Tribulation of Myriad Races

Six dragon Daofuses were dead, numerous of dragons were wiped out, and multiple dragon cities were flattened. News about this started spreading all over the Upper Realm. Everyone was shocked. Numerous people panicked.

Even a powerful race like the dragon race had suffered so badly. What about the other races? Apart from the divines, devils, and immortals, every other race was in danger.

***

To the south.

Divine Fire Mountain.

Daofuses were arriving around the mountain in succession.

They were waiting for the correct time to attack. But when news of dragon race reached them, they could no longer wait. That was especially true for the minor races. At the moment, Bajue was the one in charge there.

While the news was spreading madly, Bajue was frowning deeply. He was still waiting for Bloodbreak Marquis to return.

Suddenly, a nether Daofuse walked over and said, “Marquis Bajue, I received a message from my race. I have been recalled. I’m afraid my race won’t be able to participate in this attack anymore.”

Bajue’s expression changed.

The nether explained, “It’s not that we don’t want to do this, but my race is near the Chaos Mountain. After the incident with the dragon race, Lord Nether Water is worried that we will be the next victim. Thus, we are now focusing on our defenses.”

Bajue was feeling annoyed.

He knew that all these people were worried. But he also believed that since they were already here, they shouldn’t stop before completing their task.

“Dao Master Saint Nether, the enemies did this to distract us and ruin and plan. They only attacked the dragons to help those in the Divine Fire Mountain.”

Saint Nether nodded and sighed, “Even so, the safety of my race is more important than this mission. A single Cloud Fire Marquis does not matter when the survival of my race is on the line.”

It was normal that Bajue wanted to prioritize the operation. But it was also normal that Saint Nether would prioritize defending his own race over killing Cloud Fire Marquis.

Bajue frowned and asked, “Why don’t you wait for a bit? Bloodbreak Marquis and the others might rejoin the operation…”

“There is no need for that.” Saint Nether said, “Marquis Bajue, my race is different from the divines, devils, and immortals. Things can grow very dangerous for us with only one Daofuse missing.”

Bajue was only saying all that because he did not need to worry about his own race. Even though the devils had sent some experts for this operation, they still had plenty in their own territory. But it was different for the other races.

Bajue wanted to say more, but at the moment, a dragon flew off without even bothering to tell him. Of the nine dragon cities, one belonged to Celestial Dragon Marquis and one belonged to a dragon participating in this operation.

The dragons in the Dao Origin Land would not bother to found dao centers. This dragon had just verified that the news was true. Thus, he left without caring about Bajue’s thoughts.

Bajue noticed the departure, but he said nothing. It would be fine for him to persuade others to stay. But persuading a dragon to stay now would be the same as an attempt to make the dragon an enemy.

Slowly, more and more experts gathered around Bajue. Only those from the immortal and divine races were absent among them. They had yet to say anything, but Bajue knew what they were thinking.

He was annoyed. He felt like shouting at them, but he held back. Instead, he said, “Be careful on your way back, friends. I suggest you don’t travel alone lest you give the enemies a chance to take you out separately.”

“Thank you, Marquis Bajue.”

With that, the Daofuses started leaving. Bajue couldn’t prevent it as any attempt to prevent them from leaving would be viewed with hostility. A short while later, those from the divine and immortal races arrived.

Seeing them, Bajue finally showed his anger, “Are you thinking of leaving as well?”

An immortal smiled and said, “We’re in no rush. It’s normal for the others to leave in such a situation. It’s pointless to get angry. This concerns the survival of their races. How can they stay calm at a time like this?”

He added, “But I do have a question. Is there a point in continuing this operation? If our races are the only ones participating, it will be too costly. This Divine Fire Mountain isn’t a small place…”

Bajue frowned and said, “Wait a moment. Bloodbreak Marquis will be back soon.”

He couldn’t decide whether they should continue.

The Divine Fire Mountain was a dangerous place. Cloud Fire Marquis was also a powerful Daofuse. Thanks to the unique terrain of Divine Fire Mountain, he could face even heavenly kings here.

Then again, it wasn’t like the three races couldn’t win without the participation of the other races. But the losses would be much higher.

Just then, the air warped. Bloodbreak Marquis had returned. He looked around and noted that a lot of faces were missing. Including himself, there were only eleven Daofuses present. All of them were members of the three major races.

One pseudo king and ten Daofuses. He wasn’t surprised, but he was still displeased. It was unlikely that they would be able to amass a joint army anytime soon. In fact, not even the devils would further reinforce the army here. He himself had received emergency calls from the Devil Assembly to return and discuss the destruction of the dragons.

The mysterious individuals had created too big a fuss. The dragon race had been used as a sacrifice to scare the other races. Thus, even the devils needed to discuss countermeasures against the mysterious chaos race.

“Lord!”

Everyone greeted Bloodbreak Marquis and looked at him silently. He looked at the Divine Fire Mountain with a frown. After a long while, he said, “You must all know what’s happening. Tell me. Was the attack on the dragon race an indirect method to save Cloud Fire Marquis? Would they be here to help if we proceed with our attack?”

Everyone sank into silence. Nobody had an answer for that. Then again, nobody denied that the timing of the attack against the dragon race was too coincidental.

Bloodbreak Marquis sighed and said, “Cloud Fire Marquis has been forced to stay within a small area by us.”

He pointed ahead toward a region with ten or so burning hills and said, “He is definitely hiding within one of those hills. There are only ten or so hills to search. We can slowly push in to force him into revealing himself.”

Cloud Fire Marquis was within grasp, yet such an incident had happened. He was furious.

An aged divine said, “Bloodbreak Marquis, it’s not that we can’t attack with the people we have here. But we have to be wary of Cloud Fire Marquis. In his desperation, he might trigger an explosion of the entire Divine Fire Mountain. That will be disastrous for us.”

The Divine Fire Mountain was a very compatible place with Cloud Fire Marquis. An explosion triggered by him could kill more than one Daofuse.

The divine continued, “According to the message I received from my race, they wish to call a meeting between the myriad races to discuss the matter concerning the Chaos Mountain. Losing too many experts to this Divine Fire Mountain might interfere with our countermeasures against the Chaos Mountain. Don’t forget that there are also a high number of Daofuse beasts in the Chaos Mountain.”

Bloodbreak Marquis frowned. The divine added, “We know the humans well, and something we know so well can no longer be scary. An unknown enemy is scarier. If we have to choose one between the Divine Fire Mountain and the Chaos Mountain to attack, we should prioritize Chaos Mountain even if we might lose more there.”

Bloodbreak Marquis sighed and nodded, “You’re right. All of you must have received calls to return. Am I right?”

“Yeah.”

“Go, then.”

Bloodbreak Marquis waved his hand. The divines and immortals did not argue. They had indeed been called back by their races. Before long, the six Daofuses of the two races departed.

With a helpless tone, Bajue said, “Lord, we…”

“We give up.” Bloodbreak Marquis looked at the Divine Fire Mountain again and said, “None of them wants to start a war here. Am I supposed to fight alone? Cloud Fire Marquis isn’t weak. Here, not even I can guarantee a victory against him.”

He continued, “We return for now. Don’t bother leaving anyone to watch this place lest they take the chance to kill our people while they’re alone. For the foreseeable future, the various races will be focused on the Chaos Mountain.”

Bajue gasped and asked, “Are we really making a move against the Chaos Mountain?”

“It depends. We still lack crucial information.” Bloodbreak Marquis said, “As long as we can be sure that those people are from there, we will definitely make a move regardless of the price. We have ignored Chaos Mountain for so many years because the ancient beasts there have never bothered to come out and create trouble for us. But now, there is a chaos race there, a force with unknown strength. We can’t allow them to live comfortably while we fight each other out here.

“During their previous appearance, they didn’t act against the myriad races. Thus, we ignored them even if we knew about them. Furthermore, we believed that there weren’t too many of them. But now, the dragon race has nearly been wiped out. Even a pseudo king has been killed. A line has been crossed. Unless we deal with them, the other races will no longer dare to participate in any future operations. The three major races will be forced to act alone.”

It was time for war.

Bloodbreak Marquis was certain that the moment there was confirmation that the chaos race was hiding in the Chaos Mountain, the various races would reach an agreement to act. In the past, nobody was bothered about the Chaos Mountain.

But if they had to do something about that place, the twenty odd Daofuse beasts at the outer region of that place weren’t exactly undefeatable for them. At this, Bajue stopped talking about the Divine Fire Mountain. In comparison, Chaos Mountain was far more dangerous. That was an incomparably dangerous place.

“Lord, shall we withdraw?”

Bloodbreak Marquis nodded. After giving the Divine Fire Mountain one last look, he said, “Let’s go. If they had attacked the dragons to save Cloud Fire Marquis, this is a success for them.”

With a bitter look, Bloodbreak Marquis waved his hand and left with the others. It didn’t matter anymore. The myriad races no longer cared about this place. Proceeding with an attack against Cloud Fire Marquis would only make them vulnerable to surprise attacks from the back. It was simply too risky.

Since the other races were unwilling to fight, the devils would naturally not take the risk alone. Before long, all the experts gathered outside the Divine Fire Mountain were gone.

***

Inside Divine Fire Mountain.

A red-haired expert was frowning deeply. He was surrounded by a group of Eternals, all looking like they were prepared to face death. At the moment, they were discussing the detonation of the Divine Fire Mountain to drag their enemies down with them.

A red-haired woman with a fiery temper said, “Lord, what is there to consider? Let’s form groups of two Eternals each and split us all among the twenty-two hills here. The moment the enemies arrive, we will detonate the hills and kill all those bastards.”

She stood up and roared fervently, “At most, we will die with them. Here, we can drag a few Daofuses down before dying. We will be nothing after leaving this place.”

“Wait.” Cloud Fire Marquis frowned and berated the woman, “What’s the rush?”

He hesitated slightly and said, “The people outside…seem to have dispersed.”

The fiery woman snorted and said, “This is a mere insignificant trick. They are trying to mislead us. Lord, be careful lest they return right after we relax our defenses. We can’t take this lightly. I suggest we split up immediately and get ready to detonate this whole place.”

After some thought, Cloud Fire Marquis nodded. Yes. There was such a possibility. That was the only explanation for the sudden withdrawal of the experts out there.

He said, “Do not be in a rush to detonate anything. This place is very important for our survival. Don’t do anything rash without my order.”

He carefully scanned their surroundings again. After some time, he frowned and said, “They’re really gone. Every last one of them.”

“They must be waiting somewhere hidden for us to show ourselves.”

There was such a possibility.

Cloud Fire Marquis nodded and said, “Just be careful. I sensed some fluctuations far away earlier. I wonder what happened. Maybe something big happened elsewhere.”

“That’s clearly a trick.” The fiery woman sneered and said, “They deliberately created some fluctuations to make us believe that something must have happened elsewhere. In truth, they are trying to reduce our wariness before catching us by surprise.”

That made a lot of sense. Cloud Fire Marquis nodded and smiled, “Yes, you’re right. That’s very possible.”

He said, “Be careful, everyone. We scatter for now. We can’t give them the opportunity to wipe us all out in one fell swoop. I’ll observe more.”

“Yes!”

Everyone left.