"From tomorrow onwards, the Thunderbanes will go to war," said Voltrex, his eyes narrowed and his voice serious.

A wave of gasps rippled through the tent at Voltrex's sudden declaration. Even Emperor Kharos raised an eyebrow in surprise before instantly regaining his composure.

Although their population was strangely low, in the entire Western Continent, the Thunderbanes were the strongest cultivators, commanding the most destructive power of lightning at their fingertips.

Each Thunderbane could access full control over red lightning, the lightning of the Calamity Class, with some of the elders even using blue lightning, the lightning of the Heavenly Class.

Then came Stormir and Voltrex. The former was at the fifth level of the Demi-God Realm and had already increased his control over blue lightning by leaps and bounds, while the latter was at the eighth level of the Demi-God Realm—a realm no cultivator of the Western Continent had reached in the last five hundred years. Born with the Heavenly Thunder Sovereign Body, Voltrex had absolute control over blue lightning, the most destructive attribute, second only to the lightning of the Sovereign Class, making him the strongest cultivator of the Western Continent.

And there was also this newcomer, Taranis, the God and Prince of the Hundred Sky Mountains. Blessed by the heavens themselves, Taranis could wield the most destructive attribute of the cultivation world—the golden lightning of the Sovereign Class.

Till now, the Thunderbanes had only acted when the Empire's army was overwhelmed by the demons. Being low in number, Voltrex knew that even the death of a single Thunderbane was a loss the Hundred Sky Mountains could not afford, not for a war that was never theirs to begin with. But due to the Empire's army being helplessly weaker than the demons, the war had been dragged on for thirty years.

This was the reason everyone in the meeting hall was shocked when Voltrex declared an all-out assault by the Thunderbanes.

"King Voltrex, is there a reason for this sudden change of thought?" Kharos asked, his voice calm.

"Nothing special. I'm just tired of this damn war," Voltrex replied, a sigh hidden beneath his firm voice.

After a brief pause, Voltrex continued, "I hope the Azure Sun Empire will not disappoint in giving proper compensation for aiding them in this war for all these years."

A heavy silence fell over the meeting room at Voltrex's bold demand. The representatives of the Empire dug their hands into the armrests of their seats but didn't dare utter a word. They knew better than to provoke the strongest cultivator of the Western Continent.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Kharos parted his lips and let out an aged, heavy laugh.

"Hahahaha! King Voltrex, you need not worry about compensation. Once the war ends, the Azure Sun Empire will reward the Hundred Sky Mountains with compensation worthy of your support."

"Alright then," Voltrex replied, giving a nod before continuing with the strategy they would use for the upcoming battle.

Unlike the regular battles where the Empire's army stood at the forefront while the Thunderbanes and their disciples stayed back to observe the situation, Voltrex divided the main forces into sixty sub-units, each unit provided with a platoon leader. These platoon leaders included elders of the Thunderbane clan and representatives of the Empire.

Voltrex made sure not to place any Thunderbane disciple under the platoons led by the Empire's representatives, because although he had good relations with the Emperor, he did not trust the Emperor's subordinates much.

As for the commander of the entire army, Voltrex naturally appointed Commander Stormir for the task. Till now, Stormir had only commanded the Thunderbanes, but when he was made the commander of the entire army—including the Empire's soldiers—some of the Empire's people could not hold themselves back and tried to retaliate. However, their small protest was instantly put to rest by the Emperor himself, allowing Stormir to command his army.

The meeting continued for five hours, discussing strategies. During the entire time, Taranis kept his eyes and mind open, absorbing the vast amount of new knowledge being poured into him. He did not even realize the passage of time, fully immersed in the discussion.

Once the meeting ended and Taranis moved out, the sun was setting, with darkness slowly taking over. However, instead of moving to rest, the soldiers began putting on their armor, preparing their weapons and readying themselves for war.

The reason was simple.

The demons held the advantage of fighting in darkness due to their unique nature. Naturally, they only attacked once the sun was completely hidden.

Taranis did not waste any time, quickly returning to his abode to change into a better robe—one given to him by his mother, Aestra. At first glance, the robe appeared similar to the usual silken garments he always wore; however, it was anything but ordinary. Personally crafted by one of the finest artifact refiners of the Hundred Sky Mountains, the robe could withstand even the attacks of a cultivator at the late stage of the Awakened Sage Realm.

If it were up to Aestra, she would have given Taranis garments that not even an Eternal Sage could damage. Alas, that was not possible. Taranis' cultivation base was not deep enough to withstand the sheer weight of armor of that level.

Tying his hair into a high ponytail and leaving a few strands falling parallel to his temples, Taranis gently kissed Nymeria's portrait within his locket and stepped out.

By the time he emerged, the Thunderbanes and the Empire's army had already divided themselves into multiple platoons, fully prepared to move at a moment's notice. Without wasting another second, Taranis quickly joined one of the platoons led by his distant cousin, Nathan El Thunderbane—the group Voltrex had decided to place him in.

"You are late, Prince," Nathan said, his eyes narrowing as clear discontent crept into his voice.

Taranis was about to respond when he suddenly felt an eerie, ominous presence that sent shivers coursing through his entire body. His golden eyes narrowed as his gaze shifted toward the vast barren land beyond the walls.

Seeing that Taranis did not even bother to reply, Nathan felt a heavy blow to his self-respect, deepening his frown. It was all the more frustrating because he could not punish him, as Taranis was the son of the king he served.

In truth, however, Taranis had no intention of disrespecting him. His focus had simply shifted to that alien aura—one he had never felt before.

As the sun sank beyond the horizon and darkness bled into the earth, the ominous presence swelled, thick and suffocating. Within moments, a terrifyingly vast line of figures—stretching for over a kilometre—rose from the distant plains.

The instant Taranis' gaze fell upon them, he instinctively knew that they were the source of that dreadful aura.

In mere seconds, the figures surged closer, charging at a terrifying speed, their twisted expressions illuminated by faint, hellish glimmers. The once been a barren land was instantly swallowed whole as countless demons poured forth. They flooded the land in endless waves, spreading in every direction, until the vast plains were no longer visible—only a sea of writhing demonic forms, covering every corner of the horizon.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.