Whether they believed it or not, everyone was delighted to see Song Zining’s rare demeanor of confidence. The Eternal Flame’s presence or absence would make a fundamental difference. If he were to settle down in the neutral lands, then there was nothing else left for the others to do. All they could do was return to the empire with their tails tucked between their legs. It was a different thing altogether if he would leave after three days. There was no need for Song Zining, even. Many of the people here could think of plausible countermeasures.

Discussions proceeded rapidly, and a conclusion was reached very soon afterward. The empire’s forces would pull three hundred kilometers away from Tidehark and avoid the arriving Evernight army. They would then move back to lay siege after the Eternal Flame had departed.

The only regretful thing was that the Great Maelstrom passage had started to stabilize again these days, and they would be able to send another group of people in after a few days. It just so happened that the Evernight alliance had arrived at this point, so the second batch quotas would surely fall into their hands.

Judging from the current...