what's your plan?"
"We split. You lead one half, I'll lead the other."
Su Xingyu's army wasn't suited for merging with others, especially not Lin Ye's.
Their forces had opposing traits. Instead of complementing each other, they interfered.
The warriors of the Night Tribe became stronger during the polar night, while Lin Ye's light warriors grew weaker. It meant that even when Su Xingyu wanted to unleash the Dark Curtain to boost his army, he had to hold back for the sake of his allies.
Now that their forces had grown so large, the problem had only worsened. Dividing the army was the obvious solution.
"Fine," Lin Ye agreed readily. He had been considering the same thing. Now that Su Xingyu had said it first, he was more than happy to comply. "Which legions do you want?"
"Give me the elf archers and elf priests," Su Xingyu said after a moment's thought. He had chosen to take Zhang Kexin's forces.
Lin Ye glanced at Zhang Kexin, who gave a slight nod. "Alright," he replied.
With that, the massive coalition of gods was split into two.
Lin Ye led a force of 170,000, composed mainly of light warriors and minotaurs, with lizard priests and pigmen as support.
Su Xingyu commanded 130,000 troops, built around dark warriors and jackals, with elf archers and priests backing them.
After regrouping, they advanced again to face the gnoll army.
The kobolds had no path of retreat. The two armies clashed once more.
Over half a million troops filled the battlefield. The air trembled with the force of war. Fire and blood surged across the front lines.
But this time, things were different.
Separated, each army operated at its peak.
Lin Ye's force basked in the brilliance of polar day, while Su Xingyu's army thrived in the depths of polar night.
Two extremes. Two battlefronts. Each devastating in its own right.
The clash that followed was long and grueling. The earth split under the weight of marching soldiers, arrows blackened the sky, and spells turned the battlefield into a storm of chaos.
At last, after a brutal struggle, the coalition of gods emerged victorious again.
But even so, the ogres managed to retreat once more.