"What the f*ck?! Jia soldiers in Fortuna?" he frowned at the thought. How was this possible? There were multiple detection formations active around the city 24/7. Any Jia soldier within 10 miles of the city would be found out. There was no way for them to sneak in….unless…
He dialed another number. Yangdi picked up on the first ring, "Did you find out anything?"
Yangdi shook his head, "Only that the beast hall and several other places had been attacked a few hours ago. They came out of nowhere and then vanished just as quickly," he snapped his fingers.
"How the hell is that possible?"
"It's not. Someone is helping them from the inside. I'm 80% sure of it."
"What? Can you find out who?"
"I'm trying but I've already lost a few men. They seem to be prepared and covered their tracks well," Yangdi nodded.
"Alright, let me know as soon as you find any new information."
Hao Xuan sat on the platform and couldn't help but think about the timing of it all. The beast hordes, evacuations, the neverending rain, and now the Jia attacks?
One after another disaster struck the Mei kingdom in the last few weeks. Suddenly a face flashed past his eyes.
"Jiang Ling, the hidden prince. Is it him again?" he mumbled.
*BOOOOM*
The seven beasts were attacking the chains continuously. Two of the chains were already destroyed and another was close to breaking.
Hao Xuan looked up at the massive beasts, shrouded in darkness. Were these guys under someone's orders as well? Most beasts of that level would have their own consciousness and weren't mindless creatures like the ones attacking them right now.
"SEAN!" there was a loud shout from his left. He turned around and saw the situation. There were hundreds of beast corpses piled around him in a circle. The old men were still fighting with crazed expressions on their faces.
Out of the three hundred or so, less than two hundred were left alive, and many of them had severe injuries as well.
"What are they fighting so hard for? Just escape for god sakes!"
"How could they escape with those creatures just outside the city walls? Unless they were flying, there is no way to outrun those things."
"But still, what's the point of fighting like that?"
"Then should they just give up?"
"I-I didn't say that…"
The comments on the stream didn't stop for even a second.
Hao Xuan looked around him and felt out of his element. There was so much going on that he didn't know where to start. He channeled Qi into his badge and contacted Kuo.
"What's the situation over there?"
"Not good," Kuo's voice came from the other side and in the background, there were some shouts and screams.
"We passed by a river and got attacked by these strange creatures. They jump out, attack, and jump back into the river. Occasionally there will be a tentacle or two that will drag someone into the water as well. We've already lost a few hundred people like this."
Hao Xuan went silent and tried to think of something to say to help, but couldn't find the words.
"Just…..do your best. Try to get to the grade two city, it will be safe there," he said through gritted teeth.
"….yes…captain," Kuo's low-spirited voice came through one last time before the transmission shut off.
He took a long breath and looked out towards the front. The rain impinged on his back like the beating of a hammer. The old men were falling one by one and soon would all be gone. There were still four chains left on the formation and it would take at least another half an hour.
He looked at their faces and all of them had wide smiles on their faces. To them, this was not a bad end.
"Hey old man, can you do me a favor?" he asked Charles who was fighting three beasts at once.
"Haha, ask away. As long as it's in my power, why not?" he laughed.
"Can you help my men? They are trying to bring the civilians away but are under attack. Instead of throwing your lives away here, can you help those people escape?" Hao Xuan mumbled the last sentence but almost everyone still heard it.
Charles thrust his hand outwards and threw a beast dozens of meters away. He looked at Hao Xuan's downcast expression and couldn't help but soften his.
"Sure, as long as it will help, why not?"
"Yeah, of course. You're in charge so just tell us what to do."
"Yea yea, why are you so depressed? Is that it?"
Several of the others chimed in as well and laughed.
Charles walked up to Hao Xuan and extending his hand. Hao Xuan looked at him for a few seconds before grabbing it and standing up.
He hit Hao Xuan on the head lightly, "You're so young, don't lose hope so quickly. Men should be bold, strong in the face of adversity. How can you show your face back home if you sit around moping like this?"
"Come, give us the location of the caravan, we will go help them," he pointed at his spirit band.
Hao Xuan didn't have the words to describe his current mood. Deep down he knew there was little chance they could actually do anything to change the situation, but still, he hoped for a miracle.
He gave Kuo's location to them. They summoned their contracted beasts and left one by one.
"Go and help them as much as possible," he ordered Ensis who also left silently.
"How could a few dozen old men make any difference?" Hyde's voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw him standing there with an umbrella.
"Do you even need an umbrella?" he asked absentmindedly.
"No, but I like it," he calmly replied.
"Stop overthinking everything. You can't do anything about things a million miles away. Focus on what's in front of you. Look, all those dumb creatures want a piece of you, let them have it," he pointed towards the front.
Hao Xuan turned around and saw innumerable beasts circling the platform. There were thousands upon thousands of them all around him.
"Remember the plan, you just need to last a few more minutes," Hyde vanished once again, leaving Hao Xuan alone.
***
"Oi, what is he doing?"
"Why is he just standing there?"
"I think he lost it."
"Can you blame him tho?"
***
Hao Xuan held out his hand as the cold rain fell on his skin.
"I really am overthinking things aren't I?" he mumbled.
He waved his hand and Black and White appeared on his shoulders.
"Give up, little thing. What can you do now?" a sharp voice rang in his head. He looked up and saw the Griffin right above one of the chains.
"You know, I almost did," he smiled at it.
"But I can't," and then shook his head.
"You will die, and so will all the others. It is meant to be," the Griffin said once again.
The people-watching through the stream could not hear the Griffin, so to them, it looked like Hao Xuan was having a one-sided conversation with himself.
***
"Welp, he's actually lost it."
"I feel bad for him, man."
"You wanna take his place?"
"….I don't feel THAT bad…"
Xu Qing was sitting in the mansion, surrounded by Yun Wentian, Green and Red, watching anxiously.
Lois, Beatrice, and a few of their co-workers were sitting in a restaurant, also watching the stream like almost everyone else present. Lois was gripping the table so tightly that her fingers had gone white, looking at the lone silhouette on the screen.
Sin was sitting in a palace somewhere far, far away. There were a dozen or so young men and women all around her, dressed in fancy clothes. In front of them was a screen where the stream was playing.
"Oh, that poor guy. Does princess know him?" one of the girls looked at the screen and then at her before letting out a giggle.
The others also looked at the screen. One of the men let out a scornful laugh, "How could our great mistress know a filthy human like that?"
Sin frowned and threw him a dirty look before looking away, "Yes, I know him. We spent a night together, a long time ago," she said calmly.
One of the girls had just taken a sip of an expensive-looking wine when she heard her, "Pffft" she spat it out like a fountain. Everyone present exchanged glasses and then looked at the screen with interest.
***
Hao Xuan burst out laughing, "Hahaha. Even if, I still have my oath to keep. Do you know it?"
The Griffin looked at him with a confused expression. Why would IT know a human's oath?
"It's fine. I will tell you anyway. No matter who is behind this, you're not going to win…"
He stomped his right foot on the ground and a small shockwave spread out. Looking up at the Griffin he spoke lightly;
"Because, I am the shield that shall not break,"
The Force Qi circulated throughout his body.
"I am the sword that shall not bend,"
The Emperors Qi leaked out and covered the surrounding areas;
"I shall kill until the Heavens fall and the Earth rends."
Sundering energy covered his arms.
"Kill me, and my brother shall take my place,"
Black and White that were sitting on his shoulders slid down and started expanding. Within a blink of an eye, they were over 60 feet long with terrifying mouths. (image in authors note)
"Rise and Rise again I shall, like a Phoenix from the ashes, until the Lambs become Lions and the Rule of Darkness is no more."
He met the Griffin's contemptuous gaze as black lightning covered his arms before whispered to himself,
"For we, are the Red Legion!"
*SCREEECH*
The Griffin let out an angered screech and all the beasts rushed in all at once.
Hao Xuan smiled looking at them and shouted one last time,
"THE ASSAULT OF THE MAD GOD!"
His arms expanded one size and he lunged at them with a massive grin. Black and White's eyes went red as they spat out flames all around them before following right behind him.
*Rip*
*Crack*
*ROAAR*
A cacophony of sounds that sent chills down the spectator's backs came through.
Entire beasts blew up like grenades when Hao Xuan punched them. Others had their limbs ripped off like they were made from clay.
"HAHAHA"
Right now Hao Xuan resembled a Feindgod with his crazed attitude. Wherever he went, blood showered like rain, and body parts flew around like debris in a tornado.
Black and White didn't want to be any less than their master so they ate and burnt everything in their path. No one, absolutely no one would be able to tell these two horrendous creatures were the same little worms in his hand from earlier.
***
For the first time since the stream had started almost 10 hours ago, the comment section was empty. No one had anything to say. What could they say? Seeing…..that?
***
Authors Notes:
Black and white after transformation:
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f7/4d/1d/f74d1dea7879bc337efd3d99021869e7.jpg
Shortened URL: https://urlzs.com/3kWzy
