Desolate Era

by RWX

  The others calmed down slightly upon hearing this. They were filled with absolute, blind faith in Iyerre’s master.

  “Here they are!” Iyerre and the others all felt their hearts clench as those two towering figures emerged from the dark passageways. The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan flew out right next to each other.

  “It’s Iyerre and his lackeys. I knew they wouldn’t just watch as we destroyed the quintessence.” Ning and the others knew that the moment of truth had arrived.

  “Charge!”

  “Break into that castle at all costs!” Ning and the others didn’t hesitate at all. The Avatar Titan took the lead while the Sword Titan brought up the rear as they charged towards the castle. As long as they were able to touch it, they would be able to blink inside it.

  “Stop them!” Iyerre roared ferociously. One violet-gold chain after another began to dance defensively in front of the castle, while all three black warbeasts charged in unison to block the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan.

  “Fuck off!” The Avatar Titan’s job was to clear the way, but the violet-gold chains were being controlled in an absolutely marvelous fashion by Iyerre. They all parted before the Avatar Titan, coiling behind it to strike at the Sword Titan! Iyerre and the others all knew that the Avatar Titan wasn’t that great of a threat. The true threat remained the Sword Titan, which was in command of an enormous amount of power.

  “Grow, grow, grow!” The three black warbeasts suddenly expanded dramatically in size. The tunnels weren’t that large, and their sudden increase in size resulted in them filling up much of the tunnel with their bulk. If Ning and the others wanted to reach the castle, they would have to first defeat these clawed terrors.

  “If we have to fight them, we’ll go ahead and destroy all three of them!” The Sword Titan wielded a longsword in each hand, lifting them up while the seven inside of it began to unleash the prodigious power which they had been keeping in abeyance.

  Whoosh! The right sword sliced out, chopping towards the three black warbeasts which sought to bar the titan’s path. The power contained within this sword caused spacetime itself to disintegrate. There was nothing which could impede this terrifying strike! All three warbeasts were utterly terrified by the might of this blow, while Iyerre gritted his teeth and prayed, “They have to block them!”

  Whoosh! When the divine sword slammed against the body of the first warbeast, it suddenly transformed to become as soft as silk. It twisted, seeking to wrap itself over the black warbeast and bind it. The black warbeast, however, transformed to become a black liquid which the sword could not bind.

  “You want to capture it? Do you think the most powerful machine warbeasts my master created would be so easily captured by the likes of you?” the distant Iyerre laughed coldly.

  The Autarchs instantly understood that there was no way to capture them, and so they immediately changed strategies. “Destroy them!”

  Whoosh! Whoosh! The two divine swords were filled with ineffable power as they came crashing down towards the three beasts. It must be remembered that even an ‘invulnerable form’ would be destroyed if the amount of power facing it surpassed the limits of its tolerance! These three black warbeasts were currently forced to face the full, absolute might of this twin-attack from the dominating Sword Titan! The black warbeasts were extremely tough. They weren’t the slightest bit injured, and in fact they were able to deflect 99% of the concussive force… but that remaining 1% entered its body and reduced the Sithe Exalts it encountered to dust.

  “No!”

  “Ahhh!” Bowenya and the others only felt an overwhelming amount of power pass through them, followed by their bodies completely disintegrating.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!!! The three black warbeasts were sent flying backwards and smashed into the walls of the passageway. They were physically unharmed but filled with dead Sithe.

  Thanks to the local formations, Iyerre was able to clearly see what the situation was inside the three black warbeasts. The three powerful allies he had half-coaxed, half-forced to come had been able to withstand that terrifying blast. However, all of the Sithe Exalts in the first and second warbeasts, which had taken the brunt of the strikes, had been slain! Three Sithe Exalts had died in the third warbeast as well. Now, only his three allies and five Sithe Exalts were remaining.

  Boom! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! The nine violet-gold chains had worked together with the black warbeasts to defend against this attack. Two of the chains actually blew apart! The Sword Titan shrank in size, seeking to fly through the gap, but the remaining chains flew over to block it once more.

  “Ahahaha!” Iyerre’s loud laughter echoed throughout the passageway. Ning and the others were anxious, nervous, and resentful.

  “You have lost! LOST!” Iyerre roared with laughter. “That last-gasp desperation attack was very powerful, but both the warbeasts and the chains are completely fearless. You weren’t able to destroy them and blast open a route to the castle!”

  It was true. That final, frenzied strike had not done what they needed it to do – clear a path to the castle! Ning and the others gritted their teeth. Those warbeasts were simply too difficult to deal with.

  “Those three warbeasts are finished. You are the only one left. You are the one who has lost, Sithe.” The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan charged straight towards Iyerre.

  “Who said they are finished?” Iyerre let out a loud laugh.

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The three black warbeasts once more flew over to block in front of Iyerre.

  The black warbeasts were under the control of Iyerre’s three powerful allies. The Sithe Exalts merely provided additional support.

  Ning and the others stared at the untouched Iyerre as well as the three enormous black warbeasts. Their hearts grew cold. As soon as they had witnessed the black warbeasts rise up once more, they had already begun to feel a sense of despair. Those things were still battle-worthy? How was this even possible?

  Book 45, Chapter 11 - Truly Unbearable

  The seven dancing violet-gold chains and the three warbeasts were charging towards them once more. Ji Ning and the other Autarchs had already used up the massive energy they had gained from sacrificing parts of their bodies. Even the power of the World of Liberation had dropped back down to its normal level.

  Boom! Bang! The Sword Titan used its sword-arts to defend against the three black warbeasts simultaneously.

  “One of the warbeasts is just as strong as it was previously, while the other two still have 80% power.” Ning quickly came to this conclusion after clashing against them once more, and it turned their hearts cold.

  Iyerre smiled coldly as he watched from behind, launching attacks towards the weaker Avatar Titan.

  “Flee!” Ning and the others didn’t hesitate at all, quickly coming to this decision. Iyerre and the three warbeasts were as one thanks to the formation, and all four were incredibly strong. This was why Ning and the others had been forced to sacrifice parts of their bodies to launch a final desperation attack… but it had failed! If they were truly forced to fight the Avatar Titan would probably be defeated in short order, at which point the Sword Titan wouldn’t be far off from defeat either. As of right now, they had only one chance to survive – escape!

  Escape the Grassland World, run far away, and recover! Once they did so, they could come back here to fight again.

  Swoosh! Swoosh! The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan both began to flee.

  “Running? After all that’s happened, you still think you can escape?” Iyerre grinned coldly. He was effortlessly dominating the Avatar Titan with the help of the seven violet-gold chains, while the three black warbeasts continued to chase down the Sword Titan. “Stop struggling. Struggling won’t help you.”

  Iyerre’s body began to emit tremendous amounts of dazzling light which filled every single passageway. He himself vanished without a trace, hiding within the light while he continued to furiously assault the Avatar Titan. The Avatar Titan was just barely ab
le to hold on, thanks to his defensive sword-arts!

  Alas, Iyerre outstripped the Avatar Titan in terms of power, and he had a higher level of insight as well! Given that he also had seven violet-gold chains helping him while he launched sneak attacks from hiding, it only took six seconds before Iyerre managed to land a knife-hand blow on the Avatar Titan, plunging it into the titan’s body and causing the avatars inside to feel a sense of despair.

  Riiiiiip! The towering Iyerre used his two hands to physically rip the Avatar Titan in half. Ning and the other avatars shared a glance, then simultaneously made the same decision without any hesitation at all: self-detonation!

  Boom! Boom! Boom! All seven avatars exploded simultaneously.

  Their worry was that when Iyerre killed them, he would use karma to route the attacks against their true bodies as well! Autarch Bolin and Autarch Titanos were able to completely cut themselves off from all karmic ties, but what of the others? If Iyerre wasn’t reinforced by this formation his karmic attacks probably wouldn’t be a threat to them, but he was currently strengthened by both the ignited quintessence core and his link to the three warbeasts. Ning and the others didn’t dare to take this risk.

  “A clean end.” Iyerre turned to glance upwards. “But it won’t matter. Struggle all you want. You are doomed.”

  Whoosh. He took a step forwards, warping through space before appearing in front of the Sword Titan.

  ……

  The Sword Titan was frantically trying to flee, but the three black warbeasts continued to slow him down, preventing him from travelling at maximum speed.

  “These warbeasts are indestructible and can warp through spacetime to block us.” Ning and the others felt anxious.

  “We’re almost there.” Whoosh. They finally reached the grassy surface once more, at which point the Sword Titan blinked out to the clouds above.

  “Hahaha!” Iyerre’s loud laughter rang out. The Sword Titan raised his head, the seven all watching as Iyerre emerged out of nowhere and appeared in the skies. Iyerre said with a laugh, “There are nine layers of clouds here. It will take you so very, very long to fly through all these layers that I’m afraid you won’t be able to escape.”

  “Damn.” Ning and the others all knew that Iyerre was far more difficult to deal with than those three black warbeasts, because of how high his level of insight was.

  “Escaping is our only chance.”

  “Let’s give it our all.”

  “Do everything we can to escape.” Titanos, Mogg, Ning, Bolin, Ekong, Stonerule, and Skyfeeder all knew that they had to get out of here.

  Boom! Twin swords in hand, the Sword Titan began to soar toward the clouds.

  “Do you really think you can escape?” Iyerre charged downwards, surrounded by seven violet-gold chains that stretched out a million kilometers. Space rippled behind him, followed by the three black warbeasts appearing.

  Swoosh! The Sword Titan immediately arced sideways in a bid to avoid them, but the seemingly-omnipresent violet-gold chains still managed to appear in front of them, as did Iyerre and the three warbeasts.

  Clang! Clang! Clang! Boom!

  The Sword Titan used its sword-arts to battle against Iyerre and the three black warbeasts while continuing to soar towards the clouds in the skies. Although the three black warbeasts were extremely strong, they didn’t pose too much of a threat because they were merely on par with Ning and the others in terms of insight. Ning was able to use his self-created fusion sword-arts to block all three of them… but Iyerre was much more dangerous! Iyerre’s attacks caught Ning flat-footed time and time again. Blocking his attacks was a much more difficult proposition.

  Iyerre didn’t even need to fear the Sword Titan in solo combat, much less now when he had the three black warbeasts helping to slow the titan down.

  “If we just keep defending, we’re going to lose. We have to escape!” Ning and the Autarchs couldn’t see any chance of winning this battle. Their only chance lay in escape. If they got out of here, they just might end up the victors after all!

  ……

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Spacetime was shattered throughout the Grassland World, with the Five Elements thrown into a state of chaos as the Sword Titan continued to charge upwards while being surrounded and bombarded with attacks by the Sithe.

  Boom! The power of the World of Liberation, by itself, was enough to tear through the clouds. The Sword Titan charged upwards through the opening, but Iyerre and the black warbeasts continued to press the attack against him. Iyerre was like a patient hunter, continuing to harass his prey while searching for the perfect opportunity. Ning and the others felt as though they had daggers pressed against their backs. Every single attack Iyerre launched was incredibly dangerous.

  “We have to hold until we get out! We have to.”

  “Keep holding!”

  Titanos and the rest quietly prayed. It was now up to Ning. Ning was in control of the entire Sword Titan, and he used it to execute his sword-arts. This was an extremely taxing fight! The three black warbeasts had insights on par with his, while Iyerre’s insights were far more profound. It was already impressive for him to maintain an airtight defense, but they really couldn’t afford to let themselves be beaten here. If they lost, it would all be over!

  Boom! The Sword Titan charged past the second layer of clouds, continuing its upwards ascent.

  “Not good.” Ning paled as Iyerre managed to snake a palm past the Sword Titan’s defensive sword-stances. Ning didn’t hesitate, immediately discarding the Northbow sword in his left hand and using his hand instead to launch a sword-art. Boom! He managed to block Iyerre’s palm.

  “He actually blocked it?” Iyerre had thought he was about to win. He couldn’t help but feel slightly startled.

  As the Sword Titan was knocked flying backwards, yet another Northbow sword appeared in his left hand. Ning had a total of six Northbow swords, after all! As for the one he had discarded, it had flown back to below the Golden Bridges of Freedom.

  Boom! The Sword Titan burst through the third layer of clouds. However, as it did so a ghostly and gigantic palm once more burst past Ning’s defenses. This time, Ning was completely unable to react. The palm slammed into the left side of the Sword Titan’s waist, with the Sword Titan unable to block even with his hands.

  “NO!!!!” Ning, Titanos, Bolin, and the others all watched in shock. Time itself seemed to have slowed down.

  Bang! The alabaster fingers pierced deep into the Sword Titan’s flank, stabbing straight through it. Then, as though it could sense the Autarchs, it reached out towards the nearest person inside – Autarch Mogg.

  Autarch Mogg wanted to block… but how could he?

  “No. We can’t lose!” Tears appeared in Autarch Mogg’s face. Bang! The giant alabaster hand stabbed into him, filling every inch of his body with a burst of such overwhelming power that every last speck of mana within it began to crumble from the force of the strike.

  BOOM! He was completely obliterated. Not even a scrap of his truesoul fragments was able to return to this Chaosverse. Everything had been devoured.

  Riiiiip. With Mogg’s death, the entire Sword Titan began to destabilize. Iyerre tore at the insides of the Sword Titan with his alabaster hand, ripping a gaping wound through the Sword Titan’s chest and to its shoulders, nearly cleaving the titan in half.

  “Kill them!” Iyerre’s voice was filled with intoxicated glee as well as a boundless desire for his foes to die.

  “Kill!” The three black warbeasts grew excited as well. They were about to win! They all pounced down towards the already-crumbling Sword Titan, while Iyerre himself began to launch an attack as well.

  “We can’t lose.” Ning desperately tried to make the Sword Titan wield the Northbow sword and block, but without Mogg the power of their sword-arts dropped dramatically. There was no way for him to stop Iyerre, whose attack once more dug deep into the Sword Titan’s body. This time, he managed to latch onto Autarch Skyfeeder. Light glowed around h
is palm, and Autarch Skyfeeder was similarly unable to defend against him. The end result was destruction.

  “Damn it all!” Autarch Skyfeeder stared into the skies, filled with despair and resentment.

  BOOM! Upon her death, the Sword Titan’s body crumbled apart as well. Now that they had lost two Autarchs, the Sword Titan was no longer able to stay intact. Ning, Titanos, and the others began to instinctively flee despite their despair.

  “Hahaha!” A black warbeast pounced forwards, clawing at Autarch Stonerule’s back. Autarch Stonerule was absolutely agonized. “Why? Why? WHY!” BOOM! Autarch Stonerule was annihilated as well, his truesoul fragments completely devoured.

  Ning continued to flee, his heart feeling as though it was being cut apart by countless knives. All he could do was watch as one of his friends after another was killed.

  “I can’t lose. We really can’t lose!” Countless figures flashed through Ning’s mind. This Chaosverse was filled with innumerable living beings. Ning’s friends… his disciples… his family members… the hard-working cultivators he knew… there were countless people in this Chaosverse, part of whom he knew and part of whom he didn’t.

  They had lost. Their entire civilization was about to be overthrown.

  “I’m sorry.” Autarch Titanos didn’t struggle. He simply shut his eyes, two streams of tears cascading down his face as he transformed himself into a plume of light. However, the black warbeast’s sharp claws reached out, still managing to capture and devour all the truesoul fragments and prevent them from returning to the Quintessence.

  “Wipe them all out!” Iyerre roared with laughter. “Kill them all! Drown their entire civilization with blood! This Chaosverse is MINE! IYERRE’S! AHAHAHA!”

  But then… the entire Grassland World seemed to have fallen silent. All other auras were completely suppressed, while Iyerre’s laughter became frozen as well. He suddenly turned to stare at the sword-bearing white-robed youth. Two streams of tears were cascading down the youth’s face.