Death... and me

Roan looked ahead as the Demon Beast Army moved forward. They encountered no issues on their way to the Zasfin defense line after passing the Calau Swamp, so it wouldn't take long for them to arrive at the next one. However... 

"It should be about time."

When Roan's group finally saw the defense line in the distance, everyone was taken aback. The defense line that was supposed to have almost no Zasfin in it was instead jampacked to the brim. Frin and everyone else couldn't understand what was going on. Orba's army was being impeded by Linton's, so where did Huo get reinforcements?

Roan, on the other hand, just smiled at that sight as he said, "Seems like Rean succeeded on his part of the plan."

Frin immediately looked at Roan with slight confusion, asking, "What do you mean by that?"

"Use your Spiritual Sense and check the emblems on the leaders of that army. Which clan under the Soul Rulers is reinforcing them?" Roan asked in response.

Frin had used his Spiritual Sense before. In fact, he had kept it up almost all the time to be alert. However, he now used it to pay attention to the details Roan mentioned. Soon after, he replied, "Their emblem has a sun made of swords. It's different from the emblems on Huo, Deny, and Kika. Do you know this emblem?"

Roan nodded, saying, "Yes. It's the Hafel Clan. Did you forget? For us to put the Hafel Clan on the top of their organization's hierarchy, they will need war merits. According to our plan, Rean should have told Hafel Clan's leader that we would definitely wipe out Huo's army. That being said, their forces should be ready to reinforce them. That's why they're here."

"This..." Frin was surprised to hear that. "But we won't be able to attack either."

"Exactly, but that's not a problem at all. Did you forget? We forced the Zasfins to retreat behind Calau Swamp. After that, we obtained control over a very nice place that you know well about," Roan wasn't the least bit concerned as he replied.

Frin then pondered a bit and finally understood what Roan meant by that. "Ah! That's right! We forced the Zasfins out of Iowe Country!"

As mentioned in the past, the idea of this war was not to conquer the entire planet but to see who would control most of the best territories when it was over. Iowe Country just so happened to be one of these territories. After Celis disappeared, this place's geography became susceptible to the gathering of Spiritual Energy. It couldn't compare to what Celis did for the Freedom Sect, but it was definitely better compared to most places.

Frin was so focused on the possible battle and the fight they won back in Javeza Hills that he completely forgot why Roan was stationed in this place to start with. One must remember that this wasn't the first battle Roan won. He had been steadily advancing his troops until he finally reached the stalemate in Calau Swamp and the surrounding countries. In retaliation, the Zasfins formed an airtight defense where there would be too many losses if he attacked. Thus, that plan was born.

Although there were no guarantees that the plan would work, he and Rean still decided to use it in their favor to help the Hafel Clan. And just like that, the Zasfins lost Iowe Country while the Hafel Clan obtained war merits for being here and stopping the demon beasts from conquering any more territory.

Frin couldn't help but ask after realizing this, "That's good and all...but what will we do?"

Roan faintly smiled as he looked at Frin, responding, "We? We won't do anything. You will."

Frin received a Spiritual Sense Message from Roan and finally understood what he had to do. A few moments later, he left and moved to the front of the army. The Zasfins' Transition Realm being, obviously, noticed that and came forward as well. They wouldn't fall for the same trick again. However, Frin didn't attack at all. He only talked.

"That's surprising. We were certain that you wouldn't have anyone to defend this position after we wiped out your army in Javeza Hills. Say, who was the one that brought the reinforcements. For whoever you are to be here, you must have seen through our commander's plan. At the very least, your commander is several times better than that idiot called Huo." Frin...began to pretend that he didn't know anything to boost the Hafel Clan's achievements. He felt somewhat embarrassed doing that since he never had to play such a role before. To make sure it wouldn't appear on his face, he returned to his Silver Fenrir form.

Huo almost vomited blood after hearing that. However, he couldn't really refute his words since it really was him that sent his army to their deaths in Javeza Hills.

Just as Huo was about to complain, someone lifted his hand to stop him. "He's provoking you. Look where the demon beasts are. They've kept quite some distance away from us, using the terrain behind them to hold their position. If you attack right now, you'll only accrue more losses. No, this is mostly my army now, so it would be my loss," a Zasfin, who looked to be in his forties, could not help but say. Of course, for him to talk with Huo like that, he was obviously in the Transition Realm as well.

Huo felt gloomy when he heard that but nodded in the end, saying, "Fine. You decide what you want to do."

Soon after, the Zasfin came to the front of the army to meet Frin, introducing himself. "I'm Vance Hafel. I've received the report regarding the empty Calau Swamp. However, I wasn't sure whether our Zasfin army would win or lose. I just moved my own army in case things went wrong. I can't say that I was all that incredible. However, I can guarantee you that you won't go much further than this."

Frin nodded, satisfied that someone with the surname Hafel appeared. That meant that Rean was behind their movements. "Is that so? In any case, we won't fight a battle where we aren't sure we'll win. That's how our commander always acts. Vance from the Hafel Clan, we shall remember your name."

Soon after, Frin turned around and shouted with the help of his Spiritual Sense so that everyone in the demon beast and the Zasfin Army could hear. "Demon beasts, we shall now leave!"

And with that, the demon beast army under Roan's command left the area and established themselves at the border of Iowe Country.