After the four divine ships entered the territory of Kongming Temple, they obviously slowed down.
After all, you are very safe in your own territory, and you don't have to worry about the threat of the beasts at all.
While the four hall masters controlled the divine ship and rushed back to the Kongming Secret Realm, they also sent out jade slips to issue orders to the various hall masters on the border.
Although they escaped from the unknown land and returned to their territory safely, the orcs would not dare to send troops to intercept and kill them.
But they must be more vigilant and strengthen the defense lines and patrols in the border areas to prevent the orcs from taking the opportunity to launch a counterattack on the territory of Kongming Temple.
Although this possibility is very small, the orcs have always been impulsive, warlike and bloodthirsty.
Maybe they were dazzled by the victory and mistakenly thought that they were already very powerful and had enough strength to defeat Kongming Temple.
In a state of excitement, the orc leader sent a large number of militant orc elites to attack the territory of Kongming Temple...
This is by no means a fantasy, but something that is very likely to happen.
The orders from the four hall masters were issued. After receiving the order, the hall masters from various branches on the border began to take action.
They assembled a large number of elite experts to form a defense line at the border, patrolling day and night and not letting go of anything suspicious.
The specific number of patrols to be carried out and how long they should be on guard were not specified in the orders of the four palace masters.
But the attitude they showed and the tone of the order made the church leaders of each branch realize that this was probably not a short-term task.
Hall masters from all walks of life have heard about it before. They heard that several hall masters gathered a large number of elite strong men to enter unknown lands to encircle and suppress the strong beast clan.
Unexpectedly, not long after the incident, several palace masters came back.
It seems that Kongming Temple not only failed to win, but also failed to take any advantage.
This made the branch hall masters from all walks of life feel uneasy and started talking among themselves privately.
Of course, until the palace masters gave orders to lift the defense line, they had to remain on guard and not relax.
The duration of the mission may be three to five months, or it may be three to five years.
Therefore, the various hall leaders quietly adjusted their manpower and divided their elite masters into two groups to perform tasks in rotation.
When the defense lines of various branches were connected, the border area of Kongming Temple entered a state of full martial law.
Although, this line of defense, which is hundreds of millions of miles long, cannot be said to be seamless and watertight, nor can it guarantee that no beast race will be missed.
However, it is impossible for the elites of the beast clan who reach a certain level to quietly break through the defense line and sneak into the territory of Kongming Temple.
…
Another eight days passed.
The ships of the four palace masters, carrying more than 500 defeated soldiers, finally returned to the headquarters of Kongming Temple.
Many elite and powerful people who stayed in Kongming Secret Realm have been waiting for the news of the triumphant return of several palace masters.
As long as they receive news that they have defeated the orc army, they will definitely put on a luxurious ceremony to welcome the return of the palace masters.
Unexpectedly, the palace masters suddenly returned to the secret realm without any news in advance.
This caught the soldiers and strong men who were staying in the secret realm a little off guard and confused.
They really didn't expect that this would be the result.
Some powerful leaders, such as commanders, mustered up the courage to meet with several palace masters to find out what happened and what the situation was like.
Unexpectedly, when they rushed to the palace of several palace masters, they saw more than a hundred elite god-kings with horrific injuries, leaving with sad expressions and returning to their respective residences.
This scene made several commanders confused and shocked.
They couldn't believe that several palace masters hurried back to Kongming Secret Realm quietly and brought back hundreds of elite god kings who were seriously injured and dying.
What does this mean?
Could it be that the Temple of Kongming surrounded and suppressed the strong beast clan, but ended up being defeated?
If this is true, wouldn't it mean that thousands of elite god-kings died in unknown places, and only four palace masters and hundreds of soldiers escaped?
This should be impossible and too scary.
Several commanders could not believe and accept this result, and immediately gave up the idea.
Or maybe, the battle to encircle and suppress the orcs is still going on, and the palace masters are just escorting the wounded back first?
This doesn't seem to make sense either.
The war is going on, and the several palace masters should sit in the army, stay in the unknown, or even participate in the war themselves.
There is another possibility, that is... Kongming Temple won the battle, but the four temple masters first escorted the more seriously injured soldiers back for treatment.
The remaining few thousand elite god-kings are on their way back to the secret realm of Kongming.
It was just that they were traveling slowly and were separated from the four palace masters.
This idea is somewhat credible.
But when several commanders got together and discussed in private, they found some loopholes and overturned this conjecture.
After all, the ships of the four palace masters are top-notch artifacts with large internal spaces that can accommodate thousands of elite god-kings.
Not to mention the four palace masters returning with the divine ship at the same time, even if there is only one divine ship, it can bring back the thousands of elite god kings who participated in the war.
"This is so strange!"
"Yes! There is no reason for the four palace masters to bring only a few hundred people back!"
"If the war is still going on, the four palace masters will never leave the unknown land.
But if the war is over and we win, the four palace masters will not come back quietly, they will definitely notify us in advance and tell us the news of victory."
"At that time, before I entered the shrine, I saw the tragically injured soldiers.
Judging from their injuries and demeanor, I think it is unlikely that we will win."
"Yes! I also saw the third hall master. His face was very ugly. He was obviously full of anger, without any joy or excitement of winning."
"Why are only the main hall master, the second hall master, the third hall master and the fourth hall master back?
Where did the Lord of the Fifth Hall go? There must be no accident, right?"
"There is a saying that when we have eliminated all options and are hard to make a choice, the answer that seems the most ridiculous is often the truth!"
"What? You mean... we were defeated? Thousands of soldiers died on the battlefield, and only a few hundred people were left alive, who were rescued by the four palace masters?"
"According to what you said, the Lord of the Fifth Palace did not show up. Could it be that he also encountered an accident and died in battle?"
"This is impossible! Our Kongming Temple is so powerful, how can it be possible for those ignorant and despicable beasts to defeat us?
Regardless of whether you believe it or not, I will never believe it!"
"Okay everyone, it's no use guessing here. It's better to ask a few palace masters in person to know the result."
Several powerful commander-level men discussed it privately and roughly guessed the answer.