Arthurius was clad in thick silver armor that contorted slightly under the might that was released from his body. His elite soldiers had already charged out, joining up with the other soldiers of the World Tree Clan to face the allied armies, holding them back long enough for Arthurius to finish charging up his attack.
Diana and Gilberd were simply flying a short distance behind Arthurius, calm smiles on their faces, as if the battle was already finished. Yao Jun was not the only one keeping an eye on Arthurius, the other leaders were doing the same. Facing the calm Arthurius, they all felt uneasy, so they were working together on setting up a defensive barrier around themselves, on the off-chance that things go wrong.
The battling soldiers were also stealing glances at Arthurius, the soldiers of the allied forces growing more and more uneasy as the time passed. Yao Jun could tell that the energy within and around Arthurius had reached a saturation point, ready to explode. Yet strangely, despite the massive amount of energy, space was not affected in the slightest, not even distorting under the pressure.
Arthurius raised his right arm, his tanned finger slowly stretching out, pointing directly at the allied armies. The World Tree Clan soldiers immediately understood, disengaging and dodging backward, putting as much distance between them and the allied armies as they could. A strange silence descended on the battlefield after the disengage, everyone awaiting Arthurius's next move.
All the energy he had gathered up moved towards the outstretched finger, gathering at in front of the tip. A small black orb quickly formed, slowly rotating as it floated there. There was not an ounce of energy released by the orb, but everyone who looked at it felt like they were looking at the inevitable end of all creation, an instinctual fear filling them and drowning any shred of hope they might have had.
Arthurius flicked his finger, the orb turning into a blur and shooting forward, a thin black line the only trail it left behind. There was no loud explosion when the orb reached its target, no sound or trembling earth. There was simply a flash of black light that drowned out everything else, a deafening silence following it.
Once the black light vanished, over half of the planet they had been standing on had vanished. It hadn't shattered or been pulverized, it had simply vanished, turning into nothing. And along with the planet vanishing, so too did the soldiers of the allied armies, only Elysande and the other leaders remaining. But they were clearly far from fine, their breathing rushed and shallow, their clothing and hair disordered and disheveled, blood leaking from their seven orifices. Simply blocking that one attack had drained them of nearly everything they had. Looking at the vanished planet surface, as well as the missing armies, Elysande could not help but look at Arthurius with an aghast expression, her voice trembling from fear and fury.
"You...You...!"
She could not even get out any words, uncertain what to say. Over half the planet, as well as hundreds of thousands of soldiers, all gone in the blink of an eye. She had expected him to grow stronger after his breakthrough, but how was this increase in strength reasonable? Arthurius responded to her stuttering voice with a disdainful sneer.
"My World Tree Clan is not something that the likes of you can lay your hands on, no matter how many reinforcements you bring."
Arthurius pointed out with his right arm again, the space in front of his finger bobbing and wavering, as if he had touched a screen of water. The faces of Elysande and the others rapidly paled, Elysande pulling out a transparent pearl from her interspatial ring. She shattered the pearl, an array forming around the allied leaders, quickly teleporting them through space, away from the now ruined planet. His attack landed on empty space, so Arthurius clicked his tongue.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Tch, slippery bastards."
Since the enemies were gone, Arthurius turned around and flew over to Gilberd, leisurely chatting with him. Diana quickly did her job as general, directing the various commanders and captains, leading the surviving soldiers to the teleportation array they had used to arrive on this planet. Ignoring the fact that the allied armies would not dare to start any new fights for a short while, there was no way they could continue to stay on this ruined planet.
Yao Jun quickly snuck away from his hiding spot and returned to their camp, removing his disguise and meeting up with Azemar's squad. He had already stopped using the formation core, so his cultivation had returned to its normal realm. He had broken through to the 4th Houtian Sky just before the battle, but after absorbing two new strong Demonic beasts, his cultivation had instantly shot up to the early stage of the 5th Houtian sky. Yao Jun could only let out a sigh in awe upon noticing this, with his God Gate, cultivation truly became easier the stronger he got.
The army quickly made their way through the teleportation array, leaving the planet in high spirits. They wasted no time on starting the celebration, the alcohol and food immediately brought out once they reached their camp. This planet was directly connected to the headquarters of the World Tree Clan, so it was easy to get a constant supply of food and alcohol, loud noises quickly sounding out from all over the camp.
Diana and the others did not join in on the festivities, at least not yet, gathering in Diana's tent to discuss their future actions. Yao Jun joined Azemar for a few drinks, but his drinking was cut short when a soldier in ashen armor walked into their quarters. Azemar knew what this meant, so he emptied his cup and gave Yao Jun a nod of his head, leaving to go drinking with the other soldiers.
Yao Jun stood up and followed the soldier, heading directly for Diana's tent. The guards outside the tent did not stop him, so it was clear that they had already been given orders. Unlike what he expected, Yao Jun did not see Isolde and Emeric inside the tent, only members of the Grievin family were present within the tent. As soon as Yao Jun entered the tent, Arthurius turned towards him, fondling his chin.
"So this is the little freak you told me about?"
Arthurius's eyes narrowed as he inspected Yao Jun, an invisible suppression quickly pressing down on Yao Jun. Yao Jun could feel his organs tremble under the suppression, but he faced Arthurius with a calm gaze, waiting for him to finish. After lasting for a short while, the suppressive force vanished, Arthurius giving a slight nod of his head, a mysterious smile hanging on his face.
"Aye, I can see why he would spook you a little, he does indeed have that capability."
Yao Jun did not understand the meaning behind Arthurius's words. When had he ever spooked Diana? Diana, on the other hand, was surprised at Arthurius's appraisal, getting even the slightest bit of praise from Arthurius was hard. Arthurius stepped forward and gave Yao Jun a heavy pat on the shoulder, the smile on his face growing wider.
"I am the youngest sibling in our family, you can just call me Art or Arthur. Kiddo, I have heard about your exploits, so imma give you an additional reward."
Yao Jun could feel his bones creaking from the mere act of Arthurius patting him on the shoulder. He was uncertain what sort of reward Arthurius was thinking of giving him, but a reward given by someone as strong as him couldn't be bad, right? Arthurius turned towards Diana, ignoring her flabbergasted expression as he waved his hand at his siblings.
"Big Sis, I am gonna borrow him for a while. I'll return him after giving him some extensive training, you can give him the promised rewards then."
Immediately after speaking, he slashed down with his arm, a thick spatial rift appearing in front of him. He grabbed onto Yao Jun and stepped into the rift, a myriad of colors filling Yao Jun's vision and disorienting him. Once the colors vanished and they had finished traveling through the rift, Yao Jun found himself standing in a vast and empty space that was completely pitch black in color.
While Yao Jun was wondering what Arthurius was planning, the surprised and interested voice of Arthurius rang out from behind him, his words causing Yao Jun's body to instantly tense up.
"Not only did that Lil' lord of life come to make a visit during the war, but even a previously unknown holder of a demon fragment has appeared. This war has truly attracted quite some interesting things."