Chapter 1145: Head-on Battle!

Chapter 1145: Direct Engagement!

After Ling'er had departed, Zhou Zhan did not send any other lords from the Stellar Alliance to attempt to sway the remaining factions within the Crimson Vessel.

For most of the deities and true gods beyond the Xuan An Crimson Empire were too scattered, belonging to different Crimson lord factions.

Even if he deployed precious influence to sway them, the results would be negligible.

It was wiser to hold off—until the next time Bai Yun and her allies successfully lured another high-tier Crimson Empire into the trap, then send his own lords to attempt persuasion.

...

Meanwhile,

The Crimson Deities inside the Crimson Vessel, shattered by the Boundless Cannon's assault, saw that not only had their pursuit failed, but even their precious subordinate True God-class Crimson Vessels had been damaged.

Fury surged within them.

These mere escape artists—how could they resort to such despicable tactics?

Yet, though they were furious, they found themselves utterly helpless in the face of this situation.

Chase them and you can't catch them, strike and you can't hit them.

How is this even possible?

And just then—

A crimson general stared at the virtual screen before him, his expression suddenly bright with surprise.

"Look! They've stopped!" he shouted.

"Wait?!"

"Is that real?"

...

The other crimson generals immediately turned to look.

And then they indeed witnessed the massive golden starship come to a standstill, hovering suspended in midair.

Next, they saw an army of nearly ten trillion, over eighty thousand deities, and one hundred ninety-four True Gods fly out from within the vessel.

Though this number was immense, it paled into utter insignificance before the even more staggering forces of the Scarlet Army.

The Scarlet Deities aboard all the Scarlet warships froze at the sight, before instantly bursting into uproarious laughter.

"Am I seeing things? What do these fellows from the Sun Imperial Empire think they are doing? Are they trying to face us head-on, to fight to the bitter death?"

"This is truly laughable—a mere ten trillion soldiers, eighty thousand deities, and fewer than two hundred True Gods dare to wage a decisive battle against our six hundred trillion troops, eight million Scarlet Deities, and six hundred True Gods? Have these fools lost their minds?"

"I wager they realize we will eventually march upon the borders of their Sun Imperial Empire anyway, and knowing a clash is inevitable, they chose to initiate this war ahead of time to spare their own territory from devastation."

"Reasonable enough, but could this perhaps be a ruse by the enemy?"

"A ruse? In the face of such an absolute disparity in strength, no conspiracy can ever avail!"

"Well said!"

"There's no point in wasting time anymore. If they want it, then we will fight them—otherwise, they'll think we've fled in fear!"

...

The crimson deities murmured among themselves.

Then they turned their gaze toward the true god of the highest rank, the leader of the Xuan'an Crimson Empire.

He was their commander, and the final decision on whether or not to engage in battle would rest solely with him.

Yet this leader of the Xuan'an Crimson Empire showed no hesitation.

Their very purpose for coming had always been to eradicate these intruding nuisances.

Now that the enemy had clearly signaled their intent to halt and face them head-on, there was no justification for refusal!

And there could be no refusal!

"All soldiers capable of aerial combat—evacuate the ship and prepare to eliminate the enemy!"

He commanded in a low, resonant voice.

Their own warships were clearly inferior to the enemy's.

Yet, since the enemy now chose to abandon this advantage and fight them, they would not hesitate.

As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily turned toward the opposing forces.

He had never expected that under the command of this Sun Sovereign, so many soldiers possessed the ability to fly?

Flight mastery is typically reserved for those at the Golden Tier and above.

Yet upon mere glance, he could clearly see that every single member of the enemy force possessed flight capabilities.

Even the lower-tier transcendent beings—those at Black Iron, Bronze, or Silver levels—were all clad in advanced flight technology gear.

And the numbers were staggering.

What a vast wealth!

He appeared cold and stern on the surface, yet within, a deep sense of emotion stirred.

It seemed clear that the other party had an exceptionally close relationship with the Mechanical Race, and possessed staggering riches—otherwise, they could not have such an abundance of technological artifacts.

Soon,

over six hundred million soldiers, more than eight million Red Deities, and six hundred Red True Gods from the Red Faction surged forth from their Red Warships, swiftly forming disciplined formations and summoning countless divine military arrays—even true god-tier formations—ready to engage the forces of the Prairial Empire.

Just as they had finished arranging their vast armies, a sudden, resounding voice erupted in the minds of every single Red being present.

[I am the Master of Redness. The enemy you now face is my most hated foe—the direct offspring of the Supreme Will, a seed destined to grow into a Supreme-Class Legion in the future!]

[They are currently weak, and you must eliminate them all with every ounce of strength. Should you succeed, I shall bestow upon you blessings. But if you fail—should you even deliberately spare them—you will be deemed traitors and sources of shame by the Red Clan, scorned and hunted by all Red forces!]

[Destroy them all. Not one must remain!]

In this voice of the Master of Redness, a rare hint of hatred and murderous intent surfaced.

Numerous crimson beings, crimson deities, and crimson true gods could not help but be stunned and astonished.

What could this so-called Crimson Antagonist army have done—what act, upon its very appearance, had stirred the usually cold and impassive Crimson Sovereign into a moment of vulnerability?!

Crimson Antagonist?

Did they mean these very beings were the natural enemies of their own Crimson lineage?

Their gaze once more turned toward the distant, war-ready armies of the Sun Empire, and their expressions grew steadily stern and icy.

Unlike the beings under the command of the Supreme Will,

every single crimson being—be it a naturally born one or one transformed by the crimson mist—saw the Crimson Sovereign as their mother, as the supreme deity in their hearts.

Thus, each of them held the Sovereign in absolute devotion and unwavering faith.

And so, upon receiving the Sovereign's command, they had no hesitation at all—no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice of life—they would surely destroy this enemy before them!

"Prepare... to attack!"

The true god leader of the Xian An Crimson Empire spoke coldly.

"Affirmative!"

A million trillion crimson soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens and the very fabric of space-time.

At the same time,

within the hidden depths of the Everlasting Mother Ship,

Zhou Zhan stared solemnly at the impending clash below.

He had personally ordered a frontal assault.

Though he knew the disparity in forces—hundreds of times greater on the enemy side in both troops and divine beings—still, he had issued this command.

There was a reason behind it.

The first, and most crucial reason, was that he wished to dramatically enhance his own soldiers' strength through the massive extermination of Crimson Mist monsters during this battle and the two days of warfare that followed.

Now the enemies He faces, and the battlefield He contends with, are only those capable of withstanding the battlefield's dangers—only warriors at the Diamond level or above can hope to defend themselves.

Soldiers below the Diamond tier, even if His military units have reached the imperial rank, are easily killed by the residual shockwaves of stronger combatants.

And every day, He recruits new soldiers, only to find that the number of low-tier troops under His command grows ever greater. Even with the unique mastery of a Mythic-Level Sole Sovereign, He cannot swiftly elevate them to the Diamond level or beyond in a short span.

Thus, Zhou Zhan turned his gaze upon Os's Crimson Army.

As long as they survive these two days of warfare and slaughter, they will be reborn—each one transformed into a true, fearless, top-tier transcendent warrior!