With Kentucky's findings, the flow of the war had changed. The units filled with cultivators were now following the path indicated by Mia. However, things turned a lot more gruesome now that two countries joined to help in defending Cassen. Tolak and Rorel Countries had only dispatched part of their forces. If not for that, Jialin would be forced to stop the war due to the numbers' difference.
Back on the side of the Death Unit, Roan and the others were once again looking at a map of the region. Mia was right about her thoughts. It was indeed because of the Heaven Level Ore deposit that Tolak and Rorel joined Cassen's side.
There was a big problem ahead of Jialin at the moment.
At first, Tolak and Rorel were expecting to not lose a single cultivator. That's because the idea was to show their hands and force Jialin to stop, thinking that it wouldn't be worth continuing this war. Unfortunately, Kentucky's ability changed that outcome.
Soon, they noticed how Jialin slightly changed their path of attack. Naturally, they were moving in the direction of the ore deposits. Mia would even ask Rean from time to time if they were moving in the right direction, which Rean confirmed through Kentucky.
Unfortunately, Jialin had now reached an impasse. Since Cassen, Tolak, and Rorel knew where Jialin's army was heading towards, they immediately mounted a defense line. That's to be expected since the reason for their alliance was behind them.
At the same time, they began to mine the place. Their objective was to get the Heaven Level Ores before Jialin arrived.
Cassen had found this deposit by pure coincidence. It was because Jialin was attacking that their forces gathered around. If not for that, this deposit would probably be kept hidden for who knows how long. After investigating, they understood that this was a Triliun Ore vein. Triliun was an Earth Peak-Level material.
As mentioned in the past, the Luminun Ore was discovered because of the Zarkarian Ore. As for Zarkarian Ore itself, it was an Earth High-Level Ore. Luminun Ore appeared at the very center of Zarkarian Ore. It's not wrong to say that Luminun Ore was an evolution of Zarkarian Ore.
As for Triliun Ore, as long as the vein was big enough and had a constant flow of Spiritual Energy, one might be able to find Transten Ore. This was a rare Heaven High-Level type of ore known for being able to circulate Spiritual Energy easily. One doesn't need to be an expert to understand that it was incredibly valuable, especially for cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm and above.
Of course, one couldn't ignore the Triliun Ore itself. After all, it was just a weaker level of Trasnten Ore. Earth Peak-Level Ores would also be worth a lot.
The problem that Cassen was facing at the moment was that this deposit was too big. In the past, Dalamu Sect took over a month to reach the Luminun Ore located at the center of the Zarkarian Ore Vein. Not to mention that Zarkarian and Luminun Ores were a lightweight type of metal, so they were easier to mine.
Triliun Ore was a metal of higher level than Zarkarian. Even if it was at the same level, Triliun was already considered a metal with a higher defense than Zarkarian since Zarkarian was a lightweight material. Also, the deposit was much bigger than the Zarkarian deposit found in the Dalamu Sect territory. That being said, the time necessary to mine it and reach the center of the Triliun Vein would be several times higher. At least four months to half a year would be required depending on how deep inside the Transten Ore was.
Unless you were at the Core and Soul Fusion Realm, you could not fly. Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and above also refrained from joining the battle. That's because neither side wanted to risk losing those level of experts.
That being said, most of the war was conducted on the ground through their Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Realm cultivators. There were very few Core and Soul Fusion cultivators participating. They couldn't give up their own allies on the ground.
That was all Cassen needed to mount a strong resistance. They selected an area where they would have the terrain advantage. Jialin couldn't circumvent it either. Going around with a few cultivators and going around with an army of tens of thousands were two completely different things. It took time to move everyone in an orderly manner.
That also meant that Jialin would have to turn their backs to Cassen's alliance. Cassen and the other countries could use that chance to strike the middle of the pack or their rear. In the end, Jialin would need to lose a good part of its forces. It simply wasn't worth it since they wouldn't have the numbers to contend against Cassen's alliance once they finished that.
It also wasn't possible to make a much bigger detour. This was Cassen's territory. The Cassen alliance had a free pass behind this defense line. They would be able to move much faster and mount another defense line somewhere else to stop Jialin's advance. Not to mention that they already know the terrain much better than Jialin did. That being said, Jialin would only waste its time and resources by doing that. One couldn't forget that it would give Cassen, Tolak, and Rorel even more time to mine the Triliun Vein and the Transten Ore.
There was only one path remaining. Jialin had to defeat this defense line in head-on combat. It would be a clash to test the power of its cultivators and their own strategists.
Back in the Jialin Army, one of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators couldn't help but ask.
"They have all gathered ahead. Can't we simply go there and level the ground for our army to pass?"
Zuan, the Dalamu Sect's Ancestor, shook his head.
"That won't happen. You can't feel it, but how can I and the others not? The four Saint Realm experts of Cassen are there, watching us. They also brought most of their Soul Transformation and Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. The moment we move, they will do the same. At that moment, the army below us will be the ones who'd suffer."
It was awkward how both Jialin and Cassen couldn't use their high-level experts to decide the outcome. Jialin couldn't bring all their Saint, Soul Transformation, and Nascent Soul Realm experts. After all, someone had to stay in Jialin to defend their homes. However, Cassen was inside of its own country. There was no problem for them to bring almost everyone.
That being said, Jialin and Cassen had the same number of Saint Realm Experts waiting. Soul Transformation and Nascent Soul ones were not that different either. It was fine for their countries to lose a high number of Foundation Establishment and Core Formation experts. Considering the lifespan of cultivators, they would recover those level of experts in no time. However, Nascent Soul cultivators and above was another matter entirely. Even Core and Soul Fusion were already quite powerful, so not a lot had participated in this battle.
All of a sudden, one of the Saint Realm experts of Cassen came out of the defense lines.
"Who is the Jialin Country representative? Step forward!"
Kocei Jialin was the one who came this time.
"I'm Kocei Jialin. Speak!"
Immediately, everyone's eyes and ears were attracted to the skies.