Chapter 85 - Crimson Blood Hound
A rumble tore through the stone floor and rattled the formation barrier. Down in the valley, red dust parted around a wall of charging beasts, their eyes burning with blood-red Qi. At the center of the stampede came the Crimson Blood Hound, a lion and wolf hybrid shape, left trailing lava that hissed where it stepped onto the dry clay.
As the stampede surged closer, the temperature spiked rapidly, the sudden wall of heat washing over the defensive lines. Disciples below the Core Formation realm began to struggle, their skin blistering in the dry air and their lungs burning as they struggled to circulate their Qi. Many of them threw wind blades and ice arrows at the beast, but the spells turned to steam and vanished into dry smoke before even touching its hide. Even the standard attacks of Core Formation cultivators scorched and hissed into nothingness against that molten hide.
"Third through seventh array nodes, strengthen the barriers!" Ji Han shouted from the high platform. His voice carried across the battlements, cold and flat.
On the lower wall, the Flowing Cloud Valley disciples scrambled to their assigned positions. They raised their weapons and hands, channeling their spiritual energy into the defensive arrays. But the heat coming off the stampede was suffocating. Lin Yuying’s frozen ice shards, which had cleared the first wave, began to crack and melt into hot steam. The air grew thick with sulfur. The blue defensive dome hissed, its runic lines warping under the sudden spike in temperature.
"The wind is pushing the flames directly at the ninth formation node," Elder Lie muttered. "General Wei, shoot."
General Wei thrust his spear. "Iron arrows, release!"
A swarm of heavy bolts flew, slamming into the charging hounds. Some pierced their hides, but many bounced off their stone skin. The beasts did not stop. They rammed the outer wooden stakes, setting the logs ablaze in seconds as the defensive lines buckled.
Zhao Kang stood at the ninth array eye, his volcanic lance held low. His face was covered in black soot. Behind him, Zhang Yuexin struggled to maintain a defensive barrier, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
"Hold the line at the ninth eye!" Zhao Kang barked, his voice hoarse. "Do not move, Junior Sister Zhang. If they push us back by three inches, the barrier collapses."
Zhang Yuexin gritted her teeth, forcing her remaining Qi into the runic lines. A hound lunged from the smoke, jaws snapping at her shoulder. She resisted the urge to jump back, casting a minor flame barrier as Zhao Kang thrust his lance forward to bisect the beast.
"Keep your focus," Zhao Kang grunted. His lance flared with orange light as he stabbed another beast. The raw, messy melee left no room for clean spells, mud and ash flying in every direction.
High above, Ji Han watched the lower gate dome fracture. A large volcanic rock thrown by a beast shattered one of his primary commands, cutting off the signal to the left ridge.
’The beast tide is shifting,’ Ji Han thought. He did not alter their formations, choosing instead to command a fresh squad to reinforce the barriers. "Replacements to the third banner position. Reinforce the barrier."
He rose into the air, his hands forming thunder seals. The dark clouds swirled, releasing three heavy bolts of blue lightning that struck the Crimson Blood Hound directly on its head. The beast roared, its massive paws crushing the clay as the electricity arched across its back. But the Demon Lord’s hide was thick. It shook its fiery mane, scattering molten sparks that ignited the nearby tents, and continued its charge. Ji Han’s chest heaved as his spiritual reserves drained rapidly. He had to circulate his Core to its absolute limit just to maintain the thunder strikes.
Elder Lie stepped to the edge of the breach, his hands tracing a massive fire seal. He joined General Wei’s vanguard, using his own spiritual Qi to reinforce the crumbling iron shields. The physical strain was immense. A high-level beast slammed into his barrier, sending a violent shockwave through his arms that forced him back two steps, his boots dragging in the dry earth.
"Hold!" Elder Lie roared, his teeth clenched as blood trickled from a minor cut on his cheek. "We must keep the array nodes stable!"
Then, a bright silver light pulsed from the command pavilion behind them.
The main runic communication mirror, which had been silent for some time, hummed with sudden energy. The glowing surface rippled, and Han Chen’s voice projected across the entire staging post.
"The eastern flank is secure," the message broadcast, echoing clearly through the stone chamber and across the walls. "Peak Master Su Ming tracked the Demon Lord Abyss Earth Tyrant into the deep forest. The beast is dead. Slayed by his hand alone."
A sudden cheer rippled through the disciples. The weary guards, gasping in the suffocating heat, felt a sudden surge of morale. The news of a dead Demon Lord spread like wildfire, their shouts rising to meet the stampede with renewed vigor.
But on the high platform, Ji Han froze. Still floating in the air with lightning crackling around his hands, his eyes narrowed, and the sparks around his shoulders flared wildly before slowly dimming. A cold chill settled over him, sharp and sudden.
On the ground, Zhao Kang stood with his volcanic lance embedded in a hound’s chest. He stared at the central command in the tent, his face pale beneath the soot. Around him, disciples were shouting with relief, but his own chest heaved as he drew in the sulfurous air.
’By his hand alone...’ Zhao Kang thought. His hand tightened as he threw his crimson flame lance through a lunging beast. His face was covered in sweat, and his muscles burned from the constant combat.
They were bleeding, sacrificing their formations to contain a Demon Lord with an entire army. Yet Su Ming had hunted down and killed another alone. While the common disciples fought with renewed hope, a cold weight settled over such senior disciples.
Ji Han descended slowly, landing back on the field. His cold expression did not change, but his fingers trembled slightly as he curled them into a fist.
"The Demon Lord is still moving," Ji Han said, his voice flat but carrying a sharp edge of desperation. "We finish this now."