Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 96 - Perfect Timing

"So, the humans are playing safe, hmm? That's fine, there is no need to-"

"Gah! Kong Zhi! None of us will join you! You might as well kill us now!"

Several struggling demons were pinned on the ground by a number of demons. In front of them was Kong Zhi, a hulking man with stone-like skin and a large hammer on his back. They looked hatefully at him, the one that interrupted him even had the gall to spit at his feet.

"Hahahaha", he laughed mockingly.

"Oh I honestly do not understand you. Why would you not join me? Are you not sick of living like this? In fear? Having to suffer everyday while the other races are living in bliss?" he looked at them, "You would even throw away our pride to join the humans?"

"Why do you think that, you bastard. You think we would join someone as merciless as you? Do you think we cannot see past your facade? You claim to be fighting for the good of our kind but we can see that you only fight for yourself!" they looked at him, each and every gaze locked onto his eyes.

But it was brushed off.

"Boring, kill them. We move in two hours."

Kong Zhi turned around and walked away.

"You fucking monster! You have no mercy! No heart! No morals! I hope you die a torturous death!" the demon shouted away, berating him as he and the others were dragged off.

Nothing he said budged Kong Zhi.

"Hm, having a heart is only a weakness. Mercy and morals do nothing", he muttered.

"My lord!" a messenger bowed before him, "An army of the humans are heading towards the south to interfere with our detachment!"

"Really? Let them skirmish for a bit. It is not yet the right time to confront them. I need more power, enough to completely crush them."

As the demon continent's situation continued to stir, Ming Yue had thought of a good name for her sword. One that fit her quite well.

"Drifting Sky."

"Drifting Sky?" Xuan Yin was a bit unsure as to what led to this name.

"Yes, drifting like the wind, wandering, just like me."

"What about sky?"

"This sword has both Parting Sun and Splitting Moon, naming it with Star doesn't seem right. Only the skies can contain the sun and moon, thus sky was a good choice."

"Hmm, simple but direct. Quite like you."

"Quite a nice name, a bit poetic I might add", Lord Qin walked out of the forge carrying Xuan Yin's bow.

"Here, I didn't change too much of it. Your grandfather would kill me if I did anything more than this", he gave the bow back to her, almost identical to before.

"Ah Drifting Sky, pretty good, drifting like the wind yet carrying the vastness of potential. Surpassing the celestial bodies and going beyond", he said.

Seconds later, multiple bells started ringing throughout the city. Li Gang ran into the field hurriedly.

"Old man! There's a beast horde coming!" he yelled out.

"Oh, what good timing! Why don't the both of you try out your new weapons?" He smiled at them before tapping the ground twice with his hammer, now small.

As the forge began to close again, the two women ran off to help defend the city.

"Is it a big one?"

"Larger than normal, our spotters have seen up to rank three beasts."

"Eh, those two will be enough to help out. Anyways, help me out! My little home has become a mess because of Ming Yue, help me tidy it up!"

"What...but...fine."

"That's what I like to hear! Hah! Catch this!"

He threw a shovel at Li Gang and went back to his home.

"What? You expect an old man like me to do all this work? Come on, you're still young! I better see this done by the end of the week!"

Li Gang was exasperated and could do nothing but follow his orders. As he went to fill up the innumerable craters, the city was in an uproar.

The moment those warning bells were heard, everyone had gone into a defensive state, closing their stores and workshops. From the looks of it, it seemed that they were all quite used to these attacks, knowing their positions and running about without panicking. Many headed to the walls, manning multiple wall cannons and other defensive structures. Others went outside of the walls, acting as a defensive line. While Xuan Yin went to the walls, Ming Yue joined the front lines.

Fortunately it seemed that the beast horde was only coming from the west side. The sounds of stomping grew louder and louder, following them, a mass of beasts emerged from the forest. Many of them were blood red, had saggy skin, and ghastly, their faces were human-like, a vicious expression on each one. Big or small, one horn or six, these four legged creatures were something born from a nightmare.

"Blood Fiends! Fire!" an order was shouted out from the walls.

Loud cracks reverberated as the sky was lit with fire. Raining down on them, the ground was filled with explosions and blasts. Bodies were incinerated from the blast barely able to pass survive the barrage. Some of the stronger ones were a bit more resilient, able to take several hits before going down.

"Blood Fiends?" Ming Yue thought, "What were these creatures and where did they come from?"

"Hmm, something must have happened in the Bai Yan Plains. For so many of them to come, it might be something big", someone spoke beside her, slightly bothered by this horde.

Seconds later the barrage stopped, only those with bows continued to shoot.

"Hold them off while we reload!"

Hearing this, those at the front lines moved forward. A sixth of the horde was decimated from the cannons but it did not deter their ferocious charge. Everyone prepared themselves and waited for the horde to arrive.

The first one arrived only to be smashed down by a hammer, the rest followed, lunging at them. As the fighting ensued, dead fiends laid on the ground. Any injured just attacked once more.

Ming Yue was one of the few who struck out on her own. From her first attack to her latest one, she was greatly enamored with Drifting Sky. The sensation was different, the balance was different, but it was good. It felt much easier to wield. She did not have to expend too much strength to cut down these Blood Fiends.

Running her own energy through it, the blade was covered in an invisible force, increasing it's sharpness by leaps and bounds. The whole process was smooth, almost effortless. She launched out a wind blade, cutting through tens of fiends.

Her kill rate was among the highest, bodies left on the ground by the dozens. Three fiends jumped at her, their jaws filled with sharp fangs. In an instant, she cut off their heads in one fell swoop.

To her right, she noticed Fu Shan charging about, flinging bodies away with his fists. His large bronze gauntlets flew about in a furious rage. Each strike ruptured the ground as rock spikes pierced any unlucky fiend.

Other figures were just as brilliant as his. One carried a plethora of strange creations, each one deadlier than the last: an electrified net, a contraption that shot out spears, small handheld bombs, etc. Another controlled five identical swords with their hands, waving about while the swords cut through any in its way.

Minutes later, a loud voice shouted out.

"Retreat! We're finished reloading!"

Everyone ran back and watched the horde get decimated once more. Any stragglers that managed to get through were swiftly dealt with. They took this chance to relax and recover for bit. Those Blood Fiends were not extremely strong but they were quite forceful and gave no one a rest.

During this brief rest, Fu Shan walked up to Ming Yue.

"Hey Ming Yue", he said, "You aren't too bad of a fighter!"

She looked back and gave a little smile.

"I trained a lot', she replied.

"Whose this?" at this moment, multiple figures appeared from behind his back.