Questioning and threatening had not led to anything, the masked attackers releasing their aura, increasing their potency to fighting level, and seemingly planning to deal with the most dangerous enemy first. And so, Yi Lao, the city lord, the standing leader for the [Yi Clan], could only meet aura with aura.
Emperor-realm battles were rarely fought in the material space of a plane, as the sheer force of every attack of theirs would devastate miles around them. But it seemed that the attackers cared nothing about customs or the destruction they could inflict, both weaker Warrior Emperors, a peak 1st level and an intermediate 2nd one, launching against Yi Lao, supported by the aura of the third, stronger attacker.
"You?!" To say Yi Lao was surprised would be an exaggeration, but he was definitively taken aback by the rush into physical combat. Warrior Emperors rarely fought close quarters, all of their fights being a mix of aura, domain, and skills.
Yet any cultivator that had lived, fought, and cultivated for dozens of years had passed through different stages and realms. So even if he was slightly surprised, Yi Lao met them, a fist infused with qi and aura sent to meet each of the two attackers.
*Boom* *Boom* *Shatter*
The sheer power behind a peak 3rd level Warrior Emperor fist was devastating, each punch akin to an explosion. And as it connected with the opponents' fists, the air around them shattered.
*Swoosh* *Swoosh*
Outnumbered, Yi Lao still was the victor of this brief clash, his opponents forced back for a hundred feet, their respective attacking arms shaking and trembling from the force received.
Using this opportunity, Yi Lao commanded his domain to expand.
The three hostiles may have neutralized Lord Yi's aura, but he had not lost an inch of its initial territory. So, his domain quickly settled on, strengthening Yi Lao's control over the surroundings and trying to capture the enemies.
The domain is a unique and signature technique of any cultivator, starting from the Warrior Emperor, the Soul realm of the Earth major realm. A physical manifestation of a combination of one's cultivation method, special abilities, weapon path, and any other masteries.
An evolution of the aura expansion lower realm cultivators used, it would allow, if the opponent was caught within, to use every part of the manifestation for offensive or defensive purposes, giving a definite advantage to the domain user.
Fire pillars, Ice birds, Water streams, Earth dragons, Metal beasts, Thunder swords, the domains could be anything and everything. No matter how similar any two cultivators' paths were, each domain would be different, a signature that there was no way to disguise one's identity if used.
Yi Lao had trained in a cultivation method called [Green Saint], inherited from the clan's founder, based on the Wood element, with light touches of Water and Earth mixed in. Combined with his advances on his weapon, the staff and his domain resembled a forest of thin, long trees.
By willing it, every tree of the constantly growing forest could become a weapon, clad with aura or weapon intent, or combine into an impenetrable defense that could block any attack below Yi Lao's own strength.
With the domain added to his aura, Yi Lao's control over the surroundings began to increase. He started gaining inch over inch, even if he was against clashing against the three combined enemy auras.
Yet, he was far from being sure of winning against the three, so he commanded Cai Zhenkang to retreat, {Move towards the Palace, pass my orders to Formation Grandmaster Yuan Mei, and make her activate the main protective formations of the city. Then, take over command of the forces scattered in the city, and clean it off the attackers.}
Lord Yi's plan was simple, to hold back the Emperor-tier attackers as much as he could, give time for the formation to be fully unraveled, and then if required, retreat inside it, leaving the most dangerous enemies unable to damage either city or the people within. Now, it was just a matter of making it happen.
As Cai Zhenkang acknowledged the orders, begrudgingly accepting he was more of a thorn in Yi Lao's side than someone of help in his current state, the old master began flying away.
*Swoosh* *Swoosh*
But one of the masked attackers, the 2nd level Warrior Emperor one, launched himself to the side, trying to bypass Yi Lao's current domain expanse and intercept Cai Zhenkang's path. But he had yet to cross a few feet as Yi Lao's figure flickered, nearly immediately appearing in between the retreating [Yi Clan] guest master and the attacker, "And where are you going? Aren't the three of you here to fight me?!"
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Yi Lao's domain could be short of surrounding this attacker, but no Warrior Emperor reached their level without having a trick or two inside their sleeves. In this case, a combination of several Martial Skills of high level resulting in a barrage of wooden lances, each the strength of a peak Spirit-tier weapon. And released at such speed that only after several breaths one could hear the sound of them flying through the air. Right when they would already impale the target - if the latter failed to react.
***
A Warrior Emperor's senses could encompass dozens of miles, and Yi Lao's decision to send Cai Zhenkang down to the city, as well as to activate the formation now, and not at any other moment, came from nothing else than them. As the clash between the Warrior Emperors started, several other battles began as well.
Six Warrior Kings, neither lower than the 7th level of the realm, reached and immediately attacked the City's Palace. It was a force that could easily destroy a 4th tier power. And while the defenders, led by Yi Min's second in command, an 8th level Warrior King called Yi De, met the attackers in nearly similar forces, it was clear that they didn't hold the advantage needed to deal with the aggressors right away.
Yi Min, the Guard Commander of [Zihoadao], a 9th level Warrior King close to peaking the realm, had taken only four people with her. Four guards of the Warrior King realm, although of levels varying from the 1st one to the 6th one. Being tasked to hunt the attackers and having sensed only one of her own level, she had chosen to weaken her own team so as not to leave either of the other tasks unattended or the Palace and cores undefended. But she had miscalculated, as she had barely left the Palace when she felt how it was attacked. And her own force was blocked by a nearly similar one, made of four attackers dressed in furs, their faces hidden by bizarre fur masks resembling a [Single-Eyed Leopard] head.
Yi Min attempted to talk, but the wild-looking attackers didn't have any of it, launching forwards, weapons drawn, revealing their auras. As Yi Min's sword blocked the paired claw-like weapons of the leading figure, she was pressed back, her opponent revealing to be equal, if not a bit above her!
The other three attacked her team, and while outnumbered, they held an advantage in cultivation, two being of the 5th level and one of the 6th, against her own 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th level Warrior King guards.
Elder Dai, or the Senior Overseeing Elder of the [Great Forest Sect] tasked with maintaining a watch over [Zihoadao], the city being important, as to be kept under protection at all times, had never expected to be attacked. He had never enjoyed fighting, favoring instruction and managerial tasks of the sect.
Still, Dai Hong ended up releasing his 5th level Warrior King cultivation and joining the battle. Not that he had another choice, with the few Warrior Kings and Warrior Lords guarding the teleportation formation attacked by several attackers dressed in strange black rags, with hoods over their heads, and [Aura Concealing] talismans hiding any hints of their identity.
Elder Dai Hong, as any member of the Great Sect, attempted to dissuade the attackers with the name of the power behind himself. But with the attackers ignoring all of his words, yet another fight ensued in the already chaotic [Zihoadao].
Another two fights began around the same time, both taking place near the Main Arena, where Bai Qi had fought sometime before.
One was a duel between Yi Qigang, the young Warrior King from Lord Yi's personal guards, and a small, petite young man, not higher than five feet. Warrior Kings on the 1st level, who met by absolute chance, the former rushing to reinforce one of the cores as ordered, the latter rushing to join a small detachment of the attackers with their own mission.
Their first interaction, different from the other fights ensuing in the city, was one of dialogue. And yet, it came to blows as the about 18 years old Warrior King refused to stand down or reveal his identity, even while not hiding his young, somewhat feminine face. Yi Qigang didn't plan to risk anything and so had attacked at full force, his two-handed saber releasing slash after slash, all of which were blocked by the nearly twice smaller, armed with a short dagger, leather-dressed young man.
As the other fight, it had been one when two met a single enemy. But it ended so quickly, with an absolute victory of the single opponent, that one could say that no fight had happened. Leaving the two dead, barely recognizable bodies of a 1st level Warrior King, Xu Hong, and a green-and-gold-robed peak Warrior Lord guard of [Zihoadao], Qiao Jingyi continued forward at an even pace. His orders were to join with Hai Cheng, one of the [Hai Family] retainers, and support the 2nd lady of the [Man Family] for some special task of this incursion.
Qiao Jingyi coldly thought, stepping over the messed-up bodies of the two people who tried to stand in his way, walking on the rubble remaining from the teahouse his full-force attack had turned into nothing.
***
Battles began, and some had already finished, as the people gathered inside the Main Arena of [Zihoadao] remained unaware of everything. Yet, the events that would later win the name of [Red and Green Blood Reaping] had already begun. The blood part of the so-apt name by future scholars was already underway.
Somewhat ignored by most people related to or interested in the Martial Path, [Zihoadao] had a population of several tens of thousands, of which only a fifth part was made-up of actual cultivators. Of the latter, only a tenth had reached a level enough to join powers, most often the [Yi Company], as the [Yi Clan] would only recruit the best of the best from their own organization. And now, with the ongoing war, most of the Warrior Kings and the strongest of the Warrior Lords had left the city, leaving a defensive force of barely a hundred. A hundred to protect several thousand, over two dozen thousand to be precise, of non-cultivators, servants, family members, trainees, and non-martial personnel.
Battles raged in a city where the protection formation was yet to kick in;
Battles raged in a city where few houses, bar a few mansions and palaces, had protective measures;
Battles raged in a city where people with no cultivation had been barely able to leave the streets as cultivators started fighting;
Only seen by the ones fighting and barely sensed by the Warrior Emperors, the [Red and Green Blood Reaping] had begun. Lives were starting to be lost, most of the latter - not even connected to all of this...