Chapter 424 Clearing the Outskirts, the Divine Court Vanguard Battalion Annihilated

News of Nightmare's emergence from seclusion spread across the entire Core War Zone within half a day.

He didn't hold any pre-war meetings or give long-winded motivational speeches—there was no need. The Nidao Alliance Cultivators had long since grown accustomed to their lord's style: strike when he says so, and never wait a moment longer.

"Fifty people, Hongmeng Celestial Venerable Realm or above, follow me."

In the Great Hall, Nightmare only said this one sentence.

Fifty figures stepped forward silently, all in black robes, their auras cold and murderous. These were the core elites who had fought alongside Nightmare for many years; the blood on their hands was more than that of everyone in some small Sects combined.

Nightmare's gaze swept over them, and without another word, he turned and tore through space.

"Let's go."

---

Tianwei Camp, the first barrier outside the Divine Court's headquarters.

The camp was built against a mountain, its perimeter shrouded in a pale gold "Tianwei Defensive Formation." The Formation's light flowed, faintly emitting a heavy pressure. Cultivators in the camp patrolled back and forth; while the atmosphere seemed solemn, it betrayed a slackness born from a long period without war.

Commander Zhao Yan sat in the main tent, eyes closed as he regulated his breathing. With a cultivation at the Early Stage Supreme Realm, he was considered top-tier in this peripheral outpost. Having guarded it for over three hundred years, he had never made a mistake.

"Report—!"

A scout rushed in panic: "Spatial fluctuations have appeared to the southeast, suspected... suspected enemy attack!"

Zhao Yan opened his eyes and frowned: "Enemy attack? Which power dares to directly attack the perimeter of my Divine Court?"

Before he could finish his sentence.

"Boom—!!!"

The entire camp shook violently. The defensive Formation's light flickered wildly before shattering with a crisp sound like breaking glass!

Golden fragments flew everywhere as a pitch-black figure fell into the camp's plaza like a falling star. When his feet hit the ground, the earth within a hundred-zhang radius cracked and collapsed.

Nightmare looked up, Demonic Flames flickering in his eyes.

"Leave none alive."

Behind him, the fifty black-robed elites dispersed like ghosts, lunging toward the various barracks in the camp.

"Enemy attack—form the Formation!!" Zhao Yan rushed out of the main tent and shouted sternly.

Thirty Hongmeng Celestial Venerable Realm Cultivators hurriedly assembled, followed by a hundred Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm ones. Before the Formation could even take shape—

Nightmare moved.

He didn't even look at the Cultivators forming the Formation; with a flash, he appeared three zhang in front of Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan's pupils shrank, and his Supreme Realm pressure erupted fully in an attempt to suppress him: "Arrogant! Do you know this is the Divine Court..."

He didn't finish.

Nightmare raised his hand, and a long blade condensed from pitch-black Demonic Flames appeared out of thin air—the Dao Reversal Reincarnation Unity Blade. The blade was wrapped in patterns of Chaos and nothingness; wherever it passed, space was silently annihilated.

Zhao Yan roared and summoned his life-bound divine weapon to block.

"Clang—!"

The moment the weapons met, the webbing of Zhao Yan's hand split, and his divine weapon wailed. The Demonic Flames actually spread up the weapon, frantically eroding his Origin!

"What kind of flame is this?!" He retreated in horror.

Nightmare stepped forward, even faster. The Reverse Path blade followed him like a shadow, stabbing directly at the core of Zhao Yan's Dantian.

"Puchi!"

The blade tip pierced through the protective divine light and sank into flesh. Zhao Yan trembled violently, looking down at his chest in disbelief—there, the Demonic Flames were burning his internal organs from the inside, devouring his Supreme Origin.

"You... the Heavenly Emperor will not... let you off..." he struggled to hiss.

Nightmare twisted his wrist.

"Boom!"

Demonic Flames exploded from within Zhao Yan's body, incinerating his Physical Body along with his Divine Soul into nothingness. Only a wisp of pure Supreme Origin remained floating in the air, which Nightmare casually collected.

From the moment he struck to the kill, it took less than three breaths.

The rest of the Cultivators in the camp were all dumbfounded.

The commander... is dead? An Early Stage Supreme Realm, killed in an instant?

"Run—!!"

Someone shouted, and the entire Tianwei Camp collapsed instantly. Some fled through the air, some tried to activate the teleportation Formation, and more just stood there in a daze.

Unfortunately, not a single one could escape.

The fifty black-robed elites had already sealed off all directions, killing everyone they saw. Hongmeng Celestial Venerables against Hongmeng Celestial Venerables was already a slaughter, not to mention these Divine Court Cultivators had already lost their courage.

Nightmare didn't strike again. With a flash, he appeared before the secret chamber at the core of the camp.

There was a Restriction on the stone door; he didn't even look at it and pressed his palm against it.

"Bang!"

The Restriction shattered, and the stone door burst open.

The secret chamber wasn't large. On a central stone platform floated a Jade Slip, emitting faint spatial fluctuations. Nightmare grabbed the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Soul.

"Detailed Map of the Divine Court Headquarters' Perimeter Defenses."

The locations of thirteen key outposts, troop deployments, weaknesses of the defensive Formations... everything was clear.

The corners of Nightmare's mouth curled slightly.

"As expected, the Divine Court has been comfortable for too long; they even dare to leave the perimeter defense map in a place like this."

He turned and walked out of the secret chamber. The sounds of slaughter in the camp were nearing their end. The black-robed elites were cleaning up the last few die-hard resistors, their methods efficient and leaving no survivors.

Half an incense stick later, Tianwei Camp was completely silent.

"Lord, all three hundred and forty-seven people in the camp have been annihilated," a black-robed Cultivator reported, not a drop of blood on him.

Nightmare nodded and looked into the distance.

"Burn it."

"Yes."

Demonic Flames rose, instantly swallowing the entire camp. Under the light of the fire, Nightmare took out a transmission Jade Talisman, his voice cold:

"Reverse Dao Allied Forces, hear my command: according to the markings on this map, split your forces to clear the remaining twelve outposts on the Divine Court's perimeter. Within three days, I want the Divine Court headquarters to be—isolated and without aid."

After finishing the transmission, he looked at the Jade Slip in his hand and locked onto the next target.

"Zhenyue Camp... let's go."

The fifty figures tore through space once more and vanished.

Only the raging flames remained behind, turning the remains of Tianwei Camp and the corpses on the ground into ashes.