Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2647 - Certain Death

Conflicts within fifth-level nova source worlds and above almost always involved billions of civilian deaths. While everyone had their own story, the cold, uncaring universe couldn't be bothered to read them. Every single lifeform was nothing but a speck of dust by the roadside, and any semblance of meaning would fade with the passing of time. Only the specks of dust themselves, such as Tianming and the rest, would bother doing everything in their power to protect their homes and prevent their destruction. Tianming and Wudi knew that once the Dreamchild descended, all would be eradicated! All of their efforts would have been utterly for naught. Despite all their preparations and deliberations, they never would have expected the enemy to have another trump card aside from the fiendbats!

Shenxi Xingtian saw what had transpired from within the Ebonfiend. Finally, the twisted old bones on his face curved into a smile. That would be enough to wipe out the hate that had festered following the destruction of the two million troops. "The two million lives of the Infinitum Bodhimanda shall be a worthy sacrifice for the population of this world ten thousand times the number!"

Hearing what he had said and seeing the Dreamchild actually about to succeed, the remaining million troops no longer cared why the Dreamchild was on their side any longer. Their attention had been successfully directed toward the thirst for vengeance! Once more, their confidence and morale soared as they clashed with the five hundred thousand flameyellow fiends that blocked their way. The Sun was in chaos again! But this time, the scales of victory tipped in the favor of the Exterminatus Army.

"I wonder if it would've been better for me if I’d waited to use the celestial tome...." Tianming piloted his ship toward the Dreamchild.

"An infinitum-class celestial tome wouldn't do much against the Dreamchild itself. Wiping out two million astral gods with it was the most we could've gotten out of it. It was a shame that we didn't have more of them, though," Xiaodao said through the transmission stone. If they’d had more time, Wudi probably would have been able to unlock even more secret chambers.

With the obstruction of two infinitum-class divine wonders, the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb and Flameyellow Coffin were unable to precisely locate the Dreamchild after they entered the illusion formation near the ship. In the same vein, the flameyellow fiends were shrugged off every time they made an approach and were subsequently engaged by the eightpart apparitions. There was nothing the fiends could do to stop the Dreamchild, which, in turn, slaughtered wave after wave of fiends that constantly reformed. While their numbers hadn't changed, they soon ended up concentrated at the lower part of the Flameyellow Guard Formation. Once they were pushed out of it, they wouldn't be able to even manifest!

"Godfather!" Tianming was just as anxious as the rest. The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb unleashed its Dragonrage Cannon, sending nine gigantic fireballs flying. Ji Ji made sure all nine of them collided for an even bigger explosion! The nova source attack finally had some effect. Not only were the divine wonders shaken, the Dreamchild's speed and trajectory had been nudged to the side. While a physical ramming attack could be easily deflected by the divine wonders, ranged attacks seemed to work!

"One more time!" The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb rained down powerful blasts that even ether-class ships wouldn't be able to muster. It dutifully tailed the Dreamchild, blasting away at its rear, leaving one flower of flame after another in the sky. With each blast, the Dreamchild was shaken and slowed. And as it slowed, the flameyellow fiends were able to keep up once more. All seven hundred thousand of them hammering away at the ship from all angles proved to be quite effective at obstructing its flight.

No doubt, Rex Mundi Meng Ying was probably quite enraged. They increased the power output of their infinitum-class divine wonders, creating even more white mist around the ship and countless eightpart apparitions to take out the flameyellow fiends anew. Tianming kept hot on their tail, once more aiming the Dragonrage Cannon at the Dreamchild's rear. Then a coffin slammed towards the Dreamchild like a thrown brick. Wudi didn't know anything about using the power of the artifact with any finesse, but brute force worked well enough. Alas, the ephemeral world wonder made it so that there was nothing for it to hit. Every time the Flameyellow Coffin tried approaching the wonderian astralship, it would end up emerging from the other side of the divine wonder. It seemed that the Dragonrage Cannon was the only effective option.

"While we’ve slowed its descent, the blasts aren't able to completely stop it! With enough time, the Dreamchild will still be able to succeed...." What was the difference between a quick death and a drawn-out one? The result would be the same anyway! "If there's no permanent solution, the Sun, its people, and I will all die!" Tianming felt his heptastar organs burn. His scalp felt like it was tingling. What could he possibly do? He wracked his brains as he continued bombarding the Dreamchild.

"The only thing that can counter a divine astralship is another divine astralship! Compared to Rex Mundi Meng Ying, the aspect I'm closest able to match them in is my divine astralship. I'm still far from able to fight them in actual combat!" If it weren’t for the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, Tianming wouldn't even be able to touch someone like a rex mundi, a foundationeer. With the astralguard formation having trouble against the Dreamchild, the divine astralships were their only hope. Tianming was thanking his lucky stars that the rex mundi didn't just use a Starbreaker on the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb to come in to kill him. The enemy knew that, as long as they were able to enter the Sun and destroy the Sky Palace Formation, Tianming would surrender anyway. It saved them the trouble of boarding the ship, as well as reduced the risk of hurting Moran. If they were serious about taking down the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, it wouldn't stand much of a chance even with the flameyellow fiends' help.

"The question is how can I improve the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb?" Last time, he had failed to assimilate the volatile core of Fienddragon Palace. It was completely unlike that of Whitedragon Palace. Even after the Sun had been elevated to the next level, Tianming knew that there was a sixty percent chance he would lose his life in trying to assimilate the Fienddragon Core. While he didn't take the risk back then, he probably wouldn't even have the time to risk his life now, even if he wanted to.

"If I risk my life, nobody will be here to delay the Dreamchild. It won't need that much time to reach the Sky Palace Formation!" Even though there was something that could possibly turn the tables, there was no chance to use it; their foe was going straight for their crucial weak point! All he could do was give a frantic chase to slow the Dreamchild Down.

The Dreamchild was busy trying to shake off the blasts even as its rear end was covered in more and more craters. The two infinitum-class divine wonders had been significantly worn down. At the same time, the crimson-and-gold brick kept ramming toward the Dreamchild from ahead. The flameyellow fiends also didn't cease their assault. Meng Ying felt quite frustrated at the constant pestering.

Within the Dreamchild, there was nothing but tens of millions of little tanks and a male and a female child. They stood at the very core of the ship.

"Those two are rather annoying. They're still struggling even though they're so close to death," said the male child as he shot a threatening glance toward the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb behind them.

"That's right. However, just hold on a little longer. Once we leave the formation, these monsters will be gone. By then, we'll have an easy time dealing with their internal formation or the nine-headed dragon," the female child said.

"Yes. It's only a matter of time." The two of them ignored the rampant attacks and focused all of their attention on descending. At that moment, the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb struck a critical spot on the Dreamchild, causing the mysterious little tanks within to loudly crash into each other. A few of them cracked and leaked some kind of black ooze.

"Damn those animals!" the male child snapped. Oh, the indignity of letting the Dreamchild be attacked without retaliating. The child grit his teeth and rolled his eyes and was about to turn the Dreamchild around to wipe out the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.