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Chapter 512: Deterrence
🕑 Added 2024-09-20 13:00:11 +0000 UTCThe Myriad Saber Alliance was originally just a loose alliance composed of some saber immortals. Over time, a saber monarch joined them, but that was not enough to propel them to become the publicly acknowledged strongest first-rate force. No, their rise began with the birth of the first saber emperor, which caused countless saber cultivators to join them, greatly boosting their pool of talents and numbers.
From then on, the Myriad Saber Alliance almost always had a saber emperor leading them. Even when they didn’t, it would only last a generation or two. They were only inferior to the Numinous Sword Sect that always had several sword emperors.
It was because the Numinous Sword Sect suddenly only had one public sword emperor that the other sects became lively.
But getting back to the Myriad Saber Alliance. In contrast to the headquarters of the Numinous Sword Sect, the Myriad Saber Alliance’s headquarters was a giant city called Allsaber City. It wasn’t always a city. Originally, it started out as a collection of buildings built nearby to facilitate communication and community between the members of the alliance. Over time, it expanded until it transformed into a city and the core of the Myriad Saber Alliance.
Despite being the publicly acknowledged number one force under the sole hegemon, the Myriad Saber Alliance was only on the same level as the other first-rate forces. The reason for this was because of their origins. What gave them their greatest strength also gave them their greatest weakness.
More often than not, the decision makers of the Myriad Saber Alliance were not of one mind or heart. Even if a saber emperor was present, this situation would not change. They have the most amount of infighting among all first-rate forces. The decision to kill Emperor Wujian was a rare unanimous decision that appeared only once in a blue moon.
And now, Allsaber City stood in ruins.
Standing in the air above the destroyed city were twelve figures. They were Monarch Solesword and nine other monarchs of the Numinous Sword Sect and the two awakened sword emperors. All of them had some degree of injuries, but their eyes were bright, like they did not feel fatigue or pain.
“Should we give chase?” a monarch asked, standing next to Monarch Solesword.
Monarch Solesword shook his head. “No need. We only brought twelve people, and it’s far from enough to chase after all the stragglers. Those below the Immortal Realm will not pose a threat to us for at least a thousand years. We have already killed the monarchs and most of the immortal lords, the ones that escape should either be those without much loyalty, cowardly, or ones deliberately sent out as seeds of hope for rising again. However, even if they become immortal monarchs, one or two won’t affect the overall situation.”
“Since that’s the case, should we return?” the monarch asked.
“Yes. It’s getting late. Although we destroyed the Myriad Saber Alliance quickly, we should leave before those guys from the Void Ripple Sect come,” Monarch Solesword said.
He didn’t fear the space monarchs. Although their methods were strange and hard to defend against, most of their offensive capabilities were weak. He just didn’t want the space monarchs to see the true situation of the two sword emperors. He would rather not utilize their full value and simply allow them to die than to let their true state spread to the other forces. Otherwise, the deterrence would severely weaken. Only when the other forces don’t know that these two sword emperors were only hanging on by the last line to life would they feel fear.
Still, that didn’t mean Monarch Solesword didn’t leave a surprise for the people who would investigate.
Soon, the twelve immortals disappeared from the sky above Myriad Saber Alliance. Unseen by them, a figure stood among the destruction of Allsaber City. Because this was a blitzkrieg operation, the immortals of the Numinous Sword Sect didn’t have time to plunder the spoils of victory.
The purple-robed figure openly strode into the scripture repository and treasury of the Myriad Saber Alliance. However, whenever he stepped, he had no shadow, as if his presence was just an illusion. Because of the disharmonious nature of the Myriad Saber Alliance, the first-rate force had three different scripture repositories and treasuries, each controlled by a different faction.
The purple-robed figure only had time to scavenge one of the three scripture repositories and all the treasuries before people came to check out what had occurred. As Monarch Solesword expected, the first ones to arrive were the space monarchs of the Void Ripple Sect.
A total of three space monarchs appeared. They wore robes darker than the void and a mysterious mist covered their facial features, making it almost impossible for onlookers to see their true appearance.
“We’re too late, everything already ended, and the perpetrators already left,” one of the space monarchs said, his voice grim.
“Who could’ve done such a thing?” The speaker’s voice was delicate and light, clearly young and female.
A snort answered her question. “Who else could it be? The other first-rate forces certainly wouldn’t take action first. Even if they did, the price would be too high. The only force that can accomplish this is the hegemon. It seems rumors of their decline were over exaggerated. Now that we have already gotten onto the tiger, it’s hard to get off.”
“Alright, stop talking. Remember, Voidmist, even if you have become a monarch, you’re not even a first-step monarch. You still have a high chance of dying in this war. You must treat everything with caution,” the first space monarch said. Without waiting for the other to respond, he ordered, “Go search the ruins. Maybe there are survivors. Check the scripture repository too. If we cannot find any survivors in an hour, expand the range of the search. Even if the culprit is already clear, we must find more details.”
“Understood,” the two monarchs following him said. The three dispersed.
Although a purple-robed figure was standing openly among the ruins, all three space monarchs ignored him as if he didn’t exist. Or rather, they couldn’t perceive his existence at all.
Because they arrived at such a critical time, the purple-robed figure could only watch as they looted the two remaining scripture repositories of the Myriad Saber Alliance. Even if they were allies, that was no longer the case once the Myriad Saber Alliance became history. It was already a forgone conclusion of the Myriad Saber Alliance. Perhaps, a new and more united Myriad Saber Alliance would appear in the future, but that was only it. A possibility.
Since that was the case, the space monarchs had no issue benefiting. In the grand scheme of things, interest came first. The reason they united against the Numinous Sword Sect was because they saw a chance to overthrow it. If they wanted to progress as a force, the sky known as the Numinous Sword Sect must fall.
Not only the Void Ripple Sect and the Twin Moon Sect. The other first-rate forces would also love to watch the Numinous Sword Sect fall; they even faintly showed signs of joining the alliance. Only after the Numinous Sword Sect falls will the first-rate forces officially start competing to become the new hegemon.
However, the prerequisite was that they needed to see hope of destroying the Numinous Sword Sect without damaging themselves too much. They didn’t want to make a wedding dress for others. If they were too injured from fighting the Numinous Sword Sect and allowed a second-rate force to rise instead, they would only feel immense regret and hatred. Not only that, the new hegemon would undoubtedly destroy them in order to prevent any future troubles.
After plundering everything they could from the ruins of the Myriad Saber Alliance, the three space monarchs gathered again. Their fear of the Numinous Sword Sect grew again. In their opinion, since the Numinous Sword Sect had the power to wipe out a first-rate force, clean their treasuries and leave before anyone could sense anything and investigate, the power they hid was far more than estimated.
The three space monarchs immediately left the ruined Allsaber City. It was much harder to find survivors outside, but they still managed to find some. Perhaps for safety or because they had no choice, the survivors followed the space monarchs.
From these survivors, the three space monarchs learned of the gist of what happened. Although it was what they expected, it still dampened their morale. The Void Ripple Sect immediately convened a secret meeting with the Twin Moon Sect.
After much discussion, the remaining two forces of the three force alliance convened a meeting with all the first-rate forces. Compared to letting the other forces learn of the Myriad Saber Alliance’s fate through rumors, they would rather control the narrative. Even if that was the case, the seemingly unstoppable trend of forming a realm-wide alliance against the Numinous Sword Sect came to a screeching halt.
Although it was undoubtedly true that the Numinous Sword Sect should have discovered their intentions, it was also undeniable that the Numinous Sword Sect would not wage war against the entire Numinous Realm at this point. The other first-rate forces were perfectly fine with sacrificing the Void Ripple Sect and Twin Moon Sect to preserve themselves.
Alas, although they tried their best, the now two force alliance’s plea fell on deaf ears. Each of the representatives only left perfunctory words before leaving. Obviously, they had no intention of rising up against the Numinous Sword Sect now. This thought only became more solidified when the survivors told their tales.
The Twin Moon Sect and Void Ripple Sect only felt bitter. Although they destroyed many Sword Embassies in the lower realms, the effect disappeared with the Myriad Saber Alliance’s destruction. They also attempted to spin the narrative in their favor more than once, but it was all for naught.
In sharp contrast to the rest of the Realm, the morale of the Numinous Sword Sect was high. It was as if the gloomy air that covered the Numinous Sword Sect had disappeared, and each member was full of hope and yearning for the future. More than that, they were filled with righteous anger against those despicable sects that killed Emperor Wujian.
This was certainly what Monarch Solesword and the other leaders of the sect wanted to see. Still, they knew that the Numinous Sword Sect only bought some time before the sects realized that the Numinous Sword Sect’s situation was more dire than they thought.
Monarch Solesword’s plan was to dispatch true immortals and monarchs to fight the two force alliance. They were on a tight schedule and he wanted to use this war to sharpen the Numinous Sword Sect in order to quickly birth another immortal emperor.
One of the other monarchs suggested announcing that the Numinous Sword Sect would destroy the Twin Moon and Void Ripple Sects, implying that they would forgive the other sects for the actions they took in the dark. However, Monarch Solesword vetoed it. In his eyes, it was showing weakness. When had the Numinous Sword Sect needed to bargain? Not only would it lower the Numinous Sword Sect’s prestige, it might also tip them off that the sect wasn’t as strong as it appeared.
So, without announcing anything, Monarch Solesword led thirty percent of the immortals in the sect to attack the Twin Moon Sect. Compared to the Void Ripple Sect, which hid itself in space and was extremely hard to invade, the Twin Moon Sect was a much easier target.
Ding Mian originally thought that once the Numinous Sword Sect attacked, the other forces would band together under this suppression and retaliate. But even after three years, all the other sects took a wait-and-see attitude, except for the Void Ripple Sect.
In his alchemy chamber, Ding Mian shook his head. Although it appeared that he never left the Numinous Sword Sect, everything that happened within the Numinous Realm was within his senses. ‘I didn’t expect that the Numinous Sword Sect’s destruction of the Myriad Saber Alliance would really cow them instead of making them berserk. Did they become accustomed to the Numinous Sword Sect’s hegemony and become as timid as rabbits? But even rabbits will bite if pushed into a corner.’
Ding Mian narrowed his eyes behind his mask. ‘It just means that they haven’t been pushed enough.’
