Duke Dominic’s question was also on the minds of Donny and this Duke, who had just arrived. When they reached the summit, it was already piled high with the corpses of dark warriors. More bodies couldn’t be stacked and were falling from all sides.
The battle at the peak continued unabated. The man moved swiftly and unceasingly, reaping lives without slowing down or speeding up.
The great banner still flew high.
Duke Donny suddenly said in a sinister tone, “Why are there so many survivors among the blood clan? Have the descendants of the Holy Blood become more afraid of death recently?”
Dominic sneered, “The strong demon kin have suffered very few casualties as well. Are they all dead?”
“The last Duke to be injured was by your blood clan.”
Dominic sneered, “Do you dare to question the Emperor? It seems you wish to return to the Marquis stage and relive life.”
Donny’s face changed, and he remained silent. Yenight had long proven with countless bloody examples that provoking her was a foolhardy act, no matter who did it.
At this moment, Ben interrupted them, saying, “Are you going to let him continue to be arrogant like this?”
Dominic and Donny both fell silent, giving an implicit nod.
Ben pointed at the banner in the distance and shouted, “That banner stands here, before hundreds of thousands of Eternal Night warriors! Today’s battle will be recorded in history. If it does not fall by our hands, how can we show our faces back in the Council and speak eloquently on the platform?”
To everyone’s surprise, Dominic felt no shame and said, “I have been a Councillor for long enough. I can step down if needed.”
Donny, though not as shameless, remained silent.
Ben was so enraged that his eyes almost popped out. As a spider demon, his temper was already short, and he was particularly bad-tempered. He tore off his outer robe, revealing a dark blood-red armor, and bellowed like thunder, “I thought the blood clan were true nobles who pursued honor and faith, but I see there are cowards among you! Look, look at the human, can you still call yourselves a superior race?”
In the lower ranks, many blood clansmen, especially those with noble titles, looked ashamed and lowered their heads.
“Today’s battle will add a new legend to the spider demons!” Ben, wielding a long-handled heavy axe, roared and charged up the solitary peak like a thunderstorm.
Dominic and Donny exchanged glances, each seeing in the other’s eyes a look of disdain, and smiled, feeling closer to each other.
Ben swung his war axe, sweeping away the other warriors, and fixed his gaze on Qian Ye, saying, “Duke Ben Tick of the Silver Belly Tribe of the Spider Demons, has come to fight you! Don’t think that among the Long-lived, only Yeroh is unafraid of death.”
Qian Ye remained emotionless and silent, slashing a light, almost weightless sword. In his eyes, the Spider Demon Duke was no different from any ordinary warrior.
Ben suddenly stomped the ground, transforming into his full spider form! The entire peak trembled, and he used the force of his stomp to swing his war axe at Qian Ye.
Sword met axe, and Ben’s massive body shook, with all eight segmented legs plunging into the ground. Qian Ye’s sword was unimaginably heavy!
Before Ben could recover, Qian Ye’s second sword arrived. With a roar, Ben blocked it with both hands, but there came a third sword, a fourth, and so on, seemingly endless.
Holding the sword with both hands, Qian Ye struck with nearly religious fervor, each strike like a fine spring rain, entwining the Spider Demon Duke.
Yet, beneath this seemingly gentle rain, each of Qian Ye’s strikes was as heavy as the next, forcing Ben to use the most exhausting method to defend.
Ben realized that Qian Ye had held nothing back from the start and did not need to use his famous Eight Directions Seal, as the first and eighth strikes were indistinguishable.
He was facing the strongest Qian Ye in history, one who no longer cared about the future.
Understanding this, Ben suddenly roared, using all his strength to push Qian Ye back half a step. Using this opportunity, he did not flee but raised his deformed war axe, with his aura rising and dark primal energy layering up, burning his life force completely!
A roar that shook the heavens and earth echoed through the Black Sun Valley as Ben’s lifetime-powerful axe strike fell, then froze in mid-air.
In an instant, Qian Ye parried the earth-shattering axe and shot out a light feather, destroying Ben’s magic core.
Ben, now powerless, still clung to his war axe, trembling as he pressed down.
Qian Ye’s eyes finally showed a flicker of emotion, releasing his grip, allowing the axe to land on his shoulder. The sharp blade finally cut a thin wound, seeping a drop of burning blood.
Ben’s face relaxed, and he sighed, “I… managed to hurt you.”
“Why didn’t you escape when you had the chance?”
Ben smiled, “Escape? How could I escape?”
With a trembling hand, he pointed to the flying banner, “You raised… this flag, so I cannot escape. Whether it’s the Eternal Night or the Empire, the people above are watching, and all… people are watching. My kin, my children, and future descendants are watching! I am a warrior, and I must… die standing…”
Ben’s voice grew faint.
Qian Ye grasped his hand, gently lifting his massive spider body, placing him under the banner, and said, “You are a true warrior. Then, witness my battle under my King’s banner.”
“Very… good…” Ben’s head drooped, but his body remained upright.
In the distance, the mocking expressions on Dominic and Donny’s faces had vanished.
“Revenge for the Duke!!” One of the spider demon leaders roared, instantly igniting the savagery in all the spider demons. Countless spider demons surged towards the solitary peak, pushing and shoving, eager to reach Qian Ye.
On the peak, corpses rained down again, but the spider demon warriors, their eyes red, pushed aside their fallen kin and climbed desperately, determined to kill the man before their Duke’s body.
In any era, this was the most terrifying army. But, like the true warrior Ben, they faced Qian Ye.
That night, he was the true God of War.
No one knew what Qian Ye was thinking, or what he felt as he cut down thousands of enemies. His eyes were cold and lifeless.
Dominic suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if this man was already dead—not his body, but his heart.
Dominic didn’t understand why he felt this way; he had never been close to Qian Ye and had never even met him before. So why did he feel this way?
Time passed, and squad after squad of dark warriors rushed towards the peak, never to return. At first, they were mostly spider demons, then some werewolves joined, followed by more demon kin and blood clansmen.
Night turned to dawn.
The banner still flew.
Dominic and Donny stood motionless in the air, like statues. Beneath the banner, Ben’s body stood tall, witnessing this moment destined to be recorded in history.
Gradually, a heavy and oppressive aura began to spread, indicating the presence of a truly powerful figure. It was unclear whether it was a Sovereign, Great Lord, or Sky King.
They watched silently.
Above all, there was an even more majestic presence, the will of the New World. It too observed this war, which, to it, was a clash of ants.
No one could have imagined that this battle would evolve into an epic confrontation between two great camps. It all began with the flying banner.
A demon kin Marquis suddenly appeared before the two Dukes, bowed, and said to Donny, “Uncle, we demon kin also have honor and dignity. The name of a true warrior should not be monopolized by the spider demons. I will go now. Please tell my father that I have not disgraced the Meissfield family.”
Donny, with a solemn expression, slowly nodded, saying, “Go, and your name will be in the family history.”
The Marquis bowed again, drew his long sword, and screamed, falling like a meteor towards the battlefield.
His body tumbled from the peak, crashing heavily to the ground. Only half of his sword remained, trembling as it stuck in the earth beside him.
Countless demon kin warriors surged past his body, rushing towards the peak.
After some time, Donny suddenly said, “There are things I thought I understood, but now I realize I still have no answers.”
Dominic, startled, asked, “What things?”
Donny slowly said, “I wonder what the secret is behind the humans’ rise within a thousand years. I also wonder if honor and dignity can be measured against a few hundred or even a thousand years of life. Which is more important?”
Dominic instinctively felt these questions did not need answers, as the answers were obvious. Yet, when he tried to speak, the words wouldn’t come.
Donny laughed self-deprecatingly, “Now, I want to know the answers.”
“You, you won’t…”
Donny said, “Ben was right. Our kin, our children, are watching us. Not just now, but in the future. Perhaps a thousand years from now, our names will still be mentioned because of this battle. I don’t want my future children to feel ashamed when they mention me.”
As Donny flew towards the banner, Dominic felt something blocking his chest, unable to breathe.
Soon, Donny, leaning on his sword, struggled to support himself, looking at Qian Ye, and asked, “Was that just now…”
“Primal Spear.”
“Good. I… hurt you…” Donny’s eyes gradually dimmed.
Qian Ye did not respond but picked up his body and placed it beside Ben. Under the banner, besides the two Dukes, there were several Marquises. The other Marquises were not unworthy, but their bodies had fallen off the cliff during the intense battle.
The bloody battle seemed never-ending.
On the battlefield, Dominic awoke as if from a dream, asking, “How long has it been?”
A guard nearby replied, “Sir, it’s the third day.”
“So long, yet it feels like no time has passed…” Dominic rubbed his face, subconsciously avoiding the banner.
The banner was soaked in blood, and the characters on it were no longer visible. But in Dominic’s mind, each stroke of the ‘Night’ character stabbed painfully.
Suddenly, there was a commotion among the blood clan forces below, and a beautiful girl sped through the ranks, appearing before Dominic in an instant.
Seeing her, Dominic’s face changed, and he stammered, “You, why are you here…”
The girl knelt on one knee, saying, “This battle cannot lack the blood clan! It cannot lack the Ousie Clan! Father, forgive me. I cannot follow your orders this time.”
The girl dashed away like the wind, leaving Dominic feeling utterly powerless, unable to stop her.
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