Yet the brutality of war far exceeded their imagination.
Although they had successfully sparked a people's war that swept across the entire Divine Land, before absolute power, any strategy seemed utterly pale.
Those fearless resisters were like lambs awaiting slaughter before the Outer Realm Demons, utterly incapable of fighting back.
Their bodies were easily torn to pieces by those grotesque monsters.
Their homes were ruthlessly destroyed by annihilating energy.
Countless living beings wailed and struggled amid that great calamity, only to ultimately vanish into nothingness.
The entire Divine Land stood on the brink of collapse in that war.
Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, Zhang Xiaofan, and Bi Yao silently watched the hellish scene before them.
Their faces were filled with pain and helplessness.
They knew they had been wrong.
Terribly, absurdly wrong.
They had overestimated themselves and underestimated their enemy.
They had believed they could change this hopeless future through wisdom and courage.
But they had forgotten that before absolute power, all struggle was futile.
"Why?"
"Why did it turn out like this?"
Bi Yao stared at the land shrouded in blood and flames, murmuring to herself.
Two trails of scalding tears streamed from her eyes.
She could not accept this cruel reality.
Li Xiaoyu fell silent at her words.
He turned his gaze back to the Epoch Sand Table.
The confidence in his eyes was gone, leaving only exhaustion.
Just as endless despair was about to consume him, the Heavenly Emperor Chess Soul, which had been floating in midair all this time, suddenly spoke.
"Will you continue?"
He was deeply disappointed.
Li Xiaoyu's body jolted at those words.
He slowly raised his head and fixed his gaze on the starlit phantom radiating terrifying pressure.
Light reignited in his eyes.
It was no longer the flame of hope, but something unyielding.