by Jeremy Bai
***
The Dragon-Phoenix Sect entered Yao Gong Palace via a subterranean chamber almost directly beneath the large square. From there, they proceeded through the tunnels as quickly as possible, cutting down the handful of guards they ran into before they could even make a cry of warning or sound an alarm. At a certain corridor, the force split up. The Golden Dragon Division headed south and the Pure Phoenix Division went north.
The shining Wyrm strides ever north,
The graceful Bird due south takes wing.
The profound masters and expert fighters of the Golden Dragon Division poured out of the southern entrance of the square, using qinggong to move as quickly and silently as possible. Then they began to unleash deadly attacks upon the gathered forces in the square.
They did not discriminate between soldiers and servants. Except for Third Zhou, who had long since fled the fortress, every person in the place was a devoted follower of the Demon Emperor and was not deserving of mercy.
Within moments of the Golden Dragon Division’s appearance in the square, the Pure Phoenix Division’s fighters burst onto the scene from the north, similarly unleashing savage violence on the Demon Emperor’s forces.
The sudden surprise attack caught the people in the square completely off guard, and dozens were killed in the opening salvo.
However, even the lowest-ranking soldiers in Yao Gong Palace could be considered top-rated fighters in the empire as a whole. Most of them were veterans of many battles, killers whose hands were so stained with blood they could never be washed clean. Within moments of the initial attack, the ordinary soldiers had shields raised to defend themselves, and were also unleashing attacks of their own.
As for the officials, servants, and other non-fighters, they scattered in terror.
The goal of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect was simple—they needed to clear enough space within the square to get into formation. Once the formation was in place and its power focused on the Demon Emperor, they would be mostly safe.
But there was no way the Demon Emperor’s forces would simply let them get into formation right then and there.
From the moment the first of the profound masters leapt out into the square, to when the non-fighters began fleeing in terror and the soldiers turned to fight, only a few moments passed.
As the ordinary soldiers began to form up in ranks, the elite fighters and ogre guards also turned.
And of course, the Demon Emperor himself noticed what was happening, and his eyes began to flicker with rage. Never before in his entire time ruling the lands of Qi Xien had any enemy ever dared to assault him openly, much less in the middle of Yao Gong Palace, the seat of his power and the most well-defended fortress in existence.
Snarling, he tossed the jade pitcher down, splashing blood all over the ground, and then he began to perform an incantation, gesturing with both hands, chanting words in a strange language.
Meanwhile, more fighters were rushing into the square, releasing countless deadly attacks of incredible power.
Illusory beasts and weapons slammed into the soldiers left and right. Fire and lightning fell from the sky. Booms filled the air. Blood spattered everywhere, and the aroma of charred flesh began to fill the square.
Before the Demon Emperor’s elite fighters could spring into action, dozens upon dozens of soldiers were killed. Some were decapitated, some crushed to death, some burned alive. Their shields did little good. Despite all of them being skilled qi fighters, when facing the wrath of such a large group of top-level fighters, they were cut down like dried weeds.
Sunan and Bao were in the lead, their expressions grim as they unleashed one attack after another in their attempt to blast the ordinary soldiers out of the way and begin to establish the formations.
But that was when the elite fighters waded into the mix, fighting back with powerful techniques that finally forced the Dragon-Phoenix Sect to begin to defend themselves.
And then the ogres joined in, and the battle grew more intense.
However, it was in that moment that the Demon Emperor shouted something in a strange language and threw his hands above his head.
Suddenly, the air above the square began to swirl faster and faster, picking up random objects from the battlefield such as dust, drops of blood, and even things like broken arrows and darts. The wind began to rotate faster and faster until it formed a screaming black whirlwind.
Down in the square, fighters from both sides looked up, expressions of uncertainty and fear playing out on their faces as the whirlwind descended.
The Demon Emperor looked on with a cruel grin on his face as the tornadolike vortex touched down on the north side of the battlefield, right between the two opposing sides.
“Vortegan’s Whirling Catastrophe,” he murmured. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to see its destruction in action.”
The whirlwind began to zig and zag across the square, mostly mowing through the Phoenix Division forces but occasionally swerving into the Demon Emperor’s men, some of whom were able to avoid the winds, but many of whom were picked up and hurled violently left and right. Before long, the vortex had reached the Dragon Division forces.
The Dragon-Phoenix Sect ranks were instantly thrown into chaos, with numerous fighters being thrown pell-mell across the square. Even some of the leaders were caught up in the destruction, including Mao Yun and Liu Jiahui. As for the Demon Emperor’s men, the front line of the fighting was currently made up of ordinary soldiers, so many of the unlucky ones who ended up caught in the maelstrom were severely injured or even killed.
After several long seconds that seemed like minutes, the whirlwind faded away, and the chaos was over.
The Dragon-Phoenix Sect forces were completely disorganized. Mao Yun, Liu Jiahui, and several other members of the sect had been thrown over the heads of the enemy soldiers and were now lying on the ground right in front of the elite fighters and ogres. Even Sunan had been affected and was sent staggering backward several paces before he lost control and tumbled into a sitting position.
The Demon Emperor took a step forward, shoving his sleeves back to reveal powerfully muscled arms.
“You think insects like you qualify to fight with the King of the Pure Ones?” he growled. When he spoke, it was in a strange, clipped accent the likes of which no one in the Dragon-Phoenix Sect had ever heard before. Taking another step forward, he raised his voice. “I slaughtered warriors twice as powerful as you before your grandparents were born. I’ve drunk the blood of more enemies than you have ever seen. I’ve lived through traps and ambushes ten times more devious and a hundred times deadlier than this little child’s game. So unless you have something other than parlor tricks up your sleeve, the time has come for me to rip you to pieces!”
With every sentence he spoke, the volume of his voice increased until he was speaking in a roar. He continued to walk forward, and as he did, magical forces surged within him, causing him to grow physically larger. Something like a majestic divine light began to shine around him, something which struck fear into the hearts of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect and caused passion and faith to rise up in his own followers.
Within moments, he was double his original size, whereupon he clenched his hands into fists and leapt into the air.
Chapter 95: Arrows
“Slaughter them all!” the Demon Emperor roared. He began to float high up into the air, until he was at least ten meters above the square.
The soldiers, elite fighters, and ogre guards surged into action, attacking the Dragon-Phoenix Sect fighters with renewed vigor.
At the northern side of the square, Bao was fighting shoulder to shoulder with Ma Ge and Lawat. As she watched the Demon Emperor fly up into the air, she gritted her teeth and unleashed an attack that sent five soldiers flying backward, killing two of them. Then she blocked an incoming volley of arrows before sending out an attack at another group of soldiers.
Dammit, what is that bastard doing up there? And how is he f
lying? That’s not qinggong! I can’t sense any qi fluctuations at all.
She could see his hands flashing rapidly in front of his chest, his lips moving as he muttered what was surely the mnemonic to some type of magic. Then he closed his eyes, and Bao was struck with an idea.
What if we can kill him? she thought.
It wasn’t a time for contemplation or thought. In one fluid motion, she placed the Phoenix Crown on her head and closed her hand around the hilt of Sunan’s Wind Saber, which he had entrusted to her with the express purpose of giving her a chance to use their combined power if the opportunity presented itself.
This was just such a moment.
The Wind Saber had been sheathed ever since the battle of Heart’s Ridge, allowing the powers within to simmer to a figurative boil. As soon as her hand wrapped around its hilt, the power thrummed between it and the Phoenix Crown.
She drew the blade and once again felt incredible energy building up.
After cutting down Geng Long and the flood dragon with the power of the crown and the saber, Bao had thought long and hard about what to call that blinding release of energy but had come up short. It didn’t really matter.
The Demon Emperor appeared to be completing the casting of his spell, and as his eyes were opening, Bao slashed the saber through the air, and an enormous column of white and blue energy snaked out.
The Demon Emperor’s eyes went wide.
***
After landing hard on the ground in what was essentially enemy territory, Mao Yun struggled to his feet along with Liu Jiahui and a handful of others from the Pure Phoenix Division.
Then the entire group of them watched in shock as the Demon Emperor doubled in size and flew up into the air.
Before any of them could react, the elite enemy fighters rushed toward them, followed closely behind by the ogre guards.
In a situation like that, many people would curse their luck and tremble in terror. But not Mao Yun. As far as he was concerned, his new positioning on the battlefield was an opportunity.
“Stand firm, all of you!” he cried to the Pure Phoenix fighters. “Buy some time for the rest of the sect!” Hefting his pitch-black battle-axe, he prepared to meet the charge of the enemy forces.
“You heard the Phoenix General,” Liu Jiahui said. “Give them hell!”
Mao Yun swung his axe through the air, unleashing a blast of energy directly into the ranks of the elite fighters. Liu Jiahui turned into a blur as he used a rare offensive qinggong move to blast directly into the enemy lines. The other Pure Phoenix fighters fanned out and unleashed their most powerful techniques.
***
As soon as Sunan saw Bao reaching for her Phoenix Crown, he knew what was coming. Although he had been in the middle of meditation when she slaughtered Geng Long and the flood dragon, he had still been able to sense the energy she had unleashed at that time, and of course had heard her firsthand account of what had occurred.
As such, he knew exactly what type of attack was coming. He also knew what he needed to do.
Perhaps Bao would be able to take out the Demon Emperor by unleashing the combined power of the Phoenix Crown and the Wind Saber. But if she didn’t, then it would be more important than ever that the two divisions of the sect get in formation as quickly as possible.
“Dragon General Tie,” he shouted above the din of fighting. “Use your Titan Squad Array!”
Tie Gangwen and four members of the Golden Dragon Division grouped together in a smaller formation designed to maximize damage over a short period of time.
“Dragon Lords,” Sunan continued, “use cathartic Dragon Pearl Formations immediately!”
Before the words had even finished leaving Sunan’s mouth, the Dragon Lords did exactly as Sunan said, grouping into squads of three to blast at the enemy with Dragon Pearl Formations.
Whether it was the Titan Squad Array or the Dragon Pearl Formations, all of them were powerful trump cards that could only be used once or twice in a single battle. While Sima Zikang had cautioned to hold them in reserve until the battle situation was clearer, Sunan hoped that using them in this chaotic moment would open up the space they needed to fall into the larger Dragon-Phoenix formation that was their ultimate weapon.
The Dragon Division forces began to push the Demon Emperor’s forces back across the square.
The Claws of the Phoenix on the north side of the square began to unleash similar trump cards to shift their position.
As both divisions of the sect moved into action, brilliant white and blue light began to spread out across the square, with Bao in the very middle of it.
***
When the Demon Emperor saw the massive beam of light closing in on him, he grabbed a jade pendant that was hanging around his neck. As his hand closed around it, it shattered, releasing a cloud of mist that formed the shape of a circular buckler.
In the moment before the beam hit him, he thrust his hand out, and the buckler slammed into it.
A high-pitched droning sound filled the entire square, accompanied by rippling pulses of energy that caused blood to seep out of the eyes, ears, noses, and mouths of the less powerful fighters on the battlefield.
***
Bao felt as if she had just slammed an iron rod into the trunk of an oak tree. Pain flowed up her arm, which spasmed and trembled physically.
Cracks spread out in the paving stones beneath her feet, and she had a feeling that the energy in the Wind Saber had only been partially released. Being the conduit for the release of the energy, she was like a hole in a dam through which water was gushing rapidly until it was unexpectedly plugged up. If that water wasn’t allowed to drain properly, the dam would be destroyed, starting with the hole!
***
Ironically, the Demon Emperor felt something quite similar to Bao. Pain spread out through his arm, which began to shake as he was pushed ever so slightly backward through the air.
It had been a long time since the Demon Emperor felt pain. In fact, it had been a long time since he engaged in a fight with anyone remotely close to this level.
As such, a cold grin spread out on his face, and he pushed out against the beam of light.
***
The standoff between Bao and the Demon Emperor caused almost all of the other fighting in the square to cease, as everyone watched with bated breath.
Both sides knew that the result would decide the battle. For the Dragon-Phoenix Sect, this was their beloved Phoenix Sovereign, the person who was to lead the northern half of the spell formation. Were she to be injured, or worse yet, killed, it would be a devastating blow.
As for the forces of the Demon Emperor, their situation was even more grave. If the inconceivable happened, and he fell in battle, then the fate of his minions needed no strong imagination to conceive of.
As the buckler and the beam of light caused intense rumbling sounds to fill the square, one of the Demon Emperor’s most devoted ogre guards reached into a belt pouch and pulled out what appeared to be a short arrow crafted from green bronze. He slowly loaded the bolt into the crossbow he held in his right hand and began to mutter some words in a strange language.
***
As Mao Yun watched Bao and the Demon Emperor engaging in what almost seemed like a battle of strength, a strange sensation began to creep up his neck. Turning his head, he saw one of the ogre guards slowly extending his right hand, within which was a crossbow.
It didn’t take any calculation on Mao Yun’s part to realize that the crossbow was aimed at Bao.
There was no time for pausing or hesitation.
As the ogre’s hand squeezed the trigger, Mao Yun lunged forward.
The bolt left the crossbow, becoming a streak of light that, to Mao Yun’s shock, split into two, then four, then eight, and then continued to split over and over again, rapidly transforming into a massive maelstrom of bronze bolts.
Eyes widening, he thrust his axe out to meet the bolts, shouting, “Jiahui, help!”
***
Although Bao could sense a commotion breaking out, and even vaguely heard Mao Yun’s shout, she had no attention to spare for the matter. Gritting her teeth, she pushed forward with the Wind Saber, ignoring the screaming of the muscles, bones, and tendons in her right arm as she did so. Even her blood felt like it was on the verge of boiling.
I’m not gonna back down, you bastard.
***
It was to the Demon Emperor’s shock that he realized more power was building up in the beam of light, shoving him backward through the air and sending such intense pain up his arm that it wiped the grin off his face and caused sweat to break out on his forehead.
How are you doing this, human?
Chapter 96: Trickery?
Hui stood on the bough of a tree far away from Yao Gong Palace. She hadn’t dared to get too close, but she simply could not resist the intense desire to watch the final battle take place. In all the years she had traveled throughout the empire, she had never come close enough to lay eyes on the palace.
“Yao Gong Palace,” she murmured. “The gate through which the ogres entered our world. And the Demon Emperor.”
Her heart was in her throat, her hands gripping her robes tightly.
She had no trick move up her sleeve this time. The Kun-Peng Pipes could only be used once per century, and none of the other relics and powerful items she had accumulated over the years would do any good.
All she could to was wait and watch.
From her vantage point, she could just barely make out what was happening in the square. The Demon Emperor flew up into the air, and then Bao yet again unleashed that blinding blue and white light.
Even after much thought, Hui couldn’t figure out how Bao was using such a powerful attack. In the era that Hui hailed from, the heroes of the world had managed, on two occasions, to acquire both the Phoenix Crown and the Wind Saber, and although they had been a powerful combination, they had most certainly not led to a massively overpowered attack the likes of which Hui was now witnessing.
Is it strong enough to kill him? she thought. Although Hui would not bemoan the death of the Demon Emperor, wouldn’t it mean that all of her decades of work would be rendered meaningless? She had traveled the streams of time to bring a message to Bao and Sunan, using both dreams and poetry as an attempt to teach them how to seal away the Demon Emperor for all time. Her mission was the culmination of decades of planning on the part of the most righteous profound masters of her era.
