The next day was the final assault on the Jade House.
Unlike in a static war, where armies advanced in lines and were opposed with fortifications and walls, the Legion used a so-called 'deep battle' doctrine, where regiments and special units would jump ahead, and conquer key points far behind the lines, and then crush the counter-attack of Jade Elders and their armies with ridiculous ease. The past decade had seen the Legion grow in strength at an unheard of pace, with millions of new Bronze Realm Soldiers in the elite regiments and Iron Realm Captains, all equipped with sturdy power suits.
The weaker regiments were still equipped with the same power suits, giving them a fighting chance even if outmatched by an entire realm or two. As for the Immortal Sword allies, they have also grown greatly in power and ability, and their leader Master Jin even reaching the 9th star of Iron Realm via some Iron Star pills.
Almost 1000 different targets were engaged at once by a billion armored Legion Soldiers, while the Jade House itself, a fortified citadel at the base of the Jade Mountains was encircled by 3 million Soldiers and 3 Legion Captains, those being Pef, Lia and Lara, as well as Master Jin for his special Sword Soul.
"So, this is your final play, Veritas Legion? Only four Iron Realm cultivators and few beasts? I expected more." a sad voice emerged from the Jade Citadel, as the Jade Eminence himself stepped out in front of his Elders and remaining household army.
Master Jin struck first, moving so fast that nobody else on the battlefield even saw his sword flash. But the Jade Eminence was still a Steel Realm cultivator and parried the deadly strike with a metal talon worn as a glove.
Lia struck next, and died as the Jade Eminence struck back in a relaxed manner. But as he turned to parry Pef's Universe Splitter, Lia revived with her Tao Seal and stabbed the Eminence from behind, using a barbed thorn infused with Devour Dao. "What?" he man yelled as a pair of new barbed thorns flew from Lara's hands into his eyes, blinding him for a second.
And thus, the Jade Eminence died a second later, as Master Jin took his head with another blinding-fast sword strike.
"Uhhh. Can I eat him already?" the Taotie asked from his armored suit.
Time slowed down, and then reversed, bringing the Jade Eminence back to life and full health. "You're way over your heads, puny Legion. Now freeze for me!" the man yelled and cast his own special time magic on the entire battlefield.
The time wave passed overed the armored suits, causing a few sparks and then nothing. The power suits were still enchanted with Formation Arrays, exactly for this kind of peril.
Pef blinked forwards and smashed his palm over the Jade Eminence's belly, just as his wives struck the man with barbed thorns grown from the Taotie's sad experience with a bramble root.
Before the man could speak, the Chaos Array Pef had deployed on the man's stomach detonated inward, forming a spiritual spike that entered his dantian and pierced it. Master Jin struck again, bisecting the dying Eminence into halves, and then the halves into smaller halves, a dozen times over.
"You think he has another time crystal?" Pef asked curious, just as the Jade Eminence reformed into an intact shape once again. Obviously, the Jade Eminence had his own secret methods.
"Enough! I didn't wan't to pay such a price...but, you've proven too strong, Veritas Legion." the Jade Eminence yelled ominously, as a Phoenix feather appeared in his hand then burst into flames.
The sky split open to reveal a giant burning Phoenix who had been waiting unseen in a pocket dimension. "Are you sure you want my help, Jade Eminence? There's only a few Iron Realms here...quite pathethic." the Eder Phoenix asked with a dismissive glance at the weaker Legion Captains. He was at least 1000 times stronger than all of them combined, so they weren't worth much notice, to be fair.
Another pocket dimension opened to reveal the Beasthunter, now advanced into the 6th Star as well, and quite a match for the Phoenix in cultivation, if not age and experience. "Divine Cook, allow me to handle this beast for you. The Phoenix is also in the 6th Star, so I get to have a worthy opponent. And most importantly, a proper beast!" the huge man boasted while smashing his fists together.
The Phoenix frowned for a second, as he measured the interloper. "You have formed a Sword Soul, Beasthunter? That's quite an achievement for someone of your meager talent. Are you sure you want to die today?"
"Ehem. The two of you kindly take your fight in the Chaos Sea, and I'll forget you interfered in this sanctioned war. Or else." the Celestial Dean spoke out of nowhere, making both the Beasthunter and the Elder Phoenix bow low, and then fly away rapidly.
"Wait, I am willing to negotiate..." the Jade Eminence spoke in a fearful voice, but too late. An amored woman appeared at his side and stuck her hand into his belly, then ripped out his dantian and all his treasures stored inside his inner world.
"Negotiate, you say? What can you offer my Legion?" the Eternium Knight asked with a confused voice, as the Taotie jumped forward to Devour the Jade Eminence for good.
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"...Finish this quickly and return peace to my Heaven. Am I clear?" the Celestial Dean demanded with an irate voice.
"Of course, your mightyness. But still, there's the matter of the Phoenix House. What if I wasn't prepared? My Legion would have suffered great loses." The Eternium Knight countered with a light, almost careless voice.
The Celestial Dean glared at the cheeky goddess, but he also saw the truth in her words. If the Beasthunter wasn't here to defend, the Elder Phoenix would have incinerated the entire Legion.
Not to mention, the Beasthunter had been trained and prepared to fight a strong beast like the Elder Phoenix, which meant he could now contribute greatly at the defense of the Realms against the Chaos Sea.
He sighed and glanced towards the Phoenix House past the Jade Mountains. "One third of Phoenix House assets as penalty for violating my decree. Anyone else wants to share the same fate?" he declared in strong golden Words, making a dozen pocket dimensions fail and reveal the observing Steel Eminences who were fence-sitting the war.
The Life Goddess giggled and waved her fingers at the Celestial Dean. "I was simply waiting to save what lives could be saved after the war, Dean. I'll go keep an eye on Beasthunter now." she spoke with a kind, motherly voice, then vanished at speed.
"Only watching...war has been rare in these parts." the Yin Matriarch spoke with a mild voice, then flew away without looking back.
One after another, the Steel Eminences invented an excuse and fled the scene, lest they incure the not-so-kind attention of the Celestial Dean.
The Demonhunter stayed, and just nodded at the Divine Cook. Since the ascended fish was basically the mailed fist of the Academy, and the companion beast of the Celestial Dean, he wasn't rebuked or otherwise warned, only getting a raised eyebrow from the Celestial Dean, before he vanished.
"I am glad you were here, Demonhunter. Things got a bit dangerous at some point." Pef said in a casual voice, then split his burger in half and let the Demonhunter have the other half.
"I would have let you die, if it came to that, Divine Cook. The Dean is not keen on allowing wars to proliferate in the Higher Heavens." Demonhunter answered in-between hungry bites.
Steel Realm Leviathan, cooked to perfection and seasoned with lettuce, onions and red peppers. The burger was very good, if not actually a cultivation aid.
"No, I don't think you would have let that big Phoenix burn me alive. " Pef countered with a casual voice.
"Fine. I would have stopped outside interference. Happy now?" Demonhunter admitted with a pained voice.
Pef took out another burger and handed it over. "The truth will set you free, my friend. See, it wasn't so hard."
"And now, I have to escort you to the Academy. Something about the Trial rewards and graduation ceremony. Plus you have a few women waiting for you." Demonhunter said in a sad voice, then grabbed Pef and vanished in hyperspeed.
Soon enough, Pef found himself in front of the Dean in his office, while the Demonhunter lowered his scale suit and stood at the Dean's side like a bodyguard.
"Divine Cook, how long until you reach Steel Realm?" the Dean asked in an official voice.
Pef frowned for a second, then shrugged. "Probably a month. I do need to arrange stuff for my wives and all."
The Dean nodded, seemingly a bit sad. "It has been quite the adventure, Little Brother. But as a Steel Realm, your path will diverge from my Academy. I expect you'll focus on growing your Legion?"
"Erm. Yes, but also no. There are still things I want to study here, like Alchemy and Forging, And I can probably teach what I know, maybe Swords and Formations. The Legion...I expect they will expand into the Chaos Sea, much like they do in the Lower Realm. Their purpose is to protect, not conquer." Pef explained in a serious voice.
The Dean and Demonhunter exchanged a surprised glance.
"That would be welcomed. Do you think your wives will agree?" the Dean asked a bit curious.
Pef smiled unconcerned. "Some will agree, some might not. People can have different opinions, you know? Perhaps I can convince some of them to teach here as well. Lin is a good smith already, and Aria has a legacy from the Veridian Legion, Wood and Life Dao especially. And maybe Yue as well. She has an Inheritance from the Jade Emperor, much like the former Jade House."
The Celestial Dean sat down, and stared at the Divine Cook with curious eyes. "And in exchange?"
"Well, both Cooking and Winemaking benefit from rare plants and other such treasures. Maybe beast cores and rare minerals. My Dao Fruits are still rare and random, but with practice I think they'll get better. I recently made an Iron Body Wine, for example. But she took the bottle like always." Pef spoke in mild words, as if ignoring his own acomplishments.
He tended to do that a lot, to be fair.
The Dean's eyes flashed with something like annoyance, for a second. "Like always, you say. And you don't mind?"
"Eh. We're family. She'll bring me something good sooner or later in return. I got a Preservation Core from a Steel Stingray just yesterday." Pef answered with a careless voice.
"...What?" the Demonhunter asked in surprise, and glanced towards the Chaos Sea where the Beasthunter was fighting the Elder Phoenix. This looked like a big plot, quite deadly for any weaker Eminences.
"Too late now, Koi. The Elder Phoenix is dead." the Celestial Dean declared with a sad voice.
"Even with that Nirvana Skill? The Phoenix gets reborn from anything." the Demonhunter wondered.
"It wouldn't matter, if the Mirror of Samsara blocked the skill on the other side, preventing a rebirth. She was indeed prepared. And nobody has seen it, until it was too late. Not even me." The Celestial Dean mused in a thoughtful voice.
"Two Steel Eminences in one day. " the Demonhunter spoke in a grave voice.
"The Legion always wins. I think this was her warning, for the rest. I guess there won't be more attacks on the Legion members any time soon." Pef reflected in a distant voice.
"I am not so sure. With the Phoenix Elder dead, the Phoenix House will be weaker. The Legion will strain them even more, taking a third of their lands...the rest will feast on the corpse." Demonhunter mused in a low voice.
"And she was there too, the Life Goddess. Damn greedy bitch!" the Dean growled as his face turned dark.
"Isn't she a healer? What's the problem?" Pef asked a bit confused.
"She isn't just a healer. There's nothing much to heal, unless there's war and injuries. As feuds grow, poisons get used in large areas, increasing her Domain. She's trying to gain another Star." Demonhunter explained in a patient voice.
'Uh. We got played, again.' Pef mused inward.
'Let's ascend sooner. Tommorow at the latest. Poison kills people.' Icefire demanded in an urging voice.
Pef sighed inward. Surely, the Celestial Library had a big database on poisons too. Not the funniest read, but it seemed quite important suddenly.