First, both sides had to become enemies and treat the Sea of Ten Thousand Evils as their battlefield.
Second, neither side could fall behind, and they had to be locked in a stalemate.
Third, the battle between them could not stop in the short term, and they could not discover Douluo Continent's involvement.
Given the current situation, the above three recommendations met the requirements.
Of course, Satan would still have to observe for a while before he could draw any conclusions about what came next.
After all, he did not possess Yue Shen's ability to predict everything with uncanny accuracy.
Satan and the others' withdrawal naturally affected Baal and his group as well.
The opening of the third step of their plan had now been completed, so there was no point in remaining at the scene.
Even if they expanded their current gains, it would not change the nature of the situation.
Thus, Baal and the others ended this battle by having Mammon severely injure Aurelion Sol and Zoe before departing.
"That retreat was really rather baffling."
Atop the mast of a Garen ship, Tailong watched Baal and the others leave, then could not help shaking his head.
His words seemed to grow wings and drift into Swain's ears.
"They came quickly, and left even faster."
Swain said in a deep voice, "Could their purpose really have been nothing more than provoking war?"
LeBlanc adjusted her magic cannon and said, "No matter what, they are the successful side for now."
"And if you do not find a way to deal with the next wave of Greatsword Storms, we can start preparing to collect those people's corpses."
"Where is Gangplank now?"
Swain said in a deep voice, "His people are the only ones who truly know how to tame this sea."