Chapter 428 — The God of War's Ambition Undiminished
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Thud.
Star Lord Qiao sank back on his heels and propped himself up on his divine sword, watching his old rival come walking toward him, and laughed low. "Old Human Emperor, you and I are both puppets on strings, toys of the True Gods. Even if you bar our way here at the cost of your life, what then? Two parties descended from the High Heavens. We were only meant to draw you out; the ones truly sent to activate the celestial phenomenon artifact are someone else entirely. Jingping is doomed to be destroyed.
. . " Across from him, the vast primal spirit behind the village chief blazed fierce and boundless, like a god wreathed in burning radiance, but this god too was battered and crumbling now, barely holding together.
His primal spirit dimmed, ready to be snuffed out at any breath, then suddenly flared bright again, over and over, clearly burning the last of his blood and vital essence just to sustain his peak form. "Star Lord Qiao, where is the other party? " The village chief walked over, paying no heed to anyone else on the battlefield, his gaze pinned hard upon him.
"You and I are old rivals.
When a man is about to die, his words turn kind—do you truly wish to see the countless living beings of Jingping annihilated? " Suddenly, a cracking sound came from within Star Lord Qiao's body. The handsome god's face went ashen, and he laughed with a sneer: "Whether these lowly creatures live or die—what is that to me? " He raised his head to the sky and murmured, "My star has finally come to fall.
" Crack. A faint cracking came from his sword, then another soft crack, then more and more, faster and faster, and the cracking within his body grew denser too. The primal spirit behind the village chief dimmed once more.
He stirred his blood and vital force, trying to bring his primal spirit back to its peak, but he could not ignite it again. His body now was like a broken bellows leaking air on every side; he wanted to rekindle the flame of life, but he was too shattered to light it.
He was crippled, his limbs gone—it weighed heavily on his flesh and heavily on his strength in battle.
But the more crucial thing was that he had grown old. He had grown old to the point where his allotted span had reached its very end. He had once had a little more than a year left; had he quietly retired and trained in earnest, he might have repaired his divine bridge before death and entered another realm, becoming a god.
Yet this battle had drained the last of his body's blood and vital essence. Now he could no longer rekindle his life force.
"Tell me where the other party went. " The village chief raised his voice: "Star Lord Qiao, where do you come from?
Were you not once the same as these people—one of the base and lowly creatures you speak of? " Star Lord Qiao had closed his eyes to await death.
Suddenly his body shuddered, and he opened his eyes—hollow, utterly devoid of life. Sword wounds surfaced one after another across his body. The wounds deepened without cease, as though invisible blades were slicing and cutting open his godly flesh bit by bit. The village chief's final strike had severed his life force; his divine store was collapsing, his flesh was being torn apart—he was already fated to die here.
"What use is it?
" Star Lord Qiao lowered his head and sneered.
"Do you still have the strength to stop them?
You are going to die too, old friend. Be at peace—sit down and come along with me. On the road to the Yellow Springs, we shall keep each other company.
. . " The village chief said in a low voice, "Tell me which road they took.
" Star Lord Qiao lifted his head and glanced at him, his dull eyes drifting slowly toward the wasteland in the darkness, his breathing suddenly quickening: "They should be arriving soon. .
. cough cough cough—if you still have the strength, then go and stop them.
" His expression changed drastically.