When Shang emerged from his Isolation Barrier, the Empress of Death had already terminated her contract with the three enemy Empires a couple of years ago.
As expected, the situation had become troublesome.
With all contracts broken, the three enemy Empires formed a true alliance.
Mages transferred between Empires to launch attacks from their borders, allowing individual members to move freely across all Empires without being attacked.
When Shang learned about the frontline, he realized the gravity of the situation.
The Lightning Manor had converted their southeastern Zone into a stronghold for Mage Lords, anticipating a collective attack from the three Empires.
Although Ancestral Mages weakened by Shang would have been the logical choice to defend the Zone, they opted for Mage Lords, primarily due to Shang's presence in the Seventh Realm.
The Lightning Manor had started preparing for this plan 500 years ago, guiding Mid Mage Lords to reach the Late Mage Lord Realm, Early Mage Lords to fall into the Initial Mage Lord Realm, and asking Initial Mage Lords not to break through for a while.
As a result, there were less than 200 Early and Mid Mage Lords in the Lightning Manor, but over a thousand Initial Mage Lords.
Shang's power was potent enough to defeat any Early and Mid Mage Lord, making it unnecessary for the Lightning Manor to deploy many forces at that
Realm.
Shang returned to find the enemy rapidly advancing with Mid Mage Lords, but he swiftly dispatched several of them.
Consequently, the enemy Mage Kings realized that they could no longer rely on Early or Mid Mage Lords and had to switch to the other three levels.
The abundance of Initial Mage Lords in the Lightning Manor posed a challenge for the enemy.
The Peak Mage Lord Realm, where the Thunders resided, was risky due to its formidable force and potential consequences of attacking them.
Killing a Bolt was akin to killing a soldier, but killing a Thunder was like eliminating a commander.
The three Empires were reluctant to sacrifice their valuable Peak Mage Lords with fourfold Spirit Senses and preferred to pressure the Lightning Manor with Late Mage Lords.
Shang refrained from attacking Late Mage Lords with fourfold Spirit Senses to avoid revealing his true power accidentally.
Although Shang could still kill these Mage Lords, doing so would make the enemy aware of his hidden strength, and they might go to extreme lengths to eliminate him.
Shang's death would result in the demise of the Lightning Emperor, leaving no opponent for King Sanctified Death, who would become a Mage Emperor and seek revenge for his father's death.
The Mage Emperors did not wish to kill the Lightning Emperor as he was a friend and had been Lucius' second-in-command, but his use of the Archivist as a threat strained their goodwill.
The war soon entered a stalemate as Shang conquered territories, and no enemy dared to attack him.
The three Empires' plan was to keep the Lightning Manor occupied on other fronts and then press forward with full force from the southeastern front to eventually consume the entire Empire.
However, advancing proved to be challenging, and though they killed many Mage Lords, they struggled to gain significant territory.
The Lightning Manor would eventually face a shortage of Mage Lords, and at that point, they could trap Shang with four Defender Flags, as they wouldn't have enough manpower to free him.
The war, despite fewer territory changes, continued to progress rapidly, with a shift in objectives.
The three Empires used their Defender Flags for Late Mage Lords without hesitation.
The Judgment Palace and Land and Sky Empire deployed their Peak Mage Lord Defender Flags and sent in their strongest Mage Lords to ensure the flags' effectiveness.
Both Empires had a Peak Mage Lord with a fivefold Spirit Sense at different stages of development.
One of them had comprehended four level five Concepts and was on the verge of understanding a level six Concept, positioning them to join the grand tournament and become a Mage King.
The other Peak Mage Lord had already comprehended a level six Concept and could potentially become a Mage King in the next tournament.
However, with around 4,000 years of longevity remaining, the second Peak Mage Lord had the option to skip some tournaments.
It was evident that these two Defender Flags were immovable and the Lightning Manor didn't even attempt to destroy them.
The Lightning Manor had a Peak Mage Lord with a fivefold Spirit Sense who had comprehended three level five Concepts.
Although this Mage Lord might be able to defeat the weaker of the two enemy Mage Lords, the risks were substantial, and losing such a powerful asset would be akin to losing a Mage King.
At this point, no one was willing to take such a significant risk.
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