With those words spoken, Eagle Seventeen fell silent. He didn't even glance back down at the ground.

All eight hundred Dark Eagles let out a unified, piercing cry! A long, drawn-out shriek of an eagle pierced the clouds and fog, soaring straight up into the highest heavens!

Immediately, the eight hundred Dark Eagles simultaneously threw back their heads and let out a long cry! Amidst the surging winds and rolling clouds, Eagle Seventeen, leading the formation, suddenly threw his head back and shot upward!

His posture was one of pride and utter resolve! The eight hundred Dark Eagles followed him, piercing straight into the cloud layer!

When they reached their zenith, the eagles in the sky had already become mere specks of black; Eagle Seventeen suddenly ceased his ascent first! Then, accompanied by a shrieking sound of tearing air, he plunged through the cloud cover, his entire body igniting with a golden radiance, hurtling down towards the earth!

King, I am coming! How could you go without me!

We swore to follow you, through every reincarnation until eternity! The nine heavens echo with the eagles' cries, severing the blue blood; the soaring eagles’ souls ignite the heavens and destroy the earth!

This was the ultimate forbidden technique of the Eagle Clan, absolutely banned! To unleash it required the combined power of over a hundred ninth-level peak Dark Eagles!

Once executed, it meant mutual destruction with the enemy! Its sheer power naturally surpassed the self-detonation of any ordinary Demonic Beast!

It was also the sole method throughout the ages by which the Eagle King’s Royal Guard saw their sovereign off! Only the greatest kings of the Eagle Clan in history were afforded such a ceremony!

Prior to this, in the past ten thousand years, such an event had occurred only once before—that time was eight thousand years ago! “Nooooo!!!!” Xiong Kaishan roared out in absolute despair, his entire body trembling like a sieve!

At this very moment, he was the one who most wished to die! He was the one who most longed to join his brother beneath the earth!

But he could not die yet! His mission on this expedition remained unfinished!

Behind him, over a thousand surviving Bear Clan brothers were watching him. Xiong Kaishan believed utterly that the moment he died, these thousand-plus Bear Warrior brothers would follow him to oblivion, just like these Dark Eagles before them!

As for the War of Seizing the Heavens, or the fate of the common people on the continent—those things meant nothing to them! This was the absolute loyalty unique to the clan!

Such a thing only occurred among Demonic Beasts! So utterly reckless!

So proud, and yet so devotedly foolish! Therefore, Xiong Kaishan could not die!

Not at this moment, at least! But his teeth had already bitten down hard, splitting his lower lip.

Blood welled forth! His eyes were blurred with tears!

His heart was shattered into countless pieces. He knelt on the ground, gripping the earth tightly with both hands, convulsing, his nose twitching, and then suddenly lunged forward, opening his mouth to bite down on a large clump of bloody mud on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably as endless hot tears streamed down his face… “Our King is magnificent!

His decree spans the ages!” Following behind Eagle Seventeen, one Dark Eagle after another, shimmering with golden light, plunged downward without hesitation! Their flight posture remained haughty and graceful, steady and composed!

Their formation remained flawless. Though their King was gone, they could not let him be disgraced!

Even in death, they must be perfectly arrayed, so they could immediately form a potent fighting force in the next world! To fight for the King!

Grouped in tens, they still rigidly maintained the formation set by their King. While the angles of their descent were spread out, the landing point for every single one was precisely where the alien race gathered thickest!

Facing such high-altitude, suicidal attacks, absolutely no one had enough time to evade! Explosions of unimaginable intensity erupted one after another, far exceeding any prior self-detonation!

Such a devastating method of attack shook heaven and earth; the universe seemed overturned; the ground itself trembled and vibrated. In the sky, countless golden figures continued to dive down resolutely from their highest point, one after the other, silently entering the dense crowds of the alien race, carrying their loyalty to the King, and unleashing the most terrifying, most violent explosive assaults!

The Eagle Clan officially adopted this unique and spectacular rite to send off their greatest King! Using their own lives, they composed a hymn of loyalty that would echo through every generation, in heaven and on earth, forever following their sovereign!

Tens of thousands of lives from the alien race! These were the offerings to consecrate the eternal King of the Sky!

The majestic body of the Eagle King still stood tall, aloof and emotionless, his face cold. Though his eagle eyes were dim and lifeless, they remained sharp!

He seemed to pierce through the endless void before him, carving a broad, clear path for his brothers! The earth-shattering, heaven-rending explosions finally subsided.

Calculating from the epicenter of the blasts, within a radius of several thousand zhang, there was nothing but emptiness! Only a void remained!

In this unprecedented, continuous barrage of violent detonations, a minimum of over fifty thousand members of the alien race were utterly reduced to ash! The cry of the nine heavens echoes, severing the blue blood; the souls of the soaring eagles ignite the heavens and destroy the earth!

With this ultimate forbidden technique passed down for tens of thousands of years, its power was truly terrifying to behold! Yes, the eight hundred Dark Eagles had used their own flesh and blood to compose a tragic, magnificent ode to loyalty!

Even as they died, even having resolved to self-detonate, they were still careful not to harm their Bear Clan brothers who had fought alongside them; thus, they chose locations relatively farther away! Their explosions effectively split the entire battlefield in two!

Leaving only the two ends! Whether living or dead, the only ones they could not let go of were their brothers!

Their kin, also stemming from the Heaven’s Punishment lineage! Suddenly, a swath of bloody color welled up in the sky, slowly coalescing into a large, blood-red eagle that leisurely ascended, disappearing calmly into the clouds.

Faced with such a horrifying method of attack, the surviving forces of the alien race numbered fewer than ten thousand, and they were utterly broken in spirit, their fighting will completely dissolved! The remaining Bear Clan warriors were more than capable of handling them.

The alien army, which had previously advanced with fierce momentum and absolute superiority in numbers, was now largely reduced to scorched earth! So the Eagle warriors departed with peace in their hearts!

They departed assuredly to accompany their King, to continue soaring through the vast skies, looking down upon all creation! “Avenge the Eagle Clan brothers!

Avenge the Eagle Clan brothers! For the Eagle King!

For all the sacrificed Eagle Clan brothers! Everyone, charge and kill!” From the distance, the Bear Clan warriors charged forward with savage fury, every one of them weeping uncontrollably, frantically pursuing the remnants of the alien forces!

With this, the overall situation was settled. But they would not spare a single enemy!

All the Heaven’s Punishment warriors appeared savage and frenzied! The less than ten thousand surviving alien warriors were already terrified out of their wits and scattered in flight.

All the enemies in the front positions were annihilated by the Bear Clan warriors, ultimately meeting their doom! A few thousand aliens who survived on the other end were luckier; as the distance between the factions was considerable, they managed to retreat back into the alien continent… That was terrifying!

This was nothing short of a nightmare! These Heaven’s Punishment warriors were even more dreadful than the legends, more terrifying than any nightmare… Xiong Kaishan slowly pulled himself up, staring blankly at the unyielding, ruined body of the Eagle King, at the brother who had accompanied him his entire life.

Tears streamed down his face. With tears flowing, he staggered forward a couple of steps and carefully, tightly embraced the broken form of the Eagle King in his arms.

As if afraid of hurting his little brother. Although the Eagle King had long since ceased to feel anything.

“Little Eagle… wait, Fourth Brother will take you home… take you back to our home in Heaven’s Punishment,” Xiong Kaishan carefully, cautiously lifted the Eagle King and laid him flat. He lovingly stroked the Eagle King’s cold, hard face, whispering, “Little Eagle, I’ve captured all these aliens who hurt you.

How do you wish to deal with them?” He turned his head slightly, seemingly still speaking to his brother, and then nodded, as if hearing an answer: “Yes, I know. According to your habits, the Eagle Clan’s custom, you would certainly want to tear them apart alive!

I understand!” “Little Eagle… Fourth Brother will vent your anger now, avenge you!” Xiong Kaishan smiled sorrowfully and slowly stood up. He spun around, his gaze ferocious, and fixed upon one of the aliens.

He extended a hand, and a fierce suction pulled the trembling, utterly broken former Mad Blade Shinobi toward him. One hand held the man’s body steady, while the other slowly reached out and grasped his finger, applying slight pressure, slowly drawing the finger longer and longer… finally, he ripped it clean off!

The alien’s scream was piercingly inhuman, loud enough to shake heaven and earth! His Profound Arts had already been crippled.

Facing Xiong Kaishan’s brutal torture, he was utterly defenseless; even death was a luxury he couldn't afford, and he couldn't even pass out from the pain. If he so much as fainted, Xiong Kaishan would inject a burst of Profound Qi to stimulate his nerves, instantly waking him up.

This ensured that every moment of his torment was experienced with the clearest possible consciousness. There was nothing but wave after wave of agonizing screams and curses.

Xiong Kaishan remained unmoved. He reached for another finger, slowly tugging it, a faint, reminiscent smile playing on his lips: “Little Eagle, remember when we stole the Monkey King’s wine?

You once asked when we would finally reach the pinnacle?” He smiled, and amidst the screams, he tore off the alien’s next finger, saying to the Eagle King, “Remember when I said one day we both would! And you laughed.

Remember how you got your face bashed in by the Monkey King’s little minions because you stole the wine, making you look so pathetic, Old Eagle getting mauled by a monkey brat…” He laughed with perverse joy from the memory, as if the Eagle King were still sitting before him, drinking the stolen monkey wine together. Though blood was flowing from his head then, his spirit was soaring.

He continued recalling every detail of the past, piece by piece, in front of the Eagle King, tearing apart completely, shred by shred, the five Mad Blade Shinobi who had harmed the Eagle King. Then he shifted his position, moving to sit right beside the Eagle King, and whispered mournfully, “Little Eagle, Brother has avenged you, but why won’t you wake up?

Why won’t you wake up? Fourth Brother won’t argue with you anymore, you can curse me all you want, alright?

Get up quickly, Little Eagle, get up…” “Little Eagle, wake up and be happy, Fourth Brother promises I won’t fight you over anything anymore; you drink the monkey wine first; the wine Brother-in-law gave us, it’s all yours; just get up… please get up…” Suddenly, Xiong Kaishan collapsed onto the ground, weeping hysterically, “What do you want from me for you to wake up? Tell me!

Tell me! Tell me!

I’ll agree to anything, why aren’t you getting up?…” Several Bear Clan warriors approached, faces streaming with tears, saying mournfully, “My King, please control your grief! Lord Eagle King has passed into eternity… We implore you, Your Majesty… please accept this sorrow and move on.” These words, thick with nasal congestion, trailed off as they too began to weep.

Xiong Kaishan suddenly erupted in fury, leaping up and kicking the warrior who spoke down to the ground, roaring madly, “Nonsense! What rubbish did you just spew?

What do you mean, passed into eternity! Bastard!

My brother isn’t dead! My brother isn’t dead!

He isn’t dead!!!” “My brother will never die!” Xiong Kaishan shrieked! Blood and tears burst forth!

Then he roared again, “Never! Never!” With that, he suddenly threw his head back and spat out a mouthful of brilliant, dazzling red blood.

His mighty body suddenly collapsed heavily to the ground!