Beastmaster of the Ages

Two infinitum-class divine astralships would be participating in the battle, making the outcome even more uncertain. Everyone knew that once the Sun and the Swordgod Lin Clan jumped into the fray, it would spark a grand war in the Infinitum Mundus. The hatred that had been simmering since Yi Daiyan’s ascension to first place a century ago would be let out in the same instant.

Back then, the ebons had reigned supreme over the rest as overlords, forcing them to compromise and submit. However, the resentment of the non-ebons eventually boiled over. All they wanted was to be treated as equals and not oppressed! The rising prominence of Yi Daiyan, Lin Xiaodao, Tianming, and the rest was a testament to the fact that the ebons weren’t invincible.

In fact, they had been defeated two or three times in a row. As such, the tides of war weren’t just brewing near Taixi City, but in all manner of settlements across Ebonia. Fighting the wildbeasts in their area was like chipping away at the ebons’ power. Every citizen of Ebonia held onto their future hopes and duties as they joined the fray.

”The ebons aren’t able to match Yi Daiyan in terms of elite fighters, so they resorted to sending waves of wildbeasts to attack the common people to put pressure on her! What a shameless act!”

”Following Yi Daiyan was the right choice after all.”

”All the ebons know how to do is to suck our blood dry and occupy the best resources on Ebonia. They even want to force us to submit to them!”

”If we don’t wipe out the ebons, the Infinitum Mundus will never be prosperous!”

In the past century, sentiments like those changed nonstop. The ebons used to be held in high regard and feared by many, but nowadays their reputation is at a record low. All of Ebonia was under assault, but people knew that the key to victory was Taixi City. What happened there would determine the fate of everyone on the globe. The appearance of the two-headed dragon ship, the Gladean Ruins, caused quite a bit of commotion, especially when it descended into an underground abyss.

”Lin Xiaodao’s here.”

”Which side will he help?”

”The first rex mundi is the strongest, so she won’t have an issue fighting two against one. I also heard that the astralguard formation of Ebonia managed to heavily push back against the Gladean Ruins....”

”Heavens.... Does that mean that the Swordgod Lin Clan of the Sun is going to stand with the ebons? They’ve already dealt such a heavy blow to them and incurred a blood grudge!”

”In the eyes of top factions like theirs, cost and benefit are more important than grudges. Who cares about a grudge when their end is nigh? The ebons would never say no to help from the Swordgod Lin Clan now that they need them! Even if they don’t have that many astral gods to fight, they have two infinitum-class ships! Imagine what’ll happen to the Infinitum Bodhimanda’s army if those two ships carry out a pincer attack on them underground!”

”The first rex mundi must have contingencies. There’s no need to panic!”

Despite the efforts to maintain troop morale, even the ones who were most confident in Yi Daiyan knew that divine astralships were her weakness. No matter how powerful the Infinitum Stele was, it was limited to single targets, unlike divine astralships that could take out large groups.

”What if the Swordgod Lin Clan is here to help us instead?” someone weakly suggested.

”How could that be? If they help the first rex mundi wipe out the ebons, then we, the Infinitum Bodhimanda, and the Swordgod Lin Clan will be the only remaining top factions in the mundus. They only have one choice: to submit to the rex mundi. However, Yi Daiyan killed Lin Feng’s father. What’ll they do about that grudge?”

”That’s true. Lin Feng’s terrifying growth must also threaten the first rex mundi somewhat. There’s no way she would let him grow in peace, only to threaten her rule in the future. The first rex mundi is a luxdaemon without any promising heirs. Leaving him alone is the same as letting Lin Feng succeed her as the next rex mundi.”

”Not to mention, even if the Swordgod Lin Clan is demented, they wouldn’t help the rex mundi. The most optimal thing for them to do is to sit and watch things play out. While helping the ebons will be a bit risky, they stand to gain far more, however. Against a united Infinitum Bodhimanda, they might find their strength somewhat lacking.” That was a sentiment most Ebonians could agree with.

”It’d be too dangerous if the rex mundi’s army of three million gets pincered in the subterranean world.”

”Even though the ebons are greatly weakened, they’re stubborn, resilient insects. We can’t let our guard down.”

Everyone waited with bated breath to see how the subterranean battle would turn out.

......

Within the dark depths of the underworld, nova source of different elements endlessly clashed with divine hazards and cosmic impulses. Hundreds of billions of wildbeasts swarmed the three million divine astralships that entered the underground tunnel.

The ships formed a strong fleet that advanced at a steady pace. Each time they let out a concentrated blast of nova source, they carved a hole of flesh and blood, destroying countless wildbeasts in one go. The subterranean world was rocked by countless explosions, so much so that half of the surface of Ebonia began heating up and storms began brewing all over.

As the three million ships advanced into the sea of beasts, a rain of flesh and blood was left in their wake. Even so, there were still boundless nova wildbeasts swarming toward the fleet from all directions, blasting abilities and clawing away at them. Divine astralship blasts always had a downtime, which the beasts exploited. The ships could do naught but take the hits as they charged back up, losing a couple of their own as they advanced. The gods within them were quickly torn apart once the beasts breached their ships.

Some ships had their power sources damaged, resulting in explosions. While that would also kill the beasts around them, the ebons didn’t lack cannon fodder! They had an endless supply of wildbeasts to throw at the ships, while the ships and their miniaturized nova sources were all too limited. A few hundred of those blasts would be enough to drain them dry, rendering the ships nothing more than glorified transport vessels. The wildbeasts would have an easier time taking them down then, which was a huge edge for the ebons.