Blind and Bereft

Chapter 85 | Blood, Fire, And Ashes

Within the tensed silence, Yihuai's scream tore out of his throat. His piercing cry raided the night as tears sprung from his eyes. As anger and sorrow successfully vied over the poison, a strength surged through him. His muscles seared and his veins snapped.

Jingrui gasped as Yihuai knocked over the blade in her hand. Blood oozed from his neck, but it was only a shallow cut. Her eyes widened as she tried to yank Yihuai back, but it was too late.

At that moment, the Heavenly Soldier, like a massive swarm of angry leeches, launched at her. They surrounded Yihuai and Lingyue's corpse, hissing at her like beasts. Their swords gleaming, sharp and dangerous.

Jingrui swayed backwards, and from the battlefield, several more of Yihuai's subordinates hurled themselves up towards her. She stumbled back and fell against the floor.

As the sharp tip of several swords darted towards her face, a light dashed in front of her. Tempestuous wind screeched in her ears, and the attackers flew backwards. Prince Zhanying's form stood towering over her. Deep anger surged in his eyes. He held his sword out and pointed it towards anyone who would dare to step a foot closer.

Fire ruptured in the Prince's eyes as he shot his gaze her way. "Why are you here?"

Jingrui clutched onto the tail of her hanfu, and she became robbed of life within the floor. Tears surfaced in her eyes, but she did not let them fall. "To kill those who deserve to die," she muttered, her words scraping out of her throat.

Prince Zhanying's eyes wavered with pain, but the anger in him remained. He looked towards the ceiling and chuckled. "All you care about is revenge. You'd go any means to achieve it even if you must poison them. That's well. I guess we are no different." He averted his gaze down towards her and held his arm to the side. Light flared from his hand, and he waved it towards her, creating a barrier that caged her inside. "I don't care to or have the time to save you, so don't get in my way."

Before she had the time to register what he had done, he swung his sword at the enemies and flew back into the battlefield.

Jingrui slumped down on the floor as she glanced through the silver barrier he had just casted. Her eyes met Yihuai who emitted with raw rage. Stumped against the ground and paralysed, he screamed, firing the Heavenly Army with will. "Take the rebels down!"

The Heavenly army nodded in unison at his command, and the battle resumed its sickening clamour. Jingrui trembled as she watched lights crash, exploding sparks. Severed flesh and bones, blood and ashes, littered the marble floor of the Heavenly Throne Hall. The moon was eclipsed. Dark clouds engulfed the sky, and rain commenced its eternal storm.

Jingrui glanced at Prince Zhanying. A deep pain swept across his features as he fended off enemies. His movements were rushed as if some kind of time bomb was about to explode. He found the urgency to kill; to achieve victory. There was no precision in his movements, blind strikes of unrestrained force flew from his sword. Cultivation ruptured, Qi flow no longer cold, but hot like fire.

Jingrui clenched her fists as she stood up. Her eyes widened as she glanced down at the large thronehall. Blood flooded the hall, speckles of the fallen rose out of the gate and towards the night sky. Her heart twisted with pain, and she watched the bloodshed commence. No mercy was ever given within a battle, and she hoped within heart that tonight, the speckles wouldn't be hers or his.

As she watched the intense fight, a strange figure slowly rose in the corner of her eyes. Emitting with the darkest miasma, the figure brushed past her confined barrier.

Her eyes widened as she saw it lunged toward Prince Zhanying who was a few paces away from her, fighting off a dozen of enemies. She scrambled towards the barrier, banging her fists against it and trying to warn him.

The Prince seemed to be off guard. The poison was suddenly relapsing at that moment, and he coughed out blood.

Tears surfaced in her eyes, and she screamed when the figure straddled Prince Zhanying. The glimmering knife in its hand, vaulted down onto his neck.

Within the strangling barrier, Jingrui's blaring scream could only reflect back at her. Her body lost its strength, and she slumped down onto the floor like a sag of sand.

Like a fountain, blood sprayed from the back of Prince Zhanying's neck. A deep, guttural cry ripped out of his throat. Anger contorted him, and the deepest monster within him was unleashed. He slammed his hand onto the figure, sending it darting towards Jingrui.

The figure rolled onto the ground and came just right in front of the barrier. Jingrui's blood ran cold, and unbearable anger churned in her. Fire erupted and she fumed, "Lingyue."

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A/N - sorry for the late update, my internet was terrible yesterday ;-; The updating will resume as normal now.