Gu Yuena: The Soul Beasts Have Been Slaughtered. Right and Wrong No Longer Matter to Me. This Era Need Not Exist!

The forest was burning.

It was not a natural disaster, nor was it an accident.

It was humanity.

The Angel Legion, clad in silver armor, advanced in orderly ranks.

Spears condensed from Holy Light nailed Soul Beasts to the ground one after another.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and scorched flesh.

Soul Beast corpses lay strewn across the earth.

Blood flowed like a river, seeping into the frozen soil.

Gu Yuena's pupils suddenly narrowed into vertical slits.

She rushed madly into the depths of the forest.

The farther she went, the more alarmed she became.

The Purple-Winged Bat nest had been completely wiped out.

More than a dozen charred corpses hung from the treetops.

The Darkgolden Dreadclaw Bear territory was utterly deserted.

Broken claws and congealed blood were scattered across the ground.

The trunk of the Demon-Eyed Devil Tree had been cleaved in two by Holy Light.

Its core had shattered.

Nothing remained but a wisp of green smoke and charred bark covering the ground.

She saw Di Tian.

The Beast God who had once looked down upon all beneath heaven.

He was now protecting a trembling Emerald Swan and more than a dozen young Soul Beasts.

They were surrounded by dozens of Angel Knights at the Lake of Life.

Di Tian's body was covered in wounds burned by Holy Light.

His scales had curled back, revealing charred flesh beneath.

Black dragon blood seeped from his wounds, dripping onto the frozen lake.

His left wing had been severed completely, leaving only half a broken bone stump exposed to the air.

Yet he did not retreat a single step.

"The last batch of Soul Beasts."

The lead knight removed his helmet, revealing a young, cold face.

Holy Light burned within his pupils.

"Once we finish hunting this lot, every Soul Beast over a thousand years old within Star Dou Forest will have been completely eradicated."

"Lord Angel God will grant us glory and help us break through to greater realms."

He raised his hand.

Holy Light gathered in his palm, forming a Judgment Spear.

The dazzling radiance illuminated Di Tian's bloodshot eyes.

"For humanity's future."

"Kill."

The Holy Light spear tore through the night sky.

It shot straight toward Di Tian's chest.

"Enough—!!!"

A heaven-shaking dragon roar exploded above the nine heavens.

The Angel Knights all took a step back.

Terrifying Dragon Might swept down from above the nine heavens.

Before its source even came into view, it had already crushed them until they vomited blood and their armor shattered.

A beam of elemental light erupted from the depths of Star Dou Forest.

A silvery-white shockwave swept outward in a sphere.

Large numbers of Angel Knights were severely wounded.

They were flung away like kites with severed strings.

They crashed through trees and slammed into the frozen earth.

Countless people let out terrified screams.

That was the aura of the End Dragon.

The culprit that had destroyed the Ninth Era.

"The... the End Dragon... she has awakened..."

"Impossible!"

"Lord Angel God said she had been severely wounded by the Creator God and had already fallen to rock bottom!"

"She should be very weak now!"

"Then why don't you go up there?!"

No one stepped forward.

Gu Yuena's figure appeared above the nine heavens.

A massive dragon phantom blotted out the sky.

Though it lacked the colossal body that had stretched for countless kilometers in the Ninth Era.

It was merely a projection of several hundred meters.

Its edges were even somewhat blurred, like a reflection in water.

Yet no one dared underestimate her.

That pressure, crushing down from the depths of their souls.

Made every Angel Knight's legs go weak.

"My Lord... you have finally returned."

Di Tian raised his head, tears rolling down his scarred face.

He dropped to his knees, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping together, his shoulders shaking violently.

He was not afraid of death.

He feared that when his lord returned, all she would see would be the corpses of the Soul Beast race.

One Soul Beast after another respectfully prostrated themselves on the ground, tears streaming down their faces.

They were filled with hatred for humanity.

That hatred was carved into their bones and fused into their blood.

The Angel Legion soon withdrew.

No one dared raise a sword against the End Dragon.

She was the supreme ruler who had destroyed the previous era.

Even the Angel God could only look up to her.

They retreated swiftly.

Their footsteps were disorderly and panicked.

Gu Yuena took human form.

Her silver hair cascaded down to her waist.

Her purple eyes were like ice, their chill piercing to the bone.

Her face was incomparably beautiful, yet it carried an aloofness and indifference that looked down upon all things.

She was completely unlike the adorably clueless version of herself before Lin Yan.

At this moment, she was the sovereign of the Soul Beasts, the Silver Dragon King, the End Dragon that devoured worlds.

"My Lord... I'm sorry. I failed to protect our Soul Beast race. In the end, we were defeated by humanity."

Di Tian was so ashamed that he did not dare meet Gu Yuena's eyes.

The Beast God who had once towered above the world now cried like a child.

Great drops of tears slid down his face and struck the frozen lake.

A massive sword wound ran across his chest from his collarbone to his abdomen. Blazing Angelic Sacred Flame still burned around its edges, sizzling as it scorched his flesh.

This was an era of Eternal Night.

Humanity had the Angel God's blessings. With Holy Light shrouding their cities, they could still endure.

But the Soul Beast race truly could not withstand it.

Bitter cold spread up from the depths of the earth. Vegetation withered, water sources froze, and herbivorous Soul Beasts starved to death in droves.

The survivors could only draw close to human settlements, hoping to bask in a little of the Angelic Sacred Flame's radiance.

But what awaited them was merciless slaughter.

The Angel Legion regarded this polar night as a heaven-sent opportunity to eradicate the Soul Beasts, launching a large-scale purge with Qian Yuhan's tacit approval.

"The sun is gone. We truly have no way left."

Brigitte raised her head and, for the first time, looked directly at the face of the Soul Beast sovereign.

Her voice was weak. Her emerald-green hair fluttered in the cold wind, and her eyes held profound despair and desolation.

Gu Yuena fell silent for a moment.

Then she raised her hand.

"No."

Her voice was soft, yet it spread throughout all of Star Dou Forest.

"As long as I am here, I am the sun."

Silver radiance flashed above the nine heavens.

Dazzling light burst forth around her.

It was a light purer and more ancient than Angelic Sacred Flame—

It was not borrowed faith, nor was it a gift from Godhood. It was her very being.

She was the Silver Dragon King, the ruler of the light and dark elements, who held dominion over life's beginning and end.

"I am the night, the ruler who commands life's beginning and end."

Gu Yuena swept her gaze over the gravely wounded Di Tian and the many Soul Beasts.

Over the countless Soul Beast corpses strewn across the earth—

The fury in her heart had reached its peak.

What had she gained from constantly moving soil, stones, and water these past days, tirelessly perfecting this world?

Her people being mercilessly slaughtered.

If that was the case, what need was there for this era to exist?

Then let this era be destroyed, just as that beast had said.

At a thought, dazzling life light exploded from around her, sweeping through Star Dou Forest like a tide.

Wherever the silvery-white tide of light passed, frozen ground thawed and withered trees came back to life.

One fallen Soul Beast after another revived from deathly silence—

Their wounds healed, broken bones rejoined, and the light returned to their extinguished eyes.

But the Soul Beasts whose souls had been erased by Holy Light could never return.

Their hollow eyes remained open, their bodies warm, yet they would never again let out submissive cries to their lord.