"Hold the line."
There were only three words from Cicada Dream Startle.
He did not even raise his voice.
Yet on this pinnacle battlefield where moons were shoved aside and stars displaced, domain lords like Hui Tianlao and Zhen Liangfeng, celestial venerables of the Demon Realm, had to answer with their lives.
In the ever-changing life and death of the Dark Abyss, they had grown into mighty heavenly demons who met at the pinnacle. At last they had gained lifespans without end, possessed limitless possibilities. They had always been accustomed to harvesting their opponents' lives, not to offering up their own.
"Tianlao, this is a disorderly command. We need not obey it." Zhen Liangfeng's voice was urgent. "Lü Yandu is dead. The situation has eased for now; we should plan for what comes next—who knows how mad the Jing people will become now? If we do not leave, it will be too late."
They had supported one another through the Dark Abyss to reach this day. Their hearts understood each other; a myriad thoughts turned in an instant, unconstrained by any channel of communication.
Hui Tianlao was fat, her face aged. She could not be called beautiful in any way, much less heroic. Yet within the [Dark Pool] belonging solely to the two of them, her voice sent faint ripples through the water, carrying a quiet strength. "The war has already begun. In an army there are no disorderly commands—only those who defy military orders."
Across the Dark Pool, smooth as black brick, pale-red bubbles continuously swelled and burst. Zhen Liangfeng's voice drifted beneath the water: "It is not as though we have made no sacrifices. We fought for our lives here too, and we brought down Lü Yandu and Rahu—none can deny our contributions. Now both of us are