The party arrived at an open clearing, where the airship was already waiting. But the emblem on its hull did not belong to the Southern Cloud Kingdom. It marked the airship as the property of the Bright Yang Kingdom.
To fight the Demon Spirit Masters, the Southern Nations had made the rare decision to set aside all their prejudices and cooperate. Otherwise, who would dare leave an airship on another kingdom's soil? Even though the Bright Yang Kingdom bordered the Southern Cloud Kingdom and was far stronger, that still would not have been possible. By the time Huo Hai's party arrived, quite a few people were already waiting nearby.
Wuhen and the other two stepped forward, and many of those nearby immediately gathered around them. Only a small portion of the experts heading to the Bright Yang Kingdom this time came from the Southern Cloud Kingdom. With the Southern Cloud Kingdom now fighting on two fronts, its own military strength was stretched thin.
Most were disciples of major factions in the Ink Lotus Domain. These people seemed to regard Wuhen and his two companions as their leaders. But Huo Hai knew that they did not all belong to those three factions. Many were disciples of other, smaller factions.
Over the past few days, Huo Hai had learned something about the factions of the Ink Lotus Domain from Blood Rose. Its three greatest powers were the Vast Earth Empire, the Profound Ice Sect, and her Drifting Flower Pavilion. The Vast Earth Empire was the strongest of the three.
Unfortunately, the Vast Earth Empire was, after all, an empire, with countless lineages entangled in competing interests. When certain decisions had to be made, even its ruler had to seek the opinions of other lineages. Thus, although the Vast Earth Empire was powerful,