The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2022: A hand that rips into the heart of the enemy (II)

While Cain’s elites fought in Calypso’s land, Scarlet Prima Deities and Divine Cultivators had quietly infiltrated the StormForge Continent, a land bordering the Purity Continent and the ruined Radiant Soul, and the southern ocean. By the time the Imperium realized, the Scarlet Formation was already alive there, runes glowing across earth and sky.

The move cut off the Imperium’s southern retreat.

Azazel and his ArchDeities found it puzzling. True, StormForge sealed their southern exit, but armies could always march across oceans if necessary. Why expend so much effort for so little gain?

They could not shake the thought: Cain’s hand concealed something deeper.

But war allows no time for contemplation.

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Day 244 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

The Imperium struck back at SilentHeart Continent, the very first Scarlet conquest. This time, they came in full strength, ArchDeities blazing. Tibet led the charge, a monk once revered for his serenity, now transformed into something monstrous after having completed his Pseudo-Depravita Transformation. His strength rivaled Juda’s, his aura dark and fierce.

Even with the aid of the Scarlet Formation, the Scarlet Kingdom faltered. Piece by piece, they lost ground.

It seemed inevitable—the Imperium would reclaim SilentHeart.

But Cain had prepared a trap.

At his signal, the Scarlet armies vanished, teleporting away. The runic lines engraved across SilentHeart flared, condensed, and imploded into a single glyph.

Then it detonated.

A pillar of annihilation erupted, engulfing Azazel and the Imperium’s ArchDeities. SilentHeart was reduced to ruin, a lifeless wasteland echoing the fate of Radiant Soul.

The Imperium was forced to retreat, not by defeat in battle, but by Cain’s ruthless willingness to sacrifice an entire continent.

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Day 245 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

While the higher ranks of the Imperium of Time withdrew to heal their grievous wounds, the Scarlet Kingdom seized the moment. Cain’s armies advanced northward, targeting the HardenMind Continent, a land of crystal valleys and towering citadels suspended by psychic force. Positioned directly above the ruined SilentHeart Continent, HardenMind was a strategic bridge that linked central territories with the northern lands.

The Imperium was in no condition to resist. Their ArchDeities licked their wounds, their cultivators struggled to replenish drained energy pools, so they could only watch in silence. The Scarlet King’s banners unfurled over HardenMind with no blood spilled. The Scarlet Intercontinental Formation pulsed brighter, its reach spreading like veins of scarlet fire across the sky and earth.

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Day 246 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

Cain pressed his advantage mercilessly. The Scarlet Kingdom wasted no time expanding the formation once more, stretching runic lines from HardenMind into the CosmicRain Continent. This land hung directly above Calypso’s domain like a silver canopy, famous for its endless storms of starlight rain that fell in dazzling torrents upon its surface.

Once more, the Imperium of Time was in no position to fight, especially not for a continent that lacked strategic value. With nothing to delay them, the Scarlet Kingdom’s rune-masters had already carved their sigils deep into CosmicRain’s skies and earth.

The Scarlet Formation swelled again, its crimson glow stretching across the map like an ever-tightening net. Each new continent captured was not just land gained, but another knot in the binding chain Cain was weaving around the world.

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Day 247 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

The Scarlet Kingdom’s momentum grew unstoppable. Their next strike fell upon the Atlantid Continent, one of Calypso’s strongholds and home to a massive Dark Tree whose roots plunged into the ocean floor, binding sea and land alike. Atlantid was more than a fortress—it was a gateway to the oceans, a vital artery.

Unlike the other two continents, this time the Imperium of Time moved with all its power. Though still wounded, in this place, Azazel and the other ArchDeities could wield the Dark Tree’s corruptive power to amplify their strength. Normally, this would have been enough to hold off even Cain’s armies.

But the Scarlet King unleashed a campaign of near-suicidal ferocity. His ArchDeities fought without restraint, burning life force and soul essence, willing to endure serious wounds if it meant seizing Atlantid. For fifteen relentless hours, the continent became a cauldron of divine slaughter. Skies tore apart with flame, the shore boiled into steam, and the earth itself cracked under the pressure of unleashed powers.

At last, the Imperium broke. Driven back, their defenses shattered, they watched as the Scarlet King’s champions uprooted the Dark Tree. Its paralyzed body was sealed and stored. The Scarlet banners rose, and scarlet runes flooded the land.

With Atlantid absorbed, the Scarlet Intercontinental Formation spread like a burning hand, its fingers curling from south to north, reaching into the ocean. Routes of retreat were cut, and the Imperium of Time found itself encircled. The formation now resembled a grasp poised to squeeze until only ruin remained.

Yet while it is technically a defeat for the Imperium of Time, the truth was that the Scarlet King sacrificed a lot, maybe even too much, as the wounds in the ArchDeities’ life force and soul essence did not seem worth only a continent.

The Imperium’s armies could still take to the seas, bypassing Cain’s blockade through the vast oceans. To them, it seemed a reckless waste of strength for the Scarlet King to sacrifice so much merely for a stranglehold that could be circumvented. But none doubted Cain had calculated deeper than they could see.

Day 260 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

By the 260th day, the Imperium of Time had healed. Their wounds closed, their fury rekindled, their ArchDeities hungered to fight back, taking advantage of the wounded life and souls of their enemies. They prepared a sweeping counterattack, ready to exploit what they believed was a weakness in the Scarlet Kingdom’s upper ranks.

But just as they gathered strength, their gazes turned seaward—and froze.

The runic lines of the Scarlet Intercontinental Formation had not stopped with land. Like living serpents, they had slithered into the ocean depths, glowing faintly in patterns that had remained hidden until now. At first glance, it seemed meaningless, just stray extensions of Cain’s network.

Then the truth struck like thunder.

The lines converged upon a single, seemingly irrelevant point in the vast waters. But to Azazel and the higher echelons of the Imperium, recognition came with horror. That point was no accident. The Scarlet King’s next target was not a Dark Tree continent at all.

It was the Starfall Heaven.