At the junction of Great Gan, Great Chu, and Great Wei lay a vast plain, where two cities renowned throughout the world stood: Hundred Schools City and Two Worlds Pass.
Hundred Schools City was home to the headquarters of most of the various schools of thought.
As for Two Worlds Pass, it lay not far from Hundred Schools City, separated from it by less than a hundred li.
Compared with the prosperous Hundred Schools City, Two Worlds Pass had virtually no economy to speak of. It could be considered a purely military fortress.
In fact, just as its name suggested, Two Worlds Pass really was a pass. It had been built specifically to defend against the Demon Race, and had existed for more than six hundred years.
Over those six hundred years, Two Worlds Pass had repelled one Demon Race attack after another.
It could be said that the prosperity and peace enjoyed in the rear by Great Gan, Great Chu, and Great Wei owed an immense debt to Two Worlds Pass.
Two Worlds Pass was built differently from other cities. It was divided into two layers, an inner and an outer one.
The inner layer was small, with a radius of about one kilometer.
Strangely, though, there were no buildings at all in that one-kilometer area. Only a rather odd-looking vortex stood in the center. The vortex itself wasn't large, covering barely a hundred square meters.
That wasn't the strangest part. The inner and outer layers of Two Worlds Pass had no connecting passage between them. A ring of bluestone walls, more than a dozen zhang high and five or six zhang thick, separated them.
In other words, the inner layer was enclosed by these thick, sturdy walls.
From the looks of it, they seemed to be guarding against whatever lay inside.
At that moment, inside a residence in the western part of Two Worlds Pass's outer city,
a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty was listening to a report from his subordinate.
"General, all one million soldiers in the city have now finished learning the Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage divine ability. Should we launch another attack?"
By the time Zhang finished speaking, excitement shone in his eyes. He seemed eager to teach the Demon Race another good lesson—and win another great victory while he was at it.
After all, chances to hold such a sure-fire advantage didn't come along often.
But the middle-aged man—the general—remained calm after hearing him out. "No rush."
Seeing how unruffled his general remained, Zhang hurriedly said, "General, this opportunity won't come again if we let it slip. If the Demon Race learns this divine ability too, we'll lose our advantage."
Zhang believed that their side now held an overwhelming advantage, and that this was the perfect time to press it. How could he not be anxious?
If the Demon Race learned the divine ability in a few days, wouldn't things go right back to how they were before?
They had only a few days' head start. How could they not do everything they could to make the most of it?
The general's surname was Liu, and his given name was Yong'an. He was from Great Chu.
Of course, when stationed at Two Worlds Pass, it didn't matter too much which kingdom one came from. Whether they belonged to Great Chu, Great Gan, or Great Wei, they were all fighting for humanity.
Seeing how anxious his adviser was, Liu Yong'an knew he had to explain things clearly; otherwise, it might undermine the army's morale. He asked, "Xingjian, why do you think we built Two Worlds Pass?"
Zhang Xingjian recalled the vow he had made when he first arrived at Two Worlds Pass. He immediately lifted his head and answered proudly, "Of course, it was to protect the common people of the world from further harm at the hands of the Demon Race."
Liu Yong'an nodded with satisfaction. At least this kid hasn't forgotten the vow he made back then. Otherwise... heh.
Then General Liu asked, "And how would you compare our strength with the Demon Race's?"
Zhang Xingjian replied at once, "Our human race is among the strongest of the hundred races, but at most we're equivalent to two weaker races. We're about on par with the top races, such as the Fox Race, Dragon Race, Lion Race, and Monkey Race."
"Then tell me—if the Fox Race's strength suddenly doubled, what should we do?"
Zhang Xingjian answered, "We should immediately ally with the Lion Race, the Monkey Race, and the other races to wipe out the Fox Race, or force them back to their former strength..."
He suddenly stopped. His heart lurched, and he stammered, "General, do you mean they might join forces to attack us?"
General Liu gave him an approving look. "Exactly. That's why I put nearly all the Earth Luck we just acquired into making sure our entire army learned the Mind-Fixing Divine Ability, in case the worst happens."
Hearing his general confirm that the other races really might join forces against humanity, Zhang Xingjian looked somewhat alarmed. "Can we hold them off?"
He knew that although humanity now had the advantage of the Mind-Fixing Divine Ability and was defending rather than attacking, they still couldn't withstand an assault by all the other races. By his estimate, they could only hold off fewer than ten races for the time being.
Any more than that, and they wouldn't be able to manage it.
So their most important task now was to defend, not attack.
"Don't panic! We just need to make sure our defenses are in order. Besides, I doubt there'll even be a fight." General Liu waved a hand, telling him not to worry.
"No fight? The Mind-Fixing Divine Ability has clearly made us much stronger. Why would they let us grow?"
Seeing that Zhang Xingjian still didn't understand, General Liu continued to explain. "With this divine ability, we do have an overwhelming advantage. But are we the only ones who can learn it?"
"That's right! The other races can learn it too."
Zhang Xingjian suddenly understood.
Right! The Heavenly Dao Virtual Network didn't belong to the human race. All hundred races could learn divine abilities there. If so, wouldn't everyone's strength remain the same as before?
Humanity had only gained a few days' advantage.
The other side really had no reason to attack them.
At that thought, Zhang Xingjian's anxiety immediately eased. He had been worried the Demon Race might actually join forces against them, but now he saw that he had been overthinking it.
Suddenly, something didn't seem right to Zhang Xingjian. "General, we still need to be prepared. What if some of them get desperate and lash out?"
General Liu continued, "Mm. That's actually one reason we chose only twenty-five races this time. First, we really didn't have enough Earth Luck Points. Second, we wanted to keep them from uniting against us out of shared hatred."
"So that's why..."
Then Zhang Xingjian remembered that they hadn't won every battle this time. He asked tentatively, "So the races we chose this time were carefully selected too?"
General Liu looked at Zhang Xingjian in surprise. He hadn't expected him to figure that much out. "This divine ability has, in a sense, divided the hundred races into two levels: those with greater intelligence and those with lesser intelligence. Our losses against the Fox Race and the Monkey Race were also meant to show that this divine ability isn't invincible."
"Oh, I get it! We also want to show that humanity isn't unique. Whether it's the Fox Race or the Monkey Race, once they learn this divine ability, they'll get the same results we do. That way, they won't feel they have to throw everything they've got at us."
"Exactly! This divine ability has also divided warfare into two eras. Before, everyone relied on brute strength in battle. From now on, it'll depend on intelligence. If someone isn't smart enough and gets caught, one combo could finish them off before they even have a chance to run."
But Zhang Xingjian thought of something else. "Then, if that's the case, won't future battlefields be much more dangerous?"
"Exactly. That's why I suspect everyone will enter the Void Battlefield less often from now on."
Zhang Xingjian agreed with General Liu's guess.
After all, everyone had spent every day in the Void Battlefield before because it was difficult for anyone to kill their opponents outright. But now, with the Mind-Fixing Divine Ability, the Void Battlefield had become far more dangerous.
When the risks outweighed the rewards, fewer people would naturally go.
From now on, everyone would probably focus on defense.