Chapter 405: Fallen God

The pitch‑black angel flapped its wings, hovering in the sky.

A cold, indifferent gaze examined Chu Yi on the ground, as if judging Chu Yi's condition.

Half a heartbeat later, the pitch‑black angel, amid the howling gale, emitted a silent murmur from its throat.

It sounded like a human voice, yet also like the low, hissing whine of some monster.

"God says, let there be wind!"

In an instant, the gale rose from beneath, fierce currents swirling around Him, and winds converging from all directions covered the whole sky, blasting outward violently.

In a flash, a disaster‑like storm had already gathered around Him, lifting His body as it surged toward the earth.

Chu Yi's twin claws struck the ground heavily, and countless Earth Vein Power‑infused pillars of soil shot skyward.

"God says, let there be weapons!"

Within the eye of Frenzy, He extended a finger toward the countless rising earth pillars.

As if a divine edict, the chaotic currents emitted from the storm's eye surged again in an instant, countless phantoms flickering within, as if deities and demons lurked there.

The Frenzy hurricane transformed into blades of ultimate sharpness, and under the storm's gusts coalesced into a torrent of swords, devouring everything before it.

Even reinforced earth pillars could not withstand such slicing; the invisible torrent shredded all obstacles, then hurled the debris down onto the ground.

Chu Yi roared, and the Water Vein authority began to act; streams of water dragons surged into the sky to clash with the gale, only to be shattered, turning into raindrops that fell upon the earth.

Chu Yi invoked the Mountain Water Seal, intending to grapple with the pitch‑black angel.

Mu Yi halted Chu Yi's next move, patted Chu Yi's head and comforted, "You've done well; with the authority you have now, opposing this kind of foe is still too difficult, right?"

For Chu Yi, after leaving Kunlun, combat power is essentially tied to the Earth Vein and Water Vein authorities he wields; although he has absorbed many authorities along the way, there remains a gap before he can grapple with true demigod masters.

Facing the pitch‑black angel, Mu Yi murmured amid the storm that occupied the entire sky.

"Hell Path!"

In an instant, hellfire ignited from the void, enveloping the whole sky and fiercely scorching the ubiquitous gale.

The temperature of the hellfire kept rising, and the ever‑present gale was incinerated by this relentless flame.

The pitch‑black angel was seared by the flames; the countless sins enwrapping it became the finest fuel for hellfire.

Pain swept over the entire body of the pitch‑black angel.

"God says, you are guilty!"

The pitch‑black angel closed its eyes, yet behind it twelve massive wings simultaneously opened countless golden pupils, each bearing the cold indifference and majesty of a deity gazing upon the mortal world, as if every creature in its sight awaited judgment.

"God says, let there be light!"

Countless streams of blood poured from the myriad pupils, staining the pitch‑black angel crimson; at this moment it resembled a vengeful, poisonous ghost.

A sharp beam of light flashed in the sky, as if to pierce everything, burning hot enough to ignite the entire world.

Endless light and heat leaked from the Black‑Red Angel's body, forming a destructive torrent that mercilessly engulfed everything.

The whole process lasted but an instant, and the world roiled as if on the brink of annihilation.

In a flash, Frenzy's power devoured Mu Yi and Chu Yi, then spread outward in all directions.

Judgment has only just begun.

The sweeping radiance, in the first instant, devoured the ground beneath them, hollowing out a radius of several miles into a void.

Li Jing, who had been a thousand li away, paled instantly and ordered the main camp to raise Cloud Energy, erecting a defense.

Moments later, the raging torrent surged, but the Cloud Energy barrier held back the Frenzy flood; Li Jing furrowed his brows.

He did not know what had happened, but judging by the source of the power, there was no doubt that this Frenzy originated from the direction Mu Yi was advancing.

The Frenzy wave lasted only a moment.

At the epicenter, a pit hundreds of meters deep had formed; magma seeped from a massive fissure spanning dozens of li, and everything was burned into a strange glass‑like substance.

In the center of the pit, a circular patch of land remained intact.

Mu Yi dispelled the barrier, stared toward the sky, his complexion somewhat grim.

This power is beyond what a demigod can muster; it is the true might of a deity. The opponent had planned from the start, using a demigod as a conduit to hurl the deity's full force at Mu Yi.

The strike was swift and decisive, a guaranteed kill; had it not been Mu Yi, everything would already have ended.

"Impressive indeed!"

Mu Yi sneered, a scarlet aura seeping from his body; a terrifying presence rose, a sea of flowing blood oozed from his feet, engulfing the pit and magma, dyeing everything crimson.

Above the sky, a charred corpse that had also been affected was rapidly regenerating, then it too rose with a deity‑like aura of majesty.

"You rat, how bold!"

Starlight forged into a massive sword, slashing down toward the unknowable void.

"Ah~"

A wailing cry of agony rang out, yet the Starlight above never ceased.

Space trembled, the earth moaned, and a more terrifying wave than before spread to everything.

The Black‑Red Angel, which had been on the verge of full recovery, had its healing interrupted; its injuries worsened, half its body still reduced to char.

But it no longer had time to heal; the blood‑red onslaught had already engulfed everything from the earth, surging toward it.

And it could only drag its still‑unhealed self to face Mu Yi's fury.

"Now, it's just us!"

Mu Yi, with a ferocious grin, appeared before the Black‑Red Angel, and Da Xia Longque swung down with terrifying force.

Like a ball flung at high speed, the Black‑Red Angel plummeted straight into the ground.

"Boom!"

The earth was split open by a massive fissure, the ground continuously sagging, the underground water vein severed, spewing a mixture of mud and sand.

"God says, let there be light!"

The Black‑Red Angel burst upward from the earth; endless light and heat seemed about to erupt again, but in the next instant they vanished entirely.

On the black-and-red angel's usually calm face, an expression of disbelief finally flashed.

He stood frozen in place, as if the heavens had collapsed.

"It seems your god has no time to attend to you!"

Mu Yi sneered, and his blade fell without mercy.

The stunned black-and-red angel reacted, yet was still half a beat slow.

The blade split his body into four segments; death's power coiled around the wounds, preventing his self-healing and devouring his last vitality.

The sky turned crimson; the continually struggling black-and-red angel let out an unwilling wail.

"No, my god…"

"Who knows where this evil god crawled out from, donning a skin and pretending to be God?" Mu Yi said with a hint of mockery.

The crimson sky is precisely the omen caused by the black-and-red angel's deity falling.

The Military Star may not be able to catch those sneaky rats, but it is not incapable of punishing them.

The entire Tang realm is a source of incense offerings for the Civil and Military Stars; even if merely an incarnation of incense, it is not something those nonsensical evil gods can resist.

"The game is over!"

The Gates of Hell opened, countless chains shot out and dragged the black-and-red angel's remnant body into the barrier.

He will, in the barrier's rotation, be ground into the most primal power, become nourishment for the barrier, and turn into a stepping stone for Mu Yi's advance toward divinity.

He bowed toward the Military Star in the sky, thanking it for its timely aid; otherwise, with his current state, facing a deity would be grim.

The Military Star's unparalleled ferocity smoothed the path for Chuyi's subsequent absorption of authority; many demons and monsters occupying earth and water conduits fled at the sight, greatly increasing Chuyi's speed of authority absorption.

When Mu Yi sent the news back to the Tang camp, Li Jing summoned everyone.

"The Heavenly Sovereign who came from heaven has already paved our way; now it's up to us to crush the Western Regions' riffraff and announce Tang's glory with their blood!"

"All troops, hear the order: charge Muyun City!"

Li Jing's near-roaring voice spread to every soldier's ears.

Everyone erupted; excited shouts rang through the clouds.

"The Heavenly Sovereign is mighty!"

"Crush the Western Regions' riffraff!"

All the soldiers roared, venting their inner emotions.

In this Western Region, they had suppressed their feelings for too long.

Now, bursting forth in an instant, that boiling emotion could not be contained.

In this world, the Tang army is conquering the world; under the galloping iron hooves, all opponents are trampled.

Whether the Turks of the northern desert plains, the Goguryeo of the northeast, or the Lingnan barbarians, everywhere they are victorious in every battle, invincible in attack.

Wherever the army passes, cities fall and camps are trampled; no army or demon can halt the Tang army's advance.

Yet the Western Regions have repeatedly repelled the Tang; even though there are many reasons for their defeat—logistics cut off, demon attacks on the borders, many deities secretly sabotaging…

But no matter the reason, one fact cannot be concealed: the Tang's conquest has stalled; although they still advance each day and are already victorious, the slow pace fills the Tang army with grievances.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, hard to go from extravagance to frugality.

The increasingly slow conquest has also caused the Tang soldiers' hearts to waver; what if one day they stop, or even lose?

When the will begins to waver, even possessing immense power becomes meaningless.

For victory, the Tang emperor dismissed several commanders, and finally even had to summon the Tang war god; if that still failed, he even planned to lead the campaign himself.

Now they finally see hope of victory; to rush forth and seize victory is a process they know all too well.

Especially that earth-shaking commotion just now made them understand what had happened.

That is an omen of victory.

Although they do not know who Mu Yi is, they understand that from his first appearance clearing the outskirts of the camp to now, Mu Yi stands on their side and is their aid.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

The army began its charge; their objective was clear.

Breach the city! Kill the foes!

"Really brought me a big surprise!" Li Jing looked at the nearly flat road, a smile he could barely conceal appearing on his face.

He originally hoped Mu Yi would clear the demons and monsters on the road just to ensure no harassment, but Mu Yi actually used his authority to create a grand avenue for them, making the army's advance faster.

Thus the armies of the Western Regions' states have even less time to react.

Separating the army from the demons, either one alone would be no match for the army.

"Pass the word: meat rations are sufficient for these two days, and each person gets a bowl of strong liquor!"

"Spare no expense, give me a forced march—reach the destination within three days!"

Li Jing's orders carried down, the army's advance became even swifter.

These cities are fortresses built by the Western Regions' states at great cost of manpower and material; capturing just one will break their grand formation, making things thereafter easier and lighter.

Therefore Li Jing will spare nothing to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and smash the city.

Mu Yi hovered in midair, bringing Chuyi to hunt down the surrounding Mountain and Water Gods, swallowing all authority; the entire Western Regions is a miasma, with no innate beings at all—if any existed, they'd have long been devoured by those demons and monsters.

Thus Mu Yi enjoys the slaughter; Chuyi's authority in hand begins to expand like a snowball, while other gods might have to worry about limits or the Heavenly Court's pursuit, but Mu Yi need not worry at all.

Chuyi's divine seat is sufficient to hold these authorities.

A large amount of authority has been seized by Chuyi, turning what was originally away-game combat into a home-ground battle.

No matter how Mu Yi and Chuyi seize authority, those sneaky evil gods never intervene.

They fear the Military Star behind Mu Yi; none wishes to be the one to sacrifice.

They are themselves a cluster banded together under survival pressure; how could anyone sacrifice themselves for the greater good?

As for the previous fearless evil god, grass over three meters high now grows on his grave; they all worry they'll follow in his footsteps and become the next fallen one.

Regardless of how they tried to shift blame, Chu Yi's authority was expanding, the Great Tang's army was advancing, and everything was moving toward an irreversible direction.

The Great Tang's army's combat strength far surpassed that of the Western Regions' states; even if the Western Regions' armies were mixed with large numbers of demons and monsters, they could not stop the iron hooves of the Great Tang's army.

The army arrived at the city's outskirts and rested for a day; the next day it surged forth with the vigor of a tiger leaving its cage.

They destroyed everything with ease; wherever they passed, neither demons and monsters nor followers of the evil god could stop the Great Tang's soldiers.

The city couldn't hold out for even three days before it fell outright, while the reinforcing army was still halfway there and unable to reach it.

Mu Yi awaited the evil god's appearance; he and Chu Yi had already used their vast authority to prepare a generous gift, awaiting the evil god's appearance.

However, even after the city fell, not a single evil god appeared.