I Shall Steal the Heavens 200 Chapter 199: Fortress

"How many civilians have we succeeded in rescuing?"

Even though Sect Leader Zi Shou De's voice seemed devoid of emotion, his hands were trembling slightly as he suppressed his rage and despair at seeing the city under his jurisdiction razed to the ground, and the people he was supposed to protect massacred.

The six Great Elders, and the dozens of inner sect elders, which included Hai Mo, had all gathered onto the summit of Flame Voclano and were perched atop a manmade platform overlooking Tushan City. The city, which used to nestle at the foot of the mountain, was now immolated by hellish flames, which cast a red glow in the dark night.

Even this high up, they could still hear the screams and shrieks of the innocents, those who were unable to make it to shelter in time, echoing throughout the fallen city.

Zi Shou De looked grim as he took an amplivisor and magnified the image of the city below to confirm what the holographic screen behind them was displaying. Countless Nine-Tailed Fox Sect manufactured aerial drones were buzzing over the city, capturing the images real-time, and almost everyone present turned their heads away, unable to watch as the numerous martial artists wearing the various robes and uniforms of their respective sects roam throughout the devastated districts of the city, hunting down civilians and combatants.

At that time, I didn't know about it, but none of the martial artists or combatants fighting in the city so far were Blood Blades. The Blood Blades had been conducting rescue and evacuation missions, escorting scores of terrified refugees into the main sect grounds for them to seek shelter. They were prioritizing the lives of the civilians over destroying the enemy.

However, many of the citizens in Tushan City, though not Blood Blades, were still martial artists. A few of them chose to stand and fight, and sporadic skirmishes broke out in countless places. Despite their courage, many of them were slaughtered to a man, and the surrounding urban areas were reduced to rubble.

Worse, there were even more martial artists gathered outside Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, surrounding the main sect grounds and even Flame Volcano itself.

Zi Shou De had given the order for all Blood Blades and remaining civilians and refugees to pull back deep into the sect. He had halted all rescue and evacuation operations, knowing that they wouldn't be able to make it into the sect grounds by now.

"Divine Shadow Sect, Dark Asura Sect, Cloud Sky Mountain, and the Seven Valley Sects." Zi Shou De gritted his teeth, his eyes gleaming with pure hatred. "How dare they do this?! If we survive this, we'll definitely help the Imperial Guard in destroying them…and exterminating the Martial Arts Alliance! I swear it!"

"Chen Dong Ling." The First Great Elder, Luo Zhi Chang, turned to one of the inner sect elders. "Is there any news from Lang Xie and Hai Rong?"

Chen Dong Ling shook his head, his expression ominous. "They have yet to return, and they aren't responding to my calls. Perhaps they have…encountered a crisis."

Everyone turned pale when they heard that.

Lang Xie and Hai Rong were the pillars of Blood Blades, and along with Sect Lady Zi Da Ji, they formed the trinity upon which the entire strength of Blood Blades was built upon. They were responsible for dispatching Blood Blades to destroy their enemies. Now, with only one out of the terrifying trinity left, their combat power had been greatly reduced. The already dismal hopes they had for getting out of this crisis were now sinking into the abyss of despair.

"What do we do now?" the second Great Elder asked softly, his complexion ashen. Zi Shou De understood his fears.

They were just blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers. While many of them did have some background in martial arts, such as Tang Qi Hong, who learned how to fight under Zi Da Ji, they had dedicated most of their lives to specialize in forging Spirit Artifacts and Armaments. As such, their comprehension of martial arts was not as deep or profound as specialized martial artists.

If they were forced to fight to the death, they would most likely be massacred within minutes. Only Zi Da Ji and the Blood Blades would stand a fighting chance, and without Lang Xie and Hai Rong's support their combat strength had diminished.

"We'll fight," Zi Da Ji declared simply, her eyes fierce and determined. "If they think we're an easy target, we'll prove them wrong. We'll make them pay as much blood as possible for taking our resources and territory."

"I expect nothing less." Her husband nodded in approval. "We will make them pay in liters of blood for every centimeter of territory they take from us."

"Lang Xie will be safe," Luo Zhi Chang added to reassure the others, and most of all himself. "He is stronger than any one of us can imagine." He nodded apologetically at Zi Da Ji. "I mean no offense, but even you, my lady."

"None taken," Zi Da Ji replied. "It is the truth, after all."

"Yeah." Luo Zhi Chang sighed a breath of relief. "Unless the top martial artists and experts of the four Celestial Creature sects have also joined in, then no one should be able to stop him if he wants to escape. Even if the most powerful martial artists of these ten invading sects mobilize, they will still not be able to kill him. Lang Xie's strength has surpassed even his master at his prime!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling the faint stirrings of hope rise up from the pit of despair once more.

"What about Fei Wu? He has also gone missing. I wonder if he was caught up in all this." Elder Tie Jiang looked a little worried.

"I heard from my younger daughter Xiao Ji that he's on his way back. He was returning on foot, though, so he might take a bit more time than necessary. He might already be back in the sect by now. Otherwise…" Zi Shou De glanced at the surrounding martial artists who had surrounded Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. "With this many people surrounding the sect, he won't be able to make his way in. But I'm sure if they've caught him and killed him, they would have announced it online to break our morale or as a form of psychological warfare. As long as there's no news of him, then it's most likely good news." He cracked a smile. "The same goes for Lang Xie and Hai Rong. As long as our enemies say nothing about them, then it means they're still alive. They will never pass up the chance to gloat over us and deal a blow to our morale if they succeeded in killing either of those two."

"Qi Hong is safe, I trust?" Hai Mo asked, concerned. "If I'm not mistaken, the reason why Fei Wu went out was to help rescue her."

Both Zi Shou De and his wife looked immensely relieved. "That's right," the sect leader affirmed with a smile. "Qi Hong is resting and receiving treatment in the infirmary. I'm also pleased to say that Lian Rou has also been rescued. Tong Xue brought her in before Xiao Ji and her bodyguards carried Qi Hong back. However…" he hardened his expression. "I am disappointed to say that their abduction was caused by treachery within our ranks. Hu Mei Er betrayed them and led Divine Sect martial artists to them."

There was a collective gasp of disbelief.

"Hu Mei Er…did?"

"But why?"

"Impossible…"

The elders were looking at each other, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Zi Da Ji shook her head.

"Mei Er was close to Liang Shao Yang. After his death…she must be plotting revenge against those people involved in his death. Kidnapping Qi Hong, luring Fei Wu out…this was all part of her elaborate scheme."

"That bitch!" one of the elders snarled. "She won't get away with this!"

"She didn't," Zi Da Ji assured him with a sardonic smile. "According to Tong Xue, Fei Wu has killed her."

"She deserves it," the elder snorted coldly.

"Regardless, we're being pinned in." Hai Mo brought everyone's attention to the scene below, where the martial artists from the various sects encircled their territory, brandishing weapons. "They'll be breaking into our sect anytime soon."

"They can try," Zi Shou De replied callously. He turned to Zi Da Ji. "How are the preparations for our defense?"

"Ready. I've mobilized all the surviving Blood Blades, and we have quite the surprise prepared for our…guests." Zi Da Ji had a sly smile on his face.

Tie Jiang nodded, a smile also spreading across his face. "And this surprise is all thanks to Fei Wu. We've to thank him when he gets back."

"If he gets back," one of the elders muttered under his breath.

"He'll definitely be back." Zi Da Ji turned to him with an arched eyebrow that caused him to stutter. "I personally bestowed Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula on him, and inducted him into Blood Blades. Even Lang Xie recognizes his strength. Just like Lang Xie and Hai Rong, that boy will definitely survive and return alive."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he turns the tide." Tie Jiang chuckled. "Just like all those typical xianxia protagonists."

"They're preparing for an attack, aren't they?" Hai Mo asked uneasily when he saw the martial artists milling around the entrance of the sect. "If I'm not mistaken, they wish to capture us alive, because they still need us to forge artifacts and armaments for them."

"Yet they're trying to kill Qi Hong and Fei Wu?" Zi Shou De frowned. "That makes no sense."

"Well, in Fei Wu's case, it makes sense," Zi Da Ji pointed out sourly. "The reason why they are hunting down martial artists in Tushan City and killing Blood Blades still in the city is because they want to deprive us of our fangs and claws."

She didn't mention that they had failed to kill a significant number of Blood Blades, and the majority of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect had pulled back to the sect's main grounds after escorting and protecting refugees. That very act of caring for civilians might have been what saved the lives of countless Blood Blades.

"The moment Blood Blades is exterminated, and the moment all the remaining martial artists in Tushan City are killed, we blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers will have no way of fighting back at all, and they'll be able to do whatever they want with us." one of the elders mused gravely. Zi Da Ji smiled coldly at that.

"If they think they can exterminate Blood Blades, they're deluded." She raised a hand. "We'll raze them before they will touch you guys."

The elder turned to study Zi Da Ji. "I appreciate your confidence, Sect Lady, but do you really think your Blood Blades will be able to hold out against such an overwhelming force?"

Zi Da Ji's smile merely widened. "Just watch."

"They're coming!" Luo Zhi Chang warned when he heard a roar. Below, the martial artists from the ten invading sects charged into the hallowed grounds of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.

They never made it in.

A line of battle-automata stepped forward, each of them controlled and manipulated by a member of the Blood Blades. Mass-reactive shells spat from Mauler bolt cannons, blasting into the horde of martial artists and detonating inside their bodies, ripping them apart from within. Scores of martial artists simply disintegrated in bloody pieces as the savage shells tore them apart.

That wasn't all.

Those Castellax battle-automata that were equipped with plasma cannons launched superheated blobs into the crowd of invading martial artists, unleashing the fury of the sun in their ranks. Dozens of them screamed as they were incinerated by the superheated plasma, many of them simply ceasing to exist as they were enshrouded within the deadly blasts.

However, a few of the martial artists had survived and were recklessly charging at the lumbering, slow Castellax battle-automata, bringing their Spirit Weapons to bear. Treasure Spirit Weapons, they were enough to penetrate the thick adamantium hide of the battle-automata and cleave them into pieces.

If they were able to hit them, that is.

Thallax battle puppets burst from between the ranks of Castellax battle-automata, flaying into the invaders with arc beams from their lightning guns, or superheated pellets of energy from their phased plasmfusils. Many more martial artists died before they could reach the lines of the mechanical, emotionless battle-automata.

Those that reached clashed with the first line of Thallax battle puppets. Credit to the invading martial artists, they managed to hack and cut down a good number of Thallax battle puppets. But the surviving Thallax battle puppets closed ranks and whipped out their chainblades, mercilessly eviscerating the thrashing martial artists and cutting them apart. Amidst the fighting Thallax battle puppets, their controllers emerged, battle-hardened veterans of Blood Blades smashing the already thin enemy line apart and routing them.

A good number of martial artists faltered, their morale breaking, and they fell back, but the Blood Blades pursued them and mercilessly cut them down from behind, wiping them out in a flawlessly executed sweeping advance.

"Fall back! Fall back!"

"Damn it! The Nine-Tailed Fox Sect actually have an army of battle puppets?!"

"Why didn't anyone tell us about this!?"

"I lose twelve squads! Twelve whole squad!"

The martial artists from the sects surrounding the fortress that was Nine-Tailed Fox Sect territory suddenly realized they had made a terrible mistake, and wisely did not send a second wave in to commit suicide. Realizing that they had bitten off more than they could chew, they quickly retreated to a safe distance, out of range of the Castellax battle-automata's powerful weapons. Even with their Steel Spirit or body hardening techniques, they were not able to survive the powerful onslaught from the ancient battle-automata designed to combat martial artists.

"How terrifying…"

"This is the true strength of Blood Blades?!"

"You've got to be kidding me…"

Licking their wounds, they maintained a safe distance, while the commanders in each sect gathered to review their plans.

Above, at the peak of Flame Volcano, Sect Lady Zi Da Ji turned to the stunned elders with a dazzling smile on her beautiful face.

"What did I tell you?" she smirked.

*

Meanwhile, I was cursing myself for not having brought my battle-automata with me.

To be fair, I had been distracted, which meant they were far from ready. I had taken them out of my Snow Aegis and left them in my workshop to work on my Spirit Engraving on them. But if you remember, I was distracted from finishing the Spirit Engraving on my four Castellax battle-automata because of all the thing with the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, learning new martial arts, and now this whole thing with Divine Shadow Sect.

Then this whole stupid invasion.

Readers were probably lambasting me over the last few chapters, demanding why I didn't use my battle-automata and set them on Blood Shadow or Pang Feng or Lu Li. For the latter two, it was because I didn't need to. They weren't that powerful that I was forced to use my Castellax battle-automata on them even if I somehow had them on hand (and Pang Feng didn't use his own battle-automata either, so it was only fair that I didn't use them against him). As for Blood Shadow, well, yeah…I completely forgot that I left them in my workshop, intending to finish up the last of the Spirit Engraving that I never got around to completing.

Whoops. If I returned to my workshop, that was the first thing I was going to do. Finish up the Spirit Engraving so that I could set them upon the enemies of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. These bastards were going to pay for invading Tushan City and massacring innocent civilians!

Just a single cohort of cybernetica constructs would be enough to turn the tables on the ten invading sects. If I wasn't mistaken, most of my fellow Blood Blades should have the battle-automata I sold to them, and I wondered why they hadn't used them yet. At that time, I didn't realize that I hadn't seen any of the other Blood Blades yet, which was why I didn't see their accompanying battle-automata. The martial artists who I saw were normal civilians, non-Blood Blades, who had chosen to make their last stand against the invaders and…got killed.

Well, for now, I've to find a way to get back to my workshop…

Just when the thought passed my mind, I skidded to a stop. I had finally emerged into a street near the entrance of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect's main grounds, and could see it from afar, thanks to my glasses and its enhancing vision capabilities. Upon catching sight of the figures gathered outside the sect, I was suddenly glad that I didn't just dash straight for the entrance.

Wu Tuo, Cloud Sky Mountain Sect martial artists, Shi Jing Yun and a massive crowd of martial artists from the Seven Valley Sects were currently guarding the outer entrance of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. Apparently a fierce battle had just taken place not too long ago, and I could see corpses lying strewn about near the entrance. They were literally in pieces. At first I was concerned, but seeing through the blood, I was relieved that they were dressed in the robes and uniforms of the other martial arts sects. None of them was of Blood Blades.

So far.

"…!"

Wu Tuo, Shi Jing Yun and their martial artists were all arguing with each other in an animated fashion. I could hear them bickering even from this far away, even though I couldn't make out the words. Too bad that I didn't have hearing aid that would enhance my ears the way my glasses helped to magnify images for my eyes.

Even so, from the tension evident from the heated exchange between the two groups, I understood that something had gone awry and they were practically blaming each other. Evidently their first assault had failed, and was thrown back right into their faces, and they were trying to find a party to assign blame.

Typical.

While I relished their anger, I was also disappointed. Even though I had finally made it this far, now I realized that it was impossible for me to return to Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. At least not through this way.

Backtracking cautiously to ensure that Wu Tuo and Shi Jing Yun didn't notice that I had stumbled across them, I sought temporary refuge in a deserted building that was pretty far away. Unfortunately, the building wasn't as empty as I thought. When I first set foot inside it, I was hit by the stench of blood, which made me gag.

"Ugh…"

My eyes widened when I caught sight of the six corpses inside the lobby. Grimacing, I turned away. I might have gotten used to seeing death, but that didn't mean it was pleasant to look at. And the foul stink was something I would never get used to. Trying to ignore the dead bodies and stench of blood I settled down on a broken sofa, its fabric perforated during a vicious fight that had taken place inside here earlier, and most likely led to the deaths of the unfortunate six people I saw lying strewn about in the center of the huge lobby.

"Oh boy…what do I do now?"

I considered my options. Having navigated around after seeing Wu Tuo and Shi Jing Yun, I had discovered that all the roads leading toward Flame Volcano had been secured and guarded by enemies. I was definitely not going to make it past them.

That meant I had to find an alternative route – a route that our enemies had yet to discover.

"Fuck! This is not going to be easy!"

I cursed under my breath. This wasn't funny. When I caught sight of Wu Tuo, I already had an idea of what those bastards were scheming. That chubby guy, pretending to treat us well and acting so polite, only to backstab us like this! I should never have gone to his Great Nature's Heart shop and bought spirit materials from him!

Taking a deep breath, I calmly assessed the situation. The enemies were definitely scheming something, that was for sure.

Most likely they planned to eliminate Nine-Tailed Fox Sect's combat strength inside the city and control Tushan City first. Then, with all the blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers cornered and trapped inside Flame Volcano, they would round them up and capture them.

Normally, they wouldn't want to kill the blacksmiths because they clearly wanted to enslave them. Worse, they also coveted the assets, wealth and resources that Nine-Tailed Fox Sect had amassed over the years.

The greedy bastards.

I wondered how they planned to divide Nine-Tailed Fox Sect amongst themselves. There were ten sects, and not enough wealth to go around, and surely the corrupt Martial Arts Alliance would want a piece of a pie for themselves. But of course the ten sects who participated in this invasion would get the majority of the slice. They would lay claim to spirit materials, spirit ores, spirit medicine, Spirit Armaments, Spirit Artifacts, equipment, and then split Tushan City, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and Flame Volcano amongst themselves, as well as dividing up the blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers.

I had to find a way to stop them. If I could link up with Sect Lady Da Ji, then perhaps I would find a way to coordinate a counterattack from outside…

At that moment, my smartphone rang and I jumped up in shock. Damn, if it had rang when I was near Wu Tuo and Shi Jing Yun…I should have put the damned thing in silent mode!

Cursing myself for my stupidity, I picked it up and answered. To my surprise, the call was from Sect Lady Da Ji.

"Sect Lady?"

"Hah! Fei Wu! I knew you would still be alive!"

For some reason, Sect Lady Da Ji sounded triumphant. I could hear murmurs from the other side of the phone, but I couldn't make out what they were. That was fine. They were not the most important thing at the moment.

"Is everyone in the sect all right?" I asked instead. "Did Qi Hong make it back safe? Xiao Ji and the rest? Tong Xue and Lian Rou?"

Sect Lady Da Ji chuckled. "Fancy you worrying about others instead of yourself. Of course they are fine. They all safely made it back to the sect. We're all worried about you. Where are you right now? Did you make it back to the sect too?"

There was doubt in her last sentence. Evidently she knew that if I was in the sect, she would have known of it. Without any reason to lie, I quickly filled her in on what happened, and what I saw, including Wu Tuo, Shi Jing Yun and their respective sects gathered around Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and blocking every avenue in.

"You're right. My husband has ordered everyone to fall back into the main sect grounds, and none of us can go out. Unless we use the…never mind. We haven't resorted to escaping yet. We still think we can hold this ground against the enemy."

"That sounds great." I felt relief wash over me, as well as a large flare of hope. "Is there anything I can do on my end? Subterfuge or something…or counterattack?"

"Nah…not by yourself." Sect Lady Da Ji overruled that. "You'll be a sitting duck wandering around the city by yourself. Sooner or later one of their patrols will run into you and you'll be killed. No, it's best if you return to the sect as quickly as possible."

"How?" I asked incredulously. "I told you, they have all the roads blocked."

"Well, the roads aren't the only way into the sect, right?" I could almost hear the smile in her voice as she gave me a hint. "Whe you were inducted into the Blood Blades, we should have given you the secret handbook."

"Ah…you're right." I nodded, suddenly aware of what she was talking about. When Lang Xie officially recognized my entry into Blood Blades, Sect Lady Da Ji had passed me the secret handbook. It was so secret that I wasn't allowed to tell Pang Feng and Tong Xue about it, and given what happened with Pang Feng, I guess that was a good thing. Though I doubted he would have let even Cloud Sky Mountain know about it.

Pang Feng still had a shred of integrity in him, even if he wasn't necessarily loyal or reasonable. He did have his own reasons for doing what he did, so I didn't blame him.

"I'll be with you shortly."

"Good." Sect Lady Da Ji sounded satisfied and she hung up.

Closing my eyes, I traced my memory for a moment, but nothing came to mind. It was too bad I didn't have a good memory. Resigning myself, I reached for Snow Aegis and retrieved the secret handbook from my storage device. Flipping it open, I went straight to the page that displayed the secret passageways in Tushan City.

It was a map that displayed a labyrinthine network underground. Tracing the various networks with my finger and taking note of Flame Volcano in the center, I tried to orientate myself. To my relief, I located a secret passageway nearby that seemed to lead to one of those underground tunnels connecting each other to Flame Volcano.

There was even one that led to outside the city, and I suspected that in the worst case scenario, Sect Leader Zi Shou De would order everyone to evacuate through that way.

"Looks like this is the nearest path…"

I exited the building and followed the map that indicated that the entrance to that nearest passageway was in another building a few blocks down. I stayed close to the shadows, stealthily making my way toward that building in nerve-wrecking moments, often stopping and pressing my back against the wall when I thought I heard patrol sweeps or sensed the qi of an enemy martial artist at the edges of my peripheral senses.

"…phew…"

It took me a bit longer to reach the building than I expected, but the caution paid off. Apparently no one had caught me skulking around. I snuck into the building before anyone could notice there was a single member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect still running around in the outskirts of Tushan City, and found myself in an empty lobby.

Like the other buildings, there were a couple of corpses here as well, the grisly remains of martial artists who desperately fought back against the overwhelming numbers of the invaders. I bowed my head slightly, hoping that they would rest in pace, and swearing to take revenge for them inside my head, then hurried past them.

After all, I wouldn't succeed in avenging them if I got caught and killed by the bastards.

The secret book beamed out a holographic projection of the labyrinthine network, displaying it in 3D and thus making it easier for me to find where the passageway was. On a two-dimensional plane, it was hard to tell where exactly in the building it was other than providing a bird's eye view from above indicating that it was inside this building, but the spiritual holographic image indicated that the passageway was located in the basement of this building.

I tried to descend the stairs as quietly as possible, though if there was anyone already inside this building they would have picked up my presence long ago. As it was, I couldn't detect the qi of anyone with my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps, so I knew I was safe for sure. Whoever murdered the poor people in the lobby had left long ago, seeking fresh victims to murder elsewhere.

I was alone for now.

Right at the basement, I found myself looking stupidly at what seemed like a storeroom. There was no door, despite the holographic image insisting that it was. Sighing, I followed the map and stopped right in front of wall where the door should be, scratching my head and wondering if someone thought it was a good idea to prank me.

"Bloody hell."

Swearing, I kicked the wall in frustration. Something seemed to ripple from the wall and a beam of qi swept past me, stopping to scan my secret book.

Then, the beam withdrew, and to my utmost surprise, the wall slid open with a gentle rumble. My jaw dropped as I stared into the dark passageway concealed beneath the concrete, and a set of stairs leading into the abyss below.

"…"

I suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Having watched too many horror movies, I knew it was not a good idea to walk into the darkness like this, not if I wanted to live a long, happy life.

Unfortunately, any qualms I had were squashed when I heard heavy footsteps thud into the lobby above me, and a gaggle of voices.

"Didn't we already come here earlier? We've already cleaned this place out. See? The bodies are still here."

One of the trespassers complained. His companion rebuked him.

"Shut up and sweep the area. The lord ordered us to check the places we've cleared every two hours, to make sure there are no stragglers hiding inside them after we left. You don't intend on disobeying him, do you?"

"No, but why bother?" the other guy grumbled.

Muttering a curse under my breath, I quickly but quietly strode into the passageway and descended down the stairs.

Behind me, the wall rolled shut and clicked audibly – but not so loudly that the enemy could hear it – into place, enclosing me in utter darkness.

Chapter end