Chapter 322
Chapter 322
Jialing Pass, Dual God Descent
(TL by Bagelson)
The gazes of the six priests all turned in the direction of that golden light. It wasn’t that the light was growing brighter and brighter, but rather that it was getting closer and closer to Jialing Pass. With its speed, it had already grown ten times in practically just the time it took the priest to mention it. As they watched, they could already nearly see it clearly.
“That’s……”
The second priest gazed into the distance, instantly growing excited. At more than a hundred years of age, he couldn’t resist shouting excitedly,
“It’s the miss! That’s the miss, she did it. Hurry up and look, the Angelic Raiment, isn’t that the Angelic Raiment of our Spirit Hall? The symbol of the God of Angels, the miss really did it, haha, excellent, truly excellent, now let’s see how the Heaven Dou Empire can still fight us.”
The intense golden light gradually lit up the entire sky, visible not only to the people on the walls, but all the Spirit Empire troops in Jialing Pass began to notice the strange phenomenon.
Six wings unfurled, Qian Renxue’s expression was ice cold, the Angelic Raiment blossoming with dazzling light. At this moment, looking up at the sky from Jialing Pass, the brilliance of the sun was gone, leaving only that dazzling God of Angels.
The six priests looked at each other, their minds in tune, exhaling simultaneously, pouring all their spirit power into their voices, shouting at the sky,
“Angelic—— Descent——!”
How loud the voices of six Title Douluo above rank ninety five shouting with all their strength was had to be heard to be understood. The Spirit Empire troops stationed on the walls fell like cut wheat, shocked unconscious. Their voices enveloped all of Jialing Pass, and even passed into the distance. Even if it couldn’t reach a hundred li, it did reach the opposing Heaven Dou army camp, and shocked all of Jialing Pass.
The numerous Spirit Empire defenders had already been captivated by the golden sky, and now that they heard the shouts of the priests, they immediately held their breath, watching the beautiful angel descend from the sky with disbelief. The common soldiers that weren’t spirit masters couldn’t resist kneeling in worship under the intense divine sense pressure, and such a phenomenon spread through all of Jialing Pass like a plague. Even the people in the Spirit Empire spirit master legions all knelt when they saw this scene. Because Spirit City was the capital of the Spirit Empire, every time they had advanced a trial, they had all seen that angel statue filled with a sacred presence, and the six winged angel descending from the sky now, plus the incredible divine sense pressure, these spirit masters were all wild with joy. They understood that this would be a powerful ally.
The second priest led the other five in taking a few steps back, trembling falling to one knee, speaking respectfully to Qian Renxue hanging in midair, her phoenix eyes radiating power:
“The Spirit Empire Sacrificial Palace six priests, pays our respects to the God of Angels.”
When even the six great priests were kneeling, those still remaining conscious on top of the walls no longer hesitated. There was no longer anyone standing in Jialing Pass, all bowed.
Qian Renxue said calmly:
“All priests please rise.”
She’d feigned being the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire for years, and with her god level presence, an arrogant dignity imperceptibly spread out. She now slowly descended from the sky, slowly landing on the walls, withdrawing the six angel wings behind her. With a wave of her hands, a golden ripple spread out with her as center, and the soldiers knocked unconscious by the six priests just now all regained consciousness, one by one quickly crouching. Those who were conscious also felt a warmth spread through them, exceptionally comfortable.
This was divine sense. Incomparably formidable divine sense. The presence of a god instantly conquered the hearts of everyone on the walls. Qian Renxue was beyond powerful, and even more stunning, but this didn’t give them any wayward thoughts, only heartfelt reverence.
The six priests got up one after another. Golden Crocodile Douluo walked up to Qian Renxue in a few steps, whispering:
“Miss, you succeeded?”
Qian Renxue nodded slightly, a sparkling teardrop flashing in her eye,
“Grandfather…….”
Golden Crocodile Douluo’s eyes burned with excitement, his voice trembling:
“The high priest abandoned himself to make you a god. After so many years, my Spirit Hall finally has a god level power. Don’t worry miss, the high priest watches from Haven. Seeing you now he will definitely be completely content.”
Qian Renxue shook her head slightly. If not for Tang San, she might have thought Golden Crocodile Douluo was right. But she wasn’t the only god that would appear on this battlefield. She had a kind of incredibly conflicted mood towards Tang San. The seed of defeat he had planted in her heart had long since sprouted.
“Second priest, tell me how Jialing Pass is now. Bibi Dong?”
Qian Renxue’s voice turned cold, and despite Golden Crocodile Douluo’s cultivation, he couldn’t help trembling in front of her boundless divine sense.
“After we six arrived, Bibi Dong had already been seriously wounded in battle by a person called Tang San from the Heaven Dou Empire, and we used the opportunity to assume authority over the army. We have already sent back Bibi Dong to Spirit City under guard by our people to heal. We six are temporarily in command here, and now that miss has returned, the command will naturally be turned over to you. Once we’ve repelled the Heaven Dou army, we together will endorse you to depose Bibi Dong’s title. You are the rightful Empress, and now that you have become god, then even if Bibi Dong has some fanatic supporters in Spirit Hall, it’s not enough to threaten you.”
Qian Renxue’s brows not only wrinkled somewhat on mention of Bibi Dong, especially after hearing that Bibi Dong was injured by Tang San, for some reason she felt stifled, muttering:
“Tang San, Tang San yet again. You really are my nemesis!”
“Miss, you……”
Golden Crocodile Douluo looked a bit confused at Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue returned to her senses, speaking calmly:
“Priests, the whole army goes to battle tomorrow.”
Golden Crocodile Douluo had been waiting for those words, loudly agreeing,
“This time we will definitely thoroughly rout that Heaven Dou imperial army.”
The corners of Qian Renxue’s mouth unconsciously moved. Thoroughly rout? Is it really that easy? Only if that person doesn’t appear. When events were already at this stage there was no chance for her to delay, this battle would begin sooner or later. She didn’t know whether Tang San had already returned to the Heaven Dou army. No matter what, the battle tomorrow should be the time to settle things. Tang San, that’s right, you did leave a seed of defeat in my heart, but even if I can’t defeat you, don’t tell me I can’t drag you into death? Since I can’t conquer you while alive, then I will in another world after death. Even if you are the nemesis of my life, I will still bring you down with me.
Intense fighting spirit radiated from Qian Renxue’s eyes. The mindset of burning both jade and common stone together had given her the courage to come to Jialing Pass. Qian Renxue thought, Oh, Tang San, I will teach you how powerful a god can be when betting their life. Don’t you quite love that Xiao Wu? I won’t let you be together, I’ll pull you into death without touching her, you can only be with me, even if it’s in death.
Turning, Qian Renxue gazed at the Heaven Dou army encampment. The six priests didn’t notice a kind of hysterical madness flash in her eyes.
The Heaven Dou army camp wasn’t calm either, as the Tang Sect Speed Hall disciples had returned with the news. Actually, even without their information, a lot of people on the Heaven Dou Empire side had seen the spectacle at Jialing Pass just now.
The Heaven Dou Emperor Xue Beng immediately convened the ranking officers in the great tent. The Heaven Dou Empire powers as well as the army commanders, marshal Ge Long and the others all showed up.
After Xue Beng took the main seat, he waved his hand,
“Everyone be seated.”
Of course, his words didn’t intend for everyone in the tent to sit, only a handful of people were able to sit here. On the army side, only marshal Ge Long was so privileged, and on the other side, the one sitting in the first seat was the Heaven Dou imperial tutor, commander of the Heaven Dou Empire spirit master legion, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
After Yu Xiaogang was the Clear Sky School master Tang Xiao, and even further was naturally Clear Sky Douluo, King Lan Hao Tang San’s father Tang Hao. In succession after that was Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School master Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo Chen Xin, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, the Title Douluo level powers. Only people at their level were entitled to seats here.
Xue Beng turned to Grandmaster, Tang Hao and the others:
“Suddenly convening everyone is due to the sudden change in the direction of Jialing Pass. A ball of extremely bright golden light landed there. According to the reports of the Tang Sect Speed Hall disciples, that was a woman radiating an extremely powerful presence, making them not dare approach. They vaguely heard shouts of ‘angelic descent’. You are all outstanding talents of a generation of the spirit master world, what is going on?”
The first to frown was Grandmaster. He definitely wasn’t the strongest spirit master, but he was absolutely the most knowledgeable one. When someone had notified him of the golden light appearing before, he had left his tent to look towards Jialing Pass. The other were all the same. Ordinary soldiers might not have felt it, and even relatively low level spirit masters might not have thought anything further, but people like the Tang brothers, as well as all the Title Douluo, all felt intensely restless.
When that golden light appeared, everyone had felt a heavy rock in their hearts, unable to breathe. Such circumstances happening for the peak powers of the spirit master world clearly wasn’t normal.
When Xue Beng saw that none of them spoke, and Grandmaster’s expression turned ugly, he couldn’t help being concerned,
“Don’t tell me it’s that the Spirit Empire high priest Qian Daoliu Teacher spoke of that arrived?”
“It’s not Qian Daoliu. Qian Daoliu is a man. According to the records my grandfather left behind, he looks like a middle aged man. The Speed Hall disciples say that was a woman.”
The speaker was Clear Sky School master Tang Xiao. Actually, in their hearts, these powers already had an answer. They just didn’t want to admit it, and even less say anything to affect morale.
Xue Beng spoke in a low voice:
“To be able to emanate such dazzling light that it shines a hundred li away, and also made me feel choked when I saw it, what kind of power could reach such a level? Imperial tutor, seniors, please explain it to me.”
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School master Ning Fengzhi sighed,
“There’s no way to hide it. Your Majesty, according to our observations, the energy released by that golden light definitely wasn’t something that Title Douluo can compare to, especially the enormous mental pressure. Even his highness king Lan Hao who is widely known for his mental strength doesn’t reach that degree. And king Lan Hao’s mental strength shouldn’t be any lower than that of a rank ninety nine Title Douluo. Therefore, we can foresee only one possibility, a rank one hundred power has arrived at Jialing Pass.”
“Rank one hundred?”
Whether Xue Beng or marshal Ge Long and those ranking officers, none could help drawing a cold breath at Ning Fengzhi’s words. They didn’t clearly understand what rank one hundred meant, but they still extremely clearly knew the effects of formidable spirit masters on the battlefield. Tang San had relied on his strength alone to practically reverse the course of the entire war, and he was just rank ninety something. Even more, rank one hundred implied another meaning as well!
Xue Beng swallowed with some difficulty,
“School master Ning, you mean to say that, the Spirit Empire, has a, god?”
At his mention of the word ‘god’, the entire tent was in an uproar. Even though this was the great tent of the emperor, the instant panic it caused made them all cry out.
“Silence.”
Marshal Ge Long shouted, suppressing the voices of the officers. But their expressions didn’t change, each and all revealing panic.
Xue Beng also couldn’t help feeling unstable. No matter how intelligent and farsighted he was, he was after all barely thirty. Facing such disastrous news, how could he not also panic? Even though he still forced himself to calm down, he couldn’t keep his gaze from flickering, his hands tightly grasping the table in front of him, his expression dark.
Tang Hao said:
“School master Ning is right, that might be a god. Moreover, from the energy that golden light released, it should have inherited the power of Spirit Hall’s Angelic God, addressed as God of Angels. According to the accounts of the Clear Sky School, Spirit Hall has a complete suit of six spirit bones, called the Angelic Raiment. It’s said that if someone can absorb all these six spirit bones, then they can break through rank one hundred and become a god level power. Even though I don’t know who that woman is, I can be near certain that she is a power that has inherited the Angelic Raiment. Since the Spirit Empire has such an ally, then they will certainly go to battle tomorrow. Your Majesty please prepare.”
Even with Tang Hao’s aggressiveness, he still couldn’t help losing some confidence after sensing the God of Angels’ divine sense earlier. Even if the Great Sumeru Hammer was even stronger, he still didn’t believe he could contend with a god. Let alone when Tang San had brought the Shrek Seven Devils away from the camp, the overall strength here was hollow, and this was also why the Heaven Dou army had chosen to pull back and guard their camp. If not for Qian Renxue’s arrival, Tang Hao was confident that the two brothers plus the other powers here could at least hold off the attack of the Spirit Empire army in Jialing Pass. But with the appearance of a god level power, the difference in strength between both sides had instantly changed.
It could be said that one god level power was enough to deal with all the Heaven Dou Empire powers in the tent. How could the war go on?
Xue Beng’s attitude was still rather stable. Even though this news equally made him panic a while, he still managed to calm down. He knew that he couldn’t be confused now, otherwise there might be a rebellion in the army. But he also understood, how could human strength compete with gods?
Xue Beng forced himself to calm, suddenly showing an easy smile,
“No need to worry everyone, all of this is actually already within the plans of me and Teacher. Teacher once said that gods are only humans whose strength have reached a certain level, so they are ultimately still human. As long as they’re human, there will be a way to deal with them. Besides, I just learned that Teacher has already completed his god level inheritance, and he will be returning to the camp within two days. Once he arrives, let alone a puny Spirit Empire, even conquering the Douluo Continent will be nothing. Therefore, no matter how strong the enemy is, we have to block the Spirit Empire’s counterattack for two days. We must persevere until Teacher returns. Teacher will definitely lead us to smash Jialing Pass and sweep through the Spirit Empire.”
At Xue Beng’s declaration, not only did the panic in the eyes of the officers disappear, even Grandmaster, Tang Hao and the others couldn’t resist showing excitement, Grandmaster explaiming:
“Little San is returning? Truly excellent.”
As for the military officers, they grinned even wider once they reacted. The power Tang San had shown on the battlefield had deeply shocked them, not only reversing the course of a battle single handedly, but even the Spirit Empire empress Bibi Dong had been wounded by his hand. It might be said that nobody could compare to Tang San’s prestige in the army. Xue Beng’s announcement had doubtless ignited their confidence.
Xue Beng smiled calmly:
“Generals, you might have noticed that my Teacher, king Lan Hao, hasn’t showed himself here in close to a month. You’ve definitely wondered why. Then fine, I’ll tell you now. The reason we temporarily retreated is because king Lan Hao isn’t in the camp, if we went to battle in this time, it would clearly be very difficult to win. For the sake of morale, I ordered this information sealed. Now seems to be the time to let you know, that our grand king Lan Hao, left camp in order to increase his strength one step further, to aid my Heaven Dou army in vanquishing the Spirit Empire. Therefore, he chose the road to becoming a god, to accept the inheritance of divinity. Teacher has now completed the last breakthrough, and is just on his way back. Tell me, for the last two days, can you persevere, can you hold out until our king Lan Hao returns, to level Jialing Pass?”
“We can——”
Marshal Ge Long was the first to stand, falling to his knees,
“Your Majesty, as long as one soldier remains, we will never retreat, we will definitely last until king Lan Hao returns. Death before retreat!”
“Death—— before—— retreat——!”
Everyone’s confidence was now mobilized. Thinking of Tang San’s power on the battlefield, they were filled with confidence, shouting together with marshal Ge Long, falling to their knees with a crash.
Xue Beng nodded with satisfaction:
“Marshal Ge Long, I will leave the arrangements for tomorrow’s battle to you. This battle of endurance, the Empire will win.”
Marshal Ge Long stood sharply, turning to the crowd, roaring:
“The Empire will win!”
Immediately, cries of certain victory resounded in the tent, the panic from Qian Renxue’s appearance completely obliterated. At Xue Beng’s gesture, marshal Ge Long personally led everyone from the tent, going to plan out the troop formation of tomorrow’s battle.
Once they had all left, Grandmaster asked excitedly:
“Your Majesty, when will little San return? How come he didn’t notify us?”
Xue Beng’s zealous expression now melted away like snow. Waving his hand, he sent away the servants and sighed, bitterly shaking his head:
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
Grandmaster was stunned, Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, Ning Fengzhi and the others all stood in shock.
Xue Beng waved his hand, gesturing at them to sit down,
“Imperial Tutor, seniors, you all saw the situation just now. If I didn’t give the troops some hope, I fear the army would disperse without a fight. I didn’t receive news from Teacher, and I’m even less sure he can arrive in time.”
Grandmaster’s expression immediately turned unsightly,
“However, Your Majesty, this is just quenching your thirst with poison. If little San can’t return in time, we basically don’t have the capital to withstand the Spirit Empire. We might not even last tomorrow’s battle!”
Ning Fengzhi said:
“Your Majesty, Grandmaster is right. We don’t know if king Lan Hao can return in time, and rather than face an enemy we can’t defeat, it would be better to temporarily escape. How about fighting again once king Lan Hao returns?”
Xue Beng shook his head, his gaze instantly turning resolute,
“We can’t retreat. Troops in defeat are like a landslide. If we withdraw, we might no longer stand a chance. Just in case I retreat tonight, and Teacher returns tomorrow, and we have to fight the enemy in the middle of retreat, wouldn’t that be even more hopeless? Even if Teacher successfully completes the inheritance, he’s also a god level power. With my army ruined in retreat, facing an enemy on the same level as him, it might be difficult to win. Taking a step back, meaning to disrespect, just in case Teacher doesn’t return, what would be the point of us retreating? Pursued by the Spirit Empire army led by that god, we might not last even days. It would be better to risk it all in one battle. For every day we endure, Teacher has one day to return. If we really can’t persevere, at least I’ll die on the battlefield. I can’t die in retreat. An emperor dead in battle rather than a fleeing coward.”
At Xue Beng’s words, everyone including Tang Hao only felt one thing, shock.
Without a doubt, Xue Beng’s strength was nothing more than an insect before them, and his position as Emperor could even be said to have fallen into his hands. As for him regarding Tang San as a Teacher, to Tang Hao it seemed that this was just him wanting to use Tang San’s strength. None of these powers really thought highly of him, they only showed him respect for his position.
But at this moment, everyone’s attitudes suddenly turned completely around. Facing such a crisis, facing an enemy with a god level power, Xue Beng as Emperor not only showed any timidity, but even had no plans to retreat. He would actually go all out against the Spirit Empire, meeting force with force. In fact, making such a choice with the immense contrast in strength between both sides, really was no different than suicide unless Tang San could return in time. To have such courage, even if it was on the reckless side of things, Xue Beng for the first time gained the respect of these powers.
“Fine——”
Tang Hao roared, making the tent ring, his potent aggressiveness rising spontaneously. Looking straight at Xue Beng, Tang Hao nodded,
“Worthy of my son’s disciple. That’s right, you’re correct, we can only fight to the death, no fleeing cowards. Then leave that god to me, even if I die I’ll give her something to remember. What is happy about living, what is bitter about dying? Living in this world when you can die grandly might not me lucky.”
Tang Xiao smiled,
“Second brother, did you forget about me? We brothers haven’t fought an enemy together in a long time. To stand against a god level power, even our grandfather never experienced it. We’re even luckier than the old man!”
Grandmaster laughed out loud,
“Even though we can’t drink in the army, Your Majesty, how about we make an exception today? I’m suddenly very thirsty.”
Xue Beng laughed too, suddenly standing, shouting,
“Servants, serve wine, let me and all the seniors get thoroughly drunk before the battle.”
An inner servant quickly ran out from the back, whispering somewhat awkwardly by Xue Beng’s ear. Xue Beng was stunned:
“Oh no. For the sake of impartial military discipline, we weren’t allowed to bring any wine. This……”
Tang Hao laughed:
“Oh granddisciple, if you can survive this crisis, I dare guarantee that you will be the wise ruler of a generation. Let’s have tea, it’s all the same.”
As emperor, if he was called granddisciple by anyone else, he really wouldn’t feel very happy. But Xue Beng now felt excited, he understood that these spirit master world powers had already truly acknowledged him.
“Fine, then tea instead of wine.”
At nightfall, whether in Jialing Pass or the Heaven Dou army, everyone were busy with hidden preparations. Somber intent quietly rippled across the plains between the armies. After a month of silence, the last battle was on the verge of happening due to the sudden arrival of the God of Angels.
An uneventful night, dawn broke.
Before the Spirit Empire army sortied, at the first glimmers of dawn, war drums already roared through the Heaven Dou army camp.
Dong dong dong, dong dong dong, dong dong dong dong dong dong dong.
Cowhide war drums erupted with ear splitting booms in the hands of strong men, at least a thousand drums resounded in the million man army. All the camp gates opened wide, the army spilling out like a tidal wave.
The first to charge out of the camp were the light cavalry. The light cavalry was stationed on the wings of the army, and they now rushed out of the camp like two swiftly unfurling wings of the Heaven Dou army.
Immediately after came the central army infantry, light infantry in front, heavy infantry in the back, neatly marching into the battlefield with powerful strides.
On either side of the central army was the Tang Army as well as the Heaven Dou Empire spirit master legion led by the brothers Tang Xiao and Tang Hao. The reason for the switch was that a lot of the Tang Army elites came from the four single attribute clans. Their grievances with the Clear Sky School still existed, and in order not to influence the battle, the commanders were switched.
Behind the central army was the absolute main force of the Heaven Dou army, the heavy cavalry legions. In this battle, the Heaven Dou army had come out in force, more than ten armored cavalry legions guarded the last infantry to leave the camp as two wings. A million heroes spread their wings, majestically pressing in on Jialing Pass.
A million troops! In this moment, the intense pressure made the defenders in Jialing Pass feel choked. Facing such a vast force from the Heaven Dou Empire, even Qian Renxue couldn’t help frowning as she stood on the walls. Even though she had already advanced to become god, the force she radiated alone couldn’t contend with a million soldiers.
Right now Qian Renxue could feel herself wavering, had Tang San returned? If not, why would the Heaven Dou army come out in full force with this timing?
“Pass down my orders, open the city, sortie.”
Qian Renxue shouted.
“Yes.”
The six priests accepted the orders simultaneously. However, their orders were still a bit late. The defenders of Jialing Pass were already a scared by the Heaven Dou army, even the Spirit Hall spirit master legions were no exception. As they saw the Heaven Dou imperial army’s unprecedented pressure, how could they not feel their hearts tremble? However, under the pressure of the spirit master legions, with the urging of the six priests, the Spirit Empire troops still unwillingly assembled.
The gates of Jialing Pass swung open, an army of altogether a hundred thousand surged out.
A hundred thousand already sounded a lot, but facing a million troops, a lot of the Spirit Empire soldiers already felt their legs tremble before the battle had even begun. From their perspective, what was the difference with throwing away their lives?
Just as Qian Renxue prepared to lead the Spirit Empire powers onto the field and encourage their troops, suddenly, a long cry like a dragon’s cry or tiger’s roar whistled over like a giant wave surging at the skies.
“Where is Qian Renxue?”
Along with that cry, from the side of the Heaven Dou army, a ball of golden blue light instantly grew, in the blink of an eye already arriving above. Hidden by that golden blue light, seven silhouettes appeared in the sky.
The leader was entirely dressed in golden blue armor, eight dazzling wave and cloud patterned wings unfolded behind him, a three pronged Seagod helmet on his head, holding the Seagod Trident, the inheritor of the Seagod’s divinity, Tang San.
Tang San pointed the Seagod Trident straight at Jialing Pass, his tremendous divine sense targeting Qian Renxue in practically an instant.
“Seagod Tang San is present, where is Qian Renxue?”
Tang San issued a shout, his tremendous divine sense dropping from the sky like a wave. The Heaven Dou army only felt a graceful drizzle, their energy instantly rising to a peak. The originally already boundless imposing manner rose to an even higher peak as Tang San deliberately announced his status as Seagod.
Drawing on the condensed faith of a million heroes, Tang San’s imposing manner also climbed to the limit, a circle of golden blue light spreading out around him. Next to him, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu and the others were escorted to the front of the army by the Seagod’s power. Each of them simultaneously released nine spirit rings, and especially the last hundred thousand year red spirit ring was so dazzling.