True to his expectations, a scout arrived the next morning with urgent news. “Mr. Chance, three other celestial venerables are on their way with an army of one hundred thousand!” The scout panted so hard each word scraped his throat.
The moment everyone heard, every gaze in the hall snapped toward Jared. Across Epea’s remaining fronts, three celestial venerables had been stationed. Once word reached them that Beast-Quelling Hall had fallen, their march to reinforce was inevitable.
Jared allowed himself a slight smile. “Perfect timing.” He swept the room with his eyes. “Pass the order! Full battle stations. We will show the celestials that Epea is no longer ground they can trample at will!”
“Yes!” The shout came back as one, battle fire blazing in every eye.
***
At dawn, the celestial army appeared outside the walls. Ten kilometers from Godsbane Hall, one hundred thousand troops formed ranks, a dark mass bristling with killing intent. Floating ahead of the formation, three celestial venerables in gilt armor hovered, their auras oppressive. The one in the center, stern-faced and gripping a golden spear, was their commander, Venerable Goldspear.
“Jared! Come out and die!” Goldspear’s thunderous voice rolled across the land and sky.
Inside Godsbane Hall, Jared rose to his feet with measured calm. His gaze touched Luther, Morvane, Madam Nightfox, the hundred Nether City Guards, five Beast Generals, and fifty thousand Beastfolk Warriors arrayed within the hall.
“This battle decides Epea’s future.” His voice deepened. “Win, and celestial domination ends here. Lose, and none of us will escape ruin. Tell me… Are you afraid?”
“No!” The answer shook the rafters, a roar of united fury.
“Good…” Jared drew the Dragonslayer Sword with a hiss of steel. “March with me!”
The great doors of Godsbane Hall swung wide as Jared led the army out to meet their foe. Across the plain, the two forces faced each other, murderous intent thick enough to taste. Goldspear studied Jared, surprise flickering in his eyes. “So you’re Jared. Young indeed. Killing the Beast-Quelling Venerable as a High Immortal Realm Level One is impressive. But today your legend ends.”
Jared replied with mild indifference. “Beast-Quelling Venerable said the same.”
Goldspear’s face darkened. “Arrogant whelp! I’m no useless Beast-Quelling Venerable. Today you’ll learn what a Top Level High Immortal Realm Level Seven truly is!” He whipped the Goldspear, its tip bursting with blinding light. “Form up! Worldlock Net!”
All one hundred thousand celestials flashed hand seals at once. Golden chains surged from the earth, weaving overhead into a shining net that spanned a hundred miles. These chains arced into a vast Worldlock Net Entrapment Array that dwarfed the one at Beast-Quelling Hall. Rumor said that if this mesh ever closed, even a High Immortal Realm Level Nine expert would stay trapped forever.
Jared’s lips curled. A low, dismissive laugh slipped out. “That trick again?” His voice carried no fear, only bored irritation. He shifted his weight, pushed off the flagstones, and strode straight into the glowing lattice before anyone could stop him.
Venerable Goldspear let out a short, icy laugh. “Seeking death!” He forced more power into the array, symbols along the net flaring bright. Hundreds of golden chains shot forward like living serpents, twisting through the air to coil around Jared and squeeze the life out of him.
A dull gray film rose over Jared’s skin. The first chain brushed that film and hissed away in wisps of steam, melting as snow would vanish against open flame. Chaotic force trumped every other law. Before its primal churn, crafted runes and forged metal lost all meaning.
“What?!” Venerable Goldspear’s breath caught. The certainty in his eyes cracked open to raw alarm.
Jared was suddenly in front of him, the Dragonslayer Sword already on the downswing, its edge humming with gray light. “Chaos! Break the Heavens!” The shout burst from Jared like thunder rolling across bare stone. A broad slash of gray energy ripped toward Venerable Goldspear, its wake stripping color from the air itself.
Goldspear jerked his spear up in frantic defense. Sword edge and spear shaft collided head-on.
Clang!
The sound rang across the battlefield, sharp enough to rattle teeth. A jagged gap split Goldspear’s weapon. The force tore his palms; blood dripped from shattered calluses and ran along the shaft.
“Impossible?!” He staggered back, shock widening his pupils. The weight behind that single cut exceeded High Immortal Realm Level One; indeed, it pressed harder than the peak of Level Seven itself. Goldspear spat a quick command over his shoulder. “Together!”
Two fellow venerables moved at once. Spear, sword, and blade—three high-grade immortal weapons—sliced the air in a converging assault. Jared’s face stayed calm. The Dragonslayer Sword spun in his grip, and the raw chaotic force inside him burst outward.
“Chaos Sword Domain!”
Gray haze ballooned from Jared, filling a space a thousand yards wide. Within it, every woven law dissolved into formless dust; incoming strikes lost their bite the instant they crossed the haze.
“What domain is that?!” The three voices overlapped in ragged disbelief. They had studied across realms, yet never met a field that could swallow even their personal law sigils.
Jared moved through the murk like a fish in deep water. Each swing of his sword carried the weight of creation‘s first dawn.
Clang! Cling! Clang!
Goldspear’s treasured spear shattered to glittering scraps. The golden longsword in the second venerable’s hands snapped across the midpoint. The heavy gold blade of the third crumbled as though cast from sand. Three high-grade immortal weapons were ruined in heartbeats beneath chaotic sword light.
“N-No!” Goldspear’s cry cracked into a hopeless roar.
Jared’s next cut passed cleanly. All three bodies split at the waist, their upper halves sliding apart, and their souls vanished like sparks in the wind. Three High Immortal Realm Level Seven venerables fell in the same breath!
Silence swallowed the field. One hundred thousand celestial soldiers and fifty thousand Beastfolk Warriors could only stare, mouths ajar. Three swings, three Level Seven masters dead… was this even something a man could achieve?
Jared hovered, sword angled low. His gaze swept the celestial ranks. “Celestials, kill…” The words landed like mountains; soldiers below felt their lungs seize beneath invisible weight.
Most troops were beastfolk traitors. Faced with that dread, they turned their weapons the other way in panicked surrender. In the space of a gasp, the once-proud celestial army lost every hint of swagger. Howls, frantic scrabbling, and bodies fleeing in every direction—no arrogance remained in those golden ranks.
Epea was free again. Jared touched down. Beastfolk warriors knelt in waves before him, yet no real joy reached his eyes. He understood this victory marked only the beginning. The High Venerable from the Central Region would not sit idle, and celestial vengeance would come harder.
But, so what? His fingers tightened around the Dragonslayer’s hilt, and a cold flash crossed his gaze. If one enemy came, he would kill one. If two appeared, he would kill two. He would continue until every last celestial lay dead and the level thirteen realm basked beneath a clear sky again.
