“Slam—!” A sound of wings flapping resonated. Within the hexagram, a blood-red dragon’s head emerged.
A heavy draconic breath pulsed, both oppressive and violent.
The blood-red dragon’s head radiated an intense killing intent. Visible waves of energy twisted the very space around it, and a profound weight, like the sky itself descending, pressed down on everyone’s hearts.
Above, a magnificent knight stood atop the dragon’s head, clad in ornate golden and white patterned armor.
He gazed down at the army below, his eyes, hidden behind his visor, utterly calm. The giant dragon beneath his feet radiated heat, its battle intent surging.
Without a flicker of emotion, the knight drew his longsword—it was time to declare his arrival to the world.
“Dragon Domain Holy Knights—Present!”
A suffocating aura emanated, seemingly freezing the entire space. Every breath felt heavy, each inhale and exhale a struggle.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz—” The space began to twist.
Countless identical golden hexagrams materialized across the sky. Blurry colossal figures burst forth, their powerful forms tearing through the clouds.
Air currents, displaced by their immense wings, buffeted the entire space. These sky-darkening wings shattered the cloud cover, obscuring the sun, and a terrifying aura seemed to coalesce into a surging tide. Faint dragon roars echoed, reverberating through the vast expanse of the heavens.
Beside them, another grand gate slowly swung open, unfurling a path of pure white light. Suddenly, thousands of armored, dozens-of-meters-tall, ferocious black beasts roared and charged out.
Squads of heavily armored infantry ran alongside the colossal creatures. Finally, soldiers clad in mage robes formed battle arrays, their magical auras shimmering, ready to cast spells at any moment. The entire army assembled into formation, rapidly creating layered defenses that appeared on the battlefield like an unshakable mountain range, conjured from thin air.
Standing at the forefront of the Divine Punishment Legion, the Punisher narrowed his eyes, observing the anomalies in the sky. He sneered, “It seems you wish for the entire Dragon Domain and Heavenly Capital to be buried with you! Yet, mere Dragon Domain Holy Knights and Heavenly Capital Guardians dare to fantasize about opposing our Divine Realm?”
“I suggest you obediently surrender yourself. Perhaps then, you might still salvage these two pathetic planes.” He glanced at the woman in red, who remained unmoving on the ground, and a flicker of anger sparked within him. He continued,
“As the Divine Realm’s First God Lord, you should understand that the Divine Punishment Legion never acts alone. The Holy Radiance Knights are already on their way! Do you truly believe you have any chance left?”
The woman in red still offered no reply, yet her gaze, filled with sorrow, swept over the two armies in the sky. ‘Dragon Domain, Heavenly Capital, I am destined to fail you. I have betrayed your trust.’
She slowly clenched her fists, as guilt, sorrow, and fury—a maelstrom of chaotic emotions—surged within her in an instant.
“Blood Lotus Army, heed my command! At all costs, halt the Heavenly Punishment Legion! Heavenly Capital, Dragon Domain, Silver Radiance Armies, heed my command! Charge with me and utterly defeat the foreign tribes of the Endless Void!”
Each of these commands sealed the recipients’ doomed fate. Yet, if the Void race were allowed to run rampant… The woman in red turned her gaze to the Punisher, her being suffused with a blood-red killing intent.
The woman in red soared into the air, positioning herself at the very vanguard of the Heavenly Capital, Silver Radiance, and Dragon Domain armies. Slowly, she drew the longsword from her waist, held it vertically, and pressed the hilt against her chest.
Her voice, devoid of any discernible emotion, resonated: “Bloodslayer, Blood Lotus Tianqi.”
She was just as the unparalleled Bloodslayer of hundreds of millions of years ago, who had slain numerous rebellious deities and quelled the Divine Realm’s rebellion.
Killing was her usual task; slaying gods occasionally was hardly an issue.
The first Dragon Knight to soar forward raised his dragon spear, fixed his gaze ahead, and watched as his momentum steadily climbed.
Meanwhile, the humanoid foreign tribe leader at the front seemed to be on the verge of collapse, shouting hysterically, “You’re all mad! We never intended to touch your supreme planes! Why are you risking your lives and the very existence of two supreme planes to fight us to the death? Are you insane? Even if you win, will the Divine Realm allow those who betray its will to exist? All of you might—no! You will certainly die!”
“We are knights. We are the guardians in the hearts of those who believe in us.”
The Bloodslayer watched the enraged humanoid foreign tribe before her. Her eyes now level with the enemy, she declared, “Though the Divine Realm has grown selfish, we still remember the oath sworn at its creation. The Divine Realm must never break its promise.”
“The Divine Realm itself wants you dead, and you’re still thinking of such things? Lunatics! Madmen!” The humanoid foreign tribe screamed even more frantically, yet still threatened fiercely, “Do you truly believe you can defeat us? You once repelled us by gathering the entire Divine Realm’s power. This time, can a few mere grunts like you possibly beat us?”
The sword pointed forward!
“Slam—!” Colossal dragon wings pounded the world. Tens of thousands of dragons surged forth, their riders’ eyes blazing red as they aimed their dragon spears ahead.
“Roar—!” From behind, the armored behemoths at the front of the Heavenly Capital army let out a furious roar, launching a savage charge toward the foreign tribes. Their iron hooves shattered the barren ground, and thunderous explosions ripped through the air, sonic booms layering upon each other, assailing the entire world!
Heavily armored infantrymen also roared, rushing forward, following closely behind the colossal beasts. Banners fluttered high, beneath the vast sky, above the surging tide of humanity, defying the gale-force winds.
The Archmages filled the heavens with fiery meteors, unleashing them upon the foreign army. These crimson meteors descended like a cascading waterfall, repeatedly pulverizing the desolate earth.
The swordsmen of the Silver Radiance Legion, each wielding a rapier, dispersed across the field. True to their name, they transformed into streaks of light, scattering across the battlefield like fallen silver stars.
The leading Dragon Knight’s long spear, shimmering with brilliant golden light, was the first to clash with the foreign tribes. A golden torrent transformed into a swirling vortex, tearing through the air.
Gale-force winds whipped about, stinging skin and buffeting armor. Layer upon layer of golden waves imbued the knight with power, and the surging golden tide roared!
“Screech—!” The foreign tribes’ so-called defenses instantly crumbled into dust. Chaotic, violent golden light devoured their foes, and grating screams tore painfully at eardrums.
Meanwhile, in the rear, the deities of the Blood Lotus Legion calmly observed the Divine Punishment Legion, which outnumbered them severalfold. “Even if our bodies perish, even if our souls are extinguished, we, who are wrongly called gods, shall not betray your hopes. As long as faith endures, we shall not die; as long as faith endures, our bodies shall not perish. May myriad realms find eternal peace!”
This was the oath sworn by the Divine Realm to the myriad realms in primordial times, at the very dawn of its creation. As long as a single thread of faith continued to sustain the Divine Realm, it would forever protect the tranquility of countless minor worlds.
Gazing at the densely arrayed enemies surging toward them, their expressions remained serene. No matter the cost, they would not yield an inch, even if it meant their bodies perished, even if their souls were extinguished.
Even as heretical demonic creatures raged and ran rampant before them, they would still draw their swords, stride upon the world-ending tide, and cut down all in their path!
A crimson mist erupted, gradually spreading to permeate the entire space.
From a distant stone platform, I watched these unfolding scenes. A wave of powerlessness washed over me—utter helplessness, no recourse whatsoever. I could only sink to the ground, watching these events transpire with a profound sense of futility.