[Second update]
The bitter wind howled.
Soren stared coldly at the valley before him, his expression more solemn than ever.
A great battle was inevitable after all!
The enemy lurked in the shadows while he stood in the open.
Soren had spent enormous effort searching for the hideouts of the Shadow Church and the Shadow Thieves. At last, his persistence had paid off, and he had found the enemy's headquarters.
This would be a head-on confrontation!
With the Lord of Shadows being so cautious, catching him off guard was far too difficult.
Besides, if a deity wanted to leave, ordinary people truly had no way to stop them. The safest and most effective option available to Soren was therefore a decisive battle against his enemy!
The Lord of Shadows could flee.
But the Shadow Church and the Shadow Thieves could not. Soren was forcing the Lord of Shadows to face him head-on.
If he refused to fight this time, the Shadow Church's forces on the Material Plane would be utterly destroyed. Once a deity's church had been wiped out, they could essentially forget about making a comeback during the Time of Troubles. Countless people would be eager to kick him while he was down and finish off the Lord of Shadows after he lost all his forces. The same applied to Soren. If Port Nyanzaru were destroyed, he would almost instantly be back at square one. With nothing but his personal strength left, he would struggle to accomplish anything during the Time of Troubles.
"My Lord!"
Ugly Monkey appeared before Soren and respectfully dropped to one knee. "The Shadow Temple's stronghold is up ahead. There's a dense network of underground tunnels beneath it. We've already lost quite a few men scouting the place."
"The Shadow Thieves have laid a huge