Invade the Third Era?
The gods present felt shock course through them, so strong, it showed on their faces. Although Yale had only been on the throne a little while, he always meant exactly what he said.
If he said they were going to invade, they were going to invade.
But at the same time, all of them knew that the Third Era had yet to reach its end.
“Your Excellency, you mean…”
“Didn’t I make myself perfectly clear?” Yale’s eyes flashed harshly. The gods had only just seen him shed blood, and they all felt a chill run down their spines. They couldn’t help but sweat nervously.
“Master Yale, please calm your fury. We understood your orders, but…”
“But it’s not yet time?” Yale’s eyes flashed with wanton arrogance. “That’s nothing but that useless bunch who control the Laws, the Master of the Laws’ arbitrary rule. They can restrict those barbarians with their rules if they want, but why should we true gods grovel at their feet? Pass on my orders. Prepare the troops to wage war against the Third Era. If anyone dares object, have them first consider whether their head’s even worth me cutting off!”
“Yes, sir!” The true god experts immediately acknowledged their orders and prepared to leave, only for the still infuriated Yale to call them back.
“Were the Minister of the Left and the Secretariat Star the only ones you captured? What about the First Era’s Master of the Stars, his Fated Stars, and his other Auxiliary Stars? Where are they?”
“They’re currently contending with the God of War,” said his subordinates.
“The God of War went to the First Era too?” Yale laughed inexplicably. “Fine, then. Let him keep playing with the First Era, but call all of our other forces back. I’ve played with the First Era long enough, and I’ve grown tired of it. It’s time to find new prey.”
The gods blurred into streaks of light and left the palace. Yale then put his hands behind his back and gazed off into the distance. “Don’t disappoint me.”
Only the servant women remained in the audience hall. They gazed at the corpse of that middle-aged man; it was still dripping with blood. When they recalled the scene of his death, they trembled despite the absence of cold.
…
The First Era had been destroyed!
The Outsider experts wailed and wept. Yang Jian and Ye Zichen, however, just froze.
The first time Ye Zichen visited the Outside, he learned that they were at war. The Secretariat Star’s technique had given him a taste of the Enders, the Primordial Giant Beasts, and their terrifying power.
But the First Era had still seemed relatively safe. The barrier keeping the giant beasts out had but a few superficial cracks, but it had yet to split. Based on what Han Nan had told him, they’d been resisting the beasts’ attacks all this time, which was why they’d sought out Ye Zichen to request his aid.
But their barrier should have been able to hold off the beasts for at least a hundred years without any problems.
Besides, their Master of the Stars had sent him a message not long ago; he hadn’t died like Han Nan had told him back then. There was the half-step transcendent, Gu Li, there too.
But these experts were telling him the First Era had been destroyed!
It was just too sudden; it didn’t feel real.
But that was just Ye Zichen’s feelings on the matter. Even if he didn’t want to believe it, he didn’t doubt they were telling the truth.
After all, the truth was written in their eyes.
Almost a million rulers had taken grievous injuries. From this alone, it was clear just how grave a calamity had befallen the Outside. Ye Zichen didn’t dare even imagine it, because…
It was just too cruel!
“Then the First Era’s Master of the Stars, Fated Stars, Auxiliary Stars and the others…” Yang Jian asked from the sidelines.
“They’re still fighting the ones who destroyed us, except for the Minister of the Left and the Secretariat Star. They sacrificed themselves to send us out of the First Era. As for what specifically befell them, I’m afraid we don’t know.” An Outsider expert gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles went white. “But what we can be sure of is that they both fell in battle!”
Suddenly, two shattered jade slips appeared before them. Given Ye Zichen and Yang Jian’s cultivation, they could sense the wisps of souls contained within. That the fragments shattered represented that the person they’d belonged to had already perished.
The Outsider experts’ eyes were filled with pain. They were all undoubtedly cursing their own inability. If they were just a little stronger, they could have stayed behind to defend the First Era alongside the Master of the Stars.
They wouldn’t have had to desert their homes!
Ye Zichen and Yang Jian fell silent. The Minister of the Left and the Secretariat Star had chosen to send these people away. They must have lost thoroughly indeed.
There was essentially no hope of turning this around. Their best option was to send those they could away, as a last seed of hope for the First Era.
The First Era had had two eras worth of time to build itself up, yet not even they could ward off the Enders’ invasion. When the giant beasts came for the Third Era in the not-too-distant future, would the Third Era be any match for them?
For a moment, Ye Zichen didn’t even dare consider it.
Even if you added up every last ruler in the upper three realms, would there be more than a hundred thousand?
He feared it would be difficult to find that many!
A million…
This was nearly a million ruler-level experts, but what had happened to them?
All of them were grievously injured, and they’d had no choice but to flee their homes and seek refuge in the Third Era, their last and only thread of hope.
In terms of experts, the great emperors of the Divine Mountains had lofty cultivations indeed, but were they in any way comparable to the First Era’s Master of the Stars and the Outsider Gu Li?
No matter how Ye Zichen looked at it, it didn’t seem like they had any hope of fending off such an invasion.
Why was it that, when he heard of the First Era’s plight, he didn’t send reinforcements?
Well, how was he supposed to reinforce them?
With the Third Era’s pitiful strength, how were they supposed to save the First Era from devastation?
They’d have a hard enough time ensuring their own safety!
It seemed the end of the Third Era was upon them. They’d soon have to face the very same primordial giant beasts, the Enders, including the strongest among them…
Maybe…
There was only one possible chance. The Third Era had yet to transcend, but it had enough celestial fate. If Ye Zichen could successfully transcend, the Third Era might still have a chance.
Yes!
They still had a thread of hope!
This was no time to complain about their fate. The First Era’s destruction sounded a warning bell for the Third.
The Enders!
They were harder to deal with than he’d imagined. No, they were far, far, far harder to deal with than he’d imagined.
They had to seize the little time they had now to seize any possible chance. They couldn’t afford to relax in the slightest; every second was precious.
Even if they lost in the end, even if the Enders destroyed the Third Era and everything in it, they couldn’t go down so easily!
But what didn’t bode well for the Third Era was that its three Realm Emperors fought without pause even now.
For the sake of his own desires, the God Emperor was neglecting everything else.
The Demon Emperor’s heart was full of ambition. Even as the end of the era drew near, he wanted to seize new territories for himself.
The Yao Emperor was lofty and reclusive, disinterested in the world around him.
How could they overcome this disaster with leadership like that? If nothing else, before the Enders invaded, the Upper Three Realms needed to act as one. They couldn’t continue to be divided like this.
Uniting them wouldn’t be easy at all, but there was no other choice.
