Lin Zhaoyue’s breath ragged with her dagger appeared like a blur of red and white.
Each swing of hers tore through both armor and flesh alike, left and right and forward, she carved through the tide of soldiers with wild, desperate huge swings.
Blood sprayed in fans across her cloak despite her movents starting to slow.
Her muscles scread at her to rest while her body trembled with every strike.
The ground beneath her was slick with the mud and blood and shattered weapons.
Still, she continued to move, her dagger blazing faintly within the barrier’s glow.
A spear ca from the left and she twisted and parried it at a hairs length.
Another strike ca from behind which she ducked, spun, slit the throat of the striker.
Her eyes burned, her lungs drew fire but she was human without her qi.
Thwack!
Her body jerked forward, a wet sound breaking through the din.
She looked down in disbelief.
A spearhead jutted from her abdon, its tip dark with blood.
And in that mont, she found the world to be very slow.
The clamor of battle faded to a low, distant roar as she slowly lost her hearing ability.
She turned back to see the soldier who had struck her, trembling, terrified, yet holding on with both hands to the haft as though his life depended on it.
Zhaoyue’s lips parted, a faint gasp escaping and then her vision blurred and her knees trembled.
For a heartbeat, she thought she would collapse but she grit her teeth, grabbed the shaft of the spear with one hand and snapped it clean in half.
With a scream that tore from her very soul, she turned the broken haft into a weapon, smashing it across the man’s temple.
He fell and instantly went lifeless.
But that was the straw that broke the cal’s back, many more soldiers started to rush in.
They ca from every direction, Qin and Azure Phoenix soldiers alike, faces drawn, shouting in fear and frenzy.
She cut one down, then another, but their numbers swelled endlessly.
They piled on her like waves upon a rock, their blades raining down, their shouts rging into a thunder that filled her head.
Steel clashed against steel and sparks burst with blood splattered on her face.
Minutes passed, maybe more, ti lost aning.
Her limbs were heavy now, her strikes slower and her dagger movents got duller.
Each swing felt like it took everything she had left.
Her knees gave way at last, one leg sinking into the soaked soil.
Through the blur of pain, she turned her head.
In the distance—
One of the Saberfangs roared in anguish, its cry shaking the barrier... before it was drowned by hundreds of spears plunging into its side.
The massive beast shuddered, stumbled, then fell like a mountain collapsing.
Zhaoyue stared, lips trembling, tears mixing with the blood on her face.
"No... Xiao Bai..."
Her vision dimd at the edges.
The sounds of war beca muffled, distant, as though she were underwater.
Then... a strange calm washed over her.
A small, sorrowful smile ford on her lips.
"I’ll go ahead... husband..."
Her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, carried away by the wind.
A sword thrust forward, she didn’t even flinch.
It pierced through her abdon cleanly, exiting through her back.
Her body jerked once, her dagger slipping from her hand, hitting the ground with a dull clink.
For a mont, she simply stood there, eyes half-open, staring toward the distant horizon.
The faintest trace of a smile remained on her lips.
Then, slowly, she fell, the battlefield raged on around her, the barrier’s crimson glow reflecting in the stillness of her lifeless eyes.
The barrier shattered like glass struck by heaven’s hamr.
A thunderous crack split the air, ripples of light disintegrating into sparks as Fang Yuan tore through the sky.
The pressure of his arrival made the very clouds recoil, his aura burning gold and white, searing against the smoke-filled horizon.
The battlefield below was a ruin, an ocean of corpses, broken banners, and blood-muddied soil.
Saberfang carcasses lay scattered like fallen mountains. And amid it all was Lin Zhaoyue.
Her cloak lay torn, soaked in scarlet, her dagger half-buried in the earth beside her limp hand.
Fang Yuan’s divine sense swept the area once, confirming what his heart already knew. His breath caught.
He descended wordlessly, the wind of his landing scattering the bodies of soldiers like leaves.
Those who still drew breath had only a heartbeat to realize who had co before their existence was erased in a blinding surge of light.
The next instant, silence reigned. Nothing moved save the slow drift of ash.
Fang Yuan stood in the middle of it all, his hollow spirit aura dimming as he stared at her.
His boots splashed in crimson mud as he stepped forward, knees lowering until he was beside her.
He reached out a trembling hand, paused a mont before he touched her cheek. Her skin was cold.
"...Zhaoyue."
Her na ca out rough, caught sowhere between disbelief and denial.
He brushed the hair from her face, the strands stiff with dried blood.
His thumb lingered at the corner of her lips where the faintest trace of a smile still remained.
Fang Yuan exhaled slowly, the air leaving him like sothing dying.
The battlefield, the noise, the stench, it all blurred to nothing. Only her face remained clear.
He drew her against him carefully, one arm beneath her shoulders, the other around her back. Blood soaked through his sleeves, but he didn’t care.
"Why do I care for her..."
The word slipped from him, soft, unsure.
"Why are you so reckless."
His throat tightened, he swallowed hard, but the ache refused to fade.
Fang Yuan’s head lowered until his forehead touched hers.
For a long ti, he said nothing.
His eyes, half-lidded, glowed faintly as countless emotions churned beneath the surface, guilt, fury, sorrow, sothing he couldn’t yet na.
Then the calm broke.
The ground beneath them split open in a perfect circle, energy surging outward in a silent wave.
Every corpse within a hundred ters turned to dust.
Fang Yuan rose, still carrying her in his arms, his expression cold, unreadable.
"You wanted a war..." he whispered. "Now you’ll have one."
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