Several hours later.
"Attention!" Master Xiaodan was flying above the trees, with two large stones in his hands, pointed down, but not falling off. "Master Ting will create a defensive formation, and we'll begin the assault immediately after! Get ready for your officer's signal!"
"Yes, master!"
Xin's head still felt heavy from the two hours of sleep he somehow managed to grab, but at least his body wasn't in so much pain now. He wondered how the others felt after this forced march, as he at least had the endurance bracers to ease the strain. Still, this artefact wasn't a panacea, and was much better at restoring breath than removing the strain of walking for hours.
Rui Ming approached him.
"Brother Xin," he bowed. "Apparently, they had a telepathic parley with each other, the bureaucrat acting as a mediator. They offered to hold a contest of arms, but we declined. Disappointing, I'd volunteer."
"They could game the rules by sending a guy who's not exactly rank two, but stronger than rank one. At first glance, it looks like being able to lure the higher ranked defenders outside and fight them is an advantage for us, but given the ranking problems, it looks like a trap. Master Xiaodan was wise to reject this."
"Sure, makes sense. By the way, Xin, I'll be speeding you up in this fight. Make sure not to get hit by ranged attacks."
"Thanks. How does lady Ting's formation work, though?"
"It's a Torrential Wall Rising Formation, she'll only activate it to counter higher ranked abilities. In other cases, we're on our own. Master Xiaodan will be distributing tower shields, though."
Xin frowned. He hoped for more protection.
"I see. Let's wait."
Xin chatted with his friends some more to alleviate the tension. He even noticed Tu Qiang and Yao Nang in the battle ranks. Tu Qiang even waved at him, but Xin ignored him. What an annoying cunt, Xin thought. Yao Nang also seemed like she wanted to approach, probably to talk with Lei, but noticing Xin, she changed her mind.
"Troops, ready!" Several rank one officers shouted to their battle ranks. Everyone quickly rushed to their designated spots, armed themselves, picked up the shields and ladders and formed a battle formation.
"Get ready to assault!" Master Xiaodan shouted, his voice almost breaking.
From behind the enemy lines, two masters emerged flying. One was wearing spiky black armour, his elaborate bladed shoulder guards and sharp greaves made him look like a giant human shaped two handed sword. On his feet, there were two small sabres, worn on his boots as if they were skates, serving as his flying method. A Sword Sect master, Xin assumed.
The second master looked like a wizened old man, with a rice flail in his arms, clad in traditional monk robes. He was mounted on a fancy flying sword, and despite looking like an ordinary bald monk, his body emanated a subtle yet menacing orange aura.
Meanwhile, master Xiaodan started rolling a stone around the camp. It grew larger and larger, until it reached his height in diameter. Suddenly, a voice called out from the sky.
"Don't you dare, Xiaodan! That's against the rules!" The sword path master enhanced his voice and protested. The bureaucrat hovering above stayed silent.
"Oh! Sorry, I forgot to ask your permission!" Master Xiaodan laughed. "I am within my rights to destroy your fortifications, and I am warning you in advance! Move your soldiers away from the walls, or they'll get seriously hurt!"
"Master inspector! Please see reason! It's a clear violation of the rules! He's targeting the mortals!"
"He is giving them a clear way to step back. They have to give way or endure the attack, such are the rules. Denied. You are free to attempt to stop him. Lower ranked warriors attacking him will lose their immunity against rank twos." A ringing voice of the bureaucrat could be heard around the field. He wasn't very loud, it was as if he was speaking from behind your shoulder, his voice distributed evenly around the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the old monk waved to his partner, as if saying "let them". He kept hovering above the battlefield. Xin found this menacing, what was his plan?
"Commanders, get ready to advance after my attack!" Master Xiaodan effortlessly pushed a giant boulder up the hill, with the other masters positioned behind him. "Yu Ting, get ready!". She nodded.
Xin stood twenty steps behind Rui Ming, protected by a tree. He hoped that if they were suddenly attacked by these masters, it would be enough to defend him. It looked like a battle of rank two masters was about to emerge. The Fist sect still hadn't evacuated the soldiers on the walls, though. Well, we also have ladders and tower shields in case master Xiaodan's attack fails.
"For the sect!" Master Xiaodan cried out.
"For the sect!" A choir of voices cried back.
Master Xiaodan activated a dao shard, and earth started emerging from his pores, covering him like he was an earth elemental. At vital organs, this coverage was even more dense, creating a solid layer of rock armour. A rank two defensive move, impressive. Master Taowei used something similar, but if his method was as strong as Xiaodan's, he might have lived, Xin thought.
Master Xiaodan's flying cube burrowed under the ground, sticking to his feet. He then huffed, pushed the stone down the hill and started accelerating, his movement enhanced by the cube. What a useful artefact, but probably not as mobile as a flying sword.
"Stop him, carefully!" Xin could hear a bald monk shout to his partner, as the monk himself moved to their troop's flank. This move made Xin anxious.
Rolling! The stone kept getting bigger and bigger, absorbing rocks, earth, grass and other greenery. By the middle of the way, it grew twice as tall.
Should be eight times as heavy, then, Xin concluded. At that point, the stone stopped growing, probably because master Xiaodan didn't want to spend too much power on this move.
The sword path master manifested a massive sword out of his aperture, and enhanced it with metallic energy. The ringing from this was loud enough to slightly deafen Xin.
"Spiral Ringing Overture!" He shouted out the name of his move. Xin rolled his eyes, what kind of cockiness is this?
The sword started spinning and slowly drifted towards master Xiaodan and his rolling stone, until it suddenly sped up.
Torrential Wall Rising Formation! Master Ting threw a blue flagellum towards Xie Xiaodan, and from his shoulder, a bursting stream of water emerged, creating a giant fist that punched the approaching sword away. The sword path master recalled his sword and prepared to attack again.
Xin tried to assess the situation. The moves that were unleashed were quite serious, certainly above the level of rank two masters they faced before. It was probably because demonic masters often lacked resources and foundation, while masters like lady Ting could use the formations and generous resource reserves of their sect.
Xin's understanding was limited, but he kept trying to gauge the situation further. The sword path master's attack was deflected, but master Ting spent a lot of energy doing so. On the other hand, it didn't look like the crescendo of that attack was unleashed, so it seems that that swordpath master saved plenty of qi. Still, master Xiaodan was much closer to the walls now. If his attack is devastating enough, who cares if our side spends more energy?
"All rank ones! Get around master Ting!" Rui Ming suddenly shouted out.
What's going on? I was too busy analysing the technique exchange to notice!
Many masters, even those that led their squads, like Wu Lei and Rui Ming himself, moved up to the centre of lady Ting's formation. In response, the bald monk stopped, frowned and flew away.
Xin's heart skipped a beat again. It seems that his plan was to somehow unleash a fast attack towards master Ting, and he was probably durable or fast enough to retreat before being overwhelmed.
A speed method, Xin guessed, with an explosive attack strength. Brilliant of Rui Ming to somehow read this move, he thought, I wish I saw the preconditions of his conclusion. Still, the bald monk decided not to engage once she was reinforced. What does it mean for us?
This is all so confusing!
"Go back to your squads! I'm in control now!" Lady Ting dismissed them. "Prepare to charge your troops!"
Xin looked around. The other internal and external disciples looked quite distressed. Seeing these moves from just rank two opponents was very demoralising, as the heavy hitters, rank threes, still haven't entered the battlefield.
Xin prayed for his ancestors to grant him strength. He wasn't too zealous, and this wasn't a very sincere prayer, but it gave him some clarity of mind. With his crossbow and polearm drawn, he awaited the signal.
"Get back! Get back!" Someone shouted from behind the walls. Many crossbowmen and archers jumped off the walls when it became obvious that master Xiaodan's attack would land. A few stayed and tried shooting back at him, but master Xiaodan shot a small homing stone at each of them from his finger, granting them a moment of regret before they had their brains pierced.
Smash! Master Xiaodan's stone hit the wall, sending several logs flying and creating a hole in the wall, but also cracking and flying into pieces itself. The enemy sect had heavily reinforced the gates, putting many barricades behind it as well, and didn't anticipate that the wall would be breached directly.
Wait, what's that? Xin noticed a small stone that looked like a catapult ball, still lying on the ground after the impact. It looked distinct from all the other pieces. It looked exactly like one of the stones master Xiaodan held in his arms earlier!
Bang! The little stone exploded, and Xin could hear a choir of screaming and groaning voices behind the rising dust.
Meanwhile, master Xiaodan soared into the air and retreated, with the sword path master only launching a few rank one strength spectral swords to chase him away.
"Master overseer, he broke the rules! He attacked the mortals!" The sword path master protested. Xin didn't know how many people were hit, but judging by the sounds, at least a dozen. The shrapnel from such an explosion would be enough to kill or maim a person, Xin assumed. This will certainly put a strain on their medical team.
"Troops, charge!" Master Xiaodan lowered his arm and commanded to advance. He wasted no time and addressed the inspector: "Master overseer, I'm arguing that I gave them a proper warning! It's not my fault that they didn't listen! Am I to blame for them not saving their troops?"
"That stone ball wasn't a fortification attack, but was aimed at the troops specifically. Denied." The overseer waved his hand, and master Xiaodan had a black circle appear around his neck. Ominous. His immunity was now gone.
Shit. Was this decision justified? No time to think! Xin sprinted behind an internal disciple holding a tower shield, with Rui Ming leading the charge, holding a simple wooden kite shield (that he'd probably discard later, given that his sword was best used with two hands).
There was some fire from the enemies, but master Xiaodan's attack wreaked enough havoc to make it insignificant. Still, Xin heard some people assembling behind the walls, preparing to climb them again. We need to hurry.
Xin looked at the gap that formed at the point of stone's impact. It was already filled with enemy fighters, mostly wearing thick white robes, armed with ji polearms and spears. Behind them, there was a small contingent of crossbowmen, inferior to their sect's forces.
"Any rank one challengers?!" Xin heard Lei shout out as he led his squad. What the fuck are you doing, friend?
Xin was anxious for Lei, but decided to focus on his own fight.
He carefully scanned the battlefield, trying to find a target to shoot. He wasn't ready to reveal his method yet, and would be choosing his opponents very carefully. He got closer to the walls, trying to find rank one masters in the squad that was blocking the wall gap, but noticed something with his peripheral vision.
It was a bald man, armed with a weird throwing weapon that looked like a human sized spoon or a handheld catapult, loaded with metal balls. With a swing of his arms, he launched the balls towards Xin! As they were thrown, they sped up and whistled. Some sort of enchanted material? No time to think.
Xin felt an urge to push the disciple in front of him away from harm, as he clearly didn't notice that attack. No, the metal balls are too spread, it would be impossible.
Fuck this! Two precious moments wasted on thinking! Xin trusted his battle instincts and dove under the disciple's right shoulder, as the hit came from the left.
"Agh!" The disciple's hip was pierced, and so was his collarbone. He fell to the ground, dropping his now dented shield. It seems that every ball hit with the strength of a crossbow bolt, but damaged armour a bit better, due to its blunt nature. A terrific attack.
Xin's combat instincts overtook control again. He grabbed the shield from the downed disciple's hands and shouted "someone heal him!" as he charged forward. The shield is dented, but it's better than nothing! Over his shoulder, Xin had his crossbow on a strap, and in his other hand, he held a glaive. What an awkward setup, but better awkward than dead.
A figure jumped down from the walls. He was wearing orange robes, with a black ring mail underneath. His black hair was waving elegantly, and his sharp facial features underlined a menacing gaze.
"I accept your challenge! What's your name?" He asked Lei, as a subtle yellow glow started circling around him and Wu Lei. They were marked as duelists by the formation.
"Wu Lei. You aren't from the Fist sect, why did you choose to come here and die?" Lei activated Molten Heart. He felt his muscles get stronger, and his heart beat faster.
"Huh? Die? I'll cover myself in glory, and loot a fortune on top! Brace yourself, for I'll show you the might of the tiger style!" He procured two claw shaped weapons from his bag of holding, and wore them like gauntlets.
"Hahaha! Ridiculous! I love this!" Lei looked at his wooden hand as he laughed, appreciating the irony. He glanced around, it seemed like no one was aiming at him. He left pushing inside and leading the disciples to Yao Nang, as they agreed earlier. Lei's intention was always to duel people, not to lead a squad.
"What's so funny?" This young, handsome master wearing a blue armband asked. This disrespect was getting on his nerves. He furiously roared at Lei as he emanated a subtle aura glow. Some sort of breathing technique, Lei thought.
"You wouldn't get it! Now die!" Lei was pumped up as he charged towards the enemy.
Tiger Pounce! His opponent ducked and jumped horizontally, aiming to impale him with his claws. It was a long and explosive jump, his legs were pretty strong.
Propulsion shard! Lei dodged sideways while swirling, then spat lava where the enemy would land. His opponent nimbly twisted his body and dodged. This movement required inhuman coordination, it was probably a part of his cultivation. Lei considered his options.
I'm stronger than a normal human, but probably not as strong as a physical cultivator. My strategy should be... Overwhelm him with attacks, and spit on his face! Should stay careful, though! Lei charged in confidently, preferring to not overthink.
Meanwhile, Xin got closer to the gap in the enemy walls. There was a scrum there, with many mortals and rank one masters pushing and stabbing each other. Neither rank was broken just yet, as both sides held their ground, but there was still a risk of a huge crowd forming, creating a free-for-all brawl.
Xin was shot by a crossbowman, but deflected his shot with a shield. Quite predictable. And it's not too many crossbowmen on the walls, given master Xiaodan's attack.
"Get back!" He heard a voice address that crossbowman. That guy with the spoon again!
Xin looked at his arm patch. Blue, rank one strength. There was also a black ethereal collar around his neck! Immunity removed for attacking a mortal, meaning I won't move a rank up if I shoot him.
The man put some more balls into the "spoon", and prepared to shoot at the crowd near the gap. It seems he was aiming to break the rules and kill as many mortals as possible!
Xin pointed a crossbow at him without hesitation. He'd have a few moments to aim before the opponent launches his shot.
Suddenly, the enemy turned his head towards Xin, his weapon still raised. He looked Xin in the eyes, there was a teasing, challenging gleam in his gaze.
Xin read his intention. "Come on, shoot me", he was saying. "I have a method to nullify your shot". Shooting at him will also lock me in place for a moment, giving him a perfect chance to stuff me with these metal balls! A stream of thoughts flashed in Xin's head in just a moment, without a single word of internal dialogue.
Xin unleashed a regular shot at his opponent. The monk reacted with inhuman speed, dove to his left, ducked under the palisade and swiftly emerged, his "spoon" raised, ready to attack Xin.
Twang. Crack. Smash. His brain was pierced by a crossbow bolt.
Xin never intended to hit with the first shot, he shot to his opponent's left shoulder to make him dodge to the right, and used the metal bending technique to reload swiftly, luring the opponent into a false sense of security after the dodge.
Judging by the cracking sound of his skin, the bald master's body was enhanced by a wood path physical cultivation method, but Xin's metal qi infusion and wood path bowstring infusion made short work of it.
You stupid cunt. Xin spat on the ground, then hid behind one of the disciples as he reloaded.
"Master Bo is dead! Master Bo is dead!" He grinned as he heard the desperate cries of the enemies' disciples.
***
"Rawr!" The opposing cultivator was attacking fiercely, trying to exploit Lei's weak right side.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Lei used his saber's reach advantage to force the opponent away, but landed no hits himself. Lei had no choice but to keep attacking, but had to stay mindful of his attack being trapped between one of the claws.
Swipe! Lei blocked the man's sideways slash, but had to block the second hit with his wooden arm, unable to move it away fast enough. It cut into his wooden elbow, tearing some root tendons.
Not again! Rage and desperation filled Lei's heart. This arm is handicapping me so much!
Lei pushed him to the side, but the opponent used his claw, trapped in the wooden arm, to recover balance. He then stabbed at Lei with the second hand, forcing him to block, released the claw weapon stuck in Lei's arm and raised his now empty hand akin to a cat raising his paw!
It was a quick movement, and it would catch most people off-guard, but not Lei. He dreamed about this moment a dozen nights in a row, thinking how he could do better.
Tiger Drop! The enemy dropped his qi infused "paw", aiming to tear into Lei's neck.
Qi infusion! Propulsion dao shard! Lei's knee soared upwards, hitting the opponent's elbow, killing all of the momentum the strike would have. Lei then grappled the confused enemy and spat lava at his face.
"Aghh! Aggh!" The enemy master cried out in pain. He tried to kick Lei, even tried to bite him, but nothing worked, as Lei deftly avoided or blocked all of his attacks. The opponent stumbled as he tried to back away, and Lei seized this opportunity to throw him over the hip. He then quickly landed on top of him and smashed him with the pommel of his saber, infusing this hit fire qi.
"Rawr!" The opponent almost fainted, but endured the hit. He then pushed Lei away, and, after deftly rolling aside, started fleeing.
Lei's ears were still ringing from that qi infused roar, and with an injured right arm, he didn't manage to hold the grapple, so he recomposed himself and prepared to chase.
"The duel's over! I surrender!" The enemy master shouted. There was a white glow around his hands, meaning he wasn't allowed to attack the combatants now, and had to either flee or surrender. He chose to run, and retreated with the speed of a running horse.
Snakevine dao shard! A thin rope-like plant emerged from Xin's fingertips, half a human height long, spinning in the air, both of its points weighted, and wrapped around the master's legs.
Xin knew that if he shot, this would be an attempt to kill, and would remove his immunity, so he had to grapple or use a similar method to capture this master.
Slash! Slash! It took this master just two claw swipes to tear the snakevine off, but it was enough to let Lei catch up and tackle the opponent. He landed on top of him and put a blade to his neck.
Lei looked at Xin, grinning, wondering if he found the situation as funny as he did. Xin winked and ran away.
(Author's note: The novel used to be called White Tiger, Crimson Demon, so this chapter's name is joking about it.)