Star Gate

"Did it not occur to Li Hao that we can circle past this area and not give him a chance to connect the ruins with us?" leered a monkey desolate beast. Chaos presence could be redirected at their will.

"We can do that..." the Barren king said softly. "But Calm Borders is the heart of the eastern continent. If we avoid this area, that will create a hole in Barren territory. This is a very important location and Li Hao is confident that we won't give it up. Are the Revered Ones willing to pass it by?"

Of course not!

Calm Borders was a prosperous province and an exceedingly strategic location. Being the heart of the eastern continent, it would be quite troublesome for them if they did not take it.

At the same time, the desolate beasts were surprised that there would be Li Hao's helpers in the ruin. How many powerhouses might there be and where did they come from? Battle Heaven? Or the other ancient cities?

The desolate beasts looked at the Saints from Galewind.

"Li Hao has the ability to move powerhouses around," one of the Black Armors replied quietly. "He might have been making his preparations all this time and there could be a lot of experts hidden inside this ruin. This is the only major ruin between Barren and the east. It is suitable for the other side to bring their full force to bear, so it is normal that Li Hao has chosen this site for the final battle."

The young man's decision being normal was one thing, but they also kept Red Dust's admonishments in mind. They were not to take any brash action!

This was Tranquil Star, a set of ruins that might be very special. While they weren't the real Tranquil Star, Red Dust had given them many reminders that they needed to be careful. The key was that Red Dust felt that Li Hao might be up to something. Hence, they needed to make their moves only after clearly assessing the situation.

Three Saints had emerged from Galewind; Barren would not accept any more from the ancient city. There were six Saint level desolate beasts from the Barren side, making for a total of nine Saints in the field! Even an Empyrean King would fall to this force!

This showing of strength ensured that they would not be that afraid of their opponent. Barren's only concern was if Red Dust betrayed them. Red Dust's side was equally worried that Barren would turn on them. The two sides were fearful and apprehensive about each other.

Apart from the Red Moon exalted emperor, there were no exalted emperors from Red Moon world. Nine Saints would have an easy time of things no matter where they went. Hence, they weren't terribly perturbed by the possibility of encountering an Empyrean King.

"Seniors, if there really are dangers to come, I hope that we can all work together and set aside our disagreements," said the Barren king. "I am very familiar with Li Hao. Although it has not been long since his rise, he is not to be underestimated given his defeat of three nations!

"It's best to avoid the ruins in front of us if we can," the man said solemnly. "We can surround the entire eastern continent first and encircle this place with our territory..."

"No!" snapped the horse desolate spirit. "This area's terrain is unique and it is situated in the core of the continent. Unless we give them a wide berth, they'll easily charge out and ambush us from behind. No matter what, you're still a king! How can you be so brainless?!"

"Revered One, we should avoid the keen edge of his blade..."

"Shut up!" rebuked the desolate spirit. Avoid the keen edge of the young man's blade? This Barren king was getting ever more cowardly! If it wasn't for the fact that Barren had developed swiftly under his many years of rule, the horse desolate spirit wouldn't even be bothered to talk to the man!

There was a ruin underneath the core eastern region! As opposed to turning a deaf ear and blind eye, they should try to defuse the danger while Red Dust's people were still here. What did that stupid king know?

Once Barren devoured the entire east, they would relax their pace as well. That was when they would expel Red Dust's Saints, even if that resulted in open hostilities! If that was also when they turned around to take care of the problem left by the Tranquil Star ruins... wouldn't that be creating additional trouble for themselves?

As opposed to that, the desolate beasts wanted nothing more than to take care of it now!

The Barren king opened and closed his mouth before ultimately saying, "Then we respect the order of the Revered Ones! But we must be careful of Li Hao, the young man is devious and cunning. The destruction of the three nations and deaths of Saint level divine spirits indicate that he has the ability to kill Saints..."

"Shut up!" the other desolate beasts rebuked as well. This person wasincrediblyaggravating! He doused their spirits again and again before an important battle. Li Hao was hardly important to the desolate beasts. The only opponents difficult to handle were the New Martial fellows.

In the age of core origin, desolate beasts would never measure up to New Martial powerhouses. But times were different now! Core origin was no longer!

Or rather, it had disappeared.

And while desolate beasts were somewhat weaker than before, that was primarily due to a lack of chaos presence. They'd been suppressed too heavily before. But now as fellow Saints, modern desolate beasts were definitely stronger than their human counterparts.

The desolate beasts were no longer afraid of these New Martial has-beens!

"Battle Heaven can field multiple Saints these days," a Black Armor explained softly. "General Pagoda, Guardian Turtle, and Reserve Defender Commander Wu Peng are all Saints. If they come—and they won't all come since that would immobilize Battle Heaven—two will be their maximum!

"As for the other main cities, Li Hao may not be able to convince them to dispatch Saints. That means he might be hiding two Saints in the ruins and the young man himself may possess Saint level strength...

"But he also commands numerous Suns and Moons, they are strong as well. Their combined force... should be able to barely hold off a Saint. So that can count as four Saints on his side..."

That should be the maximum he could bring to bear, no?

"Not necessarily!" The Barren king played devil's advocate again. "Li Hao knows full well that we have multiple Saints on our side. Since he's chosen to remain in place and defend, as opposed to taking the initiative in an offensive, that means he should be slightly weaker than us.

"But I don't think he'll be that much weaker. He may have more Saints than we anticipate, perhaps more than six!"

"Your analysis makes sense." The Black Armor flicked a glance at him and inclined his head. "But... where is he to find more than six Saints? We know the current layout of the world more than you do. Of the eight main cities, Boundless has fallen, Sword City is sealed away, and Galewind is in our hands.

"That leaves Star River of the Zhous, Martial Alliance of the Zhaos, Steadfast Sky of the Zhangs, Thunderblast of the Hongs, and Battle Heaven of the Wangs. Li Hao has forged close relations with Battle Heaven, but he will find it difficult to recruit Saints from the other main cities to his banner..."

"What about Zhang An?" frowned the Barren king. "Don't forget about him!"

The Black Armor blinked, then nodded. "That may be a threat! But Zhang An and Li Hao are not close. Of course, he might still come. But even in that case, there will be no more than four or five Saints on his side..."

"We must still be careful," the king cautioned again. "I think that he's prepared at least six Saints on his side."

"Don't worry!" The Black Armor grew impatient. "He won't have that many! We are more aware of the situation than you are!"

There would be no reinforcements coming from the other main cities. Of that, they knew all too well. Even if someone did come... heh, Li Hao would have to be careful then.

Red Dust's side was so confident because they knew the inside information. Unless the young man moved all of the other ancient cities here, it would be a complete daydream to set himself against nine Saints!

They weren't worried from the beginning. They were more concerned about eliminating the desolate beasts. In fact, they rather hoped that Li Hao would field more Saints. Even if the young man lost, it would be nice if he killed a desolate beast or two in his attempt. That would give them the chance to break Barren and eliminate two sides in one move!

The horse desolate beast was also growing impatient after the king's multiple calls for caution. "Alright now, you can go to the frontlines to direct the army against those little pests! Don't kill that many of them, they're all elites. They will make fine Barren warriors after chaos overtakes them!"

"Ah Jun can direct them, I..."

"Are you disobeying orders?" The horse desolate beast coldly cut off the king. "Silver Moon martial masters are not weak. Your daughter cannot stand against them. You will head to the frontlines like I say!"

"......" The Barren king had no choice but to nod with a sigh. "Then... may the Revered Ones be careful and take care of yourself. With the Barren army here, those guys won't be able to do anything!"

He mounted a desolate beast with another sigh and roared to the soldiers, "Hear my call, Barren army! This king will lead the vanguard in this battle and break through the Skystar lines! Skystar is ours!"

"My king is mighty!" cheered one million soldiers. They'd been very worried when their king was imprisoned, and were now highly galvanized to see him take to the field himself. They'd taken half of the eastern continent within ten days!

"If we claim victory in this battle and eliminate strong foes, our path ahead will be bright and smooth!" The king's voice rang with greater fervor and passion. "Soldiers, we will ignite our blood qi and chaos in critical moments and fight to the death! There are many enemies on the other side, but the Revered Ones will slay their powerhouses! They will reinforce us in times of need. A mere Skystar is within our grasp whenever we wish it!"

"Victory!" Cheers and shouts sounded once again. In the rear, the desolate beasts and Red Dust's Saints nodded slightly.

The army of one million was not as strong as the four hundred thousand they faced. Skystar soldiers were very troublesome once they assembled into formation. Sufficient numbers of ants could bring down an elephant all the same.

Not to mention, there were Battle Heaven soldiers among them. Those were experienced in bringing down powerful foes. It would be for the best if the Barren army would preoccupy them. That would prevent the Battle Heaven Army from interfering with the clash of Saints!

As for the heavy toll of casualties this would result in, as well as igniting blood qi and erupting with chaos... Dead people were dead people. Would they lack for people once the invasion was successful?

The group had been displeased with the Barren king moments ago, but the horse desolate spirit chuckled now. "He is timid as a king, but still willing to fight when his back is against the wall!"

The Barren army had been dispirited and lifeless earlier, but now spirits soared. That put the powerhouses in a good mood. This would ensure that some of the enemy's heavyweights would be preoccupied by the regular soldiers.

"Him being present saves us some trouble, but..." A leopard desolate spirit looked on grimly. "He talked back to us multiple times! He should abdicate once everything is stabilized!"

Although the Barren king had been good enough at his post, the guy had too many of his own thoughts.

Take just now, for example. Although he meant well in advocating caution, it was very annoying to the desolate beasts that a weakling repeatedly strengthened Li Hao's side and exaggerated the severity of the situation.

"Mmhmm." The other Saints nodded in unison. All could wait until after this skirmish.

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