Dragon Monarch System Chapter 1300:- The Final Phase of the Civil War

"Actually, there’s something else that we should pay attention to." One of the commanders suddenly spoke while observing the Emperor Faction through his enchanted glass. His expression became increasingly serious as he continued.

"Look at the soldiers who are marching directly behind Ren. Don’t you think there’s something strange about them?"

Hearing this, Aditya and the others immediately shifted their attention toward the soldiers following Ren. There were approximately 100,000 soldiers marching directly behind him.

And at first glance, they did not appear particularly different from the rest of the Emperor Faction’s army. However, upon looking more carefully, Aditya immediately noticed something unusual about them.

Every single one of those soldiers had a faint, dark aura surrounding their bodies. Although their auras were nowhere near as terrifying as Ren’s, they still gave off an unpleasant feeling. In fact, compared to the overwhelming darkness surrounding Ren, the aura around these soldiers felt like a version that had been weakened by at least a thousand times.

However, what made the situation particularly concerning was that all 100,000 soldiers appeared to possess the same strange aura. It was not something that could be explained by a few cultivators practising unusual cultivation techniques. There were simply too many of them for that to be a coincidence.

"Did those soldiers also absorb the corrupted Mana of dead cultivators?" Aditya asked while carefully examining them through the enchanted glass. Considering what they had just learned about Ren, he naturally wondered whether the Emperor had somehow made his soldiers cultivate the same forbidden technique.

However, the more Aditya observed them, the more he began noticing the differences between their auras and Ren’s. Although both appeared dark and sinister, the soldiers did not seem to be releasing any corrupted Mana. Their auras were unpleasant, but they lacked the frightening presence that surrounded Ren.

In fact, Ren’s aura had become so corrupted that it was already affecting the surroundings wherever he passed.

As Ren slowly flew forward while remaining approximately one meter above the ground, the grass directly beneath him began rapidly withering. The healthy green grass lost its colour within seconds before turning completely brown and dying.

Even though Ren was not physically touching the ground, the corrupted Mana leaking from his body was enough to destroy the plants beneath him.

This strange phenomenon continued to happen as Ren advanced toward the battlefield, leaving behind a narrow trail of dead grass.

However, the same thing was not happening around the 100,000 soldiers following him. Despite the dark aura surrounding their bodies, the grass beneath their feet remained completely unaffected.

"No, I don’t think those soldiers have absorbed any corrupted Mana." Malakar Harrington finally replied after carefully observing them.

"Their auras might look somewhat similar to Ren’s, but there’s a clear difference between them. Whatever is happening to those soldiers, I don’t believe it’s the result of absorbing the Mana of dead cultivators."

"Then what exactly is causing it?" One of the commanders asked with a worried expression. "It’s already strange enough that Ren has somehow changed his own Mana signature. But now we have an entire group of 100,000 soldiers showing signs of something unusual. Surely, that cannot be a coincidence."

Unfortunately, Malakar did not have an answer to that question. Although he had lived for many years and possessed a great deal of knowledge about cultivation, he had never encountered a situation quite like this before.

He could tell that something was wrong with those soldiers, but without knowing what Ren had done to them, he could not determine what kind of danger they might pose.

As he continued examining the soldiers, a small drop of sweat slowly formed on Malakar’s temple before rolling down the side of his face. His expression became increasingly grim as he considered the possibility that Ren had prepared something far more dangerous than they had expected.

After all, changing the aura of a single cultivator was already unusual enough. But somehow affecting 100,000 soldiers at the same time was an entirely different matter. Whatever Ren had done, Malakar found it difficult to believe that it was something harmless.

"This is something else entirely." Malakar finally muttered while slowly lowering the enchanted glass. He then looked toward Aditya and the others before adding,

"I don’t know what Ren has prepared, but we should be extremely careful of those soldiers. Until we understand what’s happening to them, it would be foolish to treat them like ordinary troops."

Hearing his warning, Aditya nodded with a serious expression. He had also begun suspecting that the strange group of soldiers might be connected to whatever Ren had done to himself. However, without any proper evidence, he could only remain cautious and prepare for the possibility that they possessed some unknown ability.

Meanwhile, Malakar could not help but remember what Boris had said last night. At the time, they had already understood that the final battle would be much more difficult than the previous one.

However, after witnessing Ren’s frightening transformation and discovering the strange condition of the 100,000 soldiers following him, Malakar was beginning to realise that even their earlier expectations might have been too optimistic.

Eventually, the two enormous armies stopped advancing when they were approximately one hundred meters away from each other. With more than 1.5 million soldiers gathered on the battlefield, the atmosphere had become extremely tense

At the front of the Emperor Faction, Ren slowly raised his head and looked directly at Aditya. Despite the considerable distance separating them, both of them could clearly see each other. For a few moments, Ren simply stared at his younger cousin before a faint smile appeared on his pale face.

"Aditya, it has been quite a while since we last saw each other." Ren finally spoke.

"To think that our next meeting would take place under such circumstances. However, since this will be the final and deciding battle between our factions, I think it would be appropriate for the two of us to settle our differences personally."

Ren briefly glanced at the enormous armies standing behind them before continuing. "What do you say? You and I will fight each other, while our subordinates take care of the rest. After all, this war began because of our conflict, so it would only be fitting for the two of us to personally decide who deserves to stand victorious at the end."

Hearing those words, Aditya calmly looked at his cousin brother. Although he could clearly sense the terrifying, corrupted Mana surrounding Ren’s body, his expression did not change. He understood that Ren was challenging him to a direct battle, and considering everything that had happened between them, Aditya had no intention of refusing.

"I agree." Aditya replied without the slightest hesitation. His voice was calm, but there was a clear determination in his eyes.

"It’s about time we settled everything between us. This conflict has already continued for far too long."

"Aditya, wait!" Athena immediately called out after hearing his response. Boris and Malakar Harrington also turned toward him with concerned expressions. After witnessing Ren’s frightening transformation, none of them believed that accepting his challenge without knowing the full extent of his abilities was a particularly wise decision.

However, before any of them could properly express their concerns, Aditya had already begun flying upward. He slowly rose above the battlefield without looking back, making it clear that he had already made his decision.

Seeing this, Ren’s smile widened slightly. Without saying another word, he also began flying upward, following Aditya into the sky. Within a short period, both of them had reached an altitude of several hundred meters above the ground, leaving enough distance between themselves and the armies below.

Although Ren was the one who had issued the challenge, Aditya was not foolish enough to believe that his cousin brother simply wanted an honourable duel. Considering Ren’s current condition and the corrupted Mana surrounding him, Aditya was certain that he had prepared something extremely dangerous.

However, rather than allowing Ren to remain on the battlefield and potentially threaten the soldiers of the Anti-Emperor Faction, Aditya preferred to confront him personally.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, Boris immediately stepped forward and took command of the Anti-Emperor Faction’s forces. With Aditya now occupied with Ren, someone needed to oversee the battle and make sure that their troops continued following the original plan.

"Freya and Athena, I’ll leave the command of our army in your hands." Boris said while turning toward the Goddess of War and The Goddess of Wisdom.

"You are far more experienced than most of us when it comes to managing large-scale battles. With Aditya fighting Ren, we cannot afford to let our troops fall into disorder."

Athena nodded without hesitation. "Leave it to me. I will make sure our forces remain organised and that the commanders follow the battle plan. You should focus on dealing with the enemy’s remaining Seventh Order cultivators."

Hearing her response, Boris turned toward the other Seventh Order cultivators standing nearby. "All of you, come with me. Ren still has four Seventh Order cultivators on his side, and we need to deal with them as quickly as possible. We cannot allow them to interfere with Aditya’s battle or cause unnecessary casualties among our troops."

’After we are done with the 7th-order cultivators, we will go to help Aditya.’ Boris hoped that his grandson would be able to hold on until then. Ultimately, Boris wanted to kill Ren with his own hands.

The Seventh Order cultivators immediately nodded in agreement. They understood that their opponents were among the strongest remaining members of the Emperor Faction, and allowing them to move freely across the battlefield would be extremely dangerous for the lower-order soldiers.

Malakar Harrington also prepared to join them. Although he was still concerned about Aditya fighting Ren alone, he understood that they could not afford to ignore the other powerful enemies standing before them. Furthermore, he knew that Aditya was strong enough to make his own decisions, and interfering with his battle might only create additional problems.

"Be careful, everyone." Malakar said while looking toward the four Seventh Order cultivators standing on the enemy’s side.

"We still don’t know what Ren has prepared, so don’t assume that our opponents will fight the same way they did yesterday."

With that warning, Boris, Malakar, and the other Seventh Order cultivators began moving toward their respective opponents. The four Seventh Order cultivators from the Emperor Faction also stepped forward, clearly understanding that they would have to face the strongest members of the Anti-Emperor Faction.

Meanwhile, Athena immediately began issuing orders to the commanders standing around her. Under her instructions, the Anti-Emperor Faction’s soldiers prepared to advance, while the commanders of the Emperor Faction did the same on the opposite side.

Soon, the sound of war horns echoed across the battlefield, signalling the beginning of the final confrontation.

"CHARGE!!!" The commanders from both factions shouted almost simultaneously, and the enormous armies immediately began advancing toward one another.

Within moments, the distance separating the two factions rapidly disappeared. Soldiers from both sides rushed forward with their weapons drawn, while cultivators began preparing their abilities. The Seventh Order cultivators also moved away from the main battlefield to confront their opponents, leaving the lower-order soldiers to fight among themselves.

Just like that, the second and final battle between the Emperor Faction and the Anti-Emperor Faction had officially begun.

However, unlike the soldiers fighting below, Aditya and Ren had yet to make their first move. Both of them remained several hundred meters above the battlefield, facing each other in silence while the sounds of battle gradually grew louder beneath them.

For the first time in more than five years, the two cousins were finally standing face-to-face, without anyone else between them.

And this time, neither of them had any intention of walking away without settling their conflict.

----------------