The palace council continued until evening before finally ending. Once all the likely scenarios were discussed and solutions found, everyone left the great hall.
This time, Evan didn’t hold a banquet—war was coming, so everyone left for the battlefield as early as possible. Nolan Nangong, Jade Qin, and the others departed overnight, leaving only Evan’s Frostbane Imperial Palace to face the Heavenshroud Cliff front.
Everyone was busy preparing. Early next morning, Evan led his troops out of Frostbane Imperial Palace, leaving all his women behind—including the Emerald Immortal Empress.
With Evan gone, someone had to stay behind and guard Frostbane Imperial Palace, and the Emerald Immortal Empress was the obvious choice. Evan trusted her completely. Even though Lynn Ling and the others begged to follow him to the battlefield, Evan refused—all of them stayed behind.
Armies from every city rushed toward the beast entrance. Three days later, Evan’s side had gathered over two million soldiers, forming a vast, dark mass floating in the sky—a truly spectacular sight.
It was Evan’s first time at Heavenshroud Cliff. The area was an endless desert of yellow sand, whipped by fierce astral winds and sandstorms—a brutally harsh environment.
Heavenshroud Cliff was really just a small earthen mound, a bit over a hundred meters high. Even though sand was everywhere, the mound itself was lush and green—sand couldn’t even get close, probably because of the barrier protecting it.
Evan ordered everyone down to the ground. Even with over two million people standing in the desert, they seemed scattered and few in such a vast place.
The special elite squad was also present, but they hovered in the air, waiting for Evan’s final order. Evan himself, together with several late-stage Immortal Emperors, inspected the barrier entrance at Heavenshroud Cliff.
The two-million-plus troops were divided into more than two hundred small units by hundreds of commanders, spreading out over a wide area and staying ready for battle. This dispersal was to avoid mass casualties from powerful beast attacks.
By spreading out, even the strongest enemy attacks would cause minimal casualties. This was hard-won experience from many battles. Each squad had a commander and several team leaders, keeping everything organized so Evan didn’t have to worry about management.
“Lord Chu, this Immortal-Beast War depends on you. We hope you can really achieve peace between immortal beasts and the Immortal Realm, so us old-timers can rest easy—maybe even ascend to the God Realm one day,” an elder said.
“I’ll do my best. Don’t worry, everyone—if the enemy comes, we’ll meet them head-on and minimize casualties. That’s our greatest victory. But why hasn’t the barrier entrance reacted yet? Wasn’t it already broken?” Evan asked.
“It’s broken, but it takes time for the beast army to appear. Let’s retreat a few dozen li and wait. The Immortal-Beast War will be fought on land and in the sky—we need to spread out the battlefield to reduce losses,” another elder said.
“Let’s do as you say—everyone, fall back a few dozen li. Fighting in this desert is tough; I just hope these soldiers can hold out,” Evan said.
The army immediately retreated dozens of li, spreading out even more. Over two million troops were now distributed across hundreds of li—so even the strongest beast attacks wouldn’t cause heavy casualties.
Everyone anxiously awaited the beast army’s arrival. Evan sat quietly on Goldwing’s back, watching everything from the sky. The thirty elite trainees hovered behind him, waiting.
Those thirty would only enter the fight at the most critical moment—only then could they fully unleash their power.
The elite teams of Da Luo Golden Immortals and Ninth-Heaven Arch-Immortals, recruited by Blazefire Immortal Lord and others, waited at the front—they would be the first main assault force against the beast army, delivering a fierce opening blow.
Of course, those teams would target only the strongest beasts—the ordinary cannon fodder would be left to the rank-and-file soldiers. As for Immortal Emperor-level experts, they’d face the beast army’s true powerhouses. In short, everyone would fight by grade, minimizing casualties.
A day later, movement appeared at Heavenshroud Cliff. Thunderous rumbling sounded—the mound vanished, replaced by a terrifying sight: millions of immortal beasts packed densely together, a scene to make anyone’s blood boil.
Evan glanced at the beast army—their ranks were clearly separated by grade. There were likely over ten million beasts in total, with several million weak ones at the front, all below Heavenly Immortal level.
These weak beasts were obviously cannon fodder. As a massive horn sounded, the beast army surged toward the Immortal army.
Of course, the weakest beasts charged first, meant to wear down the Immortal forces. Evan was frustrated, but there was no choice. In an instant, the beasts reached the battlefield, and the Immortal soldiers rushed to meet them.
Drums thundered, shouts shook the sky, killing cries echoed everywhere. The beast army fought in true beast form—some as huge as mountains, some as tiny as mice—making the battle exhausting.
But in front of Blazefire Immortal Lord’s special squads, those beasts were nothing but cannon fodder. Any beast that ran into them was slaughtered—sometimes a single battle skill could kill dozens or even hundreds at once.
The fighting was fierce. Many beasts even flew into the sky, trying to circle behind the Immortal army and attack from the rear. There were simply too many beasts—even if Blazefire and the others could each kill thousands, the consumption of Immortal essence was terrifying.
That’s exactly why the beast army sent so much cannon fodder. Meanwhile, the Golden Immortal and Da Luo Golden Immortal beasts slowly approached the battlefield. Evan’s heart sank at their numbers—over a million, several times more than before.
Evan saw other powerful Immortals too—all with worried faces. “Lord Chu, the beast army’s numbers are several times greater than before. What do we do?” someone asked.
“What’s happening at the other fronts? Did the beasts concentrate all their forces here at Heavenshroud Cliff to catch us off guard?” Evan muttered, frustrated.
PS: Not feeling well—writing this war is exhausting!