At Ghost Leopard's bitter glare, Snake Lance and Pufferfish could only look back at him with innocent expressions.
This really wasn't their fault!
They wanted to slack off too, but two Titled Douluo were leading their side. If they had nothing to show for it, how could they explain that to Bibi Dong?
Besides, they had genuinely given the Breaking Clan a chance. They hadn't launched a sneak attack; they'd marched right up to their gates in full force. But the moment Yang Wudi saw them, that hothead had charged in with his Soul Breaking Spear, ready to fight to the death. What else could they do?
Were they supposed to run away?
Two Titled Douluo, chased off by a Soul Douluo?
They'd never live it down.
"Snake Lance, Pufferfish."
Bibi Dong's voice broke the silence. She glanced at the two of them. "You did well. Since the Breaking Clan refused to cooperate, they brought this on themselves. Capturing Yang Wushuang is also a great service to Spirit Hall, removing a future threat."
"You'll both receive great merit."
"Thank you, Your Holiness!" Snake Lance and Pufferfish were delighted and hurriedly bowed in thanks.
Then Bibi Dong turned to Ghost Leopard Douluo, her gaze turning cold.
"As for Elder Ghost Leopard..."
"Y-yes! I'm here!" Ghost Leopard Douluo broke into a cold sweat.
"I've seen your sense of righteousness for myself." Bibi Dong's voice was calm, but Ghost Leopard Douluo felt a chill shoot straight through his skull. "I hope that next time, you'll know when to set it aside. Think carefully about what you do."
"Yes! Yes! I know I was wrong!" Ghost Leopard Douluo felt as though he'd been pardoned. The cold sweat on his back had nearly soaked through his clothes.
"Your Holiness..."
Snake Lance Douluo hesitated, then stepped forward and asked, "Now that the Clear Sky Sect has sealed its mountain, Tang Hao has been expelled, and the four affiliated clans have fallen apart, Spirit Hall has achieved its strategic objectives."
"Besides... we no longer have just cause to attack the Clear Sky Sect. If we keep sending troops, the Soul Masters across the continent will condemn us, and the Clear Sky Sect may even fight back with everything it has."
"As the saying goes, drive a dog into a narrow alley and it will bite back."
"I'm bold enough to ask... shouldn't we withdraw?"
Silence fell over the tent.
Everyone's eyes turned to Bibi Dong.
It was true. By this point, Spirit Hall had won big.
They'd killed two elders, driven the Great Elder to his death, dealt a crushing blow to the Clear Sky Sect's elite forces, taken the Speed Clan, crippled the Breaking Clan, driven away the Strength Clan and Defense Clan, and finally forced the strongest sect in the world to seal its mountain and shut itself away.
That was a victory they could boast about for a hundred years.
Knowing when to stop was the most sensible choice.
Besides, everyone was tired. They were scared, too.
Especially those who'd witnessed the Great Elder blow himself up. Now, just hearing the words "Clear Sky Hammer" made their knees tremble.
Bibi Dong sighed inwardly.
"Nan Feng, you heard him. War needs a just cause. We came here to avenge the dead, not to wipe out an entire sect. If we keep attacking now, it'll be naked aggression. What will Soul Masters across the continent think of Spirit Hall?"
"Besides..."
Bibi Dong sighed. "Most importantly, our people can't keep fighting."
"The Clear Sky Sect's Great Elder may not have hurt me with that explosion, but he blew the courage right out of Spirit Hall's Soul Masters. Even Chrysanthemum, Ghost, and Demon Bear are now wary whenever they hear about the Clear Sky Hammer."
"Attack Clear Sky Peak? It's a natural fortress, easy to defend and hard to assault. Soul Saints and below would be useless. Do you want a few Titled Douluo to throw their lives away filling that chasm?"
"If we quit while we're ahead and go back with Yang Wushuang and the Speed Clan captives, we'll have won both face and spoils. It's the best deal we could ask for."
"If we keep fighting, we'll have neither a proper justification nor an easy victory. The price will be enormous, and the risks will far outweigh the rewards."
"Quit while we're ahead? Impossible," Nan Feng said coolly.
"If you don't finish the meat once it's right there in your mouth, Heaven will punish you. We have to keep fighting!"
"Fight?" Bibi Dong frowned, arguing silently to herself. What's left to gain? If we keep going, the losses will far outweigh the benefits. We could even end up losing everything.
Spirit Hall no longer has a just cause. If we force an assault on Clear Sky Peak, we'll be sending our people to their deaths. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan won't sit still, and the two empires will grow wary of us.
Is it worth making an enemy of the entire continent for a few defeated stragglers?
"Who said we were going to storm Clear Sky Peak?" Nan Feng countered.
"We just need to bring the army up to the mountain and pitch camp beneath Clear Sky Peak with the remaining thousand or so people. We can chant slogans every day and scare them a little."
"Put pressure on them, and, while we're at it... draw everyone's attention."
Bibi Dong was even more confused. "If we're not attacking the mountain, what are we staying here for? To admire the scenery?"
"To hunt, of course," Nan Feng said.
"Little Dongdong, think about it. After seeing what the Samsara Death Realm can do, would those Clear Sky Sect elders, scared half to death, really dare to hide on that death trap, Clear Sky Peak?"
"Clear Sky Peak is easy to defend and hard to attack when it comes to armies and low-level Soul Masters. But what do those few iron chains matter to a Titled Douluo? What do those cliffs matter?"
"If you wanted to, you could fly up there anytime, unleash a domain over their main hall, and wipe them all out."
"You're the one they fear most right now!"
"So..." Nan Feng said with certainty, "a crafty rabbit has three burrows. A sect like the Clear Sky Sect, with a thousand years of history, must have more than one escape route. They'd never put all their eggs in one basket by relying on Clear Sky Peak alone."
"They're probably carrying out a secret retreat as we speak!"
"Retreat?" Bibi Dong's thoughts stirred. "You mean... they'll flee?"
"They'll definitely flee! At the very least, they'll send away the old, the young, the women and children, and their young prodigies. They'll leave a few old bones behind on the mountain as bait, at most."
"Where would they go?" Bibi Dong quickly began to work it out. "The Star Luo Empire? The people there are tough, but it's a long journey, and Spirit Hall has checkpoints all along the way. The risks are too great."
"Then there's only one direction..."
Bibi Dong and Nan Feng spoke in unison.
"North! Heaven Dou City!"
"Bingo!"
Nan Feng snapped his fingers. "The Clear Sky Sect's stronghold is already deep within the Heaven Dou Empire. Heading north to Heaven Dou City is the shortest and safest route."
"That's Heaven Dou Imperial Family territory. The imperial guards are stationed around the capital. Even Spirit Hall couldn't march a Soul Master army through there in broad daylight to kill people."
"More importantly, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are both nearby."
"Before, we had a just cause: avenging the previous Pope's death. They didn't dare speak out and could only watch."
"But now the Clear Sky Sect has backed down and sealed its mountain. It's even expelled Tang Hao. If we still act like we intend to wipe them out, those two sects will inevitably fear they're next."
"When that happens, they'll definitely step in to protect what remains of the Clear Sky Sect. The Heaven Dou Imperial Family might get involved as well, to win people over with a timely show of support."
"So, for the Clear Sky Sect, Heaven Dou City is the only safe haven left. It's the place they'll crawl to if they have to!"
"Since that's the case, we split our forces in two. We make a big show of surrounding Clear Sky Peak, drawing everyone's attention and making that fool Tang Xiao think we're planning a head-on battle."
"Then we send out an elite force to wait along the route they have to take!"
"Draw the tiger away from the mountain!"
"The Clear Sky Sect has to move its elderly, women and children, and young prodigies. Their group will be huge, and they'll move slowly. That makes them the perfect target!"
Bibi Dong hesitated. "But... we'd have no justification. The Clear Sky Sect has already surrendered. If we intercept and kill their women and children..."
"Justification?" Nan Feng thought for a moment. "Isn't one right there?"
"You just say that, according to reliable intelligence, the Clear Sky Sect expelled Tang Hao in public but was secretly moving him out under cover!"
"That wanted criminal, Tang Hao, is hiding among the people they're evacuating!"
"We're pursuing them because we're trying to capture Tang Hao, and the Clear Sky Sect survivors are resisting."
"And whether we actually find Tang Hao in the end..."
"As long as we capture everyone from the Clear Sky Sect who's fleeing, won't we control the story?"
"If the Clear Sky Sect members themselves admit that Tang Hao was in the group, but escaped when Spirit Hall attacked, who could object?"
"Besides, I'm not planning to wipe out the Clear Sky Sect. I'm planning to absorb them."
"Absorb them?" Bibi Dong stared at him.
"Nan Feng, have you let victory go to your head? Don't you know what those people in the Clear Sky Sect are like? Haven't you seen enough of the Great Elder blowing himself up? Do you think a bunch of lunatics who'd rather die than surrender can be absorbed just by scaring them?"
"Get them to submit? Not unless the sun rises in the west."
"Pride? Glory?" Nan Feng looked amused.
"Little Dongdong, I think you've misunderstood those words."
"Back at the Speed Clan, Tang Xiao defied the elders to save his uncle. That was pride."
"Later, at the Strength Clan, the Great Elder blew himself up to buy time for the sect to survive. That was glory."
"But what about now?"
"They tossed Tang Hao out like garbage, abandoned their affiliated clans like pawns, then sealed their mountain like a pack of turtles hiding in their shells."
"What do you call that? Scraping by. Doing anything to stay alive!"
"The moment they made those choices, their so-called pride was broken, and their so-called glory was dragged through the mud."
"There's no such thing as an unbreakable backbone. There are only illusions that haven't been shattered yet."
"First, we give them despair."
"We intercept the group heading for Heaven Dou City and take every last elderly person, woman, child, and promising young prodigy prisoner."
"That's how we seize them by the lifeline!"
"Then... we give them a little hope."
"We tell Tang Xiao and those old fossils that if they're willing to bow their heads and submit, we'll let their people go."
"We can even promise that if they submit, we won't kill them. We'll help them rebuild the Clear Sky Sect, and even let them preserve the Clear Sky Hammer legacy."
"On one side, their sect is destroyed, their family line wiped out."
"On the other, they swallow their humiliation and preserve their Core Flame."
"Which do you think those old fossils will choose? They're already scared out of their wits, and they've already abandoned their principles once just to survive."
"..."