Chapter 1517 - A Life for a Life
The man's eyes dimmed after he smiled his last. The thought of Li Wushuang's death gave him peace in the knowledge that Dragonbound Valley would be safe for now. Such occurrences were all too common in every corner of the battlefield.
"Die, you celestial dogs!"
"Kill them!"
"Kill the dogs! Protect our homes!"
"The Veildragon Palace is our sect's shame!"
This war wasn't just between the sect and the celestial orderians. The Veildragon Palace was also in the chaotic mess. They sacrificed countless of their own to pave a way for their celestial orderian comrades, much to the bafflement of many others. Why would they do something like that to fight against their own distant kin? They were even willing to give up their pride and dignity to invade the lands of their ancestors like loyal dogs!
How tragic! Even though they were dragons all the same, how could they turn against their own? That only served to enrage those from the Ninedragon Army even more. They couldn't accept this no matter what! Their territory, dignity, and ancestral legacy… they sacrificed themselves to defend all of it. As the battle developed, more and more casualties were suffered by both sides. Even so, the Ninedragon Army didn't back off in the slightest.
Lingfeng's choice was correct. If he’d shown up during the heat of battle, he wouldn't have had the chance to get close to Qingyu. The battlefield was nothing short of a hellscape right now. The flaming clouds above began raining down countless embers on the battlefield, each of which left large craters that quickly filled up with blood and burning flesh from beast and man alike. Blood could even spray tens of thousands of meters away thanks to the wild storms. Those far away in the Azurecloud Continent could probably also feel the effects of this battle. The fusion formation far beneath them rumbled.
What was even more angering was how the Sky Palace didn't show up at all despite the war taking place near Myriaddragon Mountains. The seventy million troops of the alliance merely watched as those from the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect fell in battle. It wasn't that they didn't dare to fight, they simply lacked someone to lead them into battle. Most of them were made up of smaller factions that wouldn't be able to change the tide of battle even if they joined in. Even second-rate factions would perish as long as the first-rate factions didn't chip in, easily being vaporized the moment they approached the battlefield.
There were all kinds of reactions among those troops. Some were enraged at what they saw, some felt horrible, some feigned ignorance, and some merely coldly smiled. As long as the blades of the celestial orderians weren't placed against their necks, most of them didn't feel the slightest bit bothered. Countless chatter rang out among their ranks.
All of the pressure was put on the first-rate factions' leaders, the dreamless celestial emperor and the Northdipper Swordsage and so on. However, nobody could find the former at the moment. Who would be able to lead the Myriad Solar Sects? When they looked at the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect's fighting spirit and compared it with the cold dreamless celestials, most figured that the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect would rank first even without the Veildragon Palace among them. When it came to a real fight, numbers weren't everything.
"We already came all this way! Do we fight or not?"
"The Xuanyuan Dragon Sect killed Li Wushuang, so the celestial orderians have ample justification. What reason would we have to involve ourselves?"
"If you join, you'll only earn their ire. The sun emperor will definitely wipe them out. Everything has been planned, from the return of the Veildragon Palace to Li Wushuang's death."
"Come to think of it, is she really dead? She can't possibly come back to life ten years later, right?"
"Yeah, it's quite the deal to cripple the entire Xuanyuan Dragon Sect in exchange for ten years in hiding."
"Can you all shut up? Don't you think the celestial orderians will come for us once they win here? When we're gone, the Myriad Solar Sects will be wiped out! Our descendants will forever be the slaves of the celestial orderians! Totemancers will reign supreme over beastmasters!"
"There’s seventy million of us...."
Even if they had that number, they were disorganized and disunited. They might not even stand a chance against the thirty million troops of the Ninedragon Army. These onlookers were just as shameless as the Veildragon Palace, in a sense. The Ninedragon Army had never counted on them to begin with, otherwise their apathy would have affected their morale even more. They merely continued gritting their teeth and fighting away.
"Kill!"
"Don't fall! The Primodragon Cave is right behind us!"
"We'll die sooner or later! What better time than now? We'll take a few traitors with us so our descendants won't have to bow down and become their slaves!"
It took countless years for the Myriad Solar Sects to be able to rival the celestial orderians, but if they lost here, they would be past the point of no return.
"Even if we fail and die, we can at least cause the celestial orderians grief! Let's kill thirty million of them and teach them a bloody lesson! Let's all at least kill one before we die!"
They already had nothing to lose, so they had no qualms about sacrificing themselves for a hopeless cause. As long as every one of them killed one enemy before being killed, it would be a huge blow to the celestial orderians.
"Anyone who dies before killing at least one enemy shall forever be shamed in the afterlife!" With that thought in mind, every single soldier fought with renewed vigor and abandon, desperate to score a kill even if it meant enduring a fatal wound. Some even imploded their cultivation to self-destruct!
No matter how tough the celestial orderians were, a level or three of difference no longer mattered against fearlessly suicidal fighters like the Xuanyuans. No matter how strong they were, one could easily perish in a battle where death was the only constant.
What was even more shocking was how the Ninedragon Army didn't even look like they were at a disadvantage after fighting for so long. Their dedication to trade life for life had instead instilled fear in their enemies. What sane person would risk dying just to kill a single enemy? When faced with a suicidal enemy like this, the only rational choice was to run! While it wouldn't be a problem if tens, or even hundreds of thousands of them ran, their unified will would be heavily affected once millions of them made such a cost-benefit analysis.
The Xuanyuan Dragon Sect wasn't strong from the get-go. They had protected their lands and maintained cohesion amidst the constant rising and falling of the many factions, forming a solid legacy and sense of identity. When faced with invaders, they would repel them with the fiercest ability they could muster! The burning souls of the troops of the Ninedragon Army fought back against the celestial orderians' solar flare, much to the shock of the seventy million onlookers. Even Tianming was impressed and affected by their sheer will.