Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 25 – The End of the Road for the G.o.dking
The two great alliances faced off against each other as Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, f.u.xi, Shennong, Houyi, Jueming, Gonggong, and Ji Ning spoke mentally to each other.
“Everyone, should we keep fighting? Or should we force them to leave the Three Realms instead?” Daoist Three Purities sent mentally.
“Kill them. Kill them all. Make sure they will never pose a problem ever again.” Gonggong’s mental voice was filled with murder.
“Who can kill the Lord of All Fiends?” Tathagata asked.
Everyone fell silent.
Tathagata spoke out again. “Houyi, can you kill the Lord of All Fiends?”
“I cannot. He’s too fast. Although my arrow is faster than him, it’s only slightly faster. I’d probably only be able to hit him with one or two arrows, by which point he would’ve fled outside the range of my bow. In addition to that, I badly injured myself dealing when I dealt with Demonheart. There’s no way I can kill another Elder G.o.d,” Houyi said.
Ning and the others all sighed secretly. They could all tell that Houyi was very heavily injured; for him to be able to kill Demonheart was already an unexpected surprise for them.
“No one can kill Allfiend.” Tathagata sent mentally, “If this battle was to continue…Allfiend is too fast. He’ll probably launch a series of crazed counterattacks with his speed. We’ll definitely win, but our losses will be very heavy and he himself will probably be able to escape in the end.”
“Agreed.” Everyone nodded.
“As I see it, we should force them to leave the Three Realms,” Tathagata sent mentally. “That will lessen our total casualties. If they ever dare to return, we can fight them then.”
“That works as well.” Daoist Three Purities nodded in agreement. “Ji Ning, what do you think?”
The other major powers were all waiting for Ji Ning’s input. They knew exactly how deep Ji Ning’s hatred for the Seamless Gate ran. It could be said that the Seamless Gate’s torments had accompanied him during his entire cultivation path.
“Let them leave. However…they have to hand over their G.o.dking.” Ning gave his response. He would never be able to forget how the G.o.dking had killed Yu Wei. No matter what, he would never spare the G.o.dking. In the earlier battle, he had focused on the big picture and so had not attacked the G.o.dking, but there was absolutely no chance that he would let the G.o.dking leave this place alive.
“Agreed. Many of the vilest actions that caused chaos throughout the Three Realms were carried out by the G.o.dking. I agree that we can’t just let him leave.”
“Agreed.”
“Fine.”
The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance quickly concluded their discussion, coming to a joint agreement.
“The Seamless Gate is willing to leave the Three Realms.” The Lord of All Fiends suddenly spoke out. “Let this battle come to an end now.”
There was a stir in the ranks of the Seamless Gate. Their major powers, Immortals, and FiendG.o.ds all turned to look at their leaders, their eyes filled with resentment and an unwillingness to accept this outcome. Many of them had been born within the Three Realms; they truly did not wish to leave this place, their home, and venture into the terrifying, unknown parts of the primordial chaos. If they were Elder G.o.ds, they would naturally be able to roam the primordial chaos without fear, but the vast majority of them were far too weak. Even True G.o.ds and Daofathers would merely be minor figures in the primordial chaos.
Still…they also knew that if they continued to fight, the only result would be death. Although leaving the Three Realms would be dangerous, staying behind would be even more dangerous.
“You want to leave, just like that?” Daoist Three Purities said coldly, “That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?”
“Then what do you want?” The Lord of All Fiends said in a low voice, “Do you wish to keep fighting?” It would take him time to rescue everyone. The Seamless Gate had far too many major powers; once the battle began anew, he would probably only be able to rescue a part of his allies, with the other part being ma.s.sacred by the Nuwa Alliance. He naturally wished to keep as many of them alive as possible.
“Allfiend,” Daoist Three Purities said, “We won’t make things too hard for you. Hand over your nominal leader, your black-robed G.o.dking, as a sign of your repentance and desire to make amends. If you do so, we’ll let you leave the Three Realms, never to return. If you agree…then the war can stop now. If you do not, then let us keep fighting.”
The Lord of All Fiends stared at the Nuwa Alliance, and the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance stared right back at him. The only reason why the Nuwa Alliance was even entertaining this option was because the Lord of All Fiends was too hard to kill; thus, their only choice was to force him to leave instead! If it wasn’t for that, they would definitely seize this opportunity to completely wipe out the Seamless Gate.
The Lord of All Fiends then turned his head to stare at the great army behind him. The black-robed G.o.dking had been feeling many complicated emotions, but upon hearing Daoist Three Purities’ request his face instantly turned bloodless and ashen. When the Lord of All Fiends turned his gaze towards him, he became filled with utter terror.
“Fiendlord!” The black-robed G.o.dking called out in terror.
“Clothred.” The Lord of All Fiends said, “Sacrifice yourself for the sake of the Seamless Gate.”
“No, Fiendlord! You must not!” The black-robed G.o.dking said frantically, “I’m the leader of the Seamless Gate. If you sacrifice me…the Seamless Gate will have no face left whatsoever! Better that we die in battle than be shamed in such a way!”
Upon hearing these words, the Lord of All Fiends frowned. He said in a cold voice, “You really are cut from the exact same cloth as your master Demonheart was.” He snorted coldly then waved his hand, causing an azure rope to fly out. The azure rope transformed into an azure dragon as it flew towards the G.o.dking. The terrified G.o.dking sought to flee, but s.p.a.ce around him began to twist and warp. He found himself completely bound up before he even had a chance to react. How could someone like him possibly challenge the power of the Lord of All Fiends?
“You cannot! Fiendlord, you cannot! You cannot just hand me over…” The G.o.dking struggled frantically against his restraints.
The major powers of the Seamless Gate all stared at the black-robed G.o.dking. Although some of them disliked him, he was still their nominal leader. For them to sacrifice their leader in such a way…in truth, they felt quite humiliated. However, they knew that they had lost this war. Even the Lord of the Demonheart had perished. There was nothing more they could say.
The Lord of All Fiends made a casual tossing gesture, causing the bound G.o.dking to be flunt towards the Nuwa Alliance.
The white-robed Ji Ning transformed into a streak of lightning, moving with incredible speed. When he saw the bound G.o.dking fly through the air towards him, for some reason…he felt many different emotions in his heart. So many scenes flashed through his mind. The scene of how he had knelt down before the G.o.dking to try and save Yu Wei…the scene of how the G.o.dking had killed her…and more.
“G.o.dking.” Ning murmured this word softly.
“Y-y-you…” The tied-up G.o.dking stared at Ji Ning in terror.
“Relax. I won’t let you die so easily,” the white-robed Ning murmured gently.
Upon hearing this, the G.o.dking began to panic even more. The outcome he feared the most was ending up in Ji Ning’s hands. However, he didn’t have the courage to commit suicide, as he still felt a powerful desire to stay alive. “So long as I remain alive, I’ll have more opportunities in the future. If I really can’t take it, I can commit suicide later.”
Ning reached out to grab the black-robed G.o.dking, then put him away with a cold smile on his face.
He could guess at what the G.o.dking was thinking.
To prevent a major power from committing suicide was very difficult! However, Ji Ning had acquired the many legacies and techniques of World G.o.d Northrest; he had the necessary abilities.
“You sent my wife into the Infinity h.e.l.ls to suffer torment…and I promise you, everything you did to her will be slowly repaid unto you a thousandfold.” After putting away the G.o.dking, Ning gave the distant army of the Seamless Gate a final glance. The formations of the Seamless Gate had already been dispersed, and looks of sadness, disappointment, and pain could be seen in the eyes of those Empyrean G.o.ds and True Immortals. However, all they could do was allow the major powers on their side to put them away.
The vast majority of them had been born and bred within the Three Realms. They all viewed the Three Realms as their home. When the thought of how they would soon have to venture through the unknown lands of the primordial chaos, all of them were filled with restlessness and unease. Still…since they had chosen the side of the Seamless Gate, they had to live with their choice.
The Empyrean G.o.ds and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate began to disappear as they were all put away by their respective Daofathers. The Nuwa Alliance began to disperse its formations as well. Keeping the formations active required a large amount of Immortal energy, after all. Still, just to be safe the Empyrean G.o.ds and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance continued to remain close to each other, prepared to reform the formation at a moment’s notice and do battle if necessary.
“Look at Daoist Yuan.” Houyi stood by Ning’s side, staring at the rather forlorn-looking Old Man Yuan who stood within the ranks of the Seamless Gate’s armies. “I really don’t know what he was thinking. He actually chose to join the Seamless Gate.”
“Right.” Ning nodded.
Old Man Yuan had chosen the wrong side, which was why there was now only one road before him…following the Seamless Gate and leaving the Three Realms.
To permit him to leave the Three Realms instead of chasing after him and killing him was already a tremendous show of grace on the part of the Nuwa Alliance. There was no way they would permit him to remain here any longer.
“He’ll probably find the primordial chaos to be a tough place to live,” Ning said softly. “Still, it is for the best. He always did want to adventure through it. I suppose we’re satisfying his dreams.”
Old Man Yuan stood by himself at a corner of the Seamless Gate’s armies, watching all this happen. There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes, and he couldn’t help but sigh. “Alas. I really didn’t expect all of this to end like this. So it was the Lord of the Demonheart who was behind this war…and he ended up being killed as soon as he came out. Houyi truly was a surprise for me! Still, Houyi’s usage of his ‘G.o.dslayer’ has surely caused him grievious injuries.”
Suddenly, an invisible ripple of power centered around Old Man Yuan swept out, filling the entire battlefield.
“Attack, my children.” Old Man Yuan’s voice rang out within the hearts of certain individuals.