Savage Divinity

As the final thunderous volley from the Runic Cannons rang out, Hongji clenched his fists and made ready to greet the Enemy with a belly full of remorse.

How did it all come to this? Their grand army of veteran soldiers fighting tooth and nail against an endless horde of unwashed Defiled on the recently reinforced yet already crumbling walls of Shi Bei, a slow but sure death by a thousand cuts. Had Hongji known the Enemy valued the city so highly, he would have abandoned it as quickly as he abandoned Pan Si Xing and made his way to Meng Sha with all haste, where he at least had the option to withdraw his soldiers by ship and live to fight another day. Though everyone knew there would soon come a reckoning for their bold offensive push into the West, no one could have predicted the Defiled would come in such great numbers to Shi Bei. Either the Defiled hosts were far more numerous than even what the most liberal estimates put them at, or the vast majority of the foreign, father-loving bastards had gathered here outside Hongji’s walls. Millions upon millions at the very least, with bodies stretching as far as the eye could see and beyond, there seemed no end to the Defiled as they charged in from all sides in a maddened, near-suicidal effort to retake the city.

Perhaps the cunning Uniter knew something Hongji and his allies were unaware of, some hidden strategic value to the city that had thus far gone overlooked, but if that was the case, then Shi Bei’s advantages were well hidden indeed. When Nian Zu captured the city, it had merely been a forward staging ground for the Defiled offensive. One of many mind you, and a poorly situated one at that, with the only benefit being its middling position along the border between West and Central, which was why no one expected the Enemy to value it so highly. Even then, Hongji knew there would be a siege and made ample preparations in advance, setting the Spring and Autumn Consortium to raising the walls and Exarch Gam to leveling the ground all around Shi Bei. Most other General Officers of the Western offensive thought him overly cautious for doing so, but Hongji knew the Enemy would retaliate here at Shi Bei, because their pride and rage demanded it.

What he didn’t know was that they would throw everything they had and more at Shi Bei. It was madness, sheer madness to commit so many troops to secure this worthless prize at so high a cost, for even though the Enemy hordes outnumbered the Imperial Army by a fair margin, Hongji’s forces amounted to almost a fifth of those stationed at the recently raised Western Wall. An army of this size was rarely seen even in the history books, an elite crusading force rallied by Legate Falling Rain to retake the West and drive the Enemy out of the province, yet now the Defiled were delivering themselves to die upon Imperial blade and bolt alike.

And die they did, in droves and masses unlike anything the world had ever seen before.

On the first day of the siege, the Irregulars played a huge role in stymieing the tides of unwashed heathens, unleashing a torrential downpour of bolts in an arc over the walls without any need to even see the Enemy to kill them. A single Bekhai archer every twenty-thousand Irregulars made this even more effective, one Khishig to Scry and scout out the biggest clumps of tribesmen to direct their crossbows at, and for a time, there was little the soldiers standing on the raised, reinforced concrete walls needed to do besides dispatch the odd straggler who had the good fortune to weather the storm unharmed. Tens of thousands of Defiled fell and were trampled underfoot as the Irregulars unleashed death upon them from afar, and it went on until the Enemy finally pulled back come nightfall.

Only for a second army of Defiled tribesmen to rotate in and immediately renew the attack on Shi Bei.

No longer could Hongji afford to spend his ammunition so freely, for it was clear the Traitor Commander was intent on drowning his forces in a sea of corpses, with tribal savages making up the lion’s share of the sum. A plan which had no regard for life, Defiled or Imperial alike, and hardly the sort of grand strategy one would expect from a brilliant commander like Bai Qi, but its effectiveness lay not in its efficiency, but its simplicity. With the Imperial soldiers exhausted from fighting endless waves of Defiled, this made Bai Qi’s cunning maneuvers that much more difficult to counter, whether it be a lightning fast Chosen offensive on one wall in a concentrated effort to topple it, or scattering Wraiths amongst his horde before sending Demons into the fray to draw out Imperial Peak Experts to be assassinated. Hongji was at his wit's end warding off all of Bai Qi’s plethora of stratagems, but all his best efforts could only amount to so much, and regrettably, it was far from enough. In this long, drawn-out match of wits and endurance, Hongji had slowly but surely been losing control of the battlefield, suffering several defeats where he should have emerged victorious and failing to punish his opponent when he held the upper hand. With all the fighting going on, he barely had time to eat, sleep, or piss much less come up with countermeasures for Bai Qi’s next gambit, whereas the Lord of Martial Peace needed only shuffle his armies about and send a fresh wave of screaming tribesmen into the fray before devoting the rest of his time and attention to dismantling Shi Bei’s defenses.

Thankfully, Bai Qi’s personal appearances were few and far between, as he seemed more than content to pay this hefty butcher’s bill and in no rush to overrun Shi Bei. Day turned into night, then day and night came again, and again, and again, and again, but still the fighting continued unabated. The Enemy fought in shifts and came at all hours of the day and night, howling bloody murder as they assaulted the walls of Shi Bei in their crazed efforts to retake the city, but the Warriors of the Empire rose to the occasion and held the walls with little more than courage and grit. It was astonishing to see the Defiled relentlessly throwing their lives away without any care for their personal safety, and the death count was easily in the millions by now, yet still more tribesmen poured in from all over the province to take part in this endless siege. The Enemy had always been a mad bunch, but even this level of crazed disregard seemed out of sorts for Defiled, especially in light of the lacking tactical, economic, and strategic value of Shi Bei. Between this and Bai Qi’s infrequent appearances, almost as if to reassure his foes he was still here, Hongji suspected there was far more at stake than a mere city, but he would be damned if he had the time or energy to go tugging at loose threads.

Seven days into the siege, the Irregulars ran out of bolts and were relegated to manning the catapults, which used up the last of their ammunition only two days later. The Bekhai arrows lasted much longer, since there were far fewer archers than there were Irregulars and Akanai had been planning on turning Shi Bei into an Imperial supply station. For that, she needed scouts, and her scouts needed arrows, and having prepared well in advance, this meant her Khishigs were still firing arrows up until the eleventh day of the siege. From there on out, the only ranged weapons left to the Imperials were the devastating Runic Cannons, not because Hongji had a sizable cache of cannonballs, but because of how easy the ammunition was to make. There wasn’t a single stray nail or pot left in Shi Bei that hadn’t been melted down and repurposed, and the last of it had just been fired into the crowd, one final volley before the Legate’s Cannons fell silent for good. Right now, those Runic devices were being passed over to trusted Divinties from the Saint’s Tribulations Mountains to ensure those wondrous weapons stayed out of the wrong hands, for Hongji could see no outcome in which his forces emerged from Shi Bei alive.

A bittersweet conclusion, but one he would see through to the end, and he took pride in having played a part in this grand battle, even if his contributions had been limited in scope. Today marked the fifteenth day of consecutive fighting, and now that the Runic Cannons could no longer be used, it also marked the beginning of the end. Without ranged weapons to whittle their numbers down, the Enemy was free to attack on their own terms, whether it be surging in from all sides or making a feint to draw out the reserves before unleashing a concentrated strike elsewhere. Worst of all, the defenders of Shi Bei didn’t even have the illusion of hope anymore, for it was clear no reinforcements were forthcoming. Though Hongji had been unable to Send out a request for reinforcements, his communications blocked by some Enemy working of Domain, he had scouts and messengers aplenty who’d been stationed outside Shi Bei before the attack began and would have undoubtedly informed Commander General Shuai Jiao of their dire straits. Even allowing for time to gather troops and sally forth, any reinforcements should have already arrived several days ago at the latest, or at least word of them should have come to bolster their flagging spirits. Instead, there was no word from Commander General Shuai Jiao or the respective commanders of the Northern and Southern Citadels, meaning the Grasping Vine had left them for dead.

Only now did Hongji recognize the irony in Shuai Jiao’s moniker. In nature, vines were commonly found growing from larger trees, encircling the timber giant and siphoning nutrients and sunlight away from its host in an almost parasitic dynamic. No doubt Shuai Jiao saw this as an opportunity to not only discredit Legate Falling Rain and rid himself of his greatest rivals, but also as an opportunity to seize control of not just Central, but North and South as well. Never let it be said that his ambitions were not great, for he was a Central politician born and bred, and as a man of Central himself, Hongji did not mean this as a compliment.

Regardless of the outcome however, he was proud to have fought alongside such brave Warriors of the Empire. His fellow General Officers had been gracious enough to cede overall battlefield command over to him, but he’d done little more than arrange a shift schedule for the various units before throwing himself into the fray like all the others. Once he set boots on the ground in the battlefield, it was easy to see how lacking he was in comparison to the true heroes of this era, for even a random Peak Expert likely contributed more to the battle than he did, yet still the soldiers cheered as he approached the battlements once more, for what he presumed might well be the last time.

Better if they saved those cheers for the likes of Baatar, whose overall contributions on the battlefield were second to none. Seeing him trade blows with anyone less than a Peak Expert was no different from watching a veteran bully a child, and it was oh so satisfying to watch as he ran roughshod over the opposition. Wraiths, Chieftains, and Demons alike stood no chance against him, for Baatar was the embodiment of fury and wrath, a true domineering Warrior of the North. His heroic presence alone gave the defenders of Shi Bei hope, for once he set foot on the walls, it signalled the start of his nigh unstoppable advance along the battlements. With sword and bardiche in hand, he would pick a direction and tear into his foes to cut a bloody swathe through the Enemy, intent on taking a long, circuitous route all around the outer perimeter of the defenses as if going out for a stroll.

The first time he accomplished so staggering a feat, the chorus of cheers shook all of Shi Bei, for it seemed as if none could stand against the Bloody Fanged Wolf, not once he set his mind to task. Though others could have done the same, few could have accomplished it in so domineering a manner, for it was no slow slog through the Enemy ranks while making headway in one direction and losing ground in the other. No, instead, Baatar moved like a beast on the hunt, cleaving his way through the Defiled as if scything down weeds and vegetation in search of more suitable quarry and leaving the Enemy dazed and shocked in his wake. Wherever he went he struck like an avalanche to buy time and respite for the weary defenders, and they loved him for this as much as they venerated him for his unparalleled combat strength.

The second time Baatar attempted this, he was ambushed by none other than Bai Qi himself, the Enemy Commander harbouring a grudge from their clash in Pan Si Xing, but one which was left to fester as Akanai also made her presence known. In one, singular strike, she did more to boost morale than the combined efforts of all other Living Legends in Shi Bei, for even as Baatar blocked Bai Qi’s hidden strike at great cost, Akanai drove her Crescent Moon Halberd through her foe’s chest. Not even Runic Armour could defend against her Ground-Shrinking Strike, shattering apart before her domineering thrust and heavily injuring Bai Qi in the process, forcing the traitor’s Half-Demon guards to retreat with their wounded Commander in tow.

That had been nine… no, ten days ago, and Bai Qi wasn’t seen for another three days, and he didn’t attack for another five, showing just how grievous the traitor’s injuries truly were, and how close to death he’d been. In contrast, Baatar was back in the thick of things later that same evening, where he continued to raise morale through his tireless and unyielding example, and Hongji suspected the city might well have already fallen if not for the Bloody Fanged Wolf. This wasn’t to say the other Living Legends were sat around twiddling their thumbs. Far from it, for Exarch Gam, Lieutenant General Du Min Gyu, and Colonel General Nian Zu were each a force to be reckoned with as they wrought death and destruction from on high. Though there was no official count being kept, each of them likely killed far more Defiled and Demons than Baatar, but while the manner in which they fought was most awe-inspiring indeed, they used skills and abilities far beyond what the common soldier could relate to. Inspirational as it was to see Exarch Gam stretch his hand out and open up a sink-hole underneath the sand, or Du Min Gyu soar into the skies and unleash a series of explosions which sent blood and viscera flying into the air, or hear the whistle of Nian Zu’s Shooting Star and the meteoric impact as it crashed into the Enemy ranks, in the eyes of the common soldier, those Peak Experts might as well be gods, so far out of reach mere mortals didn’t dare to even dream of reaching such lofty heights.

In contrast, Baatar fought with sword and polearm and nothing else, his movements speedy and sublime yet still recognizable, which made him more than just a domineering hero, but a goal to pursue even if one had no chance of ever surpassing him. Baatar was a Warrior’s Warrior, a man who rose to the Peak using tools available to every soldier present without a Blessing or Talent to help him stand out, an achievement which made his accomplishments shine that much brighter to those who shared his hardships. No longer would one have to hope for Insight or Awakenings from the Heavens to stand out, for they only needed to look at Baatar and see how far their current Path and tools could take them, a shining example which gave hope and confidence to everyone fighting in Shi Bei.

Such a shame that Jeong Hyo-Lynn’s efforts were unable to have the same effect, for her prowess was not one whit inferior to Baatar’s. While Akanai’s style was more suited for duels, the Sword Saint shone brightest in chaotic melee, but for reasons different from Baatar. Where he dominated his foes through raw strength and speed, Hyo-Lynn defeated her foes through superior skill alone, striding into battle with her three blades a-dancing as she switched between them with effortless grace. So elegant and dignified she made the Painted Dancer look like a clumsy, club-footed oaf, the Sword Saint’s clothes remained untouched as she held her ground atop the battlements, the only visible open space in all the city. No matter how many tribesmen charged in, Hyo-Lynn cleared them away in the blink of an eye as she stepped and twirled above their corpses like an exquisite fairy descended down from the Heavens above.

And therein lay the rub. Though a mother thrice over and recent widow to boot, the Sword Saint’s beauty was nigh unmatched, a radiant flower in full blossom that every man yearned to pluck and take in hand. Thus, rather than inspiring awe and admiration with her phenomenal martial skills, it made the men around her feel small and insecure in comparison through no fault of her own, a handicap she and every other woman on the battlefield could never escape from. Masculine pride was a fragile thing because the world so very often trampled upon it, forcing even the most powerful of men to swallow their pride and smile in the face of indignity, so Hongji understood why some would feel personally slighted upon seeing a Warrior woman of any repute, for it was supposedly the man’s job to defend and protect, whereas the woman’s job was to nurture and cherish.

Or so it was in the world of mortals, and no matter how much Martial Warriors loved to pretend otherwise, they were all still stained in the red dust of the mortal world, and forever would be.

It wasn’t that Hongji condoned the misogynistic mindset, but rather that he understood how they felt, but he saw it as a mark of weakness. Women of strength should be respected and admired for rising above their supposed station, for was it not the Mother Above who shielded them all from the Father’s machinations? Perhaps even this patriarchal mindset could be attributed to the Father’s foul ways, though Hongji doubted even He would have to work so hard to sway the minds of men.

For this reason, the Sword Saint fought on with minimal cheers and admiration, but as Commander, he was privy to the knowledge that wherever she fought, the casualties were always amongst the lowest. Not just because of her efforts alone, but those of her talented children as well, most impressive of which was none other than the Sword Princess Da’in. It wouldn’t be long before the world started calling her the Sword Queen instead, for anyone with eyes could see her mother’s movements mirrored in her own, and the Peak Experts of Shi Bei could all tell that Ryo Da’in was destined to join their ranks within a matter of years, if not months. She was only lacking the slightest bit in a handful of areas, but the tides of war might well bring her down before she had a chance to take that next step, a true tragedy Hongji had hoped to prevent by sending her and several other talented youngsters away.

And in the process, give the Living Legends here at his side a chance to escape without losing face.

Unfortunately, the Enemy refused to give him any openings to enact an escape, for they meant to kill every last Imperial in Shi Bei, but Hongji’s Warriors were unwilling to make it easy. Especially after Marshal Quyen Huong dispensed all pretenses and took up his weapon against the Enemy, an oversized hooked pike which measured close to seven-metres long and was meant to be used from the back of his gargantuan colossus of a Spiritual Elephant. It truly was a sight to behold the somewhat plump and compact Marshal marching into battle with his similarly armed personal guards at his side, their massive polearms all resting on their shoulders and towering high above their head. Such an unwieldy weapon would be of no use in close-quarters melee, or so most believed, but then Marshal Huong raced ahead of his guards and cleared out a sizeable area atop the battlements with only a handful of swings. Once the rest of his guards were in position, they lined up along the outer edge and brought their polearms down in long, arcing swipes, not only killing the Defiled attempting to swarm up the wall but simultaneously shearing off the metal nails and spikes they’d driven into the concrete to use as foot and hand holds.

As for the Marshal himself? After seeing him swat no less than a dozen Demons and countless Wraiths out of the air before they could even reach the wall, Hongji no longer dared doubt the effectiveness of the man’s ridiculously long pike and was eager to see what would happen once Marshal Huong was forced to draw his oversized sabre…

The siege of Shi Bei was filled with dragons and heroes aplenty, far too many for Hongji to name. There was Major Gao Changgong who no longer cared to hide his identity, the fearsome Demon Reaper Gerel whose talents were second to none, and Southern Sabre Pichai, the former Broken Blade returned to his full glory now that his Core had been reforged thanks to the Golden-Eyed Taiyi Zhushen’s breakthrough treatment. Aside from the Living Legends, it was these three who shone the brightest, but there were many others who made their mark in battle. Tam Taewoong would be twice the commander Hongji could ever hope to be, a brilliant commander who had the love of his soldiers and a domineering Warrior standing at the forefront of his peers. The Painted Dancer Ishin Ken Shibu was poetry in motion, his sword and dagger never falling idle as he danced his way across the battlements. Tong Da Fung, Wu Gam, Huushal, Ryo Geom-Chi, Quyen Dienne, and so many more, these youths of the Empire showed everyone present that they too were candidates for future Peak Experts and Living Legends alike.

However, not one of these rising dragons dared claim themselves third in strength after Gerel and Ryo Da’in, for that honour laid firmly in the hands of one Major Rustram Albaiev, commander of the Legate’s Stormguard.

Twenty days ago, Hongji would have laughed at this notion, for promising though the young man might be, he was a marked distance away from matching those superlative talents standing before him. The young man was a cunning and decisive commander and phenomenal duelist, able to hold his own against top talents but far from being able to dominate them, and yet as the days rolled by here in Shi Bei, Rustram slowly but surely set himself apart from the rest in the most banal and uninspiring way possible. Where other men fought for four hours and rested for eight, he fought for twenty and rested for four. That was it, no more, no less, yet every time someone took in the battlefield, chances were that they’d find the moustached Major standing somewhere on the battlements and wielding his rapier with frightening precision. The man’s style was far from impressive, and almost boring to watch in action, for in the last fifteen days, Hongji had only seen him use a grand total of eight different Movements. Most were variations of a thrust or forward slash, a casual killing blow that was always aimed at the vitals and never used more strength than necessary. From his wooden expression, one might even think he was deep in the throes of Insight, but such a thing could not be possible day after day after day. All he would do was take his stance, a sideways posture with sword held out in front, and tap or jab at every Defiled who came into range, killing them instantly without fail.

In the grand scheme of Shi Bei, it was difficult to notice Rustram’s contributions, and Hongji was ashamed to admit that he wasn’t the first. Instead, it was Bai Qi who noticed it first, whereupon he dispatched a trio of Demons to do away with the young Major, only for Rustram to kill them all as easily as he killed the Defiled. That was when Hongji finally took notice, and not a moment too late either, for as soon as he turned his attention towards Rustram, he felt a sense of familiarity in the young man’s actions. Not the physical actions themselves, for Hongji’s sceptre was hardly a stabbing weapon, but rather the stirring of Chi emitting from it, and it was more than a guess to say that Rustram was utilizing some form of Hongji’s Ethereal Palm to dispatch his foes with such ease.

It was so easy to picture in mind, a Movement so simple yet profound at the same time. Difficult to say which Form the Movement came from, but suffice it to say that young Rustram made it his own. With feet rooted to the ground, he stretched his entire upper body and extended his arm fully to land the lightest of thrusts upon his Demonic opponent, one which barely scratched the surface of its durable chitin. A foolish over-extension, or so it would seem, for he was in no position to defend against the Demon’s counter-attack, yet none was forthcoming as the hideous miscreation stiffened in place before unceremoniously collapsing to the ground. As Rustram drew back, he struck out again, a light flick of his wrist which again just barely broke the surface of another Demon’s chitin, and much like his first opponent, the second fell where it stood, and a third followed shortly after.

If not for the sudden appearance of three Demons all at once, Hongji might never have noticed young Rustram’s unbelievable accomplishment, killing with little more than a touch of his blade. In the days since, Hongji made the time to study the young man’s skill and realized Rustram was shaping his Domain into some sort of killing tool and using his rapier to drive it into his foes to kill them from within. What shape that tool might take was impossible to discern, not without asking the young man outright, but the specifics were unimportant. It was the multitude of possibilities which amazed Hongji so, for even though he himself had pioneered this Domain shaping ability, he really only ever used it to push his foes away, so he immediately set himself to replicating young Rustram’s effect with next to no success.

Truly a dragon among men, this young Rustram Albaiev, showing all of Shi Bei just why Legate Falling Rain had placed so much faith in his seemingly unremarkable second.

War was a time for dragons to soar high into the skies, but also a time when they died before they were able to spread their wings and fly. The traitor Mao Jianghong made his presence known by launching a spear of Ice at the Fiery Star Song Qing, one which would have killed her had her younger brother not pushed her out of its path, but the Dark Giant Song Jian paid the ultimate price in order to save his sister. In her rage and grief, Song Qing’s fury knew no bounds as she soared into the skies to demand retribution from her fleeing foe. Her iconic radiant meteor hammer claimed the lives of six Demons and four Chieftains in her efforts to bring the traitor to justice, but the light dimmed and darkened as she succumbed to her wounds before she was able to claim vengeance for her younger brother. Two dragons of Central killed in one fell swoop, their deaths were but the first of many to come.

The Devilish Duo struck fear into the hearts of allies and enemies alike as they fought side by side atop the battlements. Tao Zi and Ping Guo fought with reckless abandon as they traded blow for blow against their Defiled foes, trusting in the hardened skin which gave them such a grotesque appearance and their Healing abilities to preserve their lives. It worked well, until it didn’t, for there was only so much their bodies could bear, but before they fell to the weight of numbers, they gave a good accounting of themselves, which was the most Hongji could ever ask. When he brought the news to their Mentor, Taiyi Zhushen broke down into tears, but he didn’t stop Healing even for a second, staying so long that his remaining Disciple, Iron Crutch Li TieGuai, had to come drag him away for a moment of rest, only to return and take up the old Healer’s duties of patching up soldiers so they could go back out to fight and die.

Whenever Baatar was too tired or injured to fight, the married Exarches Bralton and Eriene took up the slack and ran circles around Shi Bei, a two-person stampede across the battlements which left naught but bloody corpses in their wake. Truth be told, they were even more effective than Baatar, but they killed so quickly most were unable to properly take in and appreciate their Movements. Alas, one person who acknowledged their strength was none other than Bai Qi, who targeted the married couple the moment he wholly recovered from the injuries he suffered at Akanai’s hands. Exarch Eriene died instantly without even knowing she’d been attacked, while Exarch Bralton sustained a grievous wound which could have been treated had he not stayed to fight and hold Bai Qi in place. In exchange for Bralton’s life, Akanai was able to land yet another devastating blow upon the Lord of Martial Peace, and dozens of Demons, Half-Demons, and Chieftains died trying to bring him away to safety. Twice now, the Herald of the Storms had come so close to killing Bai Qi, and in truth, a lesser man would have died twice over, but the Enemy spared no expense keeping their Commander General alive, and he had yet to be seen again since.

Those were the highs and lows of Shi Bei, with many more small victories and devastating deaths to account for, but Hongji feared no one would ever learn of their valiant last stand here in the Western Province, a fact which he found far more regrettable than his impending death. All men died, this was merely fact, but he could not stomach the thought of so many heroic figures dying in obscurity. No one would know of Song Jian’s noble sacrifice, or Song Qian’s final, radiant blaze, or of how powerful Taiyi Zhushen’s body modifications had made the admittedly unremarkable Devilish Duo, or how even with his wife’s blood still hot on his face, Exarch Bralton was able to keep his priorities in line and slow Bai Qi’s retreat instead fleeing to safety or flying into a rage and dying that much sooner. Heroes and dragons, one and all, each of them deserved a place in the history of the Empire, a rousing opera, touching drama, or even simply a poignant poem written in their honour, but no. They would all die here, and no one would be left to spread word of their heroisms.

A true injustice of Heaven if there ever was one, something Hongji intended to bring up with the Mother Above.

This wasn’t to say he would go easily into the night, for he gave everything he had and fought the good fight, but as the minutes stretched into hours and his vigor gave way to exhaustion, he knew it was only a matter of time before Shi Bei was overrun. Exarch Gam, Du Min Gyu, and Nian Zu had long since stopped launching their widespread attacks, their Chi reserves dangerously low from so many days of non-stop fighting, while Baatar no longer dared fight so recklessly anymore, not after the Enemy’s last attempt to kill him included five formidable Demons and two dozen Wraiths led by none other than Mao Jianghong. Eight of his Peak Expert cadre took grievous injuries defending him, including a fearsome half-Grizzly named Ghurda who had yet to fully recover. In light of this, Baatar now fought from a more static and defensible position, as did every other remaining Peak Expert and Living Legend, for there was no room for error anymore. The defenders of Shi Bei had long since passed their breaking point, and Hongji was not willing to risk another grievous blow to morale, not now with the end so close in sight.

As he swung his sceptre and wielded his Ethereal Palm with reckless abandon, Hongji’s last thread of hope snapped as he received a report of more Peak Experts and Demons arriving from the north, including a still unverified sighting of Mataram Patriarch YuGan. The Mataram Clan had been suspiciously absent all this time, and Hongji had a sinking suspicion regarding what they’d been up to, and he could only pray that the Legate was still alive and that the Enemy wasn’t about to bring out his head mounted atop a pike. Knowing he wouldn’t have another chance to do so if that were the case, he informed the other commanders of the recent development, called on his reserves to join in on the fight, and woke the sleeping soldiers to have them stand ready despite only having rested for little over an hour. Better to die on your feet with sword in hand than to wake to cold steel across your throat, or worse, so Hongji readied to sell his life dearly as the battle entered the end phase.

So he was understandably surprised when the horns sounded and the Defiled fell back from their assault, aside from a minority that continued to fight alone in a drunken haze of blood-lust and fury.

Moving so many bodies about might sound like a simple affair, but it still took time for everyone to shuffle into place. While his forces dealt with the remaining Defiled stragglers, Hongji watched the Enemy forces for signs of a trick or scheme about to be unveiled. Perhaps Bai Qi wanted a captive audience when he brought the Legate’s head out, but he hardly seemed the type for such needless pageantry, especially at such a high cost in momentum. The minutes passed slowly, but still the withdrawal continued, and it wasn’t until a full half hour passed that he realized the Enemy was not just pulling back from the siege, but lifting it entirely to disperse west and south. Why?

Seizing this moment to rest his troops, Hongji stood vigil with the most well-rested soldiers of the bunch, alongside all the remaining General Officers who were too curious to let sleeping dogs lie. In the intervening time, Hongji bandied words about with Akanai, Baatar, Nian Zu, and Du Min Gyu about what might have brought all this about, but they were just as confused as he was, which was reassuring in some small way.

Then the ground began to shake with a rumbling roar, and shared ignorance was no longer so reassuring.

At first, only a select few noticed the subtle disturbance, and Hongji only noticed their distraction after the fact, such as how Akanai’s gaze snapped northward several seconds before Baatar and Du Min Gyu followed suit. Hongji glanced in the same direction without any idea what was going on, but when he saw the clouds of dust and shifting horizon, he was amazed by his ability to ignore the wall trembling beneath his boots. The roar grew louder at a steady and speedy pace as the distant motion grew closer and closer without growing more distinct, until suddenly the world snapped into focus and he realized what he was seeing, at which point his body began trembling as well.

Outside the walls of Shi Bei, the fearless and indomitable Defiled broke ranks and fled in all directions, the same savages who’d spent the last fifteen days throwing themselves at the wall in utter defiance of death now screaming in pure terror and dread. Dozens Demonified before his eyes, transforming into all manner of unnatural and horrific monsters of nightmare and sin, only for the unholy abominations to flee as well once the Father’s foul attentions fell away. Despite all their best efforts to get away, there were too many Defiled packed together in one place and their progress was slow and arduous at best, and Hongji saw many a tribesman trampled underfoot by his or her comrades.

And Hongji could scarcely blame them, for surging towards them from the horizon was a veritable wall of water which towered high over the city itself, a massive wave carving a furrow through the sands whilst howling in booming fury as if the Azure Sea itself had reached out from two-hundred and fifty kilometres away to swat away the Defiled threat. Most inconceivable of all was the fact that he spotted the sails of an Imperial frigate poking over the crest as it was carried along by the wave, and Hongji could only wonder just which Divinity was powerful enough to accomplish so terrifying a feat and crazed enough to violate the treaty in so audacious a manner.

“Abandon Ship!”

A familiar voice sounded out as Hongji struggled to make sense of this madness, but rather than focus on who it might be or the many figures jumping out of the ship, he could only watch in stupefied awe as the hurtling wave fell apart and missed Shi Bei’s walls by the thinnest of margins to collapse on the open sands instead. Water washed over everything in sight, a deluge which burst out in all directions and slammed into the retreating Defiled as well, but Hongji had no time to appreciate the incidental damage as it appeared as if the rising tide would soon overflow into Shi Bei as well. Thankfully, the walls held firm as the waters receded to reveal the Enemy army in complete disarray, to say nothing of the grisly scene of where the ship landed and promptly exploded into kindling, while taking a good number of Defiled along with it, but the casualties were few and far between, at least as far as he could see.

“Err... Legate Falling Rain here, requesting permission to enter Shi Bei.” The booming voice sounded out for all to hear, then fell to a mumble emanating from right next to Hongji. “Though I suppose it’s a little late for that.” Turning towards the sound of the voice, he found the Legate standing with hands behind his back in what he seemed to think was an inspiring pose, but really only made him look awkward and stilted, as if he had a stick in his ass and a crick in his neck, but was trying and failing to act natural. “…Brigadier Hongji? Earth to Brigadier Hongji? That’s your cue to respond.”

Jolted out of his stupor by instinct and habit, Hongji fell to his knees so quickly it would be a miracle if they were only bruised and not cracked, but everyone else in the city knelt alongside him, so no one heard him make a fool of himself. “This servant greets Legate Falling Rain,” he intoned, not daring to look at the young dragon anymore, for his senses warned him of danger and power absolute. Then, the sensation faded, so quickly he wondered if he’d imagined it, only to return in full force as Hongji snuck a peak at the Legate’s face and saw a tired expression of impatience and unease. “Shi Bei is yours to command.”

“All rise and as you were. Military Command will remain with Brigadier Hongji.” The Legate’s hands reached out to clasp Hongji’s which were still stuck together in a salute, but the young dragon lifted him up to his feet as easily as plucking a ripe apple from a tree. “Better get your troops ready, because I think they’re about to attack again.” Having switched to a more conversational tone, the Legate no longer felt the need to pose, though why that would be the case was baffling to the extreme, since every eye inside Shi Bei and out was watching his every move. Offering Hongji a sheepish grin, the Legate offered the faintest of shrugs alongside an apologetic grimace and said, “Sorry for scaring you. I didn’t really think that whole plan through and none of my Sendings were getting through. Truth be told, I didn’t even think this would work. At first, I just wanted to bring all the water I bound with me, because I figured I’d need it, but there was a lot more than I expected and I didn’t have anywhere to put it all. Then Lin-Lin suggested I try making a river, which was really a lot easier than it sounds. It’s like making waves in a tub, start small and build it up slowly, plus Meng Sha has that natural sea wall which really helped things along. Anyway, once I got over that initial hurdle of the first couple of kilometres, it was actually all downhill from there. Literally, meaning Central slopes ever so slightly downwards all the way to Shi Bei, which was just really, really convenient.”

The Legate was rambling, but only because he was exhausted, Hongji could see this now, and understandably so given he’d called upon a wave of water to carry him and a ship halfway across the Central Plains. In doing so, he’d created a river even wider than Shi Bei itself that stretched all the way behind him, though it would likely recede in time as the sand and sun did their respective work. Actually, it’d already been done, with the water fading away even faster than it arrived, and only then did Hongji understand what the Legate was talking about. This wasn’t actually water, but Water Chi, which in and of itself was just… unbelievable. How could any one person, even a Divinity beloved by the Heavens, have so much Chi?

Oh no. The Treaty. Did the Legate just break the Treaty to make a grand entrance? Surely not, but… oh, Mother Above…

“Breathe.” The Legate’s calming voice shook Hongji out of his panic, and he blinked as he met the young dragon’s eyes. So tired, but so kind too, not to mention calm and collected, as if everything were going perfectly to plan. “Sorry,” he said, flashing that sheepish grin once again. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but I’m here now and the Enemy is about to attack again, so I would really appreciate it if you filled me in on what’s been going on.”

“By your command, Legate,” Hongji replied, launching into a military report out of habit and instinct, for his mind was unable to do much else. The Legate was here and apparently a Divinity, but he had no army save for a ship-full of Peak Experts. And a wagon of pets, which he brought to a battlefield for reasons beyond Hongji’s comprehension. Cannonballs too, plenty of them, and Hongji split off his focus to Send word to have the Cannons brought back, but the Legate was three steps ahead. Even before Hongji finished giving his order, the first Runic Cannon rang out, and he followed the sound to find the Lord of Thunder cackling from the battlements as he reloaded his Cannon with glee.

Perhaps Shi Bei wasn’t so doomed after all. Hongji couldn’t say why he felt this way, because the Legate had not brought many reinforcements, and though it appeared as if he’d ascended to Divinity, that only brought more complications to bear. Once again, Hongji was reminded of his poem; When Gods stride out to meet in battle, Heaven and Earth are torn asunder, and Mortals can do naught but persevere.

For if the Legate were truly a Divinity, then he’d broken the Treaty with his arrival, yet this alone was not enough to strike fear into Hongji’s heart. He knew the young dragon well, had seen the full measure of the man, and he knew that Falling Rain would not so casually risk the lives of everyone in Shi Bei. There was no need to panic, no need to despair, for the Legate was here, and all would be well.

Not a logical conclusion to make, Hongji had to admit, but it was how he felt now, standing in the presence of greatness. Falling Rain had come, and the tides of war would turn against the Enemy once more.

Chapter Meme