The stone dragon statues marched into formation, the ones armed with spears making up the vanguard. They charged forward, supported by the archers who fell back to the rear and cocked stone arrows to their bows.
Those with sabers and axes made up the middle. I wouldn't be surprised if a few with morning stars, maces and hammers showed up eventually because…you know, this was a cultivation story. And it wouldn't be a cultivation story if it didn't rip off another cultivation story. Even I refused to play along and follow the footsteps of arrogant, misogynistic and ruthless protagonists (such as Yun Che, Chu Feng, Zhou Xuan Ji, Duan Ling Tian, etc.), the other people in this world would somehow replicate the actions and mentalities of characters from cultivation stories. Because…I don't know, becaust it's what expected of a cultivation world?
Whatever.
Chi Yan, Hong Yao Yao and He Shan Jie moved to the front immediately, meeting the wall of spears with their weapons. Or Chi Yan did, to be more precise. Swinging his massive Black Ruler, he smashed the first rank of stone dragon statues apart, shattering them into shards. Hong Yao Yao hung back a little, not exactly at the forefront of our formation, but not at the rear either. Waving her fan, she sent crimson butterflies fluttering into the next line of stone dragon statues and blew them up. Fireballs blossomed across the lines of stone dragon statues, hurling them from their feet and incinerating them into molten rock. Those that weren't melted were broken from the force of the explosions, their charred remains spread across the ground.
He Shan Jie wasn't to be outdone. Taking his place beside Chi Yan, he fought with rocky gauntlets, obliterating the stone dragon statues with heavy punches and hooks. Whirling around, he parried a few spear thrusts from several spearmen (or spear dragons), and then crushed them with a single blow.
He wasn't always on the offense, though. He frequently stepped back, allowing Chi Yan to take the lead and deal the most damage. While Chi Yan assaulted the faltering stone dragon statues with wild abandon, he inevitably exposed himself to counterattacks from the enemy. He Shan Jie covered his senior disciple's back, throwing his armored arms forward to block spear thrusts and slashes. Stomping on the ground, he conjured earth spikes that rammed and impaled the emotionless assailants, grinding them to dust.
As for me, I lingered at the back. Not just to protect Lan Bei Er. My wife didn't need protecting, in any event. She was able to summon a barrier to guard herself while casting healing techniques on Chi Yan and He Shan Jie whenever they needed it. It was rare, but there were instances where He Shan Jie would suffer a graze or Chi Yan's recklessness brought him beyond his junior disciple's abilities to cover his back and he sustained a bruise or a cut.
These injuries instantly disappeared when the white glow of Lan Bei Er's qi suffused them, my wife able to heal them from a distance when she pointed her staff at them. Seriously, she was out of place in a cultivation world. She should be in a western medieval fantasy isekai…then again, she was modeled after a character from that kind of story, so…
While my friends fought, I covered them from the back. The arrows from the backline of the stone dragon statues arced through the air and rained down on us, but I shot every single one of them down. Wielding my Hou Yi bow, I unleashed a barrage of black arrows that streaked forward and eliminated the arrows, disintegrating them in midair and ensuring that not even a single projectile touched a hair of my party members.
One of the stone dragon statues actually snarled and stepped forward, commanding his fellows as they coordinated all of their arrows to target me. They must have realized that as long as I remained unhindered, I would continually counter every single one of their ranged attacks.
So there was actually a commander among the stone dragon statues. I didn't expect that. I would have aimed at him, but I was busily taking out all the other arrows. There had to be over a hundred of them streaking toward us at once.
Fortunately, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
My friends were also dealing with the oother stone dragon statues just fine. The majority of the stone dragon statues with spears had been demolished, with the rest falling back in ragged squads. The stone dragon statues with sabers and axes stepped up to hammer their heavy weapons against the two guys, slashing and swinging wildly. Brutal swings and merciless slashes that would cleave a man in half if they landed, they ruthlessly charged forward. Chi Yan and He Shan Jie met them coolly, meeting the foe's sabers, axes and blades with their own sword and gauntlets, parrying them with thunderous clangs. The ground beneath their feet crumbled from the impact.
Before the stone dragon statues could make use of their superior numbers and flank them, moving around to surround the frantically dueling duo, Hong Yao Yao flapped her fan and sent a swarm of crimson butterflies into their midst. They split into two hordes, fluttering into both forks of the spreading ranks of stone dragon statues before detonating, engulfing the silent stone dragon statues in ruby flames. They didn't even howl as they crumbled into ash.
In contrast, the stone dragon statue commander was pretty chatty. He actually opened his mouth to speak…not to my friends, but to me.
"Do you really think you can hold off our arrows forever? My men can fire 108 consecutive shots at once! You'll never be able to match us! Once we've eliminated you, we'll easily deal with your allies from range!"
"Oh?" I couldn't help but be amused. "108? Then let me tell you something. My Hou Yi bow can fire 1,200 consecutive shots at once."
"…what?"
The stone dragon statue commander's eyes bulged even though they were supposedly made of rock. Don't ask me how. It must be a manga thing.
In any event, the greater volume of arrows from my end finally overwhelmed the pitiful hail of arrows from the stone dragon statue archers, the black bolts swarming past the stone arrows and hammering into their tightly packed ranks. A huge fraction of them simply ceased to exist, shattered beyond recognition as the black arrows pierced their rocky hide before detonating within their bodies, reducing them to chunks of stone.
"All that bragging, and that's the best they can do?" Chi Yan scoffed before smashing another couple of stone dragon statues into dust, their sabers riven from their hands. Beside him, He Shan Jie looked bewildered even as he pulverized another stone dragon statue, breaking its axe before smashing its head in.
"I didn't know they could talk. I thought they were just statues."
"Someone just wanted to copy Bleach," Hong Yao Yao explained mischievously. Everyone stared at her.
"What?" He Shan Jie asked, his brow furrowed. "What's a bleach?"
"Never heard of that before," Chi Yan said.
"Is it a laundry detergent?" Lan Bei Er asked. Now I was surprised. I was pretty sure laundry detergent didn't exist in this world at this time.
"Oh, shut the fuck up!" The stone dragon statue commander roared furiously. He spun to order his surviving stone dragon statues. "Release the Kraken!"
For a few seconds, his remainng stone dragon statue subordinates simply stared blankly at him. Even though they were emotionless for the most part, I could actually tell that they were genuinely confused by the new order.
The stone dragon statue commander flailed about in frustration for a moment before correcting himself. "I mean the Golem, damn it! Release the Golem!"
At once, the remaining stone dragon statues snapped to life, rushing toward the gigantic double doors. Splitting into two groups, they went to either side of it and began pulling the colossal chains that served as some sort of pulley system.
"Oh no you don't!" Chi Yan hollered and rushed toward them, his Black Ruler raised up for a massive swing. Flames wreathed the massive black blade, incinerating those stone dragon statues closest to him.
The stone dragon statue commander was not without his tactics. He organized several squads who broke off from the two groups pulling the double doors open to hold Chi Yan and He Shan Jie off. They gritted their teeth, obliterating the suicide squads sent to delay them, but they managed to stall for time.
Hong Yao Yao would not be denied, however. She sent swarms of butterflies to blast them apart, but to her surprise, many of the remaining stone dragon statues hurled themselves into the paths of the crimson butterflies, setting them off and sacrificing themselves for their comrades. They really were automatons, heedless of their own lives. If we could even call what they had "lives."
"Damn it!" the pink-haired girl cursed under her breath, still waving her fan about.
I took aim and fired a barrage of arrows at the distant stone dragon statues. Even though I was sure that my shots were precise, the dwindling ranks of stone dragon statues bodily threw themselves forward to shield their comrades, blowing up as they absorbed the bombardment. Their fragments smacked ineffectively against the surviving stone dragon statues, who continued to pull the double doors open. It was too late. It was already more than halfway open.
Time for a change in strategy then. I shifted my aim and assassinated the stone dragon statue commander. Now that was something he didn't expect. His eyes bulged as several of my black arrows hammered into his chest and forehead, piercing deeply before detonating violently.
Bereft of their commander, the stone dragon statues faltered, their movements slowing. Losing cohesion, they no longer resorted to suicidal sacrifices, instead abandoning their tasks and falling into dormancy.
Now easy targets for my party, we finished them off with fire (of both lotus and butterfly varieties), arrow and earth spikes. They were reduced to nothing more than shards of stone and dust.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
A hulking, gargantuan colossus smashed the double doors aside, tearing them out of their hinges and ripping them out of the frames. The thick, metallic doors actually cracked, dented and broke under the sheer force. Then a Golem stepped into the chamber, towering over us.
It had to be over ten meters tall, its dome-shaped head gleaming. Like the stone dragon statues, it looked to be made out of rock. Clad in layers of sophisticated armor, with thick limbs that resembled living pillars moroe than anything, it stomped toward us, each step sending tremors across the cavern. Qi fumed from its colossal form, a spiritual pressure so dense it was almost suffocating.
Glancing at Lan Bei Er, I could see that she was suffering just by being in the Golem's presence. The others felt it too, but they steeled themselves. Chi Yan was revealing a feral, almost gleeful grin. He Shan Jie was as impassive as ever, but I could detect the almost imperceptible shudder than ran through his body, as well as perspiration that ran down his bald pate. Hong Yao Yao was paler than usual, biting her lips as she tried to mask her apprehension with determination.
The Golem snarled silently, swinging its arm to swipe us aside. Fortunately, before its massive arm could reach Chi Yan and He Shan Jie, a glowing white barrier sprang up to halt its momentum. For a moment, the shimmering wall of white qi held, and then it shattered to spiritual fragments.
However, Lan Bei Er's action had bought the two guys enough time to evade, the both of them scattering in opposite directions. Lan Bei Er coughed out a bit of blood and staggered, and I quickly caught her.
Then crimson butterflies flew right into what should be the Golem's face – a blank dome of smooth stone – and exploded, engulfing its upper body in ruby flames. Hong Yao Yao continued to attack it, but the Golem burst out of the inferno, ablaze but otherwise unscathed.
She cursed as she was forced to leap away, the smoldering fist crushing a crater into the ground. Hopping a few steps back, she shook her head.
"Damn it…of all the spirit beasts to face…" She sighed in frustration. "It had to be a Divine Gaia Golem."
"Oh, I wouldn't be too angry," I said as I prepared a black arrow. Grinning, I cocked my head toward the Divine Gaia Golem and nodded thoughtfully. "This thing might actually prove to be very valuable for us."