Indeed, the humans were fighting back with increasing vigor. Fighting on the frontlines, the yin tribe was the first one to notice.
In comparison, Celestial remained dubious. “Just trapped beasts struggling on their deathbed. They won’t last for long, so endure for a little while longer. Winterdraw will definitely fall!”
The yin demons groaned at his reply. What part of the humans looked like they were beasts at death’s door? They were clearly mounting a counterattack!
“Forefather, not that we’re questioning you, but we’re suffering heavy casualties here. The soundwaves, the blood mist, are any of them working as intended? One of our forefathers is already dead. We’re going to withdraw if you don’t take down Winterdraw soon.”
The yin demons were no fools. Ghouls and spirits could be sacrificed, but there were only so many demon G.o.ds. Every single death was an irreparable loss.
Four of them had survived the last war, but only three were left at this moment. If another one or two were to fall, wouldn’t they lose their placement among the ten tribes?
To lead the charge was a glorious contribution, but not one worth losing forefathers for.
In truth, Celestial wasn’t as confident as he’d sounded. His sharp senses had naturally taken note of the righteous music produced by the Cloudsurge Zither.
His tribe’s domain was clearly being neutralized by the notes, so he couldn’t tell how effective it was. Of course, he’d never willingly admit that out loud.
How would his tribe sustain its prestige otherwise? How could he let everyone know their pride and joy, the auditory domain, had proven itself impotent?
But war was sometimes fickle like this. A moment’s hesitation was enough for the enemy to turn the tables. And sure enough, the yin demons’ worries materialized themselves.
Long Xiaoxuan had the keenest sense of smell among the divine beasts. He’d managed to lock in place another yin demon forefather with his true dragon aura as the four sacred beasts attacked jointly, raining down an endless stream of abilities on their hapless victim.
To fight against all four of them was equivalent to facing a seventh level G.o.d. How could a mid divine demon G.o.d weather this ma.s.sive onslaught?
With a tremendous boom, the beasts tore the demon to pieces in an explosion of light.
For the two remaining yin demon forefathers, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Their leader, Forefather Riverveil, roared in fury. “Celestial, you’ll be the death of us! You told us to spearhead the offensive, and now we have two dead forefathers on our hands. You’ll answer to us for that!
“We retreat!”
The casualties were too much for the tribe to endure. They didn’t want to be shot like fish in a barrel.
The beasts didn’t give chase. After all, the main demon army loomed menacingly not far behind.
Distressed by the yin tribe’s full-on retreat, Celestial ordered, “All tribes, full charge! Everyone, attack Winterdraw. No falling back, we fight to the end!”
As the demons’ supreme leader, the other tribes had to obey his orders no matter their qualms.
Hence, the army rolled into motion.
But at this very moment, sudden chaos struck the army’s rear. Countless golden creatures emerged amidst their ranks as if surfacing from the sea. With tide-like momentum, the new attackers pounced on the demon soldiers, instantly annihilating them.
The Goldbiter Rats had finally joined the fight.
Leading by example, the rat king leaped ferociously on the monster demon forefather he’d been eyeing from the start.
The tribe’s descendants numbered in the hundreds of millions. The surroundings teemed with rats in the blink of an eye. They dragged the monster demons down to the ground and devoured them before the demons could come back to their senses.
After a series of evolutions, the tribe’s strength had exploded upwards. Their sharp teeth and fighting prowess were reminiscent of the heavenly planes’ Goldbiter Kingrats.
In comparison, the monster demon tribe was less than a hundred thousand strong.
Lost in an ocean of rats, they struggled for dear life. No matter their desperate efforts, they all proved futile.
The scent of blood turned the rats into merciless machines of slaughter that fully matched the demons in pure savagery. No, perhaps they were even more bloodthirsty.
Monster demons ate their victims alive and drank their blood, but a crueler fate awaited the rats’ victims. Consumed down to their bones, not a single trace of them was left in this world.
All in all, it was an even less enviable end.
The setback at the rear disturbed the army’s chain of command.
Demons were ferocious, but they could feel fear all the same. The breach at the rear threw them for a loop. On the cusp of flying to the yin tribe’s rescue, the soldiers now ran around like headless chickens.
“First things first. Deal with these stinking rats!” someone finally shouted.
Once the decision was made and countless powerhouses sprang into action, the rat tribe immediately found itself under immense pressure.
But sadly, it also meant the yin tribe was out of luck. Without reinforcements from the main army, they were merely sitting ducks.
At the sight of this, the four divine beasts hunted them without prompting, ma.s.sacring them all.
The two surviving forefathers couldn’t hide from the young lord’s G.o.d’s Eye. He had the sacred beasts to surround them while he hara.s.sed them with the Evil Golden Eye, making their lives miserable.
Of course, his actions didn’t escape Celestial’s notice. He shouted, “Split off a third of the army to rescue the yin tribe! Fellow daoists from the blood tribe, entrap the four sacred beasts with your blood mist. Hurry!”
They were in a race against time. He who acted the fastest would find the first opportunity to strike, as Jiang Chen well knew. The Goldbiter Rats were sacrificing their lives to create a window for him!
“Look alive. Kill the yin demon forefathers and return as fast as possible!” At the same time, he attacked the two yin demons with a volley of evil golden rays.
For Celestial, the golden flashes coming from Winterdraw was a dead giveaway Jiang Chen had entered the fray. He immediately punched in that direction, the energy of his blows shattering the sky where the beasts were.
Even they would’ve had to yield had they faced him in person. But what did they have to fear from a strike coming from so far away?