Paragon of Sin

Disarray. Chaos. Endless.

The Legion Commander sat upon his warhorse, yet the view he was witnessing was heartrending and soul-breaking. At this point, his hands were so tightly clenched that his metallic gloves were bent unnaturally into his palm. Despite his astute and well-sent orders, the chaos that unfolded on this Battlefield against this single mortal man left little room for maneuvering.

The Spirits of War were now fearing their allies. A scene that shouldn't ever occur. Yet when they tried to regulate their mental energies to protect their perceptions, they found themselves seized by the erupting poison that caused a few to fall unconscious, others to grow so weak that they toppled like a house of cards, and a few outright experiencing seizures as the modified raw poison devoured their mental energies, affecting their Sea of Consciousness. 

The Legion Commander had never felt so goddamn useless before. He looked upwards, seeing the three Soul Idols with thirteen spiritual rings circulating around them, their sizes seemingly like godly mountains that were unassailable. He wanted to shatter these Soul Idols, but they were just that—Soul Idols. They lacked a physical form, and despite their seemingly tangible forms, besides the transparent tree, they were untouchable. 

They were only spiritual projections to reflect an Astral Souls potential power, drawing upon their Manifested Spirit Energies to invoke a sudden burst of increased power. However, those tree roots seemingly defied logic.

He had already sent orders to certain soldiers to slice at the roots, yet it was like slicing through the air, and there was no mass to strike. If these were Astral Idols, this situation would be different as those had true physical forms. He cursed inwardly. 

If he wasn't restrained, fearful that this seemingly blind mortal would take advantage of the poison eruption to claim his life, he would've long since dealt with Wei Wuyin. Unfortunately, Wei Wuyin had laid the perfect plan. Oh how he regretted listening to a mortal spew out useless dialogue. He should've gone for the insta-kill! 

But there was no pill for regret. 

Every passing second, hundreds of soldiers were meeting their demise and the units were no longer cohesive and organized. If it wasn't by Wei Wuyin's saber edge, then it was by their allies' sudden attacks, or environmental hazards such as swamps or holes forming without warning. 

The wariness towards each other corrupted the great trust of their great army, their former legion of 10,000 Spirits of War. The wariness of the world corrupted their trust in themselves, unable to determine how to move amidst the terrified screams of those who fell to their unknown fates. At some point, his orders weren't being followed.

No, as he looked at the gray cloud above, his expression darkened further. He could feel silent waves of sounds battering the world, but he was unable to hear it. That said, others could.

"Archers have been thoroughly corrupted, subdue them! If they resist, kill with extreme prejudice!" These orders were said in his exact vocal tone and imposing might, yet it didn't originate from him. These soldiers, however, were unable to distinguish this and loyally acted. The commencement of slaughter towards the archers was swift and brutal. 

Somehow, that gray cloud was unleashing out orders that mimicked him completely! How was that even possible?! Was that an actual True Dragon?

He calmly observed it all. 

"It's a loss." 

Three words. Just three yet it held all of his thoughts. There was no coming back. The mayhem was too widespread, the trust was lost, the cohesion was non-existent, and they were killing each other. Even if he sent out an order to declare the fake, couldn't the fake do the same? The pandemonium would only continue.

"Thirteen…"

Wei Wuyin's forehead was drenched in sweat, the veins of his hands and legs were throbbing violently. Despite this, he remained unhindered in his merciless killing of Spirits of War, slipping into the chaos at times, and even a few Spirits of War helped him secure a kill before he sent them on their way to the afterlife. Eden's roots would slither away cheekily, moving to its next target. For those who were affected by the poison, laying on the ground, holes abruptly emerged and they fell through. Some screamed; others didn't.

"Haaaa...Haaaa…" Wei Wuyin's breathing became unnaturally heavy. This full-powered state of his was pushing his limits and his energies were being rapidly consumed by these activities, yet in this time of thirty seconds, he dwindled down the numbers of 10,000 to a mere three thousand. 

Furthermore, he couldn't afford another mistake! 

Earlier, an arrow had nearly pierced his left shoulder despite his spiritual sense observing it, its speed too fast, its angle too tricky, and it impacted him like a planet, sending him reeling and unbalanced, and even spitting out his gray-colored dragon blood. If it wasn't for him directly ignoring the pain, the protection of his quasi Mystic-World gambeson, and remaining perfectly calm, avoiding a subsequent lethal strike to his vitals, he would've died then and there. 

He had even suffered a sword strike to his upper right thigh afterwards. While moving swiftly, it was hard to make minute adjustments, and these Spirits of War combat senses were exceptional, finding gaps in his movements and points where he was vulnerable and seizing them accurately! Despite the disorder, he couldn't affect everyone, and he was already multitasking to the maximum as a single person! 

All of these injuries were the result of mystic-graded armaments, so his own defenses were as useless as marshmallows and feathers towards a heated blade. It just didn't matter. If it wasn't for some key saves from Ori, Eden, and Kratos, including the reliable gambeson, they would've all seen Hell a whole lot sooner.

The environmental shifting, perception altering, and delivery of conflicting orders were all phenomenally done. The army had been whittled down by his sword and borrowed knives with exquisite execution. 

"Twelve…" 

Wei Wuyin could now sense the remaining number of Spirits of War had reached 2,923 living souls. In thirty seconds, a mere mortal had caused the deaths of over seven thousand Ascended beings! If stories were to be told of this, no one would believe it! 

Shiing!

The saber in his hand was drenched in white-colored blood alongside a large portion of his body, covered in the blood of his enemies. His heaving chest rose and fell as he stood amongst decapitated and severed corpses, alongside those with expressions of betrayal, rage, and sorrow. War was cruel. 

Wei Wuyin felt his shoulders lowered uncontrollably. All this spiritual strength was pressing heavily upon his physical limits. In truth, his refined physique might be able to handle all of it, but it was undergoing continuous wear and tear, being broken down by the immense power circulating with every passing second. He was approaching death with every breath. 

From the lids of his eyes, gray-colored blood leaked in copious amounts. He could no longer hold back the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinities formation from expanding far beyond their limits. He felt his entire mind swell. The ringing in his ears was so deafening that he couldn't hear the screams. His sense of smell had been devastated that the scent of blood and metal was gone. 

He stood amongst the battlefield. A single mortal standing atop the corpses of seven thousand Ascended beings. 

Wei Wuyin had never felt more alive! 

"Eleven seconds..five will be expended here." As he muttered this, he 'glanced' upwards and the existence within the gray cloud swam, seemingly looking downwards towards him with its god-like eyes. 

For a second, the entire battle stilled. A wave of unease unfolded in the hearts of every living being on this Battlefield.

Guan Yu and the mysterious woman were awed, observing all this chaos unfold with unimaginable disbelief. If someone had told them an event like this happened in the world, they would've surely dismissed it as laughable and delusional, but witnessing it themselves…

Guan Yu's eyes widened suddenly, recalling a particular order given to him by Wei Wuyin. His eyes contracted as he felt the stillness in the world. Without hesitation, he grabbed the mysterious woman's hand and pulled while running away.

The mysterious woman was jolted in surprise. She couldn't even react, and just as she was about to wrench her arm away and teach Guan Yu a lesson for daring to touch her again without permission, her eyes contracted just as well. Guan Yu's expression was vastly different from before. There was solemnity within, but reflecting in his pupils were horror to the zenith.

That expression of his only revealed a single word: "Flee!" 

The mysterious woman looked back and she felt it. The ensuing dread. The stillness of space. The stifled sense of time itself.

Oh my heavens…

Wei Wuyin's heavy breath came out extremely slowly, the space before it trembled and faltered.

ROAR!!!

Kratos' true dragon roar enveloped the world! The gray cloud and the existence within twisted, vanishing without warning. A 108,000 meter-sized cloud had, without any indication, disappeared as if it had never existed!

The Legion Commander felt the subtle change in the world. When the gray cloud vanished, his pupils became needlepoints. Immediately, he looked towards Wei Wuyin to note that large, eighty-one meter-sized wings had abruptly appeared behind him. They were magnificent to behold! Unfortunately, he couldn't marvel at its contours and beauty as it flapped softly.

Wei Wuyin catapulted into the air! 

When he reached upwards to two hundred meters in height, Wei Wuyin's gray-scales began to shimmer with Formless Divinity Primary Light! 

Wei Wuyin observed the world below. There was an indomitable dignity emitting from his every pore, his every scale, and his every movement. It was as if he was the sovereign of the void and all it encompassed. 

Every. Last. Bit. 

ROAR!!!

Wei Wuyin heaved a heavy inhale and then his throat expanded slightly, without the slightest hesitation, he violently exhaled towards the ground! 

VOID BREATH!!!