Before this, Jun Moxie had already imagined the strength of the alien races to the highest limit he could conceive! Yet, he still had not anticipated that this battle would descend into such devastating tragedy! From the very beginning, Heavenly Punishment suffered the loss of eight Saint Venerables, one Eagle King, three thousand Eagle warriors, and two thousand Bear warriors! Over the course of just two hours, they endured such a crushing toll! And in terms of sheer power, every single participating warrior possessed a Reverting Heaven Pill, capable of restoring any injury—a treasure equivalent to having an extra life—yet barely one-sixth of their numbers remained! So, if the entirety of the Heavenly Punishment Forest mobilized its absolute elite, how long could they possibly hold out?

Since the alien race possessed such formidable might, how did the Three Saints and One Fiend manage to win in the previous Sky-Seizing Wars? After all, Jun Moxie had based his own estimations on those historical Sky-Seizing Wars as a reference. Saints were participants; Saint Emperors were the main force; and Saint Venerables represented the absolute peak of combat power. This had always been Jun Moxie’s understanding! But now, it seemed his comprehension was flawed! Yet, the meaning conveyed by Zi Guhan and the others seemed to imply just that. At most, there might have been one final, peak confrontation involving a few supreme figures, but certainly no more than that.

“Xueyan, where is the old battlefield of the Sky-Seizing War?” Jun Moxie asked. “About a thousand li to the southwest of here,” Mei Xueyan replied, having just finished stitching the Eagle King’s body—the King’s plumage was already perfectly reapplied, making him look as magnificent as he had in life! Mei Xueyan stood blankly, answering instinctively upon hearing the question.

“Is that place guarded by the Holy Lands?” Jun Moxie raised an eyebrow. “How could it not be guarded?” Mei Xueyan responded. “Throughout all the ages, the three Great Holy Lands and the Heavenly Saint Palace have maintained extremely potent forces guarding that location! In ten thousand years, that Sky-Seizing battlefield has never once fallen!”

“En, it’s guarded there?!” A blade-like glint flashed in Jun Moxie’s eyes. “If that location has other masters standing guard, why haven't they come over while the fighting here has become earth-shattering? The upheaval here is no ordinary event—the Divine Pillar separating the two continents has collapsed!”

“Where exactly are they right now?” Jun Moxie slowly lifted his gaze toward the distance, speaking with an unnervingly detached tone. “The collapse of the Heavenly Pillar Mountain generated immense power. Under such force, let alone ordinary people, even those at the Divine Profound or Supremacy levels, perhaps even Venerables, would have a high chance of being buried within. Even Saints, facing such awe-inspiring Heavenly Might, would likely be injured! But it certainly couldn’t injure a Saint Emperor! A Saint Venerable! Since that location is so crucial, the masters stationed there... must be at least at the Saint level, right?! If they aren't dead, they couldn't possibly be unaware of this turn of events. The alien race came with overwhelming force this time—could they not see it?! But why? Why haven't they arrived?”

The sound of Jun Moxie’s words was faint, yet, not only Mei Xueyan, who knew him well, but even the slow-witted Bear King, Xiong Kaishan, clearly sensed the bone-chilling coldness embedded in his tone! Since Jun Moxie had lived two lives, he had never suffered losses so catastrophic. After this battle, this vanguard force had been virtually wiped out, losing over eighty percent of its strength, including the Heavenly Punishment Beast King, the Eagle King, and the entire elite guard of the Eagle race. The less than a thousand Bear warriors who miraculously survived were all wounded, their fighting capability greatly diminished. With such a heavy price paid, with so many brothers lost, how could Jun Moxie not be wounded by grief?

If one said Mei Xueyan’s heart was shattered and her tender soul rent in two, Jun Moxie was no less afflicted, perhaps even more so. At least Mei Xueyan could secretly weep when alone, and she had the comfort of Young Master Jun! Jun Moxie, however, could only bury all this sorrow and pain deep within his heart, unable to confide in anyone! Because he was a man! And a leader!

Objectively speaking, although the sacrifices made by Heavenly Punishment in this battle were immense, the results achieved were spectacularly glorious. By losing just over five thousand of their own, they managed to annihilate more than twenty times their number in enemy forces, which included thirteen of the alien race’s highest-level entities, the Supreme Heavenly Ninjas, over a hundred Mad Blade Earth Ninjas, and hundreds of thousands of the alien army. Such an outcome had never been achieved by the Xuanxuan Continent side in the ten thousand years prior; it was surely not only unprecedented but also unrepeatable!

Yet, no matter how brilliant the achievement, it failed to touch the heart of Young Master Jun. Even the greatest victory could not bring back the lives of his own kin! Jun Moxie was fiercely protective of his own. In his heart, not just a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, but even the entire alien race combined was not worth as much as a single one of his Heavenly Punishment brothers! Jun Moxie always knew war was rife with sacrifice; wherever there was war, sacrifice was inevitable! But he desperately wished that sacrifice would not befall his own people. This was why he spared no cost in boosting the combat power of the Heavenly Punishment Profound Beasts and even equipped every single person with heaven-defying divine medicine like the 'Reverting Heaven Pill,' ensuring each one had one—but still, sacrifice could not be avoided! The grief and pain in Jun Moxie’s heart were therefore unimaginable! And he had no one to vent to! All the alien foes had vanished without a trace, and this matter seemingly had nothing to do with the Heavenly Saint Palace or the Three Great Holy Lands...

But at this very juncture, Jun Moxie unexpectedly learned that there were indeed other, very strong masters specifically tasked with guarding the mountain pillar—and this revelation caused Jun Moxie to erupt into absolute fury! Furious to the extreme! Just moments ago, amid the chaotic ebb and flow of battle, after grasping the true strength of the Heavenly Saint Palace and the Three Great Holy Lands, he had been calculating the relative power of the two sides. But now, he ceased calculating altogether! The enemy’s strength no longer mattered; he would simply fight on until the end, and the truth would emerge in time. Whether the opponents were strong or weak, they were all going to be utterly annihilated! Since it was destined that only one side could survive, their relative strength was irrelevant! However, learning that the guarding masters at Heavenly Pillar Mountain, who clearly possessed the capability to intervene, had steadfastly remained absent, sent Jun Moxie’s anger soaring to its zenith! The Heavenly Punishment Allied Forces had basically been annihilated this time. Under such horrific circumstances, those people had refused to offer aid! If they had lent their strength, would the eight senior Saint Venerables of Heavenly Punishment have all perished? Would the Eagle King and the Eagle warriors have all been sacrificed?

Jun Moxie’s words still hung in the air when Mei Xueyan’s breath hitched, and an unconcealed, deep-seated hatred flashed in her beautiful eyes! She had been too consumed by grief moments before to think too deeply. But jolted by Jun Moxie’s reminder, Mei Xueyan felt as if she had been struck by a sudden Heavenly Tribulation—as if struck by five bolts of lightning—and her heart violently exploded! Why? In order to help you resist the alien race, we of Heavenly Punishment gave our all! From the moment the incident at Heavenly Pillar Mountain occurred, we dispatched troops, traveling thousands of li to the site of the battle... This was all for the sake of the Central Continent, for you! But... why, when our first contingent of allied forces arrived after days and nights of travel, and immediately engaged the alien race, did you remain uninvolved until we were nearly wiped out? And you, who were so close, never once stepped in to offer support, not even a single person has appeared until this very moment! Why?! Do you still choose to stand by idly at a moment like this, merely watching the tigers fight?! Do you truly take us for mindless fools?!

“Damn it!” Mei Xueyan ground out the words through clenched teeth. The killing intent she had been suppressing since before now surged forth uncontrollably! Even if you did not personally kill my brothers, you are indirectly responsible for their deaths! Such scoundrels are even more detestable than those invading alien invaders! This feud, this hatred, can never be shared under the same sky!

Jun Moxie let out a cold snort filled with killing intent but said no more. He immediately took out the finest medicine and began treating the miraculously surviving Bear warriors.

The cry of a crane echoed from the distant sky. Looking out, they saw a vast expanse like connecting white clouds, sweeping in mightily! The second wave of reinforcements, led by Ying Bokong and Feng Juanyun, arrived with the Remnant Soul Devourers and three hundred Profound Cranes from the Crane race! They were a full half hour later than the expected time! Jun Moxie’s face was set like iron!

That night, the Heavenly Punishment Evil Monarch’s forces pitched camp thirty li from the battlefield, yet not a single person could sleep. Nor did anyone weep. The entire camp was terribly silent, the oppressive atmosphere almost suffocating. In the pre-dawn hours, the Crane King, He Chongxiao, arrived with the Tiger King, leading the third echelon of six thousand warriors! In the silent, still camp, the Crane King suddenly let out a cry of grief so profound it could shake the heavens...

Mei Xueyan did not sleep all night. She hadn't even shifted her posture, remaining seated before the Eagle King’s corpse in the tent for the entire night—a silent, still night. By Heavenly Punishment custom, on the first night after a brother’s death, a relative or elder must keep vigil, symbolizing sending him off on his final journey. Mei Xueyan, as the Eagle King’s most respected elder sister, should have been the first choice, but she was also the Heavenly Punishment Sovereign. Heavenly Punishment rules dictated that the Sovereign could not keep vigil for their subjects, not even for their own brother, the fellow Heavenly Punishment Beast King, the Eagle King. In the Heavenly Punishment Profound Beasts, the strong respected the strong; this had been the rule since antiquity. As the possessor of the greatest strength, the Sovereign was forbidden from keeping vigil for any subject! But Mei Xueyan completely disregarded this rule! She quietly stayed with her brother through this final night, sending him off on his final path. The spirit tablets of the eight Saint Venerables and the three thousand Eagle warriors were all arranged neatly. The altar was crowded, as if the Profound Eagles were still arrayed in battle formation...

Jun Moxie, Mei Xueyan, Crane King He Chongxiao, Bear King Xiong Kaishan, and Tiger King Hu Liede sat silently, motionless like five statues. The corners of the Crane King’s, Bear King’s, and Tiger King’s mouths twitched incessantly, yet they forced themselves to remain silent. They were afraid that the moment they opened their mouths, they would lose control and begin to weep aloud.