Chapter 99: The Demonic Assault

"Maintain formation! Don't fall behind!" At the front of a group of nearly identical bald monks, a similarly bald young man with massive iron gauntlets covered in runes constantly stopped to urge his brothers and sisters forward.

"Understood, Third Brother Oshe! Forward! Hold formation! Stay alert!" All the monks shouted in unison.

Approving of their spirit, Oshe glanced around at the groups from other sects on either side. Exchanging nods, he looked ahead at the massive horde of puppets and corpses. Frowning slightly, he raised his hand to his mouth and muttered something.

"Gren Lia! What do you see?" From the crowd of disciples in black robes moving alongside the monks, a 2.5-meter giant shouted toward the group ahead, composed entirely of corpses and puppets.

At the center of the undead horde was a group of fifty disciples led by a pale-faced girl. Hearing her name, she spun around.

"The second and third groups are circling the flanks. They're moving in sync with us and are ready, just awaiting our command!" She shouted at the top of her lungs so the noise from the surrounding undead wouldn't drown her out. Turning back, she continued concentrating on the small sphere in her hands.

Hearing her response, the giant nodded and turned to his group. "Brothers and sisters! Be ready! We're about to reach their camp!" Activating his Qi, he pulled a massive glaive from his spatial ring, over three meters long, with a blade that took up nearly half its length.

"Listen to me!" Third Brother Oshe turned to his people. "Adopt the fifth formation! Prepare yourselves and stay alert! We're about to reach their camp! The Great One is with us! It watches over us!"

"Understood, Third Brother Oshe! The Great One is with us!" The monks adjusted their positions and shouted in unison.

'Fifth Brother and Eighth Sister… they're leading their groups and successfully circling the enemy's flanks... I hope everything goes smoothly... Though each group has only about three hundred, our ranks are dominated by unclean abominations! Demonic messengers! How I despise even being near them, but they'll make the perfect fearless, tireless shield for us! May the Great One forgive me!' Glancing at the group of corpses ahead, his scalp furrowed. Never in his life would he have cooperated with anyone from the Black Sun Sect, but the Elders' orders and the current situation forced him to endure it, just this once.

….

"Pass me your cup, it’s empty. And that's not right. How could I ignore such a crime!"

"Senior Brother! Are you trying to get me drunk~" Handing her cup to her senior brother, the girl sitting by the fire, nearly pressed against him, blushed slightly.

"Junior Sister! How could you think such a thing about me? Your senior brother would never do that! Here, drink!" Lifting his chin with feigned sadness, he looked at her with innocent eyes while quickly filling her cup to the brim and handing it back, gently holding her hand.

"Ah! S-senior Brother!" Gasping and blushing, she turned her head away shyly, lowering her eyes, but made no move to pull her hand back.

"S-senior Brother, you know... My senior sisters once told me something about relationships... and I've always wanted to see it, you know~" With flushed cheeks, she raised her eyes to meet his.

The senior brother nearly choked on his saliva from the unexpected confession. Feeling as if all the heavenly luck had concentrated on him, he was afraid to speak and ruin this perfect moment. Gathering all his courage, he was finally ready.

"I-"

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Interrupting him, a rapid, clanging bell began echoing through the entire camp.

The moment he heard it, the senior brother jumped to his feet. All romance and shyness vanished with the spreading sound.

"O-oh no! S-senior Brother! Th-that's-" Just hearing the bell made the junior sister's legs tremble. Her mind flooded with memories of the two previous similar alarms, and what had followed. Just thinking about those events made her head spin.

"Junior Sister! We don't have time for this! Focus! We need to move as fast as possible! And don't leave my side, understood?" Grabbing her hand, completely forgetting propriety, he pulled her to her feet and led her deeper into the camp, away from the front.

Without resistance, she held on tightly, afraid to let go, and ran with him.

….

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

At the edge of the camp, before the dense crimson forest, the disciples on guard, with pale faces and trembling hands, heard the crack of branches and footsteps in the distance. They strained to see into the forest, hoping to spot something.

Whoosh!

From the sky, carrying the screech of tearing air, several cultivators descended. Jumping to the ground, one with a scar on his nose scanned the area with a visibly nervous gaze.

Looking around, he turned to one of those who had arrived with him. "Go gather as many people as you can and bring them here! Quickly!"

Turning to the second: "Inform all the core disciples that they're needed here! Hurry!"

Pointing at the third: "You, get to the alchemists' tent. Tell them to set up for the wounded and start preparing supplies for a prolonged battle!"

"You, check the mountain pass and make sure it's clear in case of retreat!"

"Move! Now!"

After issuing commands and watching the disciples mount their artifacts and fly deeper into the camp, he turned to the forest and stared intently.

Standing in silence for a full minute, the scarred disciple frowned.

"W-why is it so quiet? Even the beasts are silent!"

"You're right, even the insects have stopped..."

The crowd around him began whispering among themselves.

Without relaxing for a moment, the scarred disciple continued staring into the forest. Suddenly, fully activating his Qi and channeling it into his sword, his eyes widened and turned bloodshot. "Shields!!"

Pouring all his tension into the shout, several cultivators who had arrived with him, standing at small pillars with spheres mounted on them, began channeling their Qi into them.

The shields merged and rose.

WHOOSH!

BOOOOM!

Hundreds of techniques, straight from the forest, crashed into the shields, completely deafening and terrifying the righteous cultivators.

From dead silence, the place transformed into a cacophony of sounds capable of rupturing eardrums with their sheer volume. Everything became so bright that disciples began shielding their eyes with their sleeves just to see what was happening.

"H-how many are there?!"

Seeing only the sheer number of techniques raining down and shattering against their shield, everyone paled, realizing that this time far more had come than in previous attacks.

Not distracted by the explosions and flashes, the scarred disciple stared into the now-bright forest and finally shouted, "Prepare the ballistae!"

On three towers positioned around the perimeter of the outer camp, hearing his command, disciples took out spatial pouches, pulled out massive ballistae, and mounted them on the tower edges. The bolts resembled double-sided scythes, two long, thick blades mounted horizontally on a shaft with metal vanes at the end.

After setting up all the weapons, the disciples began dumping large quantities of spirit stones into the ballistae's loading ports. As the weapons filled with stones, the runes on them began to flash and glow, rapidly redirecting most of the energy to the blades on the bolt tips.

"Ready! Ready! Ready!" From the three towers, shouts came, trying to overpower the roar of exploding techniques overhead.

Hearing the shouts from the towers, the scarred disciple looked at them and, seeing they were ready, nodded slightly, feeling some relief, even if temporary. With a quick glance around, he turned back to the forest.

As the last of the attacks crashed into the shield, creating a brief lull, he shouted with all his might, "Two hundred meters! Direct fire! Fire! Fire!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whooosh!

Immediately, three massive bolts shot like rabid dogs unleashed from their chains into the now-darkened forest, shredding everything in their path: trees, boulders, nothing spared.

"U-ugh!" "Aaaah!"

Explosions and screams echoed from the forest.

"Again! Reload! Faster!"

Taking a few large steps forward, he stood directly before the barricades for puppets and corpses, ditches lined with massive metal spikes coated in poison that corroded flesh from the inside, turning it to jelly.

Standing right against the barricades, he raised his hand. "Everyone, prepare! Techniques ready! They're coming!"

Activating his Qi to full power, the disciples prepared themselves, eyes darting, hands trembling from a mix of fear and adrenaline, glancing between the darkness and the scarred disciple.

Whoosh!!

Suddenly, silhouettes burst from the forest like locusts: blackened skin, hollow eye sockets, and countless stitches across their bodies. Behind them, figures with paler skin, fully white eyes, and equally many stitches.

'Just like before! Damn corpses and puppets!' Seeing them, the scarred disciple didn't falter. He channeled all his Qi into his sword, which began to glow and vibrate, and with a cry that tore at his throat: "All attack!!"

Everything around was once again blinded by waves of energy unleashed by the disciples.

Nearly a hundred different attacks, creating unique energy waves that intersected and created even more conflicts, rained down on the charging puppets like hail, tearing them apart, some even ground to dust.

"Damn it!" Seeing only part of the first wave destroyed, the scarred disciple's face tensed. "They're using peak first-rank puppets! Everyone, listen to me!"

"Strengthen! Don't stop! Aim for the heads, that's their weak spot! Spare no Qi!"

Without pausing for a moment, the disciples continued bombarding the massive horde with techniques, not letting them get close.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Massive bolts flew overhead from the ballistae. Slamming into the horde, tearing corpses apart, burying themselves in the ground and creating massive craters that swallowed the following wave.

Watching the chaos, the scarred disciple looked around. 'Where are they? Why aren't they here yet? At this rate, we'll be overwhelmed!'

"Concentrate attacks on the enemy's front lines!" Giving the order, he jumped to the edge of the defense line near the barricades. Sparing no Qi, he began swinging his long sword, cutting down one corpse after another, each strike landing precisely between their eyes, bursting their heads apart.

'Hmm?! Fuck!' Suddenly seeing white mist spreading from the forest, he paled slightly. Turning, he shouted, "Prepare the Yang Matter! Quickly!"

"G-ghosts! Q-quickly!" Seeing the mist expand and strange, barely visible elongated faces begin to appear across the area, several disciples immediately ran to small altars positioned slightly away from the front.

They pulled small white cubes from spatial pouches, opened them, and began tossing in red beads that burned to the touch, which they retrieved from spheres mounted on the altars.

Filling the cubes completely and sealing them, they began muttering under their breath, activating the runes on the cubes.

Activating these cubes, a red wave of energy, a dense cloud, began spreading from them.

"Graaa! Uhraaa!"

Sensing this wave, the Yangenergy, the ghosts within the mist began screaming furiously, releasing as much Yinenergy as possible, trying to destroy this abhorrent burning cloud.

As the two energies, Yin and Yang, collided, instead of an explosion or something similar, the air around began to emit a screeching sound, as if massive swords were trying to cut each other apart.

"Ugh!"

"M-my ears! Aah!"

"H-help!"

'Idiots! Where's your discipline!' Watching the disciples around him fail to protect their ears with Qi, the scarred disciple snorted and pulled an artifact resembling a pocket watch from his ring. Instead of a dial and hands, hundreds of sparks raged inside.

'I hope this works!' Closing his eyes for a moment and gripping the artifact tightly, he shouted for all to hear, "Everyone! Duck!!", and hurled the artifact precisely at the point where the two energies clashed.

The moment it hit the ground, the artifact began to heat up and expand. In an instant, its surface cracked.

BOOOM!

An explosion of terrifying force shook the earth so violently that part of the barricades collapsed. Disciples who couldn't withstand it fell to the ground but, without panicking, activated their defensive techniques.

The artifact, like a match thrown into a fuel canister, ignited the conflict zone. The resulting massive energy fed on both Yin and Yang Qi, spreading flames that vaporized the very earth, turning it to glass.

"Graa!! ShrAAA!"

Burning in seconds, all the ghosts turned to dust, dissolving into the air.

….

"A-ah! Put it out! Put me out!" Jumping up, one of the disciples near the barricades began patting his back, which had caught fire when the wave of blazing flames swept over them.

"Hit the ground! Pure Water Spray!" Activating his Qi, one of the disciples nearby used a technique he'd used on spirit plant fields when he was still an outer disciple.

A dense rain drenched the burning young man, who was rolling on the ground trying to extinguish his clothes.

"Ah! Thanks, brother!" Stopping, he lay on his back and sighed deeply with relief.

"Get up! Get up! Everyone! Now!!" Seeing everyone suddenly relax, the scarred disciple couldn't hold back and began shouting, knowing this was no time to be distracted.

"Kaar! Kaar!"

"Hmm?" Hearing bird cries, he looked at the sky. "Damn! Direct your energy to the shields! Now!"

Concentrating, he activated his defensive technique to maximum and leaped behind the barricades, trying to take cover.

"Kaaar! Kaaar!"

Flying over and hovering directly above them, a cloud of tens of thousands of birds began falling like stones, beak-first.

"Watch out!" Everyone understood what was about to happen and, activating their defenses, huddled and hid wherever they could.

The moment they hit the ground, the birds exploded, showering everything with their innards, which continued to burn as if soaked in fuel. Upon contact with any surface, they burned straight through.

Everywhere, falling and exploding, they blanketed everything in flames that couldn't be extinguished.

"Ugh! G-get it off!"

"My head! Pl-please, put it out! Someone!!"

Chaos reigned. Hitting the disciples' shields, the innards continued to burn, consuming the shield's energy and thinning the contact points. Eventually, they burned through, hitting unprotected skin, melting flesh, muscle, bone, everything in their path.

'Where! Where are they?! Why hasn't anyone come to help! Where are they?!' Beginning to panic, the scarred disciple crawled out from behind the ruins.

Before his eyes was a true hell, enough to make one's hair stand on end.

Everything around was engulfed in bright, unquenchable flames that only grew stronger. Disciples ran about, seeking help. Others, more severely wounded, without the strength to move, screamed for assistance, but only groans escaped their throats.

'Th-this is the end! We can't hold out! It's impossible! Why?! Why did they abandon us?!' Grabbing his head with both hands, panic seized the scarred disciple. 'I-I have to run! Yes! Otherwise, I'll die here! Run!'

Activating his Qi, he ran as fast as he could deeper into the camp, completely ignoring the cries for help from disciples around him.

Those still able to stand, seeing the man who had taken command fleeing with his tail between his legs, took it as a signal. With hope in their eyes, they began running after him, abandoning everyone and everything behind in the still-burning hell.

"N-no! Please! Take me with you!"

"Don't leave us!"

"Please! Brothers! Sisters! Anyone!"

Left behind, abandoned, all they could do was scream at their retreating backs. Cries of desperation quickly turned into curses and insults.

….

Just a few minutes later, as most of the flames began to die down, a massive group of over three hundred emerged from the dark forest.

Advancing slowly, they stepped over the scorched earth, over the charred corpses.

"Kill any survivors!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

Lying in the rubble, still breathing, the disciples who heard that cry lost their very last shred of hope.

Some accepted their fate, watching the cultivator standing over their burned bodies raise their weapon, aiming for their head.

Others cursed, spitting blood-mixed saliva until the very end.

Some wept uncontrollably, begging their executioners for mercy.

….

"Third Brother Oshe! Over thirty have retreated deeper into the camp!" Surrounded by puppets, corpses, and her fellow sect members, Gren Lia stood on her tiptoes and looked past the heads at the monk leading the group of bald-headed ones, praying over the corpses.

"Brother Stor! What does your oracle say?" Still holding his hands before him, praying over the charred corpse, Third Brother Oshe looked at the 2.5-meter giant nearby.

Examining the fallen bodies, the giant pulled out a notebook and, opening it, stared intently at its blank page.

After some time, characters appeared on the page.

Putting the notebook away, he raised his head and looked deeper into the camp. "They have a retreat passage... We missed it... They're concentrating their forces there. Hmm, it won't be easy, even if the other two groups join us." Turning to Gren Lia, he continued, "Due to the terrain in that passage, our attack would stall, and we'd suffer heavy losses."

"Wait, are you sure? Our scouts didn't find any passage or anything like that..." Frowning, Gren Lia lowered herself from her tiptoes and began spinning the small sphere in her hands.

"Yes, I'm sure. The Great Oracle is never wrong." Nodding heavily, he placed his hand over the inner pocket where the notebook lay.

"Brothers and sisters, we have no choice! We've been given a mission, and we must complete it! The Great One is with us! It watches over us!" Finishing his prayer over the corpses, Third Brother Oshe lowered his hands and, stepping forward, led his people onward.

Seeing this, the others gave commands and moved forward as well.

….

"UGH!" Blocking with his two short swords, Dego, not expecting such a powerful attack, was sent flying backward, his back slamming into the stone wall.

"Haha! Is this all a core disciple of the righteous sect is capable of? What a pity!" Twirling a wooden staff in one hand and a wooden ball in the other, the bald girl looked at Dego Two Strikes with undisguised disappointment.

"Ah, if it were another time, this monk wouldn't mind playing with you, especially with that massive body of yours. But alas, I'm already expected elsewhere!”

“Hundred Crowns of Suffering!" Activating her technique, she began spinning her staff above her head, from which blobs of energy shot out and attached themselves to Dego's body at lightning speed.

"W-what is this? Ah! UGH!" Caught off guard, the blobs began penetrating through his skin and burning his nerve endings from within. His veins began to blacken, his limbs grew heavy and dropped, completely losing their obedience.

Plop!

Collapsing to the ground with a crash, the blobs that had penetrated his chest completely shut down his lungs and heart.

Lying on the ground, suffocating, his eyes filled with blood, rage and fear.

Squelch!

With one swift strike, First Sister Osho smashed his head with her staff, spreading it across the cave floor. "This monk wishes you a peaceful path! The Great One is with us! It watches over us!" Wiping the blood from her staff with Qi, she turned and walked back down the corridor.

"Ah! Damn it!"

"Th-they're too many! Young Master Eleo!"

Approaching the massive chamber, the sounds of battle and screams grew clearer.

Finally reaching the spacious cavern, she saw the entire floor littered with corpses, both demonic and righteous. Closing her eyes, she pressed her hand to her face and muttered something, sending the souls off on their final journey.

Opening her eyes and scanning the area, she spotted Dors Sern standing slightly apart from the main battle. Activating her movement technique and taking a step, she appeared beside him.

"Successful?" Not taking his eyes off several righteous cultivators clashing with a large number of his people, he asked in a calm voice.

"Mhm. This monk is not so easily evaded... By the way, what about our plan? What went wrong in the end?" She remembered their plan: once inside the righteous headquarters, they would trap Lu Shen and Tender Rose from both sides to quickly eliminate them.

"The moment you separated to block the tunnel, Lu Shen stood rooted to the spot, smiled like a maniac, grabbed Tender Rose, and dashed off, shouting for us to attack without him... What was I supposed to do? Retreat? Say, 'Sorry, wrong cave'?" With a furrowed nose and dark lines forming on his forehead, he glared at the battle before him.

"So our entire plan, all that scheming, for nothing? Sigh... I knew it would all go sideways..." Tapping her staff lightly on the ground, First Sister Osho began scanning the cultivators present.

"Then I'll take those three! They look strong!" Pointing her staff at three righteous disciples, one of whom was Mighty Horn, a core disciple of the Heavenly Soul Sect, his bald head gleaming with every movement.

She grinned and, with one swift motion, crossed nearly the entire chamber, appearing right before her new opponents.

"Perhaps her actions are right. We should finish this here as quickly as possible, without giving Lu Shen more opportunities." Sighing, Dors Sern activated his Qi and, drawing his sword from his ring, slowly walked into the heart of the battle.