Eternal Thief

Chapter 1676: The War of Undead Cradle Begins!

”World-Piercing Fiend Annihilation!”

”BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!”

The next instant, the halberd descended, and it was just a single strike and nothing more, yet the moment it descended, the sky split apart, and the earth shattered as reality itself appeared pierced!

Thereafter, a gigantic dark-golden spear flame materialized and shot toward the Undead Boundary, and everything along its path ceased to exist. Space vanished, laws collapsed, and even light was annihilated.

The entire battlefield watched in stunned silence, and then, the spear struck!

For a single second, nothing happened, but then, ’CRACK!’, a tiny fracture appeared, followed by another, then another, then thousands, then millions...

The entire Undead Boundary froze, like a giant mirror, like a giant pane of glass covered in endless cracks.

The Evernight Fiend King’s savage grin widened as he roared, ”Break for this King!”

’CRAAAAAAAASH!!!’

As if the Evernight King’s voice contained an absolute at the moment he uttered it, the Undead Boundary shattered and exploded into countless fragments. A rain of gray crystalline light engulfed the heavens.

Thus, the final line of defense, the prison that had protected the Corpse Clan for countless years, was gone.

For the first time, the truth hidden behind the Undead Boundary was revealed before the eyes of the Evernight Council and millions of battle-hungry participants.

But what greeted them was not some paradise, nor a hidden kingdom, or even a peaceful homeland.

Instead, it was a world of death, an endless landscape of corrosive corpse mountains, black canyons, gray skies, gigantic corpse fortresses, countless defensive formations, and millions upon millions of undead soldiers.

Standing atop those fortresses was the Corpse Clan, waiting and watching, ready for the real war to begin!

---

High above the shattered remains of the Undead Boundary, Ace and Eva silently hovered above the First Battlefront’s central command fortress.

Neither spoke as they had witnessed everything from the moment the Evernight Fiend King’s terrifying spear intent erupted across heaven and earth, to the instant that world-shaking strike descended and tore apart the barrier that had protected the Corpse Clan for countless years.

Even now, the aftermath lingered as the sky remained fractured, with spatial scars stretching for thousands of miles. The remnants of destructive laws still drifted through the battlefield like invisible blades.

Ace’s expression was grim beneath Kharon Veyth’s disguise because he finally understood one thing. There was really an Evernight King present in the Undead Cradle, and the Evernight Devil King whom he had previously observed was not the strongest Evernight King.

The Evernight Devil King was nowhere near the Evernight Fiend King, who was clearly another monster entirely. A monster specialized in destruction and slaughter.

That final strike had not merely shattered a barrier. It had nearly split a portion of the Undead Cradle itself.

More importantly, an Evernight King was personally overseeing this battlefield, not a projection, clone, or an incarnation, but a real Abyssal King and an extremely dangerous one at that.

Ace inwardly exhaled since, fortunately, he had listened to Eva.

During these two fortnights, both had continuously observed the Evernight Council’s preparations while searching for weaknesses in the Realmbreaker Conquest Ark and the battlefield command structure.

Unfortunately, they found almost nothing, not to mention the Dread Duchess’s security arrangements were airtight.

Communication formations overlapped endlessly, patrol routes shifted constantly, Grand Lords moved everywhere, and lastly, the looming threat of the Evernight Kings. Even minor anomalies would immediately attract attention.

Unless they wished to expose themselves prematurely, there had been no opportunity worth exploiting.

Now Ace felt a trace of relief since if he had acted recklessly and underestimated the Evernight Kings, the consequences would’ve been unimaginable.

The perception of an Abyssal King was simply on another level entirely for a Half-Abyssal King and a true Abyssal King were worlds apart.

But now everything had changed. The Undead Boundary was gone, the war was beginning, and war meant chaos. Chaos meant opportunities, making it a perfect environment for thieves.

Just as this thought appeared, something unexpected happened.

”Mm?”

Ace’s eyes narrowed as far beyond the battlefield, a terrifyingly dense gray mist suddenly erupted from the Corpse Clan’s territory.

Like an endless tsunami, like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam, the mist rapidly spread across the battlefield.

’So that’s why I’ve been feeling as if something was missing. It was the Corpse Qi!’

Ace instantly recognized it; it was an overwhelming amount of Corpse Qi, and its concentration was so absurd that ordinary cultivators would likely begin to suffer corruption merely by breathing it.

Below them, countless participants instantly changed expressions. Many activated defensive techniques, others hurriedly swallowed antidotes, and the formation operators began shouting orders.

It was completely unexpected as the Corpse Clan had made its first move, and it was a vicious one and more than effective since it caught the cultivators on the Evernight Council’s side completely off guard!

Inside one of the massive corpse fortresses, Belfast’s corpse puppet, a gaseous abyssal beast, stood atop a colossal formation platform with countless corpse runes revolving around it.

The formation beneath his gaseous feet roared.

”Release everything. Let them have the taste of Corpse Qi and suffer!” His ethereal, cold voice echoed.

The next moment, the suppression formations maintaining the Corpse Qi reservoirs were completely disabled.

’BOOOOOOOOMMMM!’

Even more gray mist surged outward, and the battlefield instantly transformed into a land of death.

Belfast’s expression remained icy as he had no intention of waiting for the Evernight Council to stabilize its foothold.

If war had begun, then they would immediately force the enemy into unfavorable conditions!

---

High above the battlefield, the Evernight Demon King watched the spreading Corpse Qi with amusement.

Her pale lips curled slightly.

”Oh?” A strange smile appeared. ”It seems they haven’t completely lost their will to fight, Eldest Senior Brother.”

She looked toward the distant corpse fortresses.

The Evernight Fiend King snorted, his killing intent still terrifying, with no hint of exhaustion on his face despite casting a taboo spell.

”They’re merely struggling before death.” His gaze landed upon one of the massive fortresses, and the surrounding space instantly cracked, ”I can erase that fortress with one strike.”

The Evernight Demon King chuckled, ”Where’s the fun in that?”

The Fiend King frowned while the Demon King continued playfully, ”Besides...those little brats below still need contribution points. They need treasures. They need battle merits. If you destroy everything yourself, what will they do?”

The Fiend King grunted, though he clearly disliked the answer.

The Demon King’s smile widened as she wrinkled her nose dramatically, ”Still, this smell is unpleasant; I guess I’ll have to purify it!”