Yang’s mind raced. What should they do? This would be a difficult battle to win, but if they retreated now the enemy might take that time to escape to somewhere in these mines. Their chances of finding them after that were small. In truth, having them all together in a room like this was very convenient, if they were able to take advantage of it.
The enemy had the numerical advantage but as far as he could tell, few of them were particularly strong. The leader was a notable exception, but Yang could deal with that himself.
And then there was the matter of honor. How would them running from a confrontation with their declared enemy reflect on the sect? After all they’d done, after they’d kidnapped Lady Qingge, could they just turn their backs now?
That did it.
“We’ll fight. Get ready to charge on my command.”
He adjusted his blade and focused on the enemy.
A large fraction of the bandits – at least a third of them – had come together and assumed a defensive formation of several lines, each carrying long spears. Charging in there like this would be little better than suicide, at least for his companions.
If they managed to break them up though, they’d be ill-prepared to fight them in close quarters. Luckily, Yang could do exactly that.
He focused his attention and his will on the ceiling, pulling out a large amount of his remaining qi and bolstering it with more from the environment. Then he started to shake.
The hall was actually rather well supported, and the stone was strong so he couldn’t just pull the ceiling down entirely, but he didn’t need to. Making the bandits feel like he could, was entirely enough.
Pebbles and small rocks started to rain on the formation. Immediately, shuffling and panicked calls began. One bandit was hit in the head and knocked out. Then the next. Larger rocks started falling. The calls grew louder and turned to cries. The first people started breaking away from the line, but the bandit leader barked a command and the unrest subsided again.
Then, a massive boulder broke free and slammed right in the middle of the line. Two bandits managed to jump to the side, but three others were instantly crushed. The line broke apart. Some people tried to run to the side of the room, others tried to advance, it was a full-on route.
“Now!”
Yang and his group charged. He was the first one to crash into the line, swinging his sword in a wide angle. Before, he had fought in a conservative manner, trying to preserve as many enemy lives as possible. Now, with his companion’s lives directly at stake, he didn’t hold back anymore.
The first bandit was split in half at the torso before he could even try to retaliate. A few more tried to draw their sidearms but were each killed or heavily wounded before they could even get them out.
As more bandits rushed in from the sides, the next minutes turned into a true carnage. Yang surrendered his actions to the warrior in him, the one who had struck fear into the hearts his enemies on the battlefield before he had even achieved unification. The part of him that he kept locked away in his day-to-day life, the one that reveled in war, battle and bloodshed.
Then, suddenly, his instincts screamed to jump to the side. He listened to them just in time to see the place he had just stood turn into fine dust beneath the colossal mace swung at him. Yang was confident in his body’s resilience, but that would have hurt even for him. Retreating a few steps, Yang refocused his mind on the challenger.
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The giant leader of the bandits had donned his helmet and was standing before him like a living mountain of dark steel. He wasn’t attacking anymore, instead just standing there, mace casually at his side, looking at Yang. The battle around them raged on but no one on either side dared approach. Then, he spoke.
“You’re from the sect, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am.”
“We were guaranteed you wouldn’t attack us.”
“I know of no such guarantee. If you tell me who gave it to you, I’ll gladly rip their traitorous throat out though.”
The bandit chuckled.
“Sure you will.”
“Let’s not prolong this.”
“No. Let’s not. Before we fight, what is your name?”
“Yang.”
The bandit chuckled again.
“Just Yang, huh? Very well, I’ll engrave that name in my mace. I’m Gang Hou, the Demon of Brightleaf.”
With that, he swung his mace down, Yang stepping back just enough that it missed him by a single inch. For all his strength, size and surprising speed, the man wasn’t exactly hard to read. ‘Demon of Brightleaf, huh?’
Yang took a moment to consider him while dodging further attacks. He was a body cultivator, but not an ordinary one. His size and stature weren’t something people attained naturally. He had recklessly abused the cultivation process to gain strength at all costs, that was the only explanation. At this point, he was probably using most of his time cultivating and many costly drugs just to keep his massive body stable. Even so, this wasn’t something just anybody could achieve – his natural talent had to be immense.
Looking at it like this, the warrior in Yang began acting up again. He was likely the strongest body cultivator he’d ever meet. He wanted to test himself against this man. Wanted to see, who was stronger. He didn’t know what was driving him so much, but he couldn’t resist it.
And so, when the mace rushed down again, instead of dodging, Yang swung his sword against it. The impact was so immense it made his arms tremble and his blade creak. But both held. Swords weren’t made for this kind of usage, but his was broad and thick. That and it was engraved with powerful enchantments, that made it much stronger than any steel ought to be.
His opponent was visibly shocked at having his attack stopped like this, so Yang went on the offense. Their weapons clashed with a force that could bring down walls. Again. And again. And slowly, he was gaining ground.
Yang’s body and soul ached under the pressure, but it wasn’t the time to back down. Every inch gained was a rush of pride and accomplishment. Every strike reflected a statement. The bandit’s strikes became quicker and more desperate, but that didn’t help him. Yang remained strong. Unmovable like a mountain, unstoppable like an avalanche. Just for a single moment, he felt himself become one with his element.
A strength unlike anything he had ever felt before flowed through his body. In this single moment, he could feel the Dao of Earth itself move his body. A final strike.
The giant hunk of metal that called itself mace flew through the air in a high arc, hitting the wall before crashing to the ground next to its bearer. Yang put a foot on the man’s chest and his blade to his neck.
“Surrender, Demon of Brightleaf. You are defeated.”
…
Zian Bai frantically moved through the tunnels, away from the battle. This was all not supposed to happen. Why in all heavens was the Enforcement Hall here? And more importantly, why had nobody informed him of it?
He was wasting his time in a mortal city, dealing with dirty bandits and playing diplomat for a pretend king, all for the sake of his family and they thanked him by not even informing him when the sect decided to do something about it?
No more! He’d return there at once and demand answers! Luckily there were multiple entrances to this damned maze, so he could get of here out without anyone noticing. He didn’t have the slightest desire to have a run-in with the Enforcement Hall cultivators right now.
He just needed to go get a few important documents first. His personal quarters, if he could call that dirty hole in the ground that, were just ahead. Just one more turn to the right, then the second tunnel to the left… and there he was. Reaching for his key, he grabbed hold of the door, only to notice that it was unlocked.
Well, that was strange. He was normally more careful than that. Scratching his head, he opened the door and stepped inside, only to immediately want to turn around and leave again. Sadly, he knew very well that it was much too late for that, so instead he just stood there.
In the room, just a couple meters away from him, the old woman that these lunatics called their grandmother stood, her gaze helplessly cast to the floor. And next to her, casually reclined on a chair, sat Sect Elder Liu Wei, one of the most powerful men in the entire alliance, one of the documents Zian Bai had been here to get in his hand.