We had only just emerged from an overlooking ridge and reached the barren landscape that lay between us in the arid forest and the volcanic city of Huo Yan Valley when we spotted an army of spirit beasts lumbering toward the heavily armored gates.
Already, the residents had closed the gates and mustered their city into a fortress to deal with the threat. Glancing around, I saw that the vast majority of the spirit beasts assaulting the city were slow, clumsy but tenacious and ridiculously durable Magma Golems. They towered over the nimbler and swifter predatory spirit beasts such as Ember Wolves and Crimson Leopards, and even several Volcanic Vipers slithered beneath their heavy footsteps.
But the Armament Sect of Huo Yan Valley was not without teeth.
Mortars howled and arcing projectiles burst from long barreled cannons crenellated into the fortified walls. Like comets, they streaked across the horizon before landing amidst the army of spirit beasts, detonating forcefully and throwing up huge bodies into the air. the Magma Golems weathered most of the blows, but even their sturdy bodies suffered heavily from the arcane artillery, the granite-hard surfaces cracked and leaking lava. One fell to its knee before its head was blown off by a qi mortar round.
Ember wolves, Crimson Leoopards and Volcanic Vipers perished in hordes, despite the protection of the Magma Golems. More than a few of the stony goliaths were felled by the relentless bombardment. One spun about and toppled, half of its side missing after it took a direct shot. Another was reduced to a pair of rocky legs that continued taking a couple more steps before halting, as if it finally realized that it was dead. A fourth was completely obliterated, several shells hammering into its stony form mercilessly before leaving nothing but shards on the ground.
"Abyss of a time to arrive in the Huo Yan Valley city, eh?" Myria asked, shaking her head. She glanced at me. "What should we do?"
"We join the fight," I replied simply, drawing my bow. "At least I will, but what you want to do is entirely up to you. I'm here to request a favor from the blacksmiths of Huo Yan Valley, so I can't just sit still and watch. Actually, even if I'm not here to hire a blacksmith, I won't do nothing. There are people down here who need my help, and it is my duty as a cultivator to protect them."
"They look plenty capable of protecting themselves, though," Myria remarked, watching the mortars roar once more and pummeling the spirit beasts to oblivion. She smiled. "But I'm with you. If you want to help, then I have your back."
"Thank you." I smiled at her, even as I heard the enraged shrieks from beyond the fourth dimensions. I could hear the whining about me being a pushover, commenters screaming at me for being a beta loser who always get into trouble because I went around helping other people. seriously? They were condemning me for doing the right thing? I was being flamed and abused because I chose to be a good person?
What was wrong with the world beyond the fourth dimension?
-The system suggests that the user pay the commenters no attention. They are juvenile edgelords who think the world revolves around them and that writers exist only to cater to their individual tastes, and so they get all upset if the protagonist isn't ruthless and selfish like they want to, because they want to project themselves onto you. –
Wow. This was the first time I had heard the system rant about the existences beyond the fourth wall. Seemed like even a nonhuman but sentient entity had enough of the nonsensical comments that edgelords made.
"All right. Let's do this." I took a deep breath and crawled stealthily to a better vantage point. "Stick close to me. I'll take them out from range, so if any get close, I'll be relying on you to protect me."
"You can count on me," Myria said confidently. Then she smirked. "On us, actually, because I'm sure you'll be summoning your spirit beasts to help me out."
"Yeah, but not now. When the enemy comes close enough." I paused and glanced at her, suddenly remembering something. "You have a weapon? I forgot to ask you earlier, but if you need a new weapon because you lost your spear during the previous war against the undersea tribe, I can order a new one forged for you. I have plenty of leftover spirit ores."
Thank goodness Qin Ying, Tong Xue and Hao Ren had insisted that I took my rightful share, even as I claimed the Dragon Tree wood. The spare spirit ores that I received as part of the tournament prize could be a gift to Myria for accompanying me. Even though I didn't ask her to, it was still a fact that she took the trouble and an incredible risk to help me, and I should pay her back.
"No need for that. I have this." Myria produced the same sapphire sword that was used to seal the Deep Sea King. "The Frozen Divine Sword. It's much better than any weapon in Atlantis's armory, especially since it was from the Age of Gods."
She wasn't kidding. I could feel the potent power saturating the azure blade, which caused me to shiver a bit despite already having attained Mystic rank. Given that it was used to seal Long Wang millennia ago, and it was still in pristine condition despite so many years, I had no doubt about Myria's words that it was among the best weapons to exist on Earth. However, I was curious.
"Huh? But aren't you a spear user? Are you all right switching to a sword all of a sudden?"
"No. I actually specialize in using a sword. I don't mean to brag, but I'm Atlantis's number one master swordswoman." Myria puffed her chest out proudly, her sword at her hip. Then she sulked. "The problem is that…most Atlantean blacksmiths don't forge swords anymore. The trident has become the dominant weapon in our kingdom. They couldn't be bothered to forge swords, so I had to make do with a spear. The spear was a gift from my father, and so I would be dishonoring him if I didn't use it. But now that it's destroyed in battle, I'm free to use a sword again!"
"Uh…okay." That was quite the surprise. And she was right. Even with the spirit ores and the renowned skills of the blacksmiths of Huo Yan Valley, I doubted they could forge a better weapon than the Frozen Divine Sword. Returning my attention to the battlefield below, I took a deep breath and steeled my resolve. "Let's do this then."
Notching an arrow to my bow, I executed Azure Rain Celestial Arrows. Like shooting stars, the azure qi projectiles soared through the air before bombarding the spirit beasts like missiles, exploding forcibly in their midst. Even the Magma Golems were sent staggering, their normally sturdy bodies perforated by the numberless arrows descending from the heavens. One fell, decapitated by an explosive shot. A second clutched the gaping crater in its chest before it toppled, crushing an Ember Wolf that couldn't bound away in time.
I probably didn't need to describe the grisly fate of the less durable spirit beasts that were sheltering underneath the hulking forms of the beleaguered Magma Golems.
However, now that I had announced my presence, the army of spirit beasts turned around to face me. The vast majority of them continued assaulting Huo Yan Valley City, but the number of enemies diverted to eliminate me was still pretty significant. There had to be over a hundred. I shot several down, but I focused on whittling down the horde of foes that continued advancing toward the blacksmith city from range, leaving those closing in to Myria.
With her sword out, she conjured a whirlpool that washed away a pack of Ember Wolves before she cleaved a Magma Golem in half. Her opponent stumbled back and lashed out, but she sliced its hand off before stabbing its head and finishing it off.
"They are a lot more resilient than I thought," she admitted as she retreated, swinging her sword to deflect the venomous fangs of a Volcanic Viper. Before her assailant could pursue her, its neck was caught by giant pincers. My Colossal Crab yanked the desperately hissing Volcanic Viper back before executing Crab Hammer with its other pincer, crushing the serpentine beast's head.
The other Colossal Crabs formed a wall of orange, unleashing streams of bubbles that flooded the area and smashed the ungainly forms of fire type spirit beasts apart. Given that the bubble stream attack was a water-based technique, it was super effective against fire type opponents like the Ember Wolves, Volcanic Vipers, Crimson Leopards and even the Magma Golems.
"I knew it!" Myria crowed, glancing at my Colossal Crabs. They weren't the only reinforcements. A Hydro Torrent from Xiao Ke washed away a phalanx of Magma Golems, submerging the area in water, while Da Hai joined the Crimson Crabs in launching another Bubble Stream. On the other hand, he took a more defensive role, often withdrawing his shell and tanking punches from the Magma Golems or other hits from the attacking spirit beasts, drawing the aggro away from me and Myria.
The only non-water spirit beast present, Xiao Huo pounced from enemy to enemy, launching fireballs of her own. Despite their resistance to fire, even the fire type spirit beasts found themselves scorched by the sheer power of Xiao Huo's attacks. And those who weren't incinerated outright were swatted aside by her three tails, only to be finished off by my Colossal Crabs, Dai Hai or Xiao Ke's water attacks when they were sprawled in the dirt.
Not to be outdone by my summoned spirit beasts, I continued launching volley of arrows after volley, pulverizing hordes of spirit beasts from afar and entrusting my wellbeing to my allies. Myria was never far away from my side, and along with Da Hai, she pulled back to parry a blow or eliminate any that got too close.
"Even with the elemental advantage, we're being pushed back," she warned, amputating an arm from a Magma Golem. "There's just too many of them."
I shot the Magma Golem's head and finished it off so that Myria could retreat and take a breather. Da Hai blocked another punch with his shell before grabbing the Magma Golem's shoulders and blasting its face with pointblank bubbles, effectively beheading it. The Colossal Crabs retreated to form an orange wall around me, their pincers crushing craters into the ground, with the bloody smears being all that remained of their targets.
"I'm surprised there aren't any Mystic ranked spirit beasts in this army," I said with a frown. "I thought there would be at least one leading them."
"Don't jinx us!" Myria complained. "We're already getting swamped by Yellow ranked spirit beasts. I don't think we can deal with a Mystic ranked enemy joining in!"
"Don't worry," I assured her, looking around after unleashing another barrage of arrows. Around us, the foe had been decimated, and the ragged survivors were fleeing under the unforgiving pummeling of mortars from the city. "There aren't many of them left, and the rest are running away. If there really is a Mystic ranked monster, it would have shown up before its forces are routed."
"That's good." Myria slumped to her knees, exhausted. Water continued raging around her, encasing a hapless Magma Golem in a bubble and drowning it. "I don't think I can fight for much longer."
"We might not have to." I commanded my summoned spirit beasts to stay back and forbade them from pursuing the fleeing remnants of the enemy. In the distance, I spotted a flare signal, and a small door right next to the gates, meant for human guests, opened slightly. Even so, I could feel the hostile gazes of the defenders, and several cannons pointed toward us. "Looks like they are letting us in."
"Great," Myria muttered as she accepted my hand and allowed me to pull her to her feet. "The question is…as guests, or as prisoners?"