Over a year passed since war took hold of the universe.
Over this year, many things changed. Kingdoms rose and fell, geniuses ascended to the skies, and the war became far fiercer than ever before.
Eden was a large sector, all things considered. However, in comparison to the Elven Domain, it was still smaller. After all, even as the dominant species of their sector, plant species who could reach maturity and evolve weren't extremely commonplace. It took a great deal of time and effort for most of them to even acquire movement abilities, making their combat capabilities limited.
The reason they were able to rise until they became dominant was purely due to quantity. Even beasts were far outnumbered by plants in the universe. Eden was a wildly overgrown domain where there even existed plants who grew with the starry sky as their soil and universal origin energy as their sunlight. In this kind of environment, it wasn't strange for a large number of plant species to eventually mutate and develop into powerhouses who claimed the land.
Nevertheless, they still relied on other races to grow in the early stages of their lives. The actual combat capability of the Plant Races as a whole was made up of a small group of experts rather than a large army.
Against most internal threats of the Grand Heavens Boundary, these few experts were enough to maintain the status quo, however, everything changed when the Nox appeared.
Nox were inherently a species similar to the Plant Races. They also specialized in quantity. The key difference between them was that the Nox weren't limited in their movement capabilities.
When it came to conquest, the latter species was far more equipped.
Before aid arrived from the other 6 sectors, Eden was close to ruin. Its worlds were fine due to the abundance of plant species residing within them, but most of their domain had already been occupied by the Nox. As beings who didn't need a normally inhabitable environment to survive, they could easily claim dead and uninhabitable stars for their own campsites, putting invisible pressure on the Plant Races.
Aid arrived about 3 months after the outbreak of war. A large number of petty soldiers along with a few experts to command them arrived from everywhere. The Nox's mobility and numbers advantage was somewhat quelled through these reinforcements.
Still, it was a harrowing war. As things stood, half of Eden was corrupted by the Nox. Thousands of worlds were destroyed without remorse, hundreds of billions or even more lives taken over the course of a year.
However, maintaining the frontline and making sure it didn't get pushed past Eden was the main goal, even if Eden itself was destroyed.
"The enemy's main camp is here on Throh. There is at least one Demigod residing there, along with the main destroyer ship that they've been using to annihilate worlds rapidly. Sadly, even though we know the location, we do not have the means to attack it."
A man spoke seriously in front of a group of listeners. His job was to report the overall situation to the warfront's leaders so they could accurately judge the situation and plan around it.
A woman frowned at his words as he spoke. She had pale green skin and hair similar to drifting leaves, her status as a plant race expert evident.
"Taking the main camp would delay their progress a great deal. If they want to continue at their current pace, they'd need to bring another destroyer into the universe, which would undoubtedly take time. If we had even a single Demigod among us…"
"Stop. You already understand that Demigods cannot participate in the war. The second one of them makes a move, they'll collectively be teleported to the Ancient Battlefield until the war ends." Another man responded.
"But isn't that good for us? We need to cage their powerhouses more than they need to cage ours."
"You're wrong. It may look that way on the surface, but it's much deeper than that. Think about it: when our Demigods are taken away, do we still have the power to defeat the Nox's sheer numbers? We need to hold out for as long as we can do that the single time the Demigods can act is put to good use instead of being wasted pointlessly."
"You're right…" the woman realized, "but we still need to consider the enemy's main camp. If we can capture Throh, our supply line to the Soul World will finally be functional. This will not only increase our combat power, but also our efficiency and resources. Strategically, Throh is the most important location in Eden right now."
Those present fell into thought upon hearing her words. As she said, establishing a connection to the Soul World, the Spirit Race's domain, was their next immediate goal. The spirit race's elemental and mental magic capabilities would be more than just helpful in their current predicament. Aside from that, the Soul World was a place filled with unique resources related to mental strength. The common soldier would be able to fight with much more vigor and spirit if they could acquire such resources.
In an army where multiple forces joined together as one, establishing a proper chain of command was naturally difficult. To cope with this, a reward and punishment system was put in place to incentivize the soldiers and motivate them.
One's rank could increase through contribution even to the point of becoming a leading general. They'd also be granted plenty of resources and artifacts to help them survive and grow with haste. For the common soldier, reaching 4th class was an impossible dream.
With a method to turn the impossible into reality right in front of them, how could they resist?
But the greatest hurdle a practitioner faced as they grew stronger was comprehension. Establishing a dominion over one's element and thoroughly grasping its foundation was nigh impossible for someone without talent.
The Soul World's resources could change that. If these common practitioners could enhance their mental abilities and strictly focus on comprehension, their chances of being baptized were far greater.
The room was silent as those leaders tried to find a solution. The enemy had many camps throughout Eden, but attacking them was pointless at the current juncture. It'd only serve to exhaust their men even more.
'What can we do…?'
A woman thought to herself. She was one of Eden's natives and also one of the first people to notice the incoming war. Now that she sat here a year after its beginning, she was stumped.
The enemy was not only more powerful, but also more equipped. More than the Demigod, the destroyer ship was the problem.
The Nox Demigod wasn't allowed to participate in the war due to the restriction. However, the destroyer ship wasn't included in this restriction. The Nox had a Demigod-level force that could be used by lower existences. It was impossible to take Throh without considerable losses that they didn't have the numbers to cope with.
"…can we draw them away?" A voice rang out. Heads turned, multiple gazes landing on a girl not far away. She looked only around 10, but nobody underestimated her because of this.
"Draw them away? How so? We've already tried to lure them away with our greatest treasures and temptations but they refuse to budge. It's like they're aware of our plans."
"Well then," the girl continued, "we just have to make the bait something they can't resist."
