In the dark, cold depths of the foul sea, a dazzling white light bloomed, as if instantly dispelling all darkness and chill, leaving only a golden-haired figure enveloped in the blazing white flames, appearing as the center of the world.
Myth, with a small firebird perched on his shoulder, froze.
He was Aisferos, a direct descendant of the Crimson Lotus Empire's myths. Due to his relative youth, only just over three hundred years old, he was merely a two-divine-essence myth. Yet, he still possessed top-tier combat strength among myths, capable of facing multiple enemies of the same rank.
Unfortunately, his opponents were no ordinary myths. The enemies lurking in the darkness were undeniably powerful. Injured and affected by the environment of the foul sea, he could only flee continuously, upwards.
However, in an environment like the foul sea, it was difficult for them to shake off the advantage held by the agile and evil gods' servants.
As Aisferos fled, he continuously sent out distress signals through special means. He had no idea if any team had received them, nor if the team that received his signal would come to their aid.
What he didn't expect was that reinforcements would arrive so quickly.
Even less did he expect that the reinforcements would consist of only one person.
And even less than that, this myth who had rushed to their aid charged in without any fear or hesitation.
"This is too reckless!"
Aisferos had to admit that this golden-haired female war god was stronger, but her tactical approach was completely haphazard! Even the myths of their Crimson Lotus Empire weren't this reckless!
Given the current situation, one myth was far from enough to turn the tide. Of course, this golden-flamed myth's combat power was formidable. If they had chosen the right tactics from the start and cooperated, they would have been able to hold off the pursuing evil gods' faction for a while.
But now, it was too late!
By the time Aisferos snapped back to reality, this golden-flamed myth had already plunged into the horde of abominations, and with a strategy of sacrificing a thousand to gain eight hundred, had quickly eliminated three seven-star abominations.
He was astonished.
But even more so, he was helpless.
"Big sister, can't we just stall for time until reinforcements arrive? At worst, we could fight and retreat, withdrawing from the foul sea, and wouldn't we be safe then?"
Now, before he could even return to join the fight, this golden-flamed war god had already sustained multiple injuries, her body covered in blood.
Aisferos found himself in a predicament, unable to advance or retreat.
If he advanced, would he be buried along with this golden-flamed myth?
If he retreated, this person had specifically come to their aid. To simply abandon her would not only weigh on his conscience but also tarnish the reputation of the Crimson Lotus Empire.
Aisferos could only shout desperately, hoping that this golden-flamed war god would regain her senses and understand that sometimes, retreating was also a form of courage.
However, the golden-flamed female war god showed no signs of backing down. Instead, in his eyes, the brilliant golden flames turned pure white, and from that golden-haired myth, emanated an aura that was almost suffocating.
Space cracked!
The foul seawater was pushed outwards, creating a vast, empty expanse of dry land in the deep sea. A strong wind howled, and white flames blazed. The pure white flames enveloping the golden-haired woman flowed slowly, like light, like fire, and like water.
She stomped on the ground, using the air as the earth, and stamped out streaks of dark spatial cracks.
Simultaneously, she gripped her divine sword, and a white sword glow revolved around her body.
*Shing—*
The entire deep sea seemed to be split in two.
A seven-star abomination that had been a bit too slow to escape, its enormous body too vast to be fully seen, was bisected by the white sword energy.
Immediately after, the goddess myth vanished, charging into the horde of abominations, stirring up a tempest of blood and gore.
...
...
The abominations died without peace, as did the servants of the evil gods.
The eyes of Aisferos and several other myths struggled to keep up with the white-flame figure, only seeing the white flames flash and the mangled bodies of abominations being flung aside.
They swallowed hard.
"Too terrifying."
"Fortunately, fortunately, this person is one of us."
"But which power does this reinforcement come from? The Ancient Moon Dynasty, the Seven Star Alliance, or the Great Mi Chaos City?"
"And why did this esteemed individual arrive so quickly and leave just as fast?"
They only saw the figure enveloped in pure white flames pursue an evil god's servant and disappear into the darkness.
They didn't even have the chance to say thank you.
"Who exactly is this esteemed individual?"
Gazing in the direction where the white flame figure had vanished, one myth murmured, still unable to recover.
Aisferos shook his head.
"I don't recognize them either. This might be a myth who has been in seclusion for years, rarely appearing in public. A cultivator myth."
Their Crimson Lotus Empire had such myths. Besides cultivation, the missions they occasionally undertook were also highly secretive, leaving very little information about them in the outside world.
"However, with such terrifying combat power and skill, this must be a veteran myth who has undergone countless battles. Back there, if we ask the elder myths, perhaps they will recognize them."
The other myths nodded.
They were among the younger generation of myths, only one or two hundred, or two to three hundred years old. It was normal for them not to recognize the legendary elder myths of yesteryear.
But one myth raised an objection, "Don't you think the golden-flamed myth just now looked very young? As if... as if they were only a hundred or two hundred years old!"
Aisferos recalled.
The myth was covered in golden and white flames, wearing silver armor, and no helmet. If one ignored her burning battle intent and her incredibly skilled combat techniques, which seemed honed by millions of battles, one would notice her exquisite, flawless profile. In retrospect, she was indeed exceptionally young.
The impression she gave was also... He even had the illusion that this golden-flamed myth was younger than himself.
How could that be possible!
"That's not surprising. As long as our myths awaken early enough, we can retain a young appearance. Later, using some treasures that preserve youth, maintaining youthful beauty is not difficult."
"Like Madam Gong of the Ancient Moon Dynasty, you would never guess her age... ah, I shouldn't say too much."
"But it's not impossible. Perhaps this myth's age is indeed not that high, and they are a monstrous myth!"
After all, for the rare few myths with exceptional talent and combat skills, the hegemonic powers would pour in vast resources to nurture them, helping these monstrous geniuses ascend to the demigod realm and go further within it.
The simplest way was for them to constantly cultivate with divine crystals. This cultivation method was extremely costly but also remarkably effective, allowing a myth to cultivate a second or even a third divine essence at a young age.
Aisferos was definitely a genius among myths – advancing to the myth realm in his forties and possessing extraordinary combat power. Now, with only a 'two-divine-essence' body, he could already rival a 'three-divine-essence, late-stage myth.' Yet, he was still not a demigod seed of the Crimson Lotus Empire, unable to receive the same treatment as those monstrous talents.
The reason was simple: divine crystals and other legendary resources were too precious. The Crimson Lotus Empire also had very few slots for demigod seeds.
Of course, with his talent and age, he still had a slight chance to impact the eight-awakening demigod realm, and Aisferos's belief in reaching higher heights would not waver.
"Let's stop discussing that golden-flamed myth for now. We should hurry and leave the foul sea to rendezvous with the other teams, so we don't run into the evil gods' servants again," Aisferos said.
He beckoned to the other four myths, and they quickly parted the foul water and flew upwards.
At the same time, he pondered which hegemonic power the golden-flamed war god belonged to. Aisferos believed the Ancient Moon Dynasty was the most likely possibility. The reason was that among the distress signals he sent out, besides his own Crimson Lotus Empire, he only received a reply from the Ancient Moon Dynasty.
At this time, other than their own reinforcements, perhaps only the strong individuals from the Ancient Moon Dynasty could find their location.
"Splash—"
Lost in thought, they had already emerged from the foul sea. The moment they left the gray-black seawater and no longer had to constantly resist the surrounding pollution, the myths felt the joy of escaping from hell and the relief of breaking free from shackles.
"We're out!"
"Once we leave the foul sea, even if we encounter an ambush by the evil gods' servants, we won't have to be afraid. If we can't win, at least we can escape."
"Huh, what is that...?"
This myth turned his head and looked into the distance.
In his perception, several familiar auras were flying towards them at extreme speed. Leading them were Demigod Xiguang, Madam Gong, and Old Man Nanli, among others.
It was the Ancient Moon Dynasty's team!
Demigod Xiguang locked onto the auras of Aisferos and the others, slowly reducing their speed, and finally stopped before them. He extended his divine sense, scanning the surrounding hundreds of miles of sea, then his gaze fell upon the disheveled myths, who looked like they had been in a fierce battle and were not lightly injured.
"It seems we're a bit late. You all have already escaped your pursuers."
He smiled.
Aisferos blinked, a large question mark appearing on his forehead. "Wasn't that golden-flamed war god just now the reinforcement arranged by your Ancient Moon Dynasty?"
Silver armor, golden hair, golden flames, white flames.
After hearing Aisferos's description, Demigod Xiguang, Madam Gong, and Old Man Nanli exchanged glances. These three prominent figures from the Ancient Moon Dynasty also slowly formed a question mark.
"???"
"Then, where did this powerful reinforcement come from?"
Aisferos also fell into thought.
...
...
The golden-flamed war god Hytina, a top-tier expert of the seven-awakening level currently under discussion, was biting her lip. The tuft of hair standing on end had drooped, and she appeared somewhat dejected.
"I lost them, mentor."
Having accumulated a certain level of battle intent and entered the second stage of outburst, Hytina's combat strength could no longer be described as merely formidable. She was capable of killing gods and abominations alike.
Moreover, her combat system was extremely comprehensive. Unlike Iroshi, who was limited by the environment and had obvious weaknesses, or Xing Jinglei, who had strong defense but insufficient offense, she possessed high output, strong defense, excellent survivability, and high speed. She was capable in both single-target and group combat and did not fear any sneak attacks or unconventional tactics. Her combat strength completely crushed the evil gods' servants.
Yet, she still lost track of them.
Perhaps it was the darkness of the foul sea that made it easy to get lost, or perhaps the evil gods' servants were cunning. Hytina failed to catch even one of the three evil god servants.
After severing the split bodies of the evil god servants, she could only stare at the dark seawater around her, finding no trace, and sulk.
"If you lost them, you lost them," Fang You said.
He was not surprised. These evil god servants' ability to survive was by no means weaker than oasis myths, perhaps even stronger, as evil god servants could influence seven-star abominations and attack from the shadows.
However, Hytina failing to chase down even a single evil god servant...
These 'mortal powerhouses' who were only circulated among the upper echelons and had limited knowledge of the events were inquiring everywhere. Soon, they learned...
"It seems there were considerable losses, but also considerable gains?"
"Yes, rumor has it that this joint operation eradicated many sources of disaster. What are sources of disaster? You must know about the recent abomination tide. The great myth figures went deep into the foul sea this time to eliminate these祸患 (huòhuàn - calamities/disasters)."
Within a few days, the glorious results of the disaster eradication operation were enthusiastically discussed by many awakeners.
The sacrificed myths were hailed as great heroes.
The gap between myths and ordinary awakeners was vast, but many myths had illustrious reputations. Moreover, the abomination tide that had recently swept across the entire Shattered Sea and destroyed countless oases was still fresh in people's minds.
"If the sources of disaster are not eradicated, we will continue to face abomination tides in the future."
"This time, the joint army annihilated over a hundred million abominations, killed hundreds of world-ending level abominations, and eradicated multiple sources of disaster. It was truly a great victory."
"Praise the great myths! Celebrate our great victory!"
"Today, everything is on the house, this boss is treating!"
The celebrations of victory permeated many large cities, even dispelling the sorrow brought about by the abomination tide some time ago.
This was a great victory, at least in the eyes of ordinary people.
—
ps: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival (￣▽￣)~*, on this joyous occasion, doesn't it deserve at least one monthly ticket for celebration? ⌓‿⌓