Chapter 1261: Chapter 1259: Prelude to the Great Decisive Battle, Fierce Battlefield (Part 4)
The chaotic Vigorous Air, like the sun or a celestial waterfall, poured down at an angle, blasting numerous pits and craters into the battlefield. It became the second battleground, where arms, thighs, and even heads flew chaotically through the air, shattered by the Vigorous Air before they could even touch the ground.
From time to time, Outer Heaven beings would suddenly appear, all emerging from the other end of the desert.
Under the influence of the Great Illumination Array, the bloodline auras of both sides were starkly different; upon sighting an otherworldly creature, they would pounce in a frenzy.
Here, life was the cheapest commodity of all; everyone fought to the brink of frenzy, to complete self-forgetfulness. Even the most timid and fear-driven would transform into machines of slaughter.
Because if you did not kill others, immediately there would be a butcher’s knife swinging towards you.
However, some Outer Heaven beings were not affected by the Great Illumination Array, and their bloodline aura could not be discerned. They used this advantage to launch sneak attacks on the masters of East Victory, causing significant casualties.
It was only after many masters of East Victory targeted them, preventing them from moving to new positions, that they were successfully killed.
The first battle between the two lands finally came to a bloody end.
The pit was dyed red, the strong stench of blood so pervasive that it could be clearly smelled from miles away, sending shivers down the spines of arriving masters from all directions, unable to conceive the ferocity of the battle.
And this was just the beginning. Each subsequent battle would only grow more intense, more cruel.
People began to clean up the corpses. If it was an Outer Heaven being, they would directly shatter it. If it was a warrior of East Victory, they would bury them on the spot, and sobs could occasionally be heard.
They were relatives and friends of the deceased, who had recently been arm-in-arm, promising to hold out until victory, and now they were separated by life and death.
"Outer Heaven Demons, why did you invade East Victory? I swear I won’t rest until you are slain!"
"Master, I will avenge you with blood for blood!"
"Ahh... kill, kill, kill!"
Some were in tears, some knelt in prayer, and still others howled at the sky, each venting their grief and rage.
This somber and heroic emotion infected everyone outside the pit and spread out, causing the countless steadfast masters to fall silent and gradually morph into boundless hatred and intent to kill.
At this moment, many felt as if they had traversed 160,000 years of time, catching a glimpse of their ancestors and truly understanding their feelings.
Days passed, and every moment people were entering the pit.
The cultivation levels of the warriors were no longer uniformly of the Void Origin Realm or the Divine Barrier Realm; more and more of those from the Dragon Gate Realm, Spiritual-Passage Realm, and Xuanqi Realm joined the fray, and they formed the main force.
Since their martial abilities were inadequate to cross the entire pit, they set up camp wherever they landed, following the commands of the person in charge of that area.
Others left the pit; some never returned while others brought back more people, plunging into the pit once again.
A great half of the pit was filled with people.
It wasn’t that the people of this world particularly loved their homeland and had the courage to join the killing.
In reality, it was just that the population of this world was too large. The self-mobilized warriors, in comparison to the true population base, were perhaps less than one in a hundred thousand.
The sixth day.
The second fierce battle began, this time initiated by the Outer Heaven beings.
Blood blossoms burst forth, and countless East Victory warriors were reduced to ash at the first clash, their unwilling cries lingering only to be immediately drowned out by the sounds of explosions.
In life, they were unknown, and in death, they remained obscure, acknowledged only by those familiar with them. But with their passionate blood and loyal spirits, they repaid the land they loved and guarded.
Perhaps they harbored fear, maybe regret, but they died with dignity, without complaints or regrets!
"Thank you, all you heroes, thank you, brave warriors!"
Above the passageway, Shi Xiaole looked up to the heavens and heaved a long sigh, his eyes slightly moist.
He and the other five giants did not take action, because facing them, nine Outer Heaven Giants were smiling ominously, ready for battle. If they made a move, the opposition would respond in kind, and the resulting casualties would only rise.
Soldier to soldier, general to general, that was a rule acknowledged by both sides.
The battle lasted three days and three nights.
The entire pit had sunk hundreds of meters, the ground awash in blood, congealing into bloody rivers amidst innumerable corpses and dismembered limbs.
The remains of the heroes buried after the previous battle were obliterated by this one, truly leaving no trace behind.
The setting sun dipped below the horizon, but it was not as red as the pit; even the white clouds were tinged with scarlet. People began cleaning the battlefield again, burying the bones of their compatriots.
Perhaps by the next battle, these remains would again be destroyed, but this was the only thing the living could do for the dead, and the highest respect they could offer.
"Hey, fellow brothers, if I die, please don’t bury my bones. I’d rather you save your strength to kill the Outer Heaven Demons," called out a young man with a severed leg, even as he continued his work.
"I share the same sentiment."
"So do I. Let’s make it a rule that the living shall not bury the dead. Whoever does is a coward and a weakling."
"Agreed!"
The third battle.
The number of deaths surpassed that of the second battle, this time East Victory warriors took the initiative to attack. The boundless golden desert had almost turned into a blood-red desert, and the heavy rain couldn’t wash away the smell of blood even after three days.
The young man with the broken leg, now also without his arms, clenched the sleeves of some unfamiliar corpses in his teeth and returned to the pit. He started digging a grave with his remaining left leg without saying a word.
Where had those who claimed "whosoever buried the bones would be a bastard" gone to? Perhaps they were dead, or perhaps they were burying bones for others.
"Were we wrong to break the illusionary array ahead of time?"
Gazing at the countless broken silhouettes below, Shi Xiaole felt a sourness in his heart.
Che Renzhong said, "Not going to war earlier would only have given the Outer Heaven Demons more time to prepare. If that were the case, more people would have died."
Shi Xiaole remained silent.
He bore the martial way of life and death, but there were limits to what he could do; he couldn’t heal everyone. He could only choose to save a handful of elites, giving them more time to live.
This process caused Shi Xiaole great pain because everyone was sacrificing themselves for the resistance, and he could only watch as most of them died.
Time reached the first month’s beginning.
The number of warriors that rushed to the pit reached an astonishing amount, but those from the South Sea still made up seventy percent of them. Because the East Victory mainland and Miaojiang were too far from this place, it would take their main forces several more months to arrive.
During this month, there were six ferocious and brutally intense battles between the East Victory world and the people from outer heaven. The air itself turned red, filled with the scent of blood’s iron.
Many who had just joined the battle died miserably under the enemy’s slaughter. Those who survived until the fight’s end were few and far between, and those who experienced two battles were one in ten thousand.
Even Earth Immortals of the Divine Barrier Realm had a high risk of dying in such large-scale conflicts, with over eighty percent being able to endure only three to four battles.
Only Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm endured after six battles for the most part, but even their faces were filled with exhaustion. Their vital energies were extremely weakened, dedicating any respite after the battles to burying the dead and healing their wounds.
The toll of each battle was greater than the depletion these Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors had experienced in years, or even decades. They couldn’t remember how many enemies they’d killed or how often they’d reached the brink of complete exhaustion.
Many times, seeing friends of the same Void Origin Realm facing Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors from outer heaven, either dying, perishing together, or narrowly winning, their hearts had become numb.
Death here was the norm; instead, sleep and rest became unimaginable luxuries.
Not to mention these warriors, even the six great giants were all injured.
Shi Xiaole bore the martial way of life and death, which was true, but because of this, he had become the enemy’s main target, facing the heaviest attacks every time; his injuries were the most severe in the end.
Adding to this the effort of healing others, which consumed a significant portion of his energy, after six battles, his old wounds had not healed, new ones were added, and his power had only reached sixty to seventy percent of its peak.
Of course, the other giants were no better off. At this point in the battles, everyone was essentially surviving on sheer willpower, waiting to see who could hold on to the end.
The pit had also undergone significant changes, from a few thousand meters deep at the start, it had reduced to nearly ten thousand meters, with its diameter continuously expanding.
More astonishingly, due to many powerful warriors lost, their Vigorous Air and martial energies, combined with the residual energies of the Array Systems, had inexplicably spawned a strange mist-like power.
From within the mist, strange sounds would occasionally emit, causing many to hear the voices of their deceased masters, friends, and companions, bringing them to tears.
Sitting desolately in the mist each day, remembering the times with their loved ones, they found a peace they hadn’t felt in ages. The slightest comfort made them feel blessed, quietly awaiting the next battle.
The seventh time.
The eighth time.
Fewer and fewer were dying, not because they had grown stronger but because there were fewer and fewer left to fight, on both sides.
By Shi Xiaole’s estimates, after eight confrontations, the death and injury toll between both sides exceeded two billion, with at least half coming from the East Victory side.
All within a little over a month’s time.
Now, less than two million warriors remained to defend the pit, distributed across six large regions, appearing exceedingly sparse.
The ninth battle began.
There were no valiant roars, no declarations of fighting to the death, only silent, unseen killings or being killed. In the hearts of these less than two million East Victory warriors, even saving the smallest bit of effort was good.
They needed not express anything since all their convictions were already invested in their actions.
To live is not to be merry, and to die is not to be feared.
I shall consecrate my blood to this hallowed ground!
Bang bang pow...
Explosions continuously echoed from everywhere like a heroic anthem or a mourner’s lament. Silhouettes dashed forward as if racing, never to return.
"Heh heh heh, foolish people of East Victory, you will soon be unable to hold out!"
The Blood Sea Blade Emperor sneered incessantly.
They from outer heaven had no shortage but a massive population. Each tribe was absolutely obedient to the Celestial Master, following orders without fail, like an army expanded countless times over.
After each trip back to the Overlapping Land, the Nine Heavens Ancestor would report to outer heaven, consequently sending more warriors to cross over. An arrival was hundreds or thousands of millions at once, so quick and many that their supply was never a concern.
Since the decision was made to start the fight early, the battle would carry on to the end, to see who could outlast whom!
