Beastmaster of the Ages

"Lin Xiaoxiao was probably controlled or tempted by the Archaionfiend. She probably didn't do all that by her own will. The previous assassination attempt on you was also probably a misunderstanding. This time around, the Archaionfiend almost wiped the city off the map. If not for her, all of us would be...." Feiling shuddered at the thought of all the lives that would be taken should that have come to pass.

"So that was the case!" Tianming slapped himself on the forehead. "I was far too angry back then. If she was actually tricked and didn't intend to do it, I bet she felt really hurt. Yet she was still able to look past that today and fight the Archaionfiend, heavily wounding it and saving countless people... I really owe her an apology."

"It's a shame we don't know how much of an edge she has over the Archaionfiend. If she's completely helpless, she'll be in for even more suffering..."

"It can't be helped. I can't do anything about it myself, it'll be up to her."

Lin Xiaoxiao was an upright girl, something that had earned Tianming's respect. He looked in the direction she had left one last time before rushing back to the city after hearing Yi Xingyin beckoning. While the city had been saved, it was still in a dire situation.

Right as Tianming descended, he saw Fu You attempting to attack the formation again after the blast had failed to destroy the city. Currently, Fang Shenyu, Jian Qingyuan, and their lifebound beasts were trying to stop Fu You, but they seemed to be at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, Tianming's Vitasteal had pushed their side closer to victory and few troops remained on all four sides of the city. The army of six million that Nonahall had mobilized to attack the city had almost completely collapsed, but samsarans were immune to Vitasteal, so the remnants wouldn't be that easy to deal with.

Not to mention, once the formation collapsed, the four ghoul kings—Si Ling especially—would be able to massacre away with abandon without anything to stop them. Ensuring that the formation was able to get as much power as possible during the siege was the highest priority. Simply making judgments about the state of battle based solely on the number of troops was a naive mistake to make. Throughout history, formations had often played pivotal roles in sieges, and Yi Xingyin's exploits as a tribulation patternscribe would no doubt go down in the annals of history thanks to this battle!

If it weren't for the formations scattered across the Flameyellow Continent, Nonahall would've overwhelmed all the other powers long ago. The Sun-Moon-Star Formation, effective as it was, was something Yi Xingyin had devised. The Ninefold Formation of Taiji Peak Lake, on the other hand, was the culmination of generations of wisdom and cutting-edge pattern research. Even so, Sun-Moon-Star Formation seemed like it wouldn't hold for long.

Right after Tianming returned, Yi Xingyin said, "Tianming, stop Fu You immediately!"

"Got it!" He hurried forward with his beasts and joined the fray.

Yi Xingyin continued, "Even though the threat from above has been dealt with, the four ghoul kings still loom over us. For now, Lan Yi and You Ying aren't able to enter from the east and west, but Fu You's lifebound beasts are about to enter from the north. Old Xie is heavily injured and at the brink of death, so there's nobody to stop them!"

The urgency in his voice could be heard even through the formation's communication channel. Now that the formation sun was no longer threatening them, Si Ling was unstoppable. While they weren't worried about her taking on the tribulation elders, they couldn't let her kill the civilians no matter what.

"Palace Lord, can you do anything about it?" Tianming asked as he fought.

"Help me check how many of the enemy's troops are left. I can still hold the formation for now, but I can't tell how many enemy troops have entered the city."

"There aren't many left. Most of those that rushed in have been killed. Some of them escaped from the formation. They've lost at least five million, even more if you account for lifebound beasts."

"Is this all thanks to that arm of yours?" he asked with awe.

"Kind of...."

Currently, Tianming was really worn out, thanks to using Vitasteal so often. Though there were more than ten people facing off against Fu You alone, it was still a difficult affair. If not for Vitasteal completely suppressing the other 'lower-tier' warriors, the city would've already fallen.

"Tianming, that technique of yours created a miracle. Now all we need is enough power to deal a heavy blow to the enemy. Even if the city's formation is breached, our mission will have been successful. To achieve a complete victory, I'd like to take another risk!" Yi Xingyin said.

"What risk?"

"Actually, the formation core was broken by Fu You at the very beginning. Even though it's just a small crack, it's a process that can't be stopped and there's no time for me to repair it. Even if the core doesn't get struck from now on, the formation will still crumble in two to four hours. By then, the city will be completely undefended. If the enemy has more reinforcements, then the edge we've managed to gain for ourselves will be lost," he said with a hint of courage that seemed enough to even stare straight at death.

"Then, what's your plan?"

"Back when I created this formation with my friends, we built a self-destruct layer into it. That layer has to be activated with an ever stronger force. I plan to have the troops from the two legions enter the formation core. Coupled with the civilians of the city, we'll gather enough power to initiate the self-destruct sequence of the Sun-Moon-Star Formation. We'll channel all the power of the formation into a simultaneous grand rising of both the sun and moon at the same time to eliminate all the enemy's peak elites at once. If it works, we'll have a complete victory, and even if it doesn't go completely according to plan, we'll still be able to deal a heavy blow and buy enough time for most of us to retreat."

"The enemy no longer has as many forces to spare, so it should work out, right?" Tianming asked.

"That's right. You all have dealt with five million troops already. Otherwise, the Origin Phoenix and Arcana Sword troops wouldn't be available to help initiate the self-destruction. It's actually a rather risky move, seeing as we have to divert quite a lot of our own forces for it. It wouldn't work if we had more than six million troops to face off against, but it's different now."

"So, what do I need to do?"

"Hold Fu You off and make sure he doesn't continue attacking the formation core while clearing up the enemy troops in the city as soon as possible to allow Arcana Sword and Origin Phoenix to enter!"

"Understood! By the way, can you hold on?"

"I'll tough through it. Tonight, I want to let the world know my name," he said with a smirk, though Tianming couldn't see his expression as they were communicating through the formation. However, Tianming had a feeling that making the formation self-destruct wouldn't be nearly as easy as it sounded, but he chose to trust Yi Xingyin since they were in such a predicament.

"Alright, let's get started, Palace Lord!" He mustered his resolve and used Vitasteal once more, despite how hard it was on him.