The Battle of Yunchéng! September 27th, Year 3744 of the Sacred Word Calendar! The Arrogant Heaven Legion of the Fourth Expeditionary Force of the Demon Sealing Empire finally launched its assault on Yunchéng! This would become the famed Battle of Yunchéng, an engagement that echoed through later ages. In this decisive clash, the Arrogant Heaven Legion—hitherto known as the Undefeated Legion—tasted true defeat, suffering catastrophic losses that forced them to withdraw entirely from the Dragon Demon Continent!
The Battle of Yunchéng marked the first time the Demon Dragon Empire had defeated the Arrogant Heaven Legion in a direct confrontation. The greatest contributor to this victory was undoubtedly Jiǔ Yào Shén Zhēn, who donned his armor on the spot and ascended to the rank of Fire Fiend Celestial Demon.
The significance of this victory was profound, later dubbed the War of Turning Points! It was a tremendous morale boost for the entire Sacred Word Alliance, representing the first time in a thousand years that the Alliance had achieved an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield, crushing the formidable Demon Sealing Empire head-on. Furthermore, the emergence of the Demon Devourer Body proved a fatal blow to the Demon Sealing Empire, which relied primarily on mages. This forced the Empire into a strategic readjustment, shifting the focus of the war machine around the Demon Devourer Body, thereby initiating a new, far more intricate and convoluted phase of combat. —The Book of Sands—The Prague War Records
Whoosh! A streak of blue light shot toward the heavens, immediately blossoming into a dazzling, multi-hued sphere of light.
“It’s the retreat signal.” Those within the Māra Holy Shield, like Māra Tiān Fēng, reacted instantly. Yet, looking up at the figure above, who wielded the Judgment greatsword and furiously hammered against the light barrier, Māra Tiān Fēng and his comrades found themselves trapped in an agonizing dilemma.
Boom, boom, boom! Dull, heavy concussions echoed in rapid succession. Each violent impact caused the mages trapped inside the light shield to flinch, their very spirits trembling!
It felt as though every blow landed deep within their core, striking the most fragile nerve they possessed: fear. Though the Māra Holy Shield remained perfectly still, seemingly impervious, watching the golden figure above swing the Judgment sword down relentlessly made everyone feel suffocated beneath the sheer, raging killing intent!
Damn it, he cannot be allowed to breach the shield! At that moment, their thoughts converged with astonishing uniformity. But seeing the colored light erupting into the sky confirmed it: the Arrogant Heaven Legion had failed. Māra Āo Tiān and the others stood no chance against the berserk Prague Legion.
Retreat was their only option!
It wasn't that they didn't want to retreat, but the formation of mages was currently dedicated to sustaining the colossal Māra Holy Shield. To attempt movement while maintaining such a massive magical structure was next to impossible. The shield, upheld by the concerted efforts of over fifty thousand individuals, possessed staggering magical intensity. A single misstep could result in the annihilation of the formation and death for all within. Their current cultivation levels simply did not allow them to relocate while sustaining it. Moreover, even if they could retreat with the shield, failing to shake off the relentless Star above them would render the effort pointless.
But abandoning the shield to flee was now an even more remote possibility. Māra Tiān Fēng and the others were certain that the moment the Māra Holy Shield dropped, Star would show them no mercy. The thought of allowing such a terrifying monster to rampage into their ranks was something Māra Tiān Fēng dared not even fully contemplate.
The others within the formation were equally frantic. This situation felt tragically like self-inflicted ruin, yet maintaining the shield was the sole means of preserving their lives!
But how long could they endure? The magic sustaining the Māra Holy Shield would inevitably deplete. Gazing toward the horizon, where the vast, charging mass of the Prague Legion approached, Māra Tiān Fēng and his cohorts felt despair mounting!
Once the enemy reached their front line, while the shield’s astonishing defense might offer temporary respite, what would happen when their mana ran dry?
Perhaps at that moment, none of them would escape death!
Ah! What are we to do? Never before had Māra Tiān Fēng and his peers felt such utter helplessness and despair. Could they truly do nothing but wait for execution?
“We cannot wait any longer,” Lan Lǐng Zhēn Tíng, the Red Robe Priest, shouted urgently. “If we delay, none of us will survive.”
“Then what should we do?” Māra Tiān Fēng knew waiting was suicide, but he could devise no viable escape route!
“We have to break free individually, relying purely on luck,” Lan Lǐng Zhēn Tíng urgently proposed. “We will forcefully rupture the Māra Holy Shield, using the resulting shockwave to blast him away. In that brief window, everyone must scatter and flee.”
“Ah!” A collective gasp of shock went through the assembly. The sheer magical power required to sustain the Māra Holy Shield was immense; Lan Lǐng Zhēn Tíng was proposing to deliberately shatter it! Everyone understood the grim implications: one wrong calculation, and the terrifying magical explosion would vaporize everyone in the formation, leaving not even ash behind!
Even if they miraculously managed to rupture the shield without triggering a full detonation, the resulting magical recoil alone would inflict severe punishment, potentially killing them all through sheer shock, or at the very least, leaving them grievously wounded!
“We have no choice but to risk it,” Māra Tiān Fēng conceded, though stunned by the sheer madness of Lan Lǐng Zhēn Tíng’s idea. This was the only conceivable path to escape. “May fate favor us.”
“Ah!” While others were equally horrified, the brutal reality stripped them of any alternative. They had to brace themselves and take the desperate gamble!
“……………” The other Crimson Moon Mages and High Elite Mages could only submit to destiny.
“Everyone, prepare!” Māra Tiān Fēng roared the command.
“It’s the retreat signal.”
Seeing the colored orb explode in the sky, I immediately realized the Arrogant Heaven Legion could no longer hold. But escape wouldn’t be so easy! I refused to believe they could flee while propping up this gargantuan light shield. As long as I remained on top of it, they couldn't get far!
My resolve firm, I continued to swing the heavy Judgment at the solid light wall with frenzied power.
The immense impact caused the shield to vibrate slightly, letting out dull, heavy groans. I was pouring every ounce of strength I possessed into the swing; my hands gripping the Judgment were already aching, swollen, and nearly numb from the powerful rebound forces!
Yet, I couldn't pierce the barrier. Through the light wall, I saw Māra Tiān Fēng and the others inside looking equally anxious. It seemed they realized that prolonging the siege would offer them no advantage.
Then, at that precise moment, I saw every mage within the formation simultaneously raise their weapons. Countless staffs, ancient jades, and the Blood Drink of the Rainbow Heaven God flashed, bathing the surroundings in brilliant light. The surrounding magical energy churned like a volcano ready to erupt, surging wildly! Even I, the Demon Devourer Body, felt as though I had been plunged into a stifling furnace!
Rumble!
Before I could even register what was happening, a terrifying explosion almost stunned me into unconsciousness. A deafening thrum filled my head, rendering me deaf to everything! Suddenly, a ferocious upward thrust erupted beneath my feet, sending my body soaring into the sky like shrapnel from a burst shell! I was propelled uncontrollably upward at incredible speed!
Ah! They actually tried this against me! The audacity!
Even though, as the Demon Devourer Body, I was immune to magical damage, the sheer explosive force of this attack was something I could not fully withstand. Despite wearing the nigh-indestructible Celestial Demon Armor, I felt as if my entire being had been shaken apart, followed by an instant wave of vacant numbness!
The terrifying momentum of the blast propelled me upward at an astonishing velocity. This speed, combined with the immense pressure on my already fractured body, pushed me to the brink of collapse!
I knew this agonizing sensation was the combined result of the speed and the air friction. Thankfully, my Celestial Demon Armor was an incredibly robust, fully enclosed defensive shell. The dreadful frictional impact was entirely absorbed; otherwise, I would surely have been torn to shreds!
In an instant, I understood: I had been blindsided by the cunning Māra Tiān Fēng and his mages. It seemed I had gravely underestimated them.
Boom! A universe-shaking roar erupted! Everyone felt as if they had been struck by an invisible sledgehammer. Their minds went blank, the world momentarily sinking into a strange, eerie silence.
Soldiers, friend and foe alike on the battlefield who were caught unaware, were thrown violently to the ground. Many Arrogant Heaven Legionnaires caught closer to the epicenter were struck so hard they bled from all seven orifices and died instantly. This terrifying blast far surpassed even the strongest sonic attack unleashed by the Cloud Thunder Legion—the Cloud Thunder Roar!
“Ah!”
“Star!” Fèng Qíng Tiān and the others paled, their faces contorted. The blinding flash had rendered them sightless, but even so, they could feel the sheer, astounding force generated by the explosion the moment it detonated.
Under such conditions, could Star possibly have survived?
“Damn it all,” Jì Dū Luó Hóu and the others from the Golden Sun faction were utterly terrified. Who could have imagined that the Arrogant Heaven Legion’s mages would resort to such a suicidal self-detonation tactic just to escape?
Even if Star survived the blast because of the Celestial Demon Armor, Jǐn Yào and the others had no guarantee of his safety!
“Your Highness, the King of Qin!” Jì Dū was instantly overcome with regret, his guts twisting. If Star had perished in this battle, Jì Dū could not even begin to imagine how he would face Emperor Jiǔ Yào Chóng Yáng, let alone Jiǔ Yào Shén Yīn and Jiǔ Yào Shén Yí, who were eagerly awaiting Star's return!
Despite their profound worry for Star, Jǐn Yào, Jì Dū, and Luó Hóu dared not pause for a moment. Star's fate had to be set aside for now; this was the moment for a full-scale charge into the enemy formation, allowing no room for hesitation!
Everyone committed to the fight. Jì Dū, Luó Hóu, and Jǐn Yào led the Cloud Thunder Cavalry, which had been garrisoned inside Yunchéng, into a ferocious charge against the enemy lines! (The unit that charged alongside Star against the Arrogant Heaven mages was the First Brigade of the Cloud Thunder Cavalry; the entire Cloud Thunder Cavalry comprised five brigades, each numbering ten thousand men.)
The somber sky rushed closer into my field of vision! My rapidly ascending form still couldn't halt its trajectory. I feared this astonishing explosion would hurl me beyond the atmosphere! I desperately twisted my head downward; the ground receded further and further away! The dust and smoke generated by the blast had shrouded the earth below, turning it into an indistinct, blurry expanse. I couldn't clearly discern what state the former mage formation was in! I was being carried uncontrollably eastward, the mage formation shrinking behind me, and I was utterly powerless to stop it.
*I never thought they would use a tactic like this to blast me away! Though I understood now, all I could do was try to regain control of my body and wait for the outward momentum to dissipate!
In a short while, I felt the ascent finally cease. Perhaps it was my illusion, but that moment of upward drift felt interminably long. Fortunately, I hadn't been ejected into the outer atmosphere; I hadn't even breached the cloud layer, reaching perhaps only a hundred meters up. Then, my body began plummeting back toward the ground at speed!
The earth rushed up to meet me with terrifying speed! My ears, which had been nearly deafened by the blast, finally regained auditory function! Sharp, distorted whistles drilled violently into my hearing! I knew the real trouble was only just beginning!
Falling from that altitude, if I hit the ground, I’d be smashed into a pancake! Realizing this, I panicked and violently urged my battle qi, concentrating it toward my back!
Whoosh!
The powerful surge of battle qi finally forced open—
—the massive Celestial Demon Wings mounted on the back of the Celestial Demon Armor! I felt as if something had caught my shoulders, and the downward plunge significantly slowed!
In that instant, I looked like a great bird spreading its wings, gliding obliquely toward the ground!
Hah! I’m saved! But the shockwave from such a tremendous explosion had severely injured me. My body felt disobedient; my limbs seemed disconnected from my brain, utterly unresponsive!
Still, my life had been spared!
That was a close call! I hadn't expected the Celestial Demon Wings equipped on the Celestial Demon Armor to possess such an unimaginable gliding function. Otherwise, I truly don't know what I would have done. Heaven clearly hadn't sealed off all hope!
In truth, after the earth-shattering duel between Jì Dū and Luó Jiāng, I had grown intensely curious about the Celestial Demon Wings on the Celestial Demon Armor’s back, leading me to specifically research the relevant information.
The Celestial Demon Wings, also known as the Wings of the Fire Phoenix, were forged from extremely rare materials and possessed an astonishing ability to convert magical power into usable battle qi. In essence, the Wings of the Fire Phoenix could transform potent magical energy into the battle qi usable by a warrior. However, their limitation was that they could only convert fire-elemental magic, allowing Celestial Demon Warriors to harness fire magic as their own energy.
This is why the wings, restricted to fire conversion, were also called the Wings of the Fire Phoenix. The technique Jì Dū used to defeat Luó Jiāng in their duel, the Fire Phoenix Soaring Strike, was executed based on this very principle. It could be said that the Fire Phoenix Soaring Strike was the most potent combined killing move executable by both a Celestial Demon Warrior and a Rainbow Heaven God.
While learning these details, I also discovered other functions of the Celestial Demon Wings, gliding being one of them. Unexpectedly, this very function had become my salvation now.
Unfortunately, I did not know how to manipulate the Celestial Demon Wings to control my direction. I could only allow them to carry me passively toward the ground!
Though I had escaped death by impact, I felt no joy. I had no control over my landing site, and could only pray that I would drop back down within the vicinity of the mage formation I had just been attacking!
From my vantage point in the air, I could clearly see the ground below. The overwhelming tide of red iron that had surged out of Yunchéng had finally crashed into the main body of the Arrogant Heaven Legion, sparking a fierce engagement! Even from this altitude, I could hear the deafening roars of battle and the dull thud of war drums. The smoke from magical explosions and the brilliant light from clashing battle qi transformed the teeming masses on the ground into a massive, multi-colored vortex!
And within the smoke that had enveloped the area from the massive magical detonation, countless mages were rapidly fleeing northward, spreading out in all directions as they fled—looking exactly like a disturbed nest of ants.
Though they covered a vast area, the distance between individuals was sparse. Even if I could descend into their midst now, I doubted I could catch more than a few!
This tactic was brilliant! Especially since, after being blasted away, I was incapable of controlling my descent for a crucial period, allowing them to execute a strategy of scattering like fireworks. Even if I landed, I wouldn't know whom to pursue!
And finding Māra Tiān Fēng and the other Rainbow Heaven Gods amongst over fifty thousand scattering mages would be like searching for a needle in a haystack!
Though I hadn't landed yet, I knew that killing the Rainbow Heaven Gods and Red Robe Priests of the Arrogant Heaven Legion this time would be incredibly difficult.
Yet, I remained unwilling to give up. Still suspended in mid-air, I strained every fiber to search for the figures of Māra Tiān Fēng and the other Rainbow Heaven Gods and Red Robe Priests. But everywhere I looked, there were only surging figures fleeing; I couldn't spot them.
My gliding descent finally ended, but I landed atop the crown of a towering, ancient tree. Looking out, all I saw was a dense tapestry of thick branches and broad leaves, completely obscuring my view of the distant battlefield!
A rough estimation told me I had been flung at least a thousand meters by that shockwave.
Of course, this thousand meters wasn't purely from the blast’s force; the distance was achieved by gliding using the Celestial Demon Wings! I quickly tried to estimate my bearings, pulling out healing potions from my space pouch and furiously gulping them down. I needed to recover as quickly as possible and return to the fight.
While downing medicine, I leaped from the treetop and sprinted toward the direction from which I had been thrown, charging back toward the carnage! No matter what, I absolutely could not let those Arrogant Heaven mages escape!
Since equipping the Celestial Demon Armor, my jumping ability had markedly improved! Each leap covered more than thirty meters. With just a few bounds, I traversed the thick branches and burst out of the dense jungle!
In the distance, the earth-shattering cries of battle still raged!
But not a single Arrogant Heaven Mage could be seen!
From the moment I was blasted away, through my gliding descent, until I returned to the field of battle, at least three minutes had passed. Three minutes! For individuals like Māra Tiān Fēng, who had reached the level of Rainbow Heaven God, that was ample time to secure their escape. Not just them, but every mage of the Arrogant Heaven Legion had vanished without a trace.
Recalling Dà Léi’s tragic death and the countless Cloud Thunder Cavalrymen who charged the enemy ranks alongside me and sacrificed themselves heroically, my chest felt as though it had been ripped open. In the end, I failed to kill their Rainbow Heaven Gods and Red Robe Priests—I hadn't even managed to kill a single Arrogant Heaven Mage.
Never before had I felt such crushing defeat and powerlessness!
In the end, everything had come to nothing at the crucial moment!