In a village hidden away in the heart of the Azure Continent, the situation couldn't have been more different from the demonic forces gathering for war. Here, the villagers had chosen a path of grim determination and defiance.
The chief of the village, a grizzled elder named Orlan, stood before his fellow villagers, his weathered hands gripping a simple wooden staff. He had been a cultivator in his youth, but age and the passage of time had diminished his powers to mere embers.
"Listen well, my kin," Orlan began, his voice firm yet filled with a sense of solemnity. "Today, we face a threat unlike any we've ever known. The demons approach, their malevolent intent clear. We have chosen not to flee, not because we cannot, but because we will not. This land is our home, our ancestors' legacy, and we shall defend it with our lives."
