Chapter 1516 - War of Extermination

The sound of the charge was all the more terrifying. Before both sides even clashed, the crescendo of war had already risen to its peak; all other senses seemed to fade into the background. People even began hearing sounds that weren't there. It was as if the world itself had shattered. This was the most terrifying war that Tianming had ever witnessed. Even though it wasn't on the level of a war between different astral worlds, it was no doubt a world war!

"Dragonbound Valley...." He was well aware of what happened there. He was the one who had located Li Wushuang using Yin Chen, after all, but they didn't have a choice as they were forced into a corner. Even if they hadn't killed Li Wushuang, the war would be unavoidable as Lingfeng had killed Long Renshe. Given his absolute might, the sun emperor wouldn't hesitate to use that as a justification. When might makes right, one only needed a vaguely plausible justification to excuse just about anything.

The Ninedragon Army no longer had a way out of the fight. They were fighting with no option for retreat, something they had already anticipated; it was only a matter of time, after all. Tianming held the Lifesteal Silverdragon in his left hand and the Grand-Orient Sword in his right, ready to fight to the death along with the sect. Lingfeng and Qingyu would be safe for now, so there would be a better time to use the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. He wouldn't allow himself to escape alone anyway. Not to mention, there were still many mysteries of the sect that he hadn't discovered yet, for instance, the changes that had occurred to the nine-colored scale when he’d entered the Primodragon Cave. He watched as the totems and their masters came charging toward him. Not far away from him, the six remaining Dragon Imperials had prepared themselves for a fight to the death.

"Ninedragon Army!" the Saintdragon Emperor roared as he drew his sword, Ninedragon Imperius, a grade-eight divine artifact that was to be temporarily used by him. The thirty million troops obeyed his call, honoring their long history. "When we fight, we do so without a need for frivolous justification or a rage that colors our eyes! We’re the descendants of the dragon of origin, masters of the land around us! All we need to do is to defend our home and family to our deaths! Death comes for everyone, eventually. What's important is to make sure we live a life without regrets. Let us not suffer the regret of letting these dogs trample our home, kill our families, desecrate our ancestral tombs, and eradicate our legacy!"

That was all he needed to say. The Ninedragon Army also had a long and rich tradition. They knew that there was no backing away from this fight. "We fight until our bodies crumble! Every last kill counts!"

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The thirty million troops had a total of more than a hundred million lifebound beasts, all of them dragons roaring mightily in the sky! The dedication they showed despite being numerically disadvantaged was a sign of their true dragon spirit! Such a strong will was something that even inspired the many folks from the Myriad Solar Sects. It was no coincidence that the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect took the first place in rankings across most of history.

These thirty million troops didn't look like pushovers. The Saintdragon Emperor, Azuredragon Emperor, Greendragon Emperor, Violetdragon Empress, Crimsondragon Emperor, and Bluedragon Emperor were the key supporting pillars of the sect. Though they were rather old, they had contributed most of their lives to the sect. Now, they led the army through tough times like these and showed the determination to fight to their deaths. It looked like there wasn't even a single deserter near the Primodragon Cave, their sacred land. Even taking one step back would mean that one was trampling on the pride and soul of their people. When the order to attack was given, they all charged toward the sixty million enemies without hesitation!

The seas of totems and dragons finally clashed and the battlefield turned into a meat grinder. The fight between nearly a billion gods and their totems and lifebound beasts swallowed up the entire place. Countless bright lights flashed as flames and dragons intertwined, sending flesh and blood flying all over the place as the combatants were slowly boiled to pulp in a primordial soup. It felt like countless gates to the underworld had opened up to welcome countless souls. Such was a war between higher lifeforms on their star worlds! Once the fight began, nothing else mattered. The celestial orderians were a proud race; killing and conquest were child's play to them. On the other hand, while the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect didn't have that kind of savage culture, their unyielding determination to protect their homes and legacy was even more terrifying!

Countless booming war cries rang out, mixing with the cries of the dead and fallen. Blood burned to crisp amidst the raging flames in the air. The celestial orderians dominated the battlefield with double the number of defenders. The flames their totems generated had allowed them to dominate Orderia, and the Xuanyuans were the only ones capable of standing up to them. Now that the fight had finally broken out, they came to realize that they would suffer at least half their number in losses to wipe out their enemies.

Naturally, the sun emperor didn't intend to kill all thirty million of the Ninedragon Army, only severely cripple them. First, they would get rid of their inspirational leaders and use the Veildragon Palace to subjugate the ones that were left behind. After that, the top faction would become servants of the celestial orderians, allowing them to control the Primodragon Cave.

However, the bloodthirstiness of the Ninedragon Army proved troubling for the celestial orderians. Even with the numerical disparity, they didn't relent in the face of the charge of the enemy troops. Their dragons' abilities bombarded and killed many celestial orderians. The death toll on both sides was rising to historic heights.

Countless caeli left their bodies, floating up the skies above before entirely disappearing. Soon, piles of bloody corpses formed, blanketing the entire battlefield and leaving no ground unstained. The loud rumbles ruptured the eardrums of many, drowning out any present and future sound. Countless more lost their lives after losing their sense of hearing. One particular Ninedragon Army soldier got hacked to pieces from his blind spot. He didn't even know where his lifebound beasts were on this chaotic battlefield. As he fell, he turned to look back at the Myriaddragon Mountains one last time. "I killed three... It was worth it. Chong'er, please live on in Dragonbound Valley."