Chương 717: Chapter 716: Shattered Domain

Another month passed smoothly. Li Yu spent the time traveling across the vast and dangerous territories of Sovereign Ignis and Sovereign Morven. He walked through the bustling magma markets of the Crimson Capital and he sailed across the sparkling sky oceans of the Violet Deep. During that time, he continued treating strange and exotic beasts. He diagnosed volcanic hounds with overheating cores and he mended the shattered scales of aquatic fish.

He also followed Malos on several trips to visit the ancient Demon Lord's children. Malos was a terrifying figure to the rest of the realm but around his offspring he was just an incredibly proud father. Li Yu got to experience a bit more of this world during his travels. It was still the cruel unforgiving realm that he originally thought it was. Strength dictated the absolute law and the weak were constantly exploited. But despite the inherent brutality, he saw that everyone was still moving forward.

Markets thrived, families celebrated and cultivators pushed the boundaries of their potential. There was a vibrant but chaotic life pulsing beneath the harsh rules of the demonic territories. Through it all, Garrick followed right behind him. The Great Sage had become surprisingly quiet and obedient after his midnight chat with Khaos. He carried their supplies and acted as a bodyguard. Garrick still wasn't close to Li Yu but they were starting to get to know each other better.

Sharing cooking tips and enjoying meals together. The peaceful routine eventually came to a sudden and violent end. Devastating news arrived at the Capital. It swept through the upper palace like a freezing wind, instantly killing the festive mood of the volcanic city. An emergency Demon Lord council was immediately called. Sovereign Ignis and Sovereign Morven departed for a secure summit, leaving Li Yu and Malos waiting in the guest estate.

Li Yu wondered why Malos wasn't going and he said he left the council years ago but they still left a seat for him. When the two Sovereigns finally returned, their faces were incredibly grim. The ambient temperature around Ignis was erratic and Morven looked like he was carrying the weight of a collapsed star on his broad shoulders. They gathered in the private courtyard. Garrick stood silently in the corner while Malos poured a round of strong volcanic wine.

"What has happened?" Malos asked while handing a cup to Morven.

"I have not seen the two of you look this tense since the last big battle here." Morven took a deep drink of the wine and crushed the clay cup in his massive hand. He looked at Li Yu with a heavy sorrowful expression.

"The human domain is gone. Or it is pretty much gone." Morven stated bluntly. Li Yu froze. He placed his own cup on the stone table and stared at the towering Sovereign.

"What do you mean it is gone? Was there an invasion?"

"It was a betrayal," Ignis answered, her voice burning with cold fury.

"Thorne had an elder disciple. A man named Lucien who was being nurtured to take the Sovereign's place. First it was Elara and Joreth causing chaos but now it seems Lucien had his own apocalyptic plans. He did the absolute unthinkable." Ignis paced across the courtyard with her molten armor leaving faint scorch marks on the obsidian tiles.

"Lucien was somehow working with foreign demons outside of our realm." Ignis explained.

"He waited for the perfect moment. He orchestrated a massive distraction to lure his master away from the central human territories. Once Thorne was completely isolated, Lucien activated a massive blood ritual that he had secretly set up across the entire domain." Li Yu felt a cold dread pooling in his stomach. Blood rituals of that scale required an unimaginable amount of life force and blood to trigger.

"He sacrificed the population." Morven continued his voice echoing with absolute disgust.

"Ninety five percent or more of the population within the human territories was consumed in the ritual. And it was not just the humans. Every other race, beast and spirit living in those areas was completely wiped out. Billions of lives were just gone just like that in a single horrific instant. Only a few somehow survived." Li Yu and Malos were completely stunned. The sheer scale of the atrocity was difficult to even comprehend.

To wipe out almost an entire species and turn a that large of a domain into a graveyard in a single day was a level of cruelty that defied all logic.

"What was the purpose of the ritual?" Malos asked, his dark eyes narrowing sharply.

"You do not sacrifice a billion souls just to make a statement."

"He used the massive surge of death energy along with several unknown foreign treasures to tear a hole." Morven growled.

"A large dimensional rift was opened right in the heart of the ruined human domain. Foreign demons are currently flooding into our world. Lucien did not just betray humanity. He betrayed this entire realm." Li Yu sat back in his stone chair. He thought about the human domain. They were already barely holding on in this world but they still had their place here. So many people are going about their day, to suddenly just not. He then thought of Thorne.

The human leader had spent his entire long life fighting, bleeding and sacrificing everything to build a safe haven for his people. He had endured the ridicule of the Demon Lords and the constant threat of the Beast Kings just to carve out a small sanctuary. And now his own handpicked successor had slaughtered everyone he was trying to protect. All of this not long after his closest friends betrayed him. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Where is Sovereign Thorne now?" Li Yu asked quietly.

"He has lost his mind." Ignis said with a trace of genuine pity.

"He gave us all the intelligence he could gather about the rift and the invaders. After he handed over everything he knew his sanity completely shattered. He has lost everything he built up over the long years. He will no longer listen to reason or coordinate with us."

"He is out there fighting like a madman," Morven added.

"He is using guerrilla tactics, hitting the foreign demons and running whenever things get too bad for him. He is entirely consumed by grief and rage. He is fighting a suicidal war to atone for the sins of his disciple. He is going to die fighting." The courtyard fell into a heavy and suffocating silence. The reality of the realm war settled over them.

"The foreign demons have already secured a massive stronghold around the rift." Morven detailed the tactical situation.

"The remaining Demon Lords agree that they are waiting for the tear in space to become bigger and more stable. They are holding their ground until the pathway can support the crossing of even stronger entities."

"How strong are the current invaders?" Malos inquired.

"From what Thorne could sense before he was pushed out, there are already at least five beings of Demon Lord caliber holding the other side of the rift." Ignis answered.

"And an endless army of lower tier fodder pouring through the cracks." While Li Yu and Malos processed the terrifying tactical disadvantage, Garrick simply leaned against the courtyard wall and crossed his massive arms. He did not look surprised or disturbed in the slightest.

"Realm wars." Garrick muttered casually while picking at his teeth with a thick fingernail.

"They happen all the time in the wider cosmos. A weak realm gets targeted, a portal gets ripped open and the locals get slaughtered. It is basically cosmic pest control. You all look so shocked but this is just Tuesday where I come from." Li Yu shot Garrick a very sharp glare, causing him to immediately shut his mouth and look at the floor. Morven cleared his throat and looked at Li Yu with a deeply apologetic expression.

"There is another massive complication Li Yu." Morven said slowly.

"You came up in the conversations. Because you are human." Li Yu nodded understanding the implication.

"They find it very weird that a human is wandering around with Demon Lords right after a human orchestrated the greatest betrayal in the history of the realm."

"Exactly." Ignis sighed heavily.

"Zylith doesn't like humans. Rathor the Blood Demon Lord is incredibly paranoid by nature. They argued that you might be part of Lucien's scheme. They demanded that we lock you up immediately in a high security prison just to be safe."

"We strongly vouched for you of course." Morven stated firmly, his pale eyes flashing with loyalty.

"I told them I would personally sink their territories into the ocean before I let them lay a finger on my sworn brother." Li Yu smiled, appreciating the support from the towering Sovereign. But he also possessed a very practical mind. He looked at the situation from the perspective of the other Demon Lords.

"They have every right to be suspicious," Li Yu said calmly.

"From their point of view, the human race just committed ultimate treason. A human disciple opened the gates to death. Having a mysterious human sitting in the war room listening to their strategic deployments is an unacceptable tactical risk." Morven looked relieved that Li Yu was not offended.

"They did not want you anywhere near their battlefields. They are terrified you might be leaking information to the foreign demons or acting as a sleeper agent for Lucien."

"I understand completely." Li Yu agreed without a single ounce of anger.

"It is the smartest tactical decision they could make given the circumstances. I will not cause any friction within the alliance."

"So the compromise is that you and your servant are officially sidelined from the main army." Morven concluded.

"You will remain safely behind the front lines. I am incredibly sorry brother. I know you are not a coward and I hate excluding you from the fight."

"Do not worry about me Morven." Li Yu reassured him. He reached out and patted the massive Sovereign on the arm.

"I actually have some other plans for this war anyway." Garrick perked up slightly at the mention of other plans. He looked at Li Yu and wondered exactly what kind of nightmare the boy was cooking up in his head. Bound to the kid for five hundred years, Garrick knew he would be dragged right into the middle of whatever secret operation Li Yu was plotting. With the internal politics settled, Ignis shifted the conversation back to the impending apocalyptic conflict.

"The remaining Demon Lords are officially united." Ignis declared her molten armor flaring with intense heat.

"Morven, Malos, Zylith, Rathor and myself. We will lead our combined troops directly to the rift. We are entirely abandoning our border disputes and our historical grudges. We will attack as one massive unified force."

"What about the Beast Kings?" Li Yu asked.

"Will they join the vanguard?" Morven let out a dismissive snort.

"The Beast Kings are too fractured and too territorial. If they manage to gather their hordes and join us on the battlefield then that is great. We will gladly accept the extra bodies. But if not then so be it. They can do whatever they want in their own forests. We are not going to waste precious time trying to organize a diplomatic summit with a bunch of stubborn animals."

"The only goal now is to close that rift." Malos stated, his voice losing its usual cheerful tone and becoming incredibly serious.

"We must shatter their stronghold and seal the tear before something even stronger manages to cross over." The courtyard fell silent once more, the absolute gravity of their mission hanging heavily in the warm volcanic air. The very next day, the Capital transformed from a bustling market city into a massive staging ground for war. The skies filled with heavily armored warships and flying fortresses.

Tens of thousands of elite demonic cultivators were getting ready, their weapons gleaming under the red glow of the magma rivers. Similar scenes played out across the Violet Deep, the Thundering Peaks and the Blood Wastes. The four great armies of the demonic realm were mobilizing with terrifying speed and singular purpose. The war horns echoed across the continents a deep mournful sound that signaled the beginning of the end for millions of lives.

Li Yu stood on the balcony of the guest estate watching the endless columns of troops marching toward the spatial arrays. Garrick stood behind him and was chewing on a piece of roasted meat. He was watching the military procession with a critical eye. The offensive was fully prepared. The petty squabbles of the lower realm were instantly forgotten in the face of total annihilation. The realm war had officially begun.