The war gradually entered its climax. Apart from Xun He leading the expeditionary force of the Divine Race, the other Divine Race armies did not waver even with Shentu's death.
To them, Shentu's life or death did not determine their own survival in this war.
Moreover, a younger, stronger, and more resourceful Divine Lord had taken command of the battlefield.
He Li's legend had already reached their ears like thunder, and a large portion of the Divine Race army supported He Li.
"Kill..."
"Roar..."
The Desolate Race army roared, their scattered formations began to gather, and they were retracting their battle lines. Behind the Desolate Race army, eight bone gates boomed open, and eight giant black battle flags flew out, unfurling above the Desolate Race army, emitting a grand and majestic divine power.
"Desolate Race Battle Flags!"
Some Divine Race soldiers who were already fighting in the central battlefield cried out in terror. On the other side, Divine Lord Yi Yao's expression darkened, and he then glanced at He Li.
He Li remained unfazed. Surveying the entire battlefield, he saw Xia Ye Qi locked in a fierce battle with a high-level Desolate Lord, their berserk divine power like blades, preventing anyone within tens of thousands of feet from approaching.
At the center of the battlefield, Yi Yao and six other Divine Lords were desperately resisting the attacks of eight Desolate Lords, their divine power clashing with the desolate divine power, exploding continuously.
On the left flank of the battlefield, Xun He led the Divine Race expeditionary force in surrounding and attacking a Desolate Lord and hundreds of Desolate Race soldiers. It was like fire and black smoke, tightly entangled, suppressing each other, yet constantly breaking free from each other's restraints.
Looking at the sky behind the Desolate Race army, two Desolate Lords poured all their divine power, holding their arms aloft, supporting the eight bone gates and eight Desolate Race battle flags with their peak desolate divine power.
"Attack with full force!"
A Sky-Supporting Desolate Lord looked at He Li with a provocative gaze and then roared.
With the enhancement of the eight Desolate Race battle flags, the Desolate Race army's morale surged, and for a time, the Divine Race army showed signs of decline, retreating continuously.
"He Li! Those are the battle flags of the Desolate King's Divine Palace. With these battle flags here, it's as if the Desolate King himself has arrived," Xia Min'ao flashed to He Li's side and said urgently.
He Li nodded slightly, contemplating in his mind.
The next moment,
Divine power surged within the Desolate Race army formation, and the void trembled. With each tremor, desolate divine power rose into the sky, spreading to cover half the battlefield. A colossal figure emerged from the shadow of the desolate divine power that enveloped half the battlefield. The moment the figure appeared, it charged towards He Li at extreme speed.
He Li made no move, nor did he resist, simply watching the colossal figure charging at him with a calm expression.
As the colossal figure reached He Li, at the critical moment, a figure clad in armor appeared before He Li, extending a hand to block the attack.
Rumble!
An explosion like a volcanic eruption erupted before He Li, mere two or three meters away from him.
He Li looked up at the back of the person blocking in front of him.
The person clenched his fist and chuckled, "Thank you for the Xirang."
He Li shook his head and said calmly, "You should thank Min'ao."
The newcomer was Divine Lord Yu Qiang, and unlike his previous divine power projection, this time he had arrived in his true form.
Divine Lord Yu Qiang did not reply. With a powerful punch, he sent the colossal figure flying back tens of thousands of feet, then pursued, falling with it into the deeper, more distant cosmic void.
Xia Min'ao glanced in the direction of Yu Qiang's battle and said to He Li, "You should leave. If you are here, Si'an cannot come."
He Li looked at Xun He and the Divine Race expeditionary force on the left flank of the battlefield, nodded, and said, "Once Si'an appears, I will leave the battlefield to you."
As the words fell,
He Li paused, then spoke to Xia Min'ao with his mind, "Once the battlefield is stabilized, if there are any in the Divine Race army who are disobedient or rebellious, kill Yi Yao first!"
Xia Min'ao looked at He Li in surprise and asked with his mind, "Why? Divine Lord Yi Yao, he..."
He Li interrupted Xia Min'ao, "He's just a fence-sitter. With a little scheme from you, he betrayed Shentu. Do you think he doesn't realize we sowed discord between him and Shentu? He's just going with the flow. If our side were at a disadvantage, would he be so attached to me?
Haven't you noticed that the Divine Race army under his command has always remained neutral?
His ambition surpasses mine, even more so."
Xia Min'ao nodded, "Alright, I understand."
As Xia Min'ao agreed, he was also shocked by He Li's ruthlessness. He couldn't tolerate even a speck of dust in his eyes. Perhaps remaining neutral was fine, but to do so while also making small moves was a capital offense.
He Li looked towards the Divine King battle formation where Huai Xi was located, hesitated, and endured for a long time before finally saying to Xia Min'ao, "Transfer Huai Xi to the rear to be with the Demon Race. I'm not at ease with her in the center of the war."
Xia Min'ao looked at He Li with a conflicted expression. One moment he was cold-blooded and unfeeling, and the next he was showing favoritism on the battlefield. Which one was the real him?
Perhaps he had never truly seen through him. He never followed the rules, his thoughts were deep, his emotions complex and contradictory.
"Alright." kuAiδugg
Xia Min'ao agreed.
He Li withdrew his gaze from Huai Xi, his left hand resting on the hilt of the long saber hanging at his waist. He reached out his right hand to touch beside him, but felt nothing. Only then did he remember that Xiao Lan was not by his side. He looked towards the monstrous beast army on the right flank of the battlefield. Xiao Lan was displaying his might, his divine body tens of feet large, like a deep blue lightning bolt, his silver-white eyes radiating the ferocity of a great demon.
Xiao Lan had grown up too. By his side, he was merely a divine envoy. The Demon Race was his home.
He Li withdrew his empty hand and his thoughts, his somewhat lonely figure standing straight, his gaze like lightning as he looked at the eight bone gates and eight battle flags above the Desolate Race army.
He murmured to himself, "The four brothers who came together, now we are separated. Yan Ping, where are you?"
War was always cruel and merciless. Once on the battlefield, no one was innocent. The departed were gone, and those who were not were perishing. If one wished for peace, someone had to pay the price.
"Heh heh... exhilarating, truly exhilarating. What a divine domain, what a battlefield." He Li chuckled softly.
As the words fell,
He Li raised his right hand, holding a small spatial cube in his palm. His left hand pressed down on the saber hilt, and a golden bell and a bronze cauldron simultaneously appeared behind He Li.
The great bell was majestic, emitting golden divine power. With every rotation and sway, golden ripples spread out.
The golden cauldron was grand, capable of suppressing a battlefield, vibrating in the void.
The golden bell and golden cauldron stood in opposition to the eight Desolate Race battle flags, representing He Li's confrontation with the Desolate King's Divine Palace from afar.
He Li's unusual actions instantly attracted the attention of thousands of gods on the battlefield,
But it was only for a moment.
The next instant,
He Li lifted the spatial cube and raised it above his head. In an instant, the spatial cube shattered. Immediately after, He Li, the golden bell and golden cauldron, the two peak Desolate Lords, and the eight bone gates and eight battle flags, all disappeared from the battlefield.
...