Chapter 1824 - Regal Dragonape
The Goldring Warlord was considered human, yet his physical body rivaled even those of specters in size and tenacity. Rumors said that he’d been blessed with unmatched talent and had been monstrous since birth. He was an outcast since his birth, until the Tumulus Pill God miraculously found him and raised him into who he was today.
Amidst the countless wargodean troops, the black and gold armor of the Warlord stood out. His blood-red cape seemed somehow redder than blood, and the golden earrings he wore jingled when they collided with one another. The earrings were said to be a set of grade-eight divine artifacts, the only ones of that caliber that the wargodeans had. They had been passed down since ancient times. Even though they were just barely above the grade-eight dividing line, being not that much stronger than the Lifesteal Silverdragon, they were still considered incredible in the Myriad Solar Sects. The Warlord was fully armed and in peak condition; he no longer had an option to retreat now that Tianming had come knocking with the Tumulus Pill God as a hostage.
"Master...." Perhaps he figured that even if he didn't have a chance against this child of fate, he should at least be able to put up a struggle. As long as the Divine Sun Palace's troops as a whole didn't crumble, the Divine Sun Palace's Divine Wrath would continue being a nightmare for Fushen Valley. Li Tianming must be more desperate than me! He decided to delay the brat rather than fall back.
"Wargodeans, kill Li Tianming and exterminate the Ninedragon Army!" Though he was worried about the Tumulus Pill God, he wouldn't give Tianming the chance to duel him. Since he wasn’t running away from a fight, either, he would be able to maintain his reputation as well even though he avoided a direct conflict with Tianming. He didn't truly believe that Tianming would be that powerful, but he didn't want to take the risk.
Even then, Tianming wouldn't give up on him. With the Tumulus Pill God as his hostage, nobody dared to stop Lan Huang in its tracks. "Warlord, do you think you'll be able to hide the fact that you don't want to fight me and save your master just because you didn't retreat? You call yourself war gods, yet you don't even have the bravery to join a basic duel. Is the ruler of the wargodeans supposed to hide behind his people? I think cowardeans is a name that suits you better than wargodeans!"
The Ninedragon Army managed to gain ground against the wargodean troops as they were reeling from Tianming's insults. It was far too shameful. Even they knew that they were fighting like cowards—especially the Warlord, who was still avoiding direct conflict while his master was tied up. Many were growing disappointed in him. The wargodeans were growing even more demoralized as they watched Tianming, Lan Huang, Ying Huo, Meow Meow, and the decapath era swords wreak havoc through their ranks. None of them wanted to suffer the same fate as the Tumulus Pill God.
"The sun emperor said that the Warlord is the second strongest in the celestial orderian camp, so he should be the one to face off against Li Tianming, right?"
"What’s he waiting for? We're being looked down upon!"
"The Tumulus Pill God is like his father! Why isn't he rescuing him?"
Tianming had correctly anticipated their responses. He and his troops burst through the enemy lines, paving a road of blood. Lan Huang immediately charged past the mountain of gold, bringing Tianming face-to-face with the Warlord.
"You didn't dare to fight me, so I came to you, you cowardly tortoise!" Tianming laughed mockingly, much to the ire of the surrounding wargodeans. All of them dreamed that they could be the one to teach Tianming a lesson, but now they could only count on their Warlord.
The two groups finally crashed into each other. Tianming had managed to ram his way straight to the Warlord as he’d wanted to, his boldness contrasting against the Warlord's shameful attempt to avoid him. Even though he should be their ruler, it didn't take Tianming more than a few attacks to smash past his troops to reach him.
The Warlord didn't disappoint him. When he ran out of room to back off, if he chose to run off alone, his troops would completely crumble and be crushed. Tianming had forced him into a corner. He glowed brightly and roared, "Li Tianming, you’ll regret this!"
The only reply to that was an attack. The youth pierced through the defensive escort of hundreds of thousands of troops and left a path of blood in his wake, bolstering those that followed behind him.
"Warlord, here's some advice for you. Since ancient times, traitors have never had a good ending. It's too bad that you've run out of chances to turn back. Nothing but death can grant you salvation!" As Tianming roared, his two sacrosuns that channeled the power of the faith of nearly half a billion people split the power between Tianming, his totems, Lan Huang, Ying Huo, and Meow Meow. Tianming and his totems got the bulk of that power.
Ying Huo used its Sixpath Infernal Lotus, while Meow Meow used its Cosmic Lance. Combined, those abilities opened a path right to the Warlord, pushing apart the last troops blocking Tianming's way. With the abilities still surging toward him, the Warlord knew that there was no longer anywhere to go. He gave the fight his all, causing his aura to rise. He glowed much brighter than before, turning into a golden god of war that helped many of his troops regain confidence. He burst through the two abilities without breaking a sweat.
"Li Tianming, I wanted to leave you for the sun emperor. But since you're so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish!" Hearing that came as a bit of relief for many wargodeans. They didn't want to accept the fact that the one they worshiped was a coward.
The Warlord called back the lifebound beasts that he had let roam around the battlefield on a killing spree. In terms of bloodline and cultivation level, they were among the best in all of the Myriad Solar Sects.
Four bloody apes returned to the Warlord’s side. They were incredibly huge and fierce golden apes that each had eight thick arms, four on each side. Tianming also noticed that they didn't have ears on their heads. Instead, the ears grew out of the side of their arms like tiny wings, making for quite an odd visage.
They were called eight-armed regal apes and were among the kings of beasts. Like the wargodeans, their ears allowed them to easily pinpoint the enemy's location. Each of the arms seemed to move like they had their own mind. They weren't just powerful, but also agile and sharp witted, being able to execute many top-class battle arts—even some eighth-realm ones! Once a lifebound beast mastered a battle art, they would be comparable to a specter! All four of them stood before Lan Huang with their arms raised. Rings of light formed around the ears on their arms and blood dripped from their mouths and claws, a sign that they had killed quite a few people already.
"What a powerful bloodline and cultivation.... However, they're all seven-star lifebound beasts thanks to the scarcity of manna imperius." Compared to the cultivators from the Mysterium Cluster, the Warlord was far too lacking, without even a single sovereign beast to his name. He couldn't even rival a peak young genius from the faraway worlds. On that front, Ying Huo, Meow Meow, and Lan Huang had the advantage.
That isn’t right. He should have five beasts, Tianming thought right as he was about to attack. As expected, the Warlord had one more beast that he kept as a trump card. A loud roar from the Warlord shook the area around them. It sounded like a dragon's roar coming from his lifebound space, much to Tianming's surprise. The next instant, a gigantic figure manifested as Tianming watched with shock and awe. The new lifebound beast resembled the eight-armed regal apes, but it didn't have an ape head. Instead, it was the head of a golden dragon that was just as imposing as Lan Huang's heads. The dragon head had ten spear-like horns growing out of it, making it look like a terrifying adversary.