Chapter 267: Armies Collide

The Spatial Vortex was only a few dozen meters across. It had appeared close to several Legendary Pathfinders.

Their deaths proved that the Humans could respond quickly. Troops of that Quality had been killed almost instantly. Azrak had no intention of being careless.

A few minutes later, he sent more than a thousand powerful troops and Heroes through the vortex.

They met no serious resistance. It was like throwing a punch into empty air.

Their report delighted him.

"A ten-thousand-meter Temple. It’s real!"

Then he understood.

"Cassian’s Mythic reward from the Individual Contest... It must be a treasure that improves drop rates!"

Azrak laughed aloud.

"Three days of hard work, Cassian. Did you ever imagine you’d be building that Temple for me?"

Excitement did not make him forget caution. He immediately revoked every Lord in his Legion’s permission to post in the All-Races Champions Channel.

A thousand Lords guarding a Temple ten thousand meters high. Any powerful race would want a share of that prize. He could not risk someone letting the news slip.

"I was aiming for the top ten. But if I destroy that Temple, even a quarter of its resources could give us first place."

Was this the Realm’s compensation for his loss in the Individual Contest?

He spent Elemental Pearls to stabilize the vortex and ordered his army to assemble.

Cassian’s performance in the arena still troubled him. Rumor claimed the Human had suffered heavy losses, but Azrak would not rely on rumor alone.

Half an hour later, he turned to his deputy.

"Lord Keldran, I’ll leave the Temple to you. I’ll take the First Homeworld Legion in an hour. Two at most."

Keldran was a Divine Scion too, though his background and strength fell slightly short of Azrak’s.

"Leave it to me. I’ll guard the Temple personally. I’ve also sent strong forces to the newly appeared vortices."

He paused.

"But remember what happened to Mount Celestia. The Homeworld’s Humans fight hard. Don’t underestimate them."

Azrak looked over the formidable army he had assembled.

"That’s why I’m taking most of our fighting strength. We’ll finish quickly, before anything can go wrong. If this vortex weren’t so small, we wouldn’t need even an hour."

He was confident. With dozens of times the enemy’s numbers and the natural superiority of the Divines, how could he lose?

An army approaching ten million began pouring through the vortex.

——

"It really is the Divine Legion from Brahma!"

"Five hours left. Can we hold them off that long?"

"Why did that damned vortex have to appear so close to our Temple?"

"Are we going to lose everything at the last moment?"

"At least it’s only a few dozen meters wide. That should slow them down."

Watching the stream of Divine troops in the scouting images, no one could remain calm. Even Darian felt his heart tighten.

"Where’s Cassian?"

The question came instinctively. Without quite realizing it, he had begun to rely on Cassian whenever things turned dangerous.

Before crossing the vortex, Cassian had given one further order: the Stormlance and veteran Eclipse Legionnaires were to remain with the Praetorians and defend the Temple.

"I’ve sent him a private message, but he hasn’t answered." Nessa sounded anxious. "What if he’s in trouble? He even left his Stormlance and Eclipse troops here."

"He’ll be fine," Elara said at once. "His Heroes are unharmed, and he has Dawnwings with him. As long as he isn’t surrounded by the Divine army, he can keep himself safe."

Darian’s expression firmed.

"Stop trying to contact him. He’s already done enough for Divine Province and the Crown. We’ll face this battle ourselves."

When the powerful enemy vanguard first appeared, someone had suggested moving the Five Elements Formation to surround the vortex.

Maren had refused.

"There isn’t time. If they attack while we’re halfway through setting it up, our defenses will collapse."

They had to hold at the Temple.

Soon, Azrak appeared before the opposing armies. He wore the easy smile of a man whose victory was already certain.

"Come out, Cassian!"

His voice carried across the battlefield.

"You stole my opportunity in Glory Battlefield. Then you used your cheap tricks to force me out of the Individual Contest."

He laughed softly.

"And now look where we are. Did you ever imagine this would happen? When I destroy the Temple you’ve worked so hard to build, will you regret offending me?"

The thought of Cassian kneeling in remorse filled him with pleasure.

Beside Darian, Nessa suddenly called out.

"Divine Lords! Our Temple looks impressive, but it’s really a reduced version. There isn’t much worth taking. You should leave!"

Many of the Homeworld Lords had accepted that explanation. Their Temple had risen far too quickly. They still believed Darian’s single Epic Earth Pearl had taken the Wall of Earth past one percent.

Darian knew better.

"A reduced version?" Azrak gave a cold laugh. "Do you think I’m a child?"

"It’s true! I’m Nessa Fenwick. I don’t lie!"

"Fenwick?"

Recognition flashed across his face, followed by anger.

"I remember now. You women pretended to be weak in Glory Battlefield and lured brave Divine warriors to their deaths. Now you claim you don’t lie?"

He had heard enough.

"Ten seconds. Hand over the Five Elements Temple, or watch everything you’ve built over these months be destroyed."

"Ten. Nine..."

The countdown rang across the battlefield. No one yielded.

"Attack!"

Nearly ten million soldiers surged forward. The Divine army advanced like a vast grinding wheel, ready to crush anything in its path. At least half its troops belonged to the Divine race itself.

This war dwarfed even the battle for Divine Province.

Yet there was no audience. Both sides had kept the conflict quiet. The other races’ Champions did not even know that such an unequal battle was about to begin.

"Earth! Metal!"

Maren’s voice rang out, cold and commanding.

Yellow light flooded the Five Elements Formation. Its boundary swelled outward and slammed into the advancing army.

The killing formation unleashed its full power.

Tens of thousands of Divine troops were torn apart in an instant. The smell of blood filled the air.

The Crown Lords roared in delight. One blow had torn a bloody gap in that overwhelming army.

Darian stared at the billions of Battle Essence suddenly pouring into his account.

"Damn. That feels good!"

A Rare troop gave a hundred times the Battle Essence of an Elite Elemental Beast. That single collision had earned him as much as killing millions of Elite monsters at the same Level.

And the Battle Essence was only part of it. Hundreds of Troop Sigils had dropped, including more than a dozen Epic ones.

"So this is where my Golden Behemoths and Nessa’s Templars came from..."

He understood at last. Then he raised a hand.

"Level up!"

The billions of Battle Essence were spent almost as soon as they arrived. More than a hundred Level-1 Hundred-Battle Guards rose to Level 70 and entered the fighting.

Darian looked up at Maren, hovering hundreds of meters overhead. Worry filled his eyes.

Her face had grown pale.

The force of the collision worked both ways. The formation absorbed much of it, but some still reached the woman controlling it.

Even for a Legendary Nine-Star Hero, a Divine army was nothing like a monster siege.

Maren’s gaze remained sharp. A low laugh escaped her.

"Divines..."

Edran had poured more than half of House Frost’s resources into the Wall of the Void chiefly to hold back this race. Maren had fought them for thousands of years, first as a renowned Lord and now as a Hero.

Old hatred joined the new battle. She held nothing back.

Billions of Aether burned to fuel the formation. This was an expense the House would cover.

Like a beating heart, the Five Elements Formation contracted, then expanded violently.

The impact thundered across the field. Blood stained its boundary again.

The Divines possessed extraordinary individual strength, but formations were their weakness. That had long been one of House Frost’s greatest advantages in holding them back.