Empire (Xichen X OC)

Chapter 17

'When the shooting sun campaign started, the Nie Clan of Qinghe, the Jin Clan of Lanling, the Lan Clan of Gusu and the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng; all lead 8000 cultivators to Qishan. They swore to wipe out the thugs and enforce justice. But the Wen Clan of Qishan was so powerful, the overthrow of Nevernight would be almost impossible.

Therefore, Wen Ruohan called the action, nothing to be feared, overly confident. In Langya, Qilu, the Jin Clan of Lanling is losing ground. Jiang Wanyin from the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng is helpless. Fortunately, the situation in Jianghuai is somewhat stable. Lan Wangji and Tian Tengchao led the cultivators to Jingchu to reinforce.

In Hejian, the Nie Clan of Qinghe won the battle. Nie Mingjue cut off the head of Wen Ruohan's older son; Wen Xu. He hung it on the front line and sneered at the Wen Clan's weakness. This inspired his army's spirits.'

As the battles raged on, the Sunshot campaign progressed successfully despite the losses. After Clan Leader Nie had killed the eldest Wen son of the leading family, a decisive blow was directed at Wen Ruohan.

However, I feared for the rage which the madman would unleash upon us.

Yet, someone from the shadows seemed to be on our side. Our latest attack to the city, where suspected Wen Chao to be hiding, left us surprised. Everyone was slaughtered horrifically; not a single Wen Cultivator was left alive.

Bloodstained the ground and Wen Chao seemed to have fled from something, not us though. Peculiar talisman was found on the scene, and Cheng gave one to Wangji to check. Once he got his results, he allowed me to inspect it as well, and we seemed to come to the same conclusion.

There were four new brushes on it, in human blood. Somehow, this talisman that was initially supposed to ward evil away had been turned into a magnet instead. Its power was now on attracting evil spirits which we suspect were the culprits behind the massacre we found.

Cheng reunited with his sister and had already trained many new Jiang cultivators to join the battlefield while also planning to bring his clan back. Yet, the moment lasted a little bit as a spy had detected us.

Our disciplines tried their hardest to stop him, but a warning firework was sent to the sky before he died. The red symbol of the Wen flashed into the bright blue sky, indicating our position to the enemy.

What followed next, made the battle in Cloud Recess shrink in size.

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The Wen Cultivators wasted no time in coming from both air and land. They all gathered at the entrance of Chongyang, ready to take us down. Thanks to Cheng, we had a basic idea of how they would attack, and we were ready.

He and his disciplines stood on the walls and inside the fortress, ready to handle the ones coming from the locked and sealed entrance. The Lan disciplines took the front two upper walls, having a clear view of the enemy.

Wangji and I stood on top of the tower which framed the entrance. I gulped at the sight of the army, their presence dark enough that even the world around us seemed to coward. Dark clouds quickly covered the once bright sun, turning the day into night in mere seconds.

Wangji glanced at me before preparing his guqin.

I gave a nod as I took a deep breath, the time around me slowing down. With my palms parallel to the ground and a small area between them, I closed my eyes and tapped into my golden core.

At the same time, Their archers were first, pulling their string and aiming their sharp projectile weapons. As they were shot, they came by the dozens in endless rain, but we were ready. Wangji jumped on the air, and with a spin, his hand brushed the chords of his weapon and sent a blue wave of spiritual energy in an arched motion.