Li Yu sat on the wooden porch of his pavilion while the silver light of the moon reflected off the tranquil surface of the central lake. He let Daiki and Sora rest so Sora could calm down while he thought about how best to approach this.
The night air was cool and quiet but a storm of tactical calculations raged within his mind. He had promised to help Sora rescue her adopted sister from the Blood Eclipse Sect but executing a successful raid on the Crimson Crag Stronghold presented a severe logistical problem due to the expected strength they would need, which he did not personally have.
His parents were currently deployed to the frontlines of the cosmic wars and his grandfather had already returned to his own duties as a Worldkeeper. While his bloodline granted him significant sway within the Zhan Clan or Li Clan, it was highly inappropriate to bypass standard protocols and bother the Patriarch for a personal issue. He didn’t want to use his parents' prestigious nas as leverage to mobilize the clan armies for his own private affairs.
He considered utilizing his shadow guard. Fenric, Oram and the five stealth protectors were formidable experts forged in the On Realm. However, Sora had made it clear that the Blood Eclipse Sect was a terrifying force capable of wiping out prosperous lineages. If the sect elders garrisoned at the stronghold were too powerful, the rescue mission could easily devolve into a drawn-out siege. He didn’t know their true strength.
A failed initial strike would be devastating, Lunitum had been held captive for over a decade and her current condition remained a mystery. She could be heavily tortured, sealed away in a hidden vault, relocated the mont the stronghold ca under attack, moved already or dead. There were many possibilities.
To ensure her safe retrieval if she was alive, Li Yu knew they had to strike with overwhelming and instantaneous force. They needed the power to crush the defenses in a single breath and retain the mobility to pivot to another location if they found the stronghold empty or without her.
For this reason, he did not want to request a favor from the leaders of The Veil or petition the Eidolon Court to mobilize a large army on his behalf. He required an elite strike force capable of surgical precision and unparalleled destruction.
His thoughts naturally drifted toward Gongsun Lian and the token she had given him just a few days prior. He had no other choice but to ask for her help to save the adopted sister of his friend. More importantly, he realized with a faint smile that he genuinely wanted to see her again. Asking for her martial support provided him with a noble reason to see her again, even if it looked bad that he had to ask for her help yet again.
Li Yu retrieved the void stone token from his storage ring and pushed a concentrated sliver of his Qi into the artifact. The stone pulsed with a subtle spatial resonance as it pierced through the cosmic barriers separating the main reality from her hidden pocket dinsions.
The connection stabilized a mont later and Lian's controlled voice echoed directly into his mind. "Li Yu? Is everything alright?"
"I am fine," Li Yu replied while leaning back against the wooden railing of his porch. "But I have run into a problem that I cannot handle and I need your help. A friend of mine knows the location of a stronghold belonging to the Blood Eclipse Sect. They have been holding her adopted sister captive for over ten years. I intend to break her out if she is still alive but I need an elite strike force to ensure the stronghold falls before they can execute or move the prisoner."
Lian remained silent for a brief mont as she processed the request. "The Blood Eclipse Sect is a vicious faction that I have heard about. We have purged a few of their roaming branches in the past. I can certainly help you level this Stronghold but utilizing mine and the Veiled Lotus’s services will cost you."
"I am willing to shoulder whatever burden you ask," Li Yu answered without a shred of hesitation.
A clear and musical laugh echoed through the spatial link. "You are agreeing too quickly. You did not even hear my request yet."
"I trust you," Li Yu smiled into the night air. "What is the price?"
"I will require at least ten more cooked als from you, along with at least twenty different drinks." Lian stated with a playful tone, masking her strict professional deanor. "And since this requires a coordinated assault, you also have to cook for everyone coming with . My ten generals will be joining the strike to make sure things go smoothly. You have t them before."
Li Yu let out a quiet breath of relief as he understood what she was doing. She was letting him off incredibly easy and offering the military might of powerhouses in exchange for a few cooked als and spiced at.
"I agree to those terms," Li Yu promised. "I will prepare a feast when the mission is complete."
"Excellent," Lian replied. "I do have one other request but I will let you know what it is in person. We will arrive shortly."
The connection faded and left Li Yu sitting alone in the cool night air. He spent the next thirty minutes reviewing his inventory of spices and beast at while ntally preparing for the upcoming battle.
The ambient space hovering over the grassy bank of the central lake suddenly rippled. A jagged spatial rift tore through the fabric of reality and was bleeding a deep crimson light into the serene valley.
Gongsun Lian stepped out of the void first. She wore her polished black dragon-scale armor and the elegant crimson cloak draped perfectly over her shoulders. Her tightly restrained aura felt like a sleeping ocean, calm on the surface but possessing a terrifying depth.
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Imdiately behind her, ten additional figures walked out of the rift. The generals of the Veiled Lotus wore immaculate black dragon-scale armor with dark visors obscuring their features. They moved without making a single sound and radiated a disciplined and lethal silence forged over centuries of relentless training.
The density of their combined auras caused the ambient Qi in the valley to seemingly freeze.
The sudden influx of overwhelming power alerted the two guests staying in the nearby pavilions as well as the retainers of Li Yu. The sliding doors slamd open as Daiki and Sora rushed out onto the stone path with their weapons drawn and their battle auras flaring.
The giant Crimson Demon and the Lunar Wolf beastkin stopped dead in their tracks the mont they laid eyes on the eleven figures standing near the water. Daiki felt a cold sweat break out across his scarred back while Sora lowered her blade with trembling hands. They could instantly recognize apex predators when they saw them.
Li Yu walked down the steps of his porch and offered a warm smile to the newly arrived strike force. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"We are always ready to deploy," Lian said while returning his smile with a fond look. She turned her attention toward the two stunned warriors standing on the stone path. "Are these the friends requiring assistance?"
"They are," Li Yu nodded as he gestured for Daiki and Sora to approach. His two friends walked forward with rigid posture and were deeply humbled by the suffocating presence of the Veiled Lotus.
"Daiki, Sora, I want to introduce you to the force that will be helping us breach the Crimson Crag Stronghold," Li Yu began smoothly. He turned toward the supre commander first. "This is Gongsun Lian. She is the leader of the group."
Lian offered a polite and asured nod to the two guests. Her dark eyes evaluated them quickly, noting their solid foundations and the protective stance Daiki maintained over Sora. She wanted to tease Li Yu a bit about calling in a favor for a girl as well as introducing her as ‘just’ the leader of the group but she could read the room and it was not the ti for jokes.
Li Yu then gestured toward the imposing line of five male generals standing to Lian's right. He had spent a wonderful evening sharing a al with them previously.
"This towering gentleman is General Po," Li Yu introduced the first man. Po possessed an imposing physical stature that rivaled Daiki. He relied on overwhelming blunt force and could fit right in with the Zhan Clan. Po reached up, unlatched his dark visor and offered a straightforward and eager grin. He highly respected Li Yu's cooking skills and was looking forward to the promised feast, thinking very little about the current tasks.
"Next to him is General Sha," Li Yu continued. Sha removed his helt to reveal a weathered face covered in deep battle scars. He was a veteran of countless brutal campaigns and carried an awe for Li Yu's prestigious lineage.
"Standing beside Sha is General Jian," Li Yu said. Jian was a man of average height but his presence felt exactly like a drawn blade. A slender, pitch black longsword was strapped securely across his back. He was a silent executioner who manipulated the laws of severing with lethal precision. Jian simply unclasped his visor and gave a sharp, clinical nod without speaking a single word.
"This is General Lei," Li Yu introduced the fourth man. Lei possessed broad shoulders and thick, muscular arms. Faint arcs of violet lightning constantly danced across the knuckles of his armored gauntlets. He was an impatient and highly aggressive warrior who specialized in overwhelming speed and thunderous destruction, yet he kept his volatile energy perfectly contained under Lian's strict discipline.
"And rounding out the n is General Mo," Li Yu finished pointing to the fifth male warrior. Mo was incredibly difficult to look at directly. His armor seed to absorb the moonlight and his physical form constantly shifted within a shroud of dense shadows. He was the Veiled Lotus's master of illusions, infiltration and tracking. Mo lowered his visor to reveal pale eyes that missed absolutely nothing in his surroundings.
Li Yu then shifted his attention to the five female generals standing in a disciplined line to Lian's left.
"This is General Hua," Li Yu introduced the first woman. Hua wore black dragon-scale armor distinctively accented with silver trims. She was a highly analytical warrior.
"Next is General Xue," Li Yu said. Xue radiated an aura of eternal winter. A thin layer of frost constantly clung to the edges of her dark armor. She manipulated the laws related to the cold and possessed pale blue eyes that reflected a chilling, emotionless deanor on the battlefield. She offered a graceful bow that dropped the ambient temperature of the valley by several degrees.
"Standing beside her is General Yin," Li Yu continued. Yin was a lithe and highly agile woman who wielded twin curved daggers sheathed at her lower back. She possessed a playful smirk that failed to hide the simring killing intent dancing just beneath the surface of her gaze. She was a skirmisher who delighted in disorienting her targets before delivering a fatal strike.
"This is General Lan," Li Yu pointed to the fourth woman. Lan was nearly as tall as General Po and carried a heavy and interlocking dark-tal shield strapped across her back. She was the ultimate vanguard of the Veiled Lotus, a stoic and immovable defender who manipulated earth and gravity laws to shield her allies from apocalyptic damage.
"And finally, we have General i," Li Yu concluded the introductions. i carried a sleek, dark-wood longbow slung over her shoulder. She was a ranged specialist with incredibly perceptive eyes that could track a target's Qi signature across vast distances. She served as the overwatch for the strike force, ensuring no enemy escaped their encirclent.
Daiki and Sora stood in stunned silence as the ten generals secured their visors back into place. The diversity of their lethal specializations made it painfully clear that this was not just a strike force; it was a balanced army compressed into ten individuals.
Sora looked at the eleven apex cultivators standing on the grass and a heavy wave of relief finally washed away the decade of guilt resting on her shoulders. With Gongsun Lian and her ten generals leading the charge, she knew the Blood Eclipse Sect did not stand a chance.
This was what she had hoped for as soon as she learned of Li Yu’s background. That he would be able to gather people of this caliber to help her. She had no other way to accomplish this until now so she had staked everything on it.
Her only hope now was that her sister was alive and was in good condition. As much as she was excited to possibly reunite with her sister, she was equally as terrified of what might have happened to her this entire ti. Anything could have happened within ten years.
"We are honored to have your assistance," Daiki finally managed to say while offering a deep bow of respect to the assembled warriors.
“Thank you for coming to help .” Sora managed to say.
"We serve where we are needed," Lian replied smoothly before turning her dark eyes back to Li Yu. "The roster is assembled and we are ready to deploy. Now tell us where the Crimson Crag Stronghold is and we will tear it down to the bedrock."
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