Chapter 2016: Scarlet Kingdom vs Imperium of Time
Chapter 2016: Scarlet Kingdom vs Imperium of Time
The sound of shattering glass rang out across the skies of the SilentHeart Continent, a noise so immense it seemed the firmament itself was breaking apart.
A heartbeat later, enormous cracks spread across the fabric of space-time above. From those rifts poured an army—tens of thousands of cultivators in tight formation—marching like a tide of steel and flame. At their head strode five ArchDeities.
Three were instantly recognizable: Juda, Gilgamesh, and Calypso, their auras radiating malice and ancient cunning. But alongside them came two figures new to most eyes.
The first was a towering warrior of the Atrox Immortus Race—a being born of war and destruction. His entire form was a monument to battle. His frame was immense, muscles carved from grey stone-like flesh, every vein and scar a record of countless wars fought. He wore jagged armor strapped together by blood-red bindings, as though the metal itself strained to contain the storm of wrath inside him. His mere presence made the air quake. Few recognized him, but those who had studied ancient lore of hermits and killers knew the name whispered with dread—Polo.
The second was far more infamous. A grotesque Deus Behemoth of venom and corruption, he radiated poison so thick that even the wind recoiled. His skin was mottled and scaled like that of a monstrous serpent, glowing faintly with viridian toxins. Around him, tendrils of miasma coiled like living things, and his vast wings carried the stench of rot wherever they spread. His eyes glimmered with a predatory green light, the cold gleam of cruelty and calculation. None mistook him. This was Master Heronimo, sovereign of SoulPoison Heaven, whose name was cursed across empires.
Together with Juda, Gilgamesh, and Calypso, they formed a vanguard of ruin.
"Destroy, in the name of the Imperium of Time!"
Juda’s voice thundered as he raised his fist high, his call carrying through the rifts like a decree of apocalypse. Behind him, the soldiers roared and surged forward, blades and spells flashing.
The sight erased all doubt among the Scarlet Kingdom. Now it was clear why Cain had struck Tibet without hesitation. This was an ambush. Had Cain hesitated, had he allowed Tibet to cloak himself in false neutrality, the Imperium of Time’s army would have erupted from its hidden dimension and struck them unprepared, a wolf tearing into sheep. Cain’s preemptive blow had forced the trap open, turning it into open battle.
But that knowledge did not lessen the peril.
The monks of NascentSky Heaven, Tibet’s disciples, stood trapped between two colliding armies. Terror etched their faces. Their master had given them no command, no explanation, and now they faced annihilation as two titanic forces converged.
"Get out of the way—and stay there!"
The command came not from Cain, but from Leonidas. He swung his colossal blade, releasing a wave of flame that engulfed the Prima Deities. They screamed as fire wrapped around them, carrying them skyward before slamming them into a distant mountain range. Burns streaked their bodies, but compared to what awaited them if they had stayed, it was mercy.
Shaken and injured, the monks understood. Without Tibet, they had no leader, no power to resist. They retreated to the distant cliffs and mountains, forced to watch helplessly as the clash unfolded.
And what they witnessed defied comprehension.
On the ground, tens of thousands of top-tier Divine Transcendent Masters smashed together in cataclysmic fury. Blades of fire, rivers of poison, mountains of steel—every technique imaginable erupted as cultivators hurled themselves into combat. The earth split, forests burned, and rivers boiled away. In this crucible, even the lowest cultivator had a chance to rise, for if one could survive and break through, they might ascend to Prima Deity and gain relevance in this war.
Above them, the Prima Deities clashed. Dozens of towering figures radiated power, their Liberación Total ignited, turning them into titans of law and will. Every strike shattered mountains, every clash of will sent shockwaves that rolled across the skies. It was as though gods themselves had descended to wage war.
And higher still, in the firmament above the sky, the ArchDeities met.
Leonidas led the charge of the Scarlet Kingdom, his flaming blade carving through the void, while Juda’s Imperium of Time surged to meet him.
Yet none of them unleashed their Liberación Total. The reason was simple. ArchDeities, having fused mind and soul into one, bore immense risk in releasing such force. Wounds suffered in that state would cut not just the body but the will and soul itself, leaving scars that could take a long time to heal. This was not yet the final war. It was a campaign, one of many clashes still to come. To gamble everything here would have been foolish.
Even so, the devastation was beyond comprehension. The sky glowed with the destruction of eleven ArchDeities, their blows setting reality ablaze. Every clash warped the heavens, every strike cracked the firmament.
And amidst all of it, the Scarlet Kingdom continued their mission.
Behind the frontline, cultivators labored to plant towering scarlet pillars into the soil. Each one burned with runes, threads of crimson light shooting into the earth and spreading outward, carving glowing veins across the continent. This was the Scarlet Intercontinental Formation, the foundation of Cain’s grand design. Even as the battlefield quaked, the runes spread, binding sky and earth, assimilating the land step by step into Cain’s dominion.
But the Imperium of Time was not idle.
The rift above did not close. Instead, it widened, and from its depths emerged writhing masses of dark roots. They plunged into the earth, burrowing deep, clawing for dominance. The Imperium’s answer was not to grow Dark Trees naturally—it took too long—but to grow them in their hidden dimension and transplant them directly into the world.
Thus the SilentHeart Continent, once the most tranquil and sacred land of the Everstrife Empyrean World, became a battlefield of gods.
Scarlet pillars carved runes into earth and sky.
Dark roots dug deep, poisoning soil and spirit.
The will and vision of the Scarlet King clashed against the greed and stagnation of the Imperium of Time.