"Clang, clang, clang..."
The loud, clear ringing of the golden gong rose, jolting the Huan Army and the people of China out of their blood-hot slaughter and frenzied fighting.
Even the Canada-U.S. Allied Forces, already in utter chaos, faltered when they heard the China Faction sound the golden gong. The undead flying troops flailing through the sky and the God Warriors scurrying across the sea like headless flies paused, easing the complete rout.
A moment later, Zhou Bo and Peng Yue, the Han Kingdom's two renowned generals, arrived together with Zhou Yin and Ying Bu of Western Chu, Zhang Ping, younger brother of the Great Qin Empire's Supreme General Zhang Han, and the renowned generals Li Xin and Lu Hong.
Plainly brimming with resentment, Peng Yue channeled his energy and looked up at the thousand-foot Star-Reaching Platform, demanding in a loud voice:
"Huan Emperor! As the old saying goes, the first drumbeat rouses men like tigers; the second weakens them, and the third exhausts them. We finally turned the battle around, so why suddenly sound the gong to withdraw?! The crisis in the Marshall Islands still hasn't been resolved-only temporarily eased. To regain our earlier advantage, we'll probably have to sacrifice countless more hot-blooded men!"
Peng Yue had deliberately shouted his challenge, sending his voice several miles. The atmosphere instantly froze, and a strange tension slowly took root.
Anyone who heard Peng Yue felt that the Huan Emperor's decision was indeed strange. Dragon Soul, the Demon Queen, Yan Wuji, and the other Otherworlder Faction leaders of the China Alliance also gathered. Most had teleported over with the Huan Emperor from the Nine Dragons Imperial Capital to rush to the Marshall Islands' aid.
Jian Shang returned to the Star-Reaching Platform and gazed down at the antlike figures below, replying calmly, "All