With my new spear/polearm retracted to the fullest and ready, my armour extends and covers my whole body. Now I'm still being carried in this bright night sky, with the Phoenix Honour Guard beside me within the full view of my eye.

The new waves of aerial monsters that look like some kind of thin bat with its skeleton-like arms and large wings come charging with full speed at us even after their losses, the guards kill and slice every enemy that came, not even backing off a single inch on all sides. Yet, even when beset in all side we are still moving forward and mowing down waves after waves easily thanks to the use of fire magic.

I sweat heavily with all the burning flames surrounding me, smelling the burning flesh of the monster that just charges blindly at us, yet Saya hugs me close not letting go nor taking took the leisure to look anywhere, digging her head in my chest while Yuwei provide support from the center, giving orders, buffs, range support while summoning firebirds to attack and burn through the wave and some of the birds even manage to get out.

Hanging in the air feeling numb in my feet, luckily still being able to breathe unlike my fight with Aoi and my hands are still moving.

"Good," I whisper to myself.

Yet I wonder, am I even needed? Everyone is doing fine even from below and above, their formation looks like some sort of sphere with multiple layers and the line formation 14, 8, 3, 3, 3, 8, 14. With Yuwei, me and Saya as the center. With the first line fighting in melee, the second attacks with both range and melee, while the rest of the formation fires range attacks from the back while making fire nets between their gaps and firewalls behind it making the monster that flies through the gaps somehow burn in mere seconds they enter the second line. Making this look like some flying fortress... It's amazing! Yet, I only have one range attack which is the qi burst and I can't even provide buffs other than verbal cheers nor can I fly like them...

"I'm really just a burdened aren't I?" I whisper slowly.

When I feel my head gets nudge, I look up seeing Yuwei saying:

"Don't be so pessimistic Sova, preserve your strength and get ready when we enter the palace, we'll need you in the ground battle so watch and see how everyone fights. Observe and learn, you use the same type of weapon as the guards, right? Then learn and devise new techniques from your mistakes and successes. That's how Martial Artist grow strong in the Martial World... Besides I told you your orders haven't I? Guard Sarah just in case something manage to get through."

My eyes widened when she says that, I grit my teeth before saying:

"You're right Yuwei. I'm going to do all I can too," I feel the fire of passion burning inside.

When Saya suddenly looks at Yuwei saying:

"Looks like you need to take back the words you said to me about not good at cheering people. I say you're a good commander."

Yuwei blushes saying:

"Touch some wood and keep your praises later, just a little more and we will arrive if what I see with my firebirds are correct. Can you still move Sova? You're not paralyzed by fear yet right?"

"Well, I kinda feel numb on my feet. But seeing yours and the guards valour in display, I can't help but feel excited to fight."

I feel my head getting nudge again when Yuwei smile saying:

"Aren't you bloodthirsty? Just keep that feeling there until we're done with this mess and enter the palace."

Yuwei closes her eyes and then opens them in surprise saying:

"The Black Tiger Triad is here!"

The guards near Yuwei was shocked and sudeenly say:

"What! Could they be the one who brought the monsters here? Damn cowards! Why do the populace even love them!" one of the guards scream.

Yuwei grips her hook blade even tighter saying:

"Maybe so, but I'm seeing them fighting the monsters, so they must have another agenda here. Even so, we have more important priorities, focus on heading back to the palace and secure the HQ, we can't let it fall! We will deal with them later."

"Yes Maam!" the phoenix guards scream in unison.

As they all started to move more actively and most units in the rear started to move to the first lines to help out and we started moving faster. Yuwei suddenly raises her blade, placing it near her lips when she starts chanting something and the words, runes, and marks start to glow in bright indigo colour.

She moves forward from the center saying:

"Yeye Yunan and Yeye Weida tell the front to move aside and get some back to the rear, I'll clear the waves away with my arts and be the tip of the beak."

Both of them suddenly clasp their hand saying:

"Yes Maam, all the northern frontlines form a tactical withdrawal formation and reinforce the side and our rear! Our mistress will be the arrowhead!"

"Yes, Sir!" they all started opening a gap while summoning the fire nets and walls while retreating to the side.

Yuwei suddenly lifts me and hand me over to one the guards saying:

"Yeye Gongzu, guard these two with your life, if anything happens to them I'll be really disappointed."

"Of course, Maam!" he starts to carry me the same way Yuwei did.

(I seriously feel like I'm treated like a piece of baggage)

"Good," Yuwei reply firmly before looking ahead.

She pulls out another metal rod with her left arm and it starts to glow and becomes another hook sword identical with the left one. The hook swords brought forth a soft glowing light as it envelopes Yuwei's whole body before it turns into a slick Indigo coloured female full plate armour with its right pauldron the shape of an open wing, and the left pauldron the shape of a folded wings. While her chest has a long tabard with a beautiful design insignia of a rising phoenix and her legs has the same design as her arms and the feet has a spread open wing on her heels. She definitely stands out more than all the guards here or even Uncle Lixue.

She raises the sword in her left arm chanting when I realize that each sword has different writings, as soon as it glows the guards are already leaving the front open and monster suddenly come in drove at Yuwei while still burning. As she starts to take the same stance she makes at my aunt's workshop.

She dashes ahead into the fray saying:

[Almighty roaring tiger technique, Fury path: Tiger's Rampage!]

"Huh!?"

Most of the guards that can hear and Saya were baffled by the name of the technique. Yet she just continues ahead creating a whirl of slashes that looks like four claw marks from just a single blade made of her indigo flames cutting a path from all her front view and wrapping herself in a fire sphere as the monster burns as they get near the sphere.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The one carrying us even starts saying:

"S-she's actually using the tiger families arts, impossible! Where did mistress learn it!?"

A path was suddenly created when Yuwei shouts saying:

"Don't get shocked by some trivial things and get left by me, who are you!"

They all suddenly fights harder saying:

"We're the Phoenix Honor Guards!" and everyone moves ahead even faster than before.

Saya's face was still in shock when I ask her:

"Hey what's wrong? Is it what Yuwei use as her technique?"

"Of course it is! Each Martial Artist has their own sectors family secret arts to learn, if you came from the tiger family then you will learn the tiger's technique, the dragon family the dragons technique and I haven't even got to the paths nor the other forms. Yet here she is using one of the arts of the tigers and not only that she even manages to use the path technique too, of course, we are baffled!" the guard that carries me nodded in agreement.

"You're surprisingly knowledgable about this Senior Saya," I reply back.

"Of course, I told you already, knowledge is power, keep it safe. What about you Sova? Why are you not surprised by this aren't you a Martial Artist yourself? Don't you know anything about techniques or arts?"

"Well, I never really want to be a Martial Artist but I guess the reason I'm not surprised is that I saw Sis Rubeca actually using more than 8 and I stopped counting during training. Sadly I can't remember each and the only who manage to learn it all is actually May."

"What!?" the guard and Saya scream in unison.

"Could it be Yuwei learned those from that woman... I guess she's not lying back then when she told us that she is stronger than any of us and told us to learn from her. We just took it as a joke and a lie since she doesn't want to show it to us back then... I'm ashamed of myself to ever doubt my mistress!" he grips his polearm stronger than before.

"Gongzu, If you can chat and gossip all day long then give us some range support and buffs here!" one of the guards scream at him.

"Y-yes," he replies back and started firing at the monsters.

When I look at Yuwei again her sphere suddenly explodes, she burst out of the swarm wearing a helmet with no openings but the eyes and a carving of an ascending phoenix that's been pierced by a pillar and dreadlocks as it's tail and her long hair with mismatch colour coming out of her helmet.

(What happened to her bun and that long hairpin?) I thought to myself. When I realize that the pillar is her hairpin.

"So your accessory can fuse with that magic armour?"

"It's soul armour to be more precise, Sova, Right?" the guard carrying me replied back to my comment.

She locks two of her blade and swings it at the swarm creating a bigger tiger claw shape than before. The light of the stars appears shining on her as her form shines and change with each move she makes. It looks like she becomes more than one person as she makes more qi wave slashes and creates more gaps in the swarm. Through each of the gaps she makes, I could see multiple giant bat-like monster with large distorted squirming sacks as their stomachs getting cut in half and its insides crawled out of it's other lower half in countless endless number more of that monster.

"N-no way are they actually breeding out monster the instant we kill them... Is there no end to these monsters?" I ask in worry.

"Don't worry Sova, this is what High Ranking Hunters fight every day you know."

"R-really? This? Every day?"

"Well, only when traveling to their nests, but normal hunts usually less I guess. But these monsters are acting too coordinated, so there must be a leader in their midst that is commanding them. Probably an intelligent type, like they say cut the head and all will be over."

"But how are we gonna find their leader when we are surrounded like this and with them supplying their numbers?"

Saya points at her saying:

"That's the problem, we can't see but she can with her firebirds. So it all depends on her."

I look at her and everyone still fighting with all they got. Their blade, hands, and armour dyed in pure red making each of them look like the champions of war in the stories May force me to read. When I realize I could see a weird looking bird with a long needle beak and crooked legs flapping it's wing so fast it makes it look like there are more than ten. It's six bloodshot eyes and spiked back suddenly came at Yuwei in full speed. Passing the gaps she makes.

"Sis Yuwei watch-"

Before I could finish Yuwei already block it with both her blades and the swarm quickly tries to envelop her. The three rearguards from the third line quickly make a qi wave slice at the swarm nearing Yuwei to prevent the encirclement and provide assistance. The one carrying me suddenly started firing more fire spears at the monsters infront.

Two guards quickly make a down cleave at the monster leader. Only to be grabbed by its crooked feet and stop on its tracks. It suddenly looks at me with one of its six eyes.

(Oh no!)

I scream with my mind and I quickly shake saya saying:

"Saya hug behind me for it's coming at us now!"

As I prepare my weapon the guard grabbing me also prepare his polearm. The monster uses the polearm it grabs and propelled at us. But before it could reach me, two guards from before quickly reach it and thrust at it, aiming at its stomach. The monster just easily grabs their weapon again and propel itself faster to me the last line of defense, the guard holding me quickly raise us up and take a side stance to make us behind him. With one arm, he tried to slash at it. It dodges and quickly flew up and decided to attack the guards above that is guarding the formation above.

Saya's eyes suddenly shine, screaming:

"Not on my watch! [Arlyz]"

Black lightning suddenly appears from her palm, following its trails, the monster looks back and dodges, hitting one of the guards in the second line. Luckily the damage didn't even affect the guard as he continues his duty.

The monster looks at Saya and immediately fly down at us. When it almost reaches us, Yuwei suddenly appears infront of it and quickly make a tornado spin at it. Her body catches on fire and creates a burning tornado similar to Aoi's but with a different colour. Her tornado pushes us away and the monster stops the tornado when it grabs both her blades easily with its crooked leg. Its leg catches on fire and the flames quickly reach its wings. As it tried to pierce Yuwei with its beak, It's wings suddenly stop flapping since it's half burned, Yuwei let go of her weapon and dodges.

The weapon turns back into metal rods and the monster who is now holding two metal rods lost it's footing since it stop flapping its wings and with nothing to hold it's place, It quickly fall and makes a desperate attack trying to pierce Yuwei's head from below, when she dodges to the side while quickly grabbing it's needle-like beak with her right hand, and fire starts to trail to the monster body from both ends, she punches straight through its chest so fast before I could even realize it her left hand now hold it's heart that looks like there is something latch onto it and crushes it easily.

Yuwei holds the monster close saying:

"You're not the first speed type I fight."

The monster burning body limps and turns to goo before turning to cinder then dust. It's blood boil and evaporated by the sheer heat Yuwei emits right now. And I can't stop sweating nor the feeling of thirst now fills me. The atmosphere becomes more heavy and murky, it becomes harder to breathe and I feel suffocated looking at Yuwei who is now covered in flames from head to toe. My vision suddenly becomes darker.

When she looks at me she suddenly disperses all the flames, she comes close and holds my head when I could still feel the heat of her hands through my armour. Her helmet disperse to light saying:

"Sova... palace! Everyone... flames give... breathe!"

When she says that, I tried looking around me to see the surrounding is now clear as the light of the stars basks me from above and a bright purple light dawns me from the left. I look at saya who is still breathing fine... How is she always fine with all this situation?

And suddenly Saya lets go of me, before I could stop her, I was laid down onto the ground and I lose the grip on my weapon. I see Saya raise her hands on top of the laying me and started chanting something before saying:

[Iteralash]

Cold water sprays me from thin air. The sound of sizzles and finally the cold feeling in my skin I needed brings me back forth.

When my vision gets clearer, I get up seeing the guards circling the edge of the roof when another splash hits me. I feel even more refresh, I look at Saya saying:

"Thank you."

She smiles with her buck tooth saying:

"No problem."

I look at Yuwei who is standing on the edge, looking at where the purple light comes from. One of the guards went to her handing her the two metal rods that she dropped and her long hairpin. She takes it saying:

"Thank you Yeye Limu," and keeps all the items in her robe.

(She really knows all their name huh? I wonder how does she differentiate all these people with their helmet on?)

I stand up and stand beside her, looking infront to see the gigantic amethyst palace. With a giant crooked and rugged hills on it's back that surrounds the palace, a beautiful carved tall outer wall that is being besieged by countless monsters in the ground that make it almost impossible to see the streets below and I could see the stray fire killing the airborne monsters.

Even when the palace is burning, thousands of people are on top of the gates, it's a mix of Gate Guards as the vanguard, some soldiers using crossbows and guns with knives on the end, and the Phoenix Honour Guard fighting in the air as they sweep the piled up monster to prevent any monster getting near the top. They all fight, even without looking back, keeping their discipline as they attack.

I could see golems station near the gate pushing away the monsters that tried to reach the upper walls. While near the burning palace gates, I could see catapults and mortars firing some burning elemental rocks at the enemy, giant towers with floating crystals firing lightning and beams of light at our foes.

"This is it, the Amethyst palace..." I whisper to myself.