Chapter 1540: Decisive Battle Approaches

He drew out the Snow-Listening Sword and swept it around. The dragon patterns on the sword opened their mouths, exhaling cold air that froze even the surrounding air.

Jiang Fan laid down Jiang Wuya, allowing his body to be frozen upright within the ice, sealed in a rigid posture. His corpse stood at the peak of the light barrier, overlooking the battlefield and the homeland he had protected until his dying breath.

He withdrew his gaze from the sky and slowly turned it towards the Soul Giant King. His eyes were colder than the icy breath of a dragon, seeming like two icy abysses.

The Soul Giant King's vertical eye narrowed slightly. As a master of soul essence, his perception of danger was exceptionally acute. The sense of danger Jiang Fan emanated surpassed even that from the Space Giant King! Even if he and the Sand Giant King joined forces, they might not be a match for Jiang Fan. The demise of the Gold Giant King and Fire Giant King had already made this clear.

Suddenly, the center of the Forbidden Zone trembled violently. Something massive was descending! It was a Giant King! The next moment, dust billowed around the two figures as a Giant King with a translucent star on his forehead teleported into their midst. He stood with his arms crossed, surveyed the entire scene, and spoke in a deep voice: “How did it get this bad?”

Currently, in the Forbidden Zone, three hundred giants had melted into pools of blood and mud. On the eastern front, very few of the two hundred giants remained. On the northern front, a hundred giants were barely clinging to life, surrounded and besieged by a human allied army several times their number. Their six hundred-strong vanguard force had been completely annihilated. This was completely beyond their plan!

According to the plan, the Gold, Fire, and Stone Giant Kings would lead three battle groups to tie down the main force of the human allied army. Then, the Shadow, Sand, and Soul Giant Kings would lead three more battle groups to completely wipe out the human allied army's main force. Finally, the remaining Giant Kings would lead four battle groups to eliminate the survivors, ensuring the complete annihilation of all human Nascent Soul cultivators.

But what was the situation now? Six hundred battle groups annihilated, and two Giant Kings fallen? Although the main force of the human allied army had suffered significant casualties, they still maintained formidable combat strength. He was filled with shock and fury. Were the Giant Kings who arrived earlier all incompetent?

Thump, thump, thump—

Behind him, a series of dense thudding sounds echoed. The sounds were incredibly dense, like continuous, muffled drumbeats. They lasted longer than any previous descent. The Ancient Giants, the final four hundred, had all descended upon Taicang Great State! Finally, a heaven-shaking roar, distinctly different from any Giant King's, rolled forth, causing the earth to tremble violently. A terrifying entity had descended along with the four hundred giants!

An indifferent voice emerged from the Forbidden Zone. “Kill the Giant Kings and guide the warriors out of the Forbidden Zone.”

The arrogant Sand Giant King's expression tightened. Without daring to disobey in the slightest, he immediately activated his Sand Origin. The four hundred giants had barely landed and had not yet suffered severe corrosion from the Forbidden Zone before a sea of sand swept them out. Like towering mountains, they stood ominously in front of the Forbidden Zone. Their long, dark shadows fell over the battlefield, plunging the recently regrouped human allied army back into a suffocating abyss of despair.

Inside the Forbidden Zone, the mysterious giant spoke again with indifference. “Shadow Giant King, Stone Giant King, return.”

On the western front, the Stone Giant King's face was grim. His Stone Battle Group had initially advanced like a breaking tide. The western front, defended only by the Dayin Sect and Jiangshan Yipin Tower, lacked a Soul Transformation Venerable. They had crushed the allied forces on the western front instantly, as if entering an unmanned territory. However, with the Fire and Gold Giant Kings successively slain, there was no one to hold back the Myriad Calamity Sacred Palace on the northern front. Finally, the northwestern forces merged. The human cultivators of mid-Nascent Soul stage and above were twice the number of the Stone Battle Group, augmented by nearly a thousand early-Nascent Soul cultivators wielding artifacts. He had waited desperately for reinforcements, but none came, and his Stone Battle Group was completely wiped out. He himself was entangled by the Heart Demon Venerable, leaving him no opportunity to act.

“Hmph! Your Taicang Great State is merely struggling in vain!” He activated his origin power, using his immensely powerful and invincible petrified body to shake off the Heart Demon Venerable, then bounded back to the front of the Forbidden Zone.

In the northeast. The Shadow Giant King was panting, looking disheveled and annoyed, muttering: “That damn bald monk isn't normal! He's not undergoing a typical Heavenly Tribulation of Decline!”

As the Shadow Giant King, known for his rather peculiar and dangerous shadow origin abilities, his methods were indeed strange and perilous. He could toy with any Soul Transformation realm cultivator in Taicang Great State. However, against the Bodhisattva, he had narrowly avoided having his soul extinguished several times. Upon hearing the summons, how could he dare to linger in battle? He decisively transformed into a shadow and vanished. When he reappeared, he emerged from the shadows of the four hundred giants. His eyes were filled with venomous malice: “Damn humans! They must die today!”

On the human side. The allied forces on the western front rapidly regrouped under the Heart Demon Venerable's call. Of the more than two hundred late-Nascent Soul cultivators, only about one hundred fifty were still capable of fighting; the rest were either dead or injured. Nearly a thousand early-Nascent Soul cultivators had also been reduced to only five hundred, a casualty rate of over half! The casualty ratio between the two sides had reached a tragic one to six! The Heart Demon Venerable's heart bled. The cost was too heavy! Yet, they could not stop. Because next, it would be the decisive battle between Taicang Great State and the Black Sun King!

“Follow me!”

On the eastern front. As the final Ancient Giant's screams abruptly ceased, their battle also concluded. All two hundred giants were annihilated! However, the price paid was undeniably heavy. The core force of over two hundred mid-to-late Nascent Soul cultivators had been reduced to just two hundred. This was comparable to the western front. Fortunately, of the more than a thousand early-Nascent Soul cultivators, over eight hundred still remained. The casualties were mainly from the initial invasion of a dozen or so giants into their rear battle group, which resulted in hundreds of losses. Overall, the eastern front had performed significantly better than the western army. One must remember that the eastern front had faced two battle groups! The reason for fewer casualties than the western front was crucial: Jiang Fan's timely slaying of the Gold and Fire Giant Kings, his participation in the battle, and his slaughter of the peripheral Ancient Giants. Otherwise, the eastern front would not have merely suffered casualties; it would have been completely annihilated.

The Bodhisattva arrived. Glancing at the remaining forces on the eastern front, a hint of relief flickered in his eyes. He put his palms together and said, “Amitābha. All benefactors have toiled hard. Benefactor Jiang is waiting for us at the decisive battleground. Let us all join him for this final battle.”

Everyone's hearts tightened. They understood: the decisive battle was upon them! Four hundred Ancient Giants against over three hundred mid-to-late Nascent Soul cultivators, plus thirteen hundred early-Nascent Soul cultivators. Judging by the previous casualty ratios, if it were merely a clash of armies, there was no doubt the human race would suffer a crushing defeat. Only if the human side's Soul Transformation realm cultivators could free themselves to act, as Jiang Fan had done earlier, would there be hope of turning the tide.

However, the situation might be quite the opposite. Because, on the human side, even at full strength, there were only the Sky-Listening Bodhisattva, Heart Demon Venerable, Evil Crow Venerable, and Jiang Fan. At most, they could add a mysterious combat corpse from the Jian family, capable of slaying Giant Kings. On the giants' side, there were the Stone Giant King, Shadow Giant King, Soul Giant King, Sand Giant King, and the Giant King with the translucent star. And within the Forbidden Zone, the mysterious Giant King who had not yet appeared!

Five against six. How could humanity possibly win?