Chapter 1830 – The Only Loser
The forty-million-strong Imperial Tomb Army that Tianming had brought had already suffered heavy losses. Tens of millions of soldiers had died in foreign lands. There were no true winners in this brutal battle. The lucky survivors could only look at the corpses of their friends while they grieved. They had paid a price in blood to kill forty million of the enemy and defend the foundation of the Fushen Clan, avoiding a tragedy where this ancient clan lost even their elderly, women, and children.
They had provided uncountable merit to the Myriad Solar Sects and Fushen Clan.
The sun shone once again now that the formation was down. Now, the best-case scenario would be to help as many as possible of the Fushen Clan escape, after which they would return to the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. However, that future was not to be. If they gathered up to enter the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, they would simply provide an easier target for the Divine Sun Palace.
“The Divine Sun Palace might have little nova source left, but a small-scale Divine Wrath is still enough to wipe us out if we gather!” Tianming instantly made his choice. It was a choice made because there was no other available. Temporarily disband the army! When the formation fell, he had been quick to get the Imperial Tomb Army to cover the Fushen Clan’s retreat. However, when he found that the remaining twenty million Divine Palace Army troops weren’t really enthusiastic in chasing them down, he changed his orders.
He borrowed Lan Huang to transmit the order everywhere. “Now that things have reached this point, we have no choice. The army is to disband and flee for your lives. Find a safe haven as fast as you can, and it’d be best if you can return to the Myriaddragon Mountains. The three hundred million celestial orderians are headed south, but it’ll still take them time to reach there. Godspeed, everyone. If fate wills it, you’re always welcome in the Imperial Tomb Army. Retreat now!”
Every soldier was stunned. They were all clearly aware that there was no longer any chance to enter the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. Dispersing like the Fushen Clan was the best counter for the Divine Sun Palace.
“Take care, First Alliance Leader!”
They all roared to vent their anger as they sent their lifebound beasts back to their lifebound spaces to minimize their size before fleeing away in small groups. The further they fled, the more dispersed they were, which was the only way to avoid Divine Wrath from wiping out large swathes of them.
By then, the Divine Sun Palace had already struck twice in the twenty breaths since the formation had fallen. It struck large congregations each time, turning millions of Fushen Clan gods to ash. The Fushen Clan may have won on the battlefield, but today, they were also the defeated who had lost their home.
The sun emperor had accomplished his objective of taking down his first first-rate clan, and the territory of the celestial orderians had greatly increased. But would he find such a pyrrhic victory worth it?
“Although today had no winners, from a certain angle, there was one true loser.”
That was the wargodeans! Of their fifteen million elite troops, at least eleven million of them had fallen. After having lost their powerhouses like the Warlord and Tumulus Pill God, the once glorious clan that had been ranked fourth of the Myriad Solar Sects had dropped to the level of the second-rate sects. They wouldn’t be able to recover for the next ten thousand years. The sovereign could even declare that he had taken down both the Fushen Clan and wargodeans today for a double celebration.
The remaining wargodeans’ eyes were filled with panic, pain, and even some regret. However, who was to blame?
The Fushen Clan merely hadn’t wanted to become extinct and lose their home.
When Tianming gave his order, the Divine Palace Troops heard it too.
“Chase them down! Don’t let a single one of the defeated army off!” the Deluge Emperor ordered, his words showing they already considered themselves the winning side. The resentful Divine Palace Army found their fighting spirit reignited as the Divine Sun Palace led the way forward.
“Beat the drowning dogs!” They somehow weren’t ashamed to say this.
“Kill!”
“Don’t let any of them go!”
“It won’t be that easy to run. Help the sovereign detain them!”
They chased with renewed vigor.
It was clear to all the difference between the full sixty million of the Divine Palace Army and the remaining twenty million. With the formation gone, the Divine Palace Army could crush the Imperial Tomb Army in a clash. However, after taking severe losses, when it came to chasing the Imperial Tomb Army, they had the spirit but not the ability.
The people who were forced to stay weren’t very many in the end. Although the Divine Wrath was scary, an attack that could only be fired once every ten breaths was a hundred times less than the effectiveness the sun emperor wanted.
It could kill many of the fleeing beastmasters, but what he wanted was like at the Windheed Pavilion, where each blast would end millions of lives and infuriate the Myriad Solar Sects! Now, perhaps the ones who would be angered at their powerlessness would be the celestial orderians.
“Where’s Li Tianming and the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb?!” The Deluge Emperor charged inside with the cultivators of Blueblood Starocean. The current Fushen Valley was heavily scarred; the place had been conquered, but the celestial orderians had only won ruins.
As they were searching, a plot of land nearby suddenly shook and cracked. Dragons roared as nine divine dragons seemed to burst out from the ground. Many people identified it as the black and gold Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.
“Stop him!”
The Fushen Clan and Imperial Tomb Army’s escape no longer mattered. They were impossible to wipe out. Since that was the case, Tianming and his Ninedragon Imperial Tomb had become the most important prey today apart from the Nonacrypt Fushen Formation.
“If he’d chosen to run away himself, the sovereign wouldn’t be able to do anything. Unfortunately, he’s greedy and unwilling to let go of the tomb, so he’s revealed his location!”
The dragon heads roared as the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb lifted off into the skies. Quickly, over ten million totems and lifebound beasts relied on their large bodies to form a tight net that surrounded it.
At that moment, Tianming was indeed inside the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, in which he had placed his trust. Of course, that was because the Divine Sun Palace had used another few small Divine Wraths. Its power was almost exhausted. When it lost the power of its miniature nova sources, it might not even be as dangerous as the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb that was powered by saplings.
