Chapter 2634 - Divine Fiend Wrath
"Attack!" With the order given, ten-thousand-plus ships launched their charged-up nova sources in unison. A pillar of multi-colored light intermixed as it shot out like a solar lance against the astralguard formation of the Sun. The gigantic pillar caused a large vortex cave-in on its surface, then an explosion that profoundly shook the flaming cloud layer. Raging flames formed tidal waves in the surroundings, reverberating across the entire Sun with an orderly sense of beauty. While the waves looked pretty from afar, it was nothing but chaos within the formation itself.
The three million astral gods of the enemy had never seen such a grand sight before. After all, using divine astralships in combat had been prohibited until recently. Gasps of awe echoed throughout their ranks as they watched the pink flames. When the explosion receded, they saw a large hole form, revealing the surface of the Sun to them. While the flames were still flowing in the vicinity, it was a good chance for the Exterminatus Army. They didn't have much time to spare.
"Die!"
"Kill them all!"
"Eradicate the fiends in the name of justice!"
"Traitors must perish!"
All of them felt their blood pumping. They came down in their ships through the opening they had just made. The Ebonfiend led quite a large part of the fleet into the astralguard formation before the flames could close back up. If they were able to go through and destroy the Sky Palace Formation as well, victory would be theirs a mere three months after the expedition began!
Like sharp blades, the ships cut into the astralguard formation, their divine astralship formations powering up to push back the flames. The strategy was to focus their forces on a single point rather than spreading out like the Star Hunters had. The head-like ship at the very front stained the pink flames, turning them black and assimilating them into the Ebonfiend's aura as the enemy army marched onto the field with great bravado.
"Is this what the new world looks like?"
"There isn't a single person here. Where are they?"
Many of them began mocking the empty backwater. Little did they know that Tianming and Wudi had been waiting for them to go deeper so the nine hundred thousand flameyellow fiends could strike at the opportune moment. Before that, they wouldn’t make a single move as the Exterminatus Army continued their approach.
"Leave the Ebonfiend to me! Go!" Xiaodao said from within the two-headed dragon that was the Gladean Ruins. Flames boiled within it as its eyes opened during the charge. Within the sea of flames, its heads could clearly be seen, whereas its tail was completely hidden. It cruised about within the battlefield, completely unhindered.
"Fuck them up!" Wudi cried, awakening all of the undying flameyellow fiends at once. The six eyes on their three heads snapped open in an instant, each of them burning with fire. Back when they’d only had ninety thousand in total, they’d been able to stop the Star Hunters. With ten times their former number, they were a gargantuan force to be reckoned with.
"What’re those?" Ahead of the Exterminatus Army, countless flameyellow fiends began to swarm with the Gladean Ruins as a vanguard and came ramming toward the Ebonfiend! Each of the tens of thousands of divine astralships was beset by around sixty of those flaming giants. As they were part of the astralguard formation, they wouldn't truly perish. They were able to accurately target the enemy ships with their claws, fangs, and fists, infusing them with nova source from the Sun during their attacks.
"Hold on!"
Tianming was somewhat relaxed; the flameyellow fiends hadn’t disappointed. They were able to keep the enemy fleet pinned down, a sign that Ji Ji had greatly enhanced their strength. Like before, they were even able to stop ether-class ships! All they needed to do was to hold them there. Tianming had wanted to use the celestial tome on them to secure his victory in a grand sweep, but Wudi and Xiaodao felt that the enemy definitely had other trump cards to use first.
"As long as we hold them here, they'll have no choice but to reveal their hand. We'll just counter their tricks when we see them. They're the ones with a time limit, not us."
The Ebonfiend and Gladean Ruins clashed with one another within the sea of flames. Each nova source blast swept away everything in their vicinity. If the flameyellow fiends were caught in the blasts, they could simply reform; however, other smaller ships nearby were blasted to smithereens.
"Win or lose, they’ll suffer losses. But for us, we'll either suffer minute losses or lose everything." Everything depended on whether the Sky Palace Formation could hold out.
Knowing the destructive power of an infinitum-class ship, the other enemy ships made sure to keep their distance, causing the battlefield to be more spread out. Tianming did as Wudi and Xiaodao had planned, choosing to wait. His side had a few divine astralships of their own as well. The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb and the Reaper joined the fray, fighting together with the flameyellow fiends. Of the three parts Ji Ji had split up into, one had entered the Sun, while the other two entered the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb and Gladean Ruins respectively, enhancing the destructive power of their miniaturized nova sources.
"Die!" Thanks to the external Whitedragon Silvermoon formation, the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb reigned supreme among ether-class ships. Nothing but the Ebonfiend had a chance of taking it down. Tianming joined the fray, lashing out with the ship's nine dragon heads, crushing many deific-class ships with one bite each. The enemy troops escaped their escaping ships, each carrying around three hundred of them. Astral gods were a tough sort and wouldn't die that easily from the explosion.
"Why are there so many monsters in the formation?"
"They can't be killed!"
"We aren't able to go through!"
"Isn't that Lin Feng's ship? Crush it!"
In their first clash, the Sun had shown ten times the might it’d used against the Star Hunters, giving the Exterminatus Army a huge shock. Many among their ranks felt a headache welling up.