51. Battle for Atla Pt. 2

  Wusho tsked. While the Xian Lord hadn’t unleashed those terrible fires again since Wusho had targeted the city, he could sense the lord’s power coursing through the battlefield, weakening the attackers. The difference was making a bigger difference than he thought, as his army was unable to draw upon the world’s Qi to empower themselves.

  They were loosing momentum, even as they made strides towards winning the battle.

  One of their kill squads was slain, but six others rushed through the defenders, targeting those warriors who distinguished themselves as threats with sudden ambushes and malicious, ruthless tactics.

  But even as they made strides, they also took hefty losses. Here, a golem earth dragon was flying through a formation, and hidden within the boughs of its forest a fearsome water-witch was employing blood magic against his foes. While blood magic was easily defended against, a single opening could result in instant death, forcing the entire army to keep an eye on their proximity to the dragon.

  And even that wasn’t enough, a fire-sniper was with the witch, protecting her and occasionally sending out lances of fire that was hotter than many stars.

  Wush was tempted to draw his sword once more and target the dragon, aiming to slay those three all at once, but he held back. His concern was the Xian Lord, and if he unleashed his spear of the fate-defying weapon once more then he would leave his army open to the fires of creation once more.

  He watched in frustration as half of his army was eliminated. But he also grinned as the losses on the other side stacked up. Nine-tenths of the gold-ranked cultivators were eliminated by the end of the first hour of battle, and the invaders had far more diamond ranked cultivators than the defenders.

  However, even as the battle progressed, the defenders continued to receive reinforcements. Wusho frowned, wondering where they were coming from, but he did not have enough time to focus on such matters. They were mostly weaklings of the golden or silver path.

  He focused on the bigger picture. Half of his army had been defeated, but that left the strongest half. He grinned, and ordered the unveiling of their second trump card.

  ~~~~~~

  The young man received the order, and for just a moment he hesitated. Then he sighed, for he knew that if he did not obey, his family would die. Not just die, but they would suffer first. So he drew the cursed dagger, and he spoke the words.

  “I offer myself as willing sacrifice! May the face of the heavens turn away from this battle!” he called out, and he stabbed himself in the heart. He was only a silver-ranked cultivator, brought along only in case this sacrifice was required. But while he was reluctant, his life would buy the lives of his parents, his siblings, and his own children. The blade accepted his sacrifice, and both he and it fell to the earth.

  When his blood poured onto Atla, the sky turned black as the heavens looked away.

  ~~~~~~

  The sky went black, and I looked up in surprise. Several of my allies did the same, but I realized what had happened and spoke to reassure them.

  “The heavens have turned away, but I am here with you!” I reminded my allies. “Just as the Lord of the Realm looked away from us five years ago, they think that without heaven’s intervention we will fall. But the people of Atla are strong, and together we shall persevere! Do not loose heart, but fight harder than ever to defend your home, your family, and yourselves!”

  My allies rallied, and the battle continued to roar in the darkness.

  Inside, I grinned. While this particular tactic might have worked elsewhere, I was not a Xian Lord who had a massive interstellar network to draw from. Everything that I had was right here on this planet, and cutting us off from the heavens only kept the attackers from running away.

  They hadn’t isolated us.

  They had cut off their only means of escape.

  “Atla, are you okay?” I asked my son in the din of battle.

  “What is that? What is , it’s gross,” Atla said. “Ew it’s yucky, get it off of me.”

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  “Where is it?” I asked.

  He manifested a light around where the sacrifice had fallen to the earth. “Is it causing you pain?” I asked.

  “No, but it’s yucky,” he said. “Tainted and twisted.”

  “I’ll try to purify it,” I promised, and I spun off a minor avatar to deal with the sacrifice. “I might require some of your power, but once I understand the twisted nature of what the enemy is using to isolate us from the heavens, I shall work to undo it.”

  “Hurry. It’s like someone is rubbing poop in my face,” Atla complained. “It’s so yucky. I want to turn my Qi out of the area, but if I do then the defenders won’t have my support.”

  “You’re strong enough to endure this, Atla,” I assured him. “Whatever twisted magic they have used, you are stronger than it.”

  “I know,” Atla said. “It’s just yucky.”

  ~~~~~~~

  Di Ram cursed when the skies turned black. He continued barking out orders, even as he wielded his spear in one hand, a massive Dao Avatar behind him doing battle with three warriors from the enemy. He was leading from the front, and he much preferred it to the long and helplessly protracted battle that he’d waged against the undead six years ago.

  He glanced to his side, where a colossal Asura was unleashing attacks against a platinum ranked leader from the other side. His jaw clenched to see his father pushing himself so far, wondering when it was that his father had arrived from the north. He saw now the Majeeshan defenders in the mix and knew that the warriors of the Six Mountain Sect had rallied to the defense of Mer’cah at some point, but he could not remember when.

  He barked out orders to those who were following him, wishing that he had his generals and his lieutenants. And he also wished that the disorganized cultivators of the defenders would follow the tactics that he was trying to bring to the battlefield.

  The enemy fought as units, with coordination and precision. The defenders fought haphazardly, as individuals or small groups that were easy to isolate and pick off one by one. Here and there were powerhouses, like the Petal Blossoms, or the Raging Tyrant, who flew through the battle on a lightning bolt and slew enemies left and right.

  But everywhere else, Di Ram’s forces were dying in isolation. It was bloody and unnecessary.

  He was still struggling to bring forth order into the chaos when a poison arrow struck him in the eye, and his world went black.

  ~~~~~~

  Polkluk was nearby when Di Ram was struck, protecting his wife, who’s contribution to the fight were more significant than his own. She had mastered the power of raw light, and few of the defenders were prepared for a sudden burst of energy in spectrums invisible to the naked eye striking them. While it took her considerable effort, she had slain five of the diamond ranked attackers despite being only gold ranked, though she did have the collective of the Northern Star Guiding Formation to pull on.

  He, by contrast, was only a minor storm tyrant who had yet to set foot onto the diamond path. He fought as a peach blossom, but he was shamed by the lack of advancement over the last five years.

  When Di Ram fell from the sky, he motioned to Taimei, and together they rushed over to the fallen general. But they arrived too late. He was already dead.

  “The others need to see him,” Taimei said to him. “He is as much of a symbol of defiance in the face of darkness as Little Bug himself. If the warriors know he is dead they’ll lose heart.”

  “Help me prop him up,” Polkluk said, and together they took the corpse by the arms and flew into the air.

  They began barking orders into the chaos, pretending to be supporting the weakened general. It was a small thing, but seeing the wounded Di Ram continue to lead his forces despite the arrow through his head inspired his allies to bring forth yet more of the depths of their strength.

  Di Ram’s spirit, in the afterlife, approved of this display. Let his memory lead his people even in death, he would think to himself, as he slowly walked through the woods, looking for the next river to cross.

  ~~~~~

  Yara sat calmly in the basement of the Di estate, her Qi focused outward in powering the wards. Around her, children cried, including her own. There were only six adults in the room, so few to wrangle the hundred or so children who were permitted to share this sanctuary with her.

  She was linked into the Northern Star Guiding Formation, but she was not taking part in the battle herself. She knew the others understood.

  She was too busy protecting her daughters, and Di Sana, and Di Tonilla and a dozen other important figures in the rooms above. Aside from the children who were crying, the rooms were eerily silent as the adults waited to see if they were to be victorious, or if the defenders would fall from the skies, or if an errant blast would obliterate them in a second.

  Even as the battle raged on and attacks flared against the wards, the silence continued.

  Except for the cries of the children.

  ?