Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Qianye Ying’er’s words failed to stir the Southern Sea God Emperor’s wrath. He raised his head to look at her as he spoke in a calm and almost regretful voice, “Ying’er, your beauty stands at the pinnacle of the known universe and I had once been willing to give and do anything to have you. Even if it meant being used by you time and again, even if it meant that I was trampling on my own dignity, it was sweet suffering.”

He slowly raised his arm and pointed a palm toward Qianye Ying’er, his voice starting to grow languid and wistful. “No matter how beautiful something is, it soon grows boring and stale if it can be obtained with the flip of a hand. However, you were so perfect and unattainable and I could barely even touch you, no matter what I did. So you were the only person in this world that was worthy of my insane devotion.”

“However, isn’t personally destroying such an object of perfection… also another expression of ultimate beauty?”

His words were calm and slow, but it was evident from his unconsciously tightening fingers that his heart wasn’t as calm or “happy” as his words had expressed.

“Heh.” Qianye Ying’er merely responded with a disdainful chuckle. She did not even deign to grant him a proper reply.

“Yun Che.” The Southern Sea God Emperor pointed a finger straight at Yun Che as he spoke to him like a judge pronouncing sentence on a criminal. “The moment the Titanic Sea God Cannon is activated, there is no power in this world that can stop it, so do you have any last words? Of course, you can roar and thunder all you want right now, because you might not even have the chance to cry out in pain the moment this ‘god-slaying’ power hits you.”

The atmosphere around the divine altar instantly changed after he said those words. The two Sea Kings and all the Sea Gods immediately started to release their energy to protect themselves and the three god emperors of the Southern Region did the same. Barriers of energy appeared around all of them at the same time.

No one had ever truly witnessed the might of the Titanic Sea God Cannon, but the word “god-slaying” was used to describe its power in all of the ancient records and that was a term that would send a chill down the spine of any living creature in this universe.

In the distant Southern Sea Capital below them, the Sea Guards were already evacuating most of the residents of the city at full speed. Even though they were extremely far away and they had the Sea God Barrier to protect them, no one could really estimate just how powerful the aftershock of the Titanic Sea God Cannon’s attack would be.

As they stared at the Southern Sea Capital, both the Northern Hell Sea King and Eastern Hell Sea King let out a soft sigh of lamentation. The moment the Titanic Sea God Cannon was activated, the holy ground which had proudly reigned over the Southern Divine Region for hundreds of thousands of years would suffer untold destruction… However, if they could exterminate the fearsome menace in front of them, any price, no matter how painful, was worth it.

Yun Che slowly raised his right arm in the air. The Heaven Smiting Devil Slaying Sword appeared in his hands with a flash of light, its vermillion glow undimmed by the divine light radiating from the Titanic Sea God Cannon.

“Mas… ter…” Yan One hissed through gritted teeth. He desperately wanted to hurl himself in front of Yun Che, but he wasn’t able to defy the orders that Yun Che had given him, so he had no choice but to obediently stand behind him. Even so, the uncontrollable tremors that ran through his body clearly told him just how terrifying this Titanic Sea God Cannon was.

Yun Che held his sword in front of him as his eyebrows sank. He whispered, “The bloodline of the Southern Sea will be ended today. They will be devoured by eternal darkness, never to reincarnate ever again.”

“Hahaha!” Yun Che’s words caused the Southern Sea God Emperor to break into a fit of hysterical laughter. He sneered back at Yun Che, “I had always thought that a mad dog of calamity like yourself would say something different before your death. But to think that you would actually end up uttering such pathetic and banal words before your death. It looks like I really did rate you too highly in the end.”

“Heh, whatever. It is what it is.” The Southern Sea God Emperor’s pupils widened as more golden light radiated from his eyes. The hand he had raised high in the air slowly began to lower as he pronounced, “Yun Che! Be reduced to filthy dust under the ancient divine might of the Southern Sea God Realm!”

Bang!

A beam of golden light that didn’t dazzle the eye shot out from his palm with a soft crack. It wasn’t very loud, but that sound instantly pierced into the depths of everyone’s soul.

Rumble——

The hundred thousand profound formations inscribed within the center of the divine altar began to explosively shatter. The space around the divine altar began to crazily shudder as spatial ripples started spreading out from around it. The space began to undulate so wildly that it looked like violent waves frothing about in a storm.

The revealed Titanic Sea God Cannon caused the entire vast star region to shake and tremble as it finally began to activate. The very first display of its divine might instantly destroyed the wills of countless living beings in the Southern Sea God Realm. They collapsed into trembling heaps as boundless fear and dread entered their hearts.

The spatial tremors began to crazily spread out from the Southern Sea God Realm to the star regions around it as countless stars were forcefully shoved from the familiar orbits they had traveled for thousands of years. A few of the weaker stars even imploded under this immense spatial pressure. The neighboring star regions were not faring any better. Mountains crumbled and oceans roared as all of their inhabitants wailed in terror.

“Protect the Young Master!” the Northern Hell Sea King said with a furious roar as a gigantic barrier appeared in front of him. He didn’t dare let down his guard for a second as his eyes remained fixed on the movements within the divine altar. The ancient “wild beast” was slowly rousing itself and no one dared to look away from it.

There was no way that they would ever witness this transcendent ancient power in their lives ever again.

“To think that the Titanic Sea God Cannon… was actually this dreadful!” the Xuanyuan God Emperor muttered to himself absentmindedly, his eyes as wide as saucers. However, something suddenly caused him to jerk his head up to stare at the skies above him.

Crack!!!

The bright skies suddenly grew dim as dark clouds blocked out all light and lightning started to rumble the heavens. It was as if the heavens were both roaring in anger and shuddering in fear at the same time.

The Southern Sea God Emperor raised his face to look at the sky as he let out a wild laugh. “Look! This is the ancient power that the Southern Sea God Realm possesses! It is a power that even the heavenly laws dread! Who in this world can compare to it? Who is even worthy!? Hahahahaha!!”

“Royal Father is exactly right!” Nan Qianqiu’s entire body was trembling as his blood surged through his veins and roared in his head. His heart shook with a seemingly endless amount of adrenaline as he exclaimed, “The Titanic Sea God Cannon will finally see the light of day! No one in the universe will dare to offend our Southern Sea God Realm once they have seen its divine might unleashed!”

Boom, boom, boom, boom——

Even though the profound formations had started to shatter, the divine might of the Titanic Sea God Cannon was growing at a frightening speed. The dark clouds that covered the skies started to toss and turn violently as the roar of thunder shook the air. However, the heavenly laws did not unleash a single bolt of its divine fury… because the divine might of the Titanic Sea God Cannon had already grown far beyond what it could control.

Bang!

As the final layer of profound formations shattered, the entire divine altar was engulfed in golden light.

“Die,” the Southern Sea God Emperor said softly as his right hand arched into a claw.

In that instant, everything suddenly came to a halt. The dark clouds stopped tossing, space stopped shaking, and even sound itself had vanished without a trace. It was as if everything in the universe had frozen in place.

Yet there was still one thing moving in this frozen world. A beam of golden light that devoured all color around it shot out from the center of the divine altar. As it pierced through the sky and shot toward Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er, it looked for all the world like an ancient devil god bringing calamity to the world.

There were always many hidden surprises in this world.

Just like the Titanic Sea God Cannon in front of them.

In a universe with no Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor or Jasmine, Yun Che had been under the mistaken impression that he was the only one who possessed powers that could transcend the boundaries of this world. However, it looked like he had grossly underestimated this world, had grossly underestimated the Southern Sea God Realm which had managed to reign supreme over the Southern Divine Region for hundreds of thousands of years.

The moment the Titanic Sea God Cannon had appeared, Yun Che had instantly realized that Qianye Wugu’s description of it hadn’t been exaggerated in the least. Because it was exuding a might that was entirely equal to the divine power he had displayed when he had used “God Ash” in the Burning Moon God Realm.

Only, did this power which transcended the boundaries of this current world… also surpass the power of the Heretic God?

As the Titanic Sea God Cannon trembled and roared, it unleashed an apocalyptic divine light that started to shine brighter and brighter in everyone’s eyes. However, Yun Che, the person who had been engulfed in this divine light, still had a frighteningly calm expression on his face. Not a single trace of fear could be found on it. After all, the thing he was the least afraid of in this world was death.

“I wonder… Is it because the people of the world are just way too stupid, or is it because I’ve been taking things way too far lately?”

With a soft grunt, Yun Che swung out the Heaven Smiting Devil Slaying Sword in the most casual manner at the beam of divine light blasted out by the Titanic Sea God Cannon.

BOOOOOM!!!!

The Sea God Barrier, which the Three Yama Ancestors couldn’t even break with their combined powers, instantly cracked under that beam of golden light. In the next instant, the entire barrier blew apart like a giant foam bubble, the beam of light cutting through it and shooting toward the Southern Sea God Emperor.

This was a scene that Nan Wansheng could never ever imagine, not even if he had dreamed ten lifetimes worth of nightmares.

The attack from the Titanic Sea God Cannon that he had prepared, controlled, and activated… The ancient weapon that only he could activate, had actually been reflected back at him just when it was about to destroy Yun Che!

These thoughts weighed down on both his body and soul along with the world-shocking oppressive might that was radiating from that beam of light.

Even though he was the Southern Sea God Emperor, his very first reaction was to look at the beam of divine light in stunned amazement. In fact, everyone was staring at it with stunned amazement… until he let out the most hoarse scream of his entire life.

“GET BACK!!!!”

Even though the Sea God Barrier couldn’t block the Titanic Sea God Cannon’s blast, it was still an incredibly powerful barrier, so it had managed to buy the people beneath it a few moments of respite. Furthermore, everyone from the Southern Sea God Realm was standing very far away from the Titanic Sea God Cannon because they were protecting itself from its fearsome might. As a result, the Southern Sea God Emperor and his retinue still had a few instants to react even after they had recovered from their shock.

Bang!

The Northern Hell Sea King’s arm exploded out as his palm slammed into Nan Qianqiu’s body and sent him flying into the distance. After that he desperately threw himself in the direction of the Southern Sea God Emperor… which was also where the divine light of the Titanic Sea God Cannon was shooting toward.

The Southern Sea God Emperor had been caught squarely in the center of that devastating beam of divine light, so even someone as powerful as him already felt as if his body had been pulverized into dust. He wasn’t even able to feel any fear or process any thoughts, much less flee the radius of the blast. In fact, all of his power was crazily surging out of his body on instinct as it formed a protective barrier in front of him.

“PROTECT OUR KING!!”

Because they were not caught in the center of the blast, the Northern and Eastern Hell Sea Kings could probably have escaped this calamity if they wanted to. However, they let out blood-curdling roars as golden light exploded out of their bodies and they shot toward the divine light of the Titanic Sea God Cannon like two radiant suns.

BANG———

The heavy explosions shook everyone out of their fear and stupor. The Titanic Sea God Cannon’s blast, which had clearly been heading toward Yun Che, was now gunning for the Southern Sea God Emperor and his two Sea Kings.

Under the power of the strongest god emperor in the Southern Divine Region and his two strongest Sea Kings, the divine light that had emerged from the Titanic Sea God Cannon began to slow down.

It seemed as if they had managed to successfully contain the divine might of the Titanic Sea God Cannon.

However, the Southern Sea’s nightmare had only just begun.

“Uwaaaah… Arghhhh…” The Northern Hell Sea King was holding the strongest defensive profound artifact in the Southern Sea God Realm, but groans of pain continued to leak out of his mouth even as he desperately tried to hold off the golden light bearing down on him.

Crack… crack...

In the blink of an eye, countless cracks had started to run through the profound artifact in his hands, and even his bones had started to crack along with it. His eyes had turned completely bloodshot as he saw the golden light swallow up his hands. Skin and flesh began to swiftly melt off his arms like snow in summer.

He had just marveled and trembled at the Titanic Sea God Cannon’s divine might a few moments ago, but he had never dreamed that he would be the one who would have to endure it!

“Your Majesty… you must… flee… Arghhhh!” The Eastern Hell Sea King’s face twisted into a nightmarish mask of pain. Every word that he had gasped out was filled with immense pain… and a deep, nearly bottomless despair.

They had thought to block the Titanic Sea God Cannon’s blast for a short period of time, but they only realized just how dreadful its divine might was when they tried to endure its power… It was dreadful enough to reduce them, beings who had stood at the top of this universe, to utter despair in a mere fraction of a second.

The Southern Sea God Emperor’s eyes were bulging so much that they looked like they were going to pop out of his head. Blood fountained from his arms. He wanted to escape, but he was powerless before the divine pressure bearing down on his person.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!”

As they gave a yell of grim determination, the Sea God, who had been waiting to spring into action, jumped out from behind the Southern Sea God Emperor. They had decided to use their very lives to protect the Southern Sea God Emperor. Even the Sea God who had stood farthest away from the fray immediately jumped into action after he recovered from his initial shock. They formed a grim wall in front of the Southern Sea God Emperor and unleashed all of their divine power in a desperate bid to protect him.

“Arghhhh!!”

Two cries of misery pierced through the air and cut into everyone’s heart and soul. In less than a single breath’s worth of time, the arms of the Eastern Hell Sea King and Northern Hell Sea King had already been destroyed by the power of the Titanic Sea God Cannon. They continued to valiantly struggle to hold off the immense beam of divine light with the stubs of their arms as pain seared their bodies.

Meanwhile, the body of the Sea God that was at the front of the formation had already turned bloody. Even though they possessed power that allowed them to look down on most of the universe, they seemed as fragile as paper dolls at this very moment.

The Southern Sea God Emperor’s eyes had turned completely bloodshot… Ridiculous? Bizarre? Unbelievable? All of these words flashed through his mind but none of them were enough to describe the situation unfolding in front of him. It simply seemed to be a nightmare, a nightmare that stretched far beyond the limits of his mind.

The distant Xuanyuan God Emperor suddenly started swooping down from the sky as he roared, “We need to take action!”

However, the Purple Micro God Emperor immediately moved to stop him. He grabbed the Xuanyuan God Emperor in a deathgrip as he yelled, “Stop! Do you want to die!?”

Two great Sea Kings and all of the Sea Gods had been reduced to such a tragic state in just the blink of an eye, so it was abundantly clear that this wasn’t a power that god emperors could resist!

“Help me!” The Xuanyuan God Emperor grabbed the Purple Micro God Emperor instead and they both started flying toward the blast.

The Purple Micro God Emperor gritted his teeth, but he did not struggle. Instead, he flew swiftly toward the Southern Sea God Emperor together with the Xuanyuan God Emperor.

The muscles on Cang Shitian’s face spasmed violently, but he didn’t move a single muscle.

When the Northern Hell Sea King blearily sensed the two powerful god emperors approaching at full speed, he felt a jolt of lightning run through his mind. He immediately rasped out a plea from his bloody throat, “Please… save… my… king…”

As the Xuanyuan God Emperor flung out the sleeve of his robe, an ancient gray sword appeared in front of him. After that, both the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor smacked their palms into the gray sword simultaneously.

Whooosh!

A gray energy sword shot into the golden light, tearing a long streak through the beam of divine light that had erupted from the Titanic Sea God Cannon.

Pffft!

The gray energy sword shot into the Southern Sea God Emperor’s chest, as the boundless energy of two god emperors violently exploded inside of him. The attack had carved a frightening and bloody hole in the Southern Sea God Emperor’s body… and it had also blasted him away from the epicenter of the Titanic Sea God Cannon’s blast.