Chapter 1765 — Severing Love, Ending Hatred
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
The high ministers Shangfu, Shaofu, and the rest dragged the Heavenly Emperor Haotian away. Haotian was a man bereft of his soul; all around him he saw only the routed armies of the Heavenly Court, spreading like a tide, still vast beyond counting. Had they but rallied their forces then and joined battle with Jing Ping, who would emerge the victor was yet unknown. But now, with the fall of Xuandu, the Heavenly Court's morale was dead, and they had become curs run mad, thinking only of flight.
A bleak desolation filled Haotian's heart.
At that moment, part of the Heavenly Court's armies had gone to other heavens to carry out the blood sacrifice; they needed only to delay a while longer, and the Dao-achievers of the Miluo Palace would descend. Then would come the hour when the Heavenly Court turned defeat into victory!
Shen Mu was gravely wounded; among Jing Ping's Heaven-Venerable-level masters, who could withstand the Dao-achievers of the Miluo Palace?
What a pity it was that the gods, demons, officers, and soldiers of the Heavenly Court no longer had the courage or the strength to fight on!
"The fault for this defeat is not mine—it is the officers and soldiers of the Heavenly Court who have dragged me down!
" Haotian flung out his arms and thrust aside the ministers Shangfu and Shaofu, slew several dozen officers and soldiers in a row, and cried in a harsh voice, "No one is permitted to flee!
Fight on! " If the Heavenly Court's officers and soldiers abandoned the great camp and fled this time, all the baggage and supplies they had brought from the Ancestral Court would be cast away.
To abandon ordinary divine weapons would be one thing, but the crux was that they had brought from the Ancestral Court many sacred grounds, treasure mountains, and the like. These sacred grounds, treasure mountains, heavenly seas, and divine rivers were too ponderous; to cast them away here would imperceptibly bolster Jing Ping's strength! Then would any hope of turning the tables truly be lost! Haotian's eyes were red with killing, yet the officers and soldiers fleeing all around simply avoided him from afar and continued their desperate flight. Haotian's fury attacked his heart, and he coughed up several more mouthfuls of fresh blood.
His voice hoarse, he said, "Do not flee!
We have not yet lost this battle!
" "Your Majesty! " Shangfu, Shaofu, and the others surged forward once more, seized him, and carried him off, wailing, "Youdu and Xuandu have fallen to the enemy, our officers and soldiers cannot preserve their lives—we have already lost!
The officers and soldiers cannot save their own lives—" "Your Majesty, if we return to the Ancestral Court, we may yet rise again from the ashes!
The Ancestral Court is far richer than the Yuan Realm; we cannot throw away the lives of all our officers and soldiers here! " Haotian slumped, all his strength seeming to drain from him in an instant.
Supported by several ministers, he staggered along with the great army as it fled the Heavenly Court's great camp. In the sky, suns and moons shifted their formations and bombarded the Heavenly Court's great camp from above; everywhere was the sight of men and horses thrown into chaos.
And behind the Heavenly Court's great camp, the battle between Taishi and the two Taiji Ancient Gods had reached a critical moment. The three each stirred their companion supreme treasures, opened their Dao-realms to the fullest, and fought their way from the ground into the starry sky!