"Don"t let them enter!"

"Kill them all!"

Shouts and yells rang over the ramparts, barely audible over the thunder of guns and bolts. Plasma seared through the air, raining down on Green Dragon Sect members and incinerating them. Bolts smashed into the ribcages of advancing Heavenly Way Sect martial artists, detonating within their torsos and ripping them apart.

It was a ma.s.sacre. One, thankfully, that was enacted upon our enemies, but with the numbers they were throwing at us, I doubted the situation would stay that way for long.

"Ugh! They just keep coming!"

Beside me, Tong Xue cursed under his breath, even as his Thallax battle puppets flanked him, unloading several bursts of lethal energies from their lightning guns. A couple of Heavenly Way Sect disciples toppled over, their bodies charred and going into spasms as the lightning arced through them, leeching their lives away and incinerating their flesh.

"We won"t be able to hold back the tide at this rate," Jing Wei commented. Several of the Green Dragon Sect members had climbed over the walls with their qigong and were beginning to engage the Blood Blades guarding the wall at close range. We met their charge evenly, slaying them as quickly as they arrived, and kicking them over the edge, sending them falling back outside and crashing into their comrades.

"FEI WU!"

"Oh…" Tong Xue grimaced when he heard the familiar voice. He glanced at me sympathetically. "I should have known he would be here too when we first heard that Green Dragon Sect was among the attacking sects."

As he pointed out, Li Chun Long was hurling himself over his brethren and throwing himself forward. He evaded a deadly stream of explosive bolts, fired from the mauler bolt cannon of one of my Castellax battle-automata, and in a single bound flipped himself up to where we were. Raising his flaming, green sword, he slashed at me.

"Finally!" he gloated. "I have a valid excuse to kill you!"

"You"re still holding a grudge from back then, huh?"

I had almost forgotten about it, to be honest. Even though I knew this day would come eventually, that Li Chun Long would find a way to take revenge, I had been so occupied with the crisis of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect that my cla.s.smate had completely slipped his mind.

That was right. He was locked up in isolation training for a year or so, which meant he had only just been released. Clearly he had capitalized upon the opportunity when he heard that Green Dragon Sect was joining the Martial Arts Alliance in launching an a.s.sault on Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. True enough, if he was aiming to kill me, this would be his greatest chance.

Unfortunately…

"…your skills haven"t improved much, even though you"ve been in isolation training for over a year."

I frowned as I caught Li Chun Long"s blazing sword with a single hand. Just like with Lu Li, I was unscathed, the fiery blade unable to penetrate the protective qi that I had focused onto my palm. Li Chun Long stared at me in shock.

"Impossible! In the past year, I had made several breakthroughs and have broken past Qi Fusion Stage to reach the first two levels of Pure Spirit Stage! There"s no way you"re any higher than Qi Fusion Stage, so how…?"

"All these bulls.h.i.t stages and power levels again," I muttered with a shake of my head, and then shoved him back. While Li Chun Long staggered, caught off balance, one of my mobile turrets hovered over and blasted his head with a qi beam.

Li Chun Long dropped to his knees, a cauterized hole smoking in his forehead and his eyes glazing over hollowly at me. To make sure he really was dead, I decapitated him with a single swing of my Azure Lotus Sword, then kicked his headless corpse over the wall, allowing it to follow his head back down to the ground outside Tushan City.

"That was…anticlimactic," I muttered. After all those threats and foreshadowing, I had expected Li Chun Long to come back a much stronger antagonist than ever, presenting a real threat. As such, I had made quite a few preparations against him, but it seemed they were unnecessary. Perhaps the best preparation against a vengeful antagonist who was planning to a.s.sa.s.sinate me in future was still to grow much stronger than he could possibly be.

"…" Tong Xue watched Li Chun Long"s disembodied head and body fall together into the dust below, and then turned back to me with a grimace. "Wow…just wow."

"I always thought Li Chun Long was the type to lose his head too easily," I remarked casually, directing both my Castellax battle-automata and mobile turrets to rain down a fresh barrage on the jumping and flying enemies, scything a good number of them down before they could reach the walls. "Thanks to that, I got ahead in this exchange." I grinned. "His head, actually."

"Stop making morbid jokes," Tong Xue complained as he slashed the throat of a Heavenly Way Sect disciple with his dagger.

"Focus on fighting, you two!" Jing Wei snapped. As our senior, he held authority here. "Less talking, more killing!"

"Yes~" both of us chorused.

Listening to the comns exchange in our comn beads, I gathered that the entire Tushan City was being besieged right now. Our casualties were slowing rising from thirty to thirty-five percent, and in several places the fighting had spilled from the walls and into the districts of Tushan City proper. The very districts we had fought so hard to clear out just a few hours prior.

Evidently the Martial Arts Alliance was no longer holding back now, the ten invading sects throwing all their reserves at us, plus being reinforced by three other major sects. I heard that the Kun Lun Sect was attacking from the West, but I wasn"t there in person, so what I knew I could only piece together from the vox exchange I was hearing.

And it was looking grim. More and more of our people were dying.

"Huff…huff…"

It had been a few hours or so of intense combat and already I was tiring. I didn"t have that much qi to begin with, and trying to wield six Castellax battle-automata and Snow Aegis at the same time was extremely taxing. In fact, to control a single battle puppet already demanded a lot of qi from the manipulator. If it wasn"t for the fact that Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was rich enough to procure artificial qi from Wu Ling Academy before the invasion, not just me but all of the Blood Blades would have exhausted their qi by now, sapped by the strenuous demands of both individual combat and battle puppet control. In fact, I could see many of them weakening now, even as fresh reinforcements poured from the two sects besieging the section were were tasked to defend.

"d.a.m.n it!" I swore in frustration. "At this rate…"

"Just keep fighting and don"t think too much!" Jing Wei shouted. But his movements had visibly slowed. One of the Green Dragon Sect disciples slashed at him, opening a wound in his cheek. Normally Jing Wei would be fast enough to avoid that, but he was tiring after moving nonstop for a few hours, and right now he was faltering.

Credit to him, though, he had racked up a tally of twenty-eight kills, not counting those made by his three Thallax battle puppets and two Castellax battle-automata. I had personally witnessed him butchering at least four opponents in front of me.

Make that twenty-nine and five respectively. As Jing Wei took another cut to his upper right arm, his left hand lashed out, revealing a hidden dagger that plunged into his shocked opponent"s chest. The Green Dragon Sect disciple gurgled, blood leaking from his mouth and the light fading from his eyes, and then found himself toppling over the wall.

Jing Wei picked up the blazing dragon sword that his latest kill had dropped, and his lips curled into a sneer.

"They"re using the Spirit Weapons that Nine-Tailed Fox Sect forged to kill us. How ironic."

"If we had known, we wouldn"t have sold the Martial Arts Sect our stuff!" Tong Xue grumbled.

"If we didn"t, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect wouldn"t have become as rich, wealthy, resourceful and powerful as we are today," I countered dryly. Tong Xue ducked under a swing from a Heavenly Way Sect disciple before kicking the guy"s knee.

"You"re right," he admitted before slitting the stunned Heavenly Way Sect disciple"s throat, causing blood to fountain out of a severed carotid artery. "But they wouldn"t have any cause to invade us if that"s the case."

"No point dwelling on what-ifs or what we should have done in the past," Jing Wei said sharply as he dodged another deadly slash. "Concentrate on the present."

"Yes, Senior Jing," I acknowledged as I blew a Green Dragon Sect disciple"s head off before he could charge at me with his fiery dragon sword. My mobile turret hovered in the air for a second before hurtling away to search for new targets.

"How convenient," Tong Xue said enviously as he tracked my six mobile turrets with his eyes. "I wish I have a weapon like yours."

"We can ask Qi Hong to help you build one later, after we survive this onslaught," I told him while praying fervently that I didn"t just raise a death flag for my friend. "But let me warn you first, they consume a lot of qi."

"That"s understandable." Tong Xue nodded as he gave my flying mobile turrets another glance before disappearing. The next moment, he appeared behind a Heavenly Way Sect disciple who had landed atop the walls in a single bound with his qigong, and cut the poor guy"s throat before he could even regain his bearings.

"Fourth squad, fall back! Eighth squad is reinforcing you!"

Fresh reinforcements from our reserves were arriving to relieve us. The higher-ups knew that it was impossible for us to keep fighting for hours on end, and that exhausted troops would just keel over and die if forced to their limits. Thanks to that, we had adopted a rotational system, where fresh, newly rested reserves would come and take over currently fighting troops every three hours. There were three shifts, so effectively my squad had six hours to rest before we relieved Twelfth squad. The beleaguered Fourth squad pulled back as Eighth squad surged in to meet the invaders in combat, invigorated from their rest and filled to the brim with bloodthirst.

"That was one h.e.l.l of a battle," Tong Xue remarked, wiping the perspiration and blood from his face and uniform. He grimaced. "I would wash this off and take a shover, but we"ll end up getting splattered again later."

"How long do you think they will keep sieging us for?" I asked as I glanced at the b.l.o.o.d.y combat that erupted between Eighth squad and the invaders from Green Dragon Sect and Heavenly Way Sect. "Even the eight major sects don"t have limitless numbers."

"Who knows? A day? Two days, if we"re lucky?" Tong Xue shrugged, and then sighed. "a.s.suming we last that long…"

"Perhaps you should have just learned from Yi Yuan and taken Lian Rou to flee back to the Smart Shadow Sect," I suggested. Tong Xue scoffed.

"Smart Shadow Sect is a subordinate sect of Divine Shadow Sect. If I did that, we would probably be sent in the first wave and slaughtered by that Elder you freed from beneath the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars!"

He had a point. If I hadn"t released my Ancestral Master, we would all be dead by now. I shuddered to think what wouldn"t have happened if I didn"t have plot armor.

"Go get some rest," Jing Wei instructed us wearily. "I"ll go report to Lord Lang Xie…"

"Ahem, about that…"

We all turned around and spotted Cheng Ping slowly approaching us. He still looked pale and shaky, his steps halting.

"Elder Cheng!" I quickly strode toward him. "Your injuries still haven"t healed! You shouldn"t be running around like this!"

Earlier, Elder Cheng"s stomach had been pierced by Blood Shadow"s Spirit Weapon, and he required st.i.tches and surgery. He should be in bed, not walking around.

"Thank you for your concern." Cheng Ping forced a smile. "But I"m all right. This is but a small injury."

Small injury, my foot! b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, the d.a.m.ned blade had pierced through your stomach! Even I wouldn"t be able to walk, yet this guy who was a few times my age was determined to stroll right back into a warzone!

As I helped him up, Cheng Ping coughed and raised his head. "Sect Leader Zi and Sect Lady Da Ji wishes to see you, Fei Wu."

"Eh? Why?" I was pretty sure it wasn"t some bulls.h.i.t about making me the next sect leader and giving me three spatial rings or something.

I was right. It was nothing so melodramatic.

"You"ve been through the underground pa.s.sageways and survived attacks from the demons dwelling there. They want to discuss the possibility of you leading an evacuation of the civilians underground." Cheng Ping stared at me solemnly.

"Impossible." I rejected the plan flatly. "One person moving through the tunnels is different from an entire group of civilians b.u.mbling through it. Furthermore, I can protect myself, but I"ll be too tightly stretched to defend an entire group."

"You won"t be alone. Sect Lady Da Ji will be following you."

"Even so, Blood Shadow already showed us that the pa.s.sageways have been compromised. I"m sure the Martial Arts Alliance would be posting guards at wherever exits."

"That"s why you and Sect Lady Da Ji are required – to break through whatever cordon they impose and lead them to the imperial capital."

I stared at Cheng Ping in shock. Were they really considering the option of abandoning Tushan City and Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?

Cheng Ping must have read my mind, for he sighed heavily and gently pointed toward the fierce fighting behind us.

"Nine-Tailed Fox Sect might not survive the full might of the Martial Arts Alliance in the coming days. As you have already personally experienced, all four main entrances and districts of Tushan City are currently besieged. We"ve already lost over thirty percent of Blood Blades, and many of our civilians and members have also died. Especially the outer sect elders and disciples." Cheng Ping looked like he was going to sink into despair. "We cannot sustain our resistance against such an overwhelming force. There is almost no hope of victory."

"The royal family will intervene with the Imperial Guard soon, so we just have to hold out until then. Even they won"t sit still when they notice the large-scale mobilization that the Martial Arts Alliance is executing." I clenched my fists tightly. "And we still have Ancestral Master…I mean Elder Tian Yu Di. He"ll be able to fend them off for a bit."

I rose to my full height, which was pretty average, actually.

"As long as I draw breath, I will not allow the sect to fall! Nine-Tailed Fox Sect stands!"

I would have made a great Guardsman…maybe. 38,000 years in the future, anyway.

Cheng Ping was unmoved. "As much as I appreciate it," he began. "Ideals are different from reality. It"s just one option we"re considering. Besides, I"m not in any position to make any decisions. You should persuade Sect Leader directly if you"re that strongly against it."

"I"ll go right away."

Heading toward the peak of Flame Volcano, I bowed respectfully at the entrance, waiting for Cheng Ping to poke his head in and inform the leaders of my presence.

"Dispense with the formalities. We"re at war. Come in."

Sect Leader Zi Shou De didn"t waste any time. I nodded and rose to my feet, hurrying in. Already the Great Elders, inner sect elders, Sect Lady Zi Da Ji and her husband were gathered in a council of war, fervently discussing the matters.

"I trust Cheng Ping has already told you about the evacuation plan?" Zi Shou De asked. I nodded, and then took a deep breath.

"With all due respect, my lord, I disagree with this course of action. I think we still stand a chance. If we can delay a little until the Imperial Guard gets here…"

"They won"t get here in time." Zi Shou De sighed heavily. "I"ve contacted the Crown Prince, and while he has convinced his father, they haven"t convinced the politicians. They"re still arguing it out in Parliament and unable to come to a decision. Not to mention, the slow, bureaucratic of the Imperial Munitorum means that they would be slow to send forces even if they finally decide to help us. We"re on our own for the next five days, at least."

"That"s how long the Parliament will come to a resolution," Zi Da Ji added to my benefit. I made a face, wondering why it needed so long, but didn"t voice it. As if she didn"t notice my bitter expression, the Sect Lady continued. "Crown Prince Chen Liu has promised that he will force the resolution to pa.s.s, by whatever means necessary, but until it does, his hands are tied."

By whatever means necessary…in other words, even if he had to intimidate them, bribe them, or use force against them. I like this guy.

"So we"ll have to find a way to survive for five days." I took a deep breath. "Sect Lady, are you and Lord Lang Xie not confident that the Blood Blades will be able to withstand that long?"

"We"re just considering all options," Zi Da Ji replied evenly. "After all, there"s more than our pride and honor at stake here."
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"The lives of the civilians, and the fate of the sect." Zi Shou De nodded. He glanced at Cheng Ping. "Where is Lang Xie?"

Zi Da Ji frowned and tapped her comn bead, repeating the question. I could hear her voice both personally and through the vox channels. However, the reply must have come from a secure channel that was inaccessible to me because of my low rank (it wasn"t as if I"m Qin Lie and suddenly became the temporary Sect Leader or something).

"This is bad," she murmured, her expression turning extremely grim. She then spoke up a little louder so that everyone can hear her. "Lang Xie is currently being suppressed by a person named Xie Zhi Zhang. He says that it"s possible that he might not be able to win."

"Xie Zhi Zhang?" Luo Zhi Chang repeated, his face ashen. "That high-level expert from the Xie Clan? One of the three clans leading the Alliance? Why is he…?"

"Seems like the Martial Arts Alliance isn"t holding back," Zi Shou De remarked with a severe frown. He glanced at his wife. "Dear, make sure you bring Xiao Ji and Qi Hong with you. Zhao Shi and Da Ge will be a.s.signed to you." he glanced at me. "I understand how you feel, Fei Wu, but I will feel more a.s.sured with you leading the evacuation, given how you"ve survived the demons-infested pa.s.sageway once."

Seriously? Out of the frying pan and into the fire? The demons were worse and probably more dangerous than the sects invading us. Then again, because I managed to survive by mysef while slaying hordes of those things, they probably figured the demons were weaker and therefore less of a threat. That did make sense.

"What about you, Sect Leader? Are you not evacuating as well?"

Zi Shou De laughed. "I"m the current leader of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. I will stand and fall with the sect. This is my responsibility. How can I run away when everyone else is fighting so hard?"

The weight of his words must have struck a chord in the hearts of everyone presence, bringing them back down to reality.

"We"re doomed…" one of the Great Elders muttered. "If even Lang Xie cannot win, then what chance do we have of defending Nine-Tailed Fox Sect until the Imperial Guard arrives?"

"Begging your pardon, sir, but you can leave that to me." I tapped my comn bead, then realized that Tian Yu Di didn"t have one because he hadn"t been officially accepted as a Blood Blades master yet. So I reached for my Golden Dragon Medallion and squeezed it instead. "Ancestral Master, are you available right now?"

"Still in the midst of regaining my strength, but if you need me to do anything, just say it. I can stop anytime."

I sighed in relief. "Good. Can you please go relieve Lord Lang Xie? Tell him to head here right away while you take care of his opponent."

"Huh? That promising brat can"t even handle this level of an opponent?" I could hear Tian Yu Di snort derisively. "Well, since he is technically a pract.i.tioner of Heaven and Earth Formula, and has a lot of potential, it would be a waste to let him die. I"ll go right away."

"Thank you." I then put the Golden Dragon Medallion back in my pocket and looked up at the rest. "Consider that matter settled. Lord Lang Xie should be with us shortly."

Everyone gaped at me.

"How…?" Luo Zhi Chang managed.

"We have Ancestral Master…I mean, Elder Tian on our side. An expert of Xie Zhi Zhang"s level is nothing to him."

Everyone continued to stare at me in disbelief – well, most of them anyway. Zi Shou De looked both amused and impressed, while Zi Da Ji was shaking her head in what seemed like a mix of approval and disapproval.

Elder Tie Jiang laughed. "To think that this brat who sucks at blacksmithing will become so resourceful!"

"Our Nine-Tailed Fox Sect might have some hope, after all," Elder Hai Mo said softly. Dude, you"re overestimating me.

However, it was true that I had no choice but to gamble everything on being able to hold out for another five days.

"That might solve the problem, but even Lord Lang Xie is just one man. He can"t possibly be around the whole city at the same time, fighting off an entire army by himself." The fourth Great Elder chewed his lip. "This is not to dismiss the fighting prowess of the Blood Blades, but despite your rotational shifts, none of you will last if you keep fighting for five days straight."

"We just have to buy a bit of time, don"t we?" I asked.

"That"s right. If you can call five days "a bit of time," that is." Zi Shou De smiled bitterly. "But that is indeed the time we need before the resolution is pa.s.sed. And even then, it will take some time to mobilize the Imperial Guard, and for them to move, so in reality it might take longer than that."

"I have a proposal." I took a deep breath. "If you don"t mind hearing it. I don"t know if it"ll be acceptable, but this late in the game…we cannot afford to be so fussy with our methods."

"You are right." Zi Da Ji nodded in support. Her expression turned darker than ever. "We cannot afford to be fussy. Even if the option seems immoral, the enemy has forced our hand. They can"t blame us because they are the ones who backed us into a corner."

"What do you have in mind?" her husband asked carefully, warier of what I was about to suggest than his wife, who had stained her hands with blood.

"Earlier, Lord Lang Xie suggested that we take the commanders of the first wave from the ten invading sects as hostages." I swallowed, trying not to squirm under the gaze of the grim Great Elders, inner sect elders and husband-wife leaders. "Do you think we can use them to buy some time for our sect?"