But with how much time and effort Jiang Chen and the others had put into preparations, they weren’t going to let Lightford regain the upper hand.
Jiang Chen spoke up from the shadows, interrupting Lightford’s angry spiel. “This battle will determine Myriad Abyss’s future. What are you all waiting for?”
Lightford’s heart sank as he recognized the voice. He said hoa.r.s.ely, “Kid, it’s you!”
What answered him wasn’t Jiang Chen’s voice, but fierce attacks from all directions.
“Be careful!” Lightford boomed. As soon as he said that, he sensed the two sacred beasts he’d fought in Eternal.
The Vermilion Bird and the Black Tortoise attacked at almost the same time. Unbridled torrents of flame and Black Tortoise Festering Gas separated Lightford from the others.
All went according to their plan.
Lightford was powerful, but even he couldn’t keep an eye on the others while the two spirit creatures were after him.
Moreover, An Kasyapa had been watching, ready to lend the sacred beasts a helping hand at anytime. If Lightford tried to rescue his people, Kasyapa would undoubtedly join the fight.
Jiang Chen’s leaders.h.i.+p played an important role here.
Meanwhile, Eternal’s forefather led a dozen divine cultivators in an unstoppable charge against the seven G.o.ds Lightford had brought with him.
Everyone knew this was a battle for their survival. No one was to spare any effort. The battlefield turned into a veritable thunderstorm of fire and fury.
The seven cultivators were no easy prey, but had no time to react given that they’d been caught by surprise. They were already beyond hope when they realized that Lightford couldn’t spare the effort to help them.
The sacred lands were two to three times as powerful as Lightford’s people, and they had the initiative. The outcome of the battle was decided before it even began.
Three of Lightford’s people were knocked unconscious. The remaining four tried to resist despite being cornered. However, losing three companions compounded their plight.
Resistance was futile. In no time, they were as if candles in the wind. They could be snuffed out anytime!
“Resist on pain of death! Surrender, and we let you live.” Jiang Chen exclaimed. “Do you really want to keep fighting?”
That was the final straw that broke their will.
“I and willing to surrender.”
“I, too.”
One by one, they dropped their weapons without hesitation and raised their hands in the air. They knew their enemies could kill them in the span of a single breath. If they didn’t surrender now, they would undeniably die.
There was no other way out.
Since they’d surrendered, Jiang Chen didn’t hesitate and plucked them out of the fray. Those who had lost consciousness were retrieved as well.
That left Lightford fighting on his own. A strange mood permeated the air.
Lightford’s life hadn’t been threatened yet, so he’d been keeping an eye on his people. When he saw his subordinates taken care of so easily, he belatedly realized that he’d played into the enemies’ hands every step of the way.
His chest tightened and he could taste blood in his throat. “You traitors! Cowards!” he shouted, his face flushed red. “Do you really think the ten sacred lands will let you live after you surrender? Idiots!”
Well and truly enraged now, he still believed he should be the master of Myriad Abyss. Nothing should’ve been able to stop him. How the scene had unfolded was a grave insult to him.
Jiang Chen watched Lightford with a cool look. They’d cornered the old man. He might be as strong as a mid divine cultivator, but that wouldn’t change anything. Jiang Chen had more than twenty G.o.ds on his side.
They could fight Lightford head-on even when he was at his peak, let alone when on his own, surrounded and trapped. Not even Lightford would be able to escape.
“Reaching mid divine realm is your biggest success in life, Lightford,” mocked An Kasyapa. “Your worst failure lies in your overconfidence in your power and your underestimation of others. I knew you’d fail. You’re paying the price for your own foolishness!”
Adding insult to injury was his forte. He’d always had an antagonistic relations.h.i.+p with Lightford and wouldn’t pa.s.s over the chance to kick an old enemy when down.
“What gives you the right to mock me, An Kasyapa?” Lightford growled. “You’re wasting your talents by running around as the ten sacred lands’ dog. Don’t tell me they had nothing to do with your imprisonment!”
An Kasyapa smiled faintly. “Do you really think that will sway me? I was also responsible for my own imprisonment. Besides, that experience made me who I am today. It was merely a stop in my pursuit of martial dao. I was born and raised in Myriad Abyss. I won’t allow you to make a mess out of my homeland. I may not be a good man, but I will never stoop so low as to throw the world into chaos.”
“Bulls.h.i.+t, bulls.h.i.+t! Don’t try to make yourself look good, An Kasyapa. I know what kind of a person you are! You’re a coward! Hahaha, I never leave a grudge unresolved. I’ll return after this defeat! You’re all responsible. I’ve memorized all your faces. One day, I’ll make you pay this back tenfold!”
Jiang Chen scoffed. “How naive of you to think you can still escape.”
His goal had always been clear. He would destroy Lightford once and for all. The old man mustn’t be allowed to run rampant in this world.
“It’s our duty to rid the world of this evil, everyone,” commanded Eternal’s forefather. “Get in position and do not waver. We’ll send this fiend to h.e.l.l today!”
“Kill him!”
With a sneer, An Kasyapa joined the fray. He’d fought Lightford with the two sacred beasts before. He would show no hesitation now.