The battle in the Mysterious Sky City had severely shaken the spirits and power of the demon army. They had suffered at least five hundred thousand casualties. That was a catastrophic number.
Very few common warriors had survived. Those who had managed to flee comprised mainly of a handful of demon semi-emperors and some other demons at a lower cultivation base.
The human warriors on the other hand, were ecstatic. They had won a war after almost losing it even before its beginning and that was something that didn't come along very often.
But during those celebrations, one bad thing happened out of the blue.
The very next day after the war, rumor spread that Austin had died during the war.
Several leaders of the Southern Alliances Army who had reached the Semi-emperor Realm suddenly declared to the public that Austin had indeed been killed in battle. What was worse, they demanded that the A. L. Army should be disbanded immediately and all its members should join the Southern Alliances Army.
Such fake rumors weren't the only dirty means they tried. There were threats made, and cajolery shoved down the A. L. Army soldiers' way to bring them around. In fact, some warriors of the A. L. Army were even subdued eventually. They bowed out of the A. L. Army and became a member of the Southern Alliances Army.
However, there was still a large proportion of the A. L. Army who insisted that Austin was still alive. They also vowed that they would never withdraw from the A. L. Army, and would continue pursuing its cause.
Their actions irritated the leaders a lot! In a fit of rage, they increased their threats and finally, when the warriors wouldn't budge from their stance, the leaders imprisoned them all.
As if that wasn't enough, warriors of the A. L. Army were killed in the course of their conflict. This loss of life was more painful than that which had occurred during the war.
"And that is the whole story,"
ough for them to start putting their fingers on the people around him.
Austin's face clouded over and Earl noticed that. He was scared.
"That's all I know, my lord. I'm not in on the act and I'm innocent, I swear! Please let me go!"
Earl begged when he saw Austin's sullen face. He knew how powerful Austin was and was so scared of him that he felt as if the strength in his legs had gone away. Suddenly, they did give way and he fell down in a kneeling position.
He knew that if Austin wanted him to die, then crushing his body into pieces would be as much effort as crushing an ant for Austin. The guy was seriously and ridiculously overpowered.
"Stand up,"
Austin uttered as he slightly waved his hand, sending out a soft vital energy force. Somehow, instead of harming him, the force seemed to help Earl, who found that his body got up and finally he could stand still.
Bang! A loud bang echoed around them.
And immediately around them, a dozen divine vital energy crystals and bottles of elixirs appeared out of nowhere right in front of Earl's eyes.
"Since you have told me everything you know truthfully, these are for you.
You can keep them. But remember, once you get out, don't tell anyone you've seen me. If you do, I will know and I will find you. Understood?"