Chapter 586

Even in the air, countless dark creatures spontaneously manifested.

Many dark creatures were themselves the product of darkness so dense it reached its extreme.

But this was not over.

Immediately after, the third dark rule appeared, then the fourth, the fifth…

Yet beneath the overlapping weight of so many dark rules, that black flame had become terrifyingly potent.

In Angesite's perception, even if she searched the entire Dark Abyss, she could not find a flame this dark!

If this flame were placed in a human city, merely burning for a few seconds would plunge every human in the city into eternal darkness, turning them into Bianchengzheng Sect dark creatures!

Angesite's expression grew darker by the moment.

This flame had reached the absolute extreme of darkness.

Her heart kept wavering.

If the Flame Lord were a heavenly deity, how could he summon such a dark flame?

The unease in her heart grew stronger.

Yet she still made no move.

Because she still held a sliver of faith in the Flame Lord.

That sliver of faith, she herself could not explain where it came from.

So Angesite chose to keep watching.

As time passed, the dark aura produced by the burning flame had thickened until it could no longer be dispersed.

Angesite's heart sank further and further.

Finally, just as her heart neared its lowest point, a change occurred.

A sliver of pure white light shone forth from the impenetrable darkness.

This sliver of pure white light seemed to originate from the deepest core of the flame; it began faintly, but within an instant, it grew stronger and stronger, piercing through the darkness.

In less than ten seconds, the flame that had been utterly dark just moments before transformed into a white holy flame radiating sacred light!

Within this white holy flame, Angesite also sensed a powerful light rule!

It was the Holy Light Rule, a fusion of several light-based rules!

Angesite froze.

Her mind kept replaying that scene.

Holy light burst forth from the deepest core of the black flame, and within moments, a flame of absolute darkness became a holy flame brimming with supreme radiance!

"The extreme of darkness is light!"

Angesite softly uttered these words.

But the transformation had not ended.

Soon, the flame underwent another change.

Under Angesite's perception, light and dark rules coexisted within it, forming a new rule!

Light-Dark Rule!

A rule formed by the coexistence of light and darkness!

Light could transform into darkness, darkness could transform into light; the end of light was darkness, and the end of darkness was light!

Angesite froze again!

Light and darkness existed perfectly together upon the same flame.

Within that flame, the rules of light and darkness intertwined—two inherently opposing forces fused perfectly together!

Angesite was utterly stunned.

The Flame Lord had shown her an entirely different world.

A grand world, filled with infinite allure.

A world where light and darkness coexisted.

Angesite felt that if she could comprehend the Light-Dark Rule, she too could possess both light and dark powers, like the Flame Lord.

Then, she could walk beneath the light and slip unseen through the darkness!

So Angesite remained frozen for a very, very long time.

For a full week, Angesite did not move at all.

She continued observing the flame imbued with the Light-Dark Rule.

Meanwhile, on the Continent of Gods, the war between the Three Kingdoms and the Purple Gold Empire grew fiercer by the day.

As time passed, the three edicts distributed by Meng Ying and Sister Qing Ling exerted greater and greater influence.

In the Three Kingdoms, more and more people leaned toward the Flame Empire.

Even some nobles were swayed.

Because the Flame Empire had unveiled another devastating weapon.

Potatoes!

The land area of the Three Kingdoms was actually vast—each kingdom was twice the size of the former Xiling Kingdom—but their population was roughly equal to that of the old Xiling Kingdom.

The reason was that the land of the Three Kingdoms was barren; many commoners still frequently went hungry.

But potatoes required no special soil!

As soon as potatoes appeared, they were met with overwhelming enthusiasm among the commoners of the Three Kingdoms.

First, they could reclaim wasteland.

After reclaiming the land, these commoners could harvest high-yield crops!

The commoners' gratitude toward the Flame Lord was boundless.

They were practically hoping the front lines would lose, so that they could be conquered by the Flame Empire and truly become one of its provinces!

The nobles were equally envious.

This meant that the nobles' land had become far more valuable!

And the shift in public opinion at home threw the high-ranking members of the Guodejiao Society, who were overseeing the war at the front, into a panic!

If things kept going this way, the Guodejiao Society would lose its popular base.

So the armies of the three kingdoms, as if by unspoken agreement, intensified their attacks!

Under the desperate, no-matter-the-casualties counterattack of these three kingdoms, whether it was the weaker Sixth Imperial Prince of the Purple Gold Empire or the stronger Third and Fourth Imperial Princes, even with the support of twenty thousand Temple Knights, they were still being battered and hard-pressed.

"These three wastes!"

Not far from the front lines, the Holy Son of the Purple Gold Empire had already arrived with the combined armies of the Guodejiao Society and the imperial household.

The Guodejiao Society generally did not interfere with imperial authority, to avoid creating conflicts that would affect stability.

Some empires' imperial households were actually quite powerful in their own right.

But the old Emperor of the Purple Gold Empire had already died, two powerful Imperial Princes had fallen one after another, and among the remaining Imperial Princes, hardly any were of any real caliber.

The Guodejiao Society's power had long since surpassed that of the imperial household; the current imperial household's army was being temporarily managed by the Guodejiao Society.

"For some unknown reason, this time the counterattack from these three kingdoms has been especially fierce — practically like they've gone mad."

The Archbishop of the Purple Gold Guodejiao Society said.

The Guodejiao Society's Holy Son asked: "Have you sent people to the rear of the three kingdoms to check? Has something happened inside those three kingdoms?"

The Archbishop shook his head and said: "We sent quite a few people, but they were all intercepted — no news has come back."

The Guodejiao Society's Holy Son stood up: "The three kingdoms' counterattack may be fierce, but they're nearly at their limit. Send out the combined armies of the Guodejiao Society and the imperial household — split into three forces and strike them down directly."

The Archbishop said deferentially: "Yes, my lord Holy Son."

Within the Purple Gold Guodejiao Society, even an Archbishop's authority could not compare to that of this Holy Son.

Of course, there were many Guodejiao Society Holy Sons, but this one was the most powerful and the most influential.

Immediately after, the combined armies of the Purple Gold Empire's Guodejiao Society and imperial household split into three forces and entered the battlefield.

The Purple Gold Empire's Guodejiao Society army was extremely powerful — they fielded a hundred and fifty thousand Guodejiao Society troops.

These hundred and fifty thousand Guodejiao Society troops were basically all warriors of Second Rank or above.

Previously, when supporting the three Imperial Princes, they had each dispatched twenty thousand Temple Knights. This time, the Guodejiao Society's hundred and fifty thousand troops were once again divided into three contingents of thirty thousand each and thrown into the battlefield.

And the imperial household's army numbered a staggering six hundred thousand!

Yes, the Purple Gold Empire's military system was still much the same as that of the old Xiling Kingdom.

When war came, they would still conscript troops from the nobles.

The six hundred thousand imperial household troops were already triple the size of the old Xiling Kingdom's royal household army, but their equipment was incomparably superior to that of the old Xiling Kingdom's royal household army, and the individual strength of their warriors was far greater as well!

These six hundred thousand troops were likewise divided into three contingents and thrown into the battlefield.