Beastmaster of the Ages

”You two,” the sun emperor said, casting his blazing gaze at the Deluge Emperor and the Warlord, making them nervous. ”I want to settle things once and for all, and I need you all to give it a little more effort. If we win, I’ll grant you and your descendants the reward you deserve. No matter what kind of troubles befall a clan, as long as you win and have resources, you can build back anew, even stronger than before. If that caused your loyalty to waver from me, it’s nothing but a childish response. I believe the two of you know what I mean.”

Before the emperor even finished speaking, the two were already inwardly shuddering from fear. They had indeed wavered, and the sun emperor pointed out that soft spot.

”Your Majesty, we’re also celestial orderians. Any sacrifice we make today is only expected. For the ultimate goal of reuniting us as a race, we won’t relent in the slightest!” the Deluge Emperor said.

That made things awkward for the Warlord, as he was the only real traitor. Thankfully, he found his own angle. ”We wargodeans only managed to rise to this point thanks to the celestial orderians. Without Your Majesty’s nurturing and care, we wouldn’t have grown to what we are today, so we do this to repay our favors. Every casualty we suffer is a mark of pride for us. We’re embarrassed that we failed to stop the enemy this time around. From now on, we’ll be sure to stand at the front to repay Your Majesty’s trust.”

Both of them felt like it was a close call. They’d indeed wavered after Tianming had made his prediction, but they knew better now that they were standing before the sun emperor. The consequences would be dire if their loyalty came into question. Fence-sitters would be the ones to suffer the most in this war.

”It’s but a small matter. We’re brothers, you and I. There’s no need for all this anxiety and apology,” the sun emperor said in a relaxed manner, as if he had completely shaken off the awkwardness of Tianming’s escape. He put a hand on the shoulder of the Deluge Emperor and gave the Warlord’s thigh a light slap to calm them down. ”Now, the enemy has eyes all over the place. What I tell you now will serve just as well as an announcement to the Myriad Solar Sects, so listen up.”

He smiled and said in a calm manner, ”Since everything is there for all to see, I’ll no longer mess around. The little accident during the battle of the Myriaddragon Mountains caused my Divine Sun Palace to falter. But now it’s set sail once more. It’s about time the celestial orderians and Myriad Solar Sects settle this once and for all. We have a grand show prepared for all to witness, so please look forward to it.”

He turned to the north and continued, ”Li Tianming, I know you’re listening. Thank you for coming back, since my victory and conquest of the sun would be a hollow and uninteresting one without you around. While you may be young, you’re a qualified player in your own right. I hope you’ll have more surprises prepared for me like the one today.”

He let go of the Deluge Emperor, much to his relief, then applauded. ”By the way, I have another interesting gift for you. Once I bulldoze my way to the Myriaddragon Mountains, make sure you’re prepared to ceremonially accept it!” He made a warm and gentle smile. ”I know that my precious daughter has also returned with you. Make sure to take care of her. Perhaps you’ll be able to use her as a hostage against me, you know.”

He shrugged and chuckled, sending chills down the backs of those listening. It was rare, but when the sun emperor was especially unstable, he would act like this. Normally, he was a blazing, stoic figure that inspired fear. However, his nonchalant jovial demeanor only unnerved those around him even more. He took out a gold transmission stone, and when the light from the stone shone on his face, his smile instantly disappeared into a fierce grimace. With a deep, savage voice, he ordered, ”Five armies, gather and head south!”

Though nothing spectacular happened there, the places where the armies were seemed to rumble when they received the order. They had been tempted by the prospects of war for so long. The notion of uniting the sun under their banner was terrifying. Five groups of sixty million each were assembling into a full force of three hundred million, making up the strongest celestial orderian force ever. Their deployment meant the battle was now at a pivotal phase; whether the Myriad Solar Sects survived would soon be revealed.

The armies looked like boundless seas of fire as they headed south to assemble. As there were far too many people, they couldn’t march very fast. However, they were practically unstoppable and scorched everything along the paths they took. War was never just a matter of numbers. It was like a living organism that struggled to survive at any cost, tearing down everything that came into its path.

All of this had resulted from the cowardice of this generation’s Sky Palace. It only gave the sun emperor a good reason to strive toward uniting the sun, indulging in the sick desire to obtain complete dominion over beastmasters that some totemancers had! Since ancient times, the celestial orderians had wanted to be the sole hegemon of the sun, thus the desire had long been ingrained in them. They were merely biding their time and waiting for a chance, and this generation’s powerful sun emperor and incompetent Sky Palace had perfectly set the stage for such an incursion. The normally gentle and refined celestial orderians let out their savage side on the battlefield, enjoying the debauchery wrought upon others. Now that they were able to easily obtain treasures upon treasures, they turned into flaming devils.

There was no war that was fought for no reason. Generations of celestial orderians had wanted their descendants to completely destroy their enemies, baptizing the sun with their totemic flames. And now that desire was being realized in the form of the five great armies that were marching south, burning everything in their path and leaving flaming terror in their wake. That very day, the sun unleashed a strong nova source surge from the north and south poles. The Voidsky Flame Pillar in the south was deathly silent, but the north burned with raging flames. Countless denizens of the Myriad Solar Sects’ territories could feel the totemic flames spreading, casting the specter of death over them no matter where they were hiding. The mastermind of all of this, the sun emperor himself, had returned to the Divine Sun Palace, bathing in raging flames that stoked his killing intent.

”The extermination of the Myriad Solar Sects will only be a minor growing pain for the sun. After that passes, we’ll have control over everything in this world and it’ll make us stronger! I might be considered a villain by those of the Myriad Solar Sects, but to my own people I’m the ultimate benefactor.” His words sent all of his troops, even the bluebloods and wargodeans, into a zealous frenzy. He merely brushed off the genocide that was to come as a simple growing pain and painted himself as a virtuous saint doing what was right for his people.

Mercy was no longer on the table for the enemy.

”Tianyi Army,” the sun emperor said.

”We stand ready!”

”Tribulator Army.”

”We stand ready!”

”Godblade Army.”

”We stand ready!”

”Enter the Divine Sun Palace!”

Thirty million troops swarmed into the divine astralship like they were making a holy pilgrimage. The Warlord and Deluge Emperor looked at the sight with great agitation.

”If the sun emperor would summon us to join him and his great army, then we bluebloods will have finally returned to being one of the celestial orderians. Who cares how many we lose? That would be the greatest contribution we can make for our own kind,” the Deluge Emperor said. He had completely forgotten his doubts from before. A few words from the sun emperor alone had been enough to overturn his convictions, instilling fierce loyalty into him. He was waiting for those magic words: enter the Divine Sun Palace.

”Stargods,” the sun emperor finally said.

”We stand ready!” the Deluge Emperor said, echoed by tens of millions of others who were crying tears of joy. The bluebloods had been known as stargods back when they were still a part of the celestial orderians.

”Enter the Divine Sun Palace!”

”Understood!”

Being able to enter the Divine Sun Palace was a sign of respect from the sun emperor; they were no longer mere traitors. The Divine Sun Palace was sacred ground for the celestial orderians. Before the war, most people hadn’t even been allowed to set foot in it. Now that the bluebloods were properly recognized, they would be able to do anything for the sun emperor, even give their lives.

That left only the xenorace, the wargodeans. With the Veildragon Palace now gone, the wargodeans had become their replacement. They had, after all, also been nurtured by the celestial orderians.