Chapter 1064: Difficult to Determine a Victor (V)

Li Hao didn’t move as his people withdrew. He faced down Divine Nation, enveloping the world with a fearsome aura.

Across the way from him, the queen swiftly convened with a group of divine spirits.

“Your body is completely rotten after you’ve forced three hundred and sixty acupoints open,” she declared frostily. “Do not think that this queen cannot identify your true state, Li Hao. You are at the end of your tether and your body will explode anytime!”

“That’s right, my body can’t hold up under the strain and may break anytime.” Li Hao nodded with a smile in response to her cold glare. “But so what? I attack you when I want and I withdraw when I feel like it. Can you stop me?”

The queen’s expression shifted and a divine spirit behind her roared, “You court death!”

It charged out; flames rose into the air when it erupted with formidable power. The god of fire!

Li Hao raised his sword in response and struck!

There was no disturbance or major sound forthcoming, just a simple crack. The god of fire abruptly split into two and fell apart.

“Do you still want to stop me?” Li Hao smiled.

The Divine Nation queen’s eyes widened with horror! Li Hao was too strong at this moment. Even if he really was at the end of his rope, how many divine spirits would it take to pull him down?

“Li Hao...” The queen tamped down her towering fury. “This queen will wait for your body to crumble to pieces. The day you die is the day Skystar falls!”

Pieces of flesh rained down from the young man’s face when he smiled. “How will that ever come to pass? I would hardly die that easily since you love me so much, Moon God. This is just the collapse of the physical body. Do you think I won’t be able to do anything about this?

“The only pity of the day is that the Ninth Division leader’s replica died. I won’t be able to look him in the eyes the next time I see him.” He sighed and looked at the void. “You can withdraw now, Senior Zhang. Neither does that divine spirit need to waste more energy. Be careful of causing your own death...”

Li Hao laughed heartily. The sky ripped open and Zhang An stumbled into view. Within the divine temple, the prophet’s body crumbled away and it bled profusely. The tang of blood filled the air.

Although Zhang An had been fighting all this time, he was aware of the situation. He looked around with a complicated expression. He, or rather, all of the ancients in this battle apart from a few such as Li Daozong, the imperial guard, and Director General Wang, had not fought with their full capabilities.

That was fine in the advent of a winning battle, but once Li Hao was preoccupied or suppressed by the enemy, none of his New Martial reinforcements had the effect they should have had—including Zhang An.

The man didn’t find himself fit for company and didn’t say a word. Li Hao didn’t seem to mind anything; he was simply a little regretful.

“Next time, then.” He smiled at the divine spirits in front of him. “Let’s leave it for now at this time. I’m still alive, Moon God. This will be your nation’s final destination. You will face the consequences if you take a single step forward!”

He rose into the air and landed on a warship, gazing out at his troops with an apologetic look. “Today is my failing. I, Li Hao, have underrated the heroes of the world! I thank everyone for your kind support! The days ahead are long and when we next set foot into Divine Nation, that will be when it is toppled!”

The three war ships zipped through the air! Zhang An sighed and followed the army as well.

“Your Majesty...” The divine spirits didn’t know what to do with themselves. The queen coughed, blood flowing from her numerous words.

“Let them go,” she forced out through clenched teeth. “The prophet... cannot hold on!”

Dismay filtered through the crowd and they swiftly flew toward the divine temple. They soon saw the god of prophecy whose blood filled the hall.

“Goddess of life, heal the prophet’s wounds first.” The queen coughed up blood. “While we have suffered a loss, so has Li Hao’s side. Large numbers of his powerhouses might die after today...

“Li Hao should understand after this that those of New Martial are unreliable!”

None of the divine spirits made a sound. They’d also felt over the course of the battle that these New Martial citizens were completely different from their past selves. New Martial had been so strong then. But this time, whether it was the puppets or replicas, all of them seemed to be... just going through the motions.

Well, not going through the motions, but they lacked a certain faith, a certain resolution that they had to fight!

“That is correct... it is because... they lack... faith!” chucked the prophet when it stopped vomiting blood. “They are not of Skystar and were not fighting for New Martial. Were they to self-detonate for Li Hao? The young man knew that as well, so although Zhang An nearly defeated me, he chose to retreat. Li Hao knew that if this continued, his losses would be just as severe as ours!

“Your Majesty... be wary of Li Hao... Do not pin your hopes on his body collapsing... If the young man truly was on death’s doorstep, he would not leave. He would fight to the death!”

The queen’s expression shifted and she ground her teeth. “I know, which is why I did not continue the battle either.”

“Everything I saw before might still come to pass because of Li Hao...” sighed the prophet. “Be careful, be ever more careful. His lack of accomplishment today may not be a bad thing for him. He has had smooth sailing ever since entering the world. Snapping his weapons and sinking into the sand may be the day’s outcome, but he did not fully lose control even then. His heart... is terrifying!”

It would have been a good thing if Li Hao had completely lost his head. But, he didn’t. Even at the last, he smoothly took everyone away. He chose to withdraw instead of continuing the battle. To the prophet, that was the most daunting aspect of the young man.

“I know,” nodded the queen. “Please recover from your wounds first. The rest will come with me. Do not disturb the prophet!”

The divine spirits filed out of the temple.

......

At the same time.

Li Hao’s body continued to fall apart. His life force was being maintained by sword energy and Water of Life.

Zhang An hesitated, but still chose to walk over. He looked at Li Hao and was silent for a while before saying slowly, “If... we were in the age of New Martial, I might have been able to kill that prophet if I paid a certain price...”

“It’s fine!” Li Hao nodded with a smile. “If I didn’t care about my life and paid the price as well, I would’ve been able to kill large sums of divine spirits. I could’ve shattered all of my dao meridians, but I didn’t do so, did I? Even I... am afraid of death. I am not prepared to sacrifice myself either.

“The powerhouses of my Skystar Commander Office only erupted with full strength at the last possible second. This is just human nature!”

When his own people weren’t prepared to make grave sacrifices, how could they expect others to give up their lives just for some profit? It was enough that those unrelated to the age were willing to enter the battlefield.

“We can ignore the terms that you agreed to before...” Zhang An said after some hesitation.

“There’s no need for that!” Li Hao shook his head. “Don’t worry, senior. I am satisfied with your presence on the battlefield! I will absolutely make good on my promises when I’ve recovered from my wounds!”

The young man smiled when Zhang An wanted to speak further. “Stop being so fussy, senior, and go rest!”

Zhang An sighed and turned to leave. Li Hao remained on the ship’s bow and looked into the west. Behind him, Silver Moon martial masters smiled radiantly, despite pieces of their body falling off of them every second. The burnt Yuan Shuo walked up to Li Hao and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder, accidentally removing the whole arm.

“It’s my disciple who is the most filial after all...” He smiled awkwardly.

Li Hao smiled, but didn’t make a sound.

“We can only rely on ourselves in the end!” grumbled a He Yong heaving for breath. “I will never trust outsiders again!”

“Strengthening ourselves is the proper way!” Li Hao said calmly. “I wrongly estimated myself and the enemy today. But, it wasn’t a loss!”

Not a loss at all, I found the body dao meridian!

It was on the queen’s body and he’d thoroughly scanned her entire body. This battle had not been a loss. Just... a bit of a blow to morale. The others might not know, but at least he and the Silver Moon martial masters were slapped awake by this engagement!

“Haven’t we still benefited in the end?” the young man suddenly roared with laughter. “It was a glorious victory!”

“Glorious victory!” The apprehensive soldiers broke out in ear-splitting roars and sighs of relief. They’d been very nervous that they hadn’t been able to defeat Divine Nation. Not to mention, the commander and the rest of the leaders were in very poor shape. Everyone had been very worried, but now they could breathe more easily.

At least the commander still had the strength to yell!

Li Hao grinned again, but it seemed more of a grimace. He tilted his head to the north.

Ninth Division leader... this time, I’ll accept your judgment of being unable to be taught. But you don’t need to think too little of me. It’s just one defeat, and it’s not a setback in my eyes. This was just a small hurdle that we weren’t able to cross.

A feeble dao meridian quietly materialized in his dilapidated body, like a small dragon. It was very weak, but started growing swiftly.

Li Hao’s grin broadened.

At the very least... we attained our goal, no? I’ve got you, body dao meridian!

I’ll come back for you, Moon God!

The warships flew into the distance, but didn’t return to Silver Moon. Li Hao led them to the Skystar mine.

......

Skystar Town.

Dense energy wafted out of the massive mine. Li Hao brought everyone inside with him, including the fifty thousand soldiers. It was the soldiers’ first time entering this kind of ruin. The thick ambient energy transformed their bodies.

“Everyone has earned great merit for marching on Divine Nation,” sounded Li Hao. “As a reward, you may absorb as much energy as you’d like for three days. However great your fortune is and however many acupoints you clear is up to you!”

No restrictions for three days! If they were lucky, they might be able to clear a couple dozen acupoints. The outside world was too lacking in energy; there was almost an unlimited amount here.

Li Hao headed further inside with his group of people, heading deeper into the mine.

“Commander, shall I head up first to handle the affairs of the city?” Lin Hongyu shifted uncomfortably.

“There’s no need! Skystar City won’t fall into disorder after just one day!” Li Hao’s body continued to split open; he was holding himself together purely through sword energy. Despite his general state, he was very calm. “Come in with me!”

He turned to Zhang An. “Senior, I’ll have to trouble you to keep Priest Jiang Li company. I won’t be attending to him.”

Zhang An blinked, then nodded in understanding.