"[Death Empress Decree: Eternal Imperial Parade]."
Tatyana's skill enhanced her entire army, giving them transcendental strength as a group. With a wave of her hand, all the undead surged forward. They moved like a massive ocean of creatures that spawned at the deepest layer of hell.
The vast sea of creatures swallowed the world, enveloping Hakkan and the other five Seventh Realm cultivators who had been trying to find a gap to participate. Hakkan was quick to burst forth with enough strength to open a massive void in the sea of undead creatures. However, a second after he created that large void, new beings occupied it.
Moreover, in his case, being the strongest, Tatyana didn't just let the undead do all the work. She herself joined, releasing attacks without concern, destroying some of her army's undead creatures.
Meanwhile, the other five Level 1 Law Creatures were overwhelmed by the sheer number of undead. The sea of creatures was endless, and even when they destroyed thousands with each move, it didn't seem to make a dent in the numbers.
Kaelin's [Fire Law] surged, her sword creating images of giant phoenixes that scorched the world around her. "Caelan, Mo Yuelian, cover the east! I will cover the west side with Yan Hongdie!"
Those two were elders from the Crimson Lotus Hall, one of them controlling the [Demon Law] and the other the [Blood Law]. Mo Yuelian's cold expression became demonized, her eyes shining with evil lights. "[Demon Law: Demonic Gate]!"
A hundred gates appeared around her, demons pouring out of them in large numbers. The black and red tide of demons clashed with the white, green, and black tide of undead. However, these doors were quickly overwhelmed, and the demons Mo Yuelian summoned died and were devoured.
The towering firestorms and wind walls kept them at bay, but Caelan noticed something odd. His fist landed on a large winged bone dragon, smashing it into pieces. But the next second, that dragon reformed in the distance, regaining its former strength and roaring.
'They… regenerate?'
His hands moved, terrifying wind shredding thousands of them at once. '…No. Not all of them. Only some particular ones are regenerating after being destroyed.'
Caelan shouted. "There are some leaders among the tides of creatures! Once you destroy them, they regenerate! If we destroy these leaders, the rest of the undead will be thrown into chaos and lose their threat!"
A trace of hope shone in their eyes, and their attacks became even more violent.
The Laws of the world shifted, transforming at their whims and desires, summoning events into existence with just a few words or gestures. The scale of the battle was something that many had never seen in their entire lives.
Seventh Realm cultivators rarely fought each other, knowing that killing another Seventh Realm cultivator was highly complicated. They had a myriad of life-saving treasures on them, and bypassing those was as tricky as reaching for the heavens.
Tatyana was pummeling Hakkan when she noticed the small movements of the others. Without stopping her constant assault on Hakkan, Tatyana grinned. Her red eyes burst with red brilliance, illuminating the skies beyond the mass of undead.
This brilliance condensed into five beams, landing on five undead generals' mountain-armored undead warhorses. Each of these five undead had a peak-level Transcendence Realm strength, bordering on touching the Seventh Realm.
"[Five Apocalypse Crowns: Death…"
The first undead's aura became as deep as the sea, darkness swallowing its surroundings as Death energy enveloped its being.
"…War…"
The second undead roared to the sky, violent energies surging around it as all the undead around it entered a frenzy.
"…Pestilence…"
The third undead's body erupted with green fog, corroding all matter around it while any undead that touched it transformed together with it.
"…Famine…"
All energy around the fourth one was pulled into a voracious vortex of endless gluttony. Its strength soared with each second that passed.
"…Conquest]."
The final undead horseman's presence enveloped the world, putting it under its influence. With a single wave of the undead's halberd, the others roared and surged with strength, rushing forward.
The five Law Creator realm cultivators noticed the change, their hearts sinking as they felt it was about to get complicated. "Those five undead leaders are giving me a bad feeling! Be careful of them!"
The Famine Horseman led the charge, devouring all energies and gaining ridiculous levels of strength. As it arrived, Famine swung its halberd, moving so fast that Caelan was unable to react properly.
BANG!
His body streaked into the mass of undead behind him, mouths of all sizes and shapes landing on his flesh and trying to take a bite. "BEGONE!"
Pure wind pressure manifested, the world laws transforming and pushing all undead creatures far from his body. When he was able to see the battlefield again, Caelan noticed that the third elder from the Crimson Hall was besieged by Famine and Death. The coordinated attacks from the two individually strongest of the five were ruthless, contaminating and absorbing all his strength.
What was worse was that as Death absorbed his vitality and Famine absorbed his energy, they grew stronger and he grew weaker.
Caelan's face turned solemn, and he rushed over in an instant. However, as he approached, Pestilence appeared in his way. Green mist covered everything, trapping him and Kaelin inside the fog. "Hiss!"
Caelan took a deep breath, looking at his skin and seeing it peeling. Kaelin quickly shouted. "Snap out of it! Use your [Wind Law] to push the fog away! It is coated in some unknown [Law], and I can't burn it!"
Caelan nodded and swung his blade. "[Wind Law: Ethereal Wind Vacuum]"
Instantly, a vast void appeared, sucking in all the air and gases from the surrounding area. Pestilence noticed its fog being pulled and tightly gripped the reins of its warhorse, forcing it to neigh. In the distance, Conquest noticed and pointed his halberd over.
The space around Kaelin and Caelan froze, the influence of Pestilence materializing as a concept and gaining an edge over their [Law]. Kaelin understood what happened. "That horseman has an ability to give ownership to locations! It probably manipulates a power close to [Capturing]!"
Caelan nodded. "It's probably [Conquest]. The one before us is most likely [Pestilence]. That's the devil's chant that mentioned them."
Kaelin agreed, fighting off the fog while trying to burn Pestilence. Caelan supported her, using his wind to enhance Kaelin's fire. They had the advantage, but even then, it would take them a while to escape Pestilence's area of domain.
Meanwhile, the third elder of the Crimson Lotus Hall saw himself becoming exceedingly weak. With a wave of his hand, he summoned three life-saving talismans. "[All-Cleansing Talisman], [Boundless Link Connection Severing Talisman], [Worldly Presence Concealing Talisman]!
The effects of Death and Famine were momentarily interrupted, their links becoming faint. Even then, Death and Famine didn't panic. They charged forward, their warhorses galloping in the air as their halberds swung violently. Each strike forced the cultivator back until the cultivator suddenly disappeared.
This left them confused, looking around. At this moment, part of War's power manifested.
The surroundings fell under its influence, and all creatures, be they allies or enemies, feel a rush of bloodthirst deep within them. For the undead, it was not that big of a deal. But for the one hiding, it was detrimental. As the sensation of anger and thirst for war flooded his heart, the hiding cultivator released a hint of bloodlust.
Death and Famine quickly locked onto that small trace and used their powers simultaneously. The cultivator screamed in pain, its location appearing from the void.
Then, Famine and Death rushed forward, many of the smaller undead rushing from the distance and creating a massive sphere of undead around him.
"AHH!"
A scream was heard before a massive explosion swept the ball of undead, bursting it open.
Kaelin and the others quickly looked over, intending to check on him. Yet, in the middle, they saw the cultivator divided in two, Famine and Death devouring it together with their horses.
"NO!" Mo Yuelian screamed in grief, but War didn't intend to give her time to mourn. A halberd swept over, slicing open her chest and up to her shoulder. "UGH!"
Noticing things were going downhill, Kaelin shouted. "Retreat! Ancestor Hakkan, we can't battle here! It is too disadvantageous!"
However, no answer came from beyond the mass of undead. Only the terrifying rumbling energy of two Demigods fighting could reach them.
Caelan knew that hesitation would mean death. Once Death and Famine were done with their meal, their level of strength would be beyond whatever they could resist.
"Let's go! We'll explain things later if we are punished. Ancestor Hakkan will understand as well."
Kaelin nodded, and the four Seventh Realm cultivators rushed out, using their life-saving treasures to flee. If a Seventh Realm cultivator was hell-bent on fleeing, stopping them was almost impossible. So, no matter how the undead army tried, they all managed to escape.
The five apocalypse riders didn't follow. Instead, they all gathered around the Seventh Realm cultivator's corpse, eating everything and sharing the energy. After this battle, all five would probably become Seventh Realm Undead.
Meanwhile, Hakkan and Tatyana's fight was progressing rather swiftly. While battles between cultivators of their caliber could last for weeks or even months, Tatyana's overwhelming strength and army were too much for Hakkan to take alone.
Injuries ranging from as light as a scratch to deep enough to see the bone riddled his body. His face was half-covered in blood, patches of hair missing from the close-cuts sweeping his scalp.
Tatyana glanced in the distance and smirked. "You've been abandoned, it seems. How does it feel to see your descendants flee at the sign of danger?"
Hakkan snorted. "Reassuring. They are naturally confident that I will be able to smite you down, Devil. All the souls you've reaped will sing in the nine heavens after I liberate them from your evil shackles."
"How emotive. How pure and righteous! Your efforts will be immortalized across the eras!" Tatyana laughed and added. "Sadly, the memory you'll leave behind is not one of heroic achievements, but of heroic sacrifices."
Hakkan's face changed, preparing his spear. Unlike its pristine appearance when the battle first started, it was now riddled with nicks and scratches. His pristine dragon robe, crafted from the finest dragon materials, had now become little more than luxurious rags.
"If you think you can stop me from leaving, you are very mistaken."
"Am I?" Tatyana stretched her right hand, holding her sword with the left, and summoned a formation pen.
Hakkan's eyes flashed with confusion and disdain. "Do you think you've weakened me so much that I'll allow you to write a formation mid-battle?"
Tatyana answered as if she had not heard his mocking. "That's right. Look, [Star Sealing Chain Formation]."
In the time it took Hakkan to blink, Tatyana drew and summoned a gargantuan and complex formation. This formation expanded, gathering the entire sky above them and sealing it off.
Tatyana smiled. "See? Now, you are trapped."
Hakkan's mocking look froze, disbelief flashing in his eyes. "…Impossible! There is no way that you can draw a formation of this level this quickly!"
"But I just did." Tatyana's expression changed from smiling to indifferent. "Now that no one else can see us, it's time to finish you for good. Tian Long, Lauren, come out. Food is here."
Lauren was Tatyana's [Sovereign of the Underworld]. While he was the weakest of the five, that didn't mean that his strength was something that one could ignore. As the [Undead Grand Marshal], Lauren was at the very top of the entire army, only having Tatyana and the other four above him.
Lauren, mounting his massive armored dragon, descended from the sky together with Tian Long.
Hakkan's face paled, his eyes showing disbelief. "How is this possible? How can you summon beings of similar strength to yours!? That goes against Heaven's Natural Order!"
Tatyana chuckled. "Indeed. Thankfully, I am outside of that boring filtering system. Now, become nourishment for my dear mount and Grand Marshal."
Both dragons roared, while Lauren's lance shone menacingly.
***
Far away, in the Dragon Hunter's hall, the person guarding the ancestral tablets became pale with fright. He wanted to believe that his eyes were deceiving him, but after looking at the split tablet, he rushed out as fast as he could.
"L-Lord Hakkan's Life Tablet has broken!"