Battle in the Crimson Moon Gorge

Then, Wang Wudi stood up.

The ancestor of the Great Zhou royal family. Wang Hao's great-grandfather.

Usually, this old man seemed unreliable. He loved to brag and enjoyed patting Wang Hao's shoulder, saying, "You have my demeanor from back in the day."

But when he truly released his aura, everyone finally understood that the Great Zhou royal family's firm grip on the empire wasn't just because the dragon throne was sturdy.

Boom!

Golden vital energy surged like a dragon.

Behind Wang Wudi, an illusion of a sprawling ten-thousand-mile empire faintly emerged.

Within this empire painting, a black dragon coiled, suppressing all directions.

The Demigod Realm!

And a top-tier expert among Demigods at that.

Wang Wudi grinned.

"What are you all looking at?"

"When I was young, I was a famous genius for miles around. Even that charlatan Xie Wujiu couldn't withstand three of my punches."

Wang Hao glanced at him.

"Great-grandfather, isn't 'for miles around' a bit too small of a scale?"

Wang Wudi coughed dryly.

"Keep a low profile."

Behind him, two old men stood up simultaneously.

One had crimson hair, a burly physique, and carried a giant axe on his back.

The other had white eyebrows hanging down to his chest and held an iron crutch.

These were Wang Wudi's sworn brothers from back in the day.

The Red Axe Ancestor.

The White-Browed Eccentric.

The auras of the two erupted at the same time.

Boom! Boom!

Two more Demigods.

Many sect representatives inside the tent were already starting to find it hard to breathe.

It wasn't over yet.

The Beiming Saber Lord slowly stood up.

This man had been following the army all along, but rarely spoke.

Black clothes, black saber, black eyes.

His whole being was like a silent abyss.

When he raised his head, a wisp of saber intent swept across the large tent.

The projection of the Crimson Moon Canyon on the sand table was actually sliced in half by the saber intent.

A Demigod Realm saber cultivator!

The seventh one.

Finally, Chu Tianque stood up, leaning on his heavy sword.

His bloodstained clothes were not yet dry, and his body still bore the wounds left from the great battle at the Black Water Demon Cave.

But when he raised his head, the battle intent in his eyes burned like fire.

Boom!

A Demigod aura erupted.

From the heavy sword, it sounded as if a vast army was charging forward.

Eight Demigods.

A full eight!

The large tent was dead silent.

Everyone was so shocked they couldn't speak.

They knew the Avengers Alliance was very strong.

They also knew the Great Zhou's western expedition had hidden trump cards this time.

But they never expected that the trump card wasn't just one card.

It was a whole deck.

Eight Demigods holding the line.

Over forty mid-to-late stage and peak Skysoar Realm experts accompanying the army.

What kind of lineup was this?

This wasn't an alliance.

This was packaging all the old monsters of the Eastern Wasteland and taking them public.

Some sect representatives who had originally planned to preserve their strength turned as pale as if they had just been fished out of the Ice and Snow Divine Palace's freezer.

They suddenly understood.

Their little schemes weren't considered strategy in Wang Hao's eyes at all.

They were just pre-dinner jokes.

The Grand Elder of the Illusory Sea Immortal Sect swallowed hard.

He hugged the ancient mirror in his arms tightly and whispered, "Thank goodness I didn't say I wanted to retreat yesterday."

Hearing this, the Ren Family Ancestor smiled and said, "It wouldn't matter if you did."

The Illusory Sea Grand Elder froze.

The Ren Family Ancestor added, "At most, His Majesty would hang you on a flagpole to clear your head."

The Illusory Sea Grand Elder: "..."

That was very easy to picture.

Perfected Qingmu also raised his head.

He looked at the eight Demigods with complex eyes.

So that was it.

No wonder Wang Hao dared to steamroll his way through the Western Regions.

No wonder he wasn't afraid of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, the Crimson Moon Demon Sect, or the Martial God's Body.

This young emperor wasn't arrogant.

He truly had swords in his hands.

And he had so many swords he could open a blacksmith shop.

Wang Hao stood up.

The auras of the eight Demigods gradually retracted.

But that sense of oppression still shrouded the large tent.

He leaned his hands on the edge of the sand table, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"Now, do you all still feel the need to preserve your strength for tomorrow's battle?"

No one spoke.

Wang Hao smiled.

"Very well."

"Silence means no objections."

Everyone cursed wildly in their hearts.

Who would dare to object?

Eight Demigods were sitting here.

If you had an objection, you'd better write your will first.

Wang Hao raised his hand, and the projection of the Crimson Moon Canyon on the sand table enlarged.

"The Crimson Moon Canyon has three lines of defense."

"The outer Blood Fiend Array is powered by thirty-six branch altars of the Demon Sect."

"The middle magma river is guarded by a large number of demonic cultivators and bizarre puppets."

"The deepest crimson palace is where Chi Wushang and the Martial God's Body are located."

He pointed at the sand table.

"Tomorrow at the hour of Chen, the attack begins."

"Fourteen Skysoar Realm ancestors will act as the vanguard to break the outer Blood Fiend Array."

"The guest cultivator legions of the various sects will be responsible for clearing the outer demonic cultivators and branch altars."

"Perfected Qingmu, you will lead the six submitted sects to cut in from the western canyon and seal off the Crimson Moon Demon Sect's retreat route."

Perfected Qingmu stood up.

"This subject receives the command."

His voice was still hoarse.

But there was no longer any hesitation.

Wang Hao continued, "The eight Demigods will hold the line to prevent the Martial God's Body from erupting prematurely."

"I will join the central army."

"Sword-bitch."

The New Emperor Sword immediately raised his head.

"Is it time for me to eat?"

Wang Hao said, "You are responsible for intercepting the bizarre fragments. You are not allowed to secretly swallow them until you explode."

The New Emperor Sword was dissatisfied.

"I know my limits."

Everyone in the tent who had seen him swallow the seeds of desire simultaneously fell silent.

You know your limits like a chamber pot does.

Wang Hao finally looked at the projection of the deepest part of the Crimson Moon Canyon.

There was a red dot of light there.

It represented the Martial God's Body.

"As for the Martial God's Body."

Wang Hao's eyes turned slightly cold.

"I will handle it personally."

The tent shuddered.

Xiao Chen frowned.

"You are merely at the peak of the Astral Aura Realm."

As soon as the words left his mouth, even he felt that this sentence lacked persuasiveness.

After all, this "merely at the peak of the Astral Aura Realm" had just smashed through the Black Water Demon Cave.

Wang Hao looked at Xiao Chen.

"Do you have an objection?"

Xiao Chen was silent for a moment.

"No."

"I am just reminding you not to die."

Wang Hao smiled.

"Rest assured."

"I haven't finished harvesting all your fortuitous encounters yet, I won't die."

Xiao Chen's face darkened, and he subconsciously touched the God Burial Fragment in his robes.

This tyrant was indeed always thinking about it.

Wang Hao withdrew his gaze, his voice suddenly turning cold and stern.

"Everyone, remember."

"In this battle, there will be no negotiations, no accepting surrenders, and no compromises of any form."

"The Black Water Demon Cave could be destroyed."

"The Righteous Alliance could surrender."

"But not the Crimson Moon Demon Sect."

"They blood-sacrificed the common people, bred bizarre entities, and attempted to unseal the Martial God's Body."

"If this sect is not destroyed, the Western Regions will never have a day of peace."

He articulated every word clearly:

"The Crimson Moon Demon Sect must be completely erased from the map of the Eastern Wasteland."

The hour of Chen.

Above the Crimson Moon Canyon, blood clouds hung low.

The cloud layer was like a sea of blood held up by countless vengeful spirits. As it churned, distorted human faces occasionally surfaced, letting out silent roars. On both sides of the canyon, thousand-zhang crimson cliffs stood like two giant bloody sabers spanning heaven and earth, their blades piercing into the clouds. Densely packed demonic runes lit up on the cliff walls, like countless opening eyes.

The Great Zhou allied army formed its ranks outside the canyon.

The three-hundred-thousand-strong army array spread out, battle flags standing like a forest, the gleam of armor like an ocean.

Rows upon rows of Demon-Suppressing Crossbows were set up, and the pitch-black muzzles of the Runic Cannons aimed at the canyon's entrance. The Great Zhou Imperial Guards were in the front, the various sects of the Demon-Suppressing Alliance were on the flanks, and the six submitted sects silently held the rear. The eight Demigods stood beneath the clouds; though their auras were not released, they had already caused the wind and sand of heaven and earth to stagnate.

Wang Hao stood on the high platform of the central army.

His pure black dragon robes fluttered wildly in the wind. The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda hovered above his head, the lightning runes on the pagoda body flickering, with wisps of purple lightning snakes slithering among the eaves.

The New Emperor Sword transformed into a black-robed youth, squatting on the railing of the high platform. Holding a roasted leg of lamb he had swiped from who-knows-where, he gnawed on it until his mouth was covered in grease.

He looked at the Crimson Moon Canyon, his eyes shining.

"Smells so good."

Wei Zhongxian's face twitched.

"Lord Sword, that is demonic energy and bizarre pollution."

The New Emperor Sword said earnestly, "To me, the heavier the pollution, the more it tastes like added cumin."

Wang Hao shot him a glance.

"If you dare to swallow so much that you explode today, I will hang you at the military camp gate as an evil-warding plaque."

New Emperor Sword immediately refused to accept this.

"Tyrant, this is exploiting child labor!"

Wang Hao said indifferently, "You are not child labor, you are a cursed artifact."

New Emperor Sword thought about it and found itself unable to refute, so it could only angrily take a bite out of a leg of lamb.

Below the high platform, Xiao Chen, Ye Guyun, Qin Hongye, Wanyan Gu, and other prodigies stood at the front of the vanguard camp's formation.

Xiao Chen carried a heavy ruler on his back, his expression extremely foul.

After the pre-battle meeting last night, he had assumed they would be assigned to flank support today. After all, eight demigods had been deployed. Logically, young prodigies like them only needed to shout slogans, deliver finishing blows, and collect some military merits.

But at the crack of dawn, Wei Zhongxian arrived with a smiling face to deliver a military order.

The content of the military order was very simple.

Each prodigy must slay at least three cursed entities of the sixth tier or higher today.

Those who fail to complete this will have their performance for the month cleared to zero, be docked three months of military pay, and be transferred to the logistics camp to scrub toilets for three months.

Xiao Chen almost ate the military order right then and there.

What kind of worldly suffering was this?

He was a prodigy.

Not a toilet cleaner.

After Wanyan Gu read the military order, he remained silent for a long time before saying solemnly, "The Great Zhou's military law is even more cruel than the battle for succession in our Northern Barbarian Royal Court."

Qin Hongye said coldly, "If you lose the battle for succession, you die."

Wanyan Gu nodded. "Scrubbing toilets for three months is pretty much the same."

Ye Guyun gripped his sword, his expression calm.

"At least we can become stronger."

Xiao Chen glanced at him.

"You really have been tamed by Wang Hao."

Ye Guyun said indifferently, "You are the same."

Xiao Chen opened his mouth, only to find himself speechless.

Because he was currently wearing the special soft armor of the Great Zhou's Prodigy Pavilion, eating the spiritual meals of the Great Zhou military, using pills exchanged with Great Zhou contribution points, and even the cracks on his heavy ruler had been repaired by Great Zhou artifact refiners.

When you take from others, your hands are tied.

When you eat from others, your mouth is softened.

Taking the tyrant's resources meant risking your life for the tyrant.

The logic was flawless.

So flawless that it made one want to curse.

Right at this moment, Wang Hao raised his hand.

The world fell silent.

"Attack."

As that single word fell.

Boom!

The Great Zhou's runic cannons were the first to roar.

Over a thousand blazing pillars of light tore through the dawn, violently blasting against the demonic arrays on the perimeter of the Crimson Moon Canyon.

A blood-red barrier instantly lit up. Thirty-two defensive arrays overlapped layer upon layer, like thirty-two giant blood-red spider webs covering the canyon entrance. Demonic runes intertwined, blood energy surged into the sky, and tens of thousands of demonic sect disciples roared behind the arrays, injecting their own lifeblood into the array foundations.

"Hold them off!"

"As long as we hold out until the Martial God's Body is unsealed, the Great Zhou will definitely lose!"

"The Crimson Moon is immortal, the demonic sect is eternal!"

Their voices were hoarse, but there was fear in their eyes.

Because they saw the eight figures above the clouds.

The Ren Family Ancestor smiled and took a step forward, gently tapping the void with his dragon-head cane.

"This old man will go first."

As his words fell, a giant palm that obscured the sky descended from above.

The palm lines were like mountain ranges, and the vitality was like a river, directly slapping onto the outermost blood energy array.

Crack!

The first array shattered.

The old master of the southeastern Li family chuckled, waving his sleeve. Ten thousand silver threads rolled back like a heavenly river, piercing through the second, third, and fourth arrays.

The ancient sword behind the Heavenly Sword Pavilion Master was unsheathed by half an inch.

Just half an inch.

A ray of sword light spanned a hundred miles, as if slicing the world in half.

The fifth through ninth arrays snapped simultaneously.

Wang Wudi threw his head back and laughed loudly. His golden vitality was like a black dragon coiling in the sky. With a single punch, ten layers of demonic arrays instantly exploded into a rain of blood.

Red Axe Ancestor swung his axe.

White-Browed Eccentric tapped his cane.

Beiming Saber Lord slashed out a line of black saber light.

Chu Tianque smashed down his heavy sword, and the sound of an army of ten thousand charging echoed through the canyon.

An incense stick's worth of time?

No.

Not even half an incense stick's worth of time.

The thirty-two perimeter defensive arrays of the Crimson Moon Demonic Sect, which were claimed to be able to block an army of a hundred thousand for three days, crumbled layer by layer like building blocks being dismantled by a bratty child.

The fragments of the array runes exploded across the sky like blood-red fireworks.