The next day.
When the coalition of gods advanced, the Jackal Tribe was already prepared. They had received word of the invaders from the defeated goblins and were on high alert.
Hundreds of thousands of jackal warriors stood ready, a sea of snarling fangs and raised weapons, waiting for the enemy to strike.
There was no need for negotiation. The moment the two sides met, war erupted.
The Night Tribe army, led by the formidable Dark Night Warriors, surged forward like a tidal wave of shadow. Under the cover of the polar night, they tore through the jackal lines with overwhelming force. The clash was brutal and swift. In front of nearly 200,000 jackal warriors, the Dark Knights beheaded the jackal leader without hesitation or mercy.
Faced with such terrifying might—and warriors of their own kind among the enemy—the jackal ranks faltered. After a brief moment of hesitation, they dropped their weapons and fell to their knees in surrender.
Though they too were gnolls, these jackals were far weaker than the ones who lived in the harsh Dark Valley. Their physical strength and fighting spirit paled in comparison.
The difference lay in their environment. Here, they had long ruled as one of the three dominant forces, alongside the goblins and swamp murlocs. Skirmishes among them were common, but the stakes were never high. They had grown complacent, powerful only in comparison to the goblins and murlocs.
But strength built on dominating the weak was fragile. In the early days, this tribe of 100,000 could defeat 200,000 goblins with ease, relying on tens of thousands of gnoll warriors. Now, even with nearly 200,000 gnoll fighters, their victories against more numerous goblins were minimal at best.
Still, it didn't matter anymore. The Night Tribe would forge them into something greater.
Su Xingyu acted without delay. He bestowed divine blessings on the surrendered jackals, allowing them to be touched by darkness. The most promising among them were immediately incorporated into the Night Tribe's elite army.
With this, the Night Tribe's numbers surged to nearly 70,000.
The remaining 200,000 jackals were sent to the Dark Valley for transformation. After half a year of living under the dark gods, the gnolls of the valley had fully submitted. Their loyalty now rivaled the Night Tribe's original followers and even exceeded that of the later-joining barbarians. Su Xingyu had no doubts about entrusting these jackals to them.
Soon, he would have a new legion of true jackal warriors at his command.
With this massive boost in numbers, Su Xingyu's mood was visibly lifted. For once, the cold and distant expression on his face softened with a hint of satisfaction.
Noticing this, Fang Xingchen, who had just observed the battle, seized the moment and asked, "Brother Yu, what was that thing you used to blacken the environment? It was insanely powerful!"
The others immediately perked up, eyes gleaming with curiosity, and moved closer.
Su Xingyu cast a brief glance at Fang Xingchen, then answered without hesitation. "A divine weapon."
Fang Xingchen blinked in surprise. "A divine weapon? But I thought all artifacts were weapons. That looked more like some kind of support tool."
Everyone knew about magical artifacts granted at birth. It was common knowledge. But as far as Fang Xingchen knew, those artifacts were all offensive in nature. His own was a staff, Zhang Kexin had a bow, and what he had just seen was clearly something else.
Su Xingyu nodded. "It's my second artifact."
"The second artifact?" Fang Xingchen's voice rose in disbelief.
Su Xingyu continued, his tone casual. "Once I fully unified the surrounding areas, the system rewarded me with it."
The revelation sent shockwaves through the group.
"You get a second artifact from unifying the surrounding territories?!" they exclaimed in near unison.
Mo Kongwu's eyes lit up. He had nearly completed unifying his area. If this reward was real, it would force him to reconsider his development strategy—perhaps even prioritize completing his unification sooner rather than later.
But Su Xingyu shook his head. "I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone. I only know what I got. Mine is a divine weapon."
He glanced at Lin Ye as he spoke.
Lin Ye smiled knowingly. "It should be the same. I also received a divine weapon."
A sharp intake of breath followed.
This was big news. To the others, it could change everything.
Just then, a message came through the believers' network from Wang Dong.
[Black Star]: "This reward is likely tiered. Time spent and the strength of your forces probably influence the quality of the reward. If you're confident in your strength, go ahead and unify. But if you're not strong enough yet, don't rush."
[Black Star]: "I have a client who also unified his surroundings around the same time as Lin Ye. But his process was sloppy, and he lost a lot of soldiers. His reward? No artifact. Just an orange-tier treasure chest."
[Black Star]: "Think carefully. It's not just about speed. Quality matters."
The group fell silent after reading the messages.
"Why overthink it?" Lin Ye said with a shake of his head. "When you're strong enough, do it. If you're not, keep building your strength. This plane fragment is massive. If we can conquer it, the system reward will definitely be worth it. Maybe it'll be the push you need to strengthen your troops even further."
The others slowly nodded, realizing the truth in his words.
"I lost my composure there," Mo Kongwu admitted with a smile. "Greed clouds the path. No matter how tempting the reward, without strength, it's meaningless. There's no need to derail your strategy for a shiny prize. When you're ready, it'll come to you naturally."
"Exactly. Strength is the root of everything."
"Well said," Fang Xingchen added. The others nodded, visibly more composed.
There was no need to rush. No way to cheat the system. Just follow the plan and build up power.
After all, anyone with ambition would eventually aim to unify the areas around them. Not for the rewards—though they were tempting—but because consolidation of power was the only path forward.
How could you sleep peacefully knowing a rival power loomed next door?
A limited territory could not support two major factions.
If they had the strength of Lin Ye or Su Xingyu, they would have unified their regions already. The fact that they hadn't was proof that the time simply hadn't come yet.
Once they accepted that, a calm settled over the group.
"Thanks for the reminder," Mo Kongwu said, nodding with a hint of gratitude. Then he turned his gaze forward.
While they had been talking, the army had already reached the next battlefield: the fishmen's territory.
A dark, wet expanse of black mud stretched before them.