While Irving and hispanions were methodically advancing their ns, two elders of the Night des sessfully escaped back to the Mist Space.


    The two elders had sustained varying degrees of injuries during the recent battle. Elder Howard had a lighter injury, allowing him to regain consciousness earlier than Elder Kent. Moreover, in the Mist Space, Elder Howard was able to receive assistance from the mist itself.


    Once he regained his senses, Elder Howard immediately began to check if the weapons and items he had left in the Mist Space were still there. After inspecting for a while, he finally sighed in relief. Although Elder Kent had used some of Elder Howard''s weapons and items during the battle, the majority were still in their original ce.


    At that moment, Elder Kent also regained consciousness. With a slightly weak voice filled with anger, he eximed, "We lost to Irving again! Why did those magical formations on the basement walls possess such powerful capabilities?!"


    Elder Kent was deeply frustrated. He believed that his n should have seeded, and the only reason for their failure was that the power of the magical formations on the basement walls had exceeded expectations.


    Elder Howard remained silent. He coldly observed a crystal ball at the center of the Mist Space. The crystal ball was reying the battle between the two elders and Irving over and over again.


    "Why aren''t you speaking? Do you really think our failure was solely my fault?" Elder Kent, struggling to stand, felt that Elder Howard''s behavior was quite strange. He subconsciously believed that Elder Howard must be ming him.


    Without lifting his head, Elder Howard replied coldly, "I am currently reviewing the battle between us and Irving. I find it very peculiar that we were unable to achieve victory."


    Upon hearing Elder Howard''s words, Elder Kent quickly moved to stand beside him. "It was because of those magical formations on the basement walls. Without their assistance, Irving would have never been able to defeat us."


    Elder Kent insisted on his earlier assessment, but Elder Howard felt that the situation was not as simple as it seemed. After watching the battle rey for a while, Elder Howard suddenly realized a significant oversight that had urred during the fight.


    "I finally understand why we failed! It wasn''t because of the magical formations on the basement walls at all," Elder Howard said, enlightenment dawning upon him.


    Elder Kent looked at Howard with a slightly puzzled expression. "Then what could be the reason? If you''ve found some other clues, just tell me directly. Don''t keep me in suspense."


    "The reason we failed is that we did not fully utilize our own strength during the battle. We relied on dark powers that were external to ourselves," Elder Howard stated firmly, revealing his discovery.


    Elder Kent''s expression became slightly confused upon hearing this. "We were using dark powers throughout the previous battle. Why didn''t we encounter any issues before? Could it be that Irving has some additional means?"


    In response to Elder Kent''s inquiry, Elder Howard nodded heavily. "Look at the current battle scene."


    Elder Howard adjusted the crystal ball, which then disyed a moment from the battle. "Do you notice anything unusual in this image?"


    With Elder Howard''s prompt, Elder Kent finally detected the anomaly. "All the dark power we summoned seems to have entered the magical formations on the basement walls. That''s why the final explosion from these magical formations was so powerful."


    Elder Howard directly shared his findings. Elder Kent nodded gravely. Although he acknowledged Elder Howard''s hypothesis, he felt that such a tactic was impossible to counter. If they couldn''t harness other dark powers during the battle, their true strength was not as formidable as they had imagined.


    "What do you think we should do next? Irving certainly won''t abandon his ns. Moreover, we have no other options besides stopping his ns. The higher-ups of the Night des won''t tolerate another failure. If we fail this time, we could very well be erased," Elder Kent said, his tone extremely serious.


    He understood very well that the other elders of the Night des wouldn''t intercede on his behalf. The other elders would be more concerned with acquiring the power they possessed.


    Elder Howard''s expression darkened upon hearing this. "You''re right; we absolutely cannot afford a second failure. Therefore, I believe we should devise a perfect counter-strategy. We must find Irving''s weakness."


    While Elder Howard''s statement was undoubtedly valid, Elder Kent felt itcked any real significance. Of course, they wanted to identify Irving''s weaknesses. However, they had never been sessful in this endeavor; it seemed that Irving had no weaknesses at all.


    "What kind of weakness could he possibly have? We have observed him for a long time, and he doesn''t seem to have any notable vulnerabilities. Should we focus on his associates?" Elder Kent expressed his thoughts.


    The moment he spoke, he felt that his idea might indeed be the most viable option for sess. "Why didn''t I think of this before?! We can definitely start with the people he coborates with! Even if Irving has no weaknesses, those who work with him must have some."


    Elder Kent excitedly turned to Elder Howard. However, Elder Howard''s expression remained calm andposed.


    "I have already attempted that approach. I even seeded in disguising myself as a member of the Angel Guild. But my disguise was ultimately seen through by Irving. He even used my n against me, leading to an even more severe consequence for me. The reason we were defeated in the library basement was that Irving learned of my n in advance."


    Elder Howard''s tone carried a hint of mncholy as he spoke. In his view, his previous n had been nearly wless, yet such a perfect scheme could not ovee Irving.


    Elder Kent quickly shook his head. "Your previous n wasn''t perfect at all. My idea is different from yours. I believe we shouldn''t directly target the Angel Guild. We should focus on those who coborate with Irving but are not very tightly aligned with him. If we can eliminate those individuals, Irving''s strength will correspondingly decrease."


    The people Elder Kent referred to clearly included James and others. Although James had coborated with Irving for a long time, their rtionship was not particrly close. If they could sessfully eliminate James and the Green Ivy Group he led, the Night des would have a greater advantage than before.


    Elder Howard carefully considered Elder Kent''s proposed n. Ultimately, he also felt that Elder Kent''s strategy had a significant chance of sess.


    "You''re right; we should definitely target James. Moreover, we have some spies on his side. We can have them provide us with relevant intelligence," Elder Howard said as he and Elder Kent quickly devised a n of action. However, neither of them was in a hurry to act. They both felt that given the current situation, they needed to exercise greater caution.


    "Make sure your spies in James'' organization stay hidden! We won''t be using them for our uing actions!" Elder Kent instructed Elder Howard directly. In Elder Kent''s view, it was essential to keep some cards close to their chest. If they used all their resources in the uing operation, they could very well lose theirst chance.


    Without any opportunity left, the higher-ups in the Night des would not tolerate them any longer.


    The pressure faced by Elder Howard and Elder Kent was actually greater than that on Irving. Irving only had to deal with the threat from the Night des, while the two elders had to confront not only Irving but also the threats posed by other elders within the Night des.


    Despite the challenges, both elders felt that they had not yet lostpletely. Irving and the Night des were both taking action, and both sides were achieving certain effects.


    That evening, Irvingpleted sealing all the defense vulnerabilities of the shelter. At almost the same time, the two elders of the Night des learned about the current situation of James and the Green Ivy Group.


    "James is helping Irving build defensive structures around the castle. The level of the defenses they are constructing seems to be very high. We must act quickly," Elder Kent and Elder Howard both felt a bit anxious upon receiving this intelligence. In their view, if the defensive structures around the castle werepleted, their subsequent actions would be very difficult to execute sessfully.


    However, after the initial panic, Elder Howard quickly regained hisposure. "Perhaps we can use the defensive structures that James and his team are building. I can have the spies hidden among James'' subordinates intentionally create some vulnerabilities in the defenses. Then, when weunch an attack on these structures, we can exploit those vulnerabilities.


    If we can swiftly destroy these defenses, Irving and his people will surely fall into chaos. At that point, we can easily defeat Irving!"


    Although Elder Howard''s n seemed a bit far-fetched, Elder Kent felt it was indeed a very good approach. They might be able to formte their subsequent action n around this idea.