With their remaining teammates breaking through, the remaining thirty-odd individuals had even less hope.
Bound by a solemn oath, they dared not surrender.
Over the next five days, another four Immortals and Gods managed to escape.
The remaining Immortals and Gods were all killed by Qin Hanchu and his subordinates.
As for the Immortal Saint realm, only about four or five people managed to escape.
For an army of thousands, this was no different from a complete annihilation.
By this time, the Demon Cloud Commander had already retreated to his encampment.
He did not wish to suffer greater losses.
The Eastern Pole Domain's combat power was already inferior to the Demon Cloud Domain. Now, with dozens of Immortals and Gods slain by Qin Hanchu, this had exacerbated their already dire situation.
This defeat had thrown the Demon Cloud Commander into a panic.
If the Grand Li Emperor were to find out about this, he would face severe punishment.
In an attempt to atone for his mistakes, the Demon Cloud Commander anxiously discussed countermeasures with his subordinates.
As the saying goes, a clever woman cannot cook without rice.
The Demon Cloud Commander's troop strength was vastly inferior to that of the alliance.
The only remaining option to salvage the situation was to infiltrate the heartland of the Demon Cloud Domain.
However, this tactic had already been attempted and failed once.
Just as the Demon Cloud Commander was holding a meeting, an Immortal God responsible for intelligence rushed in, exclaiming, "Bad news! The allied army of the Demon Cloud Domain is already advancing towards us!"
"What?"
The Demon Cloud Commander cried out in shock.
He had expected the Demon Cloud Domain to continue defending, but he hadn't anticipated Qin Hanchu leading the entire army to attack.
Despite his shock, the Demon Cloud Commander recognized Qin Hanchu's actions as perfectly logical.
With the Demon Cloud Domain holding an absolute advantage, it was natural for them to pursue the remnants of their defeated foe.
"What should we do now? Retreat?"
Everyone looked to the Demon Cloud Commander, as he was the supreme commander of this operation.
The Demon Cloud Commander was deeply conflicted.
To retreat would be to admit defeat and become a broken army.
However, if they did not retreat, they all risked death in this battle.
While a defeat would result in punishment from the Grand Li Emperor, it was better than dying in battle.
After much deliberation, the Demon Cloud Commander immediately declared, "Retreat!"
"Wait a moment." Just as the Demon Cloud Commander made his decision, an elder spoke up to stop him.
"Fellow Daoist Huang, what do you wish to say?" the Demon Cloud Commander asked.
The elder surnamed Huang turned to the intelligence officer and inquired, "How many Immortals and Gods are stationed at each of their border sects?"
"Only three at each sect!"
The elder surnamed Huang then addressed the Demon Cloud Commander, "Our main forces will feign a rout, and we will leave a small contingent of twenty men to raid their border sects. These twenty men will split into two teams, which should be sufficient to capture three to four border sects in a short period."
"This plan is excellent."
"Even if we cannot capture their sects, we can force them to return and defend."
"This way, we can preserve our current territory, and our transgressions will be lessened."
The elder surnamed Huang's suggestion was met with approval from many Immortals and Gods.
Although the Demon Cloud Commander bore the primary responsibility, they were also culpable for allowing the Demon Cloud Domain to seize their territory.
If they could repel the counterattack from the Demon Cloud Domain, it would be considered a meritorious deed.
Even if punishment were to befall them, it would only be upon the Demon Cloud Commander.
At this moment, the Demon Cloud Commander was filled with regret.
He had initially believed that he could easily conquer the Demon Cloud Domain, but he had never imagined that the Demon Cloud Domain would form an alliance so swiftly.
Now, not only could he not conquer the Demon Cloud Domain, but he had also lost dozens of his own Immortals and Gods.
Had he known this would happen, he would not have tried to curry favor with the Grand Li Emperor just to make a good impression.
"Let's do that. I will personally lead a contingent for the raid," the Demon Cloud Commander thought, hoping to redeem himself.
"You are the commander. The enemy scouts will certainly be monitoring your every move."
"If you are not among the retreating forces, the enemy will undoubtedly become suspicious," the elder surnamed Huang stated.
The Demon Cloud Commander nodded, acknowledging the wisdom of the elder surnamed Huang's words.
After some discussion, the Demon Cloud Commander selected twenty Immortals and Gods to remain behind.
Through spatial immortal artifacts, they could evade the detection of Qin Hanchu and his men.
Soon after, the Demon Cloud Commander led his forces in a retreat.
Concurrently, Qin Hanchu had already led his army into the territory of the Eastern Pole Domain.
As the army marched, an Immortal God renowned for intelligence approached Qin Hanchu, saying, "President, the Eastern Pole Domain forces are retreating. Should we pursue them?"
Qin Hanchu looked around at the surrounding Immortals and Gods, asking, "What are everyone's suggestions?"
"Naturally, we should press our advantage and continue to wear down their combat strength."
"Well said. As long as we maintain our numerical superiority, we will be invincible."
"I also agree to continue the pursuit!"
Following their previous victory, the morale of the allied army was soaring.
In addition to the exhilaration of victory, they had also acquired enemy resources.
All the Immortals and Gods had benefited significantly.
Combat was the fastest way to gather resources, which was one of the reasons for their high fighting spirit.
"We still need to be cautious. Pride precedes a fall."
Among so many powerful Immortal Gods, not everyone was an extremist.
The Immortal God who spoke at this moment belonged to the conservative faction.
"We hold an absolute advantage. As long as the enemy forces do not arrive, we will be safe."
"President, what is your intention?"
A sect leader asked Qin Hanchu.
Qin Hanchu pondered for a moment. "Indeed, we should be cautious. Sect Leader Wan Hua, take forty Immortals and Gods and find a place to hide."
Sect Leader Wan Hua was somewhat perplexed. "Why?"
Qin Hanchu explained, "The enemy is likely to leave behind some powerful individuals to raid our rear. Your mission is to ensure the safety of our rear."
Sect Leader Wan Hua nodded. "Alright, I will follow your arrangements."
Following Qin Hanchu's instructions, Sect Leader Wan Hua selected forty Immortals and Gods and hid them.
As for Qin Hanchu, he continued to lead the main army forward.
During their advance, Qin Hanchu deployed numerous scouts to patrol the perimeter.
His reason for doing so was to prevent the enemy from conducting reconnaissance.
As long as the enemy scouts could not approach, they would not know that Qin Hanchu's contingent was short of forty Immortals and Gods.
With an army of tens of thousands, the absence of forty-odd individuals would be imperceptible to the naked eye.
Within a few days, the Demon Cloud Domain's army had swept through the Grand Li Dynasty's encampment.
After a thorough search, Qin Hanchu led his men to continue their pursuit.
Shortly after they departed, the twenty Immortals and Gods who had been hiding in the spatial immortal artifact turned back towards the Demon Cloud Domain.
Simultaneously, Sect Leader Wan Hua had led his men back to the Demon Cloud Domain.
Qin Hanchu had assigned them the task of maintaining the stability of the rear, so they chose a mandatory route.
If the enemy wished to avoid passing through dangerous territory, they would have to enter the Demon Cloud Domain through this path.
A few more days passed, and Sect Leader Wan Hua and his men suddenly opened their eyes.
They could sense another group of powerful Immortals and Gods rapidly approaching.
"They truly intend to disrupt our rear," a council elder of the Wan Hua Sect scoffed.
Sect Leader Wan Hua said, "Do not move. Conceal your auras. When they are close, we will charge out and surround them."
"The enemy is only twenty strong; we still hold the advantage."
"Kill them, and all their treasures will be ours."