Dyon was entirely focused on something else. He laughed bitterly when he noticed that most of the yellow islands were pushed off to the side like Shruti and Kitsune had come to a mutual understanding between themselves to completely ignore them.
However, these bitter thoughts were immediately interrupted as yet another scrumptious scent filled his nose.
Saru smiled sweetly as she handed another large dish to Dyon. It was shaped into a bowl half of his body's size, but Dyon didn't hesitate to take it. He felt shock when he realized this dish weighed thousands of jin.
"This is one of my favorite creations. I call it God's Nectar Soup. I seeped cleansing water with 76 different herbs and spices, but the secret base is dragon marrow. Then, I marinated dragon heart and thigh for three months in 134 different herbs and spices. Finally, I enclosed it all in nectar gold for a year, allowing it to be washed over with cleansing energies."
Dyon completely forgot about the impending war.
Before, when he had said they were here, others hadn't realized it just yet. Even with the flat lands and their high cultivation, the enemy army was still too far away to see. However, by this point, even the weakest warrior amongst them could see the charging warriors.
'Fast!'
It was the only word they could all think of. The Six-Winged Dhino warriors could only be described in such a way.
They looked up toward Dyon with pleading expressions, as though to urge him to do something, but he was too enamored with the dish before him.
Emperor Shruti and Atlas could no longer hold bitter expressions, their visages could only continuously darken.
"Dragon marrow and meat?" Emperor Atlas muttered. "… Wasn't that the gift I prepared for her becoming a True God? She's giving it away so casually?"
Dyon tried to use a spoon to take a sip of the massive bowl of soup, but it completely bent under its weight.
Unable to take it any longer, Dyon's qi swept forward, forming a spoon with enigmatic qi and bringing the rich brown-gold liquid to his mouth.
The moment it hit his tongue, he felt like he had been brought to a higher plane. He had never tasted anything so delicious in his entirely life. It felt as though hot blood was surging throughout his body. This single sip added almost 20 jin to his current body weight limit!
He couldn't help but roar to skies.
It wasn't until now that Brahman understood just how powerful Dyon's body was. Even compared to his Great Grandfather, he could only feel the latter was lacking… How was that possible?!
This wasn't entirely true. After all, Grand Elder Vata had entered the peak dao realm while Dyon's body was in the lower dao realm. Objectively speaking, Dyon was weaker in a pure bodily strength sense. It was only because he could perfectly fuse his vital and conventional qi that he was so powerful.
However, Dyon's aura was impossible to match.
In the distance, Kaori spoke to Five who had long since come back from his scouting mission.
"Are you certain?" Kaori asked with a frown.
"I'm certain. Nothing has changed except for the addition of a single masked man. And, from what we can see, other than Princess Saru who treats him warmly, the discontent in the army is high."
"… Is that so…" Kaori shook his head, unable to understand.
If this person was so powerful that they could upturn everything alone, the army wouldn't be so discontent. But, if he really was the only changed factor, he couldn't be weak either… Just what was going on?!
"… Stick with the initial plan. In fact, inform Seven to make her probe and retreat even faster."
"Understood." Five nodded.
Kaori had become even more cautious after Five's report. He didn't understand what was going on… And what he hated most was to not understand…
Unfortunately for the Six-Winged Dhino warriors, his worries were about to be proven correct.
"Watch closely, my disciple!" The hole in Dyon's mask closed as his hand casually stretched out toward the charging Six-Winged Dhino warriors.
The scene was chaotic but had an odd order to it all. Each of the dhino warriors wore beautiful silver armor, three pairs of insect-like transparent wings fluttering faster than the eye could see on their backs. If one blinked, they would have already crossed tens of kilometers.
Brahman suddenly felt his heart shake. It wasn't just him, but even the armies below and the two Emperors. Scenes of a bloody hell and murder sweeping through their minds.
"This is the power of a soul cultivator!"
Millions of blood red formations blotted out the skies, washing the Gate in a crimson light.
"[Judgement]!" Dyon's eyes sharpened, golden gears spinning in his eyes as he strengthened the array many times over.
"[Carnage]!"
Dyon laughed joyfully. The shivering warriors below couldn't help but look toward him like some sort of Demon Overlord. To be able to laugh in such a bloody, suppressive atmosphere. How could he be any but a devil incarnate?
How could they know that Dyon was laughing because the soup before him was actually so delicious. Even as the red formations continually formed, he couldn't help but take more sips. It really took a real man to drink such soup. Every spoonful felt like a meteor dropping into his stomach.
Below, Seven's eyes widened. She had never seen such a grand display in her entire life.
'Higher Existences aren't allowed to enter the Gates, how is this possible?! How could one be here?!'
It was unfortunate that she was wrong. Let alone being a Higher Existence, Dyon wasn't even a middle dao expert. That said… when it came to his soul… There was no Higher Existence that could match its strength. They could only accept their own inferiority!
"RETREAT!" Seven had made it just over a kilometer from the front line of the Shruti warriors. With their speed, it would take less than a second to cross that distance. However, she didn't dare to continue!
Brahman felt the need to rub his eyes, but the trembling of his heart was too much. To stretch out a hand and force an army that had killed so many of their kind to retreat… Who was this man?!
