At this moment, beneath Moonless Peak, the Celestial Witch Cult Leader turned to Tianyi, who was lost in thought on his throne, and reported, "General, the God of War Leo has appeared. Shall we also take action?"
Tianyi raised his head, opened his eyes, and looked at the Celestial Witch Cult Leader. The third eye between his brows flickered open, then quickly closed again.
"No, Leo alone is far from enough. Your Excellencies desire an unprecedented feast. Why should we rush? As for Leo, others will naturally take care of him."
The Celestial Witch Cult Leader remained silent. Tianyi's decision was unquestionable; it was something he had foreseen since his surrender.
…
With the arrival of the divine soldiers of the God of War Leo, the tide of battle in the City of Gods rapidly turned. Without Mingqi, the Celestial Clan's fighting power was completely lost, and they began to show signs of defeat against the powerful armies of the Divine Kingdom.
The battle situation was already grim. Liuli frowned in thought. If this continued, the Celestial Clan warriors would likely be decimated. Though they possessed unique bloodlines, they were still, after all, mortal flesh and blood, unable to withstand the might of divine weapons.
The previously absent black-clad high priests reappeared behind Liuli. One of them bowed and said, "Your Highness, the prophet says that now is not the time to initiate the God-Slaying Plan. However, to prevent further deaths among Celestial Clan members in this war that is not theirs, the Holy Altar will dispatch a Heavenly Sword."
Liuli nodded slightly at the mention of the Heavenly Sword. Even if the Heavenly Sword couldn't kill Leo outright, it would be enough to severely injure him. If Leo were severely injured, the divine weapons from Leo's Divine City would naturally be weakened.
"When will the Heavenly Sword arrive?"
This was Liuli's primary concern. Every second, a Celestial Clan warrior was dying in battle. If the Heavenly Sword arrived even a second earlier, it could save several lives.
"The prophet predicted Leo's appearance, so the Heavenly Sword arrived in an instant."
The black-robed High Priest's answer both relieved and shocked Liuli: "The prophet can already see the future?"
"That, I don't know."
As he spoke, a crescent moon suddenly appeared in the distant sky, pure and flawless, as white as snow. Under the crescent moon, all was silent, and at that moment, even the cries of battle within the City of the Gods were silenced.
The God of War, Leo, looked up and saw the crescent moon, which should not have appeared, rapidly expanding, transforming into a brilliant blade, slashing towards him.
"Ancient Saint Heavenly Sword..."
Seeing this blade, Leo instantly remembered a sword.
It was a sword that was neither immortal nor demonic, neither human nor divine, not within the world, but something that existed within the universe itself. With the appearance of this sword, every divine weapon in the world would be rendered completely dull, its power reduced by 50%.
A single strike could sever countless fortunes, a single blow could slay immortals and slay gods—this was the Ancient Sage Heavenly Sword.
"The Ancient Sage Heavenly Sword moves without a trace, transcending the material world. Why would it be wielded by the Celestial Clan?"
Leo, caught in a moment's thought, showed no fear at all, even from the Ancient Sage Heavenly Sword's airborne slash. A War God, he was inherently fearless, even facing the Ancient Sage Heavenly Sword's slash through the void.
Seeing the incoming blade, Leo neither dodged nor evaded. The silver sword in his hand hummed, and the void erupted with countless blades, which then coalesced into shadows. A surge of battle intent surged from the vast river of war, converging at the silver sword's tip in a radiance like the sun.
This was a single strike, gathering all the power of the War God Leo. He wanted to see just how powerful the rumored Ancient Sage Heavenly Sword truly was.
As the swords clashed, the world suddenly became pitch black, the wind silencing the surroundings. It was as if, in that instant, the world had completely frozen. Countless warriors caught in the battle suddenly found themselves unable to move, even breathing becoming difficult.
The next moment, divine light shone from the armor and robes of the God of War, like a dazzling sun piercing the frozen space and earth, like spring water rising in the morning sun, instantly restoring all order.
The battle continued, seemingly unchanged, as if the previous clash of swords and blades had been merely the clash of ordinary soldiers.
The brilliance faded, the blade of the Ancient Saint Heavenly Sword vanished, and the silver sword in Leo's hand uttered a slight crisp sound before its edge quietly broke, a fragment plummeting to the ground.
At the same time, a corner of the towering, imposing silver divine city behind Leo collapsed with a bang.
In a clash, the God of War, Leo, forfeited the Ancient Saint's Heavenly Sword's strike, costing him the loss of his divine sword and the destruction of a corner of the divine city.
"The Ancient Saint's Heavenly Sword is indeed powerful."
Looking at the broken sword in his hand, Leo whispered to himself. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the sword instantly returned to its original state. He swung it again, showering thousands of rays of divine light downwards.
"In my name, you will be invincible!"
A majestic divine voice descended from the sky, instantly inspiring those who fought for the gods.
In the Celestial Clan's tent.
Liuli withdrew her gaze from Leo and addressed the high priest behind her, "Although Leo has been injured, this war was meaningless. We must withdraw from the City of the Gods."
A desolate horn blared, and the Celestial Clan warriors abandoned their enemies and retreated northward.
Indeed, Liuli was right. This was a meaningless war. No matter how many died in it, it would have played no role in the future war between gods. Their deaths were meaningless.
As the Celestial Clan's vanguard, having been able to bring the war to this point was already a tremendous success. Their only regret was probably not being able to keep Ming Qi. Without the artifact that could suppress divine punishment, the Celestial Clan would not be able to hold the lead in the future war between gods.
But who could have foreseen these things?
With the Celestial Clan's retreat, the meaningless war in the City of Gods finally ended, leaving the city littered with corpses.
The God of War, Leo, had departed, and the people still in the City of Gods began to sink into endless confusion. They had no idea what the future held. Although the God of War had appeared, allowing them to survive this battle, they still saw no hope.
Although the God of War, Leo, had saved them, his appearance also signaled the beginning of the true war between the gods. In a war between the gods, mountains and seas could be moved and the world turned upside down. Even though they were unparalleled warriors, they were still mortals, mere ants in the midst of the war.
"Old Tai, I'm a little tired..."
The guards were silently sorting through the bodies of the soldiers. Nie Meng and Tai Long climbed the walls of the City of the Gods and gazed into the endless night sky.
"I'm tired too, but it's still a little early to rest. Look!"
Tai Long, however, showed no sign of dejection. He pointed to a strange glow rising into the sky in the distance and said, "That's light, a different light. I have a good feeling it will be the star that guides the world..."
Nie Meng remained silent, following Tai Long's finger. Between heaven and earth, a faint black aura loomed, like a dormant black dragon.
That was clearly black aura, not light.
Although Nie Meng saw black air, he did not say it out loud. Isn't what they are looking for a reason to continue fighting?