In one corner of the Feng Qiya Continent.
Seven or eight members of the Counselors' Pavilion had come in person, looking up gravely at the dozens of Flying Boats hovering not far from the continent.
They pondered how to respond.
There were both men and women among them.
Some were elderly men in their seventies or eighties, their temples white.
Others were beautiful women as young as their thirties or forties.
These were the wise minds selected through rigorous screening on the Feng Qiya Continent, responsible for offering advice whenever the continent faced a major decision.
They had no power to decide, but they could make proposals.
The people of the Feng Qiya Continent also attached great importance to their advice.
At that moment—
An elderly man spoke slowly in a hoarse voice, his expression unruffled. "The Punishment Hall only treated the first batch of prisoners a little harshly. They weren't rough with the later batches, and no one died. There's plenty of room to negotiate."
"Let's see what attitude the Mortal Domain takes first."
"If they're willing to offer terms for a hostage exchange, agree immediately. Resolve this as peacefully as possible. No continent wants to start a war lightly, and they surely don't either."
"Besides."
"We have a rough idea of the Mortal Domain's strength, but we're an unknown quantity to them. No one wants to provoke an unknown power."
As he finished speaking.
The other counselors nodded in agreement.
At the level of a second-level continent.
Things were no longer like the days before a first-level continent had been unified. Once a war began, spending tens or even hundreds of billions of eerie stones was perfectly normal, and most wars could never recoup their costs.
Even if they won.
The continent's reserves would already have been drained.