Soul Land IV (Douluo Dalu) : Ultimate Fighting
Chapter 1544: 1544: The Curtain of War Rises

Chapter 1544: Chapter 1544: The Curtain of War Rises

Dragon Knight Zhong Zhichang closed his eyes, and on his forehead, a bright golden dragon scale slowly emerged. In the next instant, a vast divine consciousness burst forth from that scale, reaching towards the sky.

As he unfolded his divine consciousness, even the Tianhe Emperor beside him couldn’t help but tremble. Although he was a true God-level powerhouse, standing next to Zhong Zhichang at this moment made him feel so small. The divine consciousness emitted by Zhong Zhichang gave him the sensation of being able to contend directly with the Deep Red Realm in the sky, boundless and immense.

Could a Super God-level powerhouse’s divine consciousness be this powerful?

At this moment, the Tianhe Emperor felt somewhat fortunate that he hadn’t impulsively turned against the Dawn Dragon Knight earlier; it might not even be a matter of retaining Zhong Zhichang’s loyalty otherwise.

He had always known the power of the Dragon Knights, as did every species in the Dragon Horse Star System. However, the extent of their power remained a mystery to most. After all, the Dragon Knights had refrained from using their full power for a long time.

As the Second Seat, Zhong Zhichang was undoubtedly one of the top existences among the Dragon Knights, and he was at his peak strength. At this moment, the divine consciousness he was releasing was such that the oppressive force from the Deep Red Realm in the high sky could no longer be felt by the side of the Tianhe Clan’s imperial palace.

A moment later, the golden light on Zhong Zhichang’s forehead receded, but his expression became particularly grim.

“The Deep Red Realm might be stronger than we imagined.” A beam of light shot from his eyes, projecting an image in front of the Tianhe Emperor and the experts of the Tianhe Clan.

It was a planet, none other than Celestial Harmony Star. However, beyond it, a massive dark red mass of light was overwhelming and covering it like a tidal wave.

The dark red mass twisted continuously, resembling a giant beast opening its maw to envelop Celestial Harmony Star. Though it was only an image, the intense apprehension it induced felt all too real.

The Tianhe Emperor couldn’t help but ask Zhong Zhichang, “Second Seat, what should we do now?”

Zhong Zhichang replied in a deep voice, “Prepare for an all-out response. The Deep Red Realm absorbs energy through devouring, so we must minimize casualties. Once anyone dies, their life energy will be absorbed. Your Majesty, I need you to contact the life core of Celestial Harmony Star and ensure it seals its Life Origin to prevent gradual consumption by the Deep Red Realm. If not, the devouring of more life energy will make it increasingly terrifying. As for the battlefield here, the prime minister will lead the defense. From what we know, the Deep Red Realm is likely to send evolved creatures to attack, slaughtering and destroying recklessly to turn life energy into ownerless energy for consumption and absorption, thus strengthening itself. Once Celestial Harmony Star can no longer resist, it will devour the life core. Hence, our primary objective is to simultaneously defeat the enemy and protect ourselves.”

“Alright. I’ll go right away. Prime Minister, I’ll leave this to you.” The Tianhe Emperor, always decisive, agreed to Zhong Zhichang’s request without hesitation. This was indeed the best way to respond. His presence was essential to guard the life core of Celestial Harmony Star and the Pool of Life, which also housed the Tianyang Core.

The Tianhe Emperor departed immediately, and the Tianhe Prime Minister took a deep breath, bowed to Zhong Zhichang, and said, “Second Seat, regardless of what happened before, the war is about to begin. I entrust this to you.”

Zhong Zhichang nodded slightly and said, “This is our common enemy.”

At this moment, numerous dark red vortices rapidly formed in the sky, with terrifying energy fluctuations growing increasingly intense.

The ground forces of the Tianhe Clan were swiftly mobilizing, with vast armies already beginning their war preparations.

Originally, these forces were prepared for Dragon Horse Federation battle readiness. Now, only the opponent had changed, but the war preparations had been in place long before. Comparatively, the Tianhe Prime Minister’s heart remained relatively steady.

Just then, a majestic female voice rang out, “Surrender the planet’s life core, and you will be spared from death.”

The terrifying divine consciousness pressured everything, causing the entire space of Celestial Harmony Star to tremble violently.

“Mother of Deep Red, you’re daring to invade the Dragon Horse Federation—is this a declaration of war upon my Federation?” Dragon Knight Zhong Zhichang slowly ascended to a higher altitude, speaking in a cold, stern voice.

“What if it is a declaration of war?” Mother of Deep Red’s voice resounded again.

Zhong Zhichang said, “If you want war, then war it shall be.”

Mother of Deep Red said coldly, “You people are ignorant fools. You refuse to co-create a Divine Realm with me and share eternal life, opting instead to smash an egg against a rock. Once war starts, it will not cease until you are all annihilated. I’ve awaited this day for far too long; it’s time for everything to descend.”

The confrontation between Zhong Zhichang and Mother of Deep Red was also a clash on the level of divine consciousness. The sky twisted violently, making the dark red light shadows appear bizarre.

The face of the Dawn Dragon Knight noticeably paled. Among the Dragon Knights, his divine consciousness was arguably the strongest—even the Sky Dragon Leader might not surpass him in this aspect. Yet, facing Mother of Deep Red, he still felt somewhat inadequate.

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Zhichang gravely spoke to the Tianhe Prime Minister beside him, “Remember what I said earlier; aim to reduce casualties as much as possible. The more we lose, the stronger the Deep Red Realm becomes.”

“Understood!” The Tianhe Prime Minister’s attitude towards him had become evidently more respectful. This Sky Dragon Second Seat had actually blocked the divine consciousness pressure of Mother of Deep Red—such power was terrifying. The Tianhe Clan, though having developed rapidly over the years, had no such powerful existence in the entire race!

At this moment, the immensely powerful Dawn Dragon Knight had become their mainstay. Whether through calculation or conspiracy, now that the disaster had arrived, they could only face and resolve it.

“Stubborn fools. Then you shall all die.” Mother of Deep Red’s voice faded away, the dark red clouds in the sky grew denser, and small black dots began spewing out from the clouds, plummeting towards the ground.

Seeing those small black dots, Zhong Zhichang squinted slightly and nodded towards the Tianhe Prime Minister.

“Attack!” The Tianhe Prime Minister shouted, issuing the order to attack.

Immediately, countless beams of light burst forth from the ground of Celestial Harmony Star, shooting straight into the high sky. For a moment, the entire Celestial Harmony Star seemed to transform into a hedgehog, ferociously colliding with the descending unidentified creatures.

When those creatures were overthrown by the beams, they transformed into gray streams and were reabsorbed into the dark red clouds. However, when the artillery fire entered the dark red clouds, it vanished without a trace, much like a mud bull lost in the sea, causing no harm to the clouds.

Relentless artillery fire continued to surge, and the intense energy fluctuations made the space above Celestial Harmony Star seem to tremble violently.

Zhong Zhichang’s brows twitched. As he had discerned earlier, the Tianhe Clan was stronger than expected. The unbelievably dense artillery fire constantly shifted its trajectory, always finding the densest directions of enemy descent to bombard. For a while, none of the unidentified creatures that emerged from the dark red clouds managed to reach the ground.

The strength of Zhong Zhichang’s divine consciousness allowed him to sense the current state of the entire Deep Red Realm. As Celestial Harmony Star began its counterattack, the action of the Deep Red Realm, previously enveloping the whole planet, had ceased. When releasing those unidentified creatures, it evidently required a massive amount of energy consumption.

The energies of the deceased were reclaimed, as the released creatures perished repeatedly. Yet the attacks plunging into the Deep Red Realm vanished silently, disintegrated without a trace.