Published: February 12, 2025
The ordinary warriors of the Star Eye Clan were quite pleased, while the higher-ups were not happy at all.
“What a frustrating situation.”
Commander Cheng Liujin smiled as he poured water for everyone before taking his seat at the table. He was known for being down-to-earth.
In the conference room, the two Lords of Star Eye, Commander Cheng Liujin, and Commander Pao Bai were present, along with Bashiru, Yashinan, Jack Su, and two key members of the clan leader's guard, as well as the two vice-commanders from the Gold Camp and Silver Camp.
“It’s clear they are bullying us because we are weak,” Pao Bai said, staring at his cup, his tone flat.
Whether it was Commander Cheng Liujin or Pao Bai, everyone knew that although they appeared calm, they were actually filled with rage inside.
The Star Eye Clan had invested a lot in this battle.
From the initial attack on the logistics convoy of the Radiant Tang Clan to this trial of the brave, the Star Eye Clan had spent over five million Moon Age Gold just on purchasing information, materials, and preparing equipment. This was just from the Star Eye Clan's expenditure, not counting Ye Zhongming’s side. If everything was accounted for, it would likely add up to tens of millions of Moon Age Gold.
Of course, materials and equipment manufactured or purchased represented assets and were not one-time expenditures, so these costs were still acceptable.
However, the soldiers sacrificed during this series of actions were what weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
In previous attacks on logistics convoys, around a thousand soldiers had been lost. This time, during the trial of the brave, many more had perished. These were the backbone of the Star Eye Clan.
Especially the members of the clan leader's guard who sacrificed their lives were essential pillars and among the few experts of the Star Eye Clan. The hundreds of casualties this time resulted in only two million Moon Age Gold?
No, the market price of those Blue Grains was already a million, which meant that after so many days of planning, action, and the final life-or-death struggle, they only gained a million Moon Age Gold and a pile of equipment.
This was simply too suffocating.
But what could they do?
If it weren’t for the eight heads, it would have been manageable. After taking out half of the elite of the Radiant Tang Clan in one blow, the Star Eye Clan could have used all their strength to potentially engage in a mutually destructive battle.
Yes, even now, the Star Eye Clan could only manage a scenario where both they and the Radiant Tang Clan suffer heavy losses. After a while, the Radiant Tang Clan would regain much of their strength and would surpass the Star Eye Clan again.
This was a matter of foundation.
The Radiant Tang Clan was a medium-sized clan, and compared to the small Star Eye Clan, the gap was not just in overall strength but also in foundation, population, systems, commerce, education, technology, and many other aspects. This time, the Star Eye Clan had caught the Radiant Tang Clan off guard to achieve such results. If it came down to a test of hard strength, the Star Eye Clan still had quite a distance to go.
However, all of this was just a matter of time. With the changes brought by Ye Zhongming, the Star Eye Clan would enter a rapid development phase and would surpass the Radiant Tang Clan in no time.
But certainly, that was not now.
If the Radiant Tang Clan insisted on being unaccountable, the Star Eye Clan would have little ability to retaliate, having to give up most of their profits to the other eight heads and the high expert referee, all to ensure that their efforts wouldn’t be wasted this time.
The reality, however, was not as expected. The Radiant Tang Clan was truly willing to go all out, willing to bleed profusely for others, just to prevent the Star Eye Clan from succeeding.
But one could not deny that the Radiant Tang Clan’s leader was exceptionally capable on the spot, quickly producing immense wealth to cover some losses. More importantly, it left the Star Eye Clan with almost nothing to show for their efforts.