Beastmaster of the Ages

This routed army was led by Granny Longya and Prince Liehun.

Right behind them followed quite a number of trusted primocosmic god subordinates, and further down trailed a scattered mass of dejected and disheveled soldiers.

“Granny, I can only trouble Torch Dragon to provide refuge for now,” Prince Liehun sighed.

“It’s fine,” Granny Longya replied, her face still full of grief from Imperator Zhu’s death.

If she hadn’t reacted quickly and fled early, she likely would have been killed by Sage Chen. Even so, two eighth-level primocosmic god generals had sacrificed themselves to cover her retreat.

The losses from this war were catastrophic. Even setting aside the death of their imperator, recovering to their former prosperity would take who knew how many years.

In any case, Granny Longya knew she would never live to see that day.

Seeing her so dispirited, Prince Liehun thought for a moment and said, “Although we have lost the battle, the Adjudicator still remains. We only need to regroup and wait quietly for him to eliminate the sky plunderers.

“Besides, Li Muyang had never been able to leave the Nullity before. His departure this time likely comes with a major drawback. The Adjudicator’s judgment on this cannot be wrong.”

The flames around Prince Liehun flared as his eyes blazed with confidence. “The root cause of this defeat was simply Li Muyang’s appearance. Otherwise, with the mediocre abilities of the others, how could they possibly have repelled the Adjudicator?”

His analysis returned a glimmer of light to Granny Longya’s murky eyes.

“Prince Liehun, what you say makes a great deal of sense.” The more she pondered, the more Granny Longya found herself increasingly convinced.

“Li Muyang likely is paying some price, and the Adjudicator’s next move will surely be a decisive strike that will conquer the Realm of Chaos. Once Jiang Cheng and Li Yanfeng die, we can simply cultivate new imperatores. The Adjudicator’s support will help us rise again to glory far more quickly.”

Granny Longya suddenly felt much more at ease.

“In that case, we must help ease the Adjudicator’s burdens,” Prince Liehun said in a low voice. “That Li Tianming might come to our starcages to seize dazzling radiances. We must guard them so the Adjudicator can see our loyalty!”

“Indeed. We have means to contact the Adjudicator, so this is the only way for him to notice us,” Granny Longya said somewhat gloomily. In the past, the only ones who could directly contact the Adjudicator were the four Yueling imperatores.

Even the imperatores of Aquamarine and Torch Dragon had difficulty reaching him, and could usually only passively follow his commands.

There was something Granny Longya did not say aloud. In truth, she no longer had much confidence in the Adjudicator.

But neither she nor Torch Dragon had any other path forward. Without a powerful backer, the torchdragonoids would likely decline amid the chaos and never rise again.

Both Granny Longya and Prince Liehun had no choice but to walk this path to the end.

Prince Liehun, especially, would be executed if he returned to Vermilion Bird.

Of course, they were both cunning old foxes that had lived for countless years.

On the surface, they appeared to support one another and stand firmly with the Adjudicator in their desperate situation.

But what they said might not truly reflect what they thought.

Only one thing was certain, they would have to rely on the dazzling radiances to reenter the Adjudicator’s favor. Otherwise, their value was now so low they could not even delay Tianming.

***

Dragonpyre Mountain Range was one of Torch Dragon Starcage tallest mountain ranges. Nova source churned there, forming enormous peaks tens of millions of meters tall that pierced the clouds.

Granny Longya led over a billion Torch Dragon soldiers, while Prince Liehun brought fewer than three hundred million Vermilion Bird rebels as they arrived together.

Within that sea of blazing dragonfire lay all of the dazzling radiance belonging to Torch Dragon.

News of Imperator Zhu’s death had already been brought back by fleeing survivors, shrouding the entire mountain range in gloom.

But as soon as Granny Longya arrived, she issued an order. “All Torch Dragon cosmic gods, heed my command! Form squads and take away all the dazzling radiances. Scatter them! Execute immediately with no mistakes!”

Dazzling radiances were extremely difficult to destroy and would take too long. There was no need to waste the effort.

“An excellent strategy!” Prince Liehun praised. Normally Li Tianming could simply grab them and leave. But if they were scattered, it might take him dozens of times longer. Even if Li Tianming knew their exact locations, travel time alone would delay him.

And that would give the Adjudicator enough time to react.

Moreover, it didn’t matter even if Li Tianming never came. These dazzling radiances were useless to anyone except the sky plunderers.

***

“An excellent strategy!” Even Tianming could not help praising the plan.

After several days, Yin Chen’s numbers had fully recovered. It had been keeping Torch Dragon Starcage under surveillance the entire time.

When he heard Tianming’s praise, Zi Zhen rolled her eyes. “Excellent my foot. If we hadn’t arrived early, they really might have wasted our time.”

“That’s exactly why it’s an excellent strategy,” Tianming laughed heartily as he wrapped an arm around her slender waist. “Originally, all the dazzling radiances were stored deep inside Dragonpyre Mountain Range. But after Granny Longya came up with this plan, they’ve temporarily piled them in the plaza, making it even easier for us to act!”

“There’s such a good thing?” Zi Zhen said, stunned.

Neither Granny Longya nor Prince Liehun had predicted that Tianming and Zi Zhen would arrive so quickly. The two of them moved extremely fast and were not slowed by a large army.

“Let’s go!” Tianming took Zi Zhen along and plunged straight into the Torch Dragon Starcage, which resembled a fiery divine dragon twisting in the void.

Just as Granny Longya was directing people to retrieve the dazzling radiances and place them in the plaza, Tianming’s laughter rang out.

“Grannies really are thoughtful, preparing all the snacks before I even arrive! Many thanks, many thanks!”

Granny Longya, Prince Liehun, and their people all turned pale in shock.