The battlefield had already crossed the point of horror.
Mountains of demon corpses burned across the plains outside Ashenfall City.
Demonic blood flowed through the cracked earth like black rivers.
But the war had not slowed.
If anything—
It had only grown more violent.
After Lin Tianren revealed the Sovereign Dragon Manifestation, the battlefield had changed.
The demons no longer treated him like a soldier.
They treated him like a threat that must be erased.
Immediately.
Demon Generals Counterattack
The remaining seven Demon Generals did not hesitate anymore.
They attacked together.
The sky darkened as seven terrifying auras exploded outward.
One general raised a colossal spear made from crystallized bone.
Another summoned a storm of demonic lightning.
A third general opened a massive gravity field that crushed everything within fifty meters.
Seven Gold Rank powers unleashed at once.
The battlefield shattered.
Even the human cultivators watching from the city walls felt their hearts tighten.
Han Yueqing's grip on his sword hardened.
"Seven Gold Rank generals…"
Even he could not casually walk into that storm.
But Lin Tianren stood at its center.
Golden dragon aura blazing.
Sword raised.
And beside him—
His fox.
The small silver fox that had fought beside him since the beginning.
Its fur was stained with blood.
Its breathing was heavy.
It had already fought beyond its limits.
Yet it refused to retreat.
Because the battlefield had changed.
The demon generals had already realized something important.
They stopped targeting Lin Tianren first.
Instead—
Three generals suddenly turned toward the fox.
Target the Weak Link
"Kill the beast!"
One Demon General roared.
Demonic chains shot forward like living snakes.
Another unleashed a massive shockwave aimed directly at the fox.
The third general moved like a shadow.
Too fast.
Even Lin Tianren's eyes widened slightly.
They understood something.
The beast contract.
If the beast died—
Lin Tianren's combat ability would collapse.
And for the first time in the battle—
Lin Tianren reacted instantly.
"Fox!"
He moved.
But three generals had already sealed the space around the fox.
The demonic chains slammed into the ground.
The shockwave exploded.
The shadow blade descended.
The fox had no room to escape.
The Moment Before Death
For a brief moment—
The fox froze.
Not from fear.
But from exhaustion.
Its spiritual core was nearly empty.
Its illusion flames had already been used too many times.
Yet when the attacks closed in—
The fox did not run.
Instead, it stepped forward.
Standing between the attacks and Lin Tianren.
The small creature bared its teeth.
Nine faint tails flickered behind it.
Almost transparent.
Almost gone.
Inside the beast's spiritual core—
Something cracked.
Contract Resonance
Lin Tianren felt it instantly.
The beast contract pulsed violently.
Their souls resonated.
Pain.
Exhaustion.
Determination.
Everything the fox felt—
He felt.
Everything he carried—
The fox carried.
Their bond was no longer master and beast.
They were partners.
War companions.
And deep inside Lin Tianren's Dragon Heart Core—
The golden dragon bloodline reacted again.
A pulse of ancient authority surged into the contract.
The fox's eyes widened.
Because the energy flowing into it was not normal spiritual energy.
It was Sovereign Dragon Qi.
Ancient.
Wild.
Dominant.
Its beast core trembled violently.
Evolution Begins
The first demonic attack struck.
The chains wrapped around the fox.
The shockwave exploded.
Dust and flames erupted across the battlefield.
For a moment—
The fox disappeared completely.
A Demon General laughed coldly.
"Pathetic."
But then—
The chains began to crack.
A low sound echoed from within the smoke.
Not a growl.
Something deeper.
Older.
The ground trembled.
A wave of golden energy burst outward.
The demonic chains shattered instantly.
The shockwave was pushed back.
And from the smoke—
A new figure stepped forward.
Nine-Tailed Sovereign Fox
The fox had changed.
Completely.
Its body was now larger—almost the size of a war horse.
Silver fur had transformed into radiant white-gold.
Nine massive tails spread behind it like flowing banners of light.
Each tail burned with spiritual flames.
Its eyes glowed with intelligent golden fire.
An ancient beast aura expanded across the battlefield.
Even the Demon Generals froze for a moment.
One whispered in disbelief.
"A… Sovereign Spirit Beast?"
The fox stepped forward calmly.
Its nine tails moved slowly through the air.
Illusion flames ignited across the battlefield.
But these were no longer simple illusions.
Reality itself began to distort.
The battlefield split into mirrored landscapes.
Hundreds of fox afterimages appeared.
Each one carrying overwhelming killing intent.
Hunter and Dragon
Lin Tianren looked at his companion.
For the first time—
The fox looked back with equal authority.
Not as a subordinate.
But as a partner.
Their contract ignited.
Dragon aura and beast aura fused together.
Golden lightning spread across the battlefield.
Han Yueqing whistled softly from the wall.
"That… is not fair."
Zhao Lianhua smiled faintly.
"So the beast ascended as well."
The Beast Queen watched silently.
Her voice was barely audible.
"A Sovereign Beast Bond…"
"Rare even in ancient eras."
Demon Generals Panic
The Demon Generals finally realized something terrifying.
This was no longer one opponent.
This was a dragon sovereign and a nine-tailed spirit king fighting together.
One general roared angrily.
"Kill them now!"
Four generals charged simultaneously.
But this time—
The fox moved first.
Illusion Cataclysm
The nine tails slammed into the ground.
"Domain: Thousand Fox Mirrors."
The battlefield shattered into illusions.
Hundreds of Lin Tianrens appeared.
Hundreds of fox spirits ran through the battlefield.
The Demon Generals suddenly found themselves surrounded by countless enemies.
Their attacks struck nothing.
Their senses twisted.
Even Gold Rank perception struggled to break the illusion.
And in that moment of confusion—
Lin Tianren moved.
Dragon Manifestation blazing.
Golden Heaven Sword cutting through the battlefield like lightning.
One Demon General fell instantly.
Another lost an arm.
A third was thrown across the battlefield by the fox's tail strike.
The demon army panicked.
The battlefield had completely turned.
Demon Commander Watches
Far behind the demon army—
Demon Commander Var'Khal watched everything calmly.
His crimson eyes gleamed with interest.
"A dragon sovereign."
"And a nine-tailed beast king."
He smiled slowly.
"Interesting."
Because this war was never about numbers.
It was about awakening something ancient.
Something powerful.
Something worth killing.
Battlefield Silence
When the dust settled—
Three Demon Generals were dead.
Two heavily injured.
The remaining generals retreated several hundred meters.
For the first time since the Third Wave began—
The demon army hesitated.
Lin Tianren stood at the center of the battlefield.
Dragon aura blazing.
Beside him—
The Nine-Tailed Sovereign Fox.
Nine tails swaying calmly.
The battlefield wind carried the scent of blood and fire.
But one truth had become clear.
The war had changed.
The demons had awakened a monster.
And it was standing on the human side.