Filo Empire.

Emperor Hogan's face darkened upon hearing the news of Pood Empire's surrender, his expression grim enough to wring out water.

Among the four great empires surrounding Crossbridge Empire, Selene Empire had already allied with Crossbridge. With Goldflow Empire destroyed and Pood Empire surrendering, Filo Empire was undoubtedly the next target.

"What exactly is Will scheming?" Hogan could not believe that Will would willingly surrender.

He pondered for a moment, but could not figure out the reasons behind this move.

Pood Empire was finished, and all the pressure now fell on Filo Empire. He could not just sit back and wait.

He immediately issued orders to deploy heavy troops along the border with Crossbridge Empire and sent more spies to closely monitor Crossbridge Empire's every move.

He then set off for Ulin Holy Mountain.

Ulin Holy Mountain.

Located at the border between Tylus Continent and the Ulin Ridge, Skyborne Church had built a grand temple here.

One by one, the leaders of the Eastern Domain's powerful factions arrived. These included the leader of Silent Extinction Sea, the president of the Pharmacists' Association, the lord of Firelight City, the emperor of Asman Empire, the speaker of Ondor Parliament, the lord of Land of the Holy Sword's Dominion, and others.

Seeing Lucio standing in front of the temple, many of the powerful figures were taken aback. They hadn't expected the sage known for peering into destiny to leave his secluded retreat at the Heart of Earth.

Many approached him to strike up a conversation.

On the other side, Joanna, the saintess of Skyborne Church, wore a mysterious smile.

"Saintess," a senior officer from Skyborne Church quietly appeared behind her, bowing respectfully.

"It's done. We have invited a God Fire realm guardian to act. Aurek will never see this coming," the officer reported.

Joanna's smile deepened.

As they schemed here, she was also preparing in other places.

"Aurek, I've prepared a surprise for you. I hope you'll enjoy it," she thought to herself with a touch of mockery.

Ulin Holy Mountain, Main Temple.

The leaders of various Eastern Domain factions gathered in the grand hall.

Frederick, the leader of Skyborne Church, and Dave, the head of White Wing Abbey, sat in the center of the hall.

To their right sat Lucio.

Around them were the leaders of the major hegemonic and semi-hegemonic factions in the Eastern Domain, including:

John, the speaker of Ondor Parliament; Eureka, representing the Hyrule War Academy; Hogan, Emperor of Filo Empire; Machiel, the Elven King of Bishamira Forest; Brand, the leader of Tassidy Temple; Bredick, the master of Silent Extinction Sea; and Edmund, the lord of Land of the Holy Sword's Dominion.

The entire temple was enveloped by a powerful magical barrier, ensuring that no one could spy on the discussions within.

After a moment of silence, Frederick surveyed the room.

"Everyone is here for the same reason, and I believe you all already know what it is," he said.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Crossbridge Empire has risen, publicly boasting over two hundred thousand Stellar rank warriors, and likely even more hidden in the shadows," Frederick continued.

"Though we do not know where Aurek has recruited so many powerful warriors, one thing is clear: Crossbridge Empire is expanding rapidly and will not tolerate the existence of any independent factions."

"If we do not act, we will all lose our foothold," Frederick pointed out, directly addressing the stakes.

Hogan immediately chimed in.

"Crossbridge Empire has uprooted every force within its borders, big or small, even flattening the Ordon Theocracy."

"But Aurek hasn't stopped there. He destroyed Goldflow Empire, the Stellar Merchants' Guild, and eradicated all remnants, severing their legacy."

"If we allow Aurek to sweep through the Eastern Domain, no one here will be able to escape," Hogan continued.

As his words fell, murmurs spread throughout the temple.

The key issue was that Crossbridge Empire would not tolerate any other forces. If it unified the Eastern Domain, they would all be doomed.

"Just received word, Pood Empire has surrendered, and their royal family is now under house arrest in Crossbridge's Eryndor City."

"The Crossbridge army is marching into Pood's territory, sweeping away all resistance," Hogan added.

Brand, the leader of Tassidy Temple, frowned deeply but said nothing.

Will, the Emperor of Pood, had discussed the future of his empire with him. Whether Pood Empire would survive now rested on the outcome of this meeting.

Brand fell silent for a moment before speaking up.

"Since we are all here, I assume you have already made your decisions."

"I will speak first. If Crossbridge Empire is not destroyed, we will perish. I agree to unite and thoroughly crush Crossbridge Empire, restoring stability to the Eastern Domain."

Many of the faction leaders sneered inwardly upon hearing Brand's words.

Wasn't he the most anxious now that Pood Empire had surrendered?

Eureka surveyed the room, seeing that few had responded and spoke up.

"Crossbridge Empire is steadily consuming the Eastern Domain, and with each passing moment, its threat increases."

"Don't think you're safe just because it hasn't reached you yet. You should all understand the principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold.' I hope everyone makes their decision quickly."

Saying that, he looked toward John.

John thought for a moment and spoke up.

"I agree to unite."

The Emperor of Asman Empire, Sind, also spoke.

"I agree as well."

"Land of the Holy Sword's Dominion agrees!"

"Bishamira Forest agrees!"

As more leaders voiced their agreement, those who had previously hesitated followed suit, agreeing to the union.

Frederick listened to the declarations and exchanged a glance with Lucio.

Lucio gave a slight nod, but his gaze shifted toward Dave.

Once everyone had spoken, Frederick said,

"Since everyone is in agreement, this matter is settled."

"Now, let's discuss how many strong forces each faction needs to mobilize and how we will proceed with the war."

"After initial calculations, Crossbridge Empire has at least three hundred thousand Stellar rank warriors. We have confirmed over a hundred Sage rank warriors, but based on their depth, there could be thousands."

"We still don't know if there are any Divine Envoy rank or God Fire-level existences. As the leading faction, Skyborne Church will commit seventy percent of its resources!"

"This includes twenty Divine Envoys, five hundred Sage rank warriors, and forty thousand Stellar rank warriors. If we need to face God Fire-level opponents, my Church will take responsibility."

As Frederick finished speaking, the entire hall fell into stunned silence!

Although Skyborne Church might have hidden some of its true strength, twenty Divine Envoys and five hundred Sage rank warriors was already an incredibly daunting number!

The ancient forces that had survived the Godfall Gorge battle were indeed extraordinary, far surpassing what an ordinary hegemonic faction could compare to.

Fortunately, White Wing Abbey was there to balance things out.

If Skyborne Church had truly become this powerful, the Eastern Domain might already have been unified under its rule.

Dave's gaze grew more intense.

The power of Skyborne Church and White Wing Abbey was on par with each other. He understood that Frederick's commitment was likely close to seventy percent of his true resources.

Even if there were some discrepancies, it was already quite close.

Did he dare to take such a huge risk?

However, what Dave didn't know was that Frederick's decision to commit so much force was a calculated move to bait White Wing Abbey into committing an equal amount, exhausting both sides.

This was the result of his discussions with Lucio.

With that said, Frederick turned to Dave and smiled.

"Lord Dave, it's time for your faction to make a statement too."

All eyes in the hall turned to Dave.

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