Eighth Sequence, Crystal Tree Sea Valley, Maya!
The angels had only just broken through the World Tree's protective barrier and entered the interior when their vision was swallowed by thick miasma.
Looking out, they saw a vast land of rolling mountains and lush vegetation growing wildly. The endless tropical rainforest stretched into the distance like a green ocean.
Eternal life is granted by death. Heretics and enemy nations shall be judged by the sword and purified by fire!
Let the world return to flawless white purity. This is the day the planet is reforged!
Amid countless buzzing murmurs, blazing flames erupted from the angelic army, and formulas gathering Ether appeared before them.
"All here? Then come down and have a seat, meow!"
But just as the angelic army prepared to purify this land, a teasing voice came from the dense forest.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
In the next instant, sharp sounds split the air. Twisted branches and vines shot out from the hazy mist, weaving into an airtight net. One angel after another, still hovering in midair, was seized by the limbs, wrapped around the waist, or locked around the neck and dragged into the hot, damp forest.
At once, the angels fell like birds caught in a net, plunging into the green sea of trees called a cage.
Within the hazy mist that blocked perception, a figure swift as the wind slipped silently through the forest. With only a faint tremor of leaves and branches, it tore out the heart cores of several angels struggling to break free and crushed them.
After swallowing the pure Ether, the hooded Jaguar let out a satisfied burp. Her amber eyes shone brightly, and a pleased smile curled at the corners of her lips.
The jaguar is death.
The jaguar is fangs.
The jaguar is claws.
The jaguar is sudden death, fear, and inescapable pain.
The jaguar is the symbol of the jungle itself.
And in the jungle, only by obediently offering a living sacrifice to the cat can one seek reconciliation!
Wait, Kuku said there's no reconciliation. They all have to be taken down?
Jaguar scratched her head. Her pink tongue instinctively curled as she savored the memory of the meal she had just eaten, and her eyes lit up again.
Then let them all stay!
"Little ones, the boxed lunches delivered themselves to our door! Don't hold back. Go on, show these birdmen what we can do!"
Jaguar leaped onto a branch, raised her claws high, and called cheerfully into the boundless forest.
In an instant, creatures with leopard heads, tiger heads, wolf heads, and humanoid bodies darted through the forest amid spine-chilling rustles. They pounced on the outsiders dragged into the green ocean, driving claws and fangs into their hearts and lungs, tearing their bodies apart.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
At once, throughout the boundless sea of trees, the muffled sounds of bodies being ripped open rose one after another.
Even when angels managed to struggle free and fire Mana beams in counterattack, they could hardly hit those ghost-like figures strengthened by divine might.
And inside the dense forest, there were not only those animal-headed creations. There were also jaguar warriors and puma warriors armed with obsidian weapons, wearing beast-head hoods and painted faces.
These natives, born and raised here, had long since learned to become one with their environment, always appearing and vanishing like ghosts.
They were not skilled in large-scale teamwork, but the angels who fell into the forest were being worn down at astonishing speed by traps they stepped into before noticing, swamps they stumbled into while giving chase, sudden encounters with Magical Beasts, blow darts that came from nowhere, and obsidian blades that seemed to "grow" out of the trees.
At the same time, inside a square pyramid overgrown with vines, Kukulkan stood in battle dress and rested her hand on the moss-covered solar calendar stone. Her golden snake eyes gazed into the forest, taking in every silent battlefield at once.
Yet for some reason, a faint trace of worry lingered deep within the Feathered Serpent's eyes.
From the corner of her eye, intentionally or otherwise, she glanced toward the mist-shrouded valley behind her.
...
Ninth Sequence, Huaxia Ninefold Mountains and Rivers, Great Qin.
A colossal structure made of jade and bronze floated above Xianyang like a mountain peak rising into the clouds.
This was Afang Palace, built with all the effort of His Majesty the Emperor of Great Qin.
It covered more than three hundred li of terrain, blocking out the sun. Five steps led to a tower, ten to a pavilion. Winding corridors looped back upon themselves, and high eaves jutted like beaks. Each structure embraced the land beneath it, interlocking in intricate competition.
Every brick, every stone, every inch of tile had been engraved by master craftsmen with ancient tadpole-like divine patterns. Linked together, they formed a vast continuous array. Light bloomed in the gaps, and runes flickered, making it seem like a jade palace of the Xian.
The blood that sustained the operation of this massive mechanical structure was mercury.
With mercury forming a hundred rivers, streams, and seas, the mechanisms circulated through it, with astronomy above and geography below.
As the Gates of Heaven opened, Qin Shi Huang, dressed in black royal robes, stood atop the palace tower and looked down on all directions. A cold smile touched his lips as he raised his arm.
"Those who see Us and do not bow shall suffer amputation."
At once, the mercury within Afang Palace gathered and flowed like serpents, forming a blade-shaped silver-white liquid before Ying Zheng and slashing forward with lightning speed.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
In an instant, one lofty angel after another had their legs severed below the knees.
"Barbarians beyond civilization who refuse royal transformation, yet dare trouble Us to act personally. Then kneel here for all eternity."
Standing proudly among the clouds like a Xian descending to the mortal world, the monarch narrowed his long eyes, a trace of mockery in his gaze.
"Blasphemy! Blasphemy! Blasphemy!"
The radiant beings roared in fury, raising flaming swords as they dove toward this mortal king.
"Hmph. Offending one's sovereign before the throne is punishable by waist-cutting."
The mercury light before Ying Zheng gathered into a hundred-meter greatsword. With one horizontal sweep, the angels who had advanced in rebellion were neatly split in two at the waist. The Ether surging within them burst out, and their radiant bodies fractured and dissolved beneath the mercury blade.
"Lord, have mercy upon this place!"
The angels sang hymns, and their broken bodies condensed again. Once more they raised their weapons, blades pointed toward this mortal king.
"Mere false gods of heretical rites, and still you dare make noise? 'The Hu shall destroy Qin'? To speak of the Mandate of Heaven so foolishly is laughable. We shall tear down your mountains and break your temples, convict you all, and sentence you to death by slow slicing!"
A cold edge appeared on Qin Shi Huang's face. The mass of mercury behind him split into tens of thousands of tiny blades that crossed the sky, instantly reducing the hundred or so angels charging forward into basic spirit particles.
Then the Ancestral Dragon shouted coldly, killing intent filling his eyes.
"Where is Our army?"
"How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same robe. When the King raises his army, we sharpen our spears. We share the same hatred!
How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same undergarment. When the King raises his army, we sharpen our spears and halberds. We rise together!
How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same battle dress. When the King raises his army, we ready our armor and weapons. We march together!"
Inside Hangu Pass, the high, ringing songs of Qin were sung in unison by the black-robed, black-armored army. The elite soldiers of Great Qin gathered like clouds, forming orderly square formations in crisscrossing ranks.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, chariot crossbows, bed crossbows, mechanical crossbows, box crossbows, and a whole series of heavy crossbows and hardwood strongbows were drawn and nocked, firing a dense rain of arrows toward the false gods in the sky.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
The dull sounds of arrows piercing bodies rang out without end.
Immediately after, the wooden and stone mechanisms from the Book of Lu Ban, the lethal weapons of the Gongshu family, the Twelve Golden Men of Xianyang, and the qi cultivators from the mountains of Huaxia all appeared, offering a "warm" welcome to these false gods of heretical rites.
Nine Ages of Gods, nine civilizations. The essence nurtured upon this star called Earth bared its fangs and roared at the enemy from beyond the heavens.