Chapter 896: Chen Chu's Return, That Man Cannot Be Trusted (II)

After the meeting, Chen Chu headed to the foremost ship on the left flank, Battleship 1. He had just appeared, back in his human form, when the guards on the deck grew visibly excited and saluted him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Although there was a major realm difference between kings and heavenly kings, the formal title used within the Federation was the same. They didn’t follow the Heavenly Feathered Race’s way of addressing their chief gods, nor the Purgatory Clan’s usage of "Princes."

"No need to be so formal." Chen Chu nodded slightly, then flashed across the deck, appearing atop Mech No.1’s shoulder several kilometers away.

No.1’s massive head slowly turned to look at him. From within, Luo Fei’s voice rang out with a soft laugh. "Congratulations on reaching the heavenly king level."

"It’s not bad." Chen Chu smiled. Only in front of people like Luo Fei and his other friends did he allow himself to feel at ease.

"By the way, Luo Fei, where’s Li Daoyi?" Chen Chu swept his spiritual awareness across Battleship 1, a little surprised not to sense his aura.

Luo Fei replied, "When the planes overlapped earlier, we encountered a Purgatory legion and engaged in a large-scale battle. Li Daoyi charged in first. He ran into a noble with power at the peak of the Ninth Heavenly Realm. Although he managed to slay the opponent, he himself was severely wounded; even his foundations were damaged. He’s currently recuperating aboard Battleship 7."

"That bad?" Chen Chu was surprised. With Li Daoyi’s strength and the speed granted by his lightning law, he should have been more than capable of dominating the battlefield as long as he stayed cautious and avoided powerful demon kings. Chen Chu hadn’t expected him to be the first one down the moment the battle began.

Chen Chu shook his head, and then his eyes suddenly narrowed. By now, the fleet had entered a region of scorched earth. The sky was dim, and the faintly pervasive demonic qi in the air obscured even the silver moonlight.

This was a region already contaminated by the Purgatory Empire. The moment they entered, Chen Chu felt a mysterious gaze falling upon them from somewhere unseen.

Hum!

A pair of black-and-gold vertical pupils appeared in Chen Chu’s eyes. His vision swept the land in all directions, instantly locking onto a Purgatory legion assembled in formation thirty thousand kilometers ahead.

The legion ahead numbered over three million. Billowing demonic qi surged through the sky, blotting out the heavens and sun. At the forefront stood a great demon king with three heads and ten arms, towering two thousand meters tall, surrounded by dense, swirling demonic qi. Even Chen Chu felt a hint of danger from his presence.

At the same time, more than fifty thousand kilometers to the fleet's left, another Purgatory legion, numbering over two million, was rapidly approaching. The demonic qi it exuded spread across thousands of kilometers like a black tide.

In addition, from the rear-right of the fleet, another terrifying aura was closing in at alarming speed. A towering figure, ten thousand meters tall and cloaked in golden-black armor, advanced like a world-destroying demon king. The murderous aura it radiated painted heaven and earth in shades of dark red. Mountains collapsed and the land split wherever it passed; its arrival was nothing short of cataclysmic.

"Halt!"

The moment Chen Chu sensed something amiss, Heavenly King Zhenwu’s voice rang out sharply as well. Evidently, he and the others had also perceived the danger through their own powerful senses.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chen Chu, Zhenwu, Heavenly King Xuanwu, and Heavenly King Jiuyou all appeared above the fleet. Zhenwu’s expression turned grim. "We’ve been targeted. Three Purgatory legions are converging from different directions. We must break out immediately. If we get stuck here, even more legions, demon kings, and great demon kings will be drawn in."

Chen Chu looked toward the rear-right and locked his gaze onto the apocalyptic figure in the distance. "Zhenwu, leave Zuo Mo to me."

Chen Chu had always felt something odd about Xiao Tianyi. Back when he first learned of Xiao Tianyi’s legendary feat of reaching the Ninth Heavenly Realm in just a year, he had sensed that a confrontation between them was inevitable. That was also why, when An Fuqing approached him with the truth of what had happened in the past, he didn’t reject her request for help.

Because of his secluded cultivation, he had missed the earlier battle between Xiao Tianyi's human form and his Purgatory form. He hadn't expected to run into him again so soon.

Truthfully, Chen Chu only half believed what Xiao Tianyi and An Fuqing had said. However, with the Dragon Emperor breaking through to the ancient titan level and him reaching the heavenly king level, none of it mattered anymore. Whatever Xiao Tianyi was planning, he would smash it all.

Yet when Chen Chu made his request, Zhenwu shook his head. "I will deal with Zuo Mo. That situation is more complicated than it seems. I have a few things I need to confirm with him. Chen Chu, take the legion to the left. Don’t hold back. Break through with full force, then link up with Xuanwu and tear apart the central enemy force."

He paused slightly before continuing. "And be wary of Xiao Tianyi. He may be lurking in the shadows. That man carries far too many secrets, and cannot be trusted."

"...Understood." Chen Chu gave a short nod.

"Attack!"

Boom!

With a thunderous howl from Heavenly King Zhenwu, an aura of supreme-level might erupted from him. Black divine light surged as he ascended into the skies in his true form, a towering figure stretching ten thousand meters tall.

The True Martial Stele expanded along with him in his hands. It became a colossal monument suspended between heaven and earth, and smashed straight toward Zuo Mo, who had appeared some twenty thousand kilometers away.

The force of his strike tore space apart, forming a massive black hole. Its power far surpassed that of ordinary demon gods.

"Fleet, full speed ahead. Deploy legion formation!" As Zhenwu struck, Heavenly King Xuanwu bellowed his command. A thick, steady aura, like that of the vast earth, erupted from his body.

Roar!

A deep, ancient cry echoed through the heavens as a Black Tortoise, thousands of meters long, emerged from the void. Waves of solidified dark-yellow qi rippled outward, vaguely forming the image of an entire landmass.

Boom!

The entire battlefield trembled, and the space surrounding the fleet thickened dramatically under the permeating yellow light. Simultaneously, on the surfaces of the thirteen battleships, countless battle patterns lit up. On the decks, unmanned mechs and cultivators were already in position. Their vitality surged forth, releasing waves of purple light that intertwined and merged.

Soon, a giant purple ring with a diameter of over a thousand kilometers appeared, superimposed over the Black Tortoise.

In that instant, the ancient Black Tortoise let out another roar. Its dark-yellow radiance intensified, and its body swelled to ten thousand meters, while its aura became overwhelming.

With the amplification of the orbital fleet and the million-man battle-pattern legion, the power of the late-stage Heavenly King Xuanwu skyrocketed. His combat strength was now comparable to the peak of the heavenly king level and even faintly surpassed its limits.

This was precisely why Chen Chu and the Federation had placed such importance on the dissemination of battle patterns.

Watching this, Jiuyou smiled faintly. "So, Chen Chu, now do you understand why his title is ‘Xuanwu’?[1] His True Martial Phantom is literally a tortoise."

"I’ll admit I didn’t expect that," Chen Chu replied with a nod.

"I’m heading out too. Be careful on your side. Those pinnacle great demon kings are not the same as ordinary ones. Each of them wields pseudo world-level weapons and possesses overwhelming strength."

As Jiuyou spoke, a black ring of light appeared behind him, resembling a portal connected to the underworld. Within it, over a hundred black, grotesque mechs, each a kilometer tall, began to surface.

These mechs were also covered in battle patterns. However, they differed from those Chen Chu had provided to the Federation. They were far more eerie and cold, as though fused with something else entirely. It appeared that after receiving the battle pattern techniques, Jiuyou had reforged these mechs, incorporating his own modifications into their design.

"Jiuyou, you should be careful too." With that, Chen Chu glanced up at the Black Tortoise in the sky. In the next instant, his figure vanished and reappeared a thousand kilometers away.

Boom!

A heavy, earth-shaking aura burst from Chen Chu's body. Purple lightning arced outward, while golden flames ignited, forming a vast sea of fire that stretched across more than a thousand kilometers. The blazing inferno resembled a sun; the dazzling light it cast illuminated the heavens and earth, dispelling the surrounding black mist and demonic qi.

At the center of the fire sea, Chen Chu’s body rapidly expanded as he once again revealed his True Demon God Form: three faces, eight arms, and an imposing presence. In his hands appeared the colossal Eight Desolations Creation Halberd, stretching two thousand meters long.

Boom!

The entire void seemed to collapse inward. Space shattered beneath the weight of the weapon, as though Chen Chu wasn’t wielding a mere halberd, but an entire mountain range compressed into a ten-thousand-meter spear of destruction. Yet just as he crossed over thirty thousand kilometers, drawing close to the surging, rapidly approaching black demonic cloud, even Chen Chu had to pause.

A strange and utterly jarring scene appeared before him. A ceremonial procession approached, led by demons carrying plaques inscribed with proclamations of "Where the Prince arrives, all must retreat." On both flanks, witches scattered white flower petals into the sky. Four trolls hoisted a royal palanquin, and enormous DJ sound systems on either side blared music.

Most absurd of all, the song playing through the speakers was none other than the Human Federation’s national anthem.

There was a stone demon at the front of the procession, its body naturally petrified and impervious to pressure. As the golden sea of fire surged ahead and Chen Chu stood firm at its center, blocking the path, it roared, "Insolent human! Kneel before the arrival of Prince Hamdanman!"

"What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?" Chen Chu’s deep, icy voice echoed across heaven and earth. In the next moment, an aura of annihilation descended. The sky ahead shattered as the world crumbled. A golden-black halberd, ten thousand meters long, swept across the sky, wrapped in transparent sequence chains of principle.

Boom!

The world itself began to quake from the impact of supreme-level principle power. Before the weapon even landed, the force radiating from it created waves of solidified pressure that blasted across thousands of kilometers.

Prince Hamdanman's ceremonial procession was obliterated instantly. The demons carrying plaques, tossing flower petals, and hoisting speakers exploded into blood mist. The surrounding Purgatory legion collapsed layer by layer like harvested wheat, shattering apart in a wave of devastation that looked like the arrival of the apocalypse.

1. Xuanwu translates to the Black Tortoise, one of the four divine beasts of China. ☜