A Desperate Gambit on the War God Isle

The War God Clan and the War Clan were ancient enemies. War King Jingpu sensed danger keenly and halted at the edge of the island. Nightshade King, despite his terrifying combat power, frowned. He had fought a War God King before and knew firsthand how formidable they were. To chase into their territory was to court disaster.

The island before them was roughly twenty to thirty thousand square kilometers—not small, but compared to the vast overseas islands where other races had descended, it seemed rather compact.

Lush, towering ancient trees rose into the sky like giant umbrellas on the island. Millennia-old vines coiled like horned dragons, a single vine spreading over half a mountain peak. Apes howled, tigers roared—a scene of primeval wilderness.

It appeared to be nothing more than a savage land, teeming with monstrous beasts and venomous insects, with no trace of human habitation.

‘That rogue is cunning,’ said the snow-white Skull King, his fire-seed flickering in his eye sockets under the moonlight. ‘He ran straight to an island of the War God Clan, who are hostile to us. It would be a shame to let him go, but now… should we still pursue him?’

Nightshade King, wreathed in black mist, let out two terrifying beams of green light from his eyes and uttered a single word: ‘Kill!’

With that, he was the first to charge into the island. He did not barge in recklessly, leaving afterimages like a ghost as he slipped in without a sound. He would not let Xiao Chen escape.

War King Jingpu hesitated. His clan and the War God Clan were mortal enemies. If he truly barged in, it would be an act of war. In the end, he turned back and flew out over the sea, not following.

The Skull King hesitated a moment, then slipped in after Nightshade King.

Xiao Chen flew swiftly, gradually approaching the island’s center. But along the way, he sensed no presence of the War God Clan’s powerhouses. The island seemed entirely uninhabited. Just then, he keenly noticed that Nightshade King was almost upon him.

As he passed through a stretch of mountain ridges, a tall figure blocked his path ahead. The figure stood with his back to Xiao Chen, surrounded by a hazy mist. He stood there like a stone statue, unmoving, with not a trace of energy fluctuation—united with heaven and earth, one with all things, as if he had merged into the very sky.

‘Why do you trespass into our clan’s forbidden land?’ A calm, indifferent voice, empty of emotion, drifted over. The tall figure still faced away from Xiao Chen.

‘I meant no offense to the War God Clan. I was forced here by others,’ Xiao Chen said as he charged into the War God Clan’s island—not out of blind panic, but deliberately. ‘Nightshade King and a War King have already entered your territory.’

‘You want to use my clan to eliminate your great enemy?’ The War God Clan powerhouse’s voice gradually turned cold.

Xiao Chen never expected his plan to go unnoticed. That he wanted to borrow their strength to fight his enemies was obvious. So he did not feign ignorance and said bluntly, ‘An enemy of my enemy is my friend. The War God Clan and the War Clan are mortal foes. There’s a War King nearby right now. This is a rare opportunity. If you seize it, you can kill him.’

‘Whether we kill him or not is none of your concern. We will decide for ourselves. But you—trespassing here—what punishment do you deserve?’

This fully revealed the War God Clan’s overbearing nature.

‘I come in good faith. In this world, having more friends is better than having more enemies. I can still bring some friends to kill a few of your foreign kings.’

The War God Clan powerhouse was silent for a moment, then said, ‘Pass.’

Hearing this, Xiao Chen held the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and rushed past him.

At that moment, Nightshade King arrived. When he saw the tall man with his back to him, he was startled. ‘War God King… you came back too?’

From a distance, Xiao Chen was shocked. That man was actually the War God King—far beyond his expectations.

‘Nightshade King, you go too far. Breaking into my clan’s island uninvited—do you want war?’

‘War God King, I meant no offense. But today is special. I am hunting a dangerous figure who wants to incite conflict among the Hundred Races…’

‘Conflict among the Hundred Races? Haven’t the Hundred Races always been at war?’ The War God King suddenly turned around, fixing his gaze on Nightshade King. ‘I order you to leave this island immediately, or face the consequences!’

The towering War God King had wild purple hair that danced in the wind as he faced Nightshade King head-on.

Nightshade King’s gaze was icy, his aura oppressive as a demonic mountain. But after a tense standoff of several minutes, he ultimately chose to retreat. The War God Clan was small in number, but every single member was an apex powerhouse—truly a terrifying race. On the War God Island now, he dared not presume. If an unfathomable expert sat within, he might well fall here.

Seeing Nightshade King withdraw, Xiao Chen quickly sent a telepathic message to the War God King: ‘As a token of cooperation, I am willing to hold off the War God King for half a minute. You can go outside the island and kill War King Jingpu.’

‘We are not yet ready for a deathmatch with the War Clan.’

Xiao Chen would not give up easily. ‘These two races are locked in an endless blood feud. If you strike first and eliminate a War King, the future impact would be immense.’

‘If killing one War King could defeat an entire race, why would we have endured so long in silence?’ The War God King refused Xiao Chen’s suggestion. He still had his back to Xiao Chen, watching Nightshade King leave. ‘But that doesn’t mean no one else will act. That Golden Giant is almost here…’

Xiao Chen was startled. He realized the War God King was no simple character. Getting him to clash with Nightshade King and the War King was utterly impossible.

War King Jingpu had once killed a Giant King. And now a more powerful Golden Giant King had emerged in the same era. Could the War God King have secretly notified the Giant Island’s experts through some special means?

‘Leave!’ The War God King issued an expulsion order.

Xiao Chen said nothing and flew out of the island.

The War God Clan’s island was truly mysterious. He had no idea how many terrifying powerhouses lay within, but he had only encountered one—the War God King himself.

‘Giant Island is not far from here. Five hundred li due north and you’ll reach it…’ This was the voice of the War God King just as Xiao Chen was about to leave the island.

‘This fellow is no easy mark. He doesn’t want to act himself, so he pushes the Giant Clan to the front.’ Xiao Chen’s heart tightened. He wasted no time and flew north.

Over the sea, Nightshade King, War King, and Skull King swept the area with their powerful divine senses, waiting in three directions outside the island. When they detected Xiao Chen’s movements, they pursued at full speed.

‘Boom!’

Waves surged into the sky. A golden giant suddenly burst out of the sea, wielding an enormous battle-axe. Like a flash of lightning, it tore through the void and cleaved forward—directly locking onto War King Jingpu!

The Giant King with golden blood had appeared!

‘Bang!’

Nightshade King shot out a palm, barely blocking the heaven-shaking axe. Divine light blazed, and huge waves rolled. Both Nightshade King and the Giant King staggered back several steps.

‘Nightshade King, this is none of your business. This is a battle between me and Jingpu.’ The Golden Giant stood a full ten meters tall on the sea surface, looking down on the three kings.

Not far away, Xiao Chen had also stopped. He sensed powerful energy fluctuations from the north—Giant Clan experts approaching. He flew back and shouted, ‘Giant King, I’ll help you kill the enemy!’

‘No need!’ The Golden Giant King raised his axe and charged again at War King Jingpu.

‘Good! Let’s settle this once and for all!’ War King Jingpu’s battle intent soared as he charged at the Giant King.

Meanwhile, Nightshade King and Skull King resumed their pursuit of Xiao Chen, chasing him a hundred li north. At that moment, immense energy fluctuations came from the north as a dozen giants appeared on the sea’s horizon.

‘Friends of the Giant Clan! The War Clan’s allies are here, your mortal enemies!’ Xiao Chen shouted.

‘Kill!’ The dozen giants roared and charged. These divine-strength beings swung their enormous clubs and axes, trying to cleave Nightshade King.

‘Don’t listen to his lies! We have no quarrel with you!’ The Skull King sent out a telepathic wave to explain.

‘That War King came with them. Clearly they intend to harm you!’ Xiao Chen shouted. ‘If you don’t take them down now, when will you?’

‘Take them all down!’ One of the giants waved his hand, encircling Nightshade King, Skull King, and Xiao Chen alike.

In an instant, chaotic battle erupted.

Xiao Chen cursed his bad luck. These fellows were simple-minded, a group of impulsive powerhouses who might accidentally smash him into meat paste with one careless swing.

Each giant’s wolf-tooth club weighed nearly a hundred thousand jin. When swung, it slammed down like Mount Tai, making this region erupt into surging waves and towering billows.

Yet even under the fierce assault of these divine-strength giants, Nightshade King displayed utterly terrifying combat power. With a single roar—‘Back off!’—he swept his power in all directions, sending all dozen giants flying backward. Their hundred-thousand-jin clubs shattered the void, raising ten-thousand-zhang waves in the sea.

But he did not kill them, so as not to invite an unresolvable blood feud.

The dozen giants bellowed in fury and charged again, now focusing their attacks on Nightshade King.

‘Brothers of the Giant Clan, are you all right?’ Xiao Chen called out, then shouted, ‘You just attack that Nightshade King! I’ll take care of this white-bone skeleton!’

The Skull King was enraged. This fellow was openly sowing discord. But he was also helpless—these big fellows were thick-headed; once they made up their minds, it was hard to change them.

He and Nightshade King were now receiving ‘special attention’ from the Giant Clan, with hundred-thousand-jin clubs smashing down on them without pause.

‘This changes nothing.’ Nightshade King stared coldly at Xiao Chen, then displayed his terrifying combat power once more.

He was divinely mighty, no more than two meters tall, but his strength was staggering. In the next moment, he sent all dozen giants flying, spitting blood and crashing into the sea. Then he charged again at Xiao Chen.

‘Friends of the Giant Clan! I’ll lead them away. Take care of yourselves!’ Xiao Chen fled north once more.

The Skull King was furious. This bastard loved nothing more than spouting nonsense. If these giants truly believed his lies, there would be endless trouble later.

‘Brother, we trust you! Head straight north to our island!’ the dozen injured giants shouted.

Xiao Chen felt ashamed. The Giant Clan was far too ‘simple-minded.’ But there was no other option. Nightshade King was too abnormally strong—unstoppable by sheer force—and Xiao Chen had to rely on external help to shake him off.

He streaked like lightning, using the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree several times to defuse crises, and fled toward the vast island ahead.

An aura like that of a primeval savage beast washed over him. The giant island seemed a natural proving ground, shrouded in boundless killing intent and murderous energy.

‘Who dares to trespass on Giant Island?’ a booming voice called out. Seven or eight giants appeared on the coast, wielding great axes and wolf-tooth clubs.

‘Friends of the Giant Clan! These men have wounded your brothers… Come and help!’

Seeing Xiao Chen start spouting nonsense again, the Skull King was furious. If these people believed him, it would cause a colossal disaster. But before he could explain, the dozen injured giants had already caught up and shouted, ‘Brothers, kill that Nightshade King and that skeleton! They are allies of the War Clan!’

Nightshade King seemed utterly unconcerned with explanations. He turned to Xiao Chen and said only, ‘Today, even if I have to chase you to heaven or hell, I will kill you.’ With these words, his eyes grew as sharp as swords. He roared, ‘Seal the Ten Directions!’

A strange wave of energy surged out, instantly sealing Xiao Chen and himself within a peculiar spatial barrier.

‘This is our battlefield—no one will disturb us now. One of us dies here today.’

Within this space, the energy fluctuations radiating from Nightshade King were like a vast ocean, as if ten great mountains had simultaneously pressed down, nearly crushing Xiao Chen’s skeleton body to pieces.

The outside world could clearly see everything inside, but could not break in.

Xiao Chen held the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and fought back in a desperate battle.

‘Brothers, beat that skeleton to death and rescue the little brother!’ a group of giants shouted, raising their hundred-thousand-jin steel weapons and smashing them simultaneously at the strange energy space.

‘Bam! Bam! Bam!’

It was like hammering iron. The sealed space was pounded by wolf-tooth clubs and cleaved by axes, erupting in skyward light and causing a tsunami in the sea—but it would not open.

Inside, Xiao Chen struggled bitterly against Nightshade King. The Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree sent his opponent tumbling several times, but that did not guarantee his safety. Nightshade King’s combat power had reached a terrifying level, gradually suppressing even the tree’s radiance.

‘Who dares to act recklessly outside my Giant Clan’s island?!’ Another powerhouse charged out of the island.

When he heard the story from the giants outside, the apparently high-ranking giant shouted, ‘Use the Heaven-Breaking Force! Strike together and shatter this spatial prison!’

At that moment, more than thirty giants became holy, their bodies erupting with blinding divine light. Then they shouted in unison: ‘Open!’ The sound shook heaven and earth. Over thirty heavy weapons, each weighing a hundred thousand jin, smashed down with full force.

‘Boom!’ A thunderous crash made the sky tremble and the earth shake. Waves shot into the clouds, scattering great swaths of cloud mist.

The combined Heaven-Breaking Force of the thirty-plus giants shattered Nightshade King’s ‘Seal the Ten Directions’ technique.

Nightshade King coughed up blood on the spot, but his eyes grew even fiercer. He swept his gaze around and said, ‘Don’t push me into a bloodbath!’

Xiao Chen was shocked. It had taken thirty-plus divine-strength giants working together to break the Seal the Ten Directions, and Nightshade King had only spit up a mouthful of blood, his combat power completely unaffected. Truly unfathomable.

‘Little brother, hurry into the island!’ several giants called to Xiao Chen, unconcerned by Nightshade King’s terrifying killing intent.

Xiao Chen dashed into the island.

Nightshade King laughed coldly to the heavens and strode in after him.

‘No!’ The Skull King, hiding in the distant sky, wanted to stop him, but it was too late. Nightshade King had already made his decision.

Xiao Chen and the giants quickly retreated deeper into the island until they reached a great altar, where they finally stopped.

‘Light the sacred flame!’

On the high altar, flames shot into the sky. A vague, ethereal giant’s silhouette materialized, his voice thunderous: ‘Who dares to act recklessly on Giant Island…’

With that, he reached out a massive palm and swung it at the charging Nightshade King.

That enormous hand covered the sky and contained exceedingly profound and complex variations, blocking off all ten directions so that Nightshade King could not dodge—he could only meet it head-on.

‘Bang!’

Nightshade King was actually slapped flying, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He stared coldly at the silhouette. ‘Who are you?’

Xiao Chen was even more astonished.

The giants beside him, however, were unconcerned. ‘If we lit the sacred flame on the central altar of the island, we could certainly kill that Nightshade King.’

‘You have trespassed and violated the majesty of my Giant Clan…’ The silhouette boomed as it charged forward again to kill.

‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’

A series of thunderous explosions echoed across the sky as Nightshade King repeatedly clashed with the giant shadow. But in the end, he coughed up blood, was defeated, turned into a streak of green light, and fled Giant Island.

‘Little brother, where are you going?’

‘He’s badly injured. I’m going to kill him!’ Xiao Chen turned into a bolt of lightning, holding the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, and gave chase.

‘Good! We’ll go with you to kill him!’ The thirty-plus giants outside the island’s periphery raised their clubs and axes, roared to the heavens, and then all took to the air, flying in pursuit.

The scene was utterly spectacular.

In the human world, an ordinary giant was a fearsome figure. But thirty-plus giants who understood advanced cultivation techniques were even more terrifying.

As soon as they left Giant Island and entered the sea, Xiao Chen caught up with Nightshade King. He swung the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree with all his might, knocking Nightshade King head over heels and making him spit another mouthful of blood.

From a distance, the Skull King rushed to help.

‘Kill!’ The thirty-plus giants behind them roared, shaking heaven and earth. The Skull King felt a wave of fear and, helping Nightshade King, turned to flee.

Xiao Chen and the others pursued relentlessly.

They chased for more than three hundred li. But just then, terrifying pressure rolled in from ahead. A figure filled with soaring battle intent charged toward them. It was another War King—Mabao!

Xiao Chen had not expected to meet this War King again here. Years ago, when Mabao fought the Golden Lion King at Wuyi Mountain, he had been present and nearly suffered a great loss under Mabao’s Heaven-Fault Finger.

Mabao’s red hair blazed like flames. He stood like a primordial demon god, giving off an unfathomable aura like a deep abyss, as if he had merged with heaven and earth. He stood there motionless, blocking Xiao Chen’s path.

Seeing him, Xiao Chen recalled a rumor from the Nine Provinces—that Mabao was one of the four royal bloodline inheritors of the War Clan and had inexplicably been nicknamed the ‘Peace King.’ For a born warrior of the War Clan to receive such a title was… odd. Perhaps this War King had only just emerged and had not yet begun a great slaughter.

‘We don’t care if you’re Mabao or Obama—never heard of you!’ the thirty-plus giants shouted, waving their wolf-tooth clubs. ‘Get out of the way! We’re going to kill that Nightshade King!’