Looking down on Western Continent from a height.
The vast land was littered with signs of destruction. A ravine had torn through half of Serene South, at the end of which lay a giant ditch several kilometers in diameter. There were countless cracks fanning out in every direction.
The ravine was oozing dark mist. The energy seemed sparse, but no one could see through it or find out how deep the gully ran.
The air in the giant ditch wasn’t calm, either. Dark mist drifted about like wads of cotton, erupting into miniature storms as they collided into other objects. Amidst flames and sparks, the earth was trembling from the impact of the origin power explosions.
The soil around the ravine and giant pit were now covered in b.a.r.e earth and rocks, almost as though they had been tilled. There wasn’t a single trace of animals or vegetation.
Up in the sky, where ordinary people could not hope to see, origin power fluctuations were shuttling about irregularly. Appearing, disappearing, and clashing together from time to time amidst a tempest of flames.
This apocalyptic scene had appeared within a mere ten exchanges.
Neither the Radiant Emperor nor Habsburg chose to observe or launch probing attacks. They had both chosen to let loose and go all out from the beginning.
The Radiant Emperor’s Teia clashed against the Spear of Eternity, producing a hum that spread far and wide. It sounded as though the world itself was weeping.
Thunderbolts flew in all directions, so much so that the mountains and rivers trembled! And the gods were silenced!
Despite the distance and the protective light barrier, they could clearly sense the terrifying suppressive might and shockwaves from the battle. Even the dukes couldn’t muster up the courage to contend against this enemy. The scars in the ground below were a testament to the situation they were in.
After the initial phase of fierce weapon clashes, their domains once again covered the entire battlefield. The dark mist and golden twilight contested fiercely for supremacy, producing surging winds and clouds. The two experts’ figures were no longer visible.
Melina sighed. “Heavens. I never thought His Highness Habsburg would be such a reckless fighter.”
George gazed at the slowly revolving battlefield, then at Predica’s figure hundreds of meters up into the sky. The man was extremely calm.
Although Habsburg had managed to block the Radiant Emperor’s attack just now, everyone could see that he was at a disadvantage. There was a rank gap since the enemy was a heavenly monarch, albeit a newly ascended one.
It might be easy to decide the victor in a fight between princes and great dark monarchs, but the same couldn’t be said for their life and death. The fight could go on for an entire day and night. Habsburg, however, had gone against convention by using his ultimate attack since the very beginning. That wasn’t a good sign.
George could only sigh after hearing Melina’s comment. Habsburg wasn’t the one he was worried about, but rather Predica. If something were to happen to this lord, it would be a crime worthy of familial execution. Yet, Predica couldn't remain idle when Habsburg was in danger.
Predica turned about at this moment and arrived before George. “Tell those on the ground to move faster. They must return within an hour or risk being left behind!”
The duke understood Predica’s message. “Yes, Sir!” He couldn’t help but add some words of consolation, “Don’t worry too much. His Highness Habsburg is very strong. The heavenly monarch can’t do anything to him.”
He himself was a demonkin prince who had awakened the power of two primogenitors. The only people they needed to fear were the supremes of the Sacred Mountain. But on the battlefield, though, there was no room for error.
The Radiant Emperor and Habsburg were both standing in the air above a small hill, facing one another.
The place was close to the northwestern edge of the Desolate North Province, closer to the dark race territory. Because of how barren the land was, the closest dark race settlement was dozens of kilometers away, forming a natural uninhabited zone in between.
There were some ruins in the plains. It wasn’t very big, at most the size of a small town, with charred walls and windswept buildings. Apparently, the place had been neglected for some time after a battle.
Currently, these ruins were like a half-sliced cake. One part of it had been cut up into a precipice with a high difference of six meters.
Apparently, this small town wasn’t as simple as it seemed on the surface since there was a large underground structure here. This secret should’ve been destroyed in Eimer’s attack, but the Little Lady’s interference left many places across the Desolate North in such a state.
The Radiant Emperor said, “It was here that you almost killed my teacher, and now, we’ve circled back here. Will you be satisfied with this place as your grave?”
Habsburg’s eyes were like deep ponds filled with blood energy. He simply gazed at the Radiant Emperor in silence. The latter didn’t rush the man, either, and simply stood there with his sword behind his back. His aura was akin to the ravines and mountains, as though he were one with the world.
“You’re the Emperor of Qin,” Habsburg spoke for the first time since the battle began. “You have something to ask me.”
As intelligent men, Habsburg understood the Radiant Emperor’s meaning. Killing too quickly would result in the loss of clues. He said after some thought, “Do you know what your Empress’ family did in the past?”
The Radiant Emperors said, “I think all those who worked with you are dead. You can tell me now if anyone escaped.”
Habsburg was finally moved. The blood energy in his eyes faded away, restoring a clarity and calm that resembled the blue skies.
He said after some thought, “That scheme wasn’t mine. On the contrary, I was among the hunted. This town was one of the Evernight Council’s laboratories that studied bloodline seedlings. The direction of the study is to use the lower-ranking vampire bloodlines and blood thralls as a reference group. Back then, I had just become a senior member of the Evernight council and gained half the authority to the lab.
“One day, the council informed me that the lab had been compromised, that the Empire will soon dispatch an elite corps to clean up the place. Normally, we would simply abandon such laboratories once compromised. There was no need to defend such a territory. However, someone suggested that elite soldiers would make good research subjects and that we should capture some if we could do so at a small price. There was an interesting name on the list they produced, Lin Qianye, with a remark that he was Marshal Lin’s son.”
“Of course, I only figured out much later that he was just an adopted son.”
The Radiant Emperor’s expression was calm as he listened without the slightest bit of emotion. “You weren’t at the scene when the battle broke out.”
Habsburg said honestly, “I did some things in the lab that the council cannot know about, so I’ve been very cautious. It just so happened that I heard from a different channel that Marshal Lin was developing a new weapon nearby. The range of that weapon happened to cover this town.”
A flash of killing intent flickered in the Radiant Emperor’s eyes.
The Radiant Emperor glanced at Habsburg for a while. “Who is the contact on the Evernight end?”
Habsburg replied, “I’ve killed them all.”
The Radiant Emperor said indifferently, “I’m guessing you already know who’s pulling the strings, but that person’s status is equal or higher than yours. That’s why you don’t want to go into open hostility.”
Habsburg merely watched him without saying a word.
The two were quick thinkers. There were many words that didn’t need saying, many things that didn’t need admitting.
The Radiant Emperor said, “Very well, I understand. What else do you have to say?”
Habsburg turned in a different direction. “I remember Marshal Lin has a big camp nearby. Can I go and take a look?”
The Radiant Emperor nodded. “Go ahead.”
To get from this small town to the Northern Legion’s abandoned forward base, they would have to traverse the entire Desolate North Province. However, this distance was nothing to the Radiant Emperor and Habsburg.
At the highest point of this stronghold was the command center. Habsburg landed on the balcony, completely ignoring the fact that the Radiant Emperor was a mere ten meters from him. Both men looked inside at the same time.
The surprising thing was that the command center had retained its old appearance. There was a work area on one side with a desk and bookshelves. On the other side were a sofa, a mechanical map, and a conference table.
For some reason, this room had remained intact through wars, a transfer of command, and enemy capture.
It was as though this corner of the base had been completely forgotten by everyone.
Habsburg pushed open the glass doors of the balcony, breaking the lock in order to do so. He then walked in and looked at the surroundings.
The Radiant Emperor walked over to the desk and found that its surface was clean, as though someone had been keeping it tidy. There weren’t any important doc.u.ments, only some overdue news reports and communication papers. There weren’t any doc.u.ments carrying Lin Xitang’s signature, either.
The Radiant Emperor accidentally stepped on something as he turned around. He looked down to see that it was an old wooden box, probably knocked down by accident.
He was visibly moved because the box looked somewhat familiar. Things became clear when he picked it up and saw what was inside—it was a personal object of Lin Xitang.
The box contained some military tags, most of which were broken and missing. Every one of them was stained with traces of battle and a fragment of Lin Xitang’s unforgettable past.
Habsburg observed every item in the room in detail, but he never touched anything. He couldn’t help but whisper when he saw the box and name tags, “Is it that child’s?”
The Radiant Emperor did not reply, nor did he check the name tags in the box. He closed the container properly and placed it on the table, then he walked out onto the balcony.
Habsburg didn’t remain in the command room, either. He emerged soon afterward, and gazing calmly at the Emperor, he said, “Let’s make it here, I like this place.”
The Radiant Emperor nodded. The projection of a flying serpent flickered briefly and vanished as countless streams of dark energy flowed into his body. The domain covering the vast land also slowly disappeared.
At the same time, the line of vision cleared up for the Evernight and Imperial experts who had been paying attention to the fight.
Predica, though, witnessed a different scene in his consciousness.
As the dark mist and golden glow faded away, a majestic stone fortress came into view. The moonlight showering down on the balcony outlined the figures of two people standing face to face.
The Great Qin Emperor put away his blade just as Habsburg withdrew his spear. However, this wasn’t a ceasefire because immediately afterward, they sprinted toward one another and collided! Origin power erupted into a violent storm, which eventually turned into beautiful strips of resplendence in the air.
With each of the Radiant Emperor’s movements, his dark energy would take the shape of various wild animals. Habsburg, on the other hand, maintained a core layer of black fire around his body and golden runes danced about his fists.
A fist-fight! Predica’s expression shifted drastically.
Maintaining a safe distance was extremely important for experts of this level. A fist-fight was even more dangerous than a fight using melee weapons, akin to a fight to the death.
Habsburg was clearly at a disadvantage, so why would he keep fighting?
The imagery was interrupted at this point because remote vision could only be maintained for a short while. He summoned a warlock and said, “Prepare Eimer for spatial…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when a sharp omen flitted past his ears, depriving him of his hearing.
By the time he managed to figure out what this omen was, his hair was standing on end. “Mobilize the troopers! Immediately! Aim for the human mountain pass! Send the City of Eimer into spatial jump!!!”
A black whirlpool appeared in the sky and Predica leaped straight into it. That was the demonkin’s escape skill, Demonic Traversal. His voice was still echoing in the air after his figure vanished.
The experts on the City of Eimer went pale; only the warlocks remained calm. “Everyone! Execute the orders immediately. His Highness has probably fled because he saw an omen.” The warlocks and researchers started running about.
The demonkin duke turned around in a daze, only to find a great warlock patting him on the shoulder. “Little George, make preparations to assist. The countdown is ten minutes.”
The demonkin duke was about to ask something when the entire City of Eimer jolted violently. The flying city tilted thirty degrees to the side, and the light barrier began to recede. This sent countless soldiers sliding off the city streets like a crashing tide.
George was stunned for a brief moment before realizing that these soldiers were the figures that had been standing all around the city like stone sculptures. He turned around rigidly and finally realized what that omen was.
A comet was shooting over at an unimaginable speed from the horizon, landing in the way as the first batch of troopers reached the ground.
With a clap of thunder, a blinding flash of light tore through the troopers and mowed them down like grass. These soldiers crumbled into dust as soon as they touched the ground. A large empty clearing appeared in the large formation of troopers.
Spacerender!
This was a signature move of Prince Greensun, the human heavenly monarch. There was no need to explain who had just arrived.
