Backlash Part 1

Chapter 100: Attack on Cloud Recesses

The alarm had sounded just as Lan Wangji had been trying to drag Wei Wuxian to bed. Wei Wuxian was on his feet and out the door in a heartbeat. There was an audible impact radiating through the air. Arrows shattering on impact with the barrier. Sparks of energy like fireworks lit the sky as the QishanWen cultivators launched attacks of spiritual energy to try and break the barrier. Wei Wuxian never even gave it a glance. He was running straight towards the children's dormitory and family residences.

The barrier would break eventually. They needed to evacuate the non-combatants before then. Lan Xichen had reviewed Cloud Recesses evacuation plans with Wei Wuxian several times in the last weeks. It was not new. It had been the same evacuation plan for generations. Wei Wuxian wanted to be extremely familiar with it before this battle. He'd seen enough murdered children in his life. He did not want to see any more.

There was a system of caves in the back hills that was reserved as an evacuation location. This was where children and other non-combatants would be evacuated to. This was also where the disciples would fall back if they were overrun. It normally held a week's worth of supplies for the inhabitants of Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian and Lan Xichen had added to those supplies. Not because they thought they would need to hole up for longer, but as a means to reduce the losses Cloud Recesses would suffer. Destroying food supplies and stealing valuable relics would be in line with the QishanWen sect's desire to show force.

Wei Wuxian found startled caregivers and disciples looking around as though lost as to what they were meant to do. Wei Wuxian wasted no time. He began shouting commands in a firm and certain tone. Wei Wuxian didn't usually take command in battle. He was more of a weapon than a leader, but right now he was the only person present who had fought in a war before. Taking charge and calming confusion with clear decisive orders, he directed disciples to gather in the main courtyard. Since most of the sect's leadership resided near there it would be the best place to have the disciples gather for orders. Meanwhile Wei Wuxian assigned several disciples to gather and escort the non-combatants into the back hills.

Wei Wuxian supervised their retreat himself, searching houses for anyone who might have been missed. There was a shift in the air, like a charge of static. The barrier was broken. A hail of flaming arrows filled the sky. Wei Wuxian smirked to himself as he did his final check for non-combatants. Their enemies were going to find out that if they wanted to do damage, they were going to have to come inside themselves.

In mid air the flaming arrows were extinguished, almost as though they had been shot into a pool of water. Once the arrows were clear of the steam and smoke they wobbled and fell as though they had been shot with little force. The main barrier was broken, but Wei Wuxian had months to work with and the assistance of the GusuLan sect elders in the execution of his ideas. The arrows rained harmlessly to the ground. They lost too much force while passing through the barriers that were still intact.

Only two more attempts were made to shoot arrows from outside of Cloud Recesses before the QishanWen sect soldiers changed tactics. Wei Wuxian had given them enough time to evacuate those that needed to be evacuated. It should have also been enough time for them to organize their disciples into a reasonable defensive formation. This took much of the bite out of the surprise attack.

Without hesitation Wei Wuxian charged for the thick of the fighting. He itched to unleash his demonic cultivation, but held himself back. He couldn't reveal it yet. He needed to delay that reveal as long as possible. Warm blood sprayed Wei Wuxian's skin as he slit a soldier's throat. There was no space to think beyond what was happening around him. Wei Wuxian was in constant motion. His feet danced across the blood slicked grass as Suibian's glare flashed like burning magnesium.