A series of bad news struck Zhao Qingcang's heart like heavy hammers, one blow after another.

The relaxed and comfortable expression on his face vanished completely, and his brows were tightly knit into a deep frown.

The atmosphere inside the office instantly became oppressive to the extreme.

"How could it deteriorate to this extent?"

He couldn't figure it out.

"Qinze Taichiro is pinned down by me at the border and cannot get away at all."

"In Kujo Koji's hands, at most there are only Chong Wenguma and Wada Hirayama, two SS-Rank Experts."

"Although that old fellow Soma Kosuke is old, he has the Divine Artifact Yasakani no Magatama in his hands."

"With you helping in secret on top of that, you still can't deal with a single Kujo Koji?"

Hearing this, Zhou Huai only let out a heavy sigh.

That sigh was filled with helplessness.

Zhao Qingcang's heart suddenly sank, and a sense of ominous premonition surged into his mind.

"What on earth happened?"

He only heard Zhou Huai speak slowly in an unprecedentedly solemn tone.

"The Dawnbreaker Guild has gotten involved."

He raised his eyes to meet Zhao Qingcang's suddenly constricted pupils.

"Moreover, the ones who came are two SS-Rank Experts."

The Dawnbreaker Guild?

Zhao Qingcang was truly somewhat surprised this time.

In his impression, the Dawnbreaker Guild was just a group of cockroaches crawling in dark corners.

Although they were hard to kill, they couldn't stir up any major storms.

Yet this time, two SS-Rank Experts suddenly popped up in this guild.

"Where did these two SS-Rank Experts come from?"

Zhao Qingcang's voice was filled with incomprehension.

"And why would the Dawnbreaker Guild help Kujo Koji?"

Controlling Gandalf, Zhou Huai said methodically:

"Marshal, although I don't know why the Dawnbreaker Guild wants to help Kujo Koji."

"As for these two out-of-nowhere SS-Rank Experts, I do have some clues in my mind."

Zhao Qingcang looked at him, signaling him with his eyes to continue.

Leaning on his staff, Zhou Huai slowly spoke.

"Marshal, do you still remember the Ancient Remnant Clan I once mentioned to you?"

Zhao Qingcang nodded; he naturally remembered.

Immediately after, as if thinking of something, his pupils shrank violently.

"You mean, these two SS-Rank Experts are from the Ancient Remnant Clan?"

Zhou Huai's expression was extremely solemn.

"It is very likely."

"The identity I previously assumed in Sakura Country, Natsume Masahiro, his younger sister Natsume Rinku is a great example."

"If it weren't for my intervention, this Natsume Rinku would have already been completely replaced by an awakened Ancient Remnant Clan member."

"Also an SS-Rank Expert, with a high Level."

Hearing this, Zhao Qingcang couldn't help but gasp a breath of cold air.

On his weather-beaten face, an undisguised shock surfaced for the first time.

If this were true, it wouldn't just be Great Xia.

I'm afraid the whole world would undergo a drastic change because of this.

If more and more of the Ancient Remnant Clan awaken, in the future they will be a terrifying force that cannot be underestimated and is even sufficient to subvert the existing order.

Zhou Huai nodded, but he quickly brought the topic back on track.

"Marshal, we can temporarily put the matter of the Ancient Remnant Clan aside."

"The top priority is to think about how to stop Kujo Koji from resurrecting Amaterasu."

Hearing this, Zhao Qingcang let out a long sigh, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

"How else can this be stopped?"

"Right now, within Sakura Country, there are a full six SS-Rank Experts."

"What do we have to stop them?"

In the Old Marshal's voice, there was a deep sense of powerlessness.

Zhou Huai gazed at him, sharp light flashing in his azure eyes.

"Marshal, can it be that we can only watch helplessly as the Kujo Family resurrects Amaterasu and then slaughters our entire Great Xia?"

Zhao Qingcang heard the subtext in Zhou Huai's words. He raised his eyes and asked in return.

"Do you have any ideas?"

Zhou Huai stood up, his thin figure appearing exceptionally upright at this moment.

He slightly bowed to Zhao Qingcang, his tone incomparably serious, word by word.

"I request that Great Xia Nation and Sakura Country launch a comprehensive national war!"

"Boom!"

This sentence was like dropping a thunderbolt into the calm office.

Zhao Qingcang abruptly widened his eyes, looking at him with an incredulous expression, as if looking at a madman.

"What did you say?"

Zhou Huai straightened his back, meeting the Old Marshal's terrifying gaze without the slightest bit of retreat, and repeated it once more.

"I request that Great Xia Nation and Sakura Country launch a national war!"

"Not like the small skirmishes at the border before."

"Instead, it is to mobilize all available military forces of the nation and wage an endless, all-out war with Sakura Country!"

"Audacious!"

Zhao Qingcang slammed his hand heavily on the desk and abruptly stood up.

A terrifying aura erupted fiercely, suppressing the air of the entire office until it congealed.

His expression sank completely, and raging flames burned within those tiger-like eyes.

"Gandalf! Do you know what you are saying?!"

"Right now, experts stand like trees in Sakura Country, and their strength is unprecedented! Launching a national war at this time is simply sending hundreds of thousands of military soldiers to their deaths!"

"Marshal!"

Zhou Huai's voice suddenly rose, actually drowning out Zhao Qingcang's roar.

"Only in this way can we make the Kujo Family send more experts into the battlefield!"

"Only then will we have the chance to snatch back the Pendulum of Life before he resurrects Amaterasu!"

"This is our last chance!"

In Zhou Huai's voice, there was a trace of a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.

"If we can't do it, the common people of our Great Xia Nation will die just the same!"

"Rather than waiting until then, it's better to fight to the death right now!"

Inside the office, a deathly silence fell.

Zhao Qingcang's chest heaved violently, and his heavy breathing was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

He stared fixedly at Gandalf, the anger in his eyes gradually being replaced by a deeper, more complex emotion.

For a long time.

The aura on his body slowly converged, and the whole person seemed to age ten years in an instant, powerlessly sitting back down on the sofa.

He waved his hand, his voice hoarse and exhausted.

"Say no more, say no more."

"This matter is of great importance; I need to think it over carefully."

"You... go back first."

Zhou Huai opened his mouth, wanting to say more.

But looking at Zhao Qingcang's state at the moment, he ultimately closed his mouth.

As the supreme commander of the Great Xia Military Department, this old man had always been bearing immense pressure.

Every decision he made related to the life and death of the entire Great Xia, and to the lives of hundreds of millions of soldiers and civilians.

Indeed, it was time to let him ponder deeply over it.

Zhou Huai bowed deeply to Zhao Qingcang once again.

"Then Marshal, please consider it carefully."

"Once you have considered it well, please let me know."

He paused and raised his head.

"Anyway, regardless of what your conclusion is."

"I will not give up the Pendulum of Life."

Having said this, Zhou Huai did not stay any longer, controlling Gandalf as he turned around and silently left the office.

As the heavy door was closed, only Zhao Qingcang was left alone in the room.

He sat there quietly, unmoving like a stone carving.

The sunlight outside the window shone through the glass onto his full head of white hair, reflecting a dazzling light.