For such an important war, there had to be half a dozen or so of these powerhouses involved across both factions. There was no way a battle plan could exclude the movement of these powers, but Song Zining hadn’t taken them into account up to this point. That was rather strange.
The seventh young master sighed. It looked like he was explaining the situation but also as though he were muttering to himself. “Yes… where are the heavenly monarchs and great dark monarchs?”
He turned toward Qianye and asked, “Say, how do we predict their movements?”
Qianye shook his head after some thought. “Impossible.”
Song Zining gazed at the map. “Yeah, the heavenly monarchs and great dark monarchs aren’t chess pieces on your board. On the contrary, we are their pawns. If I can’t even predict their actions, how can I even hope to plan for them?”
Qianye shook his head. “Plan their movements? You’re thinking too much.”
Song Zining pointed at the map in front of him. “My deductions can no longer proceed beyond this point. At this point in the battle, there’s no way the great dark monarchs can stand by and watch. When the great dark monarchs appear, the heavenly monarchs can’t stand by and watch, either. So at this point, there really isn’t any point in calculating because there is simply no way to guess their movements. This is how a normal battle plan should be.”
Qianye nodded.
They had little information about the great dark monarchs, but the heavenly monarchs of the Empire could act as they saw fit. Naturally, their foremost duty was to oversee and protect the Empire’s main continents, but they could take action according to their own judgment, and even the Emperor couldn’t restrict them.
This was common knowledge. Hence, there was no single strategy that could cover every scenario because unexpected changes would surely happen along the way. That was a time for the frontline commander to show off his skills. Only a fool would feel that the war could be won with a single genius plan.
Song Zining inhaled deeply. “How did Marshal Lin draft this plan?”
Qianye had seen the plan as well. He didn’t think too much about it back then, but now that he thought about it, there were no heavenly monarchs in that plan, either!
Song Zining stared at the map, as though he wanted to see through the secrets hidden inside. “Then, where have these powerhouses gone?”
…
In the depths of the void, a little boat was drifting away on the waves of void origin power.
The Pointer Monarch was staring intently at the fire, on which was a steaming earthen pot that was on the verge of boiling. The exact moment that it started to boil, the old man’s hands moved deftly to remove the pot from the flame and poured the water into a teapot. He swirled the tea around before producing two streams of clear liquid into the teacups.
“The heat is just right, don’t miss it.” The Pointer Monarch lifted his cup and drank.
Zhang Boqian stood completely still at the front of the boat as the other cup flew toward him. There, the tea streamed into his mouth before the teacup flew back to its original place.
Zhang Boqian swished the tea in his mouth before swallowing everything, leaving the Pointer Monarch angry. “That’ll cool down the tea! You need to drink from the cup for the perfect taste. You need to drink it in one gulp to enjoy the endless aftertaste. Sigh, such good tea is wasted on you!”
Zhang Boqian filtered out the criticism. “There’s no one else you can share such good tea with.”
The Pointer Monarch sighed while shaking his head. “You’re the only agreeable one in the entire Empire. Those little brats are too young, and it’ll take a good while for them to mature.”
Zhang Boqian didn’t look back. “Now this praise I don’t dare accept. Isn’t there Lin Xitang?”
“That little fellow is full of schemes, I feel tired talking to him. He’s definitely not one of us.”
Nodding, Zhang Boqian turned his body slightly. “Elder Prince, you asked me to accompany you here to intercept a person, but we’ve been drifting here for some time. It’s probably time for the war on the void continent to begin, yet we’re here instead. Who’s going to keep those monsters from the Evernight side in check?”
The Pointer Monarch smiled. “No rush, since we’re here, those fellows will surely follow us. As for the person we’re intercepting, they’re always here. We just need to wait patiently.”
Zhang Boqian gazed into the distance where several fragmented continents could be seen. He said in surprise, “We’re already in the neutral lands?”
“Only the borders. That person on the Throne of Blood won’t be happy if we go in, and I have no intention of facing Shattered Moment in the neutral lands,” the Pointer Monarch said as he slowly packed away his tea equipment.
Zhang Boqian frowned. “Elder Prince, now that we’re already here, isn’t it time to tell me who we’re intercepting?”
“There’s no rush with the interception, we should turn away those who have come to escort our target.”
“Those coming to greet us?” Zhang Boqian’s expression turned solemn as he turned to the depths of the void, where several giant shadows gradually appeared.
Those airships were hundreds of meters in length but of different shapes. Several names appeared in Zhang Boqian’s head when he saw those giant vessels—Medanzo, Noxus, the Eternal Flame…
Three great dark monarchs appearing at the same time was an extraordinary spectacle. That was especially true of Medanzo as he was badly injured last time. How could such a selfish person be willing to take the field again so quickly? There were several warships behind the three—these duke-grade airships weren’t as big as the leading vessels, but they were still quite behemoths in their own right. A quick count revealed that there were three prince-grade and five duke-grade airships here.
This kind of lineup was rare even when the two factions were facing off against one another. What kind of person were they here to pick up, that they would need to mobilize in full force?
Zhang Boqian glanced at the Pointer Monarch. Seeing that the old man wasn’t at all surprised, he asked, “Is this within your expectations as well?”
The Pointer Monarch smiled. “I’m older, so I have more sources of information.”
Zhang Boqian stopped asking questions. He turned toward the Evernight fleet with a sharp gaze, stopping briefly on the vampire prince flagship. “How do we split them?”
The Pointer Monarch laughed out loud. “We’re not going to fight with our lives. It’s fine just to stop them from picking up their target. That old friend across from us doesn’t want to fight to the death, either. So yeah, this fight will only go as far as we take it.”
What kind of tactic was this? How was this different from a street brawl?
However, Zhang Boqian had his own opinions. His eyes wandered over the group of duke-grade airships, causing their movements to become unnatural. Only the blood princes’ ships sailed forward, completely unaffected.
When the Eternal Flame’s flagship came to a stop, the massive fleet also took their stand at a good distance.
The demonkin, clad in black, appeared quietly and drifted toward the Pointer Monarch’s boat. Medanzo and Noxus followed from behind, and then the grand dukes last. In a battle of this level, even grand dukes could only serve as cannon fodder, while those of a lower rank did not have the qualification to approach.
The Eternal Flame stood a thousand meters away. “Ji Wentian, you know this is the will of the heavens. You cannot stop us.”
The Pointer Monarch stood up, his aura rising sharply until it suppressed even the Eternal Flame, much like a giant indomitable spirit.
Brushing away his long sleeve, he said, “It has been some time since I stopped using the name Ji Wentian. You can call me Pointer, or if you wanted to challenge me, you can also call me Old Man Pointer.”
The Eternal Flame laughed. “Pointer Kid, how dare you flaunt your age in front of me?”
The Pointer Monarch replied, “There’s no seniority in learning, and those who are accomplished become the teacher. You have always been at a disadvantage against me in every fight. Even if we go by your traditions, you really cannot address me that way.”
The Eternal Flame was stopped up. He said with a snort, “Enough with these useless things. I don’t know where you got the information, but it’s useless even if you’re here. Be on your way!”
The Pointer Monarch laughed. “Now that I’ve come, how can I just let you pass?”
“Do you think we can’t fight our way past you?”
“So what? You’ll still have to pick up that person. Once you enter the neutral lands, the Throne of Blood will stand with us. Are you so sure you can take them away?”
The Eternal Flame laughed coldly. “Of course!”
“I’m not here to intercept you, but to make sure you can’t take that person away. It’s also fine if that person dies.”
Hearing these words, the blaze around the Eternal Flame began to flicker. He remained silent for a good while before turning back and saying, “Since that’s the case, let’s beat them up first and we can think about it.”
“You can try.” The Pointer Monarch stroked his beard with a smile.
The little boat was floating in the void at first, but all of a sudden, it was swimming in a sea of black flames! This was the Eternal Flame’s Demonic Fire. This cold fire used origin power as fuel and could burn through most rare materials. Most fire-resistant materials were useless before its power.
The boat vanished with a stomp of the Pointer Monarch’s foot and appeared thousands of meters away. The old man walked down from the vessel, saying, “This little boat is all I have to ride. Do you really want to make me walk all the way back?”
Without a word, the Eternal Flame suddenly appeared before the Pointer Monarch and clawed at his chest. The monarch blocked the move with one hand while tapping at the Eternal Flame’s forehead with the other.
They began fighting hand-to-hand like two warriors who hadn’t reached the champion stage. However, the Pointer Monarch and the Eternal Flame had exchanged hundreds if not thousands of blows in the time an ordinary person could throw a punch. Their moves were also clearly visible to everyone.
Far off in one of the giant ships, one of the sailors was watching the battle intently, afraid that he would miss a single move. After a moment of concentration, however, he fell down screaming with a splitting headache.
Many people fell down in each of the giant ships, with the stronger ones suffering even more. The captain and a handful of powerful experts ran about, roaring, “Don’t look! No one is to look at the battlefield!”
The battle between the two powerhouses was beyond profound and not something that could be observed casually. Those without sufficient strength would be drawn into the rhythm. Their origin power would channel rapidly and uncontrollably, dealing themselves a fierce blow.
Those at the captain level didn’t dare look as they truly understood the ferocity within.
While the Evernight fleet was in chaos, the Pointer Monarch and the Eternal Flame were locked in a fight. The two had exchanged countless blows, but neither looked flustered. They fought in a regular pattern that looked like it would last forever.
Those at their level could easily break down all area-of-effect attacks and domains. Abilities aimed at weakening the opponent or affecting the environment were also just a waste of origin power. The simplest attacks were still the most lethal. The Eternal Flame jumped into a melee fight from the very beginning, a display of his determination to fight to the end.
On the other hand, Zhang Boqian paid no heed to Medanzo and Noxus. With a single step, he glided toward the two great dark monarchs as though he were skating on ice. But then he shot past the two experts and made a beeline for the dukes and princes behind them.
This attack was so sudden that Medanzo and Noxus didn’t have the time to react. Shocked and furious, they chased after Zhang Boqian but simply couldn’t close the gap.
The grand dukes and princes behind had never imagined that their two great dark monarchs would fail to intercept the enemy. Without enough time to think, even the grand dukes could only scatter instinctively.
Prince Greensun’s fame was young, but his resounding name had spread far and wide. His attacks were extremely violent and powerful, taking life with every move. The weaker ones simply had no power to even resist. Zhang Boqian might not be the strongest human expert, but he was the most respected and feared opponent to those top Evernight experts.
The monarch appeared like a tiger in a pack of wolves. The three princes had it better, but the dukes spread out as quickly as they could. They had no time to care about their subordinates or their dignity.
They were very clear that they would most likely die or become crippled if they failed to block a single attack. It was a different story if they were cornered, but now, there were princes and great dark monarchs here. Why would the dukes need to throw their lives away? Dying immediately upon contact would be quite the grievance.
It was exactly because everyone had the same thought that the scene became quite ugly. Among the crowd of enemy experts, only one was left slowly edging back, looking relatively less shameful.
This single brave person wasn’t enough to wipe away the humiliation of the crowd. Medanzo and Noxus’ faces had long since turned ashen.
