Habsburg’s expression was cold and expressionless. His sapphire eyes had turned into a blood color at one point, almost as though there was a sanguine river roaring within.
He stared fixedly at the Demon King, a move that could be considered rude. The latter wasn’t angry, either, and his deep abyssal eyes contained no signs of feeling offended.
Habsburg ultimately lowered his head and gaze.
A haze of light golden hue crept into the space around them. Just like the stars in the night sky, the scattered specks of light felt somewhat dim and feeble. That was because all domains around the dark sun were being suppressed even though the Demon King had been holding back his suppressive might. Finally, this sunset-colored domain still managed to expand and painted the stars with a dusky halo.
“Nation of Dusk!”
Habsburg raised his right hand. His blood energy reached its peak in an instant as dark flames crept along his arm toward his celebrated weapon—Eternus.
Habsburg looked up at Lin Xitang. “Where’s your ‘Misty Path’?” The two had fought more than once and were quite familiar with each other’s weapons.
However, Lin Xitang wasn’t holding that long-barreled revolver but, instead, a spear. He took a step back and raised his weapon to form a combat stance.
Seeing the stance, Hasburg said in surprise, “Fueled Fire Spear? The Song clan’s spear art?”
Lin Xitang said, “All martial paths lead to the same destination. I only feel that this stance suits me.”
Habsburg stopped the questioning. His eyes became deathly cold as he shed all of his emotions. Only his blood energy surged like a trapped dragon that would soon break free from its bindings. That was a sign that his blood energy had been elevated to its apex.
The blood energy converged like the tides and soon turned into a sanguine tempest.
Lin Xitang attacked first. Space seemed to freeze for a split second as man and spear diverged into dozens of images, all of which charging at Habsburg.
The prince met the assault head-on without evading.
But this time, half of the Illusion Corridor’s images weren’t mere illusions. Habsburg suffered half a dozen injuries in an instant, with the deepest, most dangerous one on his chest. One could almost see the amber under the opened flesh.
This was one of the hardest materials on earth, but there was now a scar on that amber.
Habsburg’s expression didn’t change in the least. The spear in his hand kept going forward steadily, almost as though nothing could stop it.
The faint golden glow of the spear glided through the sanguine tempest, silencing all life in its path until it pierced Lin Xitang’s body.
“War God’s Repose!” The Flaming Crown’s ultimate move that was famous throughout the Evernight world. Since killing a grand duke in one move twenty years ago, Habsburg had never used that skill again.
Going all out and sending the enemy off with one’s most powerful attack, this was the highest expression of respect from an Evernight expert.
Celestial Transpiration began to collapse as the faint golden hue of the “Nation of Dusk” engulfed the flickering stars. Stars fell down from the dark vault like snowflakes.
The specks of starlight were scattered and smashed, so weak that they were hardly visible. Some shattered light would occasionally enter the corner of one’s eyes, but they would disappear upon turning toward it. It truly made one wonder whether they ever existed.
It felt as though someone was whispering, “Lin Xitang, don’t you remember?” The Demon King’s voice arrived from a great distance, “This is the second time we’ve met. I shouldn’t have allowed you to live the first time, or Evernight wouldn’t be in this passive situation.”
The dark sun shrouding the void suddenly faded away, and there was light once again. Only at this point, the innumerable falling stars became visible over Lin Xitang’s hair, clothes, speartip, and wounds.
The Demon King looked up, allowing the falling stars to rain down upon his perfect countenance. “Habsburg, I’ll be waiting for you on the Sacred Mountain.” The darkness spread out once more to cover the supreme’s figure as he vanished from the void.
Lin Xitang remained immobile, smiling as he slowly closed his eyes.
Specks of light appeared from the tip of his spear and flew off into the depths of the void.
The Song clan’s Fueled Fire Spear was performed at the highest level in Lin Xitang’s hands. It was just that no one knew where the light from Ember Legacy had landed.
At the same time, the war on the void continent transformed disruptively.
First, the primary mobile fleet vanished from the void, and control of the airspace returned to the Empire. Then, the incoming forces in certain important battlefields withdrew from the fight. Even the duke-grade expert who was supposed to oversee the battle left with them.
The Imperial army that had been locked in a bitter fight immediately felt the pressure lighten. At least, there was now a visible border on the black tide occupying the battlefield.
Before long, all army routes received the latest strategic intelligence. Although a single paper couldn’t turn the tables entirely, the generals and commanders were able to draw a new path through the deadlock, almost as though the clouds had opened up to reveal the sun.
Whitetown was the most peaceful place on the continent. With Digger’s retreat, there wasn’t a single soldier left on the battlefield.
Digger learned of the latest situation after returning to the airship port, and dark clouds covered his heart almost immediately. He wasn’t too certain about the actual changes, but the absence of the sword-bearers’ overseeing expert and the sudden transfer of the main fleet for some unknown mission gave him an uneasy feeling.
He waited for over an hour. After discovering that the transferred fleet was actually leaving, he ordered all of the airships in the nearby port to take off with whatever they could load and leave the void continent. As for the fate of the other units on the continent, that was no longer within the scope of their—or rather, Digger’s—consideration.
As long as Whitetown remained standing, the other Evernight forces on the void continent would never reach this airship base. In addition, the Empire would soon regain control of the void after the departure of the Evernight fleet. Perhaps it was because of this that Digger made a firm decision to leave. As for the potential punishment he might be subjected to, that was a matter for the future.
The situation on the void continent changed in just half a day. The Empire and Evernight had been in a deadlock for a good while, but the other party switched to a defensive stance.
While taking advantage of this time to rest, the Imperial forces couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Even if Marshal Lin was peerless in strategy, wasn’t this too fast? Only when a couple of hot-headed generals assaulted the Evernight main camps did they discover that the enemy was planning to retreat.
However, the path home was not easy.
Perhaps it was because they knew certain things, or maybe it was because they did not know anything, but the higher-ups of the Evernight faction remained completely silent. All they did was do their utmost to round up the troops and escape the Empire’s pursuit. The direction of their retreat wasn’t toward their fortresses but a certain airship port.
It was as though the entire war had returned to its starting point. The Evernight faction was retreating.
Without the biggest airship port located near Whitetown, the others simply didn’t have the capacity to handle high-flow traffic. There were also numerous problems regarding airship types, geography, flight paths, etc. The situation became so bad that the various clans and tribes began to fight one another for a spot on the transport.
The real journey of death, however, was in the void. Throughout the entire departure process, the large number of transports would be hunted down by Imperial warships. The Evernight faction didn’t even have enough warships for an escort mission, let alone provide support in the void. As such, the retreat process became a massacre. Every soldier from the Imperial Guard fleet poured out the resentment they had been building up over the past few days.
The entire sky over the void continent was burning. There were warships crashing down every minute, each representing the death of hundreds of dark race soldiers.
The higher-ups of Evernight had abandoned the void continent, along with the survivors here. There was no telling how many of these soldiers would return to their homes alive.
There were only a couple hundred soldiers in Whitetown, but the city was unshakeable with Qianye in his duke-state. The entire void continent was ablaze, but not a single unit dared to waltz into the city.
Whitetown enjoyed the first half-day of extreme peace. Unable to get used to the sudden tranquility, many of them would jump up at the slightest sound. Even more of them remained sitting in a state of half-wakefulness, unable to truly fall asleep. To them, it almost seemed like a dream that they had survived. Death was supposed to be their reality.
There were even more corpses in the city than rubble. Several corpses could be dragged out from under each stone, each broken tile, and there was no way to differentiate between the factions. The survivors were mostly injured. They enjoyed the peace and quiet while they could, waiting for the next round of attacks that might arrive at any time. Only a few of them noticed the changes in Qianye’s body.
Qianye sat beside Zhao Jundu this entire time. No one knew what he was thinking, or whether his mind was just blank.
Song Zining didn’t console him, either. He fell into a sound sleep, throwing everything that had happened to one side. His aura rose and fell at certain intervals; no one knew what he was experiencing in his dreams.
Bai Aotu sat across from Qianye, just as still and almost like a statue. Her eyes were wrapped in white cloth, which had some bloodstains on it.
The Evernight experts who should have come never did appear. Perhaps they had won this battle, but at this point, no one had the strength left to celebrate.
The city center was even quieter. This was where Zhao Jundu was sleeping. His breathing and heartbeat were still there as he leaned against the wall, enjoying the rare sunshine. Although it was only evening, the sunlight had more or less disappeared already.
Be it Qianye, Bai Aotu, or Song Zining, none of them dared to disturb the fourth young master. They couldn’t feel the slightest of relief even though the battle was over.
They had sensed Zhao Jundu’s breathing and heartbeat slowing down. The process was slow, so slow that one might mistake it for an illusion. It felt as though the destination would never arrive.
In truth, everyone was already aware that Zhao Jundu had left them. He was gone the moment he fired that last shot from Heartgrave. The current signs of life were only a false appearance, something that would happen in a powerful expert. The remaining origin power would strive to keep his vital functions intact, waiting for a miracle to happen.
But miracles wouldn’t be called miracles if they were so common.
There was a fair number of experts in the Empire’s history, people strong enough to shake the world. Some of them could smile, chat, visit friends, and discuss the dao, only to pass away several days later. Whoever it was, however high his cultivation was, this fate was unavoidable.
Zhao Jundu was highly talented, but he wasn’t unparalleled just yet. How could he produce such miracles?
Sitting beside his brother, Qianye’s blood core would beat faster from time to time. He was hesitating time and again, whether or not to give Zhao Jundu the embrace.
