Chapter Fifty-Six: The Twelve Divine Lords (Part One)

The endless horde of ferocious beasts rampaged wantonly across the Western Wasteland, slaughtering all living things. The Western Wasteland had already become a hell on earth.

Yet, because of the powerful barriers between the five great wastelands—impenetrable except to those of God-King rank—the other four wastelands remained ignorant of the earth-shattering changes that had overtaken the West. A butcher's blade now hung above the heads of all tribes in the primal world, ready to strike down at any moment.

Within the Unending Mountain Domain, Nanlu and the twelve God-Kings continued their contest with the major powers of the world. Faced with Nanlu’s command, the gods dared not, and could not, refuse. After all, they had hesitated at first, putting themselves in the wrong and now owed Nanlu an explanation. Moreover, Nanlu had advanced to the rank of Divine Lord, while they themselves were but mere God-Kings—how could they risk provoking him?

In their hearts, the gods still dreamed of joining the divine race and thus seizing the opportunity, through its fortune, to break through their limits. All the more reason not to offend Nanlu.

Thus, upon receiving his command, the gods immediately rushed out from the Tower of Time, launching a direct assault on the golden barrier forged by the combined might of the great factions.

Twelve radiant beams of golden light shot up to the heavens, sudden and powerful as thunder, piercing the clouds and surging directly toward the Waterfire Mountain.

Boom!

Under the joint strike of the twelve Primal God-Kings, the mighty golden barrier, striated with cracks like shattered glass, seemed on the verge of collapse.

“How dare you!”

“Courting death!”

Roars of furious outrage thundered across heaven and earth, each one blazing with the wrath of the mighty powers.

How many years had it been? How many years since anyone had dared to so brazenly challenge the great powers, to so openly slap them in the face?

The golden barrier was formidable not merely for its power, but for what it represented—the dignity of the great powers themselves.

In this vast, boundless world filled with mighty beings, none dared offend such factions. To do so would mean being hunted to death by all their combined forces.

“Those are the twelve Primal Divine Demons!” Upon seeing the figures within the golden light, Zhulong instantly recognized them as the twelve Primal God-Kings. The innate, soul-penetrating nobility of the Primal Divine Demons, as if they were children of the heavens, inspired awe in all living things. No one who had seen them would ever mistake their kind.

If Zhulong could recognize the twelve Primal Divine Demons, so too could the other powers. But so what? Offenders of the great powers must be killed without mercy! They might have no way to deal with Nanlu, who had become a Divine Lord, but surely they could handle twelve mere God-Kings.

Kill!

The elite armies of the great factions surged forth, divine light blazing, weapons and magical treasures in hand, forming disciplined and murderous ranks that swept toward the twelve Primal God-Kings like tidal waves.

Yet, as the armies charged, the twelve Primal God-Kings remained unperturbed, continuing their attack on the tottering golden barrier.

Twelve beams of golden light flashed like thunderbolts, slamming into the barrier.

Boom!

Unable to withstand the ferocious strike, the barrier, already riddled with cracks, exploded into countless fragments.

The Titans, being closest to the barrier, were the first to launch their assault upon the twelve Primal God-Kings.

“Heave! Move mountains and fill the seas!”

A towering mountain, a million fathoms high and radiating a yellowish glow, suddenly appeared above the Titan army. As children of the earth, the Titans were born to wield the laws of soil.

The massive mountain stirred, tilting as if the sky itself would fall, casting darkness as it crashed down toward the twelve Primal God-Kings.

The twelve God-Kings faced the oncoming mountain with calm composure.

“Buxu, it’s up to you!” The God of Devouring, Shishi, clad in a black robe emblazoned with the character for “food,” said with a mischievous grin.

A middle-aged man in a yellow robe, with golden hair and eyes, a face of resolve, and an aura as steady as a mountain, stepped forward. Buxu extended his right hand upward with unshakable steadiness. “Staff of Earth, appear!”

A golden staff, etched with mountain-like veins and crowned with a miniature sacred peak, materialized in Buxu’s hand.

“Set!” Buxu commanded, pointing the staff into the air.

The million-fathom mountain, hurtling down like a meteor, froze instantly in midair.

How could it not move? A mountain that even Divine Lords had failed to stop in the past was now held in place by a mere God-King?

The Titan warriors stared in disbelief at the immobilized mountain, pouring their divine power into it to try to break Buxu’s spell, but to no avail.

Titan Mountain.

The Titans’ High Priest, Taishan, glanced first at the motionless mountain, then at Buxu, murmuring, “A Primal God-King at the peak of his rank.”

The Primal Divine Demons, when attaining the peak of God-King, were as powerful as ordinary Divine Lords.

“Scatter!” Buxu thrust the staff into the void.

A golden beam shot forth from its tip, striking the immobile mountain. The mountain began to quake violently, on the verge of collapse.

The Titan warriors who had been channeling their divine power felt a sudden backlash from the mountain’s force.

“Let go!” The Titan army’s commander, Taison, shouted anxiously.

Though unsure why, the Titan warriors obeyed without hesitation.

At the instant they withdrew their power, the mountain shattered with a thunderous roar! Amid flying debris, a powerful shockwave swept across both the gods and the Titan army.

The gods, standing in midair, paid no heed to the flying stones and shockwave.

The Titans, on the other hand, suffered greatly; hundreds were crushed to death by falling rocks, thousands more slain by the blast. Fortunately, they had severed their connection in time. Had they not, the collision of forces might have killed over ten thousand more in an instant.

Compared with that, their current losses were still bearable.

Seeing the battered Titans, the other major armies—dragons, phoenixes, qilins, and so forth—suppressed their anger for the moment, watching the twelve God-Kings coldly, awaiting their leaders’ commands.

“Your Excellency Buxu’s mastery of the laws of earth grows ever more profound. With but a simple mountain-fixing spell, he has left the Titans in disgrace. Hahaha…” The God of Literature, Fangyan, looked contemptuously at the cautious armies of the various races and laughed loudly.

“Hahaha…”

“His Excellency Buxu is indeed formidable!”

The gods piled on their praise for Buxu, the God of Earth, each casting scornful glances at the allied armies, inwardly thinking, So this is all the mighty powers amount to!