Chapter 603: Arthur’s sacrifice

"War Marshal Bai, this is nothing short of tyranny!" Gu Chen muttered, tightening his fists until his knuckles turned white. "I will not let you kill Commander Arthur, even if I have to sacrifice my life protecting him."

"We will protect Commander Arthur!" Jiang Yichen and Bai Qingxian also declared. Even though the fear of standing against a Demi-God as mere True Sages was clear on their faces, they were still willing to stand for Maximilian.

"Impudence!" Bai Chengsheng shouted, descending a crushing pressure upon all three of them.

Both Jiang Yichen and Bai Qingxian were instantly slammed down, while Gu Chen barely managed to remain on his knees by using his spear for support.

"I-I will not let you kill Commander Arthur..." Gu Chen muttered, struggling to stand against the Demi-God. Blood splattered from his mouth with the slightest movement.

"Stop it, or you will turn into a cripple," Bai Chengsheng ordered with furrowed brows, yet his words fell on deaf ears. Even Jiang Yichen and Bai Qingxian were trying to rise, using every drop of their Soulforce just to make the tiniest movement.

’Killing these Righteous Faction bastards will be troublesome,’ Bai Chengsheng muttered inwardly. ’But if I manage to make that Divine Artifact mine, no one in the Western Continent would dare offend me.’

"Then don’t blame me for being merciless."

He declared this as he slowly raised his hand. Just as he was about to make his move, Maximilian announced in a firm tone, his voice laced with Soulforce.

"Commander Gu, Commander Bai, Commander Jiang, I’m truly grateful that you are willing to stand against a Demi-God for a rogue cultivator like me. However... I don’t want you to throw away your lives for nothing. War Marshal Bai will get his hands on my sword either way." ℯℯ𝑙.

His heavy eyes shifted to the sword in his hand. "My cultivation base is already damaged beyond healing. I only wished to bring peace between humans and beasts, but now... that dream seems like trying to reach for the moon reflected upon the water."

Tears trickled down from his eyes as he grabbed the hilt of the sword in his hand. "All because of this cursed artifact."

He rapidly formed a series of hand signs, causing several cracks to spread across the obsidian blade of Vajra.

"What are you trying to do, Arthur!?" Bai Chengsheng demanded as he bolted toward him.

"I will never let this sword become a weapon of mass destruction!" Maximilian declared, forming the final hand sign.

Before Bai Chengsheng could reach him, the sword suddenly exploded with a blinding light.

The impact completely obliterated the chariot and sent all the commanders crashing down to the ground. The General was also thrown several feet back into the air.

They all seemed relatively uninjured, with only minor scratches covering their bodies.

However, Bai Chengsheng, who had been closest to the explosion, seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage. Multiple scratches covered his body, his once-silken robe had been reduced to a ragged collection of torn cloth, and his face was darkened with burns.

"Khwak..." He coughed out blood, clutching his chest tightly. "H-he destroyed the Divine Artifact by exploding his Blood Essence within it. THAT DAMNED ARTHUR!!!!!"

After screaming his heart out in fury, Bai Chengsheng bolted away through the air. The General also left, followed by Lin Feng.

"A-Arthur..." Bai Qingxian cried, tears falling down her cheeks. Jiang tried to calm her by tapping her shoulder.

"This is a dark day for humanity," Gu Chen mumbled, every syllable laced with suppressed fury and grief.

They remained there for a few more minutes, mourning Arthur’s death before taking their leave as well.

From the Tiger Clan, some beasts retrieved the unconscious body of Vyomendra.

The battle had ended with major losses on both sides. The leader of the Tiger Clan had been forced to the brink of death, and one of their protective arrays had been destroyed.

Meanwhile, the humans had lost their commander, while their War Marshal had also suffered numerous serious wounds that would definitely take considerable time to heal.

The war between the Tiger Clan and the Southern Legion had quietly ground to a halt, with neither side making any official announcement.

---

"Do you really need to do this?" Chitra asked, her voice carrying a hint of frustration. "It’s been two days, and the Clan Leader is still unconscious. The hatred of the beasts for humans is at an all-time high. Some of them are already demanding punishment for your actions."

She, along with another girl, was walking across the broken ground outside Baihu Stronghold, the battlefield from where the humans had launched their attack on the wall.

"They call me their goddess, yet they demand that I be punished?" The girl beside her chuckled, shaking her head, finding it almost amusing.

The young girl was wearing a beautiful silken robe with wide sleeves. Her long pink hair swayed with every movement, while her pearl-like pink eyes scanned the broken, uneven battlefield with intense scrutiny.

Every part of her body was completely covered. Gloves adorned her hands, while a thick veil covered her face, revealing only her pink eyes. A pair of fluffy animal ears protruded from atop her head.

She slightly shifted a piece of debris on the ground, revealing an injured human cultivator who was barely alive.

His eyes widened in horror as he instinctively thrust his dagger toward her.

The attack was immediately blocked by Chitra as she struck his hand, causing the dagger to fall to the ground.

"Y-you vile beasts! I will take down one of you even if I have to sacrifice myself!" the cultivator shouted, as if his loud voice could drown out the fear surging within him.

"Lady Gumiho, can I just kill this guy?" Chitra asked with a frown, barely suppressing her urge to cut the human into pieces.

Gumiho stepped forward and knelt beside the fallen human. From her storage pouch, she drew a bottle of water and said in a gentle tone, "No one is going to hurt you."

The human seemed completely baffled. He wondered what these beasts were scheming. Had they put poison in the bottle so they could carefully enjoy watching him die?

Gumiho didn’t explain anything further. She rose to her feet and continued on her way, searching for other human cultivators.

"What do you like about these evil humans?" Chitra scoffed, her brows furrowed. Each time the battle between humans and beasts ended, Gumiho would come out onto the battlefield and provide water to the injured human cultivators who couldn’t make it back.

Vyomendra was aware of her actions but never once stopped her.

"I made a promise to my father to create peace between humans and beasts," Gumiho revealed, her tone low. "I know I’m not strong enough yet to make that happen, but I still have to start somewhere."

Her eyes shifted toward a destroyed chariot in the distance, where she could see strands of black hair spiraling out from beneath the debris.

She quickly reached the place and moved away the debris. Beneath it, she found the unconscious and heavily injured body of Maximilian, still breathing.