The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

That sentence revealed something that many people have been suppressing in their hearts.

People around nodded in agreement, some whispered in agreement, and complaints slowly rose to the surface like bursting bubbles.

But the old man did not respond to those complaints.

He waited until the noise subsided slightly before speaking again, his tone still steady, neither emphasizing nor softening: "Our goal isn't to defend this city. It's to find that person."

He looked at the tired faces around him, his gaze slowly sweeping over each person.

He paused, as if waiting for the thought to linger in everyone's minds, "When the time comes, the Tenth Pharaoh will definitely find a way to make up for the support we lack here. No matter how expensive or costly the passage is, that person is worth the price. Then, won't we have a chance to go back?"

Someone raised their head.

Something flickered in his weary eyes, like a spark being stirred in a dying fire, bringing back a faint glow. But that light was fleeting.

Soon, someone whispered, "But what if the Pharaoh's prediction is wrong? What if there's no such person at all, or what if that person isn't even on this cable?"

The old man did not deny the issue.

He looked down at the faded stone fragment in his hand, remaining silent for a moment. "If the speculation is wrong, then we'll indeed gain nothing by wasting our time here. But at least until then, we have a direction to grasp." He raised his head, his gaze returning to calm. "Find that person, or prove the Pharaoh's speculation wrong... either way, it's better than doing nothing."

The people around them fell silent.

That faint hope still exists, but at the same time, we know clearly that it is still too fragile to withstand much scrutiny.

For those who have been waiting here for a long time with no end in sight, having a glimmer of hope is far better than having nothing at all.

.......

After news of the draw in Ash City spread, several forces in the Northern Region noticed the anomaly almost simultaneously.

Darkthorn Council...

The report returned was restrained in its wording but carried a clear sense of bewilderment: the army personally supervised by the Ghost King should have been unstoppable, yet the battlefield ultimately appeared to have been interrupted by something.

Several high-ranking members of the Darkthorn Council circulated the report in a dimly lit, secret room. Then one of them whispered, "The Ghost King wouldn't deliberately allow trouble in his own backyard. That place should be heavily guarded."

There was a moment of silence in the secret room, then someone turned the last page of the report... There was a blurry screenshot there, in which a huge silhouette could be vaguely seen emerging from the depths of the sky.

The Iron Crown Dynasty was more direct.

Their scouts detected residual energy fluctuations from the attack of the Tenth Pharaoh of the Golden Tower on the outskirts of Ash City.

When the fluctuations were recorded in the chip of the reconnaissance instrument and brought back to the camp, the sorcerer in charge of analysis repeatedly confirmed the data three times before looking up at the general sitting at the head of the table.

"The Tenth Pharaoh himself intervened. Why would he expend such a great price for a local battlefield?"

The general didn't answer immediately. He stared at the slowly decaying energy curve on the chip, remained silent for a moment, and then only said, "Investigate. Find a way to send someone over."

The scout went out but quickly returned, bringing news of distorted coordinates and the inability to teleport. The general leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the location of Ash City on the map, his fingertips tapping lightly twice on the table...

When a seasoned general with many years of military experience makes this gesture, it usually means that he is reassessing something he believes he has already assessed.

The Frostscar clan, further north, heard rumors about Ash City at a tribal gathering.

The rumor passed through three intermediaries and by the time it reached the clan elders, it had become much more blurred, but the core information remained clear: the city had not fallen.

The Ghost King's army was blocked, and during this process, a higher-level being intervened.

The clan elder sat by the fire, and after listening to the report, he did not immediately express his opinion, but simply used a thin wooden stick to stir the charcoal in the fire.

The firelight illuminated his wrinkled face, and after a long while, he spoke: "For someone of that caliber to intervene means that what's happening over there has gone beyond the scope of conventional warfare." He stood up, walked outside the tent, and looked towards Ash City. There was nothing in the distance, only a vast wilderness swallowed by the night.

Almost simultaneously, the major and minor factions in the Northern Region made similar judgments: the Golden Pagoda Organization's willingness to disrupt the teleportation coordinates at all costs indicates that they have discovered or come into contact with something extremely important there.

Some speculate that some ancient relic may have been activated, others believe that a sealed entity has broken the seal, and still others vaguely mention the possibility of a "new world entrant"...

But that statement was immediately rejected, because what could a newcomer accomplish in less than ten days?

No one would put "single-handedly killing the Demon General" on the guessing list, because that is something that everyone believes is impossible.

But those speculations did not stop the parties from taking action.

Darkthorn Council spies activated their informants within the Golden Tower organization, Ironcrown Dynasty scouts detoured hundreds of miles in an attempt to approach the outskirts of Ash City by land, and Frostscar Clan hunters began searching even further outskirts for any traces that might have been missed.

On the surface, the Northern Region remained calm during this period, but in the unseen shadows, several lines were simultaneously extending towards Ash City.

......