Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

And finally, when one would think it would never end, Ming Yue stopped sending the Storm Lances. She just looked down and watched as the billowing dust began to settle. She clutched her dagger tightly before slowly descending. There were even a few lances floating above her shoulders, all of them ready to be shot. 

"That was close... too close", she thought to herself. 

The moment she realized Qing Chai's mouth was a moment away from eating her, she knew had to make a move. Even if she wasn't resigned to her fate at that point, her heart nearly stopped at the sight of hundreds of jagged fangs.

A single mistake nearly resulted in her death. 

"I should've thought further ahead, getting so close was a stupid mistake."

She examined herself, ending up relatively unscathed. 

Zi Jing and the other soldiers arrived at the scene and stopped in front of the destruction they saw. Apart from them were those from the bunkers, including the two disciples of the Jadewood Sect and Hei Yue. 

Before them was a crater, a massive crater riddled with smaller ones inside it. It was black and smoking from the Storm Lances. All of the grass and trees had become ash. The surrounding flora was singed black. 

"This is enough to destroy a mountain..."

The soldiers all muttered to themselves. Apart from Zi Jing and Ya Lang, none of them have ever witnessed such scale of damage. At least, not from a single person. 

As Ming Yue landed on the ground, she stood by them and gave everyone a look. 

"I don't know if she is still alive", she replied. 

The commander looked at her before glancing over to the others. He breathed out a sigh of exhaustion before shouting instructions. 

"In that case, let's go find out. Everyone! Have your weapons ready!" 

Metal clinked as their grip tightened and everyone prepared themselves. As tired as they were, the end was in sight. 

"Alright then, let's finish this." 

Zi Jing walked forward, leading everyone while Ming Yue walked beside him. She still had her dagger, the Zephyr Claws, and several Storm Lances ready to be used. 

As they came closer and closer, the remaining dust began to settle, revealing the silhouette of Qing Chai.

The sight of her was simply a wretched one. Her body was beaten to a pulp, covered in burns, and left in a puddle of blood. She breathed weakly as her mouth had returned to its original form. What became of her fangs was nothing but shattered bone. Her eyes were open but thinly so, she could barely keep them from closing.

But she soon noticed their approach and began to laugh. What came out was a wheeze and a cough as blood spilled out from her mouth. 

"Aghahaha, to think I'd be beaten by my own prey, how vexing." 

She looked at them, struggling to rise up but her body was beyond repair. 

"So hopeless, my daughters are dead and soon I too will be joining them but don't think that your victory is anything significant", she spat put with a smile on her face. 

"Just because you've managed to kill the Tide King and the Ironclad King doesn't mean that you're victory is at hand. Just because you've defeated me, the Red Empress, doesn't mean that you can relax just yet. Do you know how vast Lord Kong Zhi's army is? I'm just a replacement and there will be someone else to replace me. If you kill them, there will be another replacement. There are demons within his ranks that are far older and far stronger than you may believe. If you think that your efforts mean anything, it doesn't."

When she finished, the dying demon looked at Ming Yue especially. 

"And you, the one who dared harm my Lord, kill my daughters, slaughter me like a lamb... There will be others."

And then, she drew her last breath, laying on the ground, at the center of this devastation. The Red Empress died after giving one single warning, one final message.

All of them watched before Zi Jing breathed out in relief, his five swords all stopped trembling, returning to their sheathes. And everyone else followed, putting away their weapons but carrying a heavy aura around them. 

He turned around and looked at them all with a sour look. 

"What are you all moping for? We won, that's all that matters. Those words that Vore Demon said was just a sad attempt to rattle us. Don't forget, the plan succeeded, for better or for worse. Let's go back to the camp, grab a few people to collect the lizard corpses."

The atmosphere lightened through his words as everyone all nodded. 

"Yeah, yeah, let's go back." 

"I definitely could use some rest." 

"A bath sounds pretty good." 

Then, Ya Lang looked at them all before shouting. 

"Come on! I'm sure we're all tired from this. A few days of rest should do all of us some good!"

Their captain turned and walked off, leading everyone away. Only Ming Yue and ZI Jing remained, standing by Qing Chai's corpse. Zi Jing glanced at her before focusing on the dead demon. With her back turned to him and the others moving away, he revealed a serious expression, one of concern and fear. 

"Replacements... stronger demons... Even with Gao Ri's knowledge, we simply know too little about Kong Zhi's army. He, himself is not undefeatable but there must be some hidden powerhouses", he thought. 

"I can only find comfort knowing that Du Xiu can still fight him but... for how long? I need to prepare countermeasures."

He gave Ming Yue another look, she continued to linger on Qing Chai's corpse before turning to leave. Her face was blank, devoid of any expression as her two pets followed her. 

And for the third time, he released a tired breath and shook his head. 

"It won't be long now before it happens, before she is met with a forked road where she has no choice." 

His words were strange to hear but in time, they would soon come true. 

As the commander began to walk, he felt something buzzing in his pocket and took out a medallion. 

"Hm? The Commander's Medallion? And, it's from Commander Du Xiu, what happened?" 

Activating it, he heard the voices of the other Commanders, all but one, Du Xiu, himself. 

"Hello? Did something happen?" ZI Jing asked.

All of the soldiers and Ming Yue stopped when they heard him. 

The other commanders all had the same concerns as they waited for Du Xiu to speak. And then, he finally spoke. 

"I have some news."

His tone was dark and solemn as his words came. 

"While we have made advancements in the south, Kong Zhi's army has attacked the north and taken over", he announced. 

In an instant, all of them exclaimed in shock. 

"What? How?" they asked, "The situation in the north should've been stable. How did he take it so quickly?" 

Du Xiu answered and the one he gave caused everyone's heart to drop. 

"He did it with the help of the Mu Clan... and the Hundun Clan. Their Idol of Chaos led a force of demons and destroyed the Yao Clan. Many of them managed to escape and find refuge in the North Fort but they will set their sights on me. Therefore, I'm calling for reinforcements from all of you to head north. For now, they're staying in the mountains but I do not know when they will advance. That is all, I have much to do and the war has become much more difficult." 

His voice then disappeared, leaving the other commanders. They were all at a loss for words. 

The same went for Ming Yue, Ya Lang, and everyone who heard the news. 

As for the young cultivator, such news was unexpected and truly the worst.