128 Please sit tigh (1/2)

The east gate was in a state of chaos. With the line broken, the Fallen Gods had begun their assault.

A single punch made the spell that glistened overhead pulse with waves of violet light before completely shattering. A powerful blast echoed through the air.

People screamed, their attack in utter disarray against the Fallen Gods piling at the gates. It was only moments yet before their enemies would fully break through.

”Out of the way!” Yuan Xuelan yelled, pulling a fool by the collar out of the trajectory of a Fallen God's swing. He then launched the spear in this hand, aiming for the Fallen God closest to the gate. It pierced its giant palm as the being raised a fist toward the gate.

The monster flinched its gaze toward Xuelan's direction.

The Fallen God was turning its heel. Its speed and reaction were fast, not yet being bled or damaged much. Just what in the world were these fools stationed here even doing?

Apparently not much!

Yuan Xuelan hissed as he took his free hand to pull out more talismans. Luckily he'd restocked a little before making his way over. ”Follow my lead, idiots!” He bellowed, trying to rally the panicked men and women who cowered before the might of the Fallen Gods.

It was already total chaos, but Yuan Xuelan was doing his best to shepherd them. Those that seemed to be running off on their own seemed to have no idea what they were doing, as if having completely thrown out Liu Sumeng's earlier briefing.

A stream of talismans shined a silver glow and wrapped around the advancing Fallen God's limbs, slowing their advance down. It wasn't much but enough to provide an opening, Yuan Xuelan summoned another spear from his interspatial ring. In his other hand, Silei buzzed with power.

He dashed forward to take the advantage gained, slicing apart the Fallen God's vital veins and piercing deep with the spear.

Only by using all these tools in swift and proper succession was one able to properly defeat the monster. One mistake can cost a life but with skilled execution, a single cultivator could defeat a Fallen God without too much difficulty.

Someone seemed to have picked up on his methods and followed his lead just as Xuelan had told them to, unleashing talismans as a quick restraint before closing in.

Soon, more and more cultivators began to gain their bearings. Some with more success than others.

A sharp death cry echoed to Yuan Xuelan's right when a man didn't time his advance properly and was crushed to death with a single step. But for one life lost, two more Fallen Gods were brought to their knees, sinking into a pool of their own blackened blood.

Good.

Still, Yuan Xuelan had no luxury of relaxing and was still far from regaining a foothold at this choke point.

A part of his mind absently wondered where the fuck that stupid Chen Jiang even went but there was no time to search and look for the Second Young Master Chen. For all Xuelan knew, it could already be too late for Anyue's second brother.

'Focus!' A chiding chirp echoed through his mind, snapping his attention to a giant palm coming his way. Yuan Xuelan rolled out of way at the last moment, his breath becoming labored from exertion. He cursed.

”Is there any way for you to do that thing again?” He huffed at the bird nestled somewhere in the corner of his brain. His body lagged with straining sores, heavy from fatigue. He was in need of that total concentration that Huo Tang had forced his mind into earlier.

'If it were as simple as such!' Huo Tang huffed, 'I am already doing what I can. Do not nag me and simply focus on staying alive. I will say however this place is as good as lost so long as it continues like this.'

Yuan Xuelan clicked his tongue, knowing that the words she spoke were ones of truth. Sure, there were finally idiots beginning to pick up the slack, but that didn't mean they were able to regain any ground. Even more Fallen Gods dotted the horizon and while not enough to count an army, every individual was a horror to recon with.

Dread curled up in Yuan Xuelan's heart as the inevitable was slowly sinking in. His mind raced, trying to find any way out of the situation while he fought. With anxiety taking over, Huo Tang could not summon that rage-induced concentration and was left to screech in frustration in the far corners of Yuan Xuelan's consciousness.

Finally there was a voice that caught his attention, but the one as well was one that came from the depths of his thoughts.

'Xuelan.'

Yuan Xuelan startled at first, leaping back to avoid a fist slamming down. A deep crater formed in the ground, causing the young cultivator to swear.

'Xuelan, are you okay?'

It was Liu Sumeng's voice. Why was the Ivory Sword Saint contacting him through the spell? Was here something wrong at the southern side of the city?

In a moment of panic, he veered his attention to the south. But with the entirety of Reling in his line of vision there was nothing he could make out aside from the far off echoes of battle and the flashes of spell work that lit the night sky.

'Sumeng? What's wrong? What's going on?'

'...I'm fine. I felt…I felt something off. Perhaps I was over-thinking. I wanted to check if you were okay.'

Yuan Xuelan blinked. His flesh burned from wounds, cuts and scrapes from falling and tumbling. His muscles were screeching, overworked and sore and he was looking right at the face of death in the form of tall Fallen Gods with blackened scleras and calm visages.

Yet what was this surge of warmth that came over his heart? Suddenly, Silei felt lighter, the ground not as slippery.