*Boom, boom, boom...*
Explosions kept happening one after the other in the air as pieces of demon beasts and cultivators fell from the sky. Of course, that wasn't all. Jialin's ranged cultivators in the air especially targeted the demon beasts close to the Cassen's defense line. Not all the Explosion Fire Beads were destroyed, so many of them began to fall on the enemy's side.
Because of that, both Jialin and Cassen's ranged cultivators on the ground had to switch their targets, aiming at the sky. They were all trying to destroy the Explosion Fire Beads before they hit their own forces. At first, it gave the sensation that both arms got into a stalemate. However, that was not the case.
Jialin's Left and Right Wings began to advance even faster now. Without the suppressing fire from Cassen's side, they didn't have to worry too much about their steps. Sure, many Explosion Fire Beads were falling from the skies. However, those ones were many times easier to hit now that they were not being controlled. That allowed Jialin Army to take a breath.
The Core and Soul Fusion Realm experts of Cassen noticed that change.
"Fuck! Stop them!"
However, the frustrated Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivators from Jialin wouldn't simply let them do as they wished.
"Hahaha! Didn't you all ask us to stay behind to play? How come you are all leaving now? Since we already started this game, let's bring it to the next level, shall we?"
Sure enough, they didn't waste this chance and also blocked the enemy's path. The Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivators from Jialin couldn't help but feel refreshed at this outcome.
Gofen narrowed his eyes after seeing that. It didn't matter what they did. Jialin always seemed to have a way to counter-attack and even use the situation for their advantage. The reason Cassen was so confident about their chances at first was that they believed they could keep Jialin Army's at bay. However, they continued to advance nonstop. Not to mention that their side casualties were far from what Gofen and the others expected.
Gofen then looked in another direction and saw another cultivator. The guy's name was Hyinkio Syrile, the representative of Roren Country.
"Hyinkio, can your formation stop them?"
In the end, the Formation covering the entire hill was not made by Cassen, but Roren Country instead. That was their own specialty as a country with many Formation Masters. No one liked the idea of attacking Roren since it would be extremely annoying. Their average combat power wasn't that impressive, but their formations guaranteed a high degree of safety.
"We only had enough time to build a disruption formation. As you know, it will target those who we deem enemies and disrupt their actions. It's a type of protection formation that's very useful during battles of large scale. If the cultivators on the enemy's side are too weak, their ranged attacks can't even reach our side."
He was right. That was the reason why Jialin's Ranged Attackers didn't target the other side, but instead, the attacks were coming at them. They tried to attack the enemies, but the effect wasn't good enough. It wasn't just the ranged attackers that suffered, though. The skills of close combat cultivators were also affected to a certain extent, giving Cassen's side even more advantage.
"However, this size of formation needs a lot of spirit stones to keep working. Rank One and Two are not enough. It has to be powered by Rank Three Spirit Stones at the very least. At the moment, we are all forking the price to keep it running. If you want to increase the power, we will need to switch the level."
Gofen bitterly smiled. Rank Three Spirit Stones were already hard to get in this place. As mentioned before, all the countries close to the borders control the use of those Spirit Stones. That being said, one doesn't even need to think about Rank Four ones. That level of Spirit Stones was usually only used by Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and above. They all considered them extremely important and would rarely take them out unless really necessary.
In the end, Gofen gritted his teeth and said.
"We have the Triliun and Transten Ores deposit. That alone will be more than enough to pay for any Spirit Stones we use during this war. However, if we don't use Rank Four Spirit Stones, we might lose right here and now. Let alone pay for the use of Spirit Stones. We will have to retreat without anything to make up for them."
However, Hyinkio shook his head.
"Our Roren country only mobilized a small part of our army. Although losing it would be bad, it wouldn't be as bad as losing our Rank Four Spirit Stones. It's all good if we win. But if we use them and lose, it will be a huge blow for our high-level cultivators."
Gofen then looked at the representative from Tolak Country, Rurio. Unfortunately for him, Rurio also shook his head. He wouldn't use any Rank Four Spirit Stones either. In the end, it all came to Cassen Country to decide. Did they think they could pay for the Rank Four Spirit Stones alone? Gofen couldn't make this decision.
Not long after, Gofen took a Thoughts Transmission Talisman from his pocket and pressed it on his forehead. This Talisman was of a very high level, just like the ones Rean and Roan used in Jiran Forest. Gofen decided to contact the King of Cassen about this decision. However, he didn't even have to do that.
"There is no need to contact the king. The Spirit Stones are here."
All of a sudden, a bag with thousands of Rank Four Spirit Stones fell beside Gofen.
"Ancestor Larael!"
In the end, the Saint Realm Expert from the Cassen Family made the decision himself.
"For Tolak and Roren, this would be just a small loss. However, for our Cassen Country, it would be the loss of a huge chunk of our territory plus the ore deposit. We can't hold back, so use it."
Gofen didn't complain and immediately threw the bag at Hyinkio.
"You heard Ancestor Larael. Go!"
Hyinkio nodded and immediately left for the Core of the Disruption Formation.
Jialin's Army already began to head up the hill. Since the Aerial Army and the ranged attackers were not that big of a problem anymore, they had no problem moving forward. Cassen Country, obviously, began to prepare to receive the enemy. Even though their ranged teams weren't of much use anymore, the melee teams were ready to fight. Besides, they had the support of the Disruption Protection Formation. They weren't afraid of Jialin's forces at all. The two sides would clash anytime now.
However, just as the clash was about to happen, the entire hill began to shine! The Spiritual Energy in the hill started to revolve even more weirdly. The cultivators from Jialin immediately noticed that their control over Spiritual Energy and Elements became even harder. Obviously, it only affected the Jialin Army. Such an effect had no use against Cassen's forces.
Roan, who was observing it from afar, also noticed that.
'It's here!'