“What did you do?”
Khatabah’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Wang Chong.
Not only could he not complete his punch, he couldn’t even move.
“Milord!”
Abu Muslim and Adnan also noticed something strange, and they began to rush toward Khatabah.
But nobody cared about them by now.
“Heheh, you got too arrogant! Did you really think nothing in the world could touch you?”
Wang Chong coldly chuckled as he stood up.
The moment had finally come. The fusion of Khatabah and the Ifrit was simply too strong. If not for that lucky opportunity, Wang Chong would have been the one to lie defeated on the ground.
“You really shouldn’t have gotten greedy and brought the Moon God’s power into the Ifrit! That Moon God Tree might have allowed you to link with the Ifrit, but it also proved to be your weakness!
“Lightning can’t do anything to the Ifrit or to you, but is it so helpless against that ritual tool made of bronze inside the Ifrit?”
On the other side, Khatabah scowled in understanding.
Behind him, Abu Muslim and Adnan were left confused, their eyes wide open.
The sandstorm continued to rage over the battlefield, but anyone around the Black Flame Ifrit who had noticed this scene fell silent.
Khatabah?
Lightning?
The Moon God Tree?
They could understand the meaning of the individual words coming out of the mouths of Wang Chong and Khatabah, but put together, they were nonsense.
“What is going on here?” Zhangchou Jianqiong muttered nearby. He was no fool, and from Khatabah’s reaction, he could tell that something had happened to him. But at this time, no one understood what had happened between the two.
Crack!
A soft crack came from within the Black Flame Ifrit’s body.
It was almost inaudible, lost amidst the howling of the sands, but for two people, it was as loud as a crack of thunder.
And this soft crack was only the beginning.
Chapter 1904 - The Death of the Ifrit!
Chapter 1904: The Death of the Ifrit!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Crack! Clack! More and more soft cracking sounds came from the Ifrit, and the sound made Abu Muslim and Adnan pale in shock.
Deep inside the Black Flame Ifrit, where no one could see, the powerful and bizarrely shaped Moon God Tree was covered in countless cracks.
“Impossible!
“Utterly impossible!
“How did you manage to do this!?”
Sensing the transformation in his body, Khatabah gnashed his teeth in shock and rage.
The Moon God Tree was said to have been possessed by the Moon God. It was a ritual tool with an ancient history and was almost indestructible. Khatabah had never imagined that Wang Chong would succeed in breaking it.
He had been so focused on Wang Chong earlier that he had never once imagined that Wang Chong’s target would be the Moon God Tree.
“Impossible! No one can defeat the World-Destroying Ifrit!
“You lowly infidel, I will kill you!”
Khatabah’s furious voice resounded through the world. Under his control, the flames around the Black Flame Ifrit fiercely shuddered as if attempting to break free of some powerful binding and deal Wang Chong a lethal bow, but Wang Chong simply stood there and laughed.
Khatabah could not tell the situation from where he was, but Wang Chong could see everything clearly with his True World ability.
The Ifrit Core could not bear the power of two people. This was why Khatabah had used the Moon God’s Forbidden Ring and the Moon God Tree.
But now, both of these ritual tools were covered in cracks. While powerful and almost indestructible, not even these two ritual tools had been able to stand up against the power of all the lightning in the world.
That sheer destructive energy pouring into these two ritual tools had been too much to bear.
Without these two ritual tools, the Black Flame Ifrit had lost the basis for its existence.
Bang!
As Khatabah was doing all he could to attack Wang Chong, a massive explosion came from inside the Black Flame Ifrit. The Moon God Tree and Moon God’s Forbidden Ring exploded into tiny metal fragments.
Without the two ritual tools, the Black Flame Ifrit’s terrifying flames exploded outward like an erupting volcano.
It was impossible to describe the sheer power of the explosion, and everyone was forced to back away from this terrifying energy. Even Wang Chong had to use the Greater Void Step to escape.
The entirety of the region shuddered, and even the sandstorm was blasted aside.
“Noooo!”
A cry of unwillingness and anger could be heard as a small figure was thrown out of the black flames. The black flames also began to rapidly fade, turning from frightening black to their original red. Their temperature also plunged back from two hundred thousand degrees to one hundred thousand degrees.
“No! How could it be like this?!”
The Ifrit’s panicked cry resounded through the world. A moment ago, it had been intoxicated in the midst of boundless power, but a moment later, the fusion had been ended. It had never expected this.
As an ancient creature who had destroyed an entire civilization, the Ifrit feared almost nothing, but that eastern youth was the last person it wanted to deal with, particularly when that youth was already gripping that sword.
“Khatabah, save me!” the Ifrit frantically pleaded. It once more sensed that familiar and frightening Psychic Energy.
On the other side, Khatabah grimaced and immediately sent a blast of Stellar Energy downward that sent him flying back toward the Ifrit so that they could fuse.
But it was all too late. Wang Chong had been waiting precisely for this moment, and he would not permit Khatabah and the Ifrit to fuse again.
“Li Junxian! Give me the Crown of Confucius!”
Wang Chong’s eyes turned sharp as he gripped the Xuanyuan Sword.
In the last battle of the militarist-Confucian conflict, Wang Chong had seized the Crown of Confucius from Li Junxian and obtained its approval, allowing him to activate its power. But in the end, Wang Chong was not a member of the Confucian Sect, so he could not use the power of the crown for very long.
Forcefully using it would only consume Wang Chong’s own energy!
Thus, from the start of the battle, Crown of Confucius had remained with Li Junxian. But now was different. This was a rare chance to kill the Ifrit.
And to do this, he needed the power of the Crown of Confucius!
Buzz!
Wang Chong had barely spoken when a simple crown thrumming with Psychic Energy flew through the air. Around the crown were the images of sages and countless holy words. It was none other than the Crown of Confucius!
After flying several dozen feet, the crown seemed to sense something and flew straight to Wang Chong, placing itself atop his head.
Bang!
As the crown landed on Wang Chong’s head, his Psychic Energy swelled, multiplying by several times and becoming even more terrifying.
For several hundred feet around him, space twisted, and the image of the ‘Supreme Sage’ grew even more solid and distinct, his Confucian robe tinged with gold and becoming sacred and hallowed, a manifestation of the heavenly Dao.
A moment later, Wang Chong fiercely raised his head and locked his eyes on the massive Ifrit!
Clang!
His sword rang out as he gathered together the power of the crown, sword, Nightmare Beast, and the energy he had absorbed from the High Priest. Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy domain transcended to an unprecedented level.
“Die!”
Wang Chong moved with incredible speed, pouring all of this energy into the sword as he slashed.
As the attack was unleashed, the entire universe seemed to tremble. A pitch-black sword sever
al times larger than the previous ones emerged, slicing through the air in less than a second and piercing into the Ifrit!
All things in the world froze, as if time had stopped!
Khatabah’s eyes flew open, his face devoid of blood.
Awooo!
The Ifrit’s body trembled as it let out a heaven-shaking howl of pain. Its terrifying body managed to last for only half a second before, boom! It was sliced in two by an invisible energy.
Even those two halves did not manage to last for long. After being sliced apart, they suddenly exploded into two balls of flame.
“No! This should not be how it ends!”
The Ifrit’s helpless cry could be heard all across the battlefield, and then it exploded into a shower of sparks.
Crack! The Ifrit Core in Khatabah’s hand suddenly shattered into countless pieces.
As the Ifrit exploded, Khatabah felt his heart twitch, his mind going completely blank!
Dead!
The Ifrit was dead!
The Ifrit that he had taken such great pains to master down in the well of Hamuhad, that had once destroyed an entire civilization, had died in the east, right before his eyes, and at the hands of the enemy!
Khatabah’s heart bled!
Shock!
Surprise!
When had the eastern world become so powerful?
No! It was not the east, only that young eastern commander!
As a series of thoughts passed through his mind, Khatabah came to his senses and stared at Wang Chong.
“No matter what, I will have you die!”
Khatabah’s eyes burned with hatred.
The Battle of Talas had been lost because of this young eastern commander, and the strongest weapon he had brought for his conquest of the east had also been lost at the hands of this youth. If this man did not die, Arabia would never be able to rest easy.
This was Arabia’s greatest threat!
Upon thinking this, Khatabah understood. The Ifrit could die, and he could fail, but this man had to die!
Buzz!
The Stellar Energy in Khatabah’s body rumbled as he immediately shot toward Wang Chong. But he had underestimated Wang Chong.
“Move!”
As Khatabah attacked, Wang Chong’s eyes coldly locked onto Khatabah and he gave the order to strike.
Wang Chong had not called down the lightning to destroy the moon god’s two ritual tools merely to separate Khatabah and the Ifrit. This unnatural separation should have dealt a severe backlash to Khatabah.
Through his True World ability, Wang Chong could already see that Khatabah was rapidly weakening. Perhaps not even Khatabah had noticed wrinkles beginning to creep out from the corners of his eyes.
This was the best chance to deal with Khatabah.
“Move out!”
A split-second later, Wang Zhongsi, Li Junxian, King Song, Song Yuanyi, Xie Guangting, the Bone Devil Ancestor, the Myriad Ghost Ancestor, Gao Xianzhi, An Sishun, and all the other Tang commanders acted in concert to charge at Khatabah from all directions.
Almost every top-class expert on the Tang side was participating in this encirclement.
“Stop them!”
Abu Muslim and Adnan paled at this sight. With no time to think, they charged forward with the other Arab commanders to try and assist Khatabah. But the pair had barely managed to move a few dozen feet before a massive wave of Psychic Energy slammed into their minds.
Chapter 1905 - The Death of Khatabah!
Chapter 1905: The Death of Khatabah!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Adnan and Abu Muslim groaned under the Nightmare Beast’s sudden assault, and they were forced to slow down for half a second. Meanwhile, Wang Chong, Wang Zhongsi, Zhangchou Jianqiong, and all the others had already begun their assault.
“Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art!
“Origin Immortal Art!
“Life Execution!”
“One Sword Severs the Star River!”
“Universe Sundering Art!”
“Myriad Ghost Pilgrimage!”
“Bone Devil Holds the Heavens!”
A seemingly endless barrage of attacks swept over the area like a storm.
No one dared to be careless around this supreme legend of the Arabian Empire, and they put all their strength into their attacks.
Since ancient times, Khatabah was probably the only person who had ever enjoyed such ‘treatment’, a fact that he could truly be proud of.
It was truly unprecedented and unique!
Of course, this was all because of Khatabah’s transcendent and shocking strength.
At this moment, even someone as strong as Khatabah, facing this flurry of attacks, sensed that the battle was settled. No matter how strong he was, he could not fight against so many people at once.
Seeing that Khatabah was surrounded, Adnan anxiously cried out, “Hierophant! Retreat!”
Although Arabia had the advantage in numbers, even he could see that the sandstorm and the encirclement of the eastern empire’s top commanders had left the Arabian Empire’s chances of victory almost nonexistent.
In this situation, retreat was the wisest option.
But Khatabah continued to stare at Wang Chong, ignoring this cry.
All of the strength of the Arabian Empire had been mobilized: millions of soldiers, countless members in the supply train, and the armies of numerous small kingdoms. This was an unprecedented invasion, but it was already coming to an end.
But as a legend of Arabia, the Hierophant revered by all, Khatabah was too proud to lower his head, let alone retreat in front of his enemies.
In his legendary life, he had never retreated no matter how many opponents he faced.
Better to die!
“Brat! Do you really think you’ve won?!”
Khatabah’s face turned savage. Not only did he not back down in the face of all these Tang commanders and their flood of Stellar Energy, he shot toward Wang Chong with astonishing speed.
“Even if I die, I will have you and all the Great Tang pay the most bitter price!”
Buzz!
Khatabah’s hand opened, and he thrust a palm at Wang Chong.
His veins bulged and his bones groaned. Right in front of Wang Chong, his body began to grow with frightening speed. Even his skin began to change colors, turning into a dark bronze.
At the same time, a dark, chaotic, and berserk energy erupted from Khatabah’s body. It was very weak at the start, like the glow of a firefly in the darkness, but a second later, it had developed into a hurricane of power.
Moreover, the moment this energy appeared, it appeared to grow out of control, frantically absorbing the chaotic energy in the surroundings, the free Stellar Energy and the scattered energy left behind by the Ifrit, and even the power of the sandstorm. It even devoured Khatabah’s energy and converted it into chaotic energy.
“Demon god!”
Wang Chong had been charging at Khatabah, but this sight gave him pause. Khatabah was brimming with chaotic and destructive energy, and he appeared very similar to one of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars that Wang Chong had seen beneath Khorasan.
But those underground statues and legends in the Book of Paimon had merely been hazy impressions. Khatabah, on the other hand, was an ancient demon god revived from the river of history to appear right in front of Wang Chong!
Legend had become reality!
“This is the power of the demon god Baal that I obtained more than one hundred years ago. I will have it appear once more in the world of mortals to annihilate you eastern infidels!”
(TN: Baal, or Bael, is the first King of Hell. He is depicted with three heads: a toad, a man, and a cat. He commands 66 legions. He is probably inspired by the deity Baal as found in the Bible.)
Khatabah’s insane voice resounded through the world.
Roooar!
This terrifying roar contained the majesty and pressure of a demon g
od, and as it echoed through the fabric of space, a dark and twisted torrent of energy gushed out of Khatabah’s body. Within it, one could see the savage face of a demon god.
The attacks continued to pour in, but Khatabah seemed not to care. His face twisted as he raised his arm high into the air like a sword.
“Explode for me!!”
As his savage roar rang out…
Boom!
The ground within one thousand feet of Khatabah shuddered. Black energy gushed out of the ground, and before the group could react, a massive ring had completely encircled them.
The moment this black ring appeared, space seemed to collapse, and a massive pull began to drag everyone in Khatabah’s direction.
“Not good! A formation!”
“Everyone, watch out! Retreat!”
At almost the same time, everyone felt an intense danger, the stench of death filling their nostrils. Song Yuanyi, Xie Guangting, and the Bone Devil Ancestor paled and tried to retreat, but before they could leave the range of the pull, boom! Space trembled, and they rammed into what seemed like a steel wall that blew them back.
“A spatial seal!” the Bone Devil Ancestor cried out, his face paling. He transformed into a giant bone devil ten-some meters tall and forcefully charged, but he could not break through the black ring. There was no doubt that this was Khatabah’s work.
In a flash.
The Bone Devil Ancestor’s face turned ghastly pale!
“You can’t escape! You killed my Ifrit, so I will have all of you die!”
The winds howled and the world darkened.
As Khatabah coldly spoke, he began to detonate his energy.
Boom!
This terrifying explosion would contain all of Khatabah’s energy; the energy of Baal, the leader of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars; the remaining energy of the Black Flame Ifrit; the stray energy of the moon god; various bits of free energy… At this moment, all of it was gathering into a destructive black sun, and everyone could only watch as it erupted.
“None of you will escape!”
Khatabah’s voice resounded in everyone’s ears, and then that terrifying energy began to devour the region.
Khatabah was a Subtle realm expert possessing immense power, and with the miscellaneous power he had gathered… the energy of the explosion was far beyond imagination. Even Great Generals were insignificant before it.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1157
