Sovereign of the Three Realms - Chapter 1823

Chapter 1823: 1823

Jiang Chen was having a good time chilling on the sides as the battle was way above his level . He therefore retreated far out of the way once he’d paved the road to victory for the Vermillion Bird .

He was certain Senior Vermillion would gain the upper hand, but whether it’d be able to kill the forefather would depend on luck . After all, the forefather was a divine cultivator . A god’s rise and fall were both monumental on the Divine Abyss Continent .

His speculation was proven right . The Vermilion Bird held the upper hand, but the forefather was strong enough to stay alive .

Three days passed . . .

The bird had no troubles with the prolonged fight, while the forefather struggled to keep up . Him being kept from his clan was the worst thing that could happen to House Xiahou .

Another three days passed . . .

The forefather had exhausted all options, but still wasn’t able to escape from his opponent .

On the sixth day, the sacred land finally broke into House Xiahou’s fortress .

At first, the clan members had fought with great conviction since they were told their forefather was already on his way back . They believed everything would be fine as soon as he returned .

Day after day, however, the forefather was still nowhere to be seen .

The sacred land recognized that the forefather was House Xiahou’s only remaining hope . Therefore, they turned to psychological warfare, claiming that the forefather had been trapped and would soon die .

In the beginning, House Xiahou denied and even scoffed at the claim . They didn’t think anyone from the sacred land would be able to trap their forefather .

However, the sacred land boasted that the Vermilion Bird had led the attack itself . The forefather was on his own and had fallen into their trap . He was on the brink of his death and could die anytime .

Such statements might not work if made only once or twice . However, after a few days of repeats, on top of the fact that the forefather still hadn’t shown up, House Xiahou started to waver .

On the fifth day, morale in House Xiahou had plummeted despite the senior executives’ effort to maintain it . Even without the sacred land’s further prompting, the clan members had come to believe that their forefather was trapped and dying .

Otherwise, why hadn’t he returned long after Duke Xiaoyao’s claim that he would soon? The only explanation was that he couldn’t .

House Xiahou was able to hang on for so long mainly because of their drive .

The head of the Cloudwave Sect and House Tian had come to heavily doubt House Xiahou’s ability to turn things around . The thought of defecting briefly crossed their minds a few times .

If Duke Xiaoyao hadn’t told them that Forefather Xiahou was going to return soon, they wouldn’t stay put and keep fighting for the house at the risk of their own lives .

They were fighting for a spark of hope, for a winning chance .

The longer it was since the forefather’s promised arrival, the antsier they became .

On the fifth day, even House Xiahou’s two most devoted supporters had lost their hope . As despair spread through the alliance, their defenses cracked .

Meanwhile, every wave of sacred land’s attack was more powerful than the last .

On the sixth day, House Tian finally lost all confidence in the alliance . Their senior executives made the radical decision to defect and give up their post, welcoming the sacred land army with open arms .

The area they were stationed at wasn’t particularly important, but their action had opened the floodgates, which struck a serious blow at House Xiahou’s defenses .

The sacred land’s army swarmed to the opening House Tian made . The fort’s great formation cracked and inched to collapsing .

As soon as House Tian betrayed the alliance, the Cloudwave Sect followed suit . The war was lost already . There was no reason for them to stick with House Xiahou and get themselves killed as well .

The sacred land had promised to execute only members of the imperial family and House Xiahou - the two main culprits . The other factions could surrender and have the red wiped out from their ledger .

As a result, members of House Xiahou were left to defend themselves while their will dwindled .

Like wind sweeping away the clouds, the sacred land army charged into the fortress, eliminating everything and everyone in their way .

Duke Xiaoyao barely had any time to prepare himself mentally before he came face to face with the three primes . Other top empyrean experts in the capital followed after the primes, including the head of the Starlight Sect and the patriarch of House Beigong .

Large swathes of House Xiahou experts were crushed like ants . Duke Xiaoyao felt a sharp pain in his chest . He knew his house was going to fall .

Their multiple attempts to break out of the siege failed, having been met by aggressive counterattack and besiegement from the factions re-defected to the sacred land . They fought recklessly and mercilessly in order to prove their worth to their new masters .

It wasn’t so much a battle as a one-sided slaughter . Each of House Xiahou’s members was pitted against several enemies equal to or above their level . One after another, Duke Xiaoyao’s confidantes died in battle .

He had no way to retreat, himself . The three primes pursued him like hounds . In their eyes, House Xiahou was the real force and foundation behind the uprising, and Duke Xiaoyao the head of the usurpers . The emperor had been executed, which left the patriarch of House Xiahou the only evil they must exterminate .

Duke Xiaoyao lost his air of superiority as he surveyed his surroundings . Experts within the family who were powerful enough to help him were either trapped, surrounded, or killed . He was truly on his own .

“House Xiahou was still basking in our glory a few months ago . To think that we would fall from grace in such a short period of time and end up on the brink of destruction! Is it the heaven’s will for us to be eliminated??”

His expression was dejected and sorrowful . The abruptness of the clan’s fall made it impossible for him to calmly face cruel reality . How could a powerful and prospering family fell apart in only a few months?

He couldn’t identify the reason . Was it chance, perhaps?

He thought carefully and traced their decline to the death of Xiahou Zong . The family fortunes had gone downhill ever since .

At first, it seemed impossible that the uprising could fail, but that was only an illusion . The tide turned immediately after Shao Yuan and the Vermilion Bird showed up .

Duke Xiaoyao had started out as a patriarch who would go down in history as a great leader, but was now one of the biggest failures among all of House Xiahou’s patriarchs .

“There’s no way for you to go, Duke Xiaoyao . ” The three primes had left him with no option .

“Who would’ve thought that the sacred land would have the last laugh?” Duke Xiaoyao sighed . “I won’t accept this!”

“House Xiahou deserves your fate for the atrocities you’ve committed . You’re a prominent figure in the capital, Duke Xiaoyao . This seat will give you a chance to take your own life and die with dignity . ”

Duke Xiaoyao flew into rage . “Take my own life? I’ll rather die in battle than kill myself! Come at me together! I’ll fight back with all I’ve got . I’ll consider it a fair trade if I can get one of you . It’s a great bargain if I get two!”

The first prime’s expression darkened . “Then be prepared! My fellow daoists, House Xiahou is a millipede . Even after its death, the legs continue to move . We must eliminate the house once and for all this time!”

The second prime was just as furious, if not more so . He’d been severely injured and almost died . If the sacred land hadn’t reclaimed the vault of spirit herbs and treated him in time, his injury would have left him permanently crippled .

His resentment to House Xiahou ran deepest out of the three primes .

Duke Xiaoyao felt overwhelmed as soon as the three primes attacked him . Moreover, a few other figureheads who could almost rival the three primes were watching the fight closely, ready to join at anytime . Duke Xiaoyao was essentially facing seven opponents at his level at the same time .

He was about as powerful as the first prime, but with the other two primes joining the fray, it was only a matter of time before he was defeated .

……

While House Xiahou engaged in intense warfare, House Yan was embroiled in another one of their endless arguments .  

The patriarch had changed his tune and rejoined the sacred land’s side . But, not every one of House Yan’s most powerful members had joined the assault against House Xiahou . There wasn’t even an overall consensus within the family yet .

Yan Wanjun wasn’t there to give advice, and Yan Wanchong had had a falling out with the patriarch after receiving his punishment . WIthout the two venerated forefathers’ guidance, House Yan had trouble coming to an agreement .

“Patriarch, the sacred land is now neck and neck with House Xiahou . In this subordinate’s opinion, the battle will end in less than three days . If we don’t seize the opportunity to prove ourselves to the sacred land, there may be no House Yan in the future . The other factions are atoning for their wrongdoings with real action, while we stay here and do nothing . How are we going to earn the sacred land’s forgiveness this way?”

“Hmph, House Xiahou is no easy prey . Besides, I hear that their forefather is going to return . ”

“That’s right . Once the divine forefather returns and reclaims the battle, it’s not impossible for them to strike back at the sacred land . Who knows how it will end for us after rejoining the sacred land’s side?”

House Yan was now split into three groups . One supported the patriarch in his decision to defect to the sacred land for the house’s survival, which accounted for about forty percent of all of House Yan .

A small group of people remained neutral .

The rest were on friendly terms with House Xiahou and stubbornly insisted on supporting the house .