The human soldiers, who were still being corroded by the chaotic miasma and had yet to be fully transformed, were finally freed from their torment under the cleansing power of the falling rain.
Supporting one another, they quickly retreated from the front lines. At the edge of the rain's reach, they regrouped inside the pre-constructed fortifications and rapidly organized a second line of defense.
"Dragon God protect us—we finally made it out alive!"
The soldiers were still shaken with lingering fear, but what filled them with joy went far beyond mere survival.
The extraordinary life-force healing properties of the Rain of Life began to manifest more profoundly within their bodies.
Among these last groups of retreating soldiers, more than ninety percent had already been tainted by chaos. Some of the unluckiest had even been struck simultaneously by four different corruptions at once.
Though the chaotic growths that had sprouted from their bodies softened and sloughed away under the rain, the damage left behind was irreversible—after all, those grotesque excrescences were originally parts of their own bodies twisted by corruption. Their detachment meant massive losses of flesh and even severed limbs.
Yet, as the soldiers gradually regained their senses, they suddenly realized—their missing flesh had already grown back!
Even places where chest bones had mutated into horrifying bone spurs had not only returned to normal but had shed the scars of old battlefield injuries as well.
As for those more grievously wounded—crippled veterans missing arms and legs—the stunned onlookers watched in disbelief as new limbs sprouted rapidly from bare stumps of bone!
Seeing arms and legs regrow before their very eyes, the human soldiers were overcome with joy, shouting of miracles.
But for the chaotic legions still trapped beneath the downpour, their fate was far from blessed.
What was a divine benediction for humanity was, for them, no different from a rain of concentrated sulfuric acid pouring from the heavens!
Their prized, armor-hard demonic hides—strong enough to rival mankind's finest forged plate—dissolved upon contact with the Rain of Life, exposing the fragile inner tissues throbbing with chaotic power.
Wherever the rain fell, it was like pouring boiling oil onto bare human flesh, searing and sizzling with a violent hiss. Clouds of corrupted energy billowed out, only to be swiftly purified and dispersed into pure essence, vanishing into the world at large.
Deprived of chaotic energy to sustain them, these long-corrupted and demonized beings reverted to their original forms—and collapsed lifelessly on the spot.
After waging war for chaos for so many years, they were finally granted release.
Even the chaos army, famed for knowing no retreat and fighting on to the death even when burning their very blood, now fled in panic!
The elite chaos cavalry that had been hammering the human army's exposed flanks also faltered under the downpour and wheeled about, retreating in disarray.
The perilously thin human defense line finally stabilized!
With a casual sidestep, Roya narrowly avoided another claw strike from the Violet Lightning God Dragon, smiling as he said:
"The chaos army has already withdrawn—do you still think I'm some Daemon of Tzeentch?"
But the Violet Lightning God Dragon only snorted coldly:
"The Chaos Gods are never truly allies. Daemons of Tzeentch often butcher their own kind to trick others into trusting them—I've seen it countless times!"
"Put away your vile, despicable tricks, and prepare to die!"
Roya froze for a heartbeat. Despite having held back at every turn, even going so far as to invoke the Blessing of Life to prove his innocence, he still could not win this dragon's trust.
But the quarter-hour was almost up. Kaido was already dangerously close to Ersun's essence of power, and Roya simply could not afford to keep tangling with this obstinate dragon.
If Kaido truly succeeded, no explanation in the galaxy could wash Roya clean of suspicion.
"I'm going to stop Kaido. If you're not afraid your kin will fall before you can aid them, then by all means—follow me! See for yourself whether I'm lying!"
With that, his spiritual force lashed out like twin whips, cracking through the void. They blocked the dragon's next attack path and at the same time generated a massive recoil, propelling him like a thunderbolt toward Kaido and the Beasts Battalion below.
The Violet Lightning God Dragon, checked in that instant, found it already too late to pursue.
Just then, behind her, came a pained, guttural roar from Zhaoming the Adamant Dragon. She whirled around to see him being swung about mercilessly by his tail in Belakor's grip, smashed against the ground again and again in a display devoid of any dignity.
It was obvious—Belakor wasn't even fighting seriously anymore. He was toying with Zhaoming, treating him as unworthy of true effort.
Lightning flared in the Violet Lightning God Dragon's eyes as her emotions twisted with turmoil. Countless thoughts churned in her heart.
Ersun's essence of power… whether gained or lost, it scarcely matters. Even if that one truly is a Daemon of Tzeentch, it's still better in his hands than in Belakor's!
A Daemon of Tzeentch, no matter how strong, is bound by nature to schemes and deceit. As long as one remains vigilant, victory is not impossible.
But if Belakor, a Chaos Prince deeply entwined with Khorne, were to obtain it—this world would be doomed without question!
The Dragon God's power is the same. Zhaoming may fall, but he must not fall to Belakor's hand!
Resolving thus, the Violet Lightning God Dragon at last shifted her course. With a thunderous roar, she tore through the skies, folding space to hurl herself at Belakor—who was at that moment grinding Zhaoming's head underfoot.
Roya, though racing in the opposite direction, perceived the battlefield behind him with perfect clarity.
Judging from how effortlessly Belakor brutalized Zhaoming, even with the Violet Lightning God Dragon's aid, they would stand no chance against him.
Yet, thanks to Tzeentch's prior machinations, she had already been led to view Roya through a lens of suspicion. There was no way for him to render aid.
If I went now, she'd surely believe I was colluding with Belakor to flank her. That would only drive her to unleash some suicidal technique…
Hopefully Belakor truly is as arrogant as he appears. If, after defeating her, he chooses not to finish them at once but instead prolongs his torment, then I'll have the time I need—time to stop Kaido first, and only then return to overturn the battle.
If not… then I'll have to let Kaido seize the essence, and come back to save those two dragons afterward.
In the split-second blaze of lightning as he pursued Kaido, Roya's next moves were already calculated.
"Kaido! Stop at once, and I'll spare your life!"
But before his words had even finished echoing, the endless icefield ahead shifted. From beneath the snow, towering figures began to rise one after another.
Though scattered and unorganized, their placement was perfect—like the jaws of a vast trap snapping shut—surrounding Kaido and the Beasts Battalion without flaw.