Chapter 2322 Evil
"Wait!"
A sudden voice called out to the First White Mother.
Seemingly interested by the person who had called out, the First White Mother held up a hand, stopping the advancing Sapientia. It was quite an interesting sight to behold. Instead of wondering exactly where their leader, Aritzia, was, they were following the orders of someone who should have been an outsider. But, maybe, from the very beginning, she had never been one.
"Speak. What is it that you want to say?"
The First White Mother seemed to not be putting on airs at all. In her mind, she was simply doing what she must. Things like disdain, haughtiness and the like were things she found to be beneath her.
Surprisingly, the one that had called out was Ancestor Haven, the Ancestor of the Sprite Hegemon.
"Are my Sprites not also in line with your ideology? We are gifted our talent by the Heavens and our cultivation is simply based on the natural resources that the Heavens bestow upon us. Why then must we die along with everyone else?"
"Who said that you needed to die?" The First White Mother responded simply. "If you have the intention of standing on the side of what is right, then I would of course accept you with open arms."
Ancestor Haven narrowed their eyes. "In that case, why didn't you extend such a hand out earlier? You didn't even provide your own First Brother an opportunity?"
Though Ancestor Haven had thoughts of switching sides, he wasn't a fool. This kind of turncoat attitude would gain him the ire of many. In addition, those who were willing to do such a thing would obviously not have very high standing within the party they defected to. At most, they would have some perfunctory roles.
So, he needed to make certain of two things. First he needed to understand the intentions of Abraxus and the First White Mother. Secondly, he needed to make sure that should he defect, he would be able to meet his goal of protecting his people. If there was no such chance, he would rather fight with his life on the line here and now.
However, he couldn't make all of this so obvious. He needed to ask roundabout probing questions in the stead of a straightforward approach.
"I know the personality of my First Brother well. Should he and his women decide to put down their arms and change the error of their ways, they will of course be spared as well. However, some sacrifices are inevitable. Getting my First Brother's Empress to stop her efforts of suppressing the Mortal Plane was impossible. As such, killing her directly was the best course of action."
Ancestor Haven stared at the First White Mother for a long while before taking a step forward.
"The Sprite Hegemon is willing."
Hearing the words of their Ancestor, the sprite warriors who had followed him directly bowed in his stead, following closely behind their ruler. As the Ancestor of their Hegemon, he could of course make unilateral decisions. Plus… They weren't fans of humans to begin with for reasons not very much unlike the reasons the First White Mother had already listed. In that case, why would they continue protecting humans?
Originally, they had thought this was a war for their lives. But now that they knew the truth, what reason did they have to continue risking themselves?
The remaining army of Immortals was greatly shaken by this. It could be said that the three most powerful among them were Abraxus, Haven and Elise. But now, two of them had already left. And now only one remained.
"You've made a pretty good choice, Haven." Abraxus said with a cheeky grin. But, when that grin was contrasted with the blood splattered all over his loose white clothing, it was no longer possible for him to retain his previous amiable air.
"Do you believe that I won't pierce you through with my sword right now?" Haven growled. "Tell me, is this the 'good fortune' you gained in the Chaos Ruins?"
Abraxus chuckled. But didn't give a direct answer. However, in Haven's eyes, his non-answer was only as good as a tacit agreement.
Suddenly, another voice rang out.
"I've been waiting a long time for this."
Who would have known that the only remaining powerhouse of the Mortal Empire's army would step forward at that exact moment? In fact, she crossed the dividing line between the armies with her people without even exchanging words with the First White Mother first.
Ancestor Elise made it clear with her actions that the phoenixes had always been on the opposing side.
The First White Mother smiled lightly. "Your Phoenix Clans have sacrificed the most for our cause. I must thank you sincerely."
Elise smiled charmingly, walking to Abraxus' side and looping her arm around his.
Those of the Mortal Plane shuddered. Which of them didn't know the reason the mortal plane had been left with so few universes was precisely because the Dark Phoenixes had wiped them all out? They could have never guessed that the reason the Fire and Ice Phoenixes didn't step forward to stop them was because they silently consented to it.
"We only did our part." Elise said with a light smile.
Like this, what amounted to easily half of the Mortal Empire's forces had left. At this point, how could the others not panic?
Ysabell grit her teeth and hesitated.
Of those remaining, didn't she have the most reasons to defect? She hated Dyon to the bone. The matter of all those years ago hadn't been forgotten by her. How dare he disrespect her in front of her descendants to that degree?
But at the same time, the words of the First White Mother caused her to hesitate. They directly destroyed the Soul Cultivation era of her Elven Clan. How could they so easily accept the elves?
When she looked toward Ancestor Godefray of the angels, it seemed he was dealing with the same struggle.
Gritting her teeth, she still decided to take a step forward. If she lagged behind Godefray, then the benefits she would gain from crossing over would be even less.
"I hope that you'll accept my Elven Hegemon as well. Please take into consideration that the reason for the falling out between our Elven race and the Dwarves was precisely over our disagreements over the resources of the Heavens. We wanted to enrich and support nature while they wanted to use it for their own benefits.
"Though this Ancestor's Elven Hegemon has failed to meet up to your expectations, we will not hinder this new world order and will appropriately move with the tides."
The First White Mother gazed toward Ysabell silently for a long while, causing the latter to feel incomparably nervous. She didn't dare to so easily cross over like the others did.
"As long as you swear an oath to dispel your cultivations after this battle concludes, there will of course be no problem in accepting you all." She finally replied simply.
Such a response caused Ysabell's heart to quake, but what choice did she have? Such a thing would directly put her Elven Clan at the bottom, but it was simply impossible for her to take a step back now.
"… I accept."
The Elves turned ashen, but much like the other Hegemons, the word of their Ancestor was final. At this point, they no longer had a choice.
After the elves crossed over, the First White Mother swept a glance over those who remained as though asking who else was willing. Though everything seemed to have fallen into a dead silence, there was an inexplicable pressure in the air. It was stifling to the point that even breathing seemed difficult.
However, what surprised many was that no one else crossed over.
Ysabell had completely misread Godefray. He hadn't been trembling while he struggled to make a decision, but had rather been trembling because an enemy he had been preparing for for so long had finally appeared before him.
Unfortunately, the trump card they had prepared for this day – Emytheus – had yet to mature…
As for Dyon's wives, thoughts of defecting hadn't even crossed their minds. Fury lit their eyes as tears stained their cheeks. Madeleine was their big sister, a woman they all saw as family and one they respected to the deepest pits of their hearts. Yet, it was these people who killed her.
"Since you've all made your decisions, there's nothing else to say. Leave none alive." The First White Mother spoke emotionlessly.
The raging tempest of the army bloomed once more. Like an unsheathed sword piercing the skies, they charged.
Was there even any suspense remaining? An army of trillions facing off what didn't even amount to a few million. Let alone the number disparity, just the difference in strength was enough to cause unending despair.
Without the Heaven's suppression, they were mere mortals facing off against Immortal Gods. What chance did they stand?
However, no one could have expected that the imposing charge of the army would suddenly come to a grinding halt for no other reason than the appearance of a single man.
His clothing was completely drenched in blood. Even his bare feet, hanging limply in the emptiness of space, dripped with the crimson liquid. Drop after drop fell, slowly forming and falling in a steady rhythm that seemed to take hold of their hearts.
The man's hair had become a sea of black flames. His eyes, dull and lifeless, looked forward to the army of trillions. A scythe in one hand, a chain in the other, he stood there like a floating corpse.
He was just a single man, but those in the vanguard found it difficult to take even a single step.
At that moment, a mournful cry resounded through the skies. It sounded like the dying screeches of a black crow. The world seemed to dim as the man's head tilted back, his eyes becoming two flickering abysses of black.
Fear gripped their hearts. It was all so evil, so dark… Death seemed to be the only thing they could think about.
Kill.
There seemed to be a wall between the man and the world. Whether it was his 'comrades' to his back, or his 'enemies' to the front, none seemed capable of taking a step toward him.
But that much was fine. Because in the next instant, he shot forward like a streak of blackness.