Chapter 148: Resolute and Unyielding

"Four protective tribal formations, eight thousand Wind Forest Guards, and they still can't stop a few long worms?" Zhou Yi felt his Qi rippling like a tide, and the palace beams creaked under the strain.

Sui Huang suddenly dropped to one knee: "Please, Imperial Sovereign, grant the Heavenly Thunder Whip." The other three followed suit, cold sweat sliding down their necks into their collars.

They suddenly realized that the princess who led the Human Race out of the wilderness was no longer the youth who once drank beast blood with them.

"Activate the Star-Track Compass at once," Zhou Yi flung a dark sigil into the ground, "Within three days, I want the Demon Emperor Palace map laid out on these blue bricks."

When the four elders bowed and withdrew, Zhou Yi squinted toward the direction of the Celestial Pivot star. He knew full well this casualty count was a century low, yet those night watches who passed out at the victory feast, those rusted Demon-slaying crossbows.

Comfort is the greatest enemy of the clan.

As the calamity Qi of heaven and earth surged, the bronze lamps in the Human Race's holy temple flickered suddenly. Zhou Yi stared at the cracks appearing on the turtle shell, his knuckles pounding the jade desk, and although the third Witch‑Demon Great Calamity had not fully erupted, the Human Race must first cross the life‑and‑death tribulation.

"Scouts from the Twelve Demon Courts have already infiltrated the Wei River basin," the Wind Earl handed over a bone tablet still smelling of blood, recording intelligence on seventeen tribes attacked within three days.

Zhou Yi conjured golden Dao fire in his palm, incinerating the bone tablet, and his star‑map‑like pupils reflected a bloody future: if the Great Golden Immortal realm's great demon is allowed to rampage, the Human Race's foundations will be severely damaged within three months.

Outside the holy temple, nine thunderclaps sounded, and the Three Emperors Five Ancestors Totem Pillars burst with a flash of light. Zhou Yi stood hands behind his back on the observatory, watching the Purple Tenuity Imperial Star flicker in the night, while the Human Dao relic deep in his Sea of Cognition hummed—perhaps less than three years remained for him.

"Transmit Sui Huang's command!" The resonant Dao voice instantly spread across the seventy‑two main cities. The four Human Race war camps, dormant for twenty years, activated simultaneously:

Heaven Hearing Camp, nine thousand Dark Guards bearing the Formless Cicada Molt technique, slipped into Honghuang; each member's Sea of Cognition bears a microcosmic Celestial Star Array, enabling real‑time communication over a thousand li.

The leader of the Wind Buffalo further refined the Preheavenly Spiritual Treasure "Reflective Mirror," which can trace any region's lingering Qi within a hundred years.

Mountain‑Back Army, a hundred thousand cultivators formed a Nine‑Palace battle zone; the Eight Gate Sky‑Locking Formation, based on the River Diagram and Luo Script, can trap a Great Luo for three days. The Vanguard Camp's three thousand sword practitioners train the Remnant of the Exterminating Immortal Sword Formation, which, though far weaker than one ten‑thousandth of Tongtian Jiaozhu's power, can cleave a hundred‑li rift in the battlefield.

Crimson Flame Guard, five thousand Golden Immortals, are not a mere gathering; each has forged their flesh in the furnace of Shouyang Mountain, and each wields "Demon‑Burning Karma Fire" in hand, specifically targeting the Demon Race's primal spirit.

Even more terrifying is their combined technique "Fire Cloud Calamity," which once incinerated eight hundred Mysterious Immortal‑rank sea demons during the Northern Abyss trial.

Mysterious Armor Garrison, fifty thousand guards rely on twenty‑eight Preheavenly Bagua Platforms to weave the Human Race's territories into a unified defense net. The garrison commander stationed at the Buzhou Remnant Vein controls half of Mount Buzhou's spirit vein and can, when needed, awaken the Ancestor Witch's residual thought to deter invaders.

Zhou Yi stroked the Xuanyuan Sword Box, feeling the leaping Witch‑slaying Sword Qi within.

If the Demon Race truly dares to forge demonic weapons with Human Race essences, the 360 "Falling Saint Talismans" he buried beneath the North Celestial Gate will turn the Demon Master's palace to ash.

At this moment, the eastern sky glowed with a fish‑belly white, uncertain whether dawn approached or a Demon Saint was manifesting a dharma form.

Compared with the other three armies, the Mountain‑Back Army's strength was indeed slightly lacking; some warriors had not yet broken through the Immortal Terrace secret realm.

This was no accident; after all, the Human Race's development has been brief, and Sui Huang and the other three managing to assemble the Wind Forest Fire Mountain Four Armies so quickly was already a feat.

Yet that is precisely why the Demon Race can exploit the void; the Wind Forest Fire Mountain Four Armies have limited time of formation, and many aspects still need gradual improvement.

Nevertheless, Zhou Yi firmly believed that, given enough time, these four armies would become a force capable of shaking Honghuang.

Just as Zhou Yi pondered how to strengthen the Human Race, the Windstorm Army, during a large‑scale operation, successfully pinpointed the Demon Race's trail.

It turned out that, although the Mountain‑Back Army repelled the Demon Race's assault and inflicted many casualties, the remaining demons did not cease their attacks.

As the sovereign of Honghuang Tian Di, the Demon Race's setback at the hands of the Human Race was a humiliating disgrace.

The escaped Golden Immortal‑rank demons not only showed no intention to stop, but also recruited experts everywhere, intending revenge against the Human Race.

The Demon Race despised the Human Race, so their planning was completely unhidden.

For that reason, the Windstorm Army could easily obtain this intelligence and swiftly relay it back to the Human Race.

Zhou Yi, upon learning this, said coldly, "Fine, that's excellent. I haven't even settled accounts with them, yet they come knocking on our door themselves. If we don't prepare a proper 'welcome gift,' wouldn't we be repaying their 'kindness' poorly?"

Sui Huang, worry evident, reminded, "Human Ancestor, this time the Demon Race's onslaught is fierce; it may not be simple!" The Human and Demon races have long coexisted peacefully, so the demons' sudden rebellion is indeed unsettling. As the ruler of Honghuang, the Demon Race's strength far exceeds the Human Race by thousands, so Sui Huang's concern is justified.

Zhou Yi snorted coldly and said firmly, "Whatever schemes the Demon Race concocts, if they dare to kill the Human Race, they are courting death themselves."

The You Chao clan tentatively suggested, "Human Ancestor, should we first ascertain the truth to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings?"

Zhou Yi looked at Sui Huang and the others, seeing deep worry on their faces—a fear of the Demon Race.

It's no wonder; the Demon Race now is indeed powerful enough to easily annihilate the Human Race.

Yet would Zhou Yi compromise? Let the Demon Race slaughter the Human Race, or sacrifice a few to save many? No, that is not Zhou Yi's choice.

As long as he lives one day, the Human Race will only stand upright and die in battle, never begging for survival.

Zhou Yi knew in his heart that if the Human Race wishes to stand in Honghuang Tian Di, relying on the Demon Race's mercy is meaningless.

Only by making the Demon Race taste pain, causing them to develop dread, will they, at the critical moment when the Witch‑Demon Great War is about to erupt, truly…

"Since the Demon Race presses forward step by step, treating our Human Race as weeds, how can we allow them to slaughter us?"

"Transmit my command: among the Wind Forest Fire Mountain Four Divisions, the Mountain‑Back Army will garrison the main base, while the other three armies ready for deployment," Zhou Yi declared resolutely.

Though Sui Huang and the other three elders wore worried expressions, they immediately carried out the leadership order.

The three elite corps quickly completed assembly, 115,000 soldiers stood in formation awaiting orders.

Zhou Yi's gaze swept over the black, oppressive battle line, a satisfied smile curling his mouth; these warriors had already been briefed on the cause of the war through military reports.

Facing the imminent grim battle, not a single face showed fear. Long spears rose like a forest of banners, and in each warrior's eyes burned the fierce light of a vow to die defending the clan.

Sui Huang silently marveled that since Zhou Yi took charge of the Human Race, not only has combat power multiplied, but an unprecedented iron‑blooded martial spirit has been forged.