Beastmaster of the Ages

It wasn’t the first time these two top figures had met each other. They smiled as if it was the most natural thing to do as they led their troops toward the Land of Three Skies.

”The Frostsoul Imperium is making moves near our border. I believe they’re trying to give my sect a huge blow,” the Deluge Emperor said.

”The same is the case with the Fushen Clan. They’re stupid pigs that don’t know when death is coming for them,” the Golden Warlord said in a low, metallic voice. The shaking gold earrings were what had inspired his title.

”The sun emperor asked us to send a little too many troops, don’t you think? We left our homes quite empty. If we decide to give the fight our all, our homes will be in trouble. As the enemy has forbidden the use of transmission stones, we haven’t managed to figure out how the troops of the Frostsoul Imperium are moving. I think it should be the same with the Fushen Clan, right? Aren’t you worried?” the Deluge Emperor asked the giant beside him.

”There’s no need to. Trust in the sun emperor. As long as you follow him like a child would, there’s no reason to worry about every matter in the sun.”

”That’s true. It only went bad the last time because of that damned Ninedragon Emperor and the Primodragon Cave.”

”People like us just have to do as we’re told.”

”You’re a beastmaster, yet your trust and faith in the sun emperor is even deeper than mine.” The Deluge Emperor shot him a thumbs-up.

”You flatter me. Even the Veildragon Palace was able to obtain respect from the celestial orderians. In the future, we’ll be above all other beastmasters, so we can fill the void left behind by the Veildragon Palace. As we understand our own kind, the celestial orderians will no doubt need someone to manage the beastmaster slaves, so we’re the best pick. Since the sun emperor isn’t against forming alliances, he won’t mind the diversity of races in the sun after he conquers it, either. If he did, wouldn’t the sun be a really boring place?”

”That makes sense.”

The reason the wargodeans had risen to prominence was no doubt in part due to the celestial orderians’ machinations. As such, they were loyal to them, and the celestial orderians didn’t have to worry about them turning. The loyalty of the wargodeans wasn’t something racial differences could disturb. They were fervently faithful to the sun emperor and his plans, and didn’t worry about their homes being threatened in the slightest. Thus, the warlord had taken eighty percent of his troops with him, leaving the rest of the elites to work with normal cultivators to defend their homes. The troops from the two sides no longer held back and tried to hide. The wargodeans released their lifebound beasts, standing out with their domineering aura. The gold-haired beasts roared, causing the skies to shake.

”It’ll only take another two hours for us to reach the Land of Three Skies! After that, we’ll return to fight the Fushen Clan and Frostsoul Imperium before joining up with the celestial orderian troops to take over the world!” the Warlord roared, inspiring his troops, as well as the bluebloods, who drew their weapons and manifested their totems.

Ready to kill, they finally stepped onto the Land of Three Skies. But just as they were about to go wild, they could hear a loud commotion from the mountains ahead of them. Countless dragons were rising into the sky! The troops led by the Saintdragon Emperor suddenly showed up; they had brought a force of thirty million, far outnumbering the wargodeans and bluebloods.

Ever since the battle of the Myriaddragon Mountains, the Ninedragon Army had gained a lot of experience. In terms of spirit, they were the only force that could measure up against that of the celestial orderians. The dragon beastmasters rode their glamorous mounts into battle, filled with bravery and faith. Each beastmaster was like a mountain in their own right. Many cultivators from other sects were there for vengeance, and even they were infected by the fervor of the dragon beastmasters. Their morale was far higher than that of the traitors. After all, even the wargodeans, who were essentially beastmasters, didn’t want to kill their own kind for no good reason.

Both sides could clearly see the hateful glares of the other. The Ninedragon Army didn’t immediately launch an assault, as their mission was to hold the enemy back rather than exterminate them. As such, they formed an immovable defense. Even without attacking, they were terrifying to behold. The cold looks of the dragon beastmasters and their dragons made them look like they were on top of the food chain, much of it thanks to their deep legacy as the number one sect. It wasn’t something the wargodeans and bluebloods could measure up against.

The Deluge Emperor and Warlord furrowed their brows at the Saintdragon Emperor’s passive inactivity. Without the celestial orderians there to force them to act, it was hard to get into a proper fight without caring about their casualties. No matter how they looked at it, this fight was one that would cost lots of blood.

”Looks like the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb is quite capable of transporting troops,” the Warlord said.

”Isn’t this something we already anticipated?” said the Deluge Emperor.

”Now that they’ve shown up, it means that the Fushen Clan and Frostsoul Imperium have also attacked. What do you plan to do?”

”It depends on the sun emperor.”

Things had turned out mostly as they had expected, except for the fact that the Saintdragon Emperor had brought more troops than they could have imagined. All they could do was stand there, unmoving. If the Fushen Clan and Frostsoul Imperium attacked their homes, they would suffer losses either way. The longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for them.

Even the Saintdragon Emperor wanted to know if the sun emperor would swoop in to save the traitors. He had informed the Northdipper Swordsage, Ninesun Martial Lord, Fushen Clan, Frostsoul Imperium, Long Wanying, and Tianming about it through Yin Chen. Nearly instant communication was too huge an advantage to have. The fastest transmission stones on the sun were treasures that only the sun emperor had, and they were capable of timely transmission as well. Li Tianyi, the Warlord, and Deluge Emperor all had one that allowed them to communicate with the sun emperor at any time. Yet while it could travel faster than a sovereign themselves, it was still slower than divine astralships on the surface of the star. It would take it around two hours to fly from the Land of Three Skies to the Myriaddragon Mountains.

As such, the celestial orderian side couldn’t imagine how fast the Myriad Solar Sects could communicate with each other. They thought that the Saintdragon Emperor’s ambush had been planned long in advance instead of spontaneously. The speed of communication between Yin Chen’s bodies was far faster than that of transmission stones, hence why Tianming still dared to make a move despite the possibility of the sun emperor having a backup core for the Divine Sun Palace.

The attack from the Fushen Clan and Frostsoul Imperium would take place far sooner than the enemy expected. It would take at least an hour after the start of the battle for the enemy leaders to be informed of it. Right now, the defensive formations of their bases were being destroyed one after another. The Northdipper Swordsage and Ninesun Martial Lord had each led half a million elites to attack the heartlands of the wargodeans and bluebloods, respectively, namely Wargod Valley and Oceanheart City. Thanks to Yin Chen, they were able to target the weakest parts of the defenses.

As for the Saintdragon Emperor, he wouldn’t have to make any moves as long as the wargodeans and bluebloods didn’t attack. It was quite a marvel to see armies on two sides bloodthirstily staring each other down without coming to blows. Heartbeats intensified as rains of embers fell from above. The Saintdragon Emperor was looking at the enemy, yet his attention was elsewhere, concerned about how the other regions were faring. Yin Chen reported that the attacks on Wargod Valley and Oceanheart City were proceeding well. It was only a matter of time before their defenses were breached. The only troublesome thing was that there were nearly two hundred million ascendants there to defend the place, so the defensive formations were rather powerful. That was the only reason the Warlord and Deluge Emperor had been willing to leave with so many troops.

In fact, the Fushen Clan and Frostsoul Imperium’s territories were even more defenseless, but they had Yin Chen monitoring the situation so they would be able to retreat quickly enough to deal with threats. There was no worry that the ascendant defenders of the enemy would be able to chase them down, anyway. Even so, it would require some time to properly deal a blow to the enemies. Fushen Gongyi and the Frost Empress both said that they were capable of carrying out their objectives as long as Tianming and the Saintdragon Emperor could hold back the enemies’ main forces. Whether it was the battle of the five sects on the three continents, the ambush of the enemy’s homes, or the holding back of enemy forces, succeeding in even one of them would bring huge benefits.

”Yin Chen my friend, ask Tianming how the other side is going,” the Saintdragon Emperor said.

”Tianming has... finished deployment... troops are... right at... enemy’s door,” Yin Chen said.

”Tell me if any problems show up.”

”Old man... very annoying,” Yin Chen insulted, though that only put a smile on the Saintdragon Emperor’s face.

”Little bug, you’re our savior, you know that?”

”Shut up... no praises... keep calm... just focus.”

”Haha!” Yin Chen was rather fun to mess with; only someone like Tianming could have a lifebound beast like that. ”Any movements at the Divine Sun Palace?”

He didn’t think Yin Chen would quiet down after he asked that. The silence could only mean that it was communicating on all fronts.