Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

1068 First Planar War (IV)

A formation appeared before these martial artists, and many people rushed out; they had almost no rules and regulations, and their powers varied from mortals (yes, mortals with no cultivation) to Dao Ancestors' and Insurgents' level characters.

Tie Gang's eyes shrunk as he saw the people approaching, "Are those...undead?" The creatures attacking them were indeed not living as the stench of death oozed out of their bodies. Additionally, many of them were skeletons or were missing parts.

"So, that's their tactic," he muttered, understanding the situation. The cultivation system of this world had control of Life and Death Energy, meaning that even the most ordinary martial artist could reanimate corpses after entering the Death Realm. They used this fact to their advantage, controlling the dead of their worlds as cannon fodders for this war.

Tie Gang acted swiftly and ordered the people not to activate the formation that separated people into layers.

"Release the Puppet Core," he ordered. A formation appeared on the Myriad Emperor World's side, and countless puppets rushed out. Most were humanoid shapes with different weapons (mostly cold weapons, but many with projectile weapons like arrows and cannons), while other puppets resembled animals and demon races. Some pinnacle puppets were created based on Innate Demons and Primordial Gods.

Tie Gang calmly observed as these two legions crashed, and chaos ensued. Puppets and undead had no emotions like fear or hesitation, so they tore each other apart. Even the high-tier puppets with souls were stripped of their sense of self to turn them into pure killing machines.

He watched as a group of puppets bite through the flesh of countless undead. Still, despite their limbs being separated from their bodies, they clawed at their opponent for a final kill before their misery of an existence ended.

Typically, high-level puppets can be programmed to find weaknesses in their opponent, but the undead did not have weaknesses. So, the result will be the same whether they burn, freeze, electrocute, crush, cut, pierce, or explode their opponents. Additionally, since the undead move purely due to Death Qi, Soul/Spirit Attacks did not affect them.

The undead did their part in this war. Surprisingly, they had an overwhelming advantage due to the sheer number of mortals. Individuals, these mortals, were useless in such high-scale battles. However, the martial artists from the Martial Hegemony World proved adept at this tactic. Trillions of mortals will explode in a frenzy of Death Energy that is detrimental to even Tier 5 cultivators.

And this was not the end. Trillions of mortals will fuse into an abomination of Death and Resentment. The creatures they created were only Tier 5, but their combat ability was on par with the weakest Tier 7 because of their unique ability to contaminate the mind with their resentment.

With this dirty, almost cruel tactic, the undead slowly overwhelmed the puppets. So, these machines changed tactics and began exploding before their death. They can take out large groups of enemies with this suicidal approach, thus slowing the undead's advance. This battle was fierce and terrifying despite the lack of any blood.

Myriad Emperor World's side:

"At this rate, we're going to lose," commented one of the Legion Commanders.

"That's obvious. Our Puppet Core still requires resources to build, but these people have too many mortal undead on their sides." The amount of mortals dying in one cultivation in general is simply outrageous, let alone throughout the history of the world. So, thinking about how many mortals these people have at their disposition made everyone tremble.

"So, what's next?" asked someone. "Will our Commander order us to intervene?"

"Let's see."

Martial Hegemony World's Side:

Qian Heng, who stood in the void accompanied by three individuals, had a deep frown as he watched the outcome of this confrontation. To say he was not pleased is an understatement. This Death Legion aimed to weed out most of the enemy's population, but he did not expect them to respond with a similar tactic.

The Death Legion was instrumental in winning the war against the Taoists, who forbade it, knowing its potential. But now, its effectiveness has been drastically reduced.

"What should we do now?" asked Lightning Fist, and he did not receive an immediate response.

"Purple Dragon, do you have any suggestions?" asked Qian Heng, looking at the Eternal Class Powerhouse from the Rising Dragon Sect.

"There is no way that they have more puppets than we have of the dead. So, we only need to pile corpses onto them."

"That's what I was thinking too," nodded Qian Heng before looking at the battlefield; his eyes focused on two people: Ao Shen and Huo Fenghuang. "Now, our real worry is those two."

"Don't worry. Our plan will surely work," reassured Purple Dragon.

...

Tie Gang watched this battlefield that could only be described as a meat grinder. He knew the situation was not on his side, but he was not worried; he only needed to wait. He soon noticed something that needed his attention. The amount of Puppet Immortal Tier Powerhouses was no longer enough to hold the enemy.

Tie Gang secretly groaned. These Immortal Tier Puppets were pricey, and it pained him to lose even one of them, despite most not belonging to the Dao Opening Sect. Without hesitation, he ordered more powerhouses to enter the battlefield.

"There is no need to go all out; just hold the enemy and buy us some time," he ordered, and the people chosen immediately executed his plan. The void began to shake as more top-tier powerhouses entered the battlefield, and Tie Gang observed and waited.

"Begin the extraction," ordered Tie Gang, and one particular legion immediately acted. An array manifested above their head in the shape of a magic circle with very intricate designs. The circle released a terrifying devouring power, but oddly, it did not affect any living creature.

All the puppet parts still salvaging flew toward the array, recycling the parts for later use. Tie Gang's body paused as he received orders from War Room.

"Take the undead parts too," he ordered to the Clean Up Legion, and they followed instructions. They recycled the enemy's undead body parts.

"Can they do that?" asked Lighting Fist.

"The real question is how to stop them," added Saber Snake.

"I'll talk to Reverend Tranquility." Qian Heng did not hesitate to contact the latter, telling him of the situation. "So, what do you think?"

"If you give me time, it's not impossible to stop them. The real question is, why should we?"

"What do you mean?"

"From what I observe in this brief confrontation, the enemy's Professional Dao is highly developed, and we would lose if we try to confront them. Instead of wasting time and resources in stopping them, it might be best to focus on something else."

"We can't just let them take the bodies of our dead. Heaven knows what they're going to do with it."

"Ultimately, the choice is yours," said Reverend Tranquility in a calm and soothing voice. "However, my opinion is we should focus our effort and resources on something else. Our manpower in the professional field is severely lacking, and it might be best to focus our effort on other things."

"Qian Heng sighed, "You're right." In times like this, he could not lament how weak their world is compared to their glorious past before those damn Taoists. Since he had decided, he would no longer hesitate; Qian Heng chose to abandon the bodies of these dearly departed.

Tie Gang continued to observe, and soon afterward, he heard the sweet sound he was waiting for from the Dream World.

"Commander, we're finished."

"Excellent. Are you going to send someone to set it up?"

"No need. We will send you an Array Disk and you only need to activate it. Make sure not to destroy the disk, and there will be no issue."

"Very well."

A small void tear materialized before Tie Gang, alerting everyone. He calmly took out the disk and injected his power into it. Then, things proceeded so fast that only a few could understand what was happening and barely reacted.

A small array manifested from the disk before also releasing a terrifying devouring power, but its target was only one thing: Death Qi. In less than a second, trillions of undead stopped moving as the Death Qi in their bodies dissipated. The other horrifying aspect of this formation was it did not discriminate against the tier of undead it targeted. So, whether it was mortal or Immortal Undead, they all stopped functioning under its power.

Tie Gang sneered after seeing this outcome. These undead were the lowest level, with no soul or consciousness, just instinct. As such, they could not resist the Death Qi being forcefully sucked out of them.

"Damn it," roared Qian Heng; he just watched how they so easily lost their biggest trump card.

"You think this is the end?" sneered Tie Gang. "Began purification."

"Amithabtha." These words echoed in the minds of everyone present. Then, a colossal golden lotus appeared in the middle of the battlefield, releasing a golden light that swiftly purified the resentments from the mortals and other undead.

The lotus flew to the Myriad Emperor World's side and released a golden light on all the legions, granting them a blessing.

"Listen, men," said Tie Gang. "Their people have resented and abandoned them while blessing us; this is another sign that our victory is guaranteed and honorable. Now, let's avenge these poor and innocent souls who only wanted to rest peacefully."