Forge a path to success.

Chapter 407 The Abyss Demon Descends Across the Moon
The battle cry of the thorns resounded through the sky, and the impact of countless punches swept across the battlefield. The god's all-out attack annihilated nearly 7% of the heretical forces on the spot.

The light within the Gospel Kingdom dimmed, countless flames extinguished, leaving behind dried ashes, like endless piles of ashes falling to the earth. The Virgin Mary in the courtyard trembled in agony, her true form revealed in her pain—a terrifying colossus comparable to heaven and earth, like the horrifying true form of Vansalal in ancient times. If any being were to witness her for even a second, beings with a mass level of 6 or less would instantly be reduced to glowing corpses and return to the Gospel Kingdom.

The old thorn-clad figure then grew to enormous size, using divine power to protect the citizens and warriors as they battled the revealed Virgin Mary. Their war was shrouded in radiance, and behind the light, colossal shadows intertwined, forming a "night curtain" that came and went in the secret realm. People could no longer distinguish time, or perhaps the changes in the world were in fact the struggle of the gods. They prayed in awe, then mustered their courage to fight against the heretics. Behind them, the sea surged, and divine trees and giant wolves clashed on the surface.

"What a magnificent scene! It's like a myth unfolding before my eyes," Mingwu exclaimed. "Seeing this scene makes me feel that my trip to the battlefield was worthwhile."

Ji Qiufeng was slightly surprised: "You are also moved by the war of gods? I thought you were used to it by now."

In the chaos of battle, where positions were indistinguishable, the Allied soldiers gradually lost their bearings from the moment the thorny bush rose up. To secure their escape route, they had no choice but to regroup with the nearest comrades. Ji Qiufeng, who had been fighting against the Cataclysm on the western battlefield, was driven by the battlefield's convergence and joined forces with the Remnant Hearts in the south.

He led his troops to intercept and kill a phallus angel, who, after being severely wounded, vanished into the mists of history. The "decaying" deacon also led his army into the fog. The enemy shrouded their army in a somber gray mist, seemingly planning to divide and conquer, or launch a surprise attack. However, the warriors remained calm, for their commander was composed. The peerless general stood at the forefront, halberd in hand, like a crimson beacon. General Mingwu casually sat on the ground, and seeing that the enemy did not approach, he even picked up a gourd to pour wine for his juniors.

There's nothing to fear in fighting alongside such a leader, because you know their strength is enough to overcome any conspiracy.

“Experiencing it and knowing it are different,” Mingwu sighed. “When the great war started, I was just a coward. For a long time, I stood behind my brother and the Lord of Fate, watching their backs as they charged into battle. I saw the Lord of Fate fight many times, but I never had that power. Back then, I was just like the people on the battlefield now, looking up at the gods’ struggle, but I didn’t know how terrifying their enemy was.”

“I only grew up after my brother died, and I only crossed the second abyss at the very end of the great war… But that was the end. Even the Lord of Fate couldn’t stop the birth of the Heavenly Prison. We just witnessed everything fall into our predetermined fate.” Mingwu shook his head. “So I have never really witnessed a few divine battles.”

Ji Qiufeng seemed to understand and nodded, saying, "You probably don't want regrets to happen again."

"When you have no power, you watch the Knights Kingdom fall into the Heavenly Prison; when you have power, you see the city-states turn into demons. What use is this power then?" Mingwu laughed. "Since there is hope, we must fight with all our might!"

The two men chatted and laughed as if nothing was amiss, but their brows remained furrowed. Qingye, holding a gourd of wine, guessed they weren't in a good mood, because their cups remained untouched. Only she had drunk three cups of wine without noticing their expressions, only realizing her mistake when she occasionally glanced at the dark, charcoal-like face of her clansman's elder brother behind her.

She mustered her courage and asked, "Is the Thorn Tree's current struggle merely a last gasp before its death?"

Ji Qiufeng was taken aback: "In my humble opinion, Jing Sha's survival this time, and her successful integration of some of the 'Du Ai' ideology, is a significant step forward... Could there still be hidden dangers that I am unaware of?"

"I didn't see that? Qingye, do you have some information you haven't told me?" Mingwu frowned as well.

Qingye was startled and almost trembled: "No, no, that's not it! I was worried because the battlefield situation looks very good, but you two are still worried..."

Mingwu chuckled, then remembered to drink the wine in his cup. Qingye, mustering her courage, asked, "Could it be the Empire?"

Mingwu smiled enigmatically: "You know the Empire's military strength is at its peak, so why didn't you seem worried before?"

Qingye quickly replied, "Because I think that going to war again at this time would not be of much benefit to the empire. If the city-state of Jingsha falls, the empire will surely send out all its forces to eliminate this threat. But now that the city-state has recovered its strength, we have a great advantage on the battlefield, and it will be difficult for the empire to wipe them out if it sends troops. If a war general with such combat power were to rashly join the battlefield, there is a risk that the local battle will escalate into a full-scale conflict, which would be disproportionate to the reward."

“There’s something else I haven’t mentioned.” Mingwu glanced at her sideways.

"And..." Qingye stammered, "We also made some... last resort plans against the Empire..."

"You want to drag these heretics down with you, is that it?" Mingwu roared with laughter. "You've got some nerve! You even dare to have such a treasonous idea!"

Qingye shrank back, bracing herself for punishment, but Mingwu ignored her. Ji Qiufeng, standing to the side, laughed and said, "As you know, the Truth Empire is a purely rational heretical sect. Although its power is strong, its actions are not difficult to predict. If the situation is clear at a glance, the empire will not fight a war that is not worthwhile. Therefore, Lord Wuzun and I are not too worried."

“What we’re really worried about are those unpredictable forces,” Mingwu said. “Hasn’t Black Moon found a representative yet?”

Ji Qiufeng shook his head: "We have notified both fleets to launch a search, but there has been no response yet. I think Hengkong is fighting it somewhere on the battlefield, but the divine war has spread too far, and the Black Moon Illusion is using the chaos to cover it up, making it difficult to identify."

Mingwu cast aside his useless worries. Seeing that Qingye still seemed to understand but not quite, he asked, "Qingye, where is the threat of the Fallen?"

Nightfall reflexively replied, “Yes! The danger of the Fallen lies in their omnipresence. The appearance of one Fallen often means a large number of Black Moon followers. Their rituals can easily summon high-quality Fallen, so even a bastard son, given the time, can summon a god… Ah!”

Her face paled as she suddenly realized the reason for their worry. Ji Qiufeng sighed, "Unlike true machines, they are unpredictable. That's what makes the Fallen so troublesome, because you can never imagine how much 'parental' love a Fallen person carries."

“Years ago in my Huilong City, there was a illegitimate son named Shuoyue who attempted to perform a ritual while Youyou and I were seriously injured. It was only after Hengkong and Huaisu fought a bloody battle that their plot was stopped. But I didn’t learn until the very end, when I was cleaning up the battlefield, that the medium through which the illegitimate son summoned the old man was actually his portrait!”

Qingye gasped, and Ji Qiufeng said with a bitter smile, "That was the most painful lesson I've learned since I left the mountain. Even a illegitimate son could call for an old man. And right now, the one hiding on the battlefield is the divine child of the Black Moon. How much 'parental' love does it carry?"

“It will be heavy enough to crush the battlefield.” Mingwu put down his wine cup. “But it doesn’t matter, we also have brave warriors who have broken through the Heavenly Prison. Since we have no time to worry about them right now, let’s trust that they are ready.”

Shadows surged in the mists of history as a new offensive by the heretics arrived. Ji Qiufeng brandished his halberd, charging into the fog first, while Guang Shimingwu unleashed a lightning-fast slash, using light as his blade. In an instant, the war resumed, and the battlefield was once again engulfed in chaos.

Amidst the clashing of swords and the torrential rain of thunder, from timeless gods to ordinary civilians fighting in packs, almost everyone was consumed by the endless carnage. The bloodbath seemed endless, perseverance superseding the passage of time, as everyone desperately held on until the battle ended.

The clash between the Evangelical Kingdom and the power of the Thorn Robe God nearly tore the sky apart, while mist and torrential rain further obscured direction. In this chaotic battlefield where even up and down were indistinguishable, no one had the strength to look up at the sky.

Therefore, no one noticed that above the massive hole where the seawater had poured in, where the city-state once stood, there was a pinhole-sized black dot. That hole remained fixed in the air, unmoved by any battle, because it had no volume, only "depth."

It's like gently piercing a piece of paper called the world with a needle, the hole leading to endless darkness. The hole is gradually widening; if you were to project your consciousness into it, you could hear the slashing sound of the wind.

The wailing was as mournful as the howling of ghosts.

The slash flashed by, turning numerous moon beasts into dust. The assassin took a step forward, ripples spreading from his foot like pebbles thrown into a lake. The deep black liquid surface surged as a result, his aura spreading along the ripples, burning away the traces of the moon beasts' former presence, yet extinguishing them with the opposite ripples.

The other figure stepped forward simultaneously, with perfectly synchronized timing and power, wielding a blade forged from black blood. The two assassins unleashed their Iaijutsu attacks at the same time, their strikes mirroring each other. The black-haired assassin parried with his blade, while the white-haired assassin used the repulsive force to leap and swing backward, his laughter echoing in the darkness.

"How interesting, my friend! We once fought fiercely in the shadows of Earth's society, and now we clash on the inner side of the battlefield. It seems we are destined never to be famous; no matter what, we always wage battles that determine the fate of all beings in secret!"

Chu Hengkong sneered: "Don't you think that's too arrogant? It's just a rotten game board, a private fight between two outsiders. How can it be worthy of affecting any living beings!"

“Since when did you develop this habit of belittling yourself?” Wang Quan tilted his head. “No, Chu Hengkong isn’t like that. Show me your self-importance, my friend! I am the center of the world, and everything revolves around me!”

"Does spouting nonsense work on me?"

"No, no, it's true. Isn't that the kind of person you want to be? Otherwise, why would you seek power in the Realm of Submersion?" Wang Quan chuckled. "Face reality, my friend. You know you have to stop me, after all, I'm not a naive guy like Parriman. If I lose here, I'll easily destroy everything you've built up."

He voluntarily sheathed his longsword, and Chu Hengkong was happy to buy time, as the longer Wang Quan delayed his attack, the greater the chance of victory on the outside battlefield. He had no doubt about Wang Quan's methods. Although Wang Quan seemed to be only slightly stronger than the Crescent Moon Chosen Ones in terms of aura, for someone like Wang Quan, paper strength was meaningless.

"What exactly do you want?" Chu Hengkong narrowed his eyes. "Do you want to play your game? Or do you want to 'save' Jing Sha? Do you want my support? Or do you want me to defeat you?"

Wang Quan forced a smile: "I hope you'll come to like me!"

Chu Hengkong silently unleashed a sword strike, which Wang Quan casually brushed away: "Just kidding, just kidding. You can guess my identity, can't you? I am the divine child of Dark Moon. I descended into the world with a mission bestowed upon me by the gods. I am determined to save the city-state. Before the love of the gods, everything else is secondary."

"The city-state has won a great victory; it has no need for your salvation."

Wang Quan lowered his gaze and chuckled silently.

"Friend, have you ever tried to broaden your perspective? Even if it's just for a moment?"

Chu Hengkong cautiously raised his knife: "No. I can only stare at the man in front of me."

“Yes, you’re always like this,” Wang Quan shrugged. “You’re never interested in the future, so you’re blind to impending threats…”

"So you don't understand, no matter what the current outcome is, destruction is an inevitable future."

Chu Heng became wary, because Wang Quan's aura had gradually changed. He was no longer the hypocritical "friend" who chatted and laughed with him, but a mortal enemy who would fight him on the battlefield.

It released its weapon, raised its hand and pointed to the sky, causing the dark space to tremble. Endless black water surged and then contracted, becoming an invisible point at the tip of Wang Quan's finger.

"I've said enough. It's almost time to finish my mission. Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

He raised his scarlet eyes and began to chant softly.

"The darkest moon, the cradle of beginnings, the first abyss forgotten. I offer you my sincere love, and pray that you will answer my prayers and save the world."

"Dark Moon Divine Art: Abyss Descent"

(End of this chapter)