The Great War Erupts, This is a Crushing Victory

Facts proved that the bond of brotherhood among the Ancestral Witches was genuine.

If Zhu Jiuyin's words had been spoken within any other faction, it would have undoubtedly marked the beginning of internal division.

But within the Witch Race, after an initial moment of astonishment, Dijiang reacted quickly.

Dijiang was a straightforward man: "Second Brother, are you saying that I, your eldest brother, should not occupy this position as leader of the Witch Race?"

When Dijiang said this, there was truly no excessive suspicion or anger, but rather a sincere and earnest inquiry.

In fact, Dijiang was becoming increasingly certain that within the River of Time, Zhu Jiuyin must have witnessed a scenario extremely unfavorable to the Witch Race—a scenario that must have occurred while he, Dijiang, was leading the Witch Race.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain the drastic change that had come over Zhu Jiuyin during these past days.

Dijiang even believed that if Zhu Jiuyin could see something while merely at the Golden Immortal of the Origin realm, it might very well be an arrangement by Father God.

On the other side, Zhu Jiuyin smiled faintly and thought to himself: Big Brother is indeed still the same Big Brother as before!

Clearly, in the myths of the Primordial World, the fact that Dijiang could become the leader of the Witch Race and gain the recognition and loyalty of Ancestral Witches like Zhu Jiuyin and Houtu—who were no less powerful than him—as well as those with fiery temperaments like Zhurong and Qiangliang, meant he possessed his own extraordinary qualities.

Dijiang himself was very calm, but the Ancestral Witches who had always recognized and followed him, such as Zhurong and Qiangliang, were not pleased; even Houtu showed some dissatisfaction on her face.

As it happened, this was the period leading up to the first War of the Witches and Demons. The reason not only the twelve Ancestral Witches but also hundreds of Great Witches had gathered in Pangu Hall was to make pre-war deployments for the conflict.

Therefore, in the eyes of the other Ancestral Witches and the hundreds of Great Witches present, Zhu Jiuyin's move was tantamount to forcing a palace coup before the battle, which had a very negative impact.

Only Zhu Jiuyin, who had already glimpsed the outcome of this war, understood that without the ability to defeat Hongjun with absolute strength, the result of this War of the Witches and Demons was already destined.

Faced with everyone's dissatisfaction, Zhu Jiuyin realized that the time for a showdown had arrived.

He waved his hand directly: "Except for the Ancestral Witches, all other Great Witches are to withdraw."

Small meetings for big matters—this had been the way since ancient times.

Regarding this, the hundreds of Great Witches present left Pangu Hall with almost no resistance.

Clearly, they also understood that what Zhu Jiuyin was about to say must concern the future and destiny of the Witch Race.

Some of the sharper-minded Great Witches had even realized that the outcome of this War of the Witches and Demons was likely not optimistic.

However, they certainly would not voice such morale-shattering words.

"Now, Second Brother, you can tell us the specific reasons."

Once the Great Witches had all departed, Houtu stepped forward and said to Zhu Jiuyin with a smile.

Houtu's words undoubtedly greatly eased the tension within Pangu Hall.

Meeting the gazes of his brothers and sisters, Zhu Jiuyin began: "I have only three things to say."

"First: In this war, our Witch Race cannot win. Even if we use the trump card Father God bestowed upon us, the Twelve Capital Divine Gods and Demons Formation, we still cannot win."

"Second: I do not want the position of leader of the Witch Race, but rather the highest decision-making authority. I will not interfere with the daily affairs of the Witch Race."

"Third: Our Witch Race has reached a point where we must change; we have no other choice, otherwise..."

Zhu Jiuyin ultimately did not voice what followed "otherwise," but the Ancestral Witches present had already seen the terrifying challenges and difficulties the Witch Race would face in the future from these three statements.

At this moment, they could even understand what Zhu Jiuyin was concerned about, to the point that he spoke in such a veiled manner.

It was not that he wanted to act this way, but that the future enemy of the Witch Race was so powerful that even Zhu Jiuyin dared not show the slightest negligence and had to be cautious to the extreme.

Even the wise Houtu and the sagacious Dijiang now understood who this enemy was.

Whoever stepped out to stop the Witch Race at the most critical moment of the War of the Witches and Demons—that was the enemy!

Thinking carefully, if the opponent could not even be defeated by the Twelve Capital Divine Gods and Demons Formation left behind by Father God Pangu, then all the struggles and ambitions of the Witch Race were indeed a joke.

Yet, they could not imagine that the final outcome for the Witch Race would be near-extinction.

One had to know that not only they, the Ancestral Witches, but even the most ordinary Witch soldiers were born with the Merit of Opening the Heavens left behind by Pangu.

Even if the Ancestral Witches lacked a Primordial Spirit and did not understand the ways of Heaven, it did not mean they were unaware of the miraculous uses of merit.

Who could have imagined that the Witch Race, possessing near-infinite Merit of Opening the Heavens, would end up so miserably?

In fact, by the era of the Journey to the West, the Demon Race was still wreaking havoc in the Primordial World and could even eat people from time to time; did the Golden-Winged Peng not devour the entire population of the Lion Camel Kingdom?

And what of the Witch Race?

Except for a few Great Witches within the Underworld who might have Houtu's protection, and a very small portion of the Witch Race, there were no traces of the Witch Race left in the Primordial World outside the Underworld.

How was that any different from being wiped out?

In the end, Dijiang made the final decision: "Since that is the case, let everything be a wager on the outcome of this war!"

"If our Witch Race wins this battle, then everything Second Brother said shall be void; conversely, if we lose, then everything shall be as Second Brother said, and from then on, he shall hold the highest decision-making power when we deliberate."

It must be said that Dijiang truly had the stature of a leader, and the other Ancestral Witches truly trusted the blood bond they shared with Zhu Jiuyin, for from beginning to end, they never once considered what would happen if Zhu Jiuyin caused trouble during the war.

For instance, colluding with outsiders or even the Demon Race to deal with his own brothers—wouldn't you agree, Yuanshi?

From then on, the entire upper echelon of the Witch Race engaged in battle with the Demon Race, carrying a heavy sense of sorrow.

But once the fighting truly began, the Ancestral Witches and Great Witches, including Dijiang, realized something was wrong.

Why was the Demon Race so weak?

Truth be told, the Demon Race of this era was indeed being crushed by the Witch Race in every aspect.

There was no helping it; including Di Jun, Tai Yi, Nuwa, Fuxi, and Kunpeng, the Demon Race only possessed five combatants at the level of an Ancestral Witch.

However, at this moment, Tai Yi was not yet at his peak state, and even with the Chaos Bell, he could barely manage a one-versus-three.

As a disciple of Hongjun, Nuwa possessed the Grandmist Violet Qi and could barely manage a one-versus-two.

Not only that, but the very foundations of the Demon Race, the Great Array of Heavenly Stars and the Great Array of Origin Heluo, were not even a shadow on the horizon.

Therefore, in terms of top-tier combat power, the Demon Race at this time was equivalent to a strength level of eight at most.

If their top-tier combat power was being crushed, then when it came to secondary top-tier combat power, the gap between the Demon Race and the Witch Race had not shrunk, but had instead grown even wider.

The Ten Great Demon Gods only possessed combat power at the level of a Great Witch, yet the Witch Race had hundreds of Great Witches, while the Demon Race only had a few dozen combatants at the Demon God level.

If it were not for the fact that the number of low-to-mid-tier Demon Race combatants was hundreds or thousands of times that of the Witch Race, the Demon Race would likely not have been able to hold out against the Witch Race for even three days.