Chapter 482: The Great War Begins

Illusion Ash was deeply anxious. He wasn't afraid of Dawn and Yuanhuang joining forces; he was worried about the mastermind hiding in the shadows. The enemy's goal was glaringly obvious: use Dawn and Yuanhuang to deal with him and snatch away his Divine Puzzle.

If they succeeded, wouldn't he be in grave danger?

"Brother Dawn, don't let this mastermind deceive you..."

"Heh..." The Lord of Dawn sneered. "I thought you were going to say something earth-shattering, but this is it? Even if what you say is true—that someone with the exact same Divine Puzzle is deliberately sowing discord—I have to ask: did this person just pop out of a rock?

There are only a few dozen Saint Lords in this world, and every single one carved their path through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Even before becoming Saint Lords, they were outstanding figures among world-renowned Saint Grade experts. To ascend to a Saint Lord, one must find a compatible Divine Puzzle, brave the Divine Ruins, and refine a Divine Corpse. Which of these isn't an earth-shattering endeavor?

Yet, as far as I know, the Illusion Technique lineage is incredibly rare. Those with minor accomplishments reach the Gold Realm at best, not even touching the Saint Grade. From ancient times to the present, you, Illusion Ash, are the only one to achieve the status of Saint Lord through illusion.

"And now you run over here to tell me a Saint Lord with your exact abilities suddenly popped up out of nowhere? Do you really take me for a fool?"

These words left Illusion Ash speechless, as he also had no idea where this person had come from. Everything left a trace, especially figures at the level of a Saint Lord. They couldn't just spring out of thin air.

Seeing the enemy army marching ever further onward, Illusion Ash gritted his teeth and brought up the Temple of God Slaying.

"Brother Dawn, to tell you the truth, I have already received an invitation from the Temple of God Slaying. It won't be long before I leave with them. Everything in the mortal world will have nothing to do with me, so I wouldn't provoke a conflict with the two of you at a time like this."

"Halt." The Lord of Dawn waved a hand, and the army stopped in its tracks.

He looked back at Illusion Ash with a faint, mocking smile. "A new scam?"

The Lord of Dawn's face was full of ridicule. In his eyes, Illusion Ash was merely borrowing the prestige of the Temple of God Slaying to intimidate him, buying enough time for his subordinates to refine those two Divine Corpses and advance to Saint Lords.

Illusion Ash shook his head, his tone incredibly earnest. "I am telling the truth."

"Oh, no wonder you dared to offend the two of us at the same time. You have the backing of the Temple of God Slaying. That explains everything."

Illusion Ash: "..."

He finally understood what it meant when yellow mud falls into trousers; even if it is not feces, it is treated as such.

After wasting so much breath explaining himself, Illusion Ash's patience was completely exhausted. He said coldly, "You had better think this through. I've been invited by the Temple of God Slaying. If you attack me, beware—"

"Don't try to use the Temple of God Slaying to pressure me! The Temple of God Slaying is solely focused on dealing with Gods and never interferes in mortal affairs. So what if they really invited you? They merely value your potential. Once we kill you, take back the Divine Corpses, and vastly increase our strength, the two of us will go to the Temple of God Slaying in your place."

"You!"

Bang!

With a sweep of the Lord of Dawn's hand, Illusion Ash's phantom shattered.

Hidden in the shadows, Su Mu watched everything in silence. A thoughtful look flashed through his eyes. The Temple of God Slaying?

He was not a native Saint Lord and didn't know much about the Temple of God Slaying, though he had heard some legends about it from the people he had hypnotized.

An organization that never revealed itself to the world, quietly working against the Gods.

Nowadays, the True Gods seemed to have completely vanished. Could the Temple of God Slaying be the reason behind this?

"C-Captain, is it really a good idea for us to show up in the Dawn Domain so openly?" a pretty boy wearing a wig and a fake mustache asked weakly from beside him.

Su Mu glanced at Chu Ying beside him and smiled warmly. "What's wrong with it? Illusion Ash did all the bad things. What does that have to do with us?"

Chu Ying: "..."

"Let's go. Time to watch a show." Su Mu patted Chu Ying's frail shoulder, and she immediately began teleporting out of conditioned reflex.

...

...

Several days later.

In the Illusion Ash Realm, the armies had arrived at the city gates!

The massive forces led by Dawn and Yuanhuang engaged in a fierce clash with Illusion Ash.

This was a true showdown between Transcendents. In Heaven, Transcendents were the mainstream. Because of their prevalence and sheer power, firearms were relatively undeveloped.

In the hands of a Transcendent, guns weren't necessarily more effective than cold weapons.

The sky was obscured by billowing smoke. Sunlight struggled to squeeze through the gaps, spilling over the chaotic battlefield and coating the bloody slaughter in an eerie golden light.

War cries, explosions, and shrieks of agony wove together into a symphony of death.

In the Dawn camp, countless soldiers clad in Thorn Armor fought tooth and nail. The Thorn Armor they wore was a manifestation of the Lord of Dawn's power; not only could it autonomously attack enemies, but it could also self-repair.

Treants as massive as mountains and billions of wildly growing vines that slithered like venomous snakes mixed among the soldiers, erupting with unimaginable power.

The Yuanhuang camp was a pure torrent of steel. Every soldier seemed to have been modified by the Lord of Primal Desolation; their skin gleamed with a cold metallic light, and gears spun inside their bodies, turning them into merciless killing machines.

In contrast, the Illusion Ash camp was much more elegant. They were all dressed in white robes, with quite a few young women among them. They didn't have plant life holding the lines, nor did they have mechanical enhancements. They only had... an unyielding will, unafraid of death.

Because everyone in the Illusion Ash Realm was already under Illusion Ash's control, all of them would lay down their lives for him without the slightest hesitation.

Atop the realm's city walls, Illusion Ash stared down at the battle below with an ugly expression. An undeserved catastrophe!

He had thought a war might break out, but he had never expected it to begin like this.

"Two fools being used without even realizing it!" His gaze crossed the vast distance to land on Dawn and Yuanhuang at the center of the army.

He hadn't expected that even after explaining so earnestly, he still couldn't make these two idiots believe him. Instead, they assumed he was stalling for time.

At the thought of this, he wished he could charge out right now and fight them to the death. Yet, he was worried about the mastermind hiding in the shadows. If the other party launched a sneak attack...

...

"We can't drag this out any longer. Illusion Ash is holding back from attacking because he definitely wants to stall for time and let his subordinates refine the Divine Corpses," the Lord of Dawn said coldly.

"In that case, let's make our move!" Yuanhuang shot to his feet. His towering body stretched, and accompanied by the grinding of gears, eight arms slowly extended from his back.

"Yes. In a moment, you go and pin down Illusion Ash. I will take the opportunity to destroy the realm and force out the ones refining the Divine Corpses."

"All right. Let's do it!"

Two terrifying, world-destroying auras erupted from within the massive army. The sheer might of the Saint Lords enveloped the entire battlefield.

"Damn it!" the Lord of Illusory Ashes cursed furiously. Watching the two figures shooting toward him like meteors, he had no choice but to brace himself and meet the attack. He couldn't just stand there and take a beating.

"Flame Hell Judgment!" He raised both arms high. Flames surged from his body like an erupting volcano, condensing in the void into a gigantic flame demon.

The demon wielded a massive, blazing sword and slashed at the two of them with terrifying momentum. Wherever the blade passed, the intense heat distorted space itself, and the ground transformed into a sea of fire.

"Karmic Wheel Execution!" White steam erupted. The Lord of Primal Desolation's muscles bulged, and his eight mechanical arms spun rapidly, turning into a mechanical wheel that crushed all things as it hurtled toward the flame demon.

He unleashed a killing move right from the start, harboring absolutely no intention of merely testing the waters.

Meanwhile, the Lord of Dawn made a sharp turn in midair, charging straight toward the realm itself.