433: Phoenix rebirth, sustaining war through war!

With the strength of one, bear the enmity of a race!

The implication behind this declaration was more direct and insane than "all-out war." He had placed himself as the sole target for the Demon Race's revenge and extermination.

He had, to a certain extent, separated his own destiny from that of the Human Race as a whole!

This was both the height of arrogance and a nearly tragic strategy to buy the Human Race a moment of respite in a desperate situation!

The phantom of the Dark Monarch, which swallowed all light, fell silent.

After a long while, the grand and indifferent voice sounded again. It was impossible to discern its emotion, yet it seemed to carry a hint of ancient, almost mocking, meaning:

"With the strength of one, bear the enmity of a race? Heh..."

"Since the dawn of Chaos, the separation of the Primordial Era, the War of Gods and Demons, and the contention of Ten Thousand Races until now, there have been creatures who dared to speak such arrogance.

But most of them... have turned into dust in the long river of time, their true names forgotten."

"Do you think you can be the exception?"

Lu Jiuyuan's expression remained unchanged, but the light burning in his eyes was fiercer than the Phoenix True Flame:

"Whether I can be the exception is proven not by words, but by actions."

"Today, I stand here, having slain your Devil Emperor, and spoken these words.

As for whether I will still be standing tomorrow, the day after, or even ten thousand years from now, or if I will have turned to dust..."

He paused, raised his sword finger, and pointed directly at the Dark Monarch:

"You can watch for yourself."

"Watch if I, Lu Jiuyuan, can... slaughter my way through all of you!"

"Human Race Prodigy, how tragic!

If your Aptitude had remained hidden for a little longer, you might truly have had the chance to become the Fifth Supreme of the Human Race, filling the position of the Xuanyuan Supreme. You could have bought the Human Race a chance to breathe!

What a pity! You exposed yourself too early!" The Dark Monarch said indifferently, "Everything, as you wish!

The Demon Race and you, Lu Jiuyuan, are at war!"

BOOM—!!!

As the final word fell, it seemed to trigger an ancient covenant. Above the entire Plane Battlefield, the pure darkness began to violently boil and differentiate, gathering like a living thing toward the rear of the Demon Race army!

Invisible fluctuations crossed the endless Void Realm, spreading toward the Abyss, toward all corners of the Demon Realm, and toward all planes that believed in the Dark Sovereign God!

This was the declaration of the Monarch's Will, and a mobilization order for the entire Demon Race!

"ROAR—!!! Obey the Monarch's Will! Kill Lu Jiuyuan!"

"Until death do us part! Slaughter this member of the Human Race!"

"Extract his soul, refine his essence, and eternally suppress him in the Demon Abyss!"

After a brief silence, the Demon Race ranks erupted in enthusiastic roars like a collapsing mountain and a surging tsunami!

The previous fear was replaced by a more fanatical killing intent. Countless demonic eyes locked onto Lu Jiuyuan, the bloodthirsty light nearly materializing!

Devilish Qi surged into the sky like an ignited sea of oil, stirring the wind and clouds!

Even the Demon Race legions that were originally confronting the Human Race in other directions turned their spears, gathering toward this core battlefield like a school of sharks smelling blood!

The pressure instantly increased tenfold, a hundredfold!

Lu Jiuyuan stood alone on the scorched earth. The thirty-meter "World Force Field" surrounding him trembled slightly under the impact of the monstrous demonic might and killing intent surging from all directions.

"Senior Lu—!!!"

A hoarse, long cry suddenly rang out from the broken Human Race defense line behind him!

Immediately following were a second, a third... countless cries!

The scarred Human Race battle formation of one hundred thousand soldiers, which had been barely holding on by relying on the fortress, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented tragic aura!

Blood-soaked figures, regardless of strength—whether they were old veterans with failing auras or battle-worn generals—

even the severely wounded who had lost limbs and were nearly incapable of fighting, struggled and staggered, yet took one incredibly determined step forward!

They no longer held the line but actively left the relatively safe confines of the fortress, forming a tight, charge formation exuding a tragic aura, heading toward Lu Jiuyuan and the boundless Demon Tide!

Leading them was the person in charge of this battlefield, the Divine-Grade Late Stage expert Du Tianyu.

"Fellow Daoist Lu!"

His voice pierced the battlefield's roar, clearly entering Lu Jiuyuan's ears:

"Supremes cannot act lightly! The Holy Temple needs time! The Human Race needs hope!"

"You are that hope!!!

Leave here, return to the Holy Temple!"

He suddenly turned his head, roaring hoarsely at the one hundred thousand pairs of eyes behind him that were burning with the same flame:

"Brothers! Tell me! Are you afraid of death?"

"NO—!!!" One hundred thousand people roared in unison, the sound shaking the heavens! The cry was mixed with countless bloody coughs and heavy gasps, yet there was no hesitation!

"Good!" The Divine-Grade general's eyes were bloodshot, practically dripping blood. He violently pulled out the great saber stuck in the ground, raised it high, pointing the blade directly at the sky and the vast Demon Tide, letting out a heart-wrenching cry:

"We of the Human Race! Since the Primordial Era, how many millions of corpses have fallen? In endless planes, how much blood has flowed, enough to form oceans?

Today, we merely add another hundred thousand withered bones!

If we can secure a sliver of hope for the future Supreme of the Human Race!

If we can use these broken bodies to add a thread of fuel to the fire of hope for the Human Race!

We—

Will!ingly! Embrace! Death—!!!"

"We willingly embrace death!!!"

"We willingly embrace death!!!"

"We willingly embrace death!!!"

One hundred thousand people responded in unison! The sound waves rose higher and higher, carrying an earth-shattering tragedy and determination!

This was not a wail of despair, but a generous battle song sung by those who knew they would die, yet advanced resolutely!

This power converged, forming a visible, blood-red, colossal column of Qi that shot into the sky, momentarily even diluting the oppression brought by the Dark Monarch!

This Qi column was not an attack, but a barrier, a rampart of will, standing between Lu Jiuyuan and the boundless Demon Tide!

"Brother Lu!!!" Du Tianyu turned his head, giving Lu Jiuyuan one final look:

"Go—!!!"

"The Dark Monarch will not participate in the encirclement and slaughter; we will cover your retreat! For our Human Race... live on!!!"

"Kill—!!!"

The hundred thousand who willingly embraced death sounded the final charge horn of their lives!

They stopped defending and, like moths to a flame or a bursting dam, launched a counter-charge with no hope of survival against the Demon Race army that outnumbered them a thousandfold, ten thousandfold!

Their goal was not to kill enemies, but to disrupt the Demon Race's formation!

To draw all the firepower! To use their lives and flesh to tear open a momentary gap for Lu Jiuyuan!

"Bastards! These members of the Human Race are insane!"

"Stop them! Crush them!"

"The Monarch has commanded, the primary target is Lu Jiuyuan!"

The Demon Race army experienced momentary Chaos, and the command layer roared in fury.

But the collective charge of one hundred thousand Human Race experts, burning their lives and determined to die, still caused a massive shock to the forefront of the Demon Race instantly due to their momentum and resolve!

The blood-colored Qi column violently collided with the Demon Tide, erupting in an earth-shattering roar and countless flashes of life instantly extinguished!

High in the sky, the Dark Monarch's phantom seemed to move slightly. Its "black hole" eyes briefly shifted away from Lu Jiuyuan for the first time, falling upon the "Blood-Colored Barrier" ignited by life.

"It's this again... foolish... yet stubborn... ants..."

Lu Jiuyuan watched the one hundred thousand figures rushing toward death without hesitation, watched the blood-colored Qi column soaring into the sky, his ears echoing with the cries of "We willingly embrace death" and the final "Go."

"This is what this world is like—incredibly dark, incredibly desperate, yet incredibly fervent! Sacrifice is the main theme of everything! Everything is for the continuation of the Human Race."

"Hahahaha!"

Lu Jiuyuan laughed uproariously toward the sky. Far from retreating, his laughter stirred up an overbearing arrogance that seemed capable of swallowing the heavens and devouring the earth!

"Why should I go? From this day forward, I, Lu, shall fight side-by-side with all of you brothers!"

"A billion Demon troops? What are they worth mentioning?"

He suddenly stepped forward. The hazy "World Force Field" surrounding him erupted with an unprecedented blazing light, like an ignited nebula!

"Today, I shall let you witness what true 'Until Death Do Us Part' means! Cultivating War through War!"

He roared:

"Phoenix Nirvana, True Flame as the guide! Blood and Fire share the same origin, the torch is passed on!"

"With my blood, ignite your unyielding Battle Souls!

With my will, forge your indestructible Battle Bodies! If the Battle Intent does not perish, this body shall not die, this heart shall not die, the Battle Intent shall not perish!"

"Nirvana Empowerment—Activate!!!"

WENG—!!!

A point of crimson-gold light, condensed to the extreme, suddenly lit up on Lu Jiuyuan's brow. It then exploded, turning into one hundred thousand threads of Phoenix True Flame fire lines, fine as silk but indescribably hot and pure!