Chapter 793: The Plain’s Altar
A flash of spatial light dissipated, leaving the couple in the middle of a vast and desolate plain. Strong winds swept across the terrain, dragging wisps of dry grass and kicking up curtains of dust.
"We have arrived," said Ethan, taking a quick glance around.
"I see nothing around us...", observed Isabella, gazing out at the broad expanse of flat land stretching in every direction.
In the distance, the realm’s contours were clearly demarcated: to the north rose the dense shadow of a lush ancient forest, to the east towered the imposing silhouette of a jagged mountain range, and to the west glinted the distant sheen of a raging sea.
"It seems everyone gets a different zone," noted Ethan through a laugh, shaking his head. "We got the easiest one to siege and the hardest to defend. An open field without a single blind spot."
They advanced through the tall grass toward the center of the designated zone. Upon drawing closer, they discovered that the area’s sole structure was a raised gray stone altar atop which fluttered a massive banner bearing the crest of the Soaring Dragon Kingdom. Aside from the pedestal, there were no walls, no trenches, nor a single solid fortification to shelter them from an assault.
In the stands of the Grand Colosseum, the spiritual projection screen vividly displayed the undefended position of the Soaring Dragon Kingdom. In the royal boxes of the enemy factions, several patriarchs and generals let out chuckles of satisfaction upon seeing Ethan and Isabella standing alone beside the exposed altar.
"No walls, no fortress, and only two people...", whispered a vassal king in the stands, forming a cruel smile. "That boy will be crushed in a matter of minutes."
Back on the plain, Isabella walked around the stone altar, touching the banner’s cloth with curiosity before turning to Ethan with a confident smile.
"Do you think the other kingdoms are already marching toward us?" asked Isabella.
"Don’t doubt it, my queen," answered Ethan, crossing his arms as he scanned the edge of the horizon. "And when they get here, this open altar will become their grave."
Barely a few minutes after their arrival, the plain’s ground began to throb with a heavy pulse. From the edge of the lush forest and the rocky gorge, two massive contingents of enemy troops emerged in a pincer formation. The banners of the Rising Sun Kingdom and the Iron Shadow Sect fluttered at the head of a tide of over three thousand heavily armored soldiers.
In the Golden Sun Grand Colosseum, the crowd gasped in astonishment. The spiritual projection screen broadcast every detail with bone-chilling clarity.
"They already found them!" shouted a cultivator from the stands. "There are over three thousand men against just two people!"
"That boy made the mistake of his life by not bringing troops," commented an elder from the Sacred Wind Sect in the upper boxes, smiling with disdain. "No matter how strong a cultivator in the Dao Manifestation Realm is, continuous attrition against military battle formations is fatal."
In the Soaring Dragon Kingdom box, King Alaric remained calm, though he tightened his grip slightly on the armrests of his chair. Great General Vaelen, on the other hand, let out a mocking laugh as he crossed his arms.
"Poor fools...", whispered Great General Vaelen. "They have no idea what they are about to witness."
In the center of the plain, the general leading the Rising Sun army raised his sword, recognizing the necrotic glow of the Orb of Death in Ethan’s right hand.
"Don’t worry!" shouted the Rising Sun general with arrogant confidence, signaling his troops to hold. "It’s just a few regenerating undead! In the exhibition before the Emperor, he barely summoned a handful of them. Smash them to pieces and press forward!"
The officer smirked, recalling the records of that previous fight. However, his smirk froze within seconds.
Ethan didn’t even bother to reply. He simply channeled his power through the orb, and suddenly, the earth beneath the plain began to fracture into thousands of deep fissures.
Ten or fifty undead did not emerge from the ground. Spectral figures and warriors clad in dark silver armor began pouring out by the thousands. Ten thousand, fifty thousand, a hundred thousand... The tide of cadaver soldiers with eyes blazing in violet fire grew without stopping, flooding the entire plain until it became an uncountable legion that outnumbered the attackers tenfold.
"W-What on earth is this?!" screamed the Rising Sun general, falling off his mount in sheer panic. "This isn’t what he showed before! It’s an entire army!"
Ethan didn’t move an inch. He stood by the stone altar, watching with absolute indifference as his endless horde threw itself upon the enemy ranks, devouring and crushing the soldiers who tried to flee in terror.
However, Isabella didn’t stay idle.
"My turn!" exclaimed Isabella with a radiant, battle-hungry smile.
She drew her jade sword and leaped directly into the front line. Her figure turned into a flash of golden lightning that carved through entire ranks. With the complete purification of her meridians following the fifteen days of cultivation and the power of the Dao Manifestation Realm flowing without restraint, every slash unleashed shockwaves that decapitated commanders and shattered armor alike.
Isabella laughed openly as she danced through blood, savoring the hunt. While Ethan’s endless army engulfed the vanguard, the princess personally slaughtered the leaders before they could even attempt a retreat.
Outside the dimensional plane, the silence in the Grand Colosseum was total. The hundreds of thousands of spectators stared at the screen with wide eyes. The patriarchs of the enemy kingdoms stood up in their boxes, pale as corpses, watching as their three thousand men were erased from existence by an infinite nightmare horde.
Ethan extended two fingers toward the battlefield covered in blood and despair, uttering a cold command that echoed in the mind of every undead creature.
"Leave not a single one alive," ordered Ethan.
The shadow horde obeyed instantly. The agonizing roars and pleading cries for mercy from the enemy soldiers were silenced one by one beneath a relentless tide of claws and dark silver blades. In a matter of minutes, all three thousand men of the Rising Sun Kingdom and the Iron Shadow Sect were finished off without an ounce of mercy.
With the plain completely silent and stained red, Ethan raised the Orb of Death once more. The sphere began to spin at a dizzying speed, unleashing a necrotic vortex that absorbed the corpses, blood, souls, and flesh of the fallen in the blink of an eye.
When the orb’s glow faded, the plain returned to a pristine and deserted state, leaving not the slightest trace of the slaughter that had just transpired.