Chapter 464: Chapter 1: The Mortal Countries Feign Combat, the Celestial Vault People Are the Main Force Against Chaos
"They’re acting as if they’ve never even heard of the Celestial Vault Kingdom, as if it’s a country that was never recorded in history, right?"
Westheid interrupted.
"Yes, Brother. How did you know... My apologies. I was overthinking things. You’ve always known."
Yolanda had wanted to ask how Westheid had kept up with the latest intelligence while in seclusion, but then she had a second thought. ’Precognition is just part of his standard kit. It’s nothing to be surprised about.’
Westheid stroked his chin and sighed:
"Temporal Chaos..."
When it came to calamities in the Age of Strife, the combined disasters of all other nations couldn’t match the devastation of Temporal Chaos. This was the big one, something the Sea of Chaos had been brewing for tens of millions of years.
In other words, the "Age of Strife" itself was born from Chaos’s reaction to the Celestial Vault Kingdom. The other Mortal Realms were just collateral damage. Consequently, Chaos focused the vast majority of its power on the Celestial Vault Kingdom, bent on utterly destroying this first and most ancient Realm of Order.
Compared to what the Celestial Vault Kingdom was facing, the pressure from Chaos in the Mortal World... was frankly pathetic. Although it was several times stronger than before, this level of corruption couldn’t break anyone’s defenses. The only reason Chaos scored its highest K/D ratio in the Mortal World was because he himself had caused the collapse of the Imperial’s Little Holy Tree System.
In the Country of Yonglan and the Thousand Laws Royal Court, the Chaos invasion wasn’t a major threat. Any Demon that showed up could be easily pummeled.
This wasn’t to say Chaos had grown weak; its main forces simply weren’t here. The majority of the Chaos Tide’s power had surged toward the Celestial Vault Kingdom, unleashing Temporal Chaos upon the kingdom in the high heavens.
Temporal Chaos was a calamity caused by Chaos distorting the most fundamental rule of Order—Time. Within the vortex of collapse, time and space would become completely disordered, lost in the rifts of time.
Some Floating Cities would turn into wastelands tens of millions of years in the future, desolate and empty. Others would revert to kingdoms of ancient times, growing more and more distant from the Celestial Vault People. Still others were bombarded by Temporal Turbulence and forced into a state of stasis.
While the side of Order was thrown into disarray, Chaos could continuously stack its Chaos Hundred Forms from all spacetimes—to Chaos, there is no concept of time. Whether it was Chaos Demons from the past, the Chaos Hundred Forms of the present, or the Chaos Creatures of the future, they were all part of the same family.
As for the creations of Order, just kill them all.
Even though the Celestial Vault Kingdom was without a doubt the strongest Realm of Order, having dominated the skies alone for millennia, it was suffering immensely in the face of such an unreasonable calamity.
"The Dragon Race’s involvement only made the already chaotic situation worse. Given the Celestial Vault Kingdom’s power, even a host of Dragons that had been conserving their strength would be nothing more than a roadside pest to be kicked away."
"But this was the last straw. Brother, the Celestial Vault Kingdom can’t hold on for much longer."
Yolanda said:
"The two Celestial Vault People you know, Jing Mu and Jing Xiao, have come down from the Celestial Vault Kingdom. They are lobbying the various nations for support. Since you were in seclusion, I asked them to return for the time being, but I also gave them my assurance that I would inform you of this matter at the first opportunity."
The platinum-blonde girl studied Westheid’s expression and asked:
"Lord Brother, what is your decision?"
"What is there to hesitate about? Even setting aside the debt we owe Jing Mu and the others for aiding the Qinghui Territory, we must send support for the sake of the greater good."
’So that’s why the Chaos invasion has been so lackluster,’ Westheid mused. ’My peaceful days were only possible because someone else was bearing the heavy burden!’
’The Mortal Countries are just feinting and avoiding the real fight. The Celestial Vault People are the main force resisting Chaos!’
’Tackling the Celestial Vault Kingdom... Before, Westheid would have felt a little unconfident. But after breaking through to the Demigod Realm, his confidence had exploded! It surged! It skyrocketed!’
’In the Mortal World, what is there that I cannot match, that I cannot defeat? Is there anything at all?!’
Hearing this, Yolanda was not the least bit surprised. She nodded and said:
"I knew you’d say that. The two Highnesses thought so as well, so they’ve already assembled their troops and headed to the Imperial Capital. The Imperial has also answered the Celestial Vault Kingdom’s call for aid and is assembling an expeditionary fleet in the Imperial Capital."
How can any egg remain intact in a toppled nest? Everyone understood that if one falls, the next is in peril. Especially after experiencing the turmoil of the Age of Strife, no one would forget this truth. This era had no room for fools in power, to say nothing of the fact that Regent King Sylvia was an intelligent woman; she would make the appropriate decision.
"Are you leaving again?"
Ailorus puffed out her cheeks and asked, hugging Westheid’s waist.
"I have no choice. It really is a case of ’with great power comes great responsibility’."
Westheid said to the Elf Lolita:
"If you’d like, you can come with me."
Duke Qinghui intended to spread the Qinghui Law wherever he went. Its fundamental principles were based on the Thousand Laws Ceremony, so as long as he was willing to grant her access, the Wind Law Queen wouldn’t be completely helpless. Even if she wasn’t as strong as she was in the Land of Rhythm, she would still be a true Powerhouse.
"Mhm!"
Ailorus’s face lit up with a smile, and she nodded vigorously.
Having just ended his seclusion, Westheid hurriedly began preparing to set out again. Thanks to Yolanda’s advance preparations, he officially departed for the Imperial Capital the very next day.
Aboard the Floating Battleship, Westheid sat cross-legged in the main control room. From his perspective, the Qinghui Law followed the fleet like a shadow wherever it went. This was on top of the strongholds the Qinghui Legion had already established in these regions. A Domain now permanently surrounded his very person—an application of Divinity. As for the source of that Divinity, he had the Master of Extinction to thank.
He was going to rescue the Celestial Vault Kingdom not just for the greater good, but also for his own selfish reasons. He was going to fulfill a promise.
Wan Qi... Westheid had once shared her countless battle memories, savoring her loneliness and pain. He had also promised this most ancient of Demons that he would free her from her cage.
He hadn’t done it before because there were more urgent matters and because his strength had been insufficient. Facing the battlefield of the Celestial Vault Kingdom, a mere Legendary Celestial Rank was truly out of his league.
’But now, I’ve ascended to Demigod! If I still cower and hesitate, then what was the point of ascending?!’
’Fucking hell, I will never tolerate cowardice!’
’People can call me scummy and a scoundrel, but they can never say I’m a coward!’
"My love, you need not be hasty. I can still wait. Besides, the situation in the Celestial Vault Kingdom... is quite delicate. Although I cannot clearly perceive the kingdom above the celestial veil, I can sense something strange. You... must be careful."
"Don’t worry. I’ve never been careless. I’m going all out this time, but I’ll advance steadily and surely. I’m sure there won’t be any problems. Wan Qi, say no more. I *will* save you!"
Despite his words, Westheid’s expression was relaxed. His string of victories had made him believe unshakably in his own destiny.
’As long as I face them with courage, perseverance, wisdom, and a little bit of luck, then no difficulty can stand in my way!’
"I just feel... since my love has already chosen his path, then I can only look forward to it. I will await the moment we are reunited."
In the end, Wan Qi accepted Westheid’s decision. Even though she repeatedly emphasized the gravity of the situation in the Celestial Vault Kingdom, she herself also longed for freedom and to see Westheid again.
The fleet set out from Su Yue, vast and mighty. Even though he had to spend effort along the way to inscribe the Qinghui Domain and test the power of his Law, Westheid still reached the Imperial Capital in just two weeks.
The Imperial Capital, which he hadn’t seen in years, looked much the same as when Westheid had left it. The central heart of the Imperial had, after all, not suffered any destruction or corruption. However, compared to its past extravagance and prosperity, it had gained a heavy, martial atmosphere.
Around the periphery of the Imperial Capital, countless military camps had appeared. Foreign legions were encamped in the suburbs, while overhead, ship after ship of the Floating Fleet hovered in the sky. The communication vessels zipping back and forth bore a wide variety of crests, giving the impression that a massive, million-strong army from all corners of the land had been hastily cobbled together.
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