Chapter 2514 - Shenxi Xingtian
Most people hadn't actually seen the second rex mundi, Shenxi Xingtian's actual face. However, none would have guessed that he didn't even have a face at all. Apart from the taixi divine eyes on his palms, the only other thing that proved his status as an ebon were the two puddles of black water within his eye sockets. The liquid in each socket functioned as his eyes, and their undulations and waves reflected his gaze.
Fifty years ago, his name was the target of admiration and worship. Back then, it had been at the very top of the rex mundi ranking. That period should've been nothing but a mere passing moment for him, yet the past half century felt like a complete slog.
He no longer wished to further discuss Tianming's worth. Other things aside, the treasure he had obtained from the ancestral world was more than worth the effort of hunting him down. Without another word, he prepared the Ebonfiend for a second wave of attacks, using its actual full power. When the signal to attack was sent out, the other fifty ether-class ships charged up alongside the Ebonfiend, rumbling heavily once more. Their field of vision was drowned by the radiant nova source as the divine astralships locked onto Gladeus.
Everyone waited with bated breath, Tianming included. Lin Xiaodao was shouting orders up in the air like a madman as the seconds ticked by. Not long after, it was as if the fleet completely vanished. The only thing that remained in the sight of the Gladeans was one of a black planetary body crashing into Gladeus. The sheer volume of its crash drowned out everything else, creating an even larger explosion than before that caused many destructive earthquakes, making Gladeus a hellscape once more after the brief respite. Yet, after all that, all Tianming got out of Ji Ji was 'is that all you got'.
"Insane! Insane!" Lin Xiaodao laughed heartily on high. He hadn't expected things to turn out this well after the second wave. The fact that the Ebonfiend's full blast hadn't been able to pierce Gladeus meant that it wouldn't be much of a threat under normal circumstances.
"It's crazy how this is all the ebon expeditionary force can do." Lin Xiaodao wasn't being hyperbolic. Ji Ji and Tianming deserved to be legends for this feat alone. In fact, Yin Chen also had immense credit in the resolution of Gladeus's internal affairs, while Tianming and Ji Ji were helping with its external affairs.
Tianming realized that there was nothing he personally needed to do. The Gladean ebons that had wanted to revolt after surrendering didn't have a chance at all. They looked up at the sky and were stupefied by what they saw, being even more shocked than the ebons in space.
"How could it be?!"
"That's an infinitum-class divine astralship!"
"If even the Ebonfiend can't break the astralguard formation, doesn't it mean that Lin Xiaodao is invulnerable inside it?"
This was all too vexing for all the ebons involved. All their excitement and sense of superiority had been trampled to the ground. Their annoyed and frustrated chatter sounded like flies to Shenxi Xingtian. The Ebonfiend rumbled heavily once as its eyes flashed red. Then, its mouth opened wide while its hair-chains flailed wildly, constantly colliding with each other to create a grating sound. The embodiment of terror itself had begun to descend.
"What is the rex mundi planning?"
"Perhaps he's trying to ram the astralguard formation directly with the ship. As long as we can endure the formation's retaliation, we'll be able to enter it and begin the slaughter!"
"That's right. Even if the Ebonfiend can't destroy the astralguard formation, it doesn't mean it can't survive it either. The formation's hellstar reaper sword condensate is too wild for a person to slip through, but an infinitum-class ship should be able to go through it fine."
"It will be close combat, then!"
"The rex mundi must have his own plans. We just need to follow his lead."
The fifty other ships followed suit as well, looking like a meteor shower as they made their descent. Shenxi Xingtian's gaze grew darker and the eyes on his hands shone eerily. Lin Jie didn't look up, but he knew that the second rex mundi had made up his mind to take the risk by going into the formation to take out Lin Xiaodao and capture Tianming. Going so close would risk exposing themselves to counterattacks, but it seemed to be the only way they would be able to get through Gladeus's formation. Just waiting outside wasn't a solution, and given enough time, the threat Gladeus posed would be so great that the ebons would end up overwhelmed anyway.
"The rex mundi already has his hands tied with Yi Daiyan in Ebonia, and now, there's Lin Feng and Lin Xiaodao causing trouble. The rex mundi must be quite unlucky to run into those two monsters," Lin Jie said with a smirk.
"That's why one of them has to perish today! Only then will there be a chance to defeat Yi Daiyan!" Such a sentiment was echoed throughout the Ebonfiend.
Even Lin Xiaodao felt rather taken aback by the bold move. "Heavens, that old fool has gone mad. Is he trying to take us down with him?" At the end of the day, he still feared the second rex mundi. "Master, isn't this getting rather dangerous for us?" Tianming had begun to maneuver the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb out of the way to Lin Xiaodao's side.
"It's dangerous for both of us! With the Hellstar Formation, we can attack them nonstop and take out some ether-class ships! Yet, the astral gods within those ships also pose threats of their own. But..." Lin Xiaodao shrugged. "If we fail to stop them here and let them in, the second rex mundi can end us, especially if he has infinitum-class warbeasts with him."
The enemy had chosen a bold and desperate tactic. It was a clear sign that Shenxi Xingtian didn't wish to repeat the failure they had experienced at Mount Taia. The battle here was one they couldn't afford to lose! Only by defeating a smaller fish like Tianming would they have a chance to take on the big fish, Yi Daiyan.
"So, Master..." Tianming gave him a deep look.
"We can't let any of their ships pass through. Ideally, we'd want to scare them off. It appears that we have to use our final trump card!" Lin Xiaodao said.
"Alright, let's go!" Tianming knew what Lin Xiaodao had in store. It was something that would shake the foundations of the Infinitum Bodhimanda even more than the current battle would. It was none other than the only other infinitum-class divine astralship in the tens of millions of years of history of the Infinitum Mundus!