The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 1567: Zorcer

“You bastard!” Karun roared, his voice trembling with unrestrained hatred. Deep in his heart, he understood that the Gu Insects spread across the battlefield were the only hope he had left to remain competitive in the Gu Contest. If Cain successfully harvested them, Karun’s defeat would be all but certain.

Unfortunately for the Inferno Daemon, unlike Cain, whose runic formation could instantly draw thousands of scattered Gu Insects into his grasp, Karun’s hybrid beetle-scorpion Gu required more time to devour its prey. Time he simply did not have in the midst of a fierce battlefield.

Cain watched Karun’s fury with a calm, almost mocking smile. Though his eyes betrayed a glimmer of excitement and ambition, his focus did not waver. Summoning every ounce of strength that remained, he suddenly glanced off into the distance. Then, in one swift motion, he pushed his power to its limit, allowing the Royal Supernova Space-Time Eye to flare. Before any of the stunned cultivators could react, Cain vanished from sight in a burst of surging energy, taking with him an enormous haul of Gu Insects.

For a moment, everyone froze in disbelief. Only seconds ago, Cain had appeared more than ready to continue the fight. Without warning, however, he had seized as many Gu Insects as he could and simply disappeared. Karun and the remaining Divine Transcendence Masters stared at one another in shock, unable to fully process what had just happened. The traces of Cain’s energy receded rapidly, already too distant for them to track effectively.

Of course, there was the option of chasing him. Perhaps if they combined their powers—committing all remaining strength regardless of casualties—they might yet bring Cain down. But the notion was short-lived. They exchanged uneasy glances, each reading the same reluctance in the other’s eyes. Who among them wished to risk their lives against The Monster again, after witnessing how easily he had dealt with their forces? Even if a small chance of victory did exist, the losses would undoubtedly be catastrophic.

And so, by their collective inaction, Cain faded from view, slipping beyond their detection. In the immediate aftermath, a wave of relief swept through what remained of Karun’s battalion. Many among them almost collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Others tended to their wounds, their hands shaking with adrenaline. They felt a surge of gratitude that the terrible menace named Cain Laurifer had finally withdrawn.

Yet relief quickly gave way to a grim realization. The fortress had housed millions of cultivators at the start of the battle, but now fewer than ten thousand remained. Every rumor of Cain Laurifer’s exploits suddenly felt like a cold, undeniable truth. He truly was a being beyond reason, a legend come to life, capable of threatening even Third Realm entities.

At last, the tortured quiet set in as the battered cultivators braced themselves to lick their wounds and mourn their dead. But fate would not allow them even that small respite. Just moments later, a powerful aura flared on the horizon, approaching at such shocking speed that it arrived before they had time to rally. Karun barely kept himself upright at the sight of another battalion cresting the jagged slopes of what had once been the Frozen Peak.

Leading this new force was a warrior clad in bladed armor forged from an alien, nebula-like energy that shimmered with a lethal iridescence. The Laws themselves seemed to dance around him in a vortex of potential destruction, as though the entire cosmos braced for his command.

“Zorcer,” Karun spat through clenched teeth. The name dripped with venom and exhaustion. This man was no mere unknown combatant. He was another faction leader within the Gu Sect, and a bitter rival to Karun. Every faction leader coveted the same ultimate prize. Only one could emerge victorious in the Gu Contest, and Karun had no illusions about how Zorcer would react upon seeing him weakened.

Karun’s warriors exchanged anxious glances, aware that this new battalion boasted over a thousand Divine Transcendence Masters. Given the sorry state of Karun’s forces—pitiful in both numbers and morale—it was obvious that if Zorcer chose to attack now, none of them would survive.

Zorcer himself seemed to study the scene with thinly disguised delight, his eyes roving over the crippled remnants of Karun’s once-impressive army.

“It seems I’m about to take a very large step toward victory,” Zorcer announced coldly, his voice echoing across the still air. He extended his hand, and a black wooden sword materialized in his grip, its rough surface etched with dark runes. Despite its humble appearance, the moment he held the sword, his power spiked dramatically. The air crackled around him, and every fiber of his legion tensed, awaiting his command.

Before Zorcer could unleash a killing blow, Karun spoke four chilling words that halted him in his tracks.

“Cain Laurifer was here.”

Zorcer, who had already begun to raise his sword in the direction of Karun’s battered troops, froze. Cautiously, he studied the expressions of Karun’s followers, and it seemed the man was telling the truth.

“What do you propose?” Zorcer demanded, his tone sharper than the blades of his armor.

Karun inhaled, trying to keep his voice steady though his body threatened to buckle. The bitterness of defeat emanated from him, a sense of crushing loss and inevitability. “I no longer have any chance of reaching the end of the contest on my own,” he admitted. “Let me and my people join your faction. When the final battle comes, you may claim our Gu Insects, but spare our lives.”

Zorcer regarded him for several tense seconds. A flicker of calculation lit his gaze. At last, his voice emerged icily, devoid of mercy.

“I can use soldiers,” Zorcer said, “but my Gu Insect is hungry and needs to eat..”

Karun’s eyes flashed with cold resolve as he understood the meaning behind Atrox’s words very well. He glanced at the rest of the Divine Transcendence Masters who were still alive, and all of them shared a solemn and cold nod as they turned their eyes to the Divine Transformation Masters of their battalion.