Gao Wu: My freshman internship was a battle on the front lines.

He is not only the Grand Elder of the Elder Council, but also the chief strategist of the Wood Elf clan.

I am renowned throughout the Wood Demon Royal Court for my expertise in tactical simulation and risk assessment.

He doesn't talk much on ordinary days, but once he does speak, most of the elders will shut their mouths and listen carefully.

This person had a thin face and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Gentlemen, please forgive my bluntness," Mu Yan's voice muffled, drowning out all the arguments.

He raised his head, his narrow eyes slowly sweeping over each elder present, finally landing on the Fifth Elder, Mu Yan, who was in charge of the battle, and shook his head slightly.

"Do you all know what conclusion I reached after carefully studying the time-travel footage brought back by Mu Qingshu?"

No one responded. Mu Yan didn't need them to respond either.

"That Ye Feng is no ordinary peak invincible expert. At the peak of invincibility, his blood energy had already reached 3 billion."

"Three billion. A human in an invincible realm, whose blood and energy are comparable to the mid-stage of a tenth-tier god. His combat power after breaking through to the god level is still unclear, but judging from the sword strike that killed Mu Linglong, it definitely exceeds a hundred billion blood and energy attacks."

"Hundreds of billions." Mu Yan repeated the two words, looked up and stared directly at the elders who were in charge of the war, emphasizing his words.

"Elders Mu Cang and Mu Qingshu witnessed it with their own eyes; the sword light was over 90 billion."

Several elders who advocated for war twitched at the same time.

Their strength was all at the peak of the tenth rank, so they couldn't be clearer what this number meant.

The strongest member of the Wood Elf clan at present.

Clan Chief Mu Huangtian!

Even at the peak of the eleventh rank, a full-force attack would only amount to a maximum of 120 billion.

Ye Feng, at the peak of his invincible state, could unleash attacks approaching that number.

This means that the other party either possesses advanced martial arts skills or has some ancient power flowing in their bloodline.

Either way, it means the same thing.

This person cannot be judged by common sense.

"Secondly," Mu Yan raised a second finger, "everyone here should know that Mu Linglong didn't take away all of her own puppets."

"Of those eighteen divine tree demons, fifteen belong to the First Elder, the Clan Chief, the Fifth Elder, the Seventh Elder, and the Clan Treasury, respectively."

"And those dozen or so unfinished god-level tree demon puppets! That's the biggest problem."

"These are not the assets of our Wood Elf clan! They are divine puppets commissioned by various clans to be crafted by us."

"Now that they've all become spoils of war for that human race, do you think the other races will come after us for compensation?"

"That tree demon of the Golden Armor Clan, at the 'Withering and Flourishing' level, took a full twelve thousand years to mature. The cost of the spiritual materials alone was astronomical. Should I calculate for you how much this compensation will be?"

When he said the last sentence, his tone carried a hint of cold sarcasm.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly dropped by more than ten degrees.

The elders who advocated war turned extremely pale, but no one refuted them. Because what Mu Yan said was an undeniable fact.

The loss of the eighteen divine tree demons is a loss nonetheless.

But those eighteen unfinished products are a big problem.

Those were all belonging to foreign tribes and were entrusted to the Wood Demon Clan.

With Mu Linglong dead, the loss of these tree spirits must be borne by the tree spirit clan.

The compensation would be an astronomical sum, but if they didn't pay, they would offend all the other races at the same time.

This loss is ten times heavier than the loss of a Third Elder and eighteen divine-level tree demon puppets.

"Third," Mu Yan raised a third finger, his tone becoming even more serious.

"Tens of millions of humans in Great Xia City have just died, and their soul energy is being absorbed by the secret realm. Clan Chief."

He turned to the wood demon chieftain on the throne, who remained silent throughout.

"How much longer will it take for the secret realm to complete this round of absorption?"

The King of Wood slowly opened his eyes on the throne.

As a peak eleventh-tier god-level being.

The closest being to a god among all eight races.

He rarely participates in debates of this level.

But wherever his gaze swept, every elder subconsciously lowered their head slightly.

It was a kind of pressure that came from the depths of the soul, and any tenth-level god could only bow his head in front of him.

"Thirty days." Mu Huangtian's voice was majestic, like an echo coming from the deepest part of the World Tree.

"This round of absorption will take at least another thirty days. During this time, it is not advisable to carry out another large-scale massacre of humans."

"If the supply of soul energy overflows, the gate to the secret realm will become disordered, causing the opening time to be delayed or even permanently closed."

Mu Yan nodded, turned to face all the elders, and spread his hands.

"Thirty days. Within these thirty days, we cannot exterminate the human race, nor can we massacre the city."

"Even if we send troops immediately, with Ye Feng's sword strike possessing a power exceeding 90 billion, even if we win, how many elders' lives will we have to sacrifice? Two? Three? Or five?"

"Losing eighteen divine-level puppets is already a heavy blow to our strength. If we lose a few more elders, what good will it do even if we raze Dragon City to the ground? Will the Wood Demon Clan still exist then? Won't other alien races take the opportunity to carve up our territory?"

His words were like a bucket of cold water poured into a hot oil pan.

A commotion erupted in the hall as several people spoke at the same time.

But this time, it wasn't just the pro-war faction that was making a fuss. More people started whispering among themselves.

The Supreme Elder remained silent.

His status in the Wood Demon Clan is second only to the clan leader, Wood Emperor.

He is the number two person who truly holds daily power.

His hair was completely white, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles.

But those eyes were as deep and unfathomable as a frozen pool.

He kept his eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding arguments.

Until the sound of the entire hall began to tilt in the direction of the Lord.

He slowly opened his eyes and uttered only one word.

"beat."

Everyone fell silent at the same time.

The words of the Supreme Elder carry second only to those of the clan leader in the Wood Demon Royal Court.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the Third Elder, Mu Yan.

"But we won't fight now. Nor will we fight. Mu Yan, you were right about how strong Ye Feng is."

"Precisely because he is strong, we shouldn't be the first to rush in. Linglong's death has already severely weakened us. If we lose a few more elders, the Wood Demon Clan will truly fall out of the top ranks of the Eight Extraordinary Clans."

"But just because we're not fighting doesn't mean no one is fighting."

A glint of light flashed in Mu Qingshu's eyes; he instantly understood the Supreme Elder's intention.

"Does the Supreme Elder mean to have other alien races take action?"

The Supreme Elder nodded.

He stood up, his figure hunched over but his imposing presence undiminished.

He walked up to the map and drew a circle on it with his finger.

The area contained within that circle is the territory of the Machine Race and the Sky Demon Race.

The elders of the Wood Demon Clan instantly understood the Supreme Elder's meaning.

That is, using someone else to do the dirty work.