Chapter 1823 - Turnaround
The Fushen Clan fought ferociously and riskily, while the Ninedragon Army focused on defense. While this generation's Xuanyuan Dragon Sect was no longer that powerful, they were still the inheritors of dragons. Their ancestral legacies and culture had infused in them a will to protect the weak. As such, they fundamentally hated this invasion. A difference in will changed everything.
Tianming could see the strength within their hearts, and was affected by it himself. As a sentimental person himself, he believed that human emotions reflected the true core of one's being. He seemed to resonate with the fallen across the entire battlefield on the level of his soul. Then he realized that they had been supporting him spiritually all along. Those who held him as their hope synchronized with him, making him a true ruler. "That's why the rate of increase in Omnisentient Threads just now was far higher than when I killed Li Tianyi and the rest."
Nearly half of the forty million troops he had brought with him in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb were already synchronizing with him. There were also some Fushens that were now incredibly loyal to him.
"I'll strike while the iron's hot!" He continued pressing Lan Huang onward. This time, he had a new target. "I'll kill the Warlord and crush the wargodeans' morale. That’ll be a true breakthrough against the Divine Sun Palace's troops!"
He looked further ahead from atop Lan Huang toward the sea of gold where the wargodeans were most concentrated. The Warlord had probably heard the news and tightened his defenses with the Deluge Emperor. It would be a hundred times harder for Tianming to kill him now. At that crucial point, even the Warlord knew better than to fight Tianming himself. Leaving him to the sun emperor would be the right choice, and the Deluge Emperor probably had the same thought. The two of them were cunning seniors who had made the rational choice.
"If I want to save the Fushens and crush the enemy, I have to do much more! He has to die!" Tianming's eyes turned bloodshot as rage filled his heart. He continued paving a way with his totem swords. Ying Huo and Meow Meow's bombardment scattered flesh all over the place, and even the sturdiest of shields couldn't hold up against Lan Huang's stampede.
"Die, die!" Groups of bloody cultivators behind Tianming felt hope when they saw him advance. As long as he didn't stop, they wouldn't either! Their spirited assault completely dazzled the wargodeans. Even though they used to rank fourth on the myriad sect rankings, they were so arrogant that they didn't take the sects ranked fifth and below seriously, including the Empyrean Sword Sect. They didn't even bother with the weird xenoraces like those from the Voidsky Shrine and dreamless celestial nation. The only ones they had truly respected were the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, who had a powerful legacy and long history. And now, a youth from that very sect riding a two-headed dragon had immediately made them recall the battle at the Myriaddragon Mountains. It had been a shocking grand battle of an unprecedented scale that saw the deaths of countless celestial orderians.
"We of the Ninedragon Army dare to kill the celestial orderians, so why should we be afraid of killing their dogs?!" The army shared a sense of pride, thanks to their previous military accomplishments, which made them fearless in the fight against the wargodeans, who witnessed all that was happening.
"Where’s the Tianyi Army and Tribulator Army? Why’s nobody backing us up?!" Confusion was mounting.
"What about the sun emperor's Divine Wrath?" In their moment of confusion, a beam from the Divine Sun Palace above came down to save them, lighting up the entire place. A shocking rumbling suppressed the flutes of the Fushen Clan.
Not even Tianming could hear himself at that moment. He knew that the Nonacrypt Fushen Formation was already pushed to its very limit. Xian Xian told him that many of the three hundred million people were no longer able to endure the pressure and had fainted. They had already given their all to protect their homes.
The blast even seemed to shatter Tianming's own organs. Right as the wargodeans were about to crumble, the sun emperor had given them new hope. They roared impassionately as the golden blast came raining down on the formation, turning into a storm of fire.
"Their formation is about to collapse! We only need one more push! Wargodean brothers, it's the last wave! We have to endure! After that, victory will be ours!" the Warlord said.
Tianming heard the booming voice. He turned and looked at the golden giant in the crowd with his two dense rows of ears. Even with a hundred thousand people protecting him, Tianming still saw him as prey. "Let's see if you'll even survive until the last wave."
Would the Warlord die or the formation fall first? Tianming immediately had Lan Huang charge toward the Warlord while the guardians around the golden giant gathered to form a mountain of gold in front of them.
"Everyone, I don't wish to face Li Tianming, but it isn’t out of fear. Instead, he’s the sun emperor's prey, and it wouldn't be right for me to take it! He’s desperate now and wants to deal a heavy blow to us before the formation collapses. The tide’s in our favor, so there's no need for unnecessary casualties, understood?" the Warlord explained.
"Yes!"
Perhaps only that would make him feel better about it. He would never admit that he had been absolutely shocked by a boy in his twenties. He continued pondering the Tumulus Pill God's words about the child of heaven's fate nonstop. But that was a dangerous mindset to have, so he was desperate to convince himself to snap out of it.
"Did anyone see the Tumulus Pill God?" the Warlord asked.
"He was with Situ Yin when the battle started, but he managed to leave before Situ Yin got killed."
"Very well." Situ Yin and the Tumulus Pill God had a good relationship, so the Warlord had sent him to help Situ Yin out. Not to mention, it would improve their relations in the future.
The golden shield ahead of him immediately shattered as a two-headed dragon covered in swords trampled upon countless golden corpses, charging toward the Warlord with a white-haired youth riding on it. While the Warlord and his entourage of a hundred thousand wouldn't be afraid of Tianming alone, there was a force of a hundred thousand troops following closely behind him. That meant the Warlord wouldn't have any numerical advantage.
"Regroup and fall back!" the Warlord ordered, his golden face gloomy. He was ready to mount a fighting retreat while the wargodeans away from them encircled Tianming from outside. He was still calm enough to make strategic decisions.
"Warlord, you're the ruler of the wargodeans, huh? I didn't think you'd be a coward who shirks away from battle! While you're busy turning tail and running, I dare you to turn around and look at what’s in my hand! Isn’t this the teacher that raised and nurtured you? Or is he just an old and withering wargodean animal?" Lan Huang repeated Tianming's exact words in its booming voice, and with much more fluency than Yin Chen. It also added its own flair, making it sound more arrogant. The sheer volume ensured that the hundreds of thousands of wargodeans around them could hear it.
Everyone turned and saw the youth holding a whip wrapped around an old man who was kneeling in front of Tianming. The shivering old man's head could be clearly seen, and all wargodeans recognized him as the Tumulus Pill God! He was the spiritual pillar of their kind. Thanks to his achievements and his efforts raising the current Warlord, he had an incredibly high status among them. The only reason the Warlord had been able to achieve his current cultivation, outshining his many accomplished brothers, was thanks to the Tumulus Pill God.
"Tumulus Pill God!" Countless wargodeans called out for him in a pained voice. Unsurprisingly, the Warlord was rooted in place. He turned around and furiously glared at Tianming. He was in the eye of the public, and Tianming had made it almost impossible for the Warlord to retreat and give up on the Tumulus Pill God. After all, the Warlord had branded himself as someone who cherished his elders. He was also the one who sang the highest praises to the Tumulus Pill God, giving him so much prestige in the first place. It would be sacrilegious for the wargodeans to see him do the exact opposite at that moment, and Tianming knew that well.
Lan Huang continued relaying Tianming's words as it charged. "Listen up, traitor! I'm giving you a chance to repay the favors to your master! I’ll fight you one-on-one! If you win, you can have him back. Everyone here will be my witness. If you lose, both of you shall die!"
Tianming didn't give him a chance to make a decision as neither him nor his troops stopped for a single moment, closing the distance with the Warlord right away.