Chapter 476 7: Dragon God Illusion
The sudden appearance of the Celestial Vault Square Legion plunged the already cruel and chaotic battlefield into further disarray. Westheid and his allies smashed through the Dragon Race's seemingly endless celestial Barrier.
However, the Dragon Race did not seem overly panicked. Having chosen this place to fight, they were undoubtedly prepared for a pincer attack.
"Humans... Do you intend to interfere as well? It is not too late to retreat..."
One of the dragons, witnessing the slaughter of its kind, hissed at Westheid.
Unfortunately for them, the object of their fear was immune to hisses.
"I'm actually curious how you ended up in a fight to the death with Chaos. Logically, you should be trying to avoid such a large-scale conflict."
Westheid asked with great interest. After all, the cunning of the Dragon Race was renowned. They would surely prefer to let the Celestial Vault Kingdom and Chaos destroy each other before sweeping in to reap the spoils.
Attacking Chaos so recklessly, without even preparing purification Techniques, was hardly a wise move.
It would have been better if Westheid had not asked. The moment he did, the True Dragons erupted in curses, their words filled with venom and fury:
"Chaos seized the Divine Ancestor Illusion! Damned things! Beasts! Blasphemy! This is an unforgivable blasphemy!"
'Blood of the Divine Ancestor? Could this be a blessing from Star Abyss Wings?'
Speaking of which, Westheid had never seen the gifts and blessings the Dragon God bestowed upon Its descendants. Logically, the Dragon God ought to be the Celestial God who doted most upon Its followers; all True Dragons were Its own flesh and blood. Star Abyss Wings used to be lavish with Its gifts. Even after several years, the blessings should still remain.
"The Divine Ancestor Illusion?"
Duke Qinghui wanted to ask for more details, but the Dragon Race had no intention of answering.
'Fine. I'll just kill them first.'
Westheid stomped on the void, using its overlapping layers as a platform to launch himself forward.
BOOM—
Ripples spread through space, accompanied by the unending sound of shattering glass. The vast expanse of the void behind Westheid was instantly obliterated, a shocking sight as countless thick, black cracks spiderwebbed outwards.
In exchange for unleashing such destructive power, Westheid instantly closed the distance on a True Dragon fleeing with its back to him. Despite the dragon flying for its very life, Westheid caught it, severed its wings, and summoned a Thunder Spear in his right palm to pierce and pin its limbs.
What followed was an extremely brutal execution.
His crimson blade tore the draconic body apart. To kill a True Dragon, which possessed nearly infinite vitality, as quickly as possible, Westheid employed the most direct method: hacking it into a thousand pieces.
Within a single breath, he delivered thousands of slashes, stabs, and bludgeoning strikes. The once-majestic True Dragon was like a frozen fish on a cutting board, butchered at will upon the ground. Flesh, bone, and organs splattered amidst the storm of blows until the True Dragon was nothing but a pile of crushed bone, its soul drawn out and its blood consumed.
As he slaughtered one Legendary True Dragon after another, the remaining members of the Dragon Race were filled with terror. The older dragons, those who cherished their long lives the most, found it especially difficult to remain calm in the face of death.
"Don't run! Hold the line!"
A slender True Dragon wreathed in an icy-blue glow commanded, "If we scatter and flee, he'll just hunt us down one by one! We can't outrun him! Surround and attack him together!"
At its call, the True Dragons, experienced old monsters that they were, immediately banded together, ready to advance and retreat as one to resist Duke Qinghui's assault.
"Tch."
'Even with them united, if I really force the issue, I can still crush them.'
Duke Qinghui empowered by Divinity was in a completely different state from when he wasn't.
'It's just a bunch of True Dragons in my way? I'll just hack them down!'
Jump and hack! A 360-degree spinning slash! A frenzied lunge and cleave!
HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK!!
Weathering the True Dragons' frenzied bombardment, Westheid tried to ignore the sting of his rapidly depleting Divinity, instead channeling his frustration into power and unleashing his fury upon the Dragon Group.
The True Dragons, acting in unison, were indeed far stronger than when they fought alone. For a time, they surprisingly suffered no casualties, even under Duke Qinghui's ferocious assault.
Even as the wind from his crimson blade tore rifts in the Celestial Vault and the resulting gales twisted and shredded the nearby clouds, he could not shake the unified defense of the clustered True Dragons.
But the True Dragons' tacit coordination was bound to falter for an instant. Against the rampaging Duke Qinghui, they didn't have the luxury of making even one mistake.
However, the situation changed when Reiya and Mivana joined Westheid's assault. This was especially true for the former; the suppressive power of her Pure Dragon Thunder was immense. Barring those with the Dragon God's True Blood, no being or Technique in the entire Dragon Group could withstand the true-damage critical strikes of her Sunlight Spear.
Finally, under the relentless barrage, a momentary flaw appeared in the True Dragons' defensive line. Westheid keenly perceived it and charged directly into their formation, tanking countless Techniques.
SCHLICK—
A merciless, frenzied slash cut an exhausted True Dragon in half. Without a moment's hesitation, the [Dragon Soul Furnace] flared to full power, completely absorbing the True Dragon's spirit and flesh. It became sustenance for Duke Qinghui, though it was of no benefit to his advancement.
Just as Westheid was immersed in the slaughter, a deafening, rumbling clap of thunder echoed from high above in the Celestial Vault.
In that instant, accompanied by an incomparable pressure, the dense clouds covering the Celestial Vault were pierced by a pale violet starlight. The haze of Chaos, once seemingly too thick to ever dissipate, melted away like snow beneath the brilliant radiance.
A clear, sonorous dragon's cry rolled down like an echo from a primeval, savage era, announcing its arrival to the world beneath the Celestial Vault.
Everyone, whether from the Celestial Vault Kingdom, the Imperial Expeditionary Army, or the legions of the Dragon Race, couldn't help but gaze up at the Celestial Vault. There, they all saw an existence so vast it was breathtaking.
Generally speaking, a True Dragon's body was immense. An ordinary one possessed a magnificent, powerful frame tens of meters long, while the most outstanding among them were commonly several hundred meters in length. These Giant Dragons were all astonishingly massive.
Yet, compared to the dragon now coiled high in the Celestial Vault, all those Giant Dragons were as insignificant as ants... No, the two were simply beyond comparison.
The Dragon Race's side immediately began to laugh and cheer as if victory was already assured:
"Ah! It's the projection of the Divine Ancestor!"
"How magnificent! How majestic!"
But some of the older dragons were filled with grief and indignation:
"We are so incompetent... To think we must expend this blessing here."
"Releasing it so prematurely... how long can the Divine Ancestor's power last? Damn you, Chaos! Damn you, Celestial Vault People!"
"..."
'[Dragon God Illusion]... So that's what this is.'
Westheid understood at once. Star Abyss Wings had actually replicated a part of Itself and bestowed it upon Its descendants as a trump card!
However, this trump card had been carelessly afflicted by Chaos Erosion. This ace in the hole, originally intended for their return to the Mortal World, had to be used now, lest it be completely consumed by Chaos.
And so, Westheid immediately focused his full attention on the illusion, a manifestation of the power of Star Abyss Wings.
Westheid had originally thought the [Dragon God Illusion] would be of a dragon with beautiful, star-like wings. The reality before him was indeed just that, only with a slight deviation from his imagination.
It wasn't that the dragon's wings were as resplendent as a starry sky; it was that the entire Star Sea *was* the Dragon God's wingspan.
It was a vastness and magnificence that defied description. After breaking through the haze of Chaos, resplendent starlight of azure, pale violet, true red, and dark silver enveloped the Celestial Vault. It flowed, pulsed, and flickered like a torrential river.
After being obscured and silenced for who knows how many ages, the stunning night sky once again appeared before everyone's eyes. But this vast Star Sea was not real; it was the body of the [Dragon God Illusion].
The Dragon God Itself was the "Star Abyss." The Star Sea flowing across the Celestial Vault was the body of the [Dragon God Illusion]. To describe the Dragon God as merely "vast" was a pathetic understatement. This was clearly a moving galaxy!