Chapter 1023 – They Came, They Saw, They Left
Translator: Ryogawa
TLC: Hedonist
Zovic didn’t inform the rest in the Fringe about the incoming danger and instead notified only the Five Elite Zombies at Hexopolis about it. Like Han Shuo, Han Jin seemed really casual about the whole affair. “Just let them come.” Like crazy father like crazy son.
The battle at the Dominion of Earth continued intensely. Fighters from all seven dominions clashed in a huge mess, but the Han Demon Guards played the most important role in that battle. Salas, Wasir and the other fugitive gods also performed really well, which wasn’t surprising for gods who had survived the chaotic Fringe. They were ruthless and fearless, showing Yarus what real savagery looked like.
Fernando’s subordinates from the Dominion of Space had yet to participate in the battle so far to ensure that their allies would be able to rapidly respond to any situation that needed them. After all, if the Dominions of Light, Life and Water could surprise attack the Dominion of Destiny and the Dominions of Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Fire could launch a surprise attack on the former alliance in their absence, there was also a good chance the Dominion of Darkness, Death, and Destruction as well as the Fringe to be attacked at any time.
To prevent themselves from being taken by surprise, they decided to leave the elite fighters from the Dominion of Space to take on a supporting role. Being practitioners of the energy of space and having spatial transference matrixes, they were able to rapidly respond if either of those territories were attacked.
Not to mention, the gods of the Dominion of Space were also in charge of transmitting news among their allies. The one who brought Zovic the news of the incoming attackers was none other than McKinley himself. Once McKinley sent word there, he immediately contacted two other city lords to gather reinforcements to be sent to Hexopolis immediately.
At the highest point of the battle at the Dominion of Earth, the invaders from the Dominions of Light, Life, and Water finally reached the Fringe. Within a swift seven days, they made their way to Hexopolis.
On the walls of Hexopolis stood Han Jin, Han Shui, Han Mu, Han Huo and Han Tu in a pentagonal formation, each one taking care of one side of the defensive wall. One figure after another also appeared from the spatial transference matrix within the city: they were gods from the Dominion of Space. Immediately, they teleported to any place where there was a gap in defense.
“Oh, why are you all here?” Han Jin asked McKinley, who had suddenly teleported next to him.
“Haha, supporting the dominions of our allies is our responsibility. Now that the other three dominions are fine while you are being attacked, we naturally have to come. Though, if any of the other three dominions are also under attack, I’d still come to the Fringe to help out!”
McKinley had an interesting history with the House of Han. Han Shuo had even offended Azdins on his behalf by destroying Gyál, one of the three Keepers of the Light. Since then, he was really close to the House of Han.
“Han Jin, let me introduce you to Karey. He’s here specifically to handle Gyál. Naturally, I will also fight Gyál, but I worry I’m not his match,” McKinley said as he introduced Han Jin to a white-haired old man with a long beard. He was a space cultivator who had traveled through large distances of space on Fernando’s orders to fight Gyál.
“Ah, nice to meet you!” Han Jin greeted warmly. “Looks like Gyál is going to die for sure this time then.”
McKinley and Karey both laughed as they turned to watch the enemy forces approach from the distance. “How should we deal with them?”
“Just watch. It’s about to begin,” Han Jin said with a chuckle. All of a sudden, he yelled loudly. From four other directions in Hexopolis, Han Shui, Han Mu, Han Huo and Han Tu responded. Then, Han Jin jumped forwards into a hole that opened up in the earth before he was wrapped inside it.
The moment he fell into the earth, the entirety of Hexopolis shook and seemed to groan. Subsequently, the ground cracked open in the midst of the forces of Light, Life, and Water, letting out countless sharp spikes that skewered many gods. Hot lava immediately came flooding out and set fires all over the place. There were many explosions among the enemy ranks which resulted in large columns of smoke rising into the sky and obscuring any and all light. Amidst the cloudy darkness, hints of light flashed as icicles came falling from the sky, skewering even more enemy gods. It was as if the world was ending!
The Five Elite Zombies utilized their Penta-elemental Undead Formation to the utmost, operating it like a machine of slaughter. They didn’t spare anyone they could kill, sending soul after soul rising up into the sky. Even though McKinley and the other space cultivators had a plan to repel the enemy they wanted to relay to Han Jin before the fight, they didn’t expect Han Jin to just leap into the fray immediately. Not only that, they didn’t see anyone in Hexopolis launching those attacks.
“Holy fuck! What in the world is happening?!” The usually well-mannered Karey couldn’t help but curse at what he saw.
McKinley shook his head in resignation and sighed. “I told you that the House of Han is scarily powerful. You’ll finally believe me now, right?”
Karey snapped out of his stupor. “But this is a little too insane, isn’t it? I didn’t even get to see who made the attack! Isn’t this kind of power in the league of Quintessence overgods? Am I lagging behind the times because I’ve left Elysium for far too long?” After hesitating for some time, Karey turned to McKinley with a solemn look. “Are they breaking any rules? Will the Quintessence overgods join the battle directly?”
“How would I know?”
Ever since the last battle at Hexopolis, Han Jin got a huge boost in power from the exploding energy crystals. The other four also obtained arcane orbs refined from demi-overgod souls. Not to mention, after the Ninth Realm Mystical Yin Harvester Formation was complete, they also got some benefits from it. Thanks to the huge amount of Mystical Yin in Pandemonium and their arcane orbs, they managed to break through. Nowadays, the five of them weren’t weaker than average demi-overgods, and them working together using their Penta-elemental Undead Formation only served to boost their power many times over.
Being unique lifeforms, the Five Elite Zombies were able to fuse the elemental yuan energy they cultivated with the fundamental forces of this world, allowing their power to soar to such heights, which was why Han Shuo wasn’t too concerned about the approaching invaders. It wasn’t just McKinley and Karey; the other gods in Hexopolis couldn’t believe their eyes. While those five rarely walked about in public, many people knew who they really were. Even so, they weren’t expecting them to be powerful to that extent.
“Lord McKinley, the elites from the Dominion of Destiny have launched an attack! They’re actually invading the Fringe!” someone reported to McKinley through his magic mirror. He immediately asked for more details and found that many elite destiny cultivators had managed to evade the eyes of the space cultivator scouts to arrive at the Fringe, which was located between the Dominions of Space and Destiny. They weren’t a long distance away, so the destiny cultivators were able to swiftly begin their attack.
“Hey, it looks like the Dominion of Destiny is going to use this chance to take on the Fringe,” McKinley told Karey.
“There’s a chance they’re going after the forces of Light, Life and Water too. They were the ones who launched an attack on the Dominion of Destiny first,” Karey said, “But given how they do things, they’re most likely trying to take advantage of the whole situation and deal a blow on both the Fringe and the alliance.”
McKinley smirked. “Hmph! They think they can swoop right in to take advantage of us? Let’s see if they can fight their way past us then!”
“McKinley, don’t be reckless! The united forces of Light, Life, and Water weren’t able to gain an edge on the Dominion of Destiny even though they attacked first! We might not be their match. Why don’t we send the elites of the Dominions of Death, Destruction, and Darkness who are on standby here as reinforcements instead?”
McKinley calmed down at the reminder, gave it some thought, and agreed. “This is the safest move to make. Let’s do it then!”
“Lord, Lord, the destiny cultivators are turning back,” reported someone through the magic mirror once more.
“What?!” cried McKinley and Karey. They turned to look at the chaotic battlefront and instantly understood why. If they were in their shoes, they would definitely turn tail and run at the sight of such devastation too.
Note: the final chapter is now available on patreon!