Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“Kill ‘em all!”

“Attack! Attack!”

“Show them what we've got!”

Just when Proud Heaven and his compatriots were getting ready to make their final stand, the forces of the Sage Monarch Empire charged forth in a terrifying show of force. The sage monarch magistrates all erupted with the energy of the Eternal Heavenly Aria, which spread out to every last citizen of the empire. Halos sprang up on each of them, pushing them to the ultimate limits of their potential and making them ten times stronger than normal.

Of course, the Eternal Heavenly Aria could also cast halos of damnification. Unfortunately, they couldn’t pierce through the destiny to reach the enemies from the three dynasties, so the sage monarch magistrates didn’t bother with them.

If both types of halos had been usable at the same time, the three dynasties would have already been crushed.

Still, the pressure on the three dynasties was so great that many of their experts were shaking at the knees.

Many of their government officials had never participated in any sort of large-scale war. They normally lived like royalty, and at most, would discuss warfare as a matter of theory. Such people were pissing their pants in terror, having come to the realization that the Sage Monarch Empire was on the rise, and the billions of years of glory their own dynasties had experienced was coming to an end.

Once confidence was lost, it wasn’t an easy thing to gain back. Proud Heaven and his fellows were full of craft and cunning, and were all hoping to rely on crafty plots to come out on top. Meanwhile, Yang Qi’s upright and straightforward way of handling things gave him incredible momentum, making him nearly invincible.

Meanwhile, the Sage Monarch Empire’s Everlasting Aegis continued to expand threateningly.

The armies and the people relied on the aegis for safety, and the sage monarch magistrates were in charge of maintaining and expanding it. It was like a city wall made of iron, but at the same time, a living thing made of flesh and blood, with a will of its own. And right now, it was a stronghold too powerful for any enemy to breach.

The sage monarch magistrates shone like living lighthouses as they led the people forward. And as they advanced, they glowed brighter and brighter, which was a sign that they were readying their Tribulation Monarch Cannons to fire.

Of course, no outsider knew anything about that weapon. From the establishment of the empire until now, not a single Tribulation Monarch Cannon had been fired. But now, there were nearly three hundred million sage monarch magistrates, all ready to unleash a bombardment. It was a trump card Yang Qi had been keeping in his back pocket.

Proud Heaven hadn’t even formulated his plan of attack, only to find Yang Qi’s forces going on the offensive. They simply couldn’t allow the enemy to break through their front lines, so he shouted, “Fall back! FALL BACK!”

As soon as the command left his lips, the people from the three dynasties started backing up in panic. After all, they weren’t sure if Proud Heaven was planning to have them retreat from the battlefield, or simply back up and reform their lines.

“No, we can’t fall back!” Yang Voidprime shouted. “Stabilize the battle formations! Wait until you see the whites of their eyes! There’s no way they can get through our defenses. They're just trying to get us to panic. If we panic, we’ll be in big trouble. We have the advantage here. We haven’t suffered any real casualties, and those three traitors can’t do anything to our destiny.”

“You damn morons! When I said ‘fall back’ I meant to build up for a major counteroffensive. What the hell are you getting all anxious for!?” Proud Heaven was actually surprised by the chaos among the troops. Sadly for him, after the generalissimo, imperial preceptor and prime minister defected, it was harder to give commands to the armed forces. When the primary leaders of the army turned traitor, how could the masses be kept in line?

Some wanted to fall back, and some wanted to shore up their defenses. Nobody really knew what to do.

One of the worst things that could happen on the battlefield was for the army to devolve into chaos.

“Hold the line! Stay where you are!” The nine Dugu patriarchs, Yang Chiliocosm, and the other leaders could all sense the hearts of their people wavering.

This was the moment Yang Qi had been waiting for.

“Advance!”

BUZZ!

Roars of rage could be heard from the sage monarch magistrates as they unleashed an invincible white light that seemed to originate in hell and target the Halls of Heaven. The sun and moon declined, the lands split apart, space shattered, and tribulation descended.

The Tribulation Monarch Cannons had been unleashed.

Yang Qi had also been powering up his own Tribulation Monarch Cannon. It was his first time using it in a long time, and now he was unleashing it to rip a hole in the defense provided by the enemy’s destiny. With the enemy in chaos, and his own forces possessing incredible momentum, he was essentially unstoppable.

As the bright light shot forward, furious rumbling sounds could be heard, like millions upon millions of lightning bolts. And when it hit the defenses put up by the spell formations and destiny of the enemy, the layered defenses shattered.

Screams rang out as countless government officials were turned to ash by the white light, and numerous spell formations were completely destroyed.

Enemies who weren’t killed immediately started scrambling for safety. Even Proud Heaven, Yang Voidprime, and their compatriots scattered, showing not a scrap of interest in the other members of their respective dynasties.

RUMBLE!

The white light continued on relentlessly, wiping out numerous government officials, soldiers, and the like.

That said, although the white light was devastating the ranks of the three dynasties, it couldn’t pierce all the way to their base.

‘So strong!’ Yang Qi thought. When the assault of the Tribulation Monarch Cannons reached the primary spell formation of the alliance, it fought back relentlessly until the white light faded away.

That said, the cannon fire had thrown the enemy forces into complete and utter disarray.

“Warriors, the time has come to establish our might and glory!” Yang Qi said loudly. “After this battle, our empire will never be forgotten. We will shake the god world by wiping out these three dynasties. And your names will live forever! Epic sagas will be written about your actions, and they’ll be sung for all time!”

The true attack was now beginning. The Sage Monarch Empire was on the move en masse!

The cry of bugles and booms of war drums joined the rumble of spell formations being activated. The entire empire was like a massive weapon thrusting forward with deadly momentum.

“Fall back. FALL BACK! Retreat to the dynasty!” Proud Heaven could see that there was no way they would recover from this. Yang Qi’s empire had achieved a momentum that was essentially unstoppable.

No single person could do anything to shift the tide of battle, except perhaps a half-Annulled expert.

The only thing they could do now was pray to the essence of the god world in hopes that it could resist Yang Qi and his empire.

However, even Proud Heaven thought of prayer as ridiculous.

As Yang Qi and his armies charged forth, the sky suddenly split open, and an enormous monument appeared, crashing down to land right in front of them.

“Monument of Power....” a voice echoed.

It was inscribed with the epic sagas of millions upon millions of gods, and their warfare accomplishments. This obviously wasn't some sort of magical treasure, but rather, a mighty expression of the will and psyche of an almighty entity.

As soon as the monument landed, it was clear that it was blocking the path of the army.

“Hmm?” Yang Qi thought, looking over. The monument was almost like a wall right there in front of him, and he could sense that it had been sent from afar by some extremely powerful entity. Raising his voice, he said, “Warriors, not even the most almighty entity can block our path. We are invincible! If mountains are in our way, we’ll tear them down. If oceans block us, we’ll dry them up. People will tremble at our passing! ATTACK!”

Rumble. Rumble....

One attack after another was unleashed on the monument.

It was clearly sturdy, but under the assault of destiny, it started to crack, and after only a few dozen breaths of time passed, it exploded into countless fragments.

“The High Priestess is taking action!” Hailan shouted. “This is her most powerful god item, the Deathless Monument! The Sovereign Lord had her use the noble spirits of countless members of the legion of gods to create it, then used it to perform sacrifices day and night. This is going to buy us the time we need! Everybody, reform the battle lines!

“Her power won’t last for long under the assault of that destiny. However, now we can at least hold them off for a bit longer. And once they run out of steam, we can fight back! Hurry! Get in formation! Get ready to strike back the moment the Deathless Monument collapses.”

“Strike back! Strike back! All citizens of the three dynasties, get in formation. This is the chance we've been waiting for. The High Priestess has taken action. The Sage Monarch Empire is doomed to failure!”

Yang Chiliocosm, Proud Heaven, the nine Dugu patriarchs, and countless other top experts were all shouting similar things.

As a result, the scrambling forces of the three dynasties finally started regrouping. After all, the name of the High Priestess was profoundly moving.

When the Deathless Monument collapsed, Proud Heaven saw that while the forces of the Sage Monarch Empire were still rushing forward, they had lost the unstoppable momentum from before.

Waving his hand, he sent the alliance troops forward. At long last, the real fighting would begin.

And this time, everything was truly on the line.

If the Sage Monarch Empire could come through the fire and seize victory, it would rise to complete prominence. But if it failed, it would be defeated for all time.